This would have been on time if had let me log in when I wanted... grumble.
Mindgames
Part 4
Clark's hurried pace faltered as he walked through the double doors to Lex's study and he saw that, strangely, his friend wasn't there. "Lex?"
"In here, Clark." A voice called, and Clark followed it to its source. Lex was in the massive library, and massive was an understatement. Clark looked and felt very out of place wearing plaid, trainers and muddy jeans against a back drop of polished mahogany and elegant shelves of leather-bound books.
He shifted his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. "What are you doing in here, Lex?"
"Hi Clark, I'm fine thanks, how are you?" Lex replied and turned around, a large emerald volume in his hands. He smirked in a friendly manner as Clark grinned a little self-consciously, then walked out of the library, expecting Clark to follow him back to his usual haunt in the study.
Once he was settled back in his seat behind the desk and Clark on the chair opposite, he replied as if no time had elapsed between the question and the answer. "I was looking for this." He gestured to the emerald book on the desk, and Clark craned his neck to read the title off the cover.
"'The Art of War?'" Clark frowned up at his friend, tilting his head. "Who's the enemy?"
Lex smiled and leaned forward. "I think you know the answer to that question."
"Your Dad?" Clark said after a moment of hesitation.
Lex once more treated the question as a statement and picked up the book, flicking through the first few pages. "I knew I had this somewhere. My father gave it to me as a birthday present when I was younger." He smirked. "I never read it."
"So why the sudden interest now?" Clark asked curiously.
Lex looked at him. "Let's just say the situation where I would actually need to read this never arose until now." He snapped the book and the subject closed and set it aside. "But I'm sure you didn't come all this way to indulge me in my nostalgia."
Clark cleared his throat. "No, actually… do you know anything about Aaron Asidian?"
Lex gave him a penetrating stare. "Now there's a name that keeps cropping up. Where did you hear it?"
Clark shifted uncomfortably. He certainly didn't want to tell Lex that Chloe had been doing some rather dubious digging through confidential files.
"It doesn't matter." He eventually said evasively. "I just heard he escaped from Belle Reve the other day… and I also heard your father saw him not too long before he escaped."
Lex looked at him sharply and seemed to consider his words for a while. "Then it seems my father's doing a great job of keeping things under wraps." He finally replied sarcastically. He got to his feet and poured himself a glass of scotch, holding a glass out to Clark as well. He shook his head.
"No thanks - so do you know anything about Aaron's time at Level 3?"
Lex seemed momentarily surprised at how much Clark knew, but quickly covered it up. "Let's see: worked there for 3 years, then when it shut down he tried to sue for damages to his health, of course he failed and ended up in Belle Reve and his younger sister was taken away under the protection of Luthorcorp."
"He has a sister? What's her name?" Clark asked eagerly. Chloe had never mentioned anything about his family.
"Katie, I believe. Her father died before she was born, and her mother died giving birth to her. Her big brother Aaron was 17 at the time so he gained custody of her and was forced to leave school and get a job to support them. That job happened to be at Luthorcorp, working as a cleaner on Level 3."
Clark sighed and stood up. "The puzzle just keeps on growing, doesn't it?"
Lex gave him a small smile.
Clark sped back to the farm and straight to his Fortress of Solitude to do some thinking. Chloe hadn't found out anything about Katie, which was odd as usually the easiest information to find about anyone was their family. Chloe always started there, looking for any connections to the suspected meteor freak to see if she could gain any insight on said meteor freak from questioning their relatives and friends.
Once that source dried up, she went onto things like track records with all things unusual, where they'd worked and who for, any accidents they'd been involved in. Clark smiled as he thought of her digging away persistently until she got what she wanted. She was like a dog with a bone, he thought, then grinned as he realised how insulting that sounded on so many levels.
Still smiling at the thought of his best friend, he stood up and strolled over to the loft window lazily, looking up at the stars instinctively. The telescope lay forgotten in a corner of the barn, its lens nowhere near the direction of Lana Lang's house. Perhaps Clark himself hadn't even noticed it, but he was slowly growing away from his childhood crush and moving onto something more solid, more serious.
A sudden noise jerked him out of his musings, and he jumped around to find a breathless and rather dishevelled Chloe Sullivan.
"Chloe! Are you ok?" He asked, concern immediately twisting his features as he ushered her to the old worn out couch.
"Um, yeah." Chloe said untruthfully, taking a grateful seat. "I'm fine really." She added as Clark looked no less worried.
Clark sat down beside her and gave her his best stern gaze.
"I'm just a little shaken up, that's all." She relented, still clutching her folder to her chest protectively. Clark gently took it from her and laid it aside, taking her hands in his without realising it.
Chloe looked down and bit her lip, then gave into the silent pressure from Clark to tell him what had happened. "I just… I was walking home, I didn't take the car since it wasn't very far and Dad's at work so I left a note… and then I heard this noise behind me… Clark, someone was following me."
Clark's grip on her hands tightened and he looked down at her with evident worry. "What happened? Did you see them?" He asked her urgently.
"I'm not sure… I didn't want to go straight home 'cause then he'd know where Dad and I live, he was obviously after me so I kind of figured I'd come here. But before I could, I don't really know for sure what happened apart from when I woke up, I was lying on the pavement, it was nearly dark and there was nobody in sight." Chloe finished shakily.
"He knocked you out?" Clark exclaimed, feeling anger bubble up inside him.
Chloe shook her head, confused. "I don't think so. I don't really remember, I just know I saw the silhouette of a man and I had quite a few disturbing dreams whilst I was out."
"What kind of dreams?" Clark pressed her.
She shook her head again, tears springing to her eyes. "I'm sorry Clark I don't know!"
Clark frowned and wrapped her in a hug as her voice broke and the tears ran freely down her face. He felt instant guilt for interrogating her, though he knew Chloe Sullivan far too well to believe that she couldn't remember the dreams, and he knew just a 'simple' stalking incident wouldn't upset her as much as this. Something was up, something she wasn't telling him, but for now he was content to rock her gently back and forth in his arms as she cried it out, her face pressed into his comforting chest.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there, Chlo'." He whispered under his breath.
End of Part 4
chloedouble1011: No I'm not crazy! At least I wasn't the last time I checked. ;)
Moonjava: Hey there! Thanks, I'm working on a Spidey story now actually, should be up in a couple of weeks or so. :)
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