Chapter 27 [Outside of the School]

Lana waited by her blazer. Worry chilled her heart. Calls had gone out to Jonathan, Martha and Lex. Her eyes watered. Instinct shoved her toward School's Doors. How many times has Clark taken such things on himself? Heavy Sigh weighed on Throat and Heart. Memoria cycled through several close calls. Tina trapping her in Mausoleum. Sean's Icy Need for Body Heat. Mr. Jenkins' standoff at the LuthorCorp plant. Sasha's bees at the Talon. Finding Chloe and her in Chandler's Field. The Twisters of course. Stopping Desiree despite Heat Vision issues. And those are the times I know about. There's got to be more! Frown puckered her mouth akin to Sour Apple. Wait. If he found Chloe and me then that means… She rolled her eyes. "Great. He's got X-Ray Vision too and didn't tell us! He wouldn't…" She glanced up at the sky. Give me patience! I wonder if Mom and Dad had days like this? Despite Recriminations flowing through her mind, she waited. Hope wanted to see Clark, Chloe and Pete come through the doors or send All Clear Text.

Not far away, Sheriff Ethan interviewed Gibbons. Details flowed onto Ethan's Notepad. Conjectures and Theories did too.

Great. Now Sheriff Ethan's going to stir things up. Clark, I hope you got things under control in there! Tear streaked down her cheek. I just hope you didn't bite off more than you can chew! She noticed Doors opening. She rushed up the stairs. Just be okay, Everyone. Just don't let Mr. Arighatto have hurt them! Shudder jolted her. She'd seen enough Glares. She'd helped Miranda hide Bruises and Scars over past decade. Experience knew Arighatto's real threats.

Now that creep had his sights on Friends and Her Love.

Could he have been at the farm last night? How? We were so careful! Incredulity pounded at her forehead. I really need to let Mr. and Mrs. Kent know! Miri's aunt and uncle! Her face paled. He'll kill them! He….

"Lana? Need a hand here with Chloe!" Pete stuck his head out the door. He narrowed his eyes. "Dang! You see Clark? He just…disappeared." He cradled Chloe's head in his lap. "Man! That is just WHACK!" He looked down at Chloe. "She's going to need an ambulance like STAT!"

Wince contorted Lana's face. "Sheriff Ethan's out there with Mr. Gibbons." She lowered her voice. "Did Clark get in here?"

"Oh yeah. He got there. He tried to get Chloe out on his own too." Pete shook his head. "His Dad warned him. Lex, I've gotta admit did Clark good too." He rolled his eyes at that admission. "Miranda's Dad hurt Chloe. He threw some weird fire stuff. Whatever it was, Clark couldn't handle it. Mr. Arighatto had this fire sword. He was going to kill Clark. That's when things got really weird."

"Really weird? Like how?" Lana quirked an eyebrow.

"I called Lex. He said help was on the way." Pete swallowed hard. "Then, Miranda's uncle showed up out of nowhere. And man, was he pissed! That Arighatto guy threatened him. Miranda's uncle just beat him to a pulp! Clark was getting us out of there. Then, we ran into some like fog. Next thing we know, he's gone. We're right here."

Lana frowned. Clark disappears. Where's Mr. Arighatto now? And now, we learn Miri's uncle is a psychopath or worse? Greaat! "So, Clark's gone? Pete…"

"Lana, you're gonna learn, there's a lot about Clark we don't get. He's just…Clark." Pete threw his hands in the air. "Can you let Gibbons know? I don't want to move her any more than I have to."

"Sure." Lana wanted to say something else. Priorities, however, necessitated help for Chloe. She rushed back out. "MR. GIBBONS! SHERIFF ETHAN! WE NEED AN AMBULANCE PLEASE!" She waved to get their attention. Then, she stopped cold in her tracks.

Arighatto rolled over onto his back. Sash still held Hands under himself. Bruises dotted his face. Black Eye cleared swelled over Left Eye. Purple stained the otherwise Blue Gi. "Damn Dubois!"

He did run into Miri's uncle. Smug Satisfaction threatened to paint its smile across her face. Restraint beat that urge back. Someone finally taught you a lesson, you Bully! "SHERIFF!" She pointed at Arighatto.

Ethan broke off the conversation with Gibbons. "Miss Lang? Were you in the school? I need to talk with you."

"Sheriff, I just went inside the door. That's it. Pete Ross is waiting to get medical help for Chloe. Mr. Arighatto attacked them." Lana pointed at Arighatto at Stairs' bottom.

Arighatto spat blood onto the sidewalk. "How…could I attack anyone? I…was attacked."

"Where did he just come from? He wasn't there a minute ago!" Surprise widened Gibbons' eyes. "Was he in my school? Sheriff…."

"As it turns out, we have a warrant for his arrest." Ethan signaled to a Deputy. "We'll get him to the hospital. Miss Lang, what was that about Pete Ross and Chloe Sullivan?"

"Chloe needs an ambulance. She's out cold because of him. Pete saw the whole thing!" Lana held the door open. "Pete!"

"Yeah! Sheriff!" Pete called from just inside. He waved his hands to draw attention. "Chloe needs serious help!" He looked back down at her. "Hang in there! Okay? We need you!"

Ethan stopped a step away from them. He took out his walkie talkie. "Dispatch! I need an ambulance to the high school as soon as possible! I have an unconscious teenager. She's about 5' 2" with blonde hair and fair skin. Possible concussion. Over?"

Dispatch piped up. "Smallville Regional notified, Sheriff. Ambulance in route. ETA: five minutes."

Ethan assessed Chloe. "I'll have to get in touch with Gabe Sullivan. What about your aunt, Miss Lang?"

"Aunt Nell's out of town, Sheriff. Besides, I was outside the school other than being here with you." Lana scrambled to keep Excuses' best stash close in her mind. She wanted to keep Nell out of this mess. She didn't want any other excuses to move to Metropolis.

"How about you, Mr. Ross? You all right?" Ethan examined Chloe once again. Then, he did the same for Pete. "Was there anyone else?"

"I saw Mr. Arighatto clear enough. There was another guy but I didn't get a good look. Mr. Arighatto was between us. I'm glad. Mr. Arighatto wanted a piece of Chloe and me." Pete glanced at Lana over Ethan's shoulder. Hope you're ready to stretch the truth and leave stuff out, Lana. Man! What are we going to do if Arighatto knows Clark's secret? Dang!

"We got him. He's being transported to the hospital right now. That guy's got more outstanding stuff on him. I'll have to go by the Talon and talk with his stepdaughter too." Ethan exhaled. "Hope she'll be okay with her Dad in jail."

"Her father's dead, Sheriff." Lana sucked in a deep breath. "His name was Randall Dubois. She told me the whole story. She'll tell you more, I'm sure."

Ethan nodded. He stepped back to allow Paramedics to tend to Chloe. "Miranda Dubois? Wait! She's the missing girl from the manhunt? Are you serious?"

"WHAT?" Pete stepped back. Granted, Previous Night's Discussion revealed those facts. Still, everything only sunk in at that point. He turned away from the EMTs' efforts toward Lana. "She's been on those cold case shows and unsolved mystery stuff. That's nuts! And she was here?"

"She only told me a year ago, Pete. She asked me to keep it secret." Lana kept Voice calm and composed. "That man's someone not to be crossed."

Ethan shook his head. "Well, someone did, Miss Lang. Hansei Arighatto was beaten badly. He's conscious. I'll have to take a look downstairs and see for myself." He pushed Hat's Brim back up on his head.

"The Torch office is a mess. So's the hallway." Pete grimaced to further sell the point. He watched the paramedics push Chloe toward the door. "I just hope she's okay."

"Yeah. Me too, Pete." Lana nodded. She folded her arms. Once again, Conundrum raised her eyebrow and threatened to seize her brain in place. "Sheriff, you think it'll take a while this morning? I might need an excuse to get out of school. That way, I can keep the Talon running if you need to talk to Miranda?"

Ethan nodded. "That's a sound suggestion, Miss Lang. It should only take an hour or two. Come on. Let's talk with Mr. Gibbons." He led her toward the doors. "Mr. Ross? You too. I don't want anyone in here until it's all clear."

Pete shook his head. Morning after the big secret reveal. Lana's deflecting like a champ! I knew she'd handle this. He followed them toward Gibbons.

Trial by fire proved more sometimes….