Calling of the blood
Part 5: Best laid plans
The large black van pulled into the warehouse just before dusk, the old metal door clanging down behind it. Leather stepped out the driver's door, his dusty brown overcoat swaying as he walked round the back and opened the door.
"It's about time too!" a deep, rumbling voice came from inside. "Why couldn't we have flown? It would have been quicker."
"Dowling insisted that we do everything we can to keep this low-key. Snow has both of his field teams here, and I for one do not want to have to deal with that right now."
"Wimp." The dark shape hidden in the shadows stepped forward. "I've not had a chance to kill anyone for ages…"
Clark made his way through the forest, looking for Chloe in the growing gloom of twilight. He tried to use his x-ray vision, but it proved useless in the dense undergrowth.
"CHLOE!" He yelled out at the top of his lungs, "WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Oh this is so not good…" The Drummer looked at his computer screens. Reaching for his phone with one hand, he hit the speed dial.
"Snow." The voice on the other end answered.
"I just intercepted a highly encrypted burst communication from somewhere in Smallville."
"Anyone we know?"
"It was on an old Artemus frequency."
"The Four. What are they here for?"
"I can't confirm anything until I've decrypted it fully, but I can tell you that the word 'Sullivan' was used at least twice."
"Oh my god; Chloe!"
"Yeah, best guess is that it's a snatch squad sent to grab her. If she's as powerful as Jenny was…"
"Dowling would have a powerful ally to call on. We cannot let that happen!"
"I'll tell the others to be on the look out."
"Excuse me, Mr Sullivan?" A soft voice disturbed Gabe Sullivan, as he was about to open his front door. "I was wondering if I may have a word with you."
"This isn't a good time." Gabe Sullivan looked round.
"It is about your daughter," the young man standing at the end of his garden path said, "and the company she keeps."
"Who are you?" Gabe asked, walking down his porch steps.
"My name is William Leather. I work for the government. We're investigating Elijah Snow and his 'Planetary' organization."
"Who are you? IRS?"
"National Intelligence Agency." Leather pulled out an ID card and flashed it. "We think he may be responsible for several terrorist acts around the globe… the most public being the destruction of the Hark Corporation building in Seattle four years ago."
"You think that Elijah may have been involved in that?"
"His 'team' was seen at the bombsite just hours after it happened. He had his people secure the area under the guise of local government officials. Is this the sort of man you want your daughter spending time with?"
"I've known Elijah for almost 20 years. He gave my wife away at our wedding!"
"How well do you truly know him?"
"You need to go now." Jenny looked down at Chloe, who was sitting curled up at her mother's side. "Your father is in grave danger, and the others will need your help."
"Dad!" Chloe's eyes opened wide, then she looked up at her mother. "But I don't want to go! It's safe here! Can't Daddy come here?"
"I wish he could sweetie… I wish he could. But this is something only you and I can share."
"Will I ever see you again?"
"I'll be here when you need me." Jenny kissed Chloe on the forehead as a bright light enveloped them. "I am so proud of you…"
Clark looked around the clearing. He'd looked everywhere he could think of, but Chloe was nowhere to be seen, and it was starting to get dark, the storm reaching new heights as it threatened to unleash a new deluge on Smallville.
"GABE!" Snow called out as he got out of his car near the Sullivan home. "GET IN THE HOUSE, NOW!"
"Elijah?" Gabe Sullivan looked round. "Just what the hell is going on around here?"
"Now this is interesting." Leather smiled as a bright white flame enveloped his body. "Jacob, care to come out and play?"
"About time!" A deep, rumbling voice came from the back of the same truck that Leather had arrived in. The rollup door on its back was ripped away be some unimaginable force from inside.
"Oh hell…" The Drummer looked at the feed coming from the camera attached to Snow's car and dropped his drumsticks. He grabbed his radio and hit the emergency frequency. "CODE RED! EVERYONE TO THE SULLIVAN RESIDENCE, NOW! CODE RED!"
"Are you high again?" The Midnighter asked over the open link.
"I wish I was. Leather and Greene have Elijah cornered."
"I'm two blocks away!" Jakita reported. "I'll be there in under a minute. Where is everyone else?"
"Apollo and Jack are about the same distance, but in the other direction." The Drummer looked at the electronic map of Smallville on the wall. "Angie is at the hospital, Shen is keeping watch on that Kent kid, and god only knows where Jeroen is!"
"God dammed brain-fired slacker!" The Midnighter spat. "I'll wring his neck for this!"
"I take it your little reunion was constructive?" Jeroen asked as he walked up to Jenny.
"Constructive was not what I was going for." Jenny smiled. "It was good to see her again. Leaving her was the hardest thing I've ever done. Thank you for helping arrange this."
"It was the least I could do after all you did for me. I must admit though, I was a little surprised to find that part of you was missing when I read Jenny Quantum's aura…"
"We all have our little secrets." Jenny smiled, sitting back on her rock and lighting a fresh cigarette. "Consider this one of mine…"
Clark heard the sound of something swooping down through the air and was grabbed by the shoulders and lifted into the air before he could look round.
"Relax and stop struggling!" Shen yelled out, trying to be heard above the storm as she carried the startled youngster towards Smallville. "We have a little problem and could use your help."
"Um, ok…" Clark nodded, too shocked at the appearance of a winged woman who seemed able to carry him through the air at high speed with little or no effort.
Chloe woke to find herself laying on the forest floor. The clothes she had worn when she ran from the hospital were gone, replaced by a white linen suit and Union Jack T-shit. She blinked as she recognised it from an old family photograph as one of her mother favourite outfits.
Lightning struck the ground all around her, and Chloe felt invigorated like never before. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, immersing herself in the raw energy of the storm, letting it wash over her.
Chloe opened her eyes, sparks of electricity playing across her irises. A single giant lightning bolt seemed to erupt out of the ground, and Chloe was gone.
To Be Continued…
