Part I
Chapter Three: Settling In and Settling Down
Note: Readers should be aware that my original character David Aden is loosely based on an existing character from Dark Angel called Alec. Fans of Dark Angel will know that Alec was played by the fabulous Jensen Ackles back in the days. Fans of Smallville will know that Jensen Ackles is currently playing Jason Teague on the show.
I just want to let readers know that I created the character David Aden (with Jensen Ackles in mind) long before anyone knew he would be starring in Smallville. While I hope that readers will be able to easily distinguish David Aden from the character Jason Teague, I don't want there to be any confusion. The character David Aden is in no way related to the televised show, but is my own creation. Jason Teague also has absolutely nothing to do with this fic.
Thank you.
Lana Lang stared down at the account books in front of her in mild irritation. Forehead resting against her hand she exhaled loudly and reached out for the small calculator beside her. Agitated, she punched in a complex sum, pen flickering wildly in her right hand as she did so, and finding the final answer unsatisfactory, she slammed the pen down and leaned back in her chair.
The world hated her today. She was sure of it. Not only did the account books not add up, but her planning permission for the new coffee house she wanted to open outside the centre of Metropolis had been delayed and Lana had been informed that she would not be able to start building for a few more months. On top of that her birthday plans were falling to pieces. Nell had phoned to let her know that she would not be attending her twenty-first birthday party. Nell's husband had booked them a surprise cruise for their anniversary and because it was the only time Dean could get time off work, she'd felt it was unfair to cancel on her husband. Nell had apologised profusely, claiming that she would make it up to Lana when she got home, but by then Lana hadn't really cared. A few hours earlier she'd been politely informed by her father, Henry Small, that he would not be attending her birthday, just as he never did. Henry disliked Lana's husband (guilty by association, as he put it), always had, and her twenty-first birthday was not about to change anything. They'd have their own separate celebration, just like they always did, and Lana would have no choice but to be satisfied with the small amount of time they would be spending together. After all, it didn't happen very often.
But the fact was that Lana missed her family and her friends. Though she never spent a huge amount of time with Henry anyway, due to the fact that his wife, Jennifer, often felt threatened by their relationship, she still missed him. He was more involved in her life than he had been back in Smallville, but most of the time Henry refused to acknowledge that Lana had a life past their relationship. He wasn't necessarily ignorant of it. It was more that he did not like to discuss it. He disliked her husband, her home, her business. The times that Henry drove the three-hour journey to Metropolis to see her, they talked about everything but her husband, her home and her business.
Nell, on the other hand, talked about nothing but. She'd been over the moon when Lana had married and she'd been even more ecstatic when she'd learned of her moving to Metropolis. Once Lana had had time to get used to married life, she and Nell had been inseparable, until Lana had ventured into the business world once again, opening numerous coffee shops around Metropolis, each one a mimic of the original Talon. Life had been hectic for a while then. Finding married life a little more laidback than she'd expected, Lana had desperately needed something to fulfill her time. She'd needed something to do.
It had been Nell's suggestion that she re-open the Talon here, in Metropolis. With more than enough money to do so, Lana had done just that and things had gotten better from there. Surprisingly, even in a large, industrial city like Metropolis, the small, intimate coffee shop had done exceedingly well. By then Lana had found the feeling of excitement and exhilaration of owning her own, successful business in a big city addictive and was permanently hooked. It hadn't been like that in Smallville. The Talon had been a struggle to run then, and Lana had been under constant pressure to keep it above water. After all, it had been established in a small town with a small population, the majority of which were unconcerned with a coffee shop that had been, more often than not, overrun with youngsters. So after her second venture into the business world had proved a little more successful and a little less work on her part, she'd become hooked. Two more coffee shops had followed and now Lana was working on her fourth.
Well, she would have been if her planning permission hadn't been delayed. That was one more thing for her to worry about, another problem in her already hectic life. It was a problem she didn't need right now, not with her birthday fast approaching, but there wasn't a lot she could really do about it. She refused to throw money at the problem like her husband often did, because Lana actually liked knowing that she had to work for things. She enjoyed the buzz she got at the end of it all, because she knew then that her business success was nothing to do with money and prestige, and more to do with her own hard work. And she was incredibly proud of that achievement.
In fact, if Lana were perfectly honest with herself she would admit that her life wasn't all that bad. Overall Lana was quite content with her comfortable, easy life. She was just having a bad day today. She was only in a foul mood because it had been so long since she'd seen any of her friends and family. With the business keeping her busy she and Nell had spent less and less time together and she'd had fewer opportunities to travel to Smallville to visit her father and her friends. Both Clark and Pete still lived in Smallville, where they attended Smallville Community College. Lana met up with them every chance she got and on occasion her husband would tag along, too. Sometimes they even went for dinner at the Kents.
But it had been a while since she'd done any of those things. She hadn't seen Clark or Pete in months and it'd been a few weeks since she'd had the chance to see Nell. She just hoped that her friends wouldn't cancel on her like her aunt and her father had. If she couldn't have her family at her twenty-first she at least wanted her closest friends there.
Lana sighed and rubbed at her eyes tiredly. She heard the door click open behind her but she didn't bother to turn round. She knew who it was.
"I don't know why you insist on doing the books yourself," Lex's voice came from behind her. "That's what accountants are for."
Lana rose from her chair and turned to face her husband. She smiled gently. "I like doing the books myself, Lex. You know I do." It made her feel like she was actually a part of the business instead of just its owner. While she never had time to run the shops herself, she always made it her priority to be personally involved in the running of the Talon. She liked having a say.
Lex smiled back, hands buried in the pockets of his light grey slacks. They looked every bit the married couple with Lana standing opposite him in a light grey trouser suit. Numerous people often commented on what a perfect match they made; worldwide magazines and newspapers constantly preached about what a beautiful couple they were. They'd been voted Most Beautiful Couple and Best Matched Celebrity Couple two years in a row and secretly Lana enjoyed the attention they attracted. Because the media were right. They did make a beautiful couple. Appearance wise, anyway. Behind closed doors things weren't as beautiful or as perfect as she'd first thought they'd be, but Lana had learned to accept the fact. She was sure that given time their problems would work themselves out. They were, after all, still young. The attention they attracted served to keep her faith intact, because if their friends and the public both believed they had chemistry, then surely they did? Maybe once they had both settled things on the business front for a while they would have more time for each other. Then they could begin investing more energy into their marriage. She was certain that was all they needed to do.
"We've been formally invited to attend the Metropolis Charity Ball next Friday night," Lex finally said. "In other words they want me to play guest of honour; flash my money and my wife, and then go home." Lex smiled knowingly to himself. "I thought it only fair that I forewarn you."
"Well, I appreciate the warning," she said, smiling lightly and tucking a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear. "I'll need to ring Marie and let her know we can't make it to dinner."
Lex frowned and then breathed, "Shit," quietly, causing Lana to frown. Lately he'd taken to swearing, though he did not use such language often. Still, it bothered her a little.
"I forgot we were having dinner with the Davidsons Friday."
"I'm sure they won't mind. They know business comes first, Lex. Marie's husband will tell you that herself."
Lex nodded, but the sombre expression darkening his features never lifted. It was a look Lana had been seeing a lot lately and more than once she'd been tempted to ask him what was wrong. But she knew he would not confide in her. He would not tell her if something was bothering him, no matter how many times she asked. Maybe a few years ago he might have, when their relationship was still new and exciting and simple, but things were different now and Lex made it his job to keep himself to himself. It was a lesson he'd learned from his father and though Lex liked to pretend he was nothing like his sire, she would occasionally catch glimpses of Lionel in her husband.
Luckily Lex was not his father's son in most senses and Lana prayed that he never would be. While he'd undoubtedly inherited Lionel's business acumen, his intelligence and his need for emotional distance, he was still very much his own person. Even though Lana occasionally caught glimpses of Lionel in Lex, she also caught glimpses of his own, individual traits. For one, Lionel remained constantly and frustratingly apathetic in every aspect of his life while Lex did not. Most of the time, anyway. Despite his reluctance to get close to people, Lex was still considerate of their feelings. He looked after the people he cared about, like Clark and the Kents. He'd even taken care of Chloe when her father had died, and he'd offered Lana a place to live when Chloe had fled, leaving her homeless.
Lex was deeply loyal to his friends, although on occasion he slipped and made mistakes. During their first few months together he'd told her about his investigation into Clark's past and the reasons behind it. She'd been angry at first, but then he'd explained to her that after his return from the island he'd dropped the investigation, no longer plagued by the constant need for answers. His priorities had changed since he'd spent three months on that island, he'd told her, and Lana had guessed that it had also had something to do with his previous wife's death. Lex had never told her exactly what had happened to Helen Bryce but she did know that the young doctor had died tragically, leaving Lex distraught and irrevocably changed.
Nowadays he remained steadfastly devoted to his friends, though they were few and far between. He protected them, supported them and made sure they lived easy, comfortable lives. The Kents had long since accepted him as a permanent fixture in their family and in their home and occasionally Lana would admit to herself that she was slightly jealous of Lex's closeness with Clark and the Kents. She and Clark had broken up just after his three-month disappearance almost three years ago and for months after that it had frustrated her that Clark would not let her in, that he would not trust her completely with his secrets. She wasn't sure if Lex had ever been privy to Clark's secrets but she knew that the two men shared a closeness that she and Clark never had or ever would. They trusted each other explicitly and after three, long years of having to prove himself to the Kents, they had finally learned to trust him, too. And because of this the couple were al! ways invited to stay with the Kents' whenever they visited (Lionel had reacquired the mansion when Lex had moved back to Metropolis. Purely to piss Lex off, of course.).
During these times Lana would learn to push aside her jealously in favour of her friends. She would enjoy their company for the short time they stayed there, for her sake as well as Lex's. He very rarely took a break from his work, especially since LexCorp was still in its early years despite doing so well, so whenever Lex had the chance to step back and take a breather, he did so in Smallville. Though Lex had never truly belonged in the small town, he seemed most at home there and Lana was not one to deny him of the few pleasures he had in life. Filthy rich he may have been, but her husband still enjoyed the simple things in life, as did she.
They'd chosen to move to Metropolis for a number of reasons. One, the town had not been very accepting of her and Lex's relationship. Many of the citizens had made it perfectly clear what they thought of the young billionaire. They did not like the fact that he was shacking up with an eighteen-year-old girl (though she'd originally been seventeen when she'd moved in with Lex). And not just any girl; Lana Lang, local sweetheart and town innocent. According to the community of Smallville, Lex was nothing but a big, bad wolf, out to destroy a perfectly naive, innocent young girl. She and Lex had known differently, of course, but eventually they'd grown tired of the hostility. They wanted nothing more than a quiet, peaceful life, so they'd both agreed that it would be best to move to Metropolis. It wasn't exactly the ideal place for a quiet, peaceful life, they knew, but at least there they wouldn't be criticised for their relationship.
In the end it had turned out that their relationship was, in fact, not criticised, but worshipped. People adored them; the bright-eyed, innocent sweetheart and the handsome, respectable billionaire, joined together by tragedy and a smidgen of heartache. A homeless teenager, rescued by the likes of a rich and generous playboy. It was a modern-day fairytale and the public ate it up.
Lana just found it funny. The media never bothered to mention that she'd known Lex long before she'd found herself homeless and without a guardian. They also never bothered to mention that at the time Lex had also been taking care of her surrogate sister, Chloe Sullivan, when her father and Lana's guardian, Gabe, had died. They didn't mention it because the public wasn't interested in those little tidbits. All the media were interested in were Lex-and-Lana, the fairytale couple. The marriage that everyone dreamt about.
If only they knew.
The other reason they had chosen to move to Metropolis was because Lex had started to get restless. Tired of working under his father's hand he'd been desperate to start his own business again, to re-open LexCorp, this time in Metropolis where it was likely to be more successful, both economically and financially. He'd also known that moving the business to Metropolis would have reduced the chances of him being overthrown by his father. After all, Lionel had not owned any banks in the city like he had in Smallville, and would therefore have been unable to threaten or manipulate any of the board members by fiddling with their loans and their investments.
So, with nothing really keeping the pair in Smallville (bar Lana's friend, whom she'd been reluctant to leave), they had decided it would be their best bet to move to Metropolis. Lana had also been tempted by the idea that she would be nearer to Nell and at the time she'd found herself missing her aunt more than she'd thought she would.
A month later they were married in Smallville's only church and afterwards they finally made their move. And here they were, two and a half years later.
"How about we eat out for dinner today?" Lex suddenly said. "I'm tired of eating here."
Lana shook her head. She wasn't in the mood for raving fans and flashing cameras today. She just wanted a peaceful afternoon. "I can't. I need to finish these books by the morning. I need to ring my lawyer, too, find out what's going on with the planning permission for the new coffee shop." She gazed at her husband apologetically. "Rain check?"
Lex simply nodded. "I'll be in my office if you need me. I have work to do." He turned and headed for the door.
"Don't work too hard," she teased, but he was already gone, slipping out of her office and closing the door silently behind him.
Lana sighed. Something was definitely wrong with her husband. He'd been like this for several weeks now and Lana was determined to find out what was bothering him.
Her mind made up, the young brunette settled back into her chair and returned to the task at hand.
Mark Sanderson stepped into the high-rise apartment with increasing trepidation. Nervously shifting the backpack on his left shoulder he followed David through into what he assumed was the living area; a luxuriously decorated room that screamed money with its warm colours, low lighting and expensive-looking furniture. Mark spotted the hi-tech entertainment system immediately and grinned despite himself. This guy was impressive. He'd been expecting a low-maintenance studio apartment like Chloe's but so far there was nothing low-maintenance about David's place.
He followed the older man through the lounge into an adjacent room, which was half the size and decorated even more cosily than the first. It was not so much a room as an alcove, with rich, silk throws covering the floor and large, soft cushions piled into the far corner. Bathed in the same low lighting as the lounge, the little room looked liked the perfect place to relax and the teenager found himself growing tired just looking at it.
But David was already carrying on, out of the alcove and into a small, dark hallway. The older man paused at the first door they reached and turning to look at Mark over his shoulder, he said, "The kitchen", and pushed the door open, revealing to Mark that it was, in fact, a kitchen. It was a little more modern than the rest of the apartment, with stainless steel surfaces and deep mahogany cupboards. A large, double-door fridge stood proudly in the corner and Mark had no doubt that it was probably filled with enough food to last them several months.
Past the kitchen was the dining room, which was separated with a simple, frosted glass divider. Mark noted an elegant glass dining table sitting in the centre of the room and guessed that it probably hadn't been used for a long time, if ever.
Even further past the dining room was a set of glass double doors, which Mark could see led out onto an impressive looking balcony. Though it was pitch-black outside he could still make out the terracotta slabs of the pavement and the blooming plants that lined them. The railings were even covered in crawling ivy.
"That leads right around the house," David interrupted his train of thoughts. "If you follow it round it'll take you to your room."
They didn't take the balcony way around to his room. Instead David led him out of the kitchen and further down the hall to another door, which he opened immediately, allowing Mark to step past him.
"And this is your room," he said, but Mark barely heard him. He was too busy gazing at his surroundings, taking in the large, four-poster bed, the unlit fireplace and the entertainment system in the corner. His eyes drifted to the balcony doors that David had said would be there, and with another flicker of his eyes he saw another door a few metres from his bed. He moved to peer through the open door and found an en suite bathroom waiting for him.
Grinning wildly, his earlier fears forgotten in the wake of his excitement, Mark turned to look at David. "How do you afford all this?" he asked breathlessly.
David, who was leaning lazily against the doorframe, smirked. "Let's just say that I get paid very well for what I do. Very well." He moved to a standing position and stepped further into the room. "Watch what you're doing in here, though. Chloe likes to crash here sometimes and I doubt she'll be pleased if you start beating all her high scores on the Playstation."
"Chloe plays the Playstation?"
"Every chance she gets." David leaned in towards him and, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, said, "Don't tell her I told you, but the little vixen is a games addict. Personally I think she's got a thing for Lara Croft, but you didn't hear that from me."
Mark laughed lightly and settled himself down on the end of the bedhis bed. His eyes swept over his surroundings again and then redirected themselves towards David.
"Does she stay here a lot?" he asked, suddenly curious to know about the young blonde who had spent so much time trying to bring down the bane of his life.
"Chloe? No, not a lot. I only got this place just over two and a half years ago. When I first met her I was living in a hellhole on the city outskirts. She lived with me for a while, then. Well, she didn't exactly live with me, more like camped out on my sofa for six weeks after she lost her apartment." Mark saw the blonde man smirk to himself but he quickly recovered and moved to fiddle with a small gadget on the cabinet near the door. "But that was the only time we really spent a lot of time together in one apartment. She stays here occasionally. Maybe once every few months when she's worn herself down and can't be bothered to travel all the way back home. She considers staying here a luxury and once you get to know Chloe you'll learn that she's not big on the luxuries. Apart from that four-poster of hers." David looked at him. "My doing, of course. The first time she stayed here was the first time she ever got more than three hours sleep so after that I surprised her ! with a foster-poster bed of her own. Not that she sleeps in it much, anyway. Chloe's like me. In bed by eleven, up by one and awake for the other twenty hours of the day."
Mark nodded. He could sense that David had a soft spot for the young blonde. It was obvious by the way he spoke about her, the way his features lit up. He and Chloe were either really good friends or David was hopelessly in love with the girl. The look on the older man's face suggested the latter and Mark knew that look well. After all, he'd worn it himself many a time. His girl, Alise, made him smile in just the same way.
Then, suddenly, a thought occurred to him and ever curious, he asked, "What happened to her, anyway? Why is she so determined to ruin Lionel Luthor?"
David stared across at him, his gaze a little darker than it had been. The look made him seem like a teenage boy himself and had Mark not known how old he truly was, he would have considered David not that much older than himself.
"That's Chloe's story to tell. I'm sure she'll share it if you ask her."
"Right," Mark said, smiling slightly. Not knowing what else to say he went back to studying his surroundings, noticing small things he had not noticed before. Like the small device attached to the wire of the phone beside his bed. A scrambler, he guessed. So no one would be able to track David down if the line was bugged.
What kind of job did David have, exactly? he thought, puzzled. Obviously a dangerous one if the scrambler was any indication. Mark had yet to hear the finer details of David's involvement in the mission and by now he had a strong sense that the man was a vital part of the operation. People, most probably Lionel's people, were undoubtedly trying to track him down, trying to discover who, exactly, was digging into Lionel's life. No wonder David lived at the top of his building with high-security surveillance constantly keeping an eye out for any intruders.
It must be a shitty way to live, Mark thought. Having to watch your back twenty-four-seven, waking up every morning in fear that the day might be your last. I could never live like that.
And then, suddenly, Mark realised with disturbing clarity that he did live like that. He and his mother had lived in fear for nearly three years, too afraid to truly live in case they stepped out of line and upset Lionel Luthor himself. They hadn't been living, he knew now, they had simply been existing, waiting for the day that Lionel would shoot them down and end their misery.
And now? Now it was finally going to end. Or he hoped it was. Chloe and David were going to bring Lionel down to his knees and make sure that the bastard would not have the chance to hurt anyone ever again, he and his mother included. But though he felt a small slither of elation at the thought, Mark couldn't help but feel that he was trading one dangerous life for another. He was still under risk of being discovered, even more so than he had been. Now there was an even greater chance, a greater possibility, that he would die for the sake of this mission. The thought made Mark shiver. He clamped his eyes shut and prayed.
"How about we go eat?" David suddenly suggested, tearing Mark from his thoughts again. He peered up at the older man and nodded gently, reluctantly rising from the bed. With one final glance towards the phone he followed David to the kitchen, all the while asking himself what he'd gotten himself into.
By the following morning Lex had a full report on Chloe Sullivan and her previous history waiting for him on his desk. The previous evenings search had not provided him with much information on the young blonde; a few, typical statistics, birth records, high school grades etc. Normal, every day things that Lex already knew or wasn't particularly interested in. The same evening he'd asked one of his men to find out as much as he could about Chloe Sullivan and Lex was impressed that the man had pulled through so quickly.
Settling himself down into his high-back leather chair, the young Luthor ignored the usual feeling of deja vu he experienced whenever he found himself in this position (it reminded him of his office back home, when he would relax in the same chair and read over the reports for the plant and the Talon) and opened the thinner-than-expected file on Chloe Sullivan. Sipping slowly on his coffee, Lex began to read.