Title: New Game.
Author: Lucy Mars
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: See Prologue.
Summary: It was a new game now. New rules. New players and new losers.
Chapter #4:
Yesterday.
Nestled in a sea of cool silk and satin, Chloe greeted the quiet morning slowly and languidly as the last slices of sleep drifted from her mind and her fingers stretched blindly over to find Lex's side of the bed to find it empty and cold. Curious eyes fluttered open as inquisitive ears picked up the sound of gentle notes that seemed to suspend time. Pushing herself slowly to a sitting position, Chloe fought against the requisite wave of nausea that greeted her as ebony silk sheets pooled around her alabaster skin. Shivering against the morning chill, Chloe's sleepy gaze spotted a puddle of lavender in the middle of the cream carpet. Bare feet sinking into plush carpet, Chloe picked up the very shirt that Lex had hastily discarded last night and leisurely put it on as she made her way out of the bedroom. Yawning as she stretched her sore muscles, a shameless smile crowded Chloe's face as she recalled last night's very frisky events that stretched well into the morning.
Pushing the thoughts aside, Chloe focused her attention on following the harmonious notes that filled the penthouse with an indescribable serenity and peace. Her footsteps muted by the luxurious flooring that she loved to sink her toes into after a long day Chloe found herself standing at the threshold to the future when she found Lex sitting in the middle of the disaster area that would soon be the perfect nursery, with a tiny music box in his hands. Chloe was mesmerized as she focused on how the morning light played quietly over Lex's still features and highlighted everything that she loved about him.
As the last few notes fade to an end, Lex wordlessly held his hand out to where he could feel Chloe standing and watching him.
She didn't need to ask how he knew she was in the room with him. She just knew he knew. Gracefully coming down to sit beside him, Chloe ran her fingers over the tiny music box that had cast a spell over both of them. "How long have you been up for?"
"Awhile," Lex answered kissing the top of Chloe's head and pulling her close.
"Where did you get this?"
Looking into the same inquiring green eyes that Lex had seen for a brief moment in time when the future had stumbled into his path, Lex smiled softly. "I've had it since I was a baby. My mother had it made just for me."
Winding the brass knob, Chloe listened as the first strains of music filled the sun-drenched room. "It's beautiful."
"So are you," Lex replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
Laughing, Chloe looked up at Lex's clear blue eyes. "Will you still think so when I'm fat and cranky?"
"Even more so," Lex promised as he envisioned Chloe's stomach swollen with their child.
Tucking her head beneath his chin and pressing her cheek to his chest, Chloe rested her hand over Lex's heart and sighed contently. "Good answer," she whispered enjoying the rare moment of tranquility in the usual chaos of their lives. "What time are you leaving for the airport?"
"I've decided to postpone my trip."
Her head snapping up in surprise, Chloe shook her head with confusion. "Postpone? Why?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Lex ran his fingers through Chloe's hair in a futile attempt to tame the wayward strands. "It doesn't feel like a good time to leave."
"Lex," Chloe sighed, "You're taking this whole pregnancy paranoia thing a little too far. The Stratford deal is too important to just blow off."
"Who said anything about blowing it off?" Lex asked as he watched confusion filled Chloe's sleepy eyes. "I don't want to Stratford to think I'm too eager. Giving him some space will work in both our favors."
"As long as you're not postponing your trip because you think that you need to be here to take care of me," Chloe warned.
"I promise," Lex smirked pressing a kiss to the disapproving frown Chloe was sporting, "That's only part of the reason. Not the whole reason, I assure you."
Rolling her eyes, Chloe immediately regretted it as a fresh wave of nausea slammed into her. Her hand flying to her mouth as she scrambled to her feet, Chloe went flying out of the room.
Putting the music box down, Lex quickly followed Chloe down the corridor she'd sprinted down as the last notes sputtered from the tiny box and a deafening silence filled the room.
***
His hands eagerly rubbing together as his eyes feasted on the finished product, his lips stretched uncontrollably with ecstasy. The day had finally come. Lex would be on a plane out of both their lives by now and Chloe would soon meet her fate. He could finally bring her to the place she belonged.
It all came down to this.
***
A camera slung over her shoulder, a refreshing bottle of juice in one hand, a permanent glow fixed on her face and her ever present shadow discretely following her through the crowded streets of Metropolis, Chloe was a woman on a mission this beautiful spring day.
Pregnant paranoia by both Lex and Louis aside, Chloe wasn't going to let them confine her to the penthouse and her darkroom. She had a life to lead too and things to do. Carrying a baby didn't mean she couldn't go on doing the things she always did. Spring in Metropolis was a beautiful time of the year and Chloe had pictures to take and a portfolio to finish.
Moving with a grace against the tide of people flooding the congested streets of Metropolis that spoke of confidence and comfort, Chloe kept up with the rapid pace until a haze of baby blues, hushed pinks and mellow yellows caught her eye. Coming to an abrupt stop before the tiny shop that stood out against the multimillion dollar chains that ruled the city, Chloe felt a small smile claim her lips. If Lex and Louis could indulge themselves in the insanity of shopping for cute little baby things, then surely Chloe could pick up a few things too. After all, she was the mother and she would be supporting local business at the same time.
Her mind made up, Chloe glanced up to find her shadow for the day standing protectively beside her. "Adam, I'm just going to run in for a second."
His eyes hidden beneath the dark sunglasses he wore, the man Chloe liked to refer to as her Thursday guy nodded discreetly as he subtly scanned their immediate area for possible danger. The hard lines of his face melted when his lips softened momentarily to smile knowingly. "Of course, ma'am."
Having long ago given up on getting the people Lex, Louis and Lionel hired to call her something other than ma'am, Chloe slipped into the homey shop that felt like a piece of Smallville right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Metropolis. Returning the smile that the perky salesgirl greeted her with, Chloe felt a rush of excitement shoot through her as her eyes devoured all the little bonnets, booties, sweaters and hats that were displayed on teeny tiny mannequins.
"Are you looking for anything in particular?" the salesgirl asked curiously as her thrilled chocolate eyes quickly placed Chloe's recognizable face and her elevated status among the Metropolis elite.
"I'm just browsing," Chloe answered, recognizing the excited gleam in the young girl's eye.
Nervously chewing down on her bottom lip, the girl glanced nervously at the back of the store where her manager was helping another customer before turning back to Chloe and blurting out, "For anyone in particular?"
An amused smiled filling out her face, Chloe noticed the telltale signs immediately. Even after years out of the trade, you didn't talk to another intrepid reporter without knowing it. "Are you asking for anyone in particular?"
"East Metropolis High School Student Paper," the girl replied proudly.
"As the editor?" Chloe managed to ask between her laughter.
"And half the staff," the girl quipped.
Her eyes softening, Chloe welcomed the nostalgia that washed over her. "What's your name?"
Fearful that she'd stepped over the line and managed to offend Lex Luthor's future wife, the girl lowered her eyes. She should have just kept her mouth shut. She was probably going to get fired for being cheeky and intrusive with such an important woman. "Claudia," she finally answered when she realized Chloe was patiently waiting for her reply, "Claudia Spencer."
"Chloe Sullivan," Chloe said holding out her hand and trying not to laugh at the shock on the girl's face, "It's very nice to meet you."
Staring at the slim hand with a mixture of surprise and relief, Claudia quickly clamped her mouth shut and met Chloe's hand with a firm grasp.
"Well Claudia, care to show me what you'd recommend an expectant mother to buy?"
Leading Chloe through the store, Claudia tried to hide the awe from her voice. "On or off the record?"
Randomly picking up an astoundingly small lavender jumper that immediately reminded her of Lex, Chloe gave Claudia a sincere smile. "It depends."
"On what?" Claudia demanded, already picturing the front page layout in her mind.
"Why don't you tell me a little more about your paper," Chloe suggested when she caught the manager's curious look, "as we browse."
Catching onto Chloe's subtle hint, Claudia nodded gratefully. "What exactly are you looking for?"
"I don't know," Chloe answered honestly as she fingered the soft material.
"I'm guessing you're partial to lavender?"
Looking at the jumper she held in her hands, Chloe pursed her lips into a soft smile. "Yeah, I guess you could say that I am."
***
"Lex, care to explain to me why you haven't sealed the Stratford deal yet?"
"Dad," Lex drawled looking up from his computer, "Nice to see you too. Back early from Tokyo?"
Ignoring his son's sarcastic attempt at pleasantries, Lionel headed straight for the bar. "Why isn't Stratford's signature on the contracts yet?"
Sighing, Lex felt his high from this morning quickly plummet back down to earth. "It may have something to do with the fact that Stratford isn't ready to sign yet."
"Why aren't you on a plane on your way to convince him?"
"Because it's not the right time," Lex replied, annoyance clear in his statement.
"I don't recall being consulted on these new plans."
"That's probably because there was nothing to consult," Lex answered as he rose to his feet, "Have you forgotten, dad, that this is my account?"
"One you happen to be mishandling."
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Lex picked up his folders and headed out of his office. "I have a meeting. We can resume this lecture later, can we not?" Ignoring his father's disapproving glower Lex purposely strode out of his office.
***
"Who do you want to be when you grow up?"
"When I grow up?" Claudia snickered as followed Chloe through the store, "Ah, I'd hate to break it too you Ms. Sullivan but you're not that much older than me."
"Then stop calling me, Ms. Sullivan." Chloe ordered playfully, picking up a silver rattle and giving it a gentle shake.
"Do you prefer, Mrs. Luthor?"
Quirking an eyebrow at the cheeky comment, Chloe watched on with amusement as Claudia caught herself and flushed scarlet with embarrassment. "Relax." Chloe laughed, moving onto linens and things, "It's refreshing to have someone talk to you without that annoying Metropolis filter."
Now it was Claudia's turn to laugh. "Metropolis filter?"
"I'd roll my eyes as I explain but I have no idea where your washroom is and I don't particularly feel like puking in the middle of your store."
"I appreciate your consideration, seeing as I'd probably be the one left to clean it up."
"I'm thoughtful this way." Chloe smirked handing Claudia another item to add to her already substantial pile of purchases piled precariously in Claudia's arms. "The Metropolis filter is that annoying thing that seems to stop people from saying what they really want to say to me when they find out who I am."
"Or really, who you happen to be engaged too." Claudia deduced.
A proud smile spreading across her face, Chloe nodded. "Yeah, that too. You're a smart girl, Claudia. You've got spunk and what my dad would have called moxie."
Lowering her eyes with a mixture of embarrassment and delight, Claudia tried to control the blush she could feel staining her cheeks. "Thank you,"
"You remind me of someone, you know."
Her eyes wide with interest, Claudia could barely contain her eagerness. "Really? Who?"
"Me," Chloe answered, her eyes falling to that far away place that everyone escaped to once and awhile as she rubbed her hand comfortingly over the flicker of life nestled safely within her. "You know, a long time ago, I wanted nothing more than to be a reporter. I was even the editor of my school newspaper during freshman year. I took it by sheer force of will. Of course, the fact that no one else wanted it probably worked in my favor."
"Why aren't you working in journalism then?" Claudia asked, her eyes falling onto Chloe's stomach and her subconscious actions, "I mean, I've seen your photographs and they're great but why the change in professions?"
"Because," Chloe chuckled with a wry twist of her lips, "life doesn't always turn out the way you plan for it to. Dreams change. You change."
"I never want to change," Claudia declared adamantly with a firm shake of her head, "I've always wanted to be a reporter. I've dreamt of being the next Christaine Amanpour since I was a little girl and all the other little girls wanted to be ballerinas and teachers. I'm going to be a foreign correspondent one day."
"I'm going to give you a piece of advice, Claudia. Take it or discard it. Either way, everything maternal in, which I didn't know I possessed, wants me to say this: If that's what you really want to do, do it. Screw what anyone may tell you. You can be the next Christaine Amanpour. But don't do it because it's what people expect you to do."
Regarding Chloe thoughtfully, Claudia titled her head to the side. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure,"
"Are you happy? Even though your dreams changed? Life changed?"
Her green eyes clear and void of any doubts, Chloe replied without hesitation. "Insanely so,"
"I've always wondered," Claudia mumbled sheepishly as she wrung her calloused hands, "Why have you and Mr. Luthor put off the wedding for so long? I can still remember being a freshman and reading about your engagement party and wishing that I was there. It looked so cool reading about it. All my girlfriends and I were sure that the wedding of the century would be just around the corner. I mean, it's been three years and you're still not married."
Her eyes lighting up at the mere mention of Lex, Chloe twisted her engagement ring around her finger as she answered truthfully, "Sometimes you need to live through happily for awhile, before you can truly conquer forever."
Claudia could feel the jaded cynicism in her begin to melt as she watched Chloe's face melt into a whimsical smile that spoke of love and devotion. It was a private moment between two women who knew more about each other than either could really understand. It was a moment where the past revisited the future and peace was finally conquered.
Peace though, always came with a price.
"Ma'am," Adam urged suddenly appearing at Chloe's side and grabbing her upper arm forcefully.
"Adam, what's wrong?" Chloe questioned, surprised by the tension that seemed to swallow her whole.
Briskly pulling Chloe away from the entrance he'd just come soaring through, Adam didn't waste time on pleasantries. "We need to leave, ma'am."
"What?" Chloe demanded, confusion mingling with her sudden adrenaline.
Her eyes wide and fearful, Claudia instinctively followed Chloe as Adam dragged her towards the back of the store. "Chloe?"
Ignoring Chloe, Adam hastily turned to Claudia and demanded her attention forcefully. "Is there a back exit?"
Nodding rapidly, Claudia found herself unexpectedly unable to form any words.
"Where?" Adam snapped.
"Behind those doors," Claudia stuttered fearfully, "It leads to our storage room and there's an exit on the right that leads to the back alleyway."
Continuing to ignore Chloe's questions and demands for answers, Adam brought his wrist up to his lips as he dragged Chloe through the doors Claudia had directed them too. "Back alleyway. Now."
"Adam," Chloe protested as she turned around to take in Claudia's ashen face just as the door swung shut.
"Ma'am," Adam sighed, turning Chloe around so that she faced him, "Do you trust me?"
Taken aback by his sudden proximity, Chloe didn't know what to say. She just knew that she was scared and wanted Lex's hands to be the ones gripping her shoulders, not Adam's.
"Ma'am?" Adam urged insistently.
"Yes," Chloe answered hesitantly.
The anxious lines around his eyes softening, Adam gave Chloe a reassuring smile. "I'll take care of you," he vowed.
A shudder of trepidation passing through her, Chloe didn't have time to analyze the satisfaction she saw pass through Adam's hard eyes. Flinching when she felt a prick against her neck, Chloe's legs unexpectedly went slack beneath her as colors swam behind her eyes and melded the storage room into a puddle of gray before disappearing into a sea of black. The last words she heard were Adam's solemn reassurance.
"I'll take care of you."
***
Immobile in the middle of the store, an armful of baby essentials that she'd just spent the last hour compiling with Chloe, Claudia couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach that was screaming at her to go after Chloe. Something wasn't right. There was something that just didn't fit.
The calm that had settled within the store was in such contrast to the uproar that Adam had caused with his swift entrance and exit.
"Claudia?" her manager asked coming up to her, "What just happened?"
Something inside her snapping, Claudia rashly pushed past her manager and ran out the very doors she'd directed Chloe and Adam through. She didn't know what she was doing but she just knew that there was a story in the air.
***
Carrying Chloe's unconscious form through the back exit just as their black Lincoln came screeching to a halt, Adam tensed his hand over his gun.
"Jesus," his partner breathed stepping out of the car and taking in the sight of Chloe's motionless face, "What happened?"
"Open the door," Adam ordered tersely.
Moving quickly, his partner opened the door and watched as Adam gently put Chloe down. "What's going on? Did you spot a potential threat?"
Buckling Chloe into the seat, Adam slammed the door shut and turned to face his partner. "I did."
"We should get her to the penthouse where it's secure. Have you called into central yet?"
"No," Adam answered grabbing his partner's arm before he could get into the driver seat.
Turning to face Adam, his partner didn't have a chance to fight back or draw his own gun. Adam fired squarely into his chest without a moment's hesitation. Lowering his gun, Adam regarded his partner's falling body with detachment as blood spilt from his wound and painted his chest a deadly crimson.
"Oh my god,"
Spinning around to find the salesgirl staring at him with a mixture of horror and fear, Adam cursed under his breath.
"Oh god," Claudia whimpered as Adam raised his gun to her with empty eyes.
His finger flicking over the safety when the sound of sirens filled the suddenly humid air, Adam roughly grabbed the girl and slammed the butt of his gun into her temple before she could scream. Torn for a second, he hastily pushed her into the backseat of the car beside an unconscious Chloe and slammed the door shut. This wasn't going to way he had planned it to but altered plans or not, there was no going back now.
Jumping into the driver seat, Adam quickly tore into the busy Metropolis streets and screeched away before the police arrived.
The immaculate toys and pristine garments that had spilt from Claudia's limp arms lay scattered in the alleyway, forever sullied with dirt and blood. Evidence that a handful of lives had suddenly taken a very wrong turn.
***
"Dad," Lex sighed, returning to his office to find his father waiting for him, "Do we need to do this now? Can you reschedule your lecture for a later date?"
Standing, Lionel brushed Lex's comment aside. "Lex, sit down."
Raising an eyebrow at his father's command, Lex paused mid step. "Issuing commands now, dad?"
"Lex," Lionel sighed, "sit down."
"I don't have time for games, dad."
Grabbing Lex's arm when he tried to brush past him, Lionel forced him into the visitor chair he'd been waiting in for the past hour.
Narrowing his eyes dangerously, Lex pushed his father's hands off of his arm. "Resorting to brute force?"
"For once," Lionel snapped angrily, "Just shut up and listen to what I have to say."
Surprised by his father's reaction, Lex felt unease begin to creep through him. His head snapping up at the sound of his secretary's muffled protest, Lex felt his stomach fall when he registered Louis's distinctly sharp voice cut through the thick mahogany doors. "I don't care if he's in a meeting with the bloody pope! Move out of the goddamn way!"
The double doors slamming open with a force that had them slamming ruthlessly against the walls and revealing Louis in all his livid glory, Lex was on his feet in an instant. "What is going on?"
"You," Louis sneered coming to a stop before the two Luthor men and glaring at Lex, "How could you not call me the moment you found out?"
"What are you talking about?" Lex demanded uneasily as he watched his usually placid British friend vibrate with barely contained fury, "What is going on?"
"Don't dare play stupid with me," Louis snapped his fists bunched and trembling with rage.
Looking uneasily between his father's silent and taut face and the rage coursing through Louis, Lex swallowed in a vain attempt to moisten his sudden dry throat. "What is going on?"
Sighing, Lionel Luthor never looked older then the moment he had to tell his son that his world was falling apart. "There's been a breach in security."
***
TBC….Yes, I'm evil. I do know that.