Never Is A Promise Chapter 5
Author's notes: And more of the plotline comes tumbling out. Perry White's history is a bit different than that we learned on the show… he hasn't come to Smallville, Clark didn't find him washed up somewhere, or any of that. Remember, this is set mid-season two. Which means that Clark and Lex are still friends, etc., etc., etc.
- - -
The next morning when Sage woke up, she was determined to get some answers and get some work done. Regardless of whether or not she had a real, working car (was there ever going to be an update on that, anyway?) she was still responsible for running a business, and she hadn't so much as pulled her email in two days.
It was pathetic.
She made the best of her small wardrobe (yet something else that would have to be remedied by the end of the day; surely the shops in the Smallville had something to wear) and absently applied some makeup before grabbing her coat and heading downstairs.
She nearly tripped over something that had been placed in front of her door, and automatically reached a hand out to grab the doorframe for balance. Once settled, she reached down and picked up the item.
Then she cursed, clenched the bag in her hand and strode angrily for the study.
- - -
When she'd driven up to the gate, security had already been given the go ahead and waved her directly on through, which led Chloe to believing that Lex had been expecting her.
She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, really.
It was only a matter of time before she was striding up the steps to the front entrance and heading for the study, where she presumed Lex would be.
In her haste to get to the interview, she barely noticed the other person coming from the other direction until it was too late.
"Whoa!"
Hands gripped her shoulders tightly and steadied her.
"I have really got to start waking up before I start walking around. Second time this morning, you'd think I was incapable of walking in a straight line like a normal person."
Chloe looked up and stopped in her tracks. It was the woman from the Talon. "Um, hi."
Sage looked down at her. "Hello. Chloe, right?"
"Yeah." It was on the tip of her tongue to start firing off questions, when Sage cut in.
"I don't suppose you're looking for Lex, are you? He seems to have returned my contract," she held up a clear plastic baggie with liberally shredded paper in it, "And I need to remove his head from the rest of his body."
A smile spread over her face before she could stop it. "As editor of the Smallville Torch, I am actually on my way to conduct an interview."
"Lex carved out the time from his busy schedule?" Sage appeared genuinely interested, as this version of Lex didn't quite mesh with the one she had been around the past few days.
"More like he was nagged into it, but… you could say that, yeah."
She smiled. "A woman with determination. I like that."
"As the CEO and founder of BristowTech, I should hope so." At Sage's slightly surprised look, she added, "I did a little research last night, being a reporter and all. It sort of comes with the territory."
"Well. At least you're not entirely out of the loop here in Smallville."
"I used to live in Metropolis," Chloe scoffed. "News is my lifeline, second only to coffee."
"Amen to that."
"Now that we've all properly exchanged hellos, can the real meetings begin?" Lex called from where he was standing against his office doors.
"Sure. Do you want to tell me what this is about?" Sage tossed the bag at him.
His eyebrow rose. "Surely you recognize a dissolved contract when you see one?"
Sage ignored him and turned her attention back to Chloe. "So do you have any plans for your journalism?"
Chloe had to admire her. Sage had guts to go up against Lex. After all, he was like Smallville's very own mafia. And his temper had been very short ever since Lionel had moved in after the twisters two months ago.
"Well, I worked at the Daily Planet over summer, and I'd love to go back there, but I have to get a couple of really good articles," she slanted Lex a glance, "to submit first."
Sage looked thoughtful. "If you want, you give me some of your articles, and I'll give Perry a call, see what we can set up."
Chloe looked like she had been pole-axed. "Perry White? The Perry White?"
All of the sudden, Sage looked slightly bashful. "Let's just say one of his staff came for an unscheduled interview and I sort of bit her head off. Perry was on the phone with me faster than I could blink… and now we're friends in a sick, twisted way."
The teen was speechless. Lex felt obligated to answer on her behalf. "I'm sure when Ms. Sullivan regains her speaking abilities, a thank you will be the first thing out of her mouth."
Chloe nodded dumbly and Lex strode into his office for the interview. Once she had followed, Sage was all alone in the hallway, getting hungry. She headed to the kitchen for a snack.
The kitchen was much more impressive now than it had been around three in the morning. She found a box of fresh fruit on the counter and plucked a granny smith apple from the bunch. It was, she found as she bit into it, the best apple she'd ever eaten. It beat out even the private orchard in Washington she'd been to by a mile. There was a sticker on the side of the box that read "Kent Farm Produce," followed by a phone number and an address.
And suddenly, she had the rest of the afternoon planned.
Maybe she didn't have a car, but Lex had quite a few. Surely he wouldn't mind he she… borrowed one for the day, right?
- - -
So, she'd only taken two wrong turns before getting on Hickory Lane and riding the half-mile or so to the yellow farmhouse and red barn at the end. There were cows grazing in the fields and a windmill to her right – this was an honest to goodness real farm in the middle of Kansas.
She pulled Lex's black Spyder to a halt, and climbed out of the car, absently running her hand over the hood. It wasn't even warm to the touch and her first order of business when she got back to Metropolis would be to grab one of these in red. The man might have been stubborn as hell, but he certainly knew cars. It had taken her a half hour just to decide which one she wanted to "borrow."
The door was open and she knocked on the screen before calling out, "Hello? Is anybody home?"
"Lex!" Sage looked behind her and saw Clark Kent rapidly approaching. "Oh, I'm sorry! I saw Lex's car and I just thought—"
She grinned mischievously. "My car's broken. He's locked himself in the office with work so I borrowed the Spyder to come and ask what you do to your apples to make them so incredible?"
Clark was a good foot taller than her and smiled. "We grow everything here on the farm. Dad uses his own brand of fertilizer. If you think the apples are good, wait until you have a slice of Mom's pie." He headed for the door.
"Um—" She was taken aback at his easygoing and accepting attitude. "I guess I'll just follow you then," she mumbled, walking inside the Kent home with a rather informal invitation.
There were two golden pies on the counter, and she could see the steam rising slowly from the top. "Those just came out of the oven."
He nodded, intent on cutting two pieces. "Yeah. Don't tell Mom, but we're going to eat this one and leave the other one for dinner."
A cheery looking plate was placed on the table with the biggest slice of pie she'd ever seen. "I don't think I can eat that…"
"Sure you can. But you better hurry up," he leaned against the counter and started to shovel in his own piece.
Sage was still staring at the slice that appeared to be larger than life itself when she heard footsteps and a kind looking redheaded woman walked into the kitchen.
"Clark Kent, what have I told you about eating pie before dinner!"
Unfortunately, Clark's mouth was too full to answer. Sage cleared her throat, "I think he was just trying to be neighborly, Mrs. Kent."
Martha Kent looked at the table and her eyes landed on Sage. Then she looked at Clark and put her hands on her hips. "Well, Clark? Aren't you going to introduce your friend?"
He swallowed audibly. "Mom, this is Sage. She was in town yesterday and…" He looked at her helplessly.
Sage smiled. "I'm in Smallville because I'm looking to purchase some land from Lex. I'm sorry to intrude…"
Martha shook her head and smiled. "You're not. Clark's just using you so he can get the first taste of my apple pie, though." She tilted her head, remembering. "You were the one at the market yesterday, asking for directions."
"That would be me."
"How long are you in town for?"
"As long as Lex wants to be stubborn about the land, I guess. My company sets up a shelter once a year and Smallville was chosen this time."
The older woman looked impressed. "What exactly do you do, Ms…"
"It's Sage, please. And I work in technology."
"—Do you have technology that will keep my car from being stolen?" Came a voice from outside.
The three looked to see Lex coming up the steps and walking inside. "Hello Mrs. Kent. Clark."
Sage stood up. "What was I supposed to do, stay at the castle all day? I was bored, you were busy going over work, and I wanted to find out if this place wasn't just some front for a serious manufacturer."
"And the pie?" Lex questioned. "You knew there was pie, so you took the Spyder to get some?"
She rolled her eyes, and quietly began to work on the monster slice of apple pie that Clark had served up for her. Obviously, his mother was okay with him dishing out pie to perfect strangers and she wasn't going to turn down the opportunity for more food from this farm.
Martha chuckled quietly and cut another piece of pie for him. "Here you go, Lex."
"Thanks, Mrs. Kent." He turned to Sage, his fork poised over the pie, with a look as if to say, 'Well? Are you going to answer me?'
She threw her hands up in the air. "Forget it. You're impossible."
Clark bit his lip as she stormed out of the house and Martha gave them a worried look as she went after her.
"Lex?" he asked.
The man looked at him. "Oh, she'll get over it. I was planning on letting her drive the car back to the castle, at least."
- - -
He wasn't the least bit surprised to find the car missing when he'd finished off his pie and politely said goodbye to Martha and Clark. And, if he wanted to be completely honest, he couldn't blame Sage for wanting to meet the rest of the family and find out more about them. He had, after all, had the same instinctive reaction not more than two years ago.
Still, it was a bit unsettling to see his actions mirrored in another person whom he'd had no prior knowledge of until just a few days ago.
That thought in mind, he reached for his cell and dialed a familiar number. If he was going to be confused, fine. But damned if he wasn't going to have someone else be confused about it with him.
- - -
Hell if she was going back to the Estate now to face creepy Lionel or smirking Lex. Martha Kent had meant well when she'd talked about smoothing things over with Lex, but Martha Kent hadn't spent the last 72 infuriating hours with the man. She really didn't have a leg to stand on.
So Sage decided now would be a good time to get to know the quaint town of Smallville a little better, and there was no better place to state than the local library.
The Smallville Public Library was a far cry from the Library at Wayne Manor. So they hadn't cared much for the coffee cup in her hand. It was easy enough to finish off her take out latte from the Talon and allow the librarian that small victory. She was the outsider, after all. Still, Sage found the staff pleasant enough and was looking at books more quickly than she had anticipated.
Cursing herself for leaving her reading glasses -- which she absolutely despised wearing anyway -- back at the Estate in one of her suitcases, Sage drew the book closer to the lamp on the desk and squinted at the fine print at the bottom of the page.
---…Therefore, should a potential buyer wish to purchase land owned by the town, the buyer should have the appropriate funds at hand.
Well, duh. No one would go into a purchase without the cash to back it up.
---Also, the buyer is to have been living under Clause 211: 24A, which states that no buyer shall be a non-resident of Smallville.
Hmm. Apparently, Lionel's snapping up the cream corn fields from the Rosses did not go unnoticed. Her research, like Chloe's, was serving her well. If memory served, the current Mrs. Ross was actually a judge in the moderately sized courthouse across the street and it probably wasn't too much of a stretch to connect the dots in front of her.
---Hence, all buyers must abide by the semi-permanent residency clause to be considered by the town and the members of the board. In addition to these stipulations, should another buyer also be interested in the land, the two buyers will simultaneously submit contacts with proposed plans for development of the land. These developments will have to be agreed to by the board, and, depending on the value, possible community development, and considerable expense incurred, may take up time anywhere from six to eighteen months.
Well, she hadn't expected that it would be easy. Still, the timing was about what she had anticipated, give or take a few months.
---It is advised, once again, that all potential buyers therefore consider the risks and expenses involved in purchasing state land and weigh the decision carefully before continuing. If all these terms prove well and agreeable to the buyer, the first proposal may be submitted on the second Tuesday of the month, wherein all town meetings are held for public entrance.
Jeez. Gaining entrance into this close-knit town was going to be more of a trial by fire than winning them over with her wit and charm. Sage took a deep breath, exhaled slowly and counted to ten. When she was sure that most of her tension had been expelled, she reached for the real estate books. While the town legislature was all well and good, she needed to find out just how binding Lex's hold was on this land.
She intended to fight for it, and she certainly didn't expect the town to vote in her favor just because she wasn't a Luthor.
---Baker's Field: c. 1896. Previous owners include John Greene (1896-1942), Eli Small (1942-1989), and Lex Luthor (2000-2003). Sizable square feet totaling well over 12.5 acres, with a small lake and pass through river.
The meteor shower had happened in the year of '89, so that must have been when the town retained ownership.
---Ownership by Mr. Luthor is a temporary solution granted by the town council in the event that the land remains undeveloped for a minimum of two years. At the end of this period, the land will be considered up for sale once again; it is for the town to decide whether the land shall remain in Mr. Luthor's possession or be sold to another buyer.
Sage's jaw dropped. He lied. Lex had flat-out lied to her face about the field. He didn't own that land anymore than she did. Sure, the deed was probably still titled in his name, but if he wanted to keep it… he was going to have to fight for it.
With a whoop, Sage ignored the disapproving look on the librarian's face and grinned brightly. "I love this place!"
Metropolis be damned, because if the locations had been reversed, she would have had to go through mountains of paperwork, annoying levels of bureaucracy, and ended up paying some ridiculous sum of money. Now all she had to do was submit a few contracts every once in a while and make sure that her plans for development sounded better than Lex's.
This was going to be cake.
The first thing she was going to need to do was get noticed. And, as she neatly stacked the books up and treated the crotchety library to a genuine smile, she knew just the way to do that.
- - -
It wasn't until she got back to the Estate and parked the car that she acknowledged the nagging feeling at the back of her mind. There was no way things could be this easy. There had to be some sort of catch. Something she was forgetting. Something important.
Sage shrugged and handed her keys to Quincy, who took them with an only slightly admonishing look.
"C'mon, Quince!" She slugged him gently on the shoulder. "Doesn't the sun shine brighter now?"
He cast a look outside. "It appears to be nighttime, Ms. Bristow," he gravely informed her.
"But it's sunny somewhere," she reminded him, whistling some tune and heading for the stairs.
A day like this should be ended with a nice soak in the giant bathtub she'd discovered last night and some chocolate. Fortunately, she knew where to find both and had no difficultly shoving away the troublesome feelings from before.
She was halfway up the stairs when she heard a throat being cleared.
Sage turned around to see Lex standing patiently with a paper of some kind in his hand. She wasn't going to show him how much she knew about the field just yet, but that didn't keep her from wondering what he was holding.
"What's up?"
"I have the invoice for you car."
She nearly bounded down the stairs. "Hans fixed it?"
He didn't have the grace to look anything other than smug. "No." He handed her the paper. "Apparently, you were right. You need a new transmission... among other things."
"What!" Sage scanned the page quickly. "I don't need any of this! I was just at the dealership a few months ago for a tune-up."
"Aside from the transmission, the rest is merely advisable. However," he gave her a serious look, "Hans usually knows what he's doing. And he said that your car hadn't been looked at by anyone in at least a year."
"He's lying." She automatically refuted.
Lex merely raised an eyebrow. "He has nothing to gain by lying. Perhaps you need to go over your records and see just when your last tune-up was."
The silky tone had her mind snapping to alert and she filed away the double insult for what it was. Although… maybe this Hans guy had a point. She could have sworn that she'd been at the dealership several months ago, but between dodging phone calls from Bruce and gathering things together for the Smallville project… maybe she'd lost track of the time?
She sighed under her breath and gave the invoice closer consideration. "Wait. I don't understand."
Lex folded his arms. "Last time I checked, that was in English, which I had assumed from our previous discussions, you spoke fluently."
Sage rolled her eyes and ignored the dig. "Not the invoice itself. I'm talking about the bottom of the page. You know, usually, that's where the price for service and labor can be found?"
"I'm afraid I don't see the problem."
"There is no total. How do I know how much I'm supposed to pay this guy and that he's not just taking me for a ride?"
"Hans has proven to be both excellent in his trade and more than fair regarding matters of finances. However, you won't find a total on that invoice."
If she lived to be a million, she would never understand why he insisted on antagonizing her and drawing things out this way. "And why is that?"
"It's already been taken care of," Lex calmly replied.
Sage closed her eyes, fisted the paper tightly in her hand and forced herself to remember the chocolate. Just a few more minutes, and then, she would have herself a nice big piece of choco--
"Do you have any idea how infuriating that is? I'm not a charity case. I can fully afford to pay Hans whatever he charges. Therefore, there is no need for you to keep paying my expenses."
"One might argue that there's no need for you to keep stealing my cars, but there I believe we'd have a differing of opinions."
Angry that he had a point and that she'd let him provoke her so easily, she took the invoice and folded in it half. Then she ripped it into as many pieces as possible and let them flutter to the ground.
"Surely you recognize a dissolved invoice?" Sage inquired lightly, turning on her heel and heading back upstairs. His quiet chuckling echoed in the halls and seemed to follow her all the way into her room, where she gave into the urge to slam the door.
Luthors be damned, but she was going to win that land and enjoy rubbing his face in it.
- - -
Chapter six is not far behind. Look for a few interesting conversations and see if you can find what Sage seems to have "forgotten" when it comes to the terms of buying Baker's Field.