A.N.: Obviously my time line will be different from the WB because I don't have sweeps week and hiatus. Paris was there for Skinwalker and Visage, she left for a week in New York in between Visage and Insurgence.

----The sex office starring Sexy Lexy----

Lex was sitting behind his desk with a none-too-pleased expression on his face directed at the man across from him. "I was under the impression that the deal had closed." His tine dangerous and controlled.

"Mr. Luthor, I'm sorry." The lawyer apologized.

"I don't want "I'm sorry." I want to know how the hell my father beat me out of a 150-million dollar contract that you assured me was a done deal!"

"The only way they would have known the exact dollar amount was if they had inside information."

"And since you and I were the only ones who knew about it, and I certainly didn't tell my father, that leaves you in a very uncomfortable position."

"If I no longer have your confidence, I'll tender my resignation in the morning."

Lex got up from behind the desk and walked angrily toward his lawyer.

Lex's tone was threatening. "My father would want more than your resignation. He'd hobble you at the knees and do everything in his power to insure you'd never work in the corporate world again."

The lawyer swallowed fearfully, and slowly turned to leave. As he did, Lex called after him, his voice still angry, but not threatening. As Lex spoke, the lawyer turned to face him.

"But I'm not my father. All I want to know is how he found out. And how I can stop it from ever happening again."

The lawyer nodded in understanding, a grateful look on his face as he realized Lex is not going to destroy him. The lawyer turned and walked quickly from the room.

Lex watched his lawyer leave, then turned and leaned on his desk, his face a mask of controlled fury. He glanced down and his gaze fell on a magazine featuring a picture of himself and Lionel, with the headline, "Will The Son Surpass The Father?". With a growl of anger, Lex swept his arm across his desk, knocking everything--magazine, papers, computer monitor, flower vase-- to the floor in frustration.

Lex collected himself, then walked over to the mess. He knelt down and begins gathering up the pieces. He picked up a flower bud which was inside the vase of flowers on his desk. As he looked at it, he noticed a tiny, thin needle sticking out from the top of the bud. He pulled the needle out to reveal a tiny listening device hidden inside the flower. A look of realization crossed Lex's face as he glanced around his office, now knowing how Lionel got his inside information. Lex ran his hand furiously over his smooth head. "SHIT!" He exclaimed angrily as he realized that his father had quite possibly bugged the entire mansion. He looked down and caught sight of his lap top that he had managed to not throw on the floor. He picked it up and put it back on the desk. He pushed the power button and it beeped and whirred just as it always had, his login screen popped up. "That son of a bitch." Lex stormed out of his office in search of Paris.

He didn't even bother knocking on her door, he knew she was probably still asleep, so he threw the door open and barged in. "Paris wake up!"

Paris was still asleep and showed no signs of movement, her arm still in a cast though now it was blue.

"PARIS WAKE UP NOW!" Lex yelled at the top of his lungs as he threw the heavy drapes open, letting the early morning sun into her room.

Paris buried her head in her pillow and pulled the blanket over her head. "It's Saturday, leave me alone." She mumbled from under her cocoon.

Lex walked over to the bed and ripped the sheets off.

She turned her head to the side, keeping her eyes closed and yelled at Lex. "GO AWAY! I HAVE BEEN IN NEW YORK ALL WEEK AND I GOT IN AT 4:00 THIS MORNING I NEED MY SLEEP!"

Lex grabbed the remote off her night stand and turned her stereo on full blast. Paris shot up in bed, he heart beating rapidly in her chest. "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?" She yelled over the rock music blaring out of the speakers, and covered her ears, successfully whacking her left ear with her cast. "Ow."

"NO!" Lex yelled back. He sat down next to her so they could hear each other without shouting. "My father bugged the house, I've already found a bunch of cameras and microphones in my office. God knows what the rest of the place holds."

She tried to rub her eyes but only half succeeded, accidentally hitting herself in the face with her cast due to her lack of sleep. "Ow." She rubbed her left eye awkwardly with her right hand. "Why would he do that?"

"How pissed is he at us?"

"Good point. Okay minus the conspiracy theory, why the hell did you wake me up?"

"He just inched me out of a business deal at the 11th hour. I need you to check out my computer and see if he's installed anything on there."

"Lex I haven't done that in awhile."

"I know, but you're the only person I can trust to do it right."

"Alright let me get dressed."

----10 Minutes later Lex's office----

Paris was sitting behind Lex's desk examining his computer. "Alright he has an echo program attached to your e-mail, basically it sends him a copy of everything you send and receive. He's also downloading all your cookies."

"Okay the e-mails I understand but why the cookies?"

"Because he wants to know what else you're researching so he can get in before you do."

"Alright can you un-install it?"

"Yeah. It'll take me a few hours to do that, then I'll reconfigure your hard drive plus I have to re do all of your routers. Do you want the signal to bounce off Asia or Iceland?"

"Don't care." Lex said as he searched his office for more devices.

"Alright. I'm also putting up new fire walls and new security. You're going to be quadruple password protected. Unplug this thing from the internet once in awhile. Hey now what's this?"

"Something new?"

"Yeah. He's also looking through your portfolio and some other software. I'm going to use my computer to scan all your disks."

----Later that afternoon ----

The office is in a state of disarray--tables overturned or covered with objects from other parts of the room. Rock music blared from the speakers, Lex was tearing apart his bookcases, flinging the books to the floor. Glancing at a painting on the wall, Lex reached down and picked up a metal bar from his desk. He walked over to the painting and used the edge of bar to rip the canvas to shreds.

Clark opened the door, pushing a chair out of the way, and glanced around in confusion at the trashed office as Lex continued to rip apart the painting.

"Lex, what's going on?" Clark asked confused.

Lex glanced up, but didn't answer. He dropped the painting and put a finger to his lips, shushing Clark. Walking over to the stereo, Lex turned the music up several notches, then walked toward Clark.

"Big Brother is listening, or should I say "Big Daddy"?" He indicated to his desk. "These are just what I found so far." Several listening devices and tiny cameras were scattered across Lex's desk. Lex picked up one and showed it to Clark, who took it and examined it. "State of the art in high- tech surveillance. I'm going to have to bring in a team of experts to sweep the rest of mansion."

"What are you saying, your dad's spying on you?" Clark said with disbelief.

"I had the inside track on a multi-million dollar contract. At the last minute, LuthorCorp manages to underbid me. You do the math."

"Lex, you got to calm down..."

Lex got angry. "Don't tell me to calm down, Clark! How would you feel if someone were listening to every private word you uttered, learning all your secrets?"

Clark considered this for a moment, as Lex went back to trashing the office looking for bugs. Clark glanced around, and focused his X-Ray vision on Lex's bookshelves. His eyes widened at what he saw.

"Lex. These devices could be anywhere. They could be in the sofa cushions or the heating vents." Clark said worriedly.

"I already checked." Lex said dismissively.

"What about your stereo?"

Lex walked over to his bookshelf, and peered through the glass doors protecting the stereo system. He saw a hidden camera raised the metal bar in his hand and swung it toward the stereo.

Paris walked in balancing his computer on her casted hand still looking at the screen perplexed. "Lex there's a problem. He installed a few fail safes."

"What's that mean?"

"It means I tried to fix your computer and it's completely frozen, every time I try something new it just gets rejected or erased. I've already lost three CDs full of software to this thing. I've never seen anything like this. This is like the Labyrinth of computer technology."

"Well you have been out of practice."

Paris got defensive. "I'm not out of practice. This is high tech FBI, CIA shit. The government uses these programs to track suspected terrorists, alright. Bill Gates isn't cracking this. I'm sorry but your computer's toast." She shook her head.

"Well then there's only one thing to do." He walked up to her, grabbed the computer out of her hand, turned and threw it against the wall behind him, shattering the machine.

"Jesus Christ!" Paris yelled in surprise.

"Lex, are you alright?" Clark asked.

"I'm great Clark, never better." Lex said over cheerful. "Dude I'm getting a Dell." Lex said triumphantly as he went back to tearing the place apart.

Clark looked shocked by the entire scene. Paris walked over to Clark. "Clark you can go if you want to." She said softly.

"Are you sure?"

"We'll be fine."

"Alright. Give me a call if you need anything."

She nodded her head 'yes'. "Will do." There was a crash, Lex dropped a vase. When Paris turned around to see what fell behind her Clark did a quick X-Ray of the room. "It looks like he's gotten everything in here." Clark said as she turned around and looked at him confused.

Clark left them alone.

Paris walked over to a cabinet that Lex was currently pulling the contents out of.

"Lex." No answer. "Lex." She walked closer and stood next to him. "Lex!" She said a bit more forcefully, laying her good hand on his shoulder. "Lex stop this!"

Lex snapped out of his blind rage and looked at her. He thre his hands up in defeat. "How can I Paris? What am I going to do? I can't let him win." He leaned up against the book case and slid to the floor. "I can't win." He said sadly, his face was more pale than normal and he was panting from lack of breath, the adrenaline in his system had worn off leaving him exhausted.

Paris knelt down in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Lex look at me." He did. "We're going to figure this out. And we're going to make him pay for doing this to you."

"How?"

"I don't know but together we're smarter than him. We managed to outsmart him once, we can do it again."

Lex just nodded numbly.

"Alright. I'll get someone in here to clean this up. You get some sleep, you look worn out."

Lex shook his head 'no'.

"Yes. Just take a nap for an hour. I'll wake you up myself."

"Can I sleep on the couch in your office?"

"I'm going to be doing some work in there. Are you sure I won't disturb you?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He said, staring out into space.

"Sure. Let's go."

----Kent farm----

"Hey, Dad, you want me to make this extra crispy for you?" Clark asked, indicating to a plate of friend chicken.

"No thanks, but if I do say so myself, I've cooked this bird to a golden brown perfection, just the way your mother likes it."

"So how come you guys aren't going to Metropolis this year for your anniversary?"

"Well it seems to me last year while we were out of town a certain somebody had a party at our house?" Jonathan said dryly.

"Yeah, you know what, I think a picnic sounds perfect."

Martha came down the stairs, dressed in a business suit with a overnight bag in her hand. "So do I. But I can't go." She said, disappointedly.

Jonathan was shocked. "Wait--wait a minute. What do you mean you can't go?"

"Lionel just called. LuthorCorp's finalizing a major acquisition tomorrow, and he needs me to go with him to his Metropolis office to prepare."

"Didn't you tell him it's your anniversary, Mom?"

"I'll be back tomorrow night. We can celebrate then. Any restaurant you want."

"What are you going to do, put it on your LuthorCorp expense account?" Jonathan asked heatedly.

Martha sighed, she didn't have time for this no matter how much she knew he was right. "Oh, Jonathan. You can't make me feel any worse about it than I already do. I know how hard you worked planning today, but I don't have a choice. He's my boss."

"So, I'm your husband."

"Believe me, I'd much rather spend the day with you, but this job is important to me."

Jonathan: I never thought I'd see the day when this job was more important to you than this family.

"You know what? Dad's right. You shouldn't be working for Lionel Luthor anyway."

"Clark..."

"No. The only way that he got this major acquisition was by spying on Lex. Besides it's not like he's blind anymore, so he really doesn't need ANOTHER assistant."

"Clark! This is between your mother and I."

"Jonathan, how many times have you put this farm above our personal lives?"

"That is different, Martha."

"Why? I'm working toward the same goal--our family's financial security. I wish this job didn't bother you so much."

Martha looked between Jonathan and Clark before resigning to her decision. "I have to go."

----Lex's study----

After his nap and some lunch Paris managed to get Lex calm enough to talk to his father without throwing the old man out the window.

Lionel walked in, looking unimpressed with is son's request to see him. "All right, Lex. What's so urgent?"

Lex was standing on the level above the main office floor. Lex's tone was casual, too casual. "Remember the new American embassy in Moscow?"

"Uh-huh." Lionel wasn't taking the bait.

Lex came down. "It was so riddled with surveillance hardware, the State Department had to abandon it."

Lionel rolled his eyes. "I've got a meeting, Lex. I don't have time to chat about foreign affairs."

"Actually Dad the topic is domestic. I've discovered a bug problem right here in my very own home." Lex gestured to the office.

Lionel chuckled. "Hahaha. Corporate espionage? It's a fact of modern business, Lex. I'm surprised your security was so lax."

Lionel turned to leave the room.

"Still, it's hard to imagine how the perpetrator could have gained access to the mansion."

Lionel stopped where he was and sniffed the air. "Do I detect a faint whiff of innuendo?"

Lex walked to Lionel. "Of course not, Dad. I just wanted to congratulate you on winning that contract."

"Oh, is that what this is about? Making an excuse for your defeat? Hmm?" Lionel was amused. Lex just stared coldly. "Because I don't have time for excuses." Lionel continued to the door but stopped. "As for your bug problem, I suggest you call an exterminator."

As Lionel left Lex just stared at the door. Hic cell phone rang and he attached a voice device before answering. "This is Mr. Green."

On the other end. "I finished the appraisal that you requested, and we're ready to close escrow."

"How soon can you complete the transaction?" Lex's voice was distorted on the other end due to the device.

"Today. We're on site and ready to roll. We can get you full access to the property--audio and video. Do we have a go?" Lex didn't answer right away. "Mr. Green, are you there? Mr. Green?"

"Do it." Lex said firmly.

----Later on in casa de luthor----

Lex dialed a call but soon disconnected it when Clark walked in.

"Lex, what's the most romantic restaurant in Metropolis?"

"Well, I'm sure there are a lot of opinions on that Clark, but, uh, personally I'd have to go with Le Petite Fleur."

The two men walked down the hall and entered Lex's study.

"Think you could score me a reservation for tonight?" Clark asked, hopeful.

"Who's the lucky girl?"

"My mom. It's my parents' anniversary, and my dad had a picnic, but now she's in Metropolis with your dad."

Lex looked concerned at what Clark said. "They're in Metropolis? At LuthorCorp? On a Sunday?"

"Yeah. Can you believe that he makes her work on her anniversary?" Clark scoffed.

"To my father, there's no such thing as a personal life. Listen, Clark, since it is their anniversary, I think I could do you one better than the reservations."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well, if you'll excuse me a minute to make a few calls, I'll explain."

Lex exited the office.

----LuthorCorp. Towers that afternoon----

Inside of the building, Kern, the man Lex hired, and the team (Two men named Nicky and Pine, and a woman named Bishiop) were disguised as a cleaning crew, entered the offices and began to work planting bugs, tapping phone lines, and hacking into LuthorCorp's computer system. Kern's cell phone began to ring, and he answered it. "Kern."

"This is Green. I want you to terminate now."

"You realize you'll be forfeiting your deposit."

"There are people in the building. I want you all out."

"I understand." Kern hungs up his cell phone and turns to his crew. "Our client has cancelled the project. He believes there are people in the building. What are you doing?" Kern asked Pine who was walking toward a vault, holding a device.

"You think the rest of us broke into the office of one of the richest men in the world just to plant a few bugs? We ain't leaving this place until we empty that vault."

'Bishop. Nicky, how long have we worked together? We're not thieves, We were hired to do a specific job." Kern asked the rest of the crew.

Pine struck Kern hard in the back of the head with the remote. Bishop flinched as Kern fell to the ground unconscious.

"The job description's just been changed. Nicky go out and check the other offices. Bishop, get the torch."

----Lionel's office----

Lionel signed some papers and Martha gathered them.

Martha looked them over. "Okay." She said sadly.

"Martha?"

"Yes?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No. It's just when you said there was work that couldn't wait until Monday, I didn't think I'd be the only one here."

"I thought you'd like to work in your new office."

"New office? I-I don't understand."

"Look inside the top left-hand drawer of the desk."

Martha slid open the drawer. Inside is an ornate red box. She glanced at Lionel curiously before removing the box and setting it on the desk.

"Go ahead. Open it."

Martha opened the box to reveal an expensive looking gold watch with a diamond encrusted face, she gasped as she took it out of the box.

"Turn it over." Lionel said with a smile, a genuine one.

"To Martha, with deep affection, L.L."

"I'm promoting you, Martha, which means I'll be needing you more in Metropolis, which means you'll need someplace to work."

Martha shook her head in shock. "Lionel....I'm flattered, really, but...I can't accept this. And, as far as working in Metropolis, this job is putting enough strain on my family as it is."

Lionel reached over and lightly touched Martha's hand. "Martha, I know how much you've given up to be, uh, a farmers wife, but with your brains and your talent, don't you deserve to make your own ambitions a priority for a change?"

Martha shook her head, the weight of the situation confusing her. "We'll discuss it over dinner."

Before Martha could answer the office door burst open.

Nicky came in. "Hey lovebirds, wrong place, wrong time."

Martha looked between Lionel and Nicky, fearful.

"Get your hands up. Let's go! Get 'em in the air! Now!"

Slowly, Martha and Lionel raised their hands.

----Chez Kent----

Jonathan called up the stairs to Clark's room. "Clark. Clark! I don't suppose you have any idea why there's a helicopter parked in our front yard, do you?

Clark and Lex entered from the living room. "Lex is going to take you to Metropolis so you can take Mom to dinner." Clark tried to hand his dad the suit he had dry cleaned for him.

"Oh, so this was your idea, was it? Why am I not surprised?"

"Actually, it was Clark's. I just offered to provide the transportation." Lex said calmly, knowing Jonathan was about to snap.

Jonathan slammed his hand down on the table. "Look, I don't know how things work in your house, but around here, we think it's important to respect other people's privacy and family time. And so far, today, the Luthors have intruded on both."

"Dad!"

Lex cut him off. "It's all right, Clark. Mr. Kent, ever since the day I moved to Smallville, I've done nothing but try to be a friend to your family. And in return, you do nothing but lecture me with sanctimonious platitudes. I'm done listening to them, especially since you don't seem to follow them."

Lex and Jonathan stared at each other for a moment, before Lex turned and left the room.

"Dad, that was not fair." Clark said angrily.

"Everything was just fine in this family until we let the Luthors into our lives."

"That wasn't Lex's fault."

Jonathan's voice rose in anger. "I appreciate your concern, but it is not your job to fix everything!" Jonathan collected himself. "So just stay out of it." He left the kitchen, slamming the back door behind him.

----Back at LuthorCorp----

Bishop was using a blowtorch to cut through the door of the vault in the LuthorCorp offices. Kern was on the floor, tied up. Pine stood back, watching Bishop attempt to break into the vault. Nicky entered the office, pushing Martha and Lionel into the room.

"Hey, Pine, I got a little present for you. The Lionel Luthor."

"Good. He just saved us a whole lot of time. Get him to open the vault."

Kern spoke up from the floor. "It's too late, genius. You already burned the plate."

Pine and Kern glared at each other. Pine glanced over at Bishop, who silently confirmed that Kern was right.

Suddenly, a security alarm went off, beeping loudly. Pine walked over to the room's security monitors and checked them. "How the hell did the cops get tipped off?" Lionel shifted his hand, concealing a blinking light in his palm, and attempted to move whatever he had in his hand back up into his sleeve. Pine noticed the movement and stalked quickly over to Lionel. "What do you have in your hand?" Pine grabbed Lionel's hand and tried to force it open, but Lionel resisted and the two men struggled. "Open it up!"

"Stop it! Lionel, please." Martha pleaded.

Lionel stopped resisting and Pine pried Lionel's hand open. In Lionel's palm was a small silver cylinder, with a flashing red light. Pine held it up, examining it.

"Panic button. State of the art." Kern assessed.

Lionel gave a small, smug smile.

"Check him out." Pine instructed Nicky.

"Let's go." Nicky moved to frisk Lionel.

"A man in my position can never take too many precautions."

"Why don't you just let us go? You can avoid adding kidnapping to the breaking and entering charges!"

"You should listen to this woman. I find her advice invariably sound."

"I think he's all right." Nicky finished frisking Lionel.

"We should've gotten out when I said! If you'd kept to the plan, none of this would have happened!" Kern said, still in no position to be making demands.

Pine sighed, annoyed He pulled his gun from his waistband and turned around, and calmly shot Kern in the chest. Martha screamed and unconsciously jumped into Lionel's waiting arms. Nicky and Bishop both pulled their guns out and aimed them at Pine. Pine pulled out another gun and aimed one at Nicky, and one at Bishop.

"What the hell is the matter with you!" Nicky yelled.

"Are you crazy?!" Bishop yelled back.

"Shut up!" Pine yelled.

"You shut up!"

"What are you doing?!"

"Shut up!"

"Are you crazy?!"

"Shuuuuttt Uuup! Shut Up!"

"Drop it now!

"All right. All right all right all right...let's just settle down, Okay?"

"Drop it, Pine."

"Just relax, all right? Relax. Let's take it easy. I'm putting my guns down, all right?"

Pine slowly lowered his guns.

"We're just going to get the money, and we're going to get the hell out of here, all right?"

Bishop took a deep breath, then slowly lowered her gun. Martha clung to Lionel in fear. Pine turned back to Nicky, who still had his gun aimed at him. Pine and Nicky stared each other down for a moment, then Nicky slowly lowered his gun. Pine sighed relieved.

"Back to work on that vault." Pine instructed Bishop.

"You're wasting your time, you know. There's nothing in there of value to any of you." Lionel said, still holding onto Martha.

"You keep your eyes on them. We'll need them later for leverage."

----Kent living room----

A reporter was standing outside doing a live report, squad cars howled in the background.

"We are live at the LuthorCorp tower, where sometime earlier this afternoon, armed gunmen apparently entered the building and are now holding LuthorCorp chairman and CEO Lionel Luthor hostage."

Jonathan andCLark watched horrified.

"Along with at least one unidentified female employee."

Clark and Jonathan both stood up when they heard the news. Jonathan grabbed his jacket to leave.

Clark swallowed before speaking. "Mom."

"If anybody tries to hurt your mother..."

"I'm not going to let that happen."

"Clark! I'm not going to try and stop you, but I want you to be careful. Now, I'm going to follow you in the truck. I'll get there just as soon as I can."

"Dad, there's a faster way for you to get to Metropolis. You just have to talk to Lex."

Jonathan thought about it for a second.

-----LuthorCorp Tower----

Pine watched Bishop trying to cut through the vault. Nearby, Kern's cell- phone rang. Pine reached down and opened Kern's pocket and removed the phone. "Get him out of here." He said to Nicky. He went to the side and answered. "What."

"I hired you to bug an office not create a media circus!"

"Yeah, well, we ran into a little snag."

Lex didn't recognize the voice on the other end. "Who is this?"

"Tell you what, Mr. Green... you show me your caller ID and I'll show you mine."

"I want to talk to Kern, now."

"Yeah, well Kern's definitely not in charge anymore."

Pine ended the call leaving Lex angry. Jonathan slowly entered the study.

Lex looked up and saw him. "Mr. Kent. I take it you've seen the news?"

"If I hadn't been so bullheaded and...taken you up on your offer, Martha and I would probably be on our way to dinner. Instead...Lex I wasn't mad at you I was mad at the situation."

"Believe me, there's plenty of blame to go around."

"Lex, I was wondering..."

Jonathan hesitated, just looking at Lex trying to suck up his pride and ask for Lex's help without actually asking. Lex just stared back at him as they studied each other.

Jonathan tried again. "I was wondering if I..."

Lex gave in and didn't make him ask. "Sure, Mr. Kent. I'll give you a helicopter ride to Metropolis." Jonathan just nodded slightly. Lex picked up his phone and dialed Paris' line. "I'm going to Metropolis."

"I'm coming with."

----Meanwhile at the scene of yet another crime----

Police had put up barriers to keep the crowd back from the LuthorCorp building. Clark managed to slip past security. He studied the building, trying to think of a way in.

An Officer came up to him. "Young man, you too. Stay behind the barricades."

Clark did as he was told and walked away to try and find another route in.

----Inside the hostage situation----

Bishop completed cutting a hole in the vault door while Pine and Nicky talked.

"So, what are we going to do? They saw you kill Kern. They can ID us, Pine. And I for one am not going down for murder, you understand me?"

"We'll deal with them when the time comes." They walked over to the vault.

Lionel leaned over and whispered to Martha. "I know what you're thinking. If I hadn't asked you to work today, you'd be at home right now with your family."

Martha just shook her head 'No'. (Yeah right like she wasn't thinking DUH JACKASS!) "I don't blame you, Lionel. (tearfully) It's--it's just that Jonathan and I left on such bad terms." (She's such a softie)

"It's ironic. I had quite a row this morning too, with Lex. If they kill us, those will be the last words we ever spoke to each other."

"I hope you're not right about that."

Bishop tried to open the vault with a drill, to no avail. "Pine, it's yours."

Pine picked up a crowbar and a canister of chemicals off a nearby chair. Handing the crowbar to Bishop, he attached a thermostat to the vault, then sprayed the liquid nitrogen onto the metal where Bishop has drilled. Martha tried to see what was happening. Once the thermostat got near -300 degrees Celsius Pine stopped spraying and took the crowbar from Bishop. Hits the metal with the crowbar the chilled metal broke apart easily.

After opening the vault the group becam confused. "What the hell is this?" Pine asked angrily. The vault was filled with nothing but files of paper and some weird rocks.

----Outside----

Jonathan, Paris and Lex made their way through the crowd.

"Excuse me. Excuse me." An officer tried to stop Jonathan, but Lex waved him off.

"It's ok, it's ok." Lex assured the officer.

"Clark?" Jonathan asked, seeing his son in the crowd.

Sawyer: (Stepping between Jonathan and Clark) You know this kid?

Lex found Lieutenant Sawyer, whom he was supposed to contact. "Lieutenant Sawyer, my name is Lex Luthor...."

She cut him off. "I know who you are."

"I'd appreciate an update on the negotiations."

"This way. You stay here." She said pointing to Paris. "Starlets with trust funds have no place in the real world."

Paris just glared at her. 'Bitch', running through her head.

Sawyer leads Lex to the command center.

Jonathan wanted to talk to Clark privately. "Paris can I have a few minutes with Clark, alone? Family stuff."

"Sure." Paris wandered off.

"What happened?" Jonathan asked, expecting some good news.

"I've been listening to the police. I think I found a way into the building."

"Really? How?"

"You won't like it."

"Clark, tell me. I'll be the judge of that."

"Nobody's watching the Daily Planet." Clark said, glancing at the building next to them.

"You're not thinking about jumping."

"It's the only way."

"Clark, that's got to be over 200 feet."

"I can make it."

"You don't know that. Besides, don't you have a fear of heights?"

"If we're not here to get Mom out then why are we here?"

"Listen to me. I am just as concerned about your mother as you are, but we can't afford to make a mistake that could get her killed."

----Inside the office of no return----

Pine was pissed. "Where's the damn money! We didn't come here for no rocks!"

"I told you, there was nothing in there of interest to you."

Pine tossed the file folders to the ground, where they scattered across the floor.

"Check this out." Bishop said coming out of the vault. She handed Pine the octagonal disk.

"What's this for Luthor?"

"Rich man's paperweight."

"Schmuck."

----Above the building----

A helicopter continued to circle the building as Clark, Jonathan and Paris stood with Sawyer inside the police command center. Sawyer's cell phone rang.

She answered. "Sawyer, here."

"Where is my transportation?" Pine asked.

"I told you, I need a show of good faith first. You give me one of those hostages."

"Okay. Fine." Pine pulled his gun out of his waistband and roughly grabbed Martha off the couch and dragged her over to the window. He pointed the gun at her head. "You've got 10 minutes, then you can take this one out in a body bag."

"We're working on it. Stay cool up there. Stay cool."

Jonathan and Clark watched with fear and anger as they saw Martha on the feed from the helicopter's camera. Paris paled and ran in search of Lex. 'He's not losing his mother", she thought angrily as she ran.

----The roof of the Daily Planet----

Clark walked out of the service door on the top of the Daily Planet and surveyed the scene to make sure no one could see him. "There's no turning back now." He said determined.

----On the ground----

"Whatever you do, don't hurt any of the hostages. Just stay calm."

"Yeah, well how am I supposed to stay calm, huh? I open up that damn vault expecting to find my retirement fund, and instead I find a bunch of files, green rocks all cut up into bars!"

"What else was in there?"

"What's it to you?"

"Answer me, and maybe I can help you."

"I--just what I told you. Oh, and some metal octagon lookin' thing. Your old man says it's a rich man's paperweight."

It dawned on Lex what exactly Lionel had in the vault. "Listen to me. Pack up everything--the files, the bars, the octagon."

"Yeah, then what?"

"I know a way out of the building, but first you let the hostages go."

Pine hung up without answering Lex, pondering his choices.

---Clark the magnificent jumping farmboy----

Clark shook his hands back and forth and bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, gathering his energy up into one explosive burst. Fear and determination were written all over his face. In a burst of super speed, he ran toward the edge of the roof and flung himself toward the other tower. Clark crashed through one of the windows, landing against the office's opposite wall, cracking the plaster in the process. He looked at the broken window, grinning with amazement. He stood up dusting himself off and went to find Martha.

In Lionel's office, the security system started to scream.

"Pine. Better take a look at this. We got company." Nicky looked at the monitors.

"Check it out."

----Sawer, superbitch----

"A window just blew out on the 30th floor. Get the team together. We're going in. Let's go. Move it!" Sawyer ordered.

Lex was nearby, Paris still looking for him and being detained by several cops. He heard the news and called Pine. "What the hell's going on up there?"

"It sounds like the junk in that safe is worth something to you. Tell you what. I want a million dollars and I want a way out of here."

"You're in no position to negotiate."

"This is not a negotiation, all right? We get out of here or nobody does."

"All right, listen to me. Luthor has a private elevator. It's take you to a tunnel that leads to a garage three blocks away."

"Hey Lionel, you been holding out on me? Is there some kind of secret way out of here?"

"Oh, yes." Lionel said with a chuckle. Martha was not amused. "And whatever that anonymous coward, your Mr. Green, is offering... I'll double it. In exchange for our lives, and the contents of the safe."

"Hmm. Hear that Mr. Green? Looks like we got us a bidding war."

"Look, no matter what Lionel Luthor is promising you, you can't trust him!"

"Oh, but I should trust you--somebody who hides his own identity? I think I'd rather deal with Lionel."

"I'll match what he's offering. Just don't hurt them."

Pine just hung up on him again.

Lex closed his phone, further aggravated. "Don't hurt who, Lex?" Were you just talking to those men up there?" Jonathan asked, walking over to him.

"Mr. Kent, whatever I'm doing is in the best interests of your wife and my father, believe me."

Lex tried to walk away, but Jonathan grabbed his arm, roughly swinging him back around so that he and Lex were face to face.

"If I find out you had anything to do with what's going on out there, you will pray to God that you never set foot in Smallville, you believe me."

Lex pulled his arm away, looked at him for a moment, and quickly walked back to the command center as Jonathan stared after him in shock.

Paris ran up to Lex, almost out of breath. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you."

"Well you've found me. How have I disappointed you today?" He said sarcastically.

She just looked at him and shook her head in confusion. "Lex I can go in there."

"Are you out of your mind? This is not Die Hard." He said shocked and appalled. "Just because you've been in hostage situations in movies does not mean you know what to do in real life! I can't believe you even suggested it!"

"No you don't understand. Okay A: I'm a black belt. B: I'm a Foreign Dignitary's granddaughter. I am allowed certain diplomatic rights. I can't get sent to jail for shooting someone in self defense if the situation calls for it. The worst that can happen is I get deported and that's not likely."

"So."

"So I doubt they know that. Not only do I have diplomatic immunity, but if they hurt me."

"You mean kill you."

"Yeah, well if that happens, they can go directly to jail. Do not pass go do not collect $200. There's not even a trial."

"But...."

"But nothing. You make the trade. Martha and Lionel for me."

"No!"

"Yeah, you promise that if I go in you'll pay the ransom for Martha and Lionel and they can demand the ransom for me from my family."

"And if they shoot you?"

"No, I can shoot them. Immunity remember? I don't get hurt or go to jail. And your dad and Martha are free."

"No. I'm not risking your life to clean up my mess."

"But..."

"No way! NO FUCKING WAY!" He shouted, starting a shouting match.

"WELL IT WAS AN IDEA!"

"IT WAS HALF BAKED!"

She lowered her voice and whispered harshly. "This whole thing was half baked. I have immunity and I am well protected not to mention insured. I was only trying to help."

Lex whispered just as harshly at her. "Well stop! Next time you feel the need to put yourself in danger go sky diving, not into a hostage situation. And if a trade ever did need to be made I would be trading my father's life for yours, not the other way around."

"I'm a big girl Lex."

"Your actions these past few weeks dictate otherwise, just look at your wrist."

"Go to hell."

----Inside, away from the dueling trust fund babies----

Nicky make his way through the hallways, gun drawn, looking for the intruder. After hearing a woosh, sending papers flying, Nicky turned around to find Clark behind him. Clark grabbed Nicky around the neck and shoved him against the wall, choking him.

"Where's my mom? Where is she?!"

Nicky couldn't speak from the force of Clark on his throat.

----The MB negotiates----

"So, as soon as the banks open, I'll have the money wired to, uh, any account you choose, anywhere in the world." Lionel said calmly.

"All right. We got a deal."

"Good."

"But I'm hanging on to everything until I get that money."

"All right."

Pine grabbed the cleaning cart the team used to disguise the equipment they were bringing in. Bishop, pack up the stuff in the vault."

"So, now are you going to tell me who's on the other line?"

"You'd probably know better than me. Why don't you think who your enemies are?"

Lionel shook his head with a rueful smile.

Pine pointedthe gun at Martha. "Come on lady, you can help out! Pick up the files! Come on!"

Martha began gathering the files. She grabbed the file marked 'Clark Kent', making sure Pine wasn't looking, she opened it.

"Today. Come on! Pick 'em up, put 'em in the barrel with the rest of the stuff!"

"O-Okay. I'm picking them up..."

Martha did as she was told. "All right, that's good. Get over there with your boss, or whatever he is to you."

Lionel leaned over and whispered to her. "Martha. The octagonal disk-- where is it?"

"I don't know. Why is it so important?"

"Come on, time's up. Let's go, move." Pine said as he pointed the gun at them.

Suddnely the power went out. "What the hell happened?" Pine yelled in the darkness.

"The cops cut the power! We have got to go!" Bishop said before running to the door.

"Bishop, don't!" Pine called after her.

Bishop just made it to the door as Clark threw it open and punched her in the face, sending her flying. She fell into Pine, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Pine lost the gun and it landed by Lionel.

"Clark, get out of here now!" Martha screamed. Clark weakened as the rocks began to glow. "Clark!" Clark fell down in pain. "Clark!" Martha continued to scream.

"Are you alone?" Pine asked, grabbing Clark. "Answer me! Are you alone?"

Martha rushed over and started shoving the cart of meteor rocks back into the vault. Pine saw what Martha was doing. He tired to stop her from shutting the door but was too slow, as he reached his arm in the door was shutting. A crunch filled the room followed by a scream from pine. "Arghhhh!" Martha dragged him away from the vault and shoved him against the wall.

"Clark! Clark!" She ran over to Clark. "Clark, are you alright?"

"Lady, you and the kid get up!" Martha and Clark looked up and saw Pine on the other side of the room holding Lionel hostage, with a drill running and aimed at Lionel's temple. "Put your hands over your head or I kill the old man."

Clark supersped over, knocking the drill out of Pine's hands. Grabbing Pine's shirt with Pine grabbing back, Clark prepared to punch him. A gunshot filled the room. Pine's eyes went wide before sliding out of Clark's grip. Lionel stood where Pine was, with Pine's gun. Martha walked over and assessed the situation. "He's dead."

Lionel went to his desk to put the gun away. "Clark! Those files over there--burn them. There's one about you. We can't let it get out." Martha whispered.

Clark burned the files as told. Martha searched Pine's pockets until she found the disk, slipping it into hers.

----Downstairs it's all alright----

Martha ran ahead of everyone in search of her husband. She finally found him standing behind the police barricade. She ran toward him as he broke through. They hugged and kissed.

Lex and Paris were standing waiting for the group. Lex walked up to Clark. "Clark, how did you get inside?"

Lionel walked up behind Clark and clapped his hand on his shoulder. "The boy's resourceful, Lex. What difference does it make how he did it? He saved us. That's what's important. Paris so nice of you to join us this fine evening."

"Yeah well I went for a jog and found a hostage situation. Gotta love big cities."

Clark just looked nervous like someone was about to open fire. Lionel dropped his hand. Clark left.

"Dad. I want you to know I was doing everything I could to secure your release."

"Oh, I'm sure you did a great deal." Lionel leaned in and whispered something to Lex. "There is a saying that one day the student shall surpass the teacher. Lucky for me I don't have to worry about that with you around." Lionel chuckled and walked away, leaving Lex shocked.

Lex put his hands in his coat pockets and slowly lowered his head. Everyone managed to get out of the building safely. Lex was pretty sure he would be on Jonathan Kent's permanent shit list if he found out who hired those guys in the first place. Paris was standing next to him not moving a muscle, just observing. Lex saw the Kent's embracing and a pang of jelousy hit him like a jab to the gut. When all was said and done it was just him and Paris standing outside a big building on a cold night.

Paris looked over and saw her friend standing defeated and heart broken, she knew he saw the Kent's family unit and longed for one of his own. Not to mention whatever heartfelt words Lionel had just said to him. No matter how much money he had, Lex never had a proper family life and tonight was just another glaring example of that sad fact.

She turned to him, he wouldn't look her in the eye. She reached up and hugged him, knowing that's what he needed.

Lex was relived to have contact with her. She always knew what he needed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her shoulder, hugging her tightly. It was awhile before he spoke. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"It's alright." Paris hugged him tighter.

"No it's not. If you or Helen were in that building. I would have never forgiven myself. Mrs. Kent didn't do anything to anyone."

"I know you didn't mean to put anyone in danger. But remember, your father started this game, not you. And when it's finished, when we finish it, he will lose."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Call it woman's intuition."

Lex chuckled. "Let's go home."

They walked to the helipad together.

----The Kents the next day----

Martha walked down the stairs with a piece of paper in her hand. Jonathan and Clark were in the kitchen drinking coffee.

"What's that?" Jonathan asked.

"It's my resignation. There's no way I can keep working for Lionel. He had refined meteor rocks in his vault, a file on Clark...I can't believe I trusted him."

"Without that file, at least the police can't find out anything about me."

"To think I made this job such a big priority, and Lionel may have only hired me to learn more about Clark."

"I'm sorry, Mom. I know how important your work has been to you."

"It's not more important than you."

"Wait. Are you sure that this is the best thing to do? Quit, I mean."

"What do you mean? I thought you'd be happy about it."

"If you hadn't been working for Lionel, then we'd have no way of knowing that he was keeping tabs on Clark."

"So, instead of staying away from him..." Martha smiled playfully.

"Maybe we should take a page out of the Luthor playbook."