Chloe settled into a booth opposite Lex. As the waitress rambled on about specials, Chloe glanced out the window and around the restaurant. She had felt more secure walking around outside, then she did in the restaurant. Inside, she felt trapped.

When the waitress left them, Lex turned his attention back to Chloe and saw her glancing out the window and over her shoulder. "Chloe stop." He said quietly. "We'll be fine."

Chloe looked at him. She was finding herself constantly amazed by how adaptable he was. He settled into his new clothes comfortably, retaining an air of authority, but not looking out of place. He wasn't nervous at being on the run, just cautious. And he was even comfortable with the toque.

"How do you do it?" She asked, suddenly.

Lex looked up from the menu. "Pardon?"

"How do you deal with everything so easily?" Chloe gestured to his clothes, and vaguely around the room. "I mean, are you even nervous?"

"No." Lex said simply, after giving it some thought. "I'm confident that I can resolve this situation. We were only kidnapped. It wasn't an assassination attempt... I don't believe that their motive was death." He looked thoughtful. "As for the clothing. I am wearing the disguise because you have stated you'd rather I didn't seek retribution with you present... so for the time being I'll avoid attention until you're safe in Smallville." His eyes dropped back to the menu.

Chloe looked amused. "You know, you don't have to talk like you're in a board meeting with me."

Lex looked up again and his lips quirked. In a dead pan voice he said, "I'm gonna get them. Nobody messes with me... eloquent enough?"

Chloe laughed. "It was okay. You still used the word 'eloquent' though. Kinda wrecked the mood." Feeling more relaxed, and slightly reassured of her safety, Chloe began perusing the menu for something that looked good.

The waitress returned, taking their orders, and bringing them coffee. When the waitress had left again, Chloe leaned over the table, closer to Lex.

"So what's the plan now?" She asked quietly.

Lex held a hand up to indicate he'd heard her, before flagging down a different waitress.

"We're just passing through, and I've forgotten the name of your town. I'm sorry." He said to her.

The waitress smiled. "Oh, that's okay. Heck, I fergit it sometimes!" The waitress paused, and Chloe wondered if she actually *had* forgotten.

"This is Seyer Bay!" She continued with a grin. "Not really big, but we gots a nice beach a little north uh here if yer interested."

Lex smiled. "Actually, we were wondering how far we'd need to go to find an airport."

"An airport?" She frowned as she thought. Chloe was beginning to wonder if this particular waitress could chew gum and walk at the same time. She was surprised that Lex was being so patient.

"Well, now! Ah guess you might just have to go all the ways to Portland. Leastways that's where most uh the tourists are from."

"And how far is Portland from here?" Lex asked.

"Uh couple uh hours, I guess." The waitress answered.

Lex prompted her again. "Any way we could get there from here? Out car broke down and we have to make a flight." Lex lied smoothly.

"Well, not really. I reckon you could rent a car in Astoria, but that's 'bout an hour away. Heck, if you could git there, you may as well just go twice as far to Portland, and just drive *there* instead."

"Thanks." Lex said dryly.

The waitress beamed. "Glad ah could help! Enjoy your stay here!"

Lex sighed as the waitress walked away.

Chloe grinned. "So, about your plan... it doesn't involved quizzing anymore sweet but vacant waitresses, does it?"

Lex shook his head. "I hope not. But we should be able to get out of here all the same." He slid out of the booth and stood up. At Chloe's somewhat panicked look, Lex said, "I'm just making a phone call. I'll explain my plan when I get back."

She still looked uncomfortable with his leaving the booth. "Chloe. I'll be right over there." He pointed to a pay phone stuck to the wall by the door, before walking in that direction.

Chloe watched him reached the pay phone, and punch some numbers in. The waitress arrived with their food, and Chloe poked at it. Keeping a close eye on Lex.

"Pull yourself together!" She finally muttered to herself. "It's not like you couldn't handle this yourself! It's just nice to have him along!" She stabbed her fork into a sausage and took a bite. She knew she was kidding herself, but she felt better. No one could accuse Chloe Sullivan of not being a liberated woman. She rolled her eyes at her own thoughts, and began digging into her eggs.

She was about to swallow a bite of egg, when she felt her heart stop. She had glanced out the window and there were the kidnappers, stepping out of their car. She managed to swallow the egg without choking.

"Lex!" She called in a loud whisper. She didn't want to wave because she figured if she could see the kidnappers through the windows, they could see a blonde girl waving frantically.

At the phone, Lex glanced at Chloe out of the corner of his eyes and held up a finger for her to wait a sec. Then he returned his attention to the phone.

Feeling frustration and panic rising up inside, Chloe slid out of the booth as nonchalantly as possible. She crossed the restaurant floor, barely breathing, as she watched the kidnappers head towards the restaurant.

Reaching Lex, she tapped him on the shoulder. "Lex, they're here." She whispered.

Lex stopped talking mid-sentence, and glanced quickly towards the door. The henchman had just pulled it open and was stepping inside. Lex could feel Chloe tensing beside him, gearing up to run away. Lex acted quickly, but as smoothly as possible.

He angled his body, so that the kidnappers couldn't see his face or Chloe. "I'll call you back." He said into the phone, and hung up. Then he turned towards Chloe.

"Dammit girl!" He said, assuming an accent similar to that of the vacant waitress. "You keep pesterin' me and yer gonna git what ya asked for!"

Chloe looked at him surprised. "Wha..." Was all she got out before Lex snaked an arm around her waist, and roughly pulled her up against him. He backed Chloe against the wall, kissing her neck, and shielding her face from the kidnappers in the process.

One of the henchmen chuckled as they walked by. "Now he's got the right idea!" He said to his partner, before walking by.

Lex moved his mouth to hers. Chloe sighed and her arms moved up around his neck of their own accord. Lex's hand caressed her back as he moved his hand behind her head. He wrapped his hand in her hair, and deepened the kiss. Swallowing her quiet moan, he slipped his tongue into her mouth.

Chloe angled her body closer to Lex, loath for the contact to stop. Lex broke away, peppering her jaw with kisses, and Chloe unknowingly whimpered at the loss of his mouth.

Lex willed his mind to reengage, to focus on the situation at hand. He realized that while he had been wildly successful in his ruse, the kidnappers hadn't given them a second look; there was no way he was going to be able to go on as they had been. Her body was too perfect, her lips too soft, and her taste too sweet for Lex to ignore.

Trying to disregard the feel of Chloe's arms around his neck, her body against his, and focus on their predicament, he heard the waitress intoning about the specials. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the kidnappers had been seated at the far end of the restaurant.

He untangled Chloe's arms from around his neck, and keeping his own arm around her waist, hurried them out of the restaurant.

Moving quickly down the street, Lex headed down a side street, away from the Main Street of the little town. A few blocks away, they found a small park. They walked over to a bench, and sat down. Lex slid his arm across the back of the bench. His eyes watching the streets around them to see if they made a clean getaway.

Chloe sat stiffly on the bench. She could feel Lex's arm across the back, and refused to relax against him. She thought back to the restaurant and suppressed a groan. What had prompted her to behave that way? Lex had obviously kissed her to hide them from the kidnappers, and she had kissed him back with all the pent up energy she'd been feeling since she first fell on top of him in the wine cellar.

She wanted the ground to open, and swallow her up. What was Lex thinking? She wondered. He probably thought she was some dumb high school kid with a hero complex, liking him just because he'd saved her life.

That thought caused Chloe to pause in her mental tirade. Was that it? She wondered. Was it just because Lex had saved her that she was feeling so drawn to him?

She glanced at Lex out of the corner of her eye. He was watching her with his trademark smirk in place. She quickly jerked her gaze in the opposite direction, feeling a blush rise up her neck to her cheeks. Nope. She thought, trying to fight the blush down. It was his looks, his attitude and his general magnetism!

Lex smiled to himself. He was pleased with Chloe's reaction. Nothing was more enjoyable then seducing someone who wanted to be seduced; and Chloe was not behaving like someone who'd object to that kind of attention.

Lex was still aware however, that now was perhaps not the most appropriate time. He needed to get Chloe somewhere safer, needed to find the perpetrators, and deal with them, before he could let himself pursue Chloe.

"Well, looks like that worked." Lex said suddenly, feeling the need to move on. The sooner he wrapped this up, the better in his mind.

Chloe jumped as he spoke suddenly. "Yeah, looks like." Berating herself for sounding so inane, she formulated a more articulate question. "So what's your big plan then?"

"Well, we need to get to Portland obviously. I was trying to get through to my secretary at Lexcorp earlier." He said. "I don't have the money on me to arrange anything, but she may be able to do it from there. We need a car, and a plane."

Chloe nodded. "And then we're back in Smallville, right?"

Lex nodded. "Safe and sound."

"That's the whole plan? What happens after we're back?"

Lex looked at her. "Then you go back to school, and I take care of this little problem." He said simply.

"You weren't seriously planning to leave me out, were you?"

Lex looked at her, a somewhat patronizing smile playing on his lips. "Chloe, you were uncomfortable with the level of violence I displayed in dealing with a man who held a gun to your head." Lex pointed out. "When I fix this mess, I don't intend to go easy on them."

Chloe sat, watching Lex's eyes, and trying to come to a decision. She didn't want to watch Lex kill anyone, and she was surprised to find that she fully believed him capable of it. She reasoned that if she was along for the ride, then maybe she could temper his aggression. And plus, it was a huge story. There was no way she was going to let herself be cut out, just because she was a little uncomfortable with certain aspects of Lex's character. She made up her mind.

"I won't just go away just like that." She said, setting her jaw and preparing to argue her case. "I want to help! They kidnapped me too!"

Lex watched her eyes flash fire. Her skin was flushed and her body tense as she demanded to be allowed back into a dangerous situation. Lex managed to refrain from genuinely smiling. He'd be crazy not to agree to keep her at his side.

"All right." He said, into the middle of Chloe's ongoing tirade.

"...and furthermore... what?" Chloe asked.

"I could use an investigative reporter on my side anyway." Lex continued.

"Really?" Chloe asked, still not sure he wasn't just playing her.

Lex nodded. "Yeah, now come one. We need to find a phone, and get my marvelous plan rolling."

TBC...

A/N: The kiss was in honor of Sezza. Who am I to deprive someone of chlexy goodness? :) But I hope this chapter was to everyone's satisfaction... heh heh