As the plane rose steadily into the air, Chloe watched as Lex flipped through the papers that they had stolen, trying to make sense of them. He seemed relaxed but she could sense the tension in his shoulders. Adams on her left seemed to be asleep. His eyes were closed, and he was barely breathing. She watched his chest to see if it was still rising, and had the urge to check for a pulse.

Suddenly his eyes jerked open, and he pinned her with a gaze. He didn't say anything, just stared until she looked away. Then he closed his eyes again.

Chloe leaned over to Lex. "Are you sure you don't want to trade seats?" She asked quietly. Lex smiled at her, but shook his head.

"Finding anything helpful?" Chloe quizzed after a pause.

Lex sighed. "It looks like this has been going on for awhile now. Started small, but it's getting larger." He indicated the printout with monetary amounts on it, where the sums were largest at the end. "Probably once they realized that I wasn't on to them, they started making bigger shipments."

"Of what?"

"Of everything." Lex grimaced. "If these police codes are right, and I believe they are, I've got hard core drugs, guns, illegal immigrants and I don't even want to think about what they were sold as, slaves most likely. In fact, there are a couple of shipments that look like they were stolen artifacts. It's all being shipped out of the plant, at my expense, I'm sure." He shook his head.

Unconsciously, the droop of Lex's shoulders made Chloe straighten hers. "So what's the plan once we get to Smallville?" Chloe asked briskly.

Lex nodded, barely smiling at her go-get-em attitude. "Hopefully, I'll call in some favors, and we'll get out there tonight. I'm not sure where Winston would be in Smallville, but the sooner we get there the better. Once Mac lets him know that I'm on my way, it's only a matter of time before he high tails it." He sighed. "I have the mother of all moles inside my plant, and I need to root it out. I don't want them disappearing for awhile, only to come back." Chloe noticed his fists tightening. "I want them out of my plant, permanently."

Chloe nodded. "Well, I can tap some of my sources in Smallville, see if they know anything." She suggested.

Lex shook his head. "I don't know how wise that is. Can you guarantee that they'll keep their mouths shut? I don't want to alert Winston or the mole before we know exactly what's going on."

Chloe shook her head. "No guarantees." She sighed. "What then?"

"I think we'll have to infiltrate my own plant." Lex said with a smile. "We'll see what we can learn and go from there."

"Industrial espionage, on your own plant? Interesting." Chloe said with a smile. "But you're going to let a reporter root through Lexcorp uninhibited?" Chloe asked, a little surprised. While she believed that Lex didn't have any part in *this* trafficking scheme, she had little doubt that some of Lex's own deals were less then one hundred percent legit.

Smiling, Lex said, "I'll inhibit where I see necessary." Basically confirming what Chloe already knew. "Get some sleep Chloe. We're going to be up all night."

Chloe nodded and smiling tipped her head over onto his shoulder, before closing her eyes. Lex watched as her breathing slowed and she slipped into sleep.

A slight smile crossed Lex's lips as he looked at the blonde head against his shoulder. He couldn't remember the last time someone had done that. It was such a trusting act, using his shoulder as a pillow. He glanced over at Adams, whose eyes were closed.

"Adams, we'll need a car once we're in Metropolis. Black, fast, and untraceable preferably." He said quietly.

Adams gave a barely perceptible nod to indicate that he'd heard.

Chloe woke as she felt the plane coming down. The stewardess walked by, smiling at some of the more nervous flyers. As she reached Chloe, she smiled again. "We'll be landing shortly. If you could please do up your seatbelt?" She asked, before moving on to the next row.

Dutifully, Chloe buckled up, watching as the lights of Metropolis shone through the small plane windows.

They disembarked without trouble, as they had no baggage to pick up. Walking through the terminal with Lex on one side and Adams on the other, Chloe felt surprisingly secure. She wasn't really scared of being recaptured, but as she watched people step out of the way to let them pass, she became aware of the internal power the two of them possessed.

Granted anyone would get out of Adams way. He was down right scary. But people seemed to get out Lex's way out of deference. He just seemed to have this aura of power and respect, and people got out of his way. Chloe couldn't help but smile at the thought. And here she was, smack dab between the two of them. In fact, by the time they reached the curb outside, Chloe realized it was the fastest she had ever made it through the terminal.

Adams flagged a cab down. He opened the door, getting in first and telling the driver the name of a hotel. Lex guided Chloe in, before getting in himself. Chloe glanced over at Adams who didn't spare her a glance, before squishing up against Lex as much as she dared. Adams may be Lex's enforcer, but he was creepy as hell and Chloe didn't like touching him.

They drove through the streets of Metropolis in silence, no one wanting to let the cab driver in on the situation. They reached the hotel, and got out.

While Adams paid for the cab, Chloe looked at the hotel, surprised. "We're staying here?" She asked Lex.

He nodded. "What's wrong? Too cheap for you?" There was a hint of teasing in his voice.

Chloe shook her head. "No, just to cheap for *you*." She replied. It wasn't even a chain hotel. She a cheap, dingy hotel probably run by some pot- bellied old guy with a beer in his hand. She could understand that they needed to stay anonymous, but she hadn't really expected Lex would slum like this. She was learning new things about him all the time; namely Lex did what he had to, to get what he wanted.

Chloe waited outside with Adams, while Lex went in to book a room. She caught he looking at her, and moved away. He had turned his entire body, and was staring, not blinking often enough, and gazing at her through hooded eyes.

"What?" She finally demanded. He didn't say anything, but he did turn back to face the hotel office.

Lex emerged with a key, and headed to the room. As soon as Lex unlocked the door and Chloe stepped inside, Adams nodded curtly to Lex, before turning and walking back the way they had come.

"Where's he going?" Chloe asked.

"To get a car." Lex explained. "Now that we're closer to Smallville, we don't really want our movement traced, so we aren't going to rent a car."

"He isn't going to steal one, is he?" Chloe asked.

Lex shook his head. "Not that he isn't capable of it, but like I said, we don't want our movement traced, and a stolen car can be a real problem with the police."

Chloe looked nervous and cleared her throat, "About the police..." She said, trailing off.

Lex heard the words, the doubt in her voice. "You didn't call them, did you?" He demanded.

"No, no!" Chloe said, surprised by his vehemence. "I just wondered if you shouldn't tell them. Maybe they could help!"

Lex smiled, but it wasn't the nicest sort of smile. "Do you really believe that they would believe that I had no knowledge of this going on in my own plant?" he asked Chloe.

Chloe sighed and shook her head. "You stand to much to gain." She said. "No way would they believe that you didn't get a cut, I get it."

Lex nodded. "So for the time being, I need as much information as I can. This is a game of information, and the person with the least amount loses." He explained simply.

"How long are we going to stay here for?" Chloe asked, as Lex moved over to the only double bed and sat down, kicking off his shoes and leaning against the headboard.

"As long as it takes Adams to get us a car."

"About Adams. Are you sure he's, uh, loyal?" Chloe asked, moving so she was standing on the opposite side of the bed. "I mean, he's really creepy Lex."

Lex nodded. "I know. That's why I first noticed him. But he's loyal. I've helped him out of some really tight spots, and in return he does the same. Just stay out of his way, stick close to me and you'll be fine." He said.

"What did he do?" Chloe asked, he curiosity getting the better of her.

"Do you *really* want to know?"

Chloe thought about it, and shook her head. He was creepy enough in her imagination, no need to make it worse by knowing what it was that he was actually capable of.

Lex picked up the paper and pen the hotel had left on the nightstand. He dug around in the drawer, until he found the ever present Gideon Bible that was always in hotels. Placing the Bible on his knee, he began writing.

"Well, I'm going to watch TV." Chloe said after watching Lex in silence for a couple of minutes. He looked up and nodded.

Chloe flopped onto her stomach on the bed, her feet only a few inches from Lex's hip. He had the urge to tickle her, but ignored it, and continued writing.

Chloe channel surfed, until she found a Friends rerun, before settling down to watch it. Finally, Lex put the paper aside, and moved so that he was on his stomach, beside Chloe, facing the TV.

"Good show?" He asked.

"You've never seen Friends?" She asked, incredulous.

He smiled. "I meant good episode? I don't think I've seen this one."

"Oh." Chloe looked at him sheepishly, and found his face inches away from hers. His gaze heated her from the inside out, and she found herself painfully aware, that she was lying on a bed beside Lex Luthor. Albeit, they were watching TV and waiting for the return of the creepy hitman, but that didn't do anything to quiet her raging hormones.

She turned back to the TV. "It's a pretty good one. It's the one when they all come back from England. You know they went to England, right?" She asked Lex. He nodded. "Okay, well when they were there, Monica and Chandler slept together. Did you know that?"

Lex smiled and shook his head. "I watch occasionally. I'm not a huge fan." He explained.

"Well, anyway, in this one, they are trying to keep it a secret, but Rachel and Phoebe catch them kissing, so Chandler kisses everybody so it looks like some foreign thing he picked up. It's really quite funny." Chloe said. He glanced over at Lex who was watching the TV. She realized that Lex had very nice lips. She hadn't really ever just *looked* at them before, but talking about all the kissing, made he think that Lex's lips were just perfect for kissing, which then made her think about Lex's kisses, which were just perfect.

She jerked her head back to the TV. Bad Chloe, she thought, focus on their problem at hand, not how sexy Lex is, lying inches away from you, watching TV.

Lex kept his eyes on the screen and he felt Chloe's gaze on him. She was could be so predictable at times, but he wondered what she would do if he turned and kissed her right then. He realized that due to their circumstances it wasn't the wisest course of action, but the television show wasn't helping. Watching the character kiss beautiful women, when one was lying right next to him was torture. However if Chloe could take it then so could he.

Chloe made it to the end of the episode without staring at Lex, but she couldn't really remember having watched the show. Lex was too close. She could feel his body heat, and catch a hint of his smell, and her mind just couldn't focus on the TV.

As the end credits rolled, she jumped off the bed, hoping she didn't look obvious. "Be right back." She said, and headed for the bathroom.

She locked the door, and leaned against it. She was completely wired. The tension and adrenaline of the situation, coupled with an awareness of Lex made Chloe feel overheated and out of control.

She stood in front of the mirror giving herself a mental pep talk. She had an amazing opportunity, she reminded herself. Yep, sure do. Her thoughts suggestively colored, as an image of Lex on the bed sprang to mind. *Not* that kind of opportunity, she reprimanded herself. An opportunity to go through Lexcorp books, to see the inner workings of the plant, to know what really goes on. Even if Lex didn't let her see half the material, there was still a wealth of information to be had. She nodded. This was about saving the plant. A lot more then just Lex's livelihood rested on figuring this out. If the plant was shut down, so many people would be out of jobs.

Chloe mind suddenly leaped to her father. She hadn't really given him any thought throughout the whole ordeal, but she was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to cry. He must be worried out of his skull, she realized. There was no way he could know that she was safe and sound in Metropolis.

All libidinous thoughts were erased from her mind as she emerged from the bathroom. Mostly she wanted to see her father again. It had only been days, she knew, but it felt like longer, and now the thought that the longer she was away the more her father would worry was spurring her on.

Lex had changed the channel while she had been in the bathroom. He was leaning up against the headboard again, watching the news and didn't seem happy with what he saw. Chloe sat down on the foot of bed, as far from Lex as possible, and watched.

The female anchor was in the middle of her spiel. "...and while the slight drop in Lexcorp stock may be attributed to the recent disappearance of the Luthor heir, the loss is not as great as many expected. Faith in Luthorcorp is one of the reasons that the stock has not plummeted, some expects suggest. While police comb the surrounding areas for the missing heir, Lionel Luthor had taken up the slack. Holding a press conference this afternoon, stating that his son's assailants would be brought to justice, as well as reiterating that Lexcorp will not be sold off, but will continue to operate as an independent company. And while Lexcorp stock drops, Luthorcorp stock continues to go up. Some would wonder whether the senior Luthor is not using this event to further his own gain. This is Cheryl Montburk, reporting from Smallville Kansas. Back to you, Robert."

Chloe watched as Lex consciously relaxed his clenched fists. She didn't really know what to say. The reporter had been very close to the mark when she suggested that Lionel was using the situation to make himself look good. How were you supposed to comfort someone when their father used them to make money? Chloe didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, conversation was preempted, by a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Lex asked, loud enough to be heard through the door.

"Go the car." Came the curt response, then the sound of footsteps receding. Adams really was a man of few words.

Chloe wasn't sure whether she was glad he was back or not. However, they could get on the road now, and the sooner they solved this the better. It was being to get tense.

Chloe had no idea how tense it would get before the end, but she wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

Lex turned to TV off, grabbed the papers he had been writing on and walked to the door.

"Ready to go?" he asked Chloe.

She nodded, and they left the hotel room.

Lex paid for the room in cash, that he had withdrawn in Oregon, before getting in the car. Chloe sat in the front seat, while Adams seemed to go into stasis in the back. His eyes closed, his breathing reptilian.

Lex's face seemed shadowed, as he pulled the black sedan out onto the road, and pointed its nose towards Smallville.

TBC...

A/N: Still good? Everybody still with me on this one? Keep the feedback coming, it feeds the creative processes! :)