Chapter 11
Harmony stared at the blip on the screen. She looked up as her friends entered the office, encouraged by their support.
"You guys wanna help?" She asked them.
They nodded vigorously, so she looked around for tasks that would suit each of them. "Pete, you're with me," she pointed to the desk. The young black computer-savvy boy jumped at the chance to play with the Luthor technology.
"Chloe, you're in charge of the internet," Harmony turned to Chloe, who itched to dig through the files and information that she knew she'd find online. "Anything and everything you can get from the internet about anything you can find regarding Edge City, Lionel's contacts, anything the security cameras might have picked up. If you have any security questions, ask. You have full access to anything you find that you need to get into." Chloe nodded with a grin, jogging to the center of the computer activity.
"What about me?" Lana asked softly. "I'm not good with computers or the internet. My greatest skill is a decent latte."
"That's not true, my friend," Harmony hugged the smaller girl. "You're a people person. You're compassionate. You can sense how people feel. I need you to tap into that skill and feed off of it. Handle the press. Feed off their emotions. Use their drive for a huge story to put pressure on the guys who have Lex. Use your skills with empathy to our advantage. And if you feel the uncontrollable desire to serve the town's best lattes to everyone in the room, feel free." She smiled gently, knowing that Lana would know what to do as soon as she needed to.
"What about us?" Martha asked from next to Clark.
"Keep Lionel off my back," Harmony snarled. "If he bothers to show up."
"I apologize for not getting here sooner, my dear," a voice said from behind Harmony. "But I assure you, it was not by choice."
Harmony spun. Jonathan grasped her shoulder, both in support, and as a restraint. "It certainly took you long enough, Lionel." Harmony glared at the taller man.
"I was previously engaged in Metropolis," Lionel answered smoothly. "Is there any news on the whereabouts of my son?"
"Drop the act, Lionel. I know you know more than you're letting on."
"Now what would be accomplished by having my own son harmed?"
Before Harmony could respond, Pete called to her from the desk. "I think you should take a look at this, Harm."
Harmony hurried to the desk. When Lionel tried to follow, Jonathan stepped in front of him. "You stay out of this," he warned.
"This is my house, Mr. Kent," Lionel protested. "I will go where I choose. And who are all these people?"
"This is Lex's house, Mr. Luthor," Jonathan spat sarcastically. "And all these people are the ones actually working to find Lex. This is Harmony's operation. You're going to stay out of her way. If you want to run your own deal in finding your son, I suggest you do it elsewhere."
Holding his head high, Lionel turned away, choosing to exit with dignity. Harmony nodded gratefully to her uncle. She knew she could count on Jonathan Kent when it came to keeping Lionel Luthor at bay.
Pete had noticed that the blip on the screen was in fact located outside of Smallville, in an area suspected of hiding old abandoned missile silos and bomb shelters. The signal was too jumbled to be pinpointed without getting closer, but the general area was identified. He was sure that if they went to the area with the computer, they'd be able to get a better idea of where Lex was located, and work from there to get him home.
"Good," Harmony clapped him on the shoulder. "Clark. You know what to do. I'll call you when we're ready here. Just make sure you are."
Clark nodded, heading quickly for the door. As he passed his mother, he stopped to drop a gentle kiss on her cheek, then disappeared.
"Come on, Pete," Harmony rushed from the room. "Bring the computer." Jonathan and Martha followed her.
"Is this really necessary?" Martha asked anxiously.
"If we plan to save Lex, it is," Harmony answered without turning around. Her voice was hard, and it scared Martha. She'd never heard this sort of edge in her niece's voice before.
They reached the end of the hall, where Harmony turned around to face her aunt and uncle. "This is where you two get off," she instructed gently. "We'll be fine, I promise. Next time you see me, I'll have Lex."
"Be careful," Martha looked worried.
"I will, Auntie Em," Harmony hugged the older woman, then turned to Jonathan.
"Harmony, I'm sorry," Jonathan began hesitantly.
"Water under the bridge, Uncle J," Harmony waved her hand. She hugged him hard. "Just take care of things here. We'll call it even if you can keep your opinion to yourself when I come back with Lex. Fair?"
Jonathan grinned. "Fair. Now be careful. You too, Pete."
Pete smiled. Harmony pulled the lamp on the wall, and a section of the brick folded in on itself. When Harmony and Pete disappeared into the darkness on the other side, Jonathan straightened the lamp. He and Martha returned to Lex's office to oversee the operation from there.
Harmony groped in the dark for a moment, then found the flashlight shoved deep in a crack in the wall. After flicking it on, she found a second flashlight and handed it to Pete. "Hurry," she instructed, moving quickly. "I don't know how much time we have before Lionel realizes we're gone. He's sure to have the exits watched, so it won't take him long to realize that we used the secret tunnels to get out."
"Sheesh, Harm," Pete whistled softly through his teeth. "Were you trained by the Secret Service or something?"
Harmony chuckled. "Ex Ninja, actually. And you ain't seen nothin' yet."
"Ex Ninja? Wasn't Batman trained by a Ninja?" Pete asked nervously. "Should I be worried?"
Harmony just flashed an evil grin. They reached the huge multi-story garage adjacent to the mansion, which Harmony ran though, Pete close on her heels. On the other side, they slipped through a door and sprinted across the lawn to the forest lining the edge of the main yard. Hidden deep in the thick cover of the forest sat a small shack that lay beyond sight of the main house, or the barn. They pushed into the shack through a side door. It took them a minute to adjust their eyes to the darkness inside, but then Pete saw a truck covered by dusty tan tarp. Harmony tugged the tarp down to reveal a large jet black Dodge.
"That's a gorgeous truck," Pete breathed. The massive truck had a full-size bed, an extended cab, and looked fast.
"Lex bought it for me as a backup plan," Harmony grinned, pulling two trunks out of a locker Pete hadn't noticed before. "I use it mostly to haul horse trailers and stuff."
"What's this?" Pete finally pulled himself away from the truck to see what Harmony was doing.
Inside the locker, Pete saw more weapons than he'd ever seen in one place before in his life, and in a much larger variety. The trunks were already filling with rifles, belts of ammunition, flare guns and extra flares, smoke bombs, knives of all shapes and sizes, and weapons that Pete couldn't even name.
"I guess you weren't kidding about that ex ninja, huh?" he watched Harmony thrown pieces of body armor on top of all the weapons.
"Nope," Harmony grunted as she heaved one end of the first trunk off the ground. "You gonna help me? I'm not Clark, you know. I was born on this planet, not Krypton."
"Sorry," Pete grabbed the other end of the trunk, hoisting it into the back of the truck. "So, what's the plan?"
"I drive, you watch the computer," Harmony instructed as they loaded the second trunk. They used bungee cords to strap the trunks to the bed.
"And Clark?"
"He's suiting up now as we speak."
"Suiting up?" They were in the cab of the truck, and Pete listened in awe as the truck rumbled to life.
"A body suit made of lead," Harmony answered, pushing an overhead button. Pete recognized it as a simple garage door opener. "Helmet, gloves, everything. Even a face plate that'll cover his eyes if need be. Just in case we run into Kryptonite."
"A lead suit?" Pete asked incredulous.
"Turn on the computer," Harmony instructed, rolling the truck through the forest. "Lead stops Kryptonite. Unfortunately, it also stops Clark's powers, so he'll only be able to use the eye cover in an emergency. He'll still be able to run, and his strength still works, but as long as he has the full helmet on, he's in trouble. It covers his eyes and ears, so he won't have laser vision, x-ray vision, or super hearing."
"Wow," Pete shook his head. "Go north. So sometimes, it only partially pays to be some kind of super human."
"Sometimes," Harmony nodded as she pulled the big truck onto the highway heading north. She rolled the window down. "We're on our way, Clark. Head due north, to the old silos and bunkers."
"Whoa!" Pete jerked, whipping his head around. "Where's Clark?"
"I have no idea," Harmony answered as she picked up speed. "But he knows to be listening for us. I assure you, he heard me explain to you the suit just as if he were sitting in the back seat. And he hears everything we're saying right now. In fact, if I know my cousin, he's probably laughing at you, picturing the reaction I just saw from you."
Pete flushed. "That's not funny. Can he really hear us?"
"He'll probably repeat that question to you when we see him," Harmony glanced at Pete with a grin.
They picked up speed, rushing down the highway. As they drove, Pete directed to Harmony, who had instructed him to speak clear enough for Clark to hear him as well. Finally, Pete pointed to an empty field. "There," he said.
Harmony turned the truck off the dirt road Pete had led her onto. She drove into a clearing out of sight of the road, calling to Clark until she saw him burst through the trees. He swept over the truck's tracks; clearing them away as well as he could before hurrying to the driver side of the truck.
"I think I've located the one Lex is in," he spoke hurriedly to Harmony. "Hi, Pete."
"Hey, Clark," Pete jumped out of the truck, pulling the computer with him. "As we get closer to the signal, it continuously re-triangulates itself. As long as we keep following it, we should be able to follow it right to Lex."
"Excellent," Clark touched his cousin's arm, then grinned over her head at Pete. "And yes, Pete, I could really hear you."
Harmony laughed. "Told you."
Pete just shook his head. He moved closer to Clark and Harmony so they could see the computer screen, too, but Clark moved quickly. He'd already figured out which silo led to the underground bomb shelter that currently hid Lex and his captors. So far, according to the computer Pete held in his hands, Clark's suspicions were correct.
"That one," Clark and Pete pointed to the same silo at the same time, speaking in unison.
"At least we agree," Harmony lowered her voice. "Ok, here's what we'll do: we'll scope the place until sunset, then go back to the truck to get ready to go in after Lex."
When both guys nodded, they each chose their spots, then settled in to wait out the afternoon.