Glynis was also out, shopping for a few items to make Lois and Lex a special dinner. Lex's personal security forces were stationed outside the front door, in the elevator lobby, keeping guard.
In the penthouse apartment, all the draperies were drawn. The bedroom was dark. The only sounds in the apartment were the clicks of the thermostat adjusting and the hum of the fans as the air conditioning turned on.
Suddenly, there was a loud thump. Security, out in the lobby, didn't hear it.
Lex, who had fallen out of bed, sat up. He looked around, confused, as to why he was on the floor. He looked up at the bed. The bottom sheet was pulled off the mattress on the lower half of the bed, and the bedcovers were strewn across the floor.
Lex stood slowly. He was reminded of the morning's events when he bent at the waist to pick up the blankets and his head starting pounding painfully. He straightened his body slowly and gently placed his hand on top of the gauze bandage.
Lex saw the note Lois had left on his bedside table. He picked it up, reading aloud softly to himself.
Lex, you were sound asleep when I left for work this AM, so I didn't wake you. I told Nina to close Lcorp offices for the day-since Lionel's death announced today. I thought it the best PR move. See you tonight. Love, Lo'.
Lex dropped his hand to his side. He should be furious with Lois for making such a bold move on his behalf. And he should be even more furious with Nina for going along with closing the offices without talking to Lex himself. But he wasn't furious. He wasn't anything but emotionally drained.
He'd had another dream about his father. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Lex replayed the most recent nightmare over in his head.
Lex had been walking down a hall at Luthorcorp. He wasn't sure why, or where exactly, but it looked very much like where his father's office had been. He had been looking for something. As he'd walked down the hall, he had heard the sound of laughing behind him. He'd walked faster, in an attempt to get ahead of the laughter, but it kept getting closer, no matter how fast Lex walked or ran. Finally Lex had come to the end of the hallway, where there were four doors. Lex chose one of the doors, and as he burst through, he found himself in the middle of Main Street, in Smallville. Suddenly a truck airhorn was sounding, and when Lex turned to face the sound, he saw a large truck bearing down on him. Lionel Luthor was behind the wheel grinning madly, his eyes large, black, empty, sockets. Lex tried to run, but he couldn't move his feet. When he looked down, he had seen hands growing out of the pavement, and they were gripping his ankles tight-holding him in place. Lex strained, and pulled, and tried to free himself. As the truck was about to run him over he gave one last pull to free himself.
Lex had fallen out of bed, and woke up when he hit the floor.
Two nightmares in one night. Must be a record, he thought as he stood and took off his robe, noticing the dried blood soaked in the collar. He tossed the robe on the floor and headed to the bathroom for a shower.
Chloe was nowhere to be seen when Clark got back to the office. Lois was at her own desk, typing away on some story.
"Hey, Lois," Clark said as he came in.
"Smallville," Lois drawled, "you made it back."
Clark cringed. Every morning she greeted him this same way.
"Not running over anyone else today are you?" she teased.
Clark gave her an amused look as he sat at his desk, and got out the information Chloe had collected about Katherine Trumpet, looking over it all again.
"I hear you've got a new girlfriend," Lois gave him a sly smile. Resting her chin in her hand, she looked at Clark over the top of her computer.
"So, tell me all about it," she teased, raising her eyebrows.
Clark stopped what he was doing and gave her a look that said, ha ha, very funny. Lois just laughed and went back to her work. Clark's gaze lingered for a moment, and he noticed how her mouth moved while she typed. He tore his eyes away, and resumed his own research.
Clark Google searched the name of Katherine Trumpet. The results that came up ranged from technical papers she'd written about programming, to photographs from newspapers like The Daily Planet to non-profit foundation newsletters like Save the Whales. Clark paged through the results quickly, scanning over them, looking for anything remotely suspicious in nature. When he got to the final page, he'd discovered nothing out of the ordinary for Katherine Trumpet.
She was active in some conservation groups, and there were several events she'd attended with Lionel Luthor. Her thesis papers from her graduate and doctoral studies were published with no fanfare, and her current position with Luthorcorp was not luxurious. She was one of about 15 programmers working under Dr. Mason Hines. Clark accessed Luthorcorp's website, and found a general employee listing. She was listed, Katherine Trumpet.
"Lois, I'm heading out for a minute, tell Chloe I'll be back," Lois watched Clark cross the room as he said this, and she nodded.
Clark entered the Luthorcorp building and immediately the security guard approached him from the desk and informed him the offices were closed for the day. Clark nodded, as he remembered the call Lila had received. Clark made like he was going to leave the building, and when the security guard turned to walk back to the main deck, Clark sped past him to the stairwell.
The guard felt the air move as Clark zipped past him. The guard turned to see what might have caused the slight breeze. The doors were closed, and the visitor was no longer in sight. The security guard shrugged, and returned to his desk, where he was secretly watching an episode of Jerry Springer.
Once in the stairwell, Clark used his X-ray vision to locate the lab. Since the offices were closed, there were no people in the building to distract him. Above him was nothing but empty offices. As he scanned below him, he saw movement. Clark descended the stairs and in a few seconds was exiting the stairwell into a large, dark hall. There were several doors along this hall, each leading to a different lab, Clark assumed. Clark chose the door behind which he saw the person.
He found himself in a large, dark lab. The only lights were at the other end of the room, where Clark saw a balding, heavyset man sitting hunched over a lab bench.
"Hello?" Clark called into the room.
Dr. Mason Hines, who was at the other end of the room, jumped at the sound of the voice, and he quickly put the item he was working on in a drawer just to his left. The offices were closed, and he hadn't expected to see any visitors.
Mason turned on his lab stool to face the direction the voice had come from.
"Who's there?" he responded, annoyance evident in his voice.
Clark walked fast towards the light, and the voice. The man faced him, and his expression wasn't friendly. Clark glanced around the lab and saw I.O.N.A. 1 in the plexiglass box at the end of the lab bench this man was sitting at.
"Clark Kent, The Daily Planet," Clark offered his hand.
"Dr. Mason Hines."
Dr. Hines did not offer his hand. He turned on his stool back to the tangle of wires that was in front of him.
"We don't offer tours of the lab, and, if I'm not mistaken, you've already published your story, so why are you here, distracting me? And how did you get in here to begin with?" Dr. Hines was curt in his inquiries.
Not much of a people person, Clark thought.
"I was invited, by Dr. Lotz," Clark lied, hoping Lila wouldn't mind. "I'm intrigued by this technology, and she said I could come by anytime and look over the robot more closely."
Clark walked towards the plexiglass case, intending to use his X-ray vision to look inside it again, to determine if what he thought he saw before was really there.
"How much does Katherine Trumpet have to do with this project?" Clark asked casually as he walked down the length of the lab bench.
Dr. Hines gave an audible sigh and slammed down the tool he was working with.
"Look around if you must, but don't touch anything, and don't presume to ask me any questions. I am here to work, not satisfy the curiosity of a nosy reporter."
Clark looked back over his shoulder at the man.
"Sorry," he replied, turning his head forward again and raising his eyebrows in amazement of the behavior of this so-called professional. Clark didn't say another word as he examined the robot. He focused his vision, and started at the feet. He looked up the entire height of I.O.N.A. 1. It wasn't there. All he saw were electrical wires, and chips, just like the innards of a computer. Clark was confused for a moment, and he looked with his X-ray vision again.
Whatever it was he thought he saw, it wasn't there now.
"Well, thanks for your time," Clark said, pleasantly, as he passed Dr. Hines, heading back towards the fire door he came in through.
The doctor absent-mindedly waved his hand, and didn't respond.
Clark raced up the stairs, and when the guard wasn't looking, he sped out of Luthorcorp and back to The Daily Planet.
Dr. Hines listened hard to the sounds of Clark's feet leaving the lab. When he was sure the annoying reporter was no longer in the building, Dr. Hines tossed aside the fake bundle of wiring he had in his hands and opened the drawer on his left, gently lifting out the real bundle he had been working on. Dr. Hines paused, and then walked across the lab to the fire door leaving the lab-the door Clark Kent had come in through.
It appeared locked like it was supposed to be. How did he get in, Mason thought as he gave the door a pull. It was secure. Dr. Hines considered the circumstances, and drew a conclusion. One he wasn't too happy about, and one he hoped he was wrong about.