A/N: Thank you to all who have been reading and reviewing! Here is the next installment, still in chapter 2. I hope all of you have enjoyed it thus far! As always, reviews are most definitely welcome. :-)

Chapter 2: One of Us
Part 2

Lana gazed at Lex, saw his eyes glaze over slightly as he stared at yet another security video, this time from just outside the Talon. The night dragged on way into the next morning, each surprised to see the sun rise so soon. Who knew looking at security videos would really take this long? Lana mused lightly, finally taking Lex's words of longevity to heart. But that did not matter to her. Lois' safety mattered the most, above exhaustion, above her desperate need for rest.

Because every second counted …

"Anything?" she asked, a bit more groggily than she felt.

Lex sighed slightly and pursed his lips, the wear of the night heavy on his handsome features. He kept his eyes on the small screen of his computer, which connected to a television set in the middle of his office at LuthorCorp. The daunting task of searching every security camera that may have caught Lois sometime during the day she disappeared finally caught up to him, despite his determination to aid his best reporter with more than just a few mercenaries to search for her.

"No, nothing on this tape," he announced, as he stood up and walked slowly to the coffeepot set up by his secretary … what, five hours ago? Lex recalled faintly. Everything seemed a blur now, all that they saw, with barely any progress in return. Efforts wasted, it seemed. Something Lex hated to do, especially when his time could be served better elsewhere, in some more effective manner.

Lana watched as he poured two cups of coffee, frustrated herself with their apparent failure. Through the many hours spent on this project, she expected to find something, even if small and minute. She could immediately tell Lex was ready to give up and move on to another strategy, which he had every right to do. He did have the money to pursue the course of action he felt was best.

Lex walked back over, set one cup before her on the coffee table in front of the couch, and soon went back to his desk to start the next security installment. The enormous difficulty with investigating in this manner was the unknown timetable. With no real idea of where Lois was at any time during the day – because she spent most of the day out and about in investigation – they barely caught her on three tapes, all of which she only appeared for a few precious seconds.

We need a timeline … he began to muse silently before Lana interrupted his thoughts.

"Maybe we should take another look at The Daily Planet videos again," Lana suggested weakly, but sat up a bit to stress her point. Whether Lex believed it or not, she was convinced the first clue was deeply buried somewhere in these tapes. It was important to keep going, keep searching, for as long as it takes until their task is complete; until Lois is safe. Though she could already tell Lex's devotion to this search was faltering slightly due to their lack of progress and exhaustion, she would not give up so easily.

For her, this was just the beginning …

Lex nodded, but commented dryly, "The same videos we have looked at quite a few times already tonight. Not to mention, this morning."

"We did see her on one, though, right?" Lana reminded carefully, instantly feeling her hopes rise with the memory. They did study that particular scene numerous times, but much of their investigation came in the wee hours of the morning. Past the point of comprehension and before the lofty brilliance of exhaustion, Lana thought with a smile. Often her best ideas came when she was extremely tired.

Today would be no different.

Lex finally contemplated putting a stop to this diversion of tactics, hoping to spare Lana the disappointment that was sure to come. But if he shot down her lost, though sometimes empty, hope, it would be the worst discretion he could commit. It would only cause her to wonder 'what if?', and further install her with passion, the only ammunition for true perseverance. To give her more reason to chase after something that may not exist, in a direction shaded with difficulty.

"All right, give me one second to bring it up again," Lex conceded, though with a hint of disagreement.

Lana stood up and walked to the television screen, more anxious now than ever to see the images of that day - of any moments that could shine a light on such a dark unknown. In seconds, the screen flashed, and then displayed the same images they studied hours before. And just as before, no obvious suggestion of foul play.

Well, until …

"Wait! Rewind and pause it for a second," Lana urged quickly, the excitement once lost during the night suddenly reviving her, now clear and strong. She moved closer to the screen and stared. And when she turned back to Lex, who now looked at the screen with intense interest and intrigue, Lana said with a knowing smile,"Come and take a look at this …"

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Clark remained silent during the rest of the ride back to Chloe's apartment. He did study her frequently, however, his eyes absorbing her features with interest – watching as the anger melted away little by little. It almost gave him the courage to speak up again, to dive into the conversation they sorely needed to have with each other. But he couldn't, still afraid his efforts would only worsen their fragile friendship rather than nourish it. Instead, he merely followed her footsteps from the parking garage, through her building, and finally to her apartment, keeping a distance of at least five feet behind her. Deep in thought, rummaging through his own emotions that still remained thick and overbearing.

Surprised … because she reacted so angrily … so hurt … but what did I expect? I attempted to reach out, but it was too soon …

What happened two years ago, the break up so quick and decisive, did not give them the sufficient time to really move on. Clark, since that day on the porch of his farmhouse, still kept a part of Chloe deep inside of him, despite her incriminating actions. No matter how hard he tried to drain his heart of her, rid himself of her touch, of her eyes, of her soul, nothing save Chloe herself could give him freedom.

Chloe walked quickly to her desk to sit down once she unlocked and opened her door, her curiosity too overpowering to ignore. The same curiosity that drove her, gave her the uncompromising passion to search for the truth. But truth did not drive her this time. Love for her cousin was the only thought that kept her going, kept her fighting through the failures of the past week.

And finally, she held the link to this case, to Lois' safety, in her hand.

Though she would prefer to think only of her cousin, think only of the enormous task before them, her past would not let her. The past that crept up on her again, that threatened to open the wound she closed two years ago.

What happened with Clark was completely unexpected and she tried to make it disappear from her mind. The incident in the car was not like her, a moment of lost control when she desperately needed to stay calm. His intentions were probably pure, a cloud of concern underneath his words. But for Chloe, it only heightened her anger, precisely because he played the friendship card, two years after he questioned its merit. Two years after he based such a life altering decision on its apparent collapse.

Alleged collapse … alleged … because he still did not know, did not believe what really happened when he walked in on me …

Even now …

Chloe's actions were so automatic, that under her thoughts she already placed the disk in the computer and began to search its contents. With a nervous eye, she glanced to Clark, who now walked casually towards the kitchen peninsula, still silent and clearly apprehensive. Her words, she could see, had struck a cord. But Clark always did have a point … because if he really believed she was capable of such a hurtful act, then maybe a relationship wouldn't work … if they couldn't trust each other …

Not to mention his retaliation only a few hours after seeing …

Clark, on the other hand, kept his distance. Rubbed his chin again absently, waited, and watched as Chloe began to search the precious disk. Should I try to bring it up again? Not just her problems now, but also everything that has kept us apart … for so long … for too long …

But was it worth it? If she reacted in such a hostile way, was it really worth saving? Maybe he was right to stay away. The incident, its image still so real in his mind, almost brought Clark to his knees in despair two years ago. Even now, when the images cursed his thoughts, the anger rose in his heart, an emotion driven completely by jealousy. He knew what he saw, the mistakes Chloe made. But I made them, too … after I saw it, I made the same mistake, with no sense of consequence …

Maybe it was meant to be.

Maybe … Chloe is the lost love … the one that could have been … the 'what if?' in my life.

Chloe, however, interrupted him before he could continue his internal debate. "Clark," she began, her eyes traveling from the computer screen, eyes wide, to gaze at him, "you've gotta see this."

Clark nodded and walked over quickly. Already his thoughts of Chloe dropped completely in the interest of helping Lois. At the moment, despite their problems and his own, she was most important. "What did you find?"

"A database," Chloe breathed in utter shock, "I can't believe Lois collected this much. She must've signed up for an espionage course by the CIA while I was in Europe."

Clark burrowed his brow a bit as he stepped behind Chloe, and leaned over her slightly, his left hand bracing his weight next to hers. He did not seem to notice the closeness, so intrigued by the information flashing before his eyes. But that was not the same for Chloe, who responsively straightened her otherwise leisurely posture whenever she normally researched on the computer. "A huge list of … people?"

"Yeah, people involved in some way to the accidents. Victims, witnesses, suspects … unbelievable. She must've been storing it for the bomb she wanted to drop," Chloe concluded casually, her eyes still in some disbelief. Lois did not just study this case, or investigate it, she wrote a book on it. Every witness, every victim, every suspect, as well as a complete description of all three accidental catastrophes; the enormous fire that took out buildings in three city blocks, the twenty-four car pile-up, and the subway crash, were all in this database. No wonder Lois hid it so well!

Clark asked eagerly, "Any one we can pinpoint?"

"Hmm, I don't know," Chloe responded, a bit deflated. The database was amazing, but very extensive. Obviously in perfect order for the author, but to those who studied it now, it was a bit confusing. "Let me see …".

"Wait," Clark responded, his voice rising with interest, "Lois highlighted a few statistics in each person profile."

Chloe looked a little closer, flipping through each profile, and the faces of each flashed quickly with each click. "I can gather all the files that she highlighted into one list," she explained, instantly carrying out her words. Every profile contained simple categories to describe the person, such as, of course, name, occupation, where they lived, and their connection to the accidents. Specifically, when Lois highlighted a category, it was always Ioccupation./I Immediately arousing further intrigue from both Clark and Chloe, desperate to hitch a ride with their friend's thought process.

"Occupation," Chloe recited distantly. At first she figured, perhaps, they all worked for the same company. She studied one highlighted profile, then continued to the next, and then another, only to see a different company filling the occupation field for each.

Clark breathed heavily behind her, a bit frustrated. "I would've bet money they all worked for the same business."

Just as Chloe was about to express her own frustration because of the same reason, she flipped through two more – and the companies matched two of the previous three first established in the files they already saw. She clicked further, and continued to see the same three company names flash under the occupation category. Again … and again.

"What was this, an extermination?"

"Do a cross reference with the accidents," Clark whispered behind her, his breath brushing across her ear. It almost made her shiver, almost made her forget what he asked her to do. Almost made her heart skip a beat … we fought for two years … it doesn't mean I stopped loving him during the two years we were apart, Chloe reasoned, trying to rationalize her reaction. But loving him doesn't necessarily promise a relationship. It never did.

Chloe performed his instructions effortlessly, and soon they saw three different lists in front of them. Each list already sported a title that referred to one of the accidents, and each accident list displayed the victims and/or witnesses with the highlighted category. Furthermore, all those from one particular company were all under the same accident. The same relationship matched that of the other two accidents – one company matched completely with one accident.

"It was. It was extermination. Each accident an assassination attempt on the employees of a particular company," Chloe replied, more surprised than she was willing to admit. Lois' suspicions were right on … because the odds of this happening with no intervention whatsoever …

"There are witnesses, maybe one of them knows something more," Clark pointed out positively.

Chloe added, "This name here looks familiar. I know I've seen it before." Eagerly, she turned to the Internet and typed the name into her personal people search on the web. In seconds, the name appeared with numerous search results underneath. "I knew it," she whispered.

"George Layton," Clark recited.

"He's a board member for the Legacy Corporation, a company in Metropolis famous for building many of the homes in the suburbs. They also own shares in almost fifteen percent of the companies that reside in the city," Chloe explained quickly.

Clark grimaced a bit. "That's a company with a lot of influence in Metropolis, losing quite a few of its most important employees."

"But why?" Chloe asked quickly. Yet the moment she asked her question, instantly her own thoughts answered it. In moments, she searched for information on the Legacy Corporation. A search that brought up a fact she did not expect to see. "Bought out?"

"By who?" Clark asked quickly.

Chloe grimaced, and recited awkwardly, "Jewel Incorporated?

Clark huffed a bit and leaned away from Chloe. "So … Jewel people or whatever… the same who probably found out what Lois knew and took her because of it … staged these accidents to assassinate board members of companies, just so they could be bought out? Is that the theory we're going for here?"

Chloe shrugged. "It's not too out there. Business has never been a showcase for good ethics. And what better way to buy out a company than to bribe board members to support the transition, and then kill off those who oppose it? Doing it like this … well, it certainly covered the tracks of those really responsible. Not to mention, the accidents tricked nearly everyone …".

"Except Lois," Clark observed. "So what do we do now?"

Chloe shrugged lightly, but smiled knowingly. "We need to interview George Clayton. Maybe he's willing to talk about it. Especially if he watched a fifty year old company bought up so quickly, and under more than just questionable circumstances."

"Okay," Clark agreed with a slight nod.

Just as Chloe stood, however, Clark caught her left wrist to stop her. Immediately she turned to him, her outstretched arm the only distance between them. She knew what he wanted to say, what was heavy on his mind. One of them was sure to bring it up eventually, though Chloe vowed to hold out until he insisted they do so. Maybe by then she would be ready to talk about it – not just her outburst in the car, but … everything.

But I'm not ready … not yet …

"Wait," he insisted quietly, his eyes begging for her to listen.

Chloe said with a sigh, "Clark, don't …".

"You know we need to talk about what happened, sometime in the future," Clark began to plea. His words did not just refer to her outburst in the car, and nor did they exclusively concern their transgressions two years ago. Mostly, he thought of the future they promised each other, and the love they declared to each other – both lost due to their quick break-up. Both in danger of never being recovered again.

Chloe interrupted quickly, however. "This isn't the time, Clark." She could feel his emotion as it coursed through his body to hers, by the touch of his fingers to her wrist. His need was the same as hers; to forget, to move on, to befriend each other. To love each other again. She almost lost herself in the moment, caught up by what could have been between them. By all the time they lost with each other. Almost as if they saw in each other the same desperate need for the other – so buried before, now so apparent and draining.

"Clark … we can't do this now …", Chloe stammered softly, her words a repeat of what she just said only a minute ago.

He nodded with obvious concession, aware of their limitations. "I know we can't. Lois is still out there." Clark then dropped her hand, breaking the magic of the moment completely now.

"And we have a case to solve," Chloe added sternly, further stressing the point – no time should be wasted on primal needs of the heart.

With only one more look to spare, Chloe turned and walked towards the door for a second time. Wishing everything was different. Wishing he would stop her, force her to talk. Wishing Lois was safe and well. Wishing he would grab her wrist again, kiss her passionately, and fulfill what both of them wanted. What might wash away all the hurt feelings that still existed.

What might give them a new beginning.

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More to come ...
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