(Torch office, Smallville)
Chloe admired the banner headline for the Torch: 'Crows break Grandville curse with V-ball Win!' Her work on the student paper actually made her feel like a part of the student body. She had been unfairly blamed for all of the mob-related rumours and speculation surrounding Helena Bertinelli.
I didn't have to do a thing, she mused. The Metropolis Inquisitor had sniffed around her Gotham ties and published ridiculous (and unproven) allegations about her. Some tabloids claimed that she was bent on revenge and searching for Tony Zucco. Others speculated that she was connected the New York mob and was sent to Metropolis to scout for new businesses, which could then become fronts for illegal casinos, massage parlours and other underworld activities. The Daily Planet -- possibly pressured by Gotham-friendly businessmen who sat on its board of directors -- merely reported that the Zucco gang had begun to extend its influence to the Midwest.
Lana popped into the Torch office before her morning class. "This week's Torch looks great!" she beamed. She knew that Chloe had endured the wrath of the volleyball team and the other jocks, and she wanted to let her know that she wasn't alone.
"Well, it was a team effort," Chloe replied. "You took some fabulous pictures, and Clark actually managed to write a concise report -- while dodging Volleygirl Mindy's flirtatious spikes!" They shared a laugh, and for a moment it seemed like everything had returned to normal. But, the bandage wrapped around Chloe's left forearm was a constant reminder that nothing was ever 'normal' in Smallville.
There was a knock on the office door. "Good morning, Chloe, Lana," Lex greeted. Several days had passed, and the bandage on his right hand had become smaller.
The school's morning bell interrupted them. "Oh! I've got to go," Lana stated, "I've got French class now. Au revoir, mes amis!"
"A bientot, Mademoiselle Lang," Lex grinned. "See you later."
Chloe noticed that Lex seemed troubled. "If you're concerned that I'm digging into Tony Zucco's activities – I'm leaving that sordid mess to the heavy-hitters at the Planet." Lex ignored her reply and gently held up her bruised forearm.
"This should never have happened," Lex frowned. "I give you my word that something like this isn't going to happen to you again. Ever." He said that last word with such conviction, that Chloe felt reassured: Lex would do anything to keep her from harm.
"I assume you're not here to read about the Crows' upset victory over the Titans," Chloe observed. She had already shifted her concentration to her MS Word document.
"Zucco informed me that the Jazzman Syndicate has already set up shop in Metropolis," Lex cautioned. "He suspects that the attempted hit on that outlaw custodian a few days ago was directed at him. As a message."
"A message?" Chloe wondered. She tapped her pen against her cheek. "Legend has it that no one has ever seen 'The Jazzman' in person. I assumed that he was just another hotshot wiseguy who wanted to make a name for himself. I thought his influence ended at the Appalachians."
Lex examined the yellowed articles on the Wall of Weird. "You're partly right, Chloe. He wanted to make a name for himself. But, The Jazzman was able to forge an unlikely alliance between old Anglo-Irish mobsters and the new thugs from Eastern Europe. It suggests that he's more than just a green rookie. Perhaps he was too ambitious back then, and underestimated Tony Zucco's tenacity and patience."
"If the Jazzman Syndicate has arrived in Metropolis," Chloe speculated, "then it looks like we're about to inherit Gotham City's underworld civil war!"
"I pray that you're wrong about that," Lex replied coolly. "Zucco's underworld ascendancy in Gotham City cost many lives. If Helena Bertinelli has less-than-honourable intentions in this town, it would be wise to find out about her agenda ... as soon as possible."
"I agree," Chloe nodded. "Still, I find it somewhat surprising that you were so quick to cast suspicions about her motives. She's not Don Franco Bertinelli, but she is his daughter. I figured that you'd be an opponent of the 'sins-of-the-father-fall-upon-the-child' theory."
Lex smirked slightly, as he leafed through this week's Torch. "That's where you're wrong, Chloe. I've consciously made every effort to break my ties with my father's murky legacy. Helena Bertinelli chose to embrace her family heritage -- and its wealth. The sympathetic Gotham press barons might have portrayed her as a poor, misunderstood victim of crime, but I see no evidence that she merits such a glowing halo. Designer clothes and high-performance Italian sports cars can do much to skewer one's moral compass."
"Did you learn that from harsh, personal experience, Lex?" Chloe inquired, but Lex chose not to respond to Chloe's candid observation.
"Have you learned anything new about Smallville High's well-dressed volleyball coach?" Lex asked. He didn't notice Chloe's slightly raised eyebrow. The real reason for his visit, she had noted.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Chloe replied. "It's hard to separate fact from outlandish fiction. Take your pick: she's either a twisted assassin or a poor little orphan girl. The Gotham papers have buried the story in their back pages."
"Naturally," Lex grunted. He suspected that Bruce Wayne had exercised some clout over Gotham's press barons. It was beyond belief, he thought, that Bruce viewed Helena as a mere victim of circumstance.
"I could contact my source at the Lowell County sheriff's department," Chloe offered, "but I doubt that he'll have anything new. Miss Bertinelli's trail runs cold shortly after she went into hiding. The feds run the witness protection program, don't they?" She had hoped that Lex would pick up on her hint: the ball was now in his court.
Lex knew exactly what she had implied. "You're suggesting that I contact Special Agent Dinah Lance? I find it troubling that you have such a keen interest in friends from my past: Bruce, Oliver Queen, and Ms. Lance. Some closets are best left unopened, Miss Sullivan." The rebuke disturbed Chloe, and it almost seemed that he had lost confidence in her.
"I -- I didn't mean to suggest that --" she began, but Lex indicated that he wasn't concerned.
"I considered that option, actually," Lex revealed (to Chloe's relief). "Agent Lance was transferred out of D.C. earlier this year. She's stationed at the field office in Gotham City. If I can get a hold of her, maybe she can shed light on Helena's past movements. If this 'history teacher' has ties to the mob, we'll find out shortly."
"Well, that's a start," Chloe replied. Lex continued to pace around the office, as if he still had something on his mind. "Something bothering you, Lex?"
Lex picked up an old photo -- with him, Clark, Chloe, Pete, Lana, and Bruce Wayne in front of the Toronto skyline. Clark's friends had been in Toronto for a student government conference, when a terrorist had attacked the conference centre with poison gas. They had all worked together to foil that plot. They were friends, whose loyalties had been unquestioned. Pete Ross had left Smallville, and Lex was well aware that Clark's relationship with him had caused friction with Pete. At one time, Lex could count on Bruce's support -- with no reservations. That time has passed, he noted, and he feared that their tattered friendship could also fall to ruin.
"The true test of friendship is not during times of tranquility," Lex explained, "but in times of peril." He spun a globe of the world with his fingers, apparently oblivious to what he was doing. "This is one such time. I can no longer be sure that Bruce Wayne has our best interests at heart. I fear that, if it came to a choice between protecting us and defending his own reputation, he would place Gotham civic pride and Wayne honour above all else. I will do what I can -- but my friendship with Bruce is strained, to say the least."
Chloe thought about Pete's less-than-amicable departure from Smallville. Lex's friendship had affected Pete's relationship with Clark -- and before they could repair it, it was too late. She often wondered how hard it must have been for Pete to accept that his best friend had favoured Lex's friendship. Clark could trust Pete with almost anything, and despite some poor judgment calls, he always supported Clark. Now, Lex was facing similar tensions with Bruce Wayne (despite their common bonds and blueblood upbringing).
"I'm sorry to hear that," Chloe offered.
"So am I," Lex added. "I consider Bruce as a friend, even now. The day when I can no longer call him that will be a sad moment ... for both of us. I'll be in touch if I discover something new about Miss Bertinelli." Lex immediately left the Torch office.
Chloe studied the old photo from Toronto. She smiled at the camaraderie between Clark, Pete, Lex and Bruce. The bonds between them have changed so drastically, she pondered. She hoped that any trust issues between her and Clark wouldn't place their friendship in a similar, precarious position.
(The Talon, Smallville)
Lana placed a fresh cup of coffee and a buttered bagel on Helena's table. The student teacher was busily marking assignments for her American history class.
"Wow, that's a lot of assignments," Lana gasped. "I don't know how you find the time to mark them all at once!"
Helena sighed at the stack of papers. "I figured that if I did as many as possible before I commute to Metropolis, I could have them all done by the end of the week, and still have a semblance of a life when I get home. Anyway, I have TiVo, so hooray for TV-on-demand!"
Despite her growing suspicions about Miss Bertinelli, Lana convinced herself that her history teacher was just that: a teacher. If she were a mob heiress on the warpath, why would she cloister herself in the Talon to mark assignments?
Lauren, a chestnut-haired waitress (and Lana's classmate from French class), came over to Lana with a tray of dishes.
"I know we're a little understaffed tonight," Lauren stated, "so if you'd like, I could fill-in for the evening shift? I could use the extra hours."
"That would be great!" Lana beamed. The wall clock indicated that it was five minutes to six. "The after-work crowd will be coming in soon, and I could really use the help."
A few blocks away, Clark parked the pick-up truck in a parking lot and placed the time card in the windshield. He had completed his after-school chores and was looked forward to a milkshake at the Talon. Chloe had told him about Lex's unexpected admission about his fraying relationship with Bruce Wayne. It troubled him that one of his friends had to go through what he had experienced during Pete's last few weeks in Smallville. I could have done more to let Pete know how much his friendship meant to me, he lamented. It may already be too late to fix things.
There was a screech of tires, as a large black van turned a corner. One of its darkened windows was open, and Clark heard two men arguing in a foreign language. It sounded Eastern European to him. The van stopped at a red light and Clark ducked into an alleyway. He tuned his enhanced hearing to their conversation.
"Nyet. This is bad idea," one voice grumbled in broken, accented English. "He is under Zucco's protection!"
"The Jazzman say we send message," another voice growled. "So we send message!"
The light turned green and the van slowly turned onto the main street, towards the Talon. It accelerated until it arrived within two blocks. One of the men, with a balaclava over his face, flung open the van's sliding door. Another man in a black, woollen cap pointed an Uzi at the Talon and fired several shots.
The shots shattered the Talon's front windows and doors. Slivers of glass showered the dining area. Helena's jumped over the table and smothered Lana's body, as her stack of graded assignments flew across the floor. There were several, 'tat-a-tat' bursts of gunfire. She cradled Lana and dragged her behind a concrete pillar. They heard a man scream in agony as one bullet strafed across his leg. There was another shriek -- this time, a girl's voice.
Clark raced across five blocks in an instant. He spotted the smashed windows of the Talon and he immediately feared for Lana's safety. The gunner had closed the sliding door and the van began to accelerate erratically. They would surely escape before the sheriff arrived.
The street appeared to be deserted, which gave Clark the opportunity to dash within a few feet of the van. He grabbed the rear fender and lifted the van's rear several feet above the pavement. He heard panicked cries from within, while the front tires squealed helplessly on the road until they burst. Clark dropped the van, which careened out of control until it collided into a steel garbage bin. In the distance, he heard the sheriff's sirens.
"Lana," he gasped, and sprinted into the Talon.
"Clark!" Lana leapt from behind the pillar and embraced him. "There were shots everywhere!" She looked in horror at the debris and carnage on the floor. One man's leg was bleeding, while flying glass cut another two patrons. Chairs and tables were overturned. She spotted a girl underneath a dining table.
"Lauren, no!" she shrieked. Clark pulled the unconscious girl away from the rubble, while Lana rested the girl's head on her lap.
Clark checked Lauren's wound. "It's bad, Lana. She's losing blood. We've got to call an ambulance!" Several police cars and an ambulance arrived outside the Talon's broken windows.
Helena gazed in disbelief. She wanted to believe that she had left this underworld violence behind in Gotham's horrid streets. The violence merely followed her; she could never escape it.
"Let me apply some pressure on that wound," Helena offered, and she reached out with a tea cloth.
Lana turned violently away from her. "I don't want you anywhere near her!" she sobbed hysterically. "Haven't you done enough harm already?"
"Lana," Clark protested, "we don't know who's responsible yet. Zucco's rivals know that Lex has sided with him. He's known to be associated with the Talon. It's not Miss Bertinelli's fault!"
Lana glowered angrily at Helena. "I wanted to believe that you had left your past behind in Gotham. Maybe Lex was right! Now, Lauren's paying the price for my foolishness. To think that I could actually trust a mobster's daughter!"
"Lana -- I," Helena mumbled quietly. She didn't know what to say. Maybe her presence was such a threat that Zucco orchestrated this attack. Or, Zucco's rivals wanted to intimidate Lex into breaking his partnership with Zucco's unions.
"Get off ... my property ... now!" Lana snarled, between sobs. The paramedics carefully placed Lauren onto a stretcher and wheeled her away.
Helena quickly collected her things, with tears streaming across her cheeks. Before she could leave, Sheriff Adams grabbed her arm.
"Hold it there, missy," the sheriff remarked. "Y'all are witnesses – especially you, Ms. Dolce & Gabbana!"
"But Sheriff Adams," Clark protested, "she had nothing to do with this. You'll find the guys who did this a few blocks down. Their van ...uh ... crashed."
The sheriff, who had been accustomed to Kent involvement in Smallville's mishaps, examined the debris and the remaining Talon patrons. "I'm way ahead of you, Mr. Kent. I assume you saw what transpired here, too? I'll be taking statements from everyone." She took off her Stetson and glared at Helena. "And until I'm convinced you had no involvement whatsoever in the county jail shooting and this little incident, I'll be keepin' a close eye on you, Ms. Bertinelli! This isn't Gotham City. You're in God's country now -- we respect law and order 'round these parts."
"We'll find out who did this," Clark tried to reassure Lana.
"Why do you keep defending her?" Lana demanded. "Chloe was right. Trouble arrived the moment Miss Bertinelli and Tony Zucco arrived in Kansas! She's a danger to the entire town. I'm going to sign that petition to have her removed from Smallville High!" Before Clark could stop her, she stormed through the Talon's shattered front door.
Clark watched as the deputies began to collect evidence from the scene, including the scattered history assignments. Maybe Miss Bertinelli was the intended target, or was the attack meant to scare Lex into backing away from Tony Zucco? It made no sense to him. It would be hard to fathom that Lex could continue his "business association" with Zucco after this disaster.
For the first time, Clark entertained the possibility that Miss Bertinelli's notorious past may have caught up with her.