VERDAD OBSCURA
The day was pretty hot although he could see from a distance that the horizon was shifting to accommodate the winds. Lex Luthor made his way through Smallville's dusty roads, smiling at the memory of his last conversation with Chloe. If he had any doubt before of how well they would go together despite their large age difference, all that has been put behind him.
He had been busy the entire week. It had taken most of his free time outside the plant to push the paperwork on the Kents' losses caused by the chemical spill through the bureaucratic nightmare that he did not realize lay beneath the modern veneer of LuthorCorp. But he had promised Clark that he would look at the problem and now that it was finished, Lex barely inserted enough time to pick up the phone and wish Chloe luck on her interview at Metropolis. She had repeatedly turned down his offer of chauffeuring her to the Daily Planet, saying instead that he should take the time off to rest. She was more aware than anyone else how fatiguing it had been to face accountants and supervisors whose lips were familiar with his father's behind, at the same time not letting on that he needed the best deal possible to make up to the Kents.
Lex felt bad about not being allowed to take Chloe to Metropolis. But then again, if Chloe decided that she can do something by herself, there was no sense lending a helping hand. Chloe Sullivan was intelligent enough to recognize when she would honestly need help. He did not need her blowing up for his anti-feminist ideologies. Last week was one of the rare times when she would show weakness. Even then, she still retained a strong grip on her self-control.
"You should have stayed in the car," she had told him as he wiped the traces of rainwater coursing down his face. Chloe dabbed on his neck and waited for the towel to absorb the moisture. "Look at you. You're going to get sick." She briskly reached for the button on the dashboard and turned on the heat.
"I'm not going to honk my horn while you're out there in the rain."
"Well now we're both wet. Good job." Even as she said that, the small smile was already playing on her lips.
Lex didn't argue. It had been so long since anyone fussed over him. Chloe's lopsided beret was falling off and he disentangled the pins that held it to her hair. Lex threw the black cloth at the backseat and looked at Chloe, whose blonde hair was now dark and matted to her scalp because of the rain. He took the towel from her hand and spread it, then threw it over her hair and rubbed her hair quickly. When he uncovered her head, it was to find her golden hair fluffed around her face. She glanced at herself at the rearview mirror and winced. "Hey," he assured her, "you're looking fresh."
"Thank you, Lex," she replied dryly. And then she settled on the passenger seat and sighed. Chloe turned to face him now as he shrugged of his sodden coat. She reached for his hand and when she closed her hand over his, he turned his palm up so they could entwine their fingers. "Just, thanks. I didn't know what I needed there until I saw you waiting out here."
"When you need me, I will always be there."
"I know."
Lex smiled again as he steered the car to the Kent Farm. He had such a clear picture of her trusting smile when she said that. The hour she returned from that interview she was certain to ace, he was going to be waiting at her house.
After the rather stilted conversation with Martha and Jonathan Kent, and a brusque meeting with Roger Nixon in his office, Lex decided that he should do some investigative journalism. It was the perfect way to pass the time while Chloe was pursing her own dreams. He was not as talented as Chloe was in following up on leads, but since he had his own investigative reporter on the payroll, Lex played detective.
The lead proved to be disappointing, although the disturbed pilot gave a story that he was certain Chloe would find fascinating. Lex took his phone from his pocket and dialed Chloe's number. He could just picture her reaction to the UFO narrative. Lex made certain to remember the way to the old pilot's house because Chloe was going to ask him to drive her back here when she came home. It had been the third time he called her since she left, and still she did not answer. Lex tossed the phone to the seat beside him and made his way to Gabe's.
Lex pulled over the Sullivan house to find the place empty. He knocked on the door, hoping that Gabe was inside, and that the man merely forgot to turn on the porch light. A few minutes of knocking in vain, Lex grew both frustrated and panicked. He jogged back to his car and took his phone. He dialed the number at the plant. The assistant at Gabe's section informed him that Gabe Sullivan was called out on an emergency.
"What emergency? Is he okay?" he demanded, although all his instincts were calling her name. "Who called him?"
"The police came by about three hours ago, Mr. Luthor. It seems like Mr. Sullivan's daughter Chloe was on her way to the city."
"I know that," he broke in, trying to hurry the woman on the other end of the line.
"Oh. Well her car was found abandoned on the side of the road, sir, by the woods. Mr. Sullivan lef the plant in a hurry."
Lex froze with his hand on the ignition. He could feel his entire face growing numb, and his limbs feeling so weak and paralyzed. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed, counting from one to ten, because he would be no help like this. When he had calmed himself, Lex asked the assistant if she knew where Gabe headed. Eliciting no intelligent answer, he hung up and dialed Chloe's number again, knowing already that it would be in vain.
"Shit." He ran his hand over his face and sped out of the Sullivan driveway, heading to the road of out Smallville. "I should have driven you, Chloe." Lex stepped on the gas and left the dusty trail behind as he passed through fields and fields of corn. When the fields vanished and turned to woods, he scanned the darkness and found the lights of the various police car parked around the small car she used.
Lex screeched into a halt right in front of the investigators gathered there. He stepped out of the car and stalked towards Gabe. "Anything?" he rasped.
The older man looked up at Lex worriedly, barely registering that his boss had not even been told about the development. "Nothing. Her bag is inside. There wasn't a sign of struggle." Gabe ran a hand through his hair. "They said that the single set of tracks were heavy, and the person could have been carrying a body." Lex noticed the difficulty Gabe was having breathing. "My daughter's unconscious, Lex. That man could have ki-"
He handed his keys to Gabe and gripped the older man's shoulder, primarily to cut off what he was afraid of hearing. "You should have called me, Gabe. I need to be a part of this." Lex swallowed because there was no point in blaming, especially not the father. "You can stay in my car and rest. I'll see what I can get out of them now." Lex saw the police officer standing beside Chloe's car, flashing his light inside. He approached the man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Have you fingerprinted the car?" he asked. "I want the identity of the person who took her. Give me the name. He has to have some kind of record. I'll take care of the rest."
"I'm afraid there's nothing here, Mr. Luthor. We'll have to wait and see what turns up in a day or two."
Lex looked at the man in disbelief. "You're saying you'll wait until Ms. Sullivan surfaces dead, and then you'll look for clues?" Lex was about to say something else when Gabe suddenly cried in surprise. Lex turned and saw the man waving them over with his phone.
"Clark found her!"
He did not notice the police officer before him anymore as he rushed over the Gabe Sullivan. "Where is she?"
"He took her to Smallville General. Clark found her, Lex."
Choked by his own joy at the news, Lex collapsed into the leather seat of his vehicle and headed towards the hospital. "Is she all right?" he whispered as they made their way through the night.
"Clark found her buried in a metal coffin off at Chandler's Field," was the quiet answer. "Chloe's tough."
Lex drove just a little faster, because of all the people who had ever been connected to Chloe Sullivan, he was the only one who knew enough to know that Chloe's not so tough after all.
It was with sad despair that Lex stood outside Chloe's room in the hospital, looking in through the glass window. Despite all his promises, Lex was not available when she was almost burned to death at the school. He came too late to save her when the boy who sucked body heat came after her. In his own house Chloe had been attacked not once but twice under his supervision. And now, Clark Kent released her from certain death. All he was were talk and promises.
She looked so pale and shaken there, as she lay in bed, real tears coursing down her cheeks. He was certain that she would not easily forget the ordeal she had been through. Lex saw how she gripped Clark's hand as the boy sat beside her. She clung to the only safety she knew now.
Lex recognized that while she may want to be with him, it was Clark Kent she needed. He loved her enough to give her that.
fin
The day was pretty hot although he could see from a distance that the horizon was shifting to accommodate the winds. Lex Luthor made his way through Smallville's dusty roads, smiling at the memory of his last conversation with Chloe. If he had any doubt before of how well they would go together despite their large age difference, all that has been put behind him.
He had been busy the entire week. It had taken most of his free time outside the plant to push the paperwork on the Kents' losses caused by the chemical spill through the bureaucratic nightmare that he did not realize lay beneath the modern veneer of LuthorCorp. But he had promised Clark that he would look at the problem and now that it was finished, Lex barely inserted enough time to pick up the phone and wish Chloe luck on her interview at Metropolis. She had repeatedly turned down his offer of chauffeuring her to the Daily Planet, saying instead that he should take the time off to rest. She was more aware than anyone else how fatiguing it had been to face accountants and supervisors whose lips were familiar with his father's behind, at the same time not letting on that he needed the best deal possible to make up to the Kents.
Lex felt bad about not being allowed to take Chloe to Metropolis. But then again, if Chloe decided that she can do something by herself, there was no sense lending a helping hand. Chloe Sullivan was intelligent enough to recognize when she would honestly need help. He did not need her blowing up for his anti-feminist ideologies. Last week was one of the rare times when she would show weakness. Even then, she still retained a strong grip on her self-control.
"You should have stayed in the car," she had told him as he wiped the traces of rainwater coursing down his face. Chloe dabbed on his neck and waited for the towel to absorb the moisture. "Look at you. You're going to get sick." She briskly reached for the button on the dashboard and turned on the heat.
"I'm not going to honk my horn while you're out there in the rain."
"Well now we're both wet. Good job." Even as she said that, the small smile was already playing on her lips.
Lex didn't argue. It had been so long since anyone fussed over him. Chloe's lopsided beret was falling off and he disentangled the pins that held it to her hair. Lex threw the black cloth at the backseat and looked at Chloe, whose blonde hair was now dark and matted to her scalp because of the rain. He took the towel from her hand and spread it, then threw it over her hair and rubbed her hair quickly. When he uncovered her head, it was to find her golden hair fluffed around her face. She glanced at herself at the rearview mirror and winced. "Hey," he assured her, "you're looking fresh."
"Thank you, Lex," she replied dryly. And then she settled on the passenger seat and sighed. Chloe turned to face him now as he shrugged of his sodden coat. She reached for his hand and when she closed her hand over his, he turned his palm up so they could entwine their fingers. "Just, thanks. I didn't know what I needed there until I saw you waiting out here."
"When you need me, I will always be there."
"I know."
Lex smiled again as he steered the car to the Kent Farm. He had such a clear picture of her trusting smile when she said that. The hour she returned from that interview she was certain to ace, he was going to be waiting at her house.
After the rather stilted conversation with Martha and Jonathan Kent, and a brusque meeting with Roger Nixon in his office, Lex decided that he should do some investigative journalism. It was the perfect way to pass the time while Chloe was pursing her own dreams. He was not as talented as Chloe was in following up on leads, but since he had his own investigative reporter on the payroll, Lex played detective.
The lead proved to be disappointing, although the disturbed pilot gave a story that he was certain Chloe would find fascinating. Lex took his phone from his pocket and dialed Chloe's number. He could just picture her reaction to the UFO narrative. Lex made certain to remember the way to the old pilot's house because Chloe was going to ask him to drive her back here when she came home. It had been the third time he called her since she left, and still she did not answer. Lex tossed the phone to the seat beside him and made his way to Gabe's.
Lex pulled over the Sullivan house to find the place empty. He knocked on the door, hoping that Gabe was inside, and that the man merely forgot to turn on the porch light. A few minutes of knocking in vain, Lex grew both frustrated and panicked. He jogged back to his car and took his phone. He dialed the number at the plant. The assistant at Gabe's section informed him that Gabe Sullivan was called out on an emergency.
"What emergency? Is he okay?" he demanded, although all his instincts were calling her name. "Who called him?"
"The police came by about three hours ago, Mr. Luthor. It seems like Mr. Sullivan's daughter Chloe was on her way to the city."
"I know that," he broke in, trying to hurry the woman on the other end of the line.
"Oh. Well her car was found abandoned on the side of the road, sir, by the woods. Mr. Sullivan lef the plant in a hurry."
Lex froze with his hand on the ignition. He could feel his entire face growing numb, and his limbs feeling so weak and paralyzed. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed, counting from one to ten, because he would be no help like this. When he had calmed himself, Lex asked the assistant if she knew where Gabe headed. Eliciting no intelligent answer, he hung up and dialed Chloe's number again, knowing already that it would be in vain.
"Shit." He ran his hand over his face and sped out of the Sullivan driveway, heading to the road of out Smallville. "I should have driven you, Chloe." Lex stepped on the gas and left the dusty trail behind as he passed through fields and fields of corn. When the fields vanished and turned to woods, he scanned the darkness and found the lights of the various police car parked around the small car she used.
Lex screeched into a halt right in front of the investigators gathered there. He stepped out of the car and stalked towards Gabe. "Anything?" he rasped.
The older man looked up at Lex worriedly, barely registering that his boss had not even been told about the development. "Nothing. Her bag is inside. There wasn't a sign of struggle." Gabe ran a hand through his hair. "They said that the single set of tracks were heavy, and the person could have been carrying a body." Lex noticed the difficulty Gabe was having breathing. "My daughter's unconscious, Lex. That man could have ki-"
He handed his keys to Gabe and gripped the older man's shoulder, primarily to cut off what he was afraid of hearing. "You should have called me, Gabe. I need to be a part of this." Lex swallowed because there was no point in blaming, especially not the father. "You can stay in my car and rest. I'll see what I can get out of them now." Lex saw the police officer standing beside Chloe's car, flashing his light inside. He approached the man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Have you fingerprinted the car?" he asked. "I want the identity of the person who took her. Give me the name. He has to have some kind of record. I'll take care of the rest."
"I'm afraid there's nothing here, Mr. Luthor. We'll have to wait and see what turns up in a day or two."
Lex looked at the man in disbelief. "You're saying you'll wait until Ms. Sullivan surfaces dead, and then you'll look for clues?" Lex was about to say something else when Gabe suddenly cried in surprise. Lex turned and saw the man waving them over with his phone.
"Clark found her!"
He did not notice the police officer before him anymore as he rushed over the Gabe Sullivan. "Where is she?"
"He took her to Smallville General. Clark found her, Lex."
Choked by his own joy at the news, Lex collapsed into the leather seat of his vehicle and headed towards the hospital. "Is she all right?" he whispered as they made their way through the night.
"Clark found her buried in a metal coffin off at Chandler's Field," was the quiet answer. "Chloe's tough."
Lex drove just a little faster, because of all the people who had ever been connected to Chloe Sullivan, he was the only one who knew enough to know that Chloe's not so tough after all.
It was with sad despair that Lex stood outside Chloe's room in the hospital, looking in through the glass window. Despite all his promises, Lex was not available when she was almost burned to death at the school. He came too late to save her when the boy who sucked body heat came after her. In his own house Chloe had been attacked not once but twice under his supervision. And now, Clark Kent released her from certain death. All he was were talk and promises.
She looked so pale and shaken there, as she lay in bed, real tears coursing down her cheeks. He was certain that she would not easily forget the ordeal she had been through. Lex saw how she gripped Clark's hand as the boy sat beside her. She clung to the only safety she knew now.
Lex recognized that while she may want to be with him, it was Clark Kent she needed. He loved her enough to give her that.
fin