A/N: Okay, the sections from here on out are all apart of Chapter 4, and officially labeled as 'Section 5'. I have it all finished, so I'm going to try and post everything that's left. Thank you all so much for reading this story and reviewing it. I hope the end is worth it:-)
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Lana couldn't believe they were standing outside of the warehouse already. Since it was on the outskirts of the city, from The Venetian, it should have taken them at least twenty minutes, due to both traffic and distance. But Lex's limousine driver, aware of the crunch on time and the life that hung on every wasted moment, broke a few of the Nevada driving laws and reached the warehouse in only ten minutes. And for the first time since this investigation began, Lana finally felt close to Lois.
A small amount of good fortune, and I quickly believe we've reached the end … I should not be so naïve, Lana reasoned dimly. Because though things seemed to fall in line, and evidence seemed to show up at the right time, they were now, suddenly, standing at the precipice of a miracle, and it was, in its strict definition, based solely on assumptions. One instinct, one feeling built on the next and the next. And Lana knew very well what would happen if they didn't find Lois in the building before them.
In fact, they would not be able to deny their mistakes.
Hidden next to her behind a building about forty feet from the front of the warehouse, Lex sighed deeply, his eyes locked in deep concentration. Just as she, he searched frantically for a way into the building itself. From this angle, however, it was difficult to see any good way to break in. They could try to break through the two large garage doors directly in front, but that seemed unlikely, and would only take more time than they were willing to give. And the last thing they wanted to do was announce their presence to whoever might be inside.
Despite the time of night, they needed to be ready for the very likely scenario that someone would see them during their excursion.
At the moment, Lana felt caught up in the silence that surrounded them. The street they were on felt especially dark and rundown, a section of Las Vegas that was a far cry from the glamour of the strip. Luckily for them, the warehouse was located in and amongst, actually, nothing of importance. Except for a few abandoned buildings, the area was permeated by lots of land overgrown with grass, or broken up blacktop. Because of its vacancy, there were not a lot of obstacles to pass through to reach their destination.
However, the area was still scary, perhaps even taken out of a horror film. And Lana knew, if Lex was not with her, fear might freeze her so much as to prevent her from pursuing her intentions of going into the warehouse to search for Lois. Despite how strong she claimed to be on many occasions, fear tended to course through her veins more frequently than she was willing to admit. From dangerous situations to relationships, Lana could not help but wonder what she let slip through her fingers because of fear.
Clark … maybe partly because of my fear … left me. The life we could have had …
Yet, he's happy with Chloe. Chloe … makes him shine. And that's something I can't deny.
Lex, on the other hand … seems to see the fear in me, and encourages me to keep going. Something I didn't expect. Something I have seen more and more throughout the investigation.
"There," Lex whispered, pointing just to the left of the two, huge garage doors of the warehouse.
Lana couldn't see what object heightened his curiosity, yet she knew it must be something. Before she could ask, however, he quickly bolted out into the small street that separated their building from the warehouse across the way. The streetlights illuminated enough of the dingy street that Lana made it a point to avoid them completely as she crossed the distance of forty feet.
Once he reached the warehouse, Lex ran parallel to its left wall for about another thirty feet. At that point, he stopped and turned to see if Lana stayed close. And he smiled when he saw her approach just a minute or so after him. "A door," he informed further, his breath still a bit ragged from his run.
Lana moved around him and saw the door he referred to just five feet away. "How did you see that from where we were?" He would have to have X-ray vision for such a catch.
Yet he merely smiled and shrugged sheepishly. "I guessed."
However, when Lana went to open it, of course, it was locked quite tight. She sighed and looked to him. "Any ideas?"
Lex's smile broadened as he walked up to the door and pulled a small pick from his pocket.
Lana shook her head. "Did the millionaire turn into a top notch spy when I wasn't looking?"
"I've always been interested in gathering intelligence," he joked lightly, then insisted in the next breath, "Go to the corner and cover me."
Because obviously, they didn't want anyone to see what they were about to do.
Lana nodded and moved quickly down to the corner that faced the street. She peered out for a second, trying desperately to adjust her eyes to the shadows that danced between the glow of the streetlight and the darkness that surrounded it. Smudged and undefined.
But she saw nothing of suspicion.
"Okay," Lex whispered loudly in her direction.
Lana turned just in time to see him standing proudly in the doorway. "How did you do that so quickly?"
Lex shrugged again and merely watched as she came up next to him. He gestured for her to enter first, and Lana didn't hesitate in the least. With what she's been through, despite her earlier admission of frequent fear in dangerous situations, Lana could not wait to find Lois. If that meant stepping into the unknown, then maybe, for the first time, Lana would find her courage. Sure, Lex was with her as they walked into the warehouse, which was basked mostly in darkness save for the light from the street that fought through the windows. But if she needed to feed on his confidence to push her own courage, then so be it.
What was the belief? When faced with something dangerous, a person either fights or flies away from the situation?
Tonight, Lana intended to fight.
The immediate space before them was obviously the actual garage area, and it housed about three trucks with the word "Lyman" painted on the side. Lana looked up to see another level above them, and she quickly remembered it from the blueprints. But going up the building was not the key. They needed to go down, and down meant steps. Steps that would lead them directly to Lois.
"Let's spread out a little," Lex whispered next to her, and Lana nodded in agreement.
Lex moved closer to the trucks and began to circle around towards the front. Lana chose the back, and moved quickly to a door that seemed to lead to a small office space. Through a small window in the wall that separated the room from the garage area, she saw computers, file cabinets, and two desks that supported her theory. Just around the corner of that door and behind that office, however, the space opened up into another large garage area. Again, three trucks were lined at the back, but that was not what arose Lana's curiosity.
What interested her the most was the small door to the left and just behind the back wall of the office. It was hidden well beneath the dark shadows of the room, but the dusk till dawn light that hung on the outside back wall of the building illuminated its upper right corner. And for a moment, Lana was instantly perplexed by it. Maybe the darkness smudged the lines of normal definition, and maybe her eyes had not yet adjusted completely as they moved between the two extremes within the spectrum of light.
And maybe her exhaustion started to take most of her rational thought away.
But as the seconds passed, she noticed that the door seemed to separate the rest of the warehouse from a very small room. A very, very small room.
Though that seemed odd at first, Lana shrugged the feeling aside quickly and opened the door.
Opened the door to reveal stairs … stairs that led further down than she could see.
"Lex!" Lana shouted, her heart pounding hard in her chest. She didn't care who heard her now. None of that mattered.
Lex came running quickly to her side, only to immediately halt the second his eyes fell on the stairs before them.
"You found them."
Lana nodded and started to step through the doorway before Lex stopped her with a hand to her upper arm.
She turned to him with question, and he insisted, "Wait."
He ran around the corner for a minute and soon reappeared with a flashlight in his hand. Lex then smiled and gestured for her to go.
Good forethought, Lana reasoned. I think we're going to need a flashlight.
And within moments, they were descending the stairs.
At first, Lana felt the stairs might go on forever. Because it certainly felt like it. Just as they approached a landing that might lead to the floor they were looking for, another set of stairs appeared just to their right. And the next, just to the left. After the first few flights of ten steps or so, Lana began to worry that the lower level might have been taken out completely. That the later blueprints were right. And they were, essentially, climbing down to a dead end.
But the next landing ahead showed no other stairs.
And Lana knew they had finally reached the bottom.
"I wish there were lights somewhere," she muttered quietly.
Lex shined the small flashlight out in front of them, which revealed only a few feet of hallway space. What they were walking to, neither knew.
"Me, too," he agreed, now seemingly a bit tense with their apparent handicap.
As they walked, Lana allowed her fingertips to graze lightly against the wall next to her. Not just as a way to keep her balance in the blinding darkness, but also as a tool to guide them.
For a while the wall seemed a constant, ensuring them they were heading in the only direction available.
Until, of course, the wall stopped.
And suddenly Lana realized they had stepped through a doorway.
"Where are we?" she whispered, asking the obvious.
Then her fingers grazed across a light switch. A light? Or, better yet, the switch to the bomb that awaited us? Lana joked darkly to herself. Yeah, right. I would not be surprised.
With a sigh, she flipped the switch.
And was awarded with light.
"Wow," was all she could breath through her gapping mouth.
Ahead of them was an enormous, open space. A huge room, really. The floor was concrete, and the walls exposed rotting brick in some spots and strong, newly placed steel in others. The room, however, had three, separate doorways that opened up into hallways that extended further into the dark depths of the floor. So initially intricate in design, Lana quickly thought of the word maze.
And maze was what they would get.
"Which way?" Lana asked hesitantly. Another decision. Another instinct.
Lex shrugged. "I don't know. Left?"
"Why the left hallway?"
"It doesn't matter, really," Lex reasoned, "because, whichever way we go first, we'll end up searching through the entire floor anyway. Maze or not, we need to search it all."
Lana nodded. "Okay, left."
And down the left hallway they went.
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It took Clark only thirty seconds to reach the warehouse, and only that long because he wasn't exactly sure of its location. He decided to fly through the air rather than run on the ground, certain no one would see them so high up in the sky. Though he was used to such heights, Chloe was not. And by the time they reached their destination, her arms were like a vise around Clark's neck. She trusted him, sure, but that would not stop her from holding on as tight as she could in fear something would go wrong.
Actually, the thought made Clark smile slightly.
He landed them parallel to the right wall of the building, and the minute his feet hit the ground, Chloe dropped quickly out of his arms. Though their landing seemed well hidden, Clark still flipped his vision to X-ray to search for anything or anyone of great suspicion.
And while he searched for their next threat, Chloe ran quickly up to a gray door to the warehouse. Obviously not the entrance, the door was efficiently locked from the inside and used only for emergency exits.
But that would not stop them.
"Clark!" Chloe whispered urgently, and he turned to see her standing anxiously next to the door.
He nodded and moved to her. "I thought you said you didn't hire me for my skills?"
Chloe huffed as if irritated, but couldn't fight the small smile that stretched across the line of her lips. "Nice, flyboy. Just push it in … or do whatever you do."
Clark smiled, took a quick look around, and then surged towards the door and pushed it completely through and into the warehouse with his shoulder. Though the streetlight outside gave them some illumination, it was not enough to fight the overwhelming darkness. And Clark was instantly glad for his super vision, knowing if they were going to find anything here, he would have to be the one to see it.
Chloe sighed next to him. "Any ideas of what or where we should be looking?"
"Behind closed doors?"
"Sounds like we're hitting the NC-17 part of our relationship," Chloe chided softly, letting him see only a hint of a smile in the depths of the dark.
This time, Clark huffed, but joked in return, "Yeah, right."
The first few steps they took were cautionary, and suddenly Clark felt Chloe push him towards the back of the building. "You check the rear."
Clark nodded and moved past her, and quickly switched his vision back to X-ray. He tried to watch his step, but he couldn't help bumping up against a few objects. The spaces to walk through in the crowded building were much too small for a man his size, despite how stealthily he tried to be. The huge trucks painted with the word Lyman did not help matters any, taking up most of the garage space around them. Luckily, his actions were not so loud as to be too suspicious for anyone who might be patrolling the area.
Ahead of him, his vision fell upon a small room that Clark quickly decided was an office. From that point, he walked further into the darkness, past the room, and through the doorway into the second half of the building he didn't even know existed. Again he saw three more Lyman trucks, and suddenly felt a shot of instinct, deciding Lois might actually be in one of them. Maybe they're going to transfer her somewhere? Maybe they thought no one would look?
And just as he began to scan them, Chloe whispered, loud enough for him to hear, "Hey, over here!"
He turned and finally realized how close she actually was to him. And just as he was about to applaud her fine-tuned spy techniques, Clark noticed what she was standing next to – a door.
"Can you see what's inside?" Chloe asked quickly.
Clark looked, but was instantly frustrated. "No, it's made of lead."
Chloe turned to the door and placed her hand on its knob. Clark hurried next to her, anxious to protect her from whatever might appear before them. The last thing he needed right now was an injured, or worse yet, dead Chloe Sullivan. After he just survived his father's passing, he had no intention of going through such an ordeal again. Even if that meant risking my own life … dying myself.
But when she opened the door, only silence greeted them.
Silence and stairs.
"Well, let's go," Chloe urged quietly.
Just as she moved, however, Clark grabbed her arm gently.
"Let me go first."
"Why? Don't think I can take care of myself?" Chloe asked, letting her eyebrows arch slightly.
Clark adamantly shook his head, and insisted, "No, no, not because of that." He grabbed her hand confidently. "Because I can see and you can't."
Chloe nodded, but knew by the grip of his hand on hers that his statement only accounted for half of his true intentions. But that was okay, because, though Chloe liked to do things on her own, her life was not the only one in jeopardy. And if she had to give up some of her authority in this case to ensure Lois' safety, and, in the end, her own, then so be it. Because Clark was right … he can see and I can't right now. So I'll let him lead.
Even though she did spot the door before Clark, Chloe would admit she was only so lucky because the light that came through the few windows happened to illuminate one corner of the otherwise well hidden door. In many other parts of the case, Clark's skills did come in handy more times than she could count. And at the moment, as Clark pulled her to the stairs and they began to descend them, Chloe was happy for her forethought. I'm glad I brought Clark with me … for this entire investigation. Without him … I don't know if I could've done it.
As she traveled further into the black abyss of darkness, Chloe felt a few chills run directly up her spine. Felt her cheeks redden with the sudden rush of stale, cold air. Felt and heard her feet on the concrete steps below them. Felt Clark's hand tighten anxiously around hers, urging her to stay with him. Silently reassuring her everything would be okay. That everything was okay.
After a few minutes, however, she started to get worried.
"Are we still walking down steps?" Chloe asked, the sarcasm strong in her voice.
Clark nodded. "Yeah, that's all there is."
Silence was their companion as they continued to walk, each depending on the other for strength they didn't think they could muster alone. Though Clark was physically stronger than Chloe, and though she acted submissive throughout the past few minutes, he knew they would never find Lois without her fortitude and unmatched keen for investigation. A talent like no other, an intelligence and stamina to keep digging and digging until she saw the bottom.
And even then, Chloe would rip the bottom open and expose what no one else dared to.
"Wait," Clark insisted suddenly, his voice rising with his quiet excitement. He no longer saw steps, but instead a huge hallway leading further into the unknown. "I think we've reached bottom."
"Finally," Chloe muttered impatiently, stepping up to Clark's side, her hand still in his. "There has to be a light switch somewhere in the depths of hell."
"Until we find one, stay close."
The darkness, however, didn't last long. Just ahead, a small light glimmered and flickered, and Chloe quickly realized they were heading towards a doorway. Obvious questions began to float through her mind, but the most prudent seemed – "Is someone else done here?" By all indications, it seemed that way. And she remarked sarcastically, "I doubt someone forgot to turn off the kitchen light before they left."
Clark nodded. "I think we should be careful."
And in thirty seconds, they found themselves in the room of light. Vast, spacious, and empty. The room was gray in color due to the concrete, and also had three doorways that opened up into three separate hallways. Hallways that led to much, much more.
"How extensive is this?" Clark asked, his frustration clear in his voice.
Chloe shrugged. "I don't know."
They stood in silence for a few moments, both taking in exactly what was ahead of them. Obviously, a choice had to be made as to which way to go first. And it was a decision Chloe really didn't want to make; aware any lost seconds could mean losing Lois for good. With the lights on, it was safe to say Lois' captors might be done here, as well. But that was assuming this was the right building in the first place. Assuming they could trust everyone they interviewed, every path they chose, and every decision they've made throughout this entire investigation.
For some reason, Chloe felt it. This is it … something is here …something …
Regardless of odds, Lois was waiting for them somewhere in this dingy place. And Chloe wouldn't leave until they found her.
"Let's separate," Chloe suggested in a whisper. "We'll cover more ground that way."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Clark …".
"No," Clark interrupted, stepping close to her. "We don't know what's down here. Or who's down here."
Chloe smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "You're right, Clark, I did partly ask you to help me because of your special skills. That means, if I need you, I'll yell for you, okay?"
Clark shook his head. "Chloe, I can't promise I'll get to you in time. Who knows how big this place is down here, or how complicated it might be …".
"Trust me, Clark. Please," Chloe insisted in a soft whisper. "It'll be okay."
Though Clark didn't like it, he yielded to her insistence. Because he really couldn't stop her. Sure, he could follow her, but that wasn't right, despite his reservations. And he remembered that Chloe already trusted him tonight, numerous times really. Now … it was his turn to trust completely.
He nodded and turned away. "Okay."
Chloe squeezed his hand. "Clark?"
"Yeah?"
She smiled widely, reassuringly, let her thumb rub the back of his hand affectionately, and said, "I promise you, when this is all over … I'll buy you dinner for being so brave."
Clark looked to her, unable to stop the huge smile from breaking across his dark features. "Promise?"
Chloe smirked. "I do." But then, in the next breath, she insisted, "You go right and I'll go left. Maybe this is just a big circle and we'll meet in the middle somewhere."
"All right," Clark agreed. But he wouldn't let them separate until she understood how handicapped he was down here. He still had his speed, and mostly everything else. But his X-ray vision, which he tended to rely on greatly in rescue situations, could not be depended on. "Just to remind you, I can't see much from room to room. Some seem to have lead walls and others don't. So if you need help, I don't know how long it'll take me to get to you."
Chloe nodded and moved away towards the left hallway. "I understand. I'm taking my life in my own hands. I get that."
"Okay."
Clark then smiled and walked towards the right hallway, sufficiently happy that they would make it out of here okay. And that Chloe would owe him dinner for being so brave. The latter thought caused him to smirk.
But Chloe added, with a soft voice, "Hey, Clark." He turned to her. "You be careful, too." For some reason, all this talk about last moments turned Chloe's stomach sour, and it was just something she needed to say. Of course everything would be fine, and of course they would Lois, safe and sound. Yet she couldn't leave him without saying it.
He smiled and then finally sped down the right hallway.
Chloe took a deep breath, and ran down the left.