(Kent farm, Smallville)

Clark closed the door behind him. The sun had already set in the county. The tranquility of the dusk hours seemed out-of-place. It was a catastrophic day. The Talon was strewn with debris and bullet shells. Clark's quick actions probably saved many lives, but two people were still hurt. One of them – Lana's classmate, Lauren – was still in the hospital in critical condition.

Martha leapt from the kitchen table and hugged her son. "Oh, Clark! It was all over the news. They said some people were hurt …"

Clark was visibly shaken. He expected mob activity in the grittier streets of Metropolis, but not here. It was too close to home. "One guy was shot in the leg, but the doctors said it was only a flesh wound. He'll be released in the morning." Clark took a seat at the kitchen table, while Martha placed a glass of water in front of him. "It all happened so fast. One minute, I was lifting a van by its rear fender. The next minute … I was in the middle of the Talon. There was so much blood! Lana's classmate from French class … Lauren. The doc in the O.R. said they had to induce a coma. She lost a lot of blood."

Martha covered her mouth in horror. "Oh my God. Is Lana …"

"She – she's alright. The witnesses say Miss Bertinelli shielded her with her own body. But, Lana, Sheriff Adams and half the town now think she and Zucco are going to settle scores right here in Smallville! I don't know who or what to believe at this point."

Martha placed her hand on Clark's arm. "I realize you want to believe that Helena Bertinelli had the best of intentions when she arrived here. But, maybe Lex has a point. For someone who claims to have no connections to the Gotham mob, she seems to have embraced all of its trappings: the fancy clothes, the fast cars and Cartier watches. Now that Tony Zucco's in town, who knows what she might do!"

"If that were the case," Clark protested, "then why would Miss Bertinelli go through all the trouble of becoming a student teacher? Why volunteer to coach the girls' volleyball team?" Before Martha could answer, they heard the rumble of Jonathan Kent's pick-up truck.

When Jonathan arrived in the house, he embraced Clark. "Son, when I heard what happened at the Talon, I came back as soon as I could. The radio said that a girl from Smallville High was shot?"

"Lana's classmate," Clark confirmed. He turned up the Metropolis six o'clock TV news:

'… the Lowell County sheriff's department confirms that three suspects were apprehended at the scene, after their getaway van crashed into a dumpster during their escape. Two bystanders, including Smallville High honour student Lauren Morris, have been admitted to Smallville Medical with gunshot wounds. The Metropolis detachment of the FBI will not confirm or deny that the alleged gunmen are associates of the notorious Jazzman Syndicate, an underworld player in Gotham City's recent gangland slayings. We continue to follow further developments …'

"I heard the gunmen," Clark admitted. "They said The Jazzman wanted to send a message." He noticed that his father had a clipboard with a long list of names. "What's that, Dad?"

"Clark, I know you won't like this," Jonathan explained, "but that attack on Chloe in the Ledger, and the county jail shooting – well, they disturbed me. Not just me, but a whole lot of people in town." He cleared his throat, aware that Clark would not like the news. "I've decided to put together a parents' petition, requesting that the school board remove Miss Bertinelli from her teaching assignment at Smallville High. I've already talked to Lana's aunt, Mr. Sullivan and the other parents."

"But, Dad –" Clark began, but Jonathan shook his head defiantly. "I just told you that The Jazzman Syndicate was behind the attack. The shooting at the county jail – it had to be The Jazzman's goons, too! They want to send Zucco a message. Miss Bertinelli's got nothing to do with what happened at the Talon!"

"Maybe so," Jonathan replied. "But what happened at the Talon – her family's been in organized crime since the time of Lucky Luciano. You've seen what Gotham City's become. Do you want the mob to turn our town into an urban nightmare?" Lauren's school photo appeared on the TV news. "How many more kids are going to get caught in the crossfire? First, it was Chloe. Next, it could be Lana Lang or some other student. Lana agrees with me, Clark! So do most of the parents."

Clark slumped on the kitchen chair in disbelief. "I thought we agreed as a family that we were going to give my teacher the benefit of the doubt."

"That 'benefit of the doubt' had limits," Jonathan insisted. "When a girl from your school is lying in coma because of some blood feud between Zucco and The Jazzman, I have to draw the line somewhere!" He stood at the window and observed the thinning sliver of red sunlight on the horizon. He had to fight to protect everything he cherished about this law-abiding community. If it meant that a "reformed" mob heiress lost her teaching job at Smallville High, then he was prepared to live with that price.

"The PTA meets tomorrow night," Jonathan revealed, "where we'll plan our next move. The school board is going to hold an emergency session to address this situation. Somehow, we'll bring this chaos to an end. This might be hard to accept – but for once, I actually agree with Lex Luthor! Why should we have to deal with Gotham's exported social problems? Bruce values your opinion. Maybe if you talk to him, you could convince him that we're serious …"

"Bruce wants no part of this," Clark grunted, "and I'm not surprised, since everyone wants to paint all of Gotham City with the same brush. You forget that Bruce was a victim of crime, too. He wanted to give Miss Bertinelli a break because she's suffered the same pain he's been through!"

"But, unlike her," Jonathan snapped, "Bruce Wayne is from a well-respected family, with a legitimate fortune. Look, this is not up for discussion, Clark. The petition goes forward. End of story! Your mother and I only want what's best for the community, even if it means defying Mr. Wayne's wishes." To emphasize his determination, he immediately signed his name on the petition. The Lang and Sullivan signatures – among others – were already there. He handed the clipboard to Martha, who hesitated. Clark's saddened expression seemed to plead: Don't do it, Mom.

Martha thought of the poor girl who lay in a coma. It could have easily been Lana, Chloe or another classmate of Clark's. "I remember reading about how Tony Zucco clawed his way up to become Gotham's kingpin," Martha explained, as she signed her name on the petition. "I don't want that sort of senseless violence in Smallville."

Jonathan took the clipboard and placed it on the kitchen table. "Son, you know it's best for the town," he remarked.

"You also thought it was 'best' to convince the Rosses to sell their factory to Lionel Luthor," Clark recalled.

"That was out of line," Martha declared, but Clark had already stormed out of the door. "He's upset, dear. He didn't really mean it."

"I think he might, Martha," Jonathan winced. "He won't admit it, but he holds me partially responsible for alienating Pete Ross. Lionel might have wronged the Rosses all those years ago, but I opened the door." He studied the growing list of names on the petition, convinced that it was the right thing to do. Meteor freaks and Luthor schemes plagued the town … but mob warfare on Smallville's main street? It was unacceptable.

Gotham's problems don't have to be Smallville's, he thought. The town deserved a better fate than that, and Clark and his friends deserve to live in a safer community.

(Luthor Estate, Smallville)

Chloe opened the double, wood-panelled doors to Lex's office. The marble bust of Alexander the Great hovered menacingly behind Lex's shoulder. "Hold my calls," Lex instructed on his phone. "I have a visitor."

Chloe settled into the chair beside the desk. "I've been scouring the Gotham Post's online archives for hours. It seems like this Jazzman's no rookie in the arts of racketeering, extortion and assassinations – not to mention some rather icky sidelines in the body rub parlour industry!"

"Rumour has it that The Jazzman cut his teeth as an enforcer for the Atlantic City casino bosses," Lex added. "Mr. Zucco's never met him, but word on the street is that the Syndicate lacks the finesse of Gotham's more established mob families. The Syndicate trades in illegal aliens: women from the Far East and former East Bloc to staff their 'holistic health spas'. They come here in search of the American dream, only to find a nightmare. Zucco has promised that he'll put an end to the illegal trafficking."

"Why is that," Chloe challenged. "So he can run his own monopoly of 'health spas'? You've heard what happened at the Talon … and you're telling me that you're still taking advice from Gotham's chief crimelord?"

"Men are more easily governed by their vices, than by their virtues," Lex replied. "Napoleon ruled Europe from Spain to the gates of Moscow on such wisdom. Tony Zucco understands that the world is awash in shades of grey. The Jazzman's henchmen are a melting pot of Iron Curtain thugs and ex-Red Army types who lack the savvy required in this complicated age. The Talon incident is regrettable, but if Tony Zucco says it's taken care of, it will be taken care of. We have an understanding – that's all you need to know."

"Okay," Chloe paused suspiciously. The Luthor Commerce Square project must be important to him, she thought. "Setting aside my awkward thoughts of a Luthor-Zucco partnership for the moment. You mentioned something on the phone about Miss Bertinelli's past?"

Lex presented her with a couriered document, entitled: FBI profile – Organized Crime Unit. "Agent Lance was able to obtain this sanitized report about Helena's movement since the All Saints' Day massacre. Dinah's access is limited: she's with Missing Persons at the Gotham unit." The document had several sections blotted out in black.

Chloe examined the document. "The timeline is choppy … but it seems that Miss Bertinelli and her bodyguard continued to stay in touch with her father's friends in the West Coast: brief stops in Colorado, New Mexico, and not surprisingly, in Nevada. It says here that her bodyguard obtained a permit for firearms under an assumed name in Reno, when Miss Bertinelli would have been 16. It says later than she obtained her own firearms permit back east when she turned 19. In all that time, she's used more aliases than Sydney Bristow!"

"All of this questionable activity," Lex announced smugly, "from a mere high school teacher? She saw her parents slaughtered before her eyes. Something like that doesn't leave a person's mind easily. As a friend of Bruce Wayne, I can tell you that it condemns the survivor to a lifetime of anguish. She would have been raised to believe that revenge is the only way to satisfy her sense of mob honour."

Chloe set down the FBI document. "This only proves that Miss Bertinelli hung around a rough crowd and owns a handgun. It casts her in a suspicious light, but it's hardly definitive proof that she's taking up Bertinelli Senior's mob mantle!"

"Well, these suspicions seem to be proof enough for Smallville's families," Lex replied. "Jonathan Kent tells me that most of the PTA is on-board with this petition to oust Helena from her teaching placement."

"I don't think we're blindly casting stones," Chloe explained. "Once the school board sees how many parents and students are concerned about Miss Bertinelli's past history, they'll have no choice but to agree. Not even Mr. Wayne's considerable influence can thwart the will of the people."

"Shades of grey, Ms. Sullivan, remember?" Lex quipped. "Democracy doesn't always trump political influence. Mark my words: if Bruce Wayne decides to wade into this school board snafu, the will of the people will count for little."

Chloe paced around the room and studied the artifacts: cavalry swords from the Napoleonic Wars, a Roman soldier's helmet from Britain, and medieval gauntlets from the Hundred Years War. "You almost sound like you're expecting a fight from Wayne Manor."

Lex took the Roman helmet from the shelf. "When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River into Italy, he knew that he had launched a civil war against his friend, Pompey, at great risk. 'The die is cast,' Caesar declared. It was a gamble, but he prevailed. Rome was his prize. While I don't believe that this petition is going to test my friendship with Bruce, I don't discount the possibility that our Rubicon is just beyond the horizon."

Chloe tried to grasp what Lex was saying. Did he really want the PTA to prevail, or did he want this rare opportunity to cause the mighty Wayne Foundation to lose face in public?

"And what happened to Caesar's friend, Pompey?" Chloe inquired.

"Caesar pursued him to the shores of Egypt," Lex replied. He abruptly handed the battered Roman helmet to Chloe. "The Egyptians handed him Pompey's severed head, as a gift. Caesar was probably going there to pardon him. He was said to weep at the sight of his dead friend. I don't relish a skirmish with Bruce, but we may have one, nonetheless."

Chloe carefully returned the helmet to its display stand. She didn't think that Lex's friendship with Bruce had reached any Rubicon – yet. They took opposing positions on the Bertinelli affair, and it was anyone's guess how the school board meeting would unfold. The Talon shootings had enraged the townspeople. The situation was volatile. Lex might win points by supporting the parents, but Lex could risk his reputation if he appeared to openly favour Zucco's foothold in Metropolis. Such a stand would place him squarely against Helena's sympathizers – led by the increasingly political Bruce Wayne.

By week's end, somebody's head is going to be on a platter, she concluded.