Chapter 14 - Eavesdropping

Clark lay on his back on the couch in the jet, admiring the little statue. He was sure the stone they were looking for was inside, could hear it ringing and calling to him, could even see it with his X-ray vision, but he hadn't actually gotten up the nerve to break it open yet. There were no symbols on the statue warning him otherwise, but for some reason, he had had a weird feeling about this from the start. Maybe it was because it had been a much easier quest than he'd been expecting. He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Something wrong?" Lex asked. He came over to stand in front of Clark, handing him a bottle of soda, carrying a full glass tumbler in his other hand.

"Thanks," Clark said, popping the top as Lex came to sit beside him. "Nothing's wrong."

"You've got that look."

"What look?"

"The one that says you're lying."

Clark smiled a little to himself. Lex knew him too well. "This was really easy."

"Yeah. I'm glad I brought you. I never would have found this thing on my own."

"Yeah, but—"

"You did good, Clark. I'm proud of you. And . . . I'm sorry I ever even thought about coming out here without you."

Clark looked over at Lex. He seemed really happy. Clark's chest swelled with pride and joy, but he couldn't help but feel like something was off. When it came to Clark's blood, Lex had always speculated about how it might be used to help other people. As happy as Clark was to be learning about his own origins, Lex's excitement didn't seem to match what Clark would have expected from him for something like this.

Maybe Lex was just trying to make him feel better about the fact that he was still going to have to wait so long to find out what good could be done with his blood and other tissue samples. For that matter, they didn't really have a clear lead on where to go to look for the other stones, either, so there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to do anything with this one for awhile, any more than his blood would immediately heal people. Lex could probably tell that Clark was discouraged; he was always good for helping Clark to feel hope, despite his own background. That was one of Clark's favorite things about Lex.

Clark wasn't totally convinced about how helpful the stones would turn out to be, but a part of him thought it was all worth it just to see his brother this happy. He had been nervous about going out of country with Lex after everything that had happened at home, but now . . . "Honestly, Lex, it's just really cool to get to be here. Even if the trip was shorter than we expected."

"Who said anything about heading back early?"

Clark blinked a couple of times. "Is there something else you want to do in Egypt?"

"Well," Lex said, "seeing as this is your first time out of the country, I thought I'd give you the full tour."

"The Pyramids?"

"And a few other stops. Early morning tomorrow. But tonight, let's stop for dinner before we hit the hotel. Hungry yet?"

Clark grinned. He hadn't really thought about sight seeing, but seeing as he was out here with his brother, they might as well enjoy the time. He needed a vacation, and they both needed the time to reconnect with each other. Clark sat back in his seat, took a long drink of soda, and let himself relax.

After their celebratory dinner—which was amazing aside from the fact that Clark couldn't read the language that the menu was in, although Lex didn't seem to have a hard time with that—they went back to the hotel, which was as nice an accommodation as Lex had promised. It was the biggest hotel suite Clark had ever seen, let alone stayed in. Clark had his own room and TV. More importantly, he had his own phone, so he could call his parents.

He took a long shower in the fancy bathroom, surprised by how much dirt he had managed to pick up walking through the tombs, and changed into a t-shirt and shorts to sleep. Having something that smelled like home helped him to feel a little less homesick, but he would definitely make a point of calling his parents in the morning. Right now, it was morning for them. They would be busy with chores and wouldn't be able to spend much time on the phone; they might not even pick up.

Clark wandered out into the main living area he was sharing with Lex, hoping to catch him and say good night before he went to bed, and to thank him for the trip, but Lex wasn't there. Clark wandered into Lex's bedroom as well, and looked through the little kitchen and extra rooms in the suite, but he didn't see his brother in any of them, either.

Finally, he decided to listen through the building to see if he could pick up on Lex's voice. It wasn't something he usually did, because people didn't like it when he eavesdropped, but he figured as soon as he heard Lex and figured out where he was, he would stop listening.

Listening to all of the other rooms in a large hotel turned out to have been a bad idea, but Clark didn't make it far before he made out Lex's voice. Lex was speaking on the phone; if Clark listened carefully, he could hear the other person as well.

"How close is her blood to the other sample?"

Clark frowned. That was Lex.

"It's too soon to say, but it looks like there are a few markers in common."

Clark didn't recognize that voice. He knew that sometimes Lex had to make business calls, but this one definitely sounded like it had to do with his research. Maybe he was talking to one of the scientists on his team.

"DNA markers?"

"No, some of the chemical composition."

"Gene expression?"

"We'll know more in the morning."

Lex exhaled loudly. "How is she cooperating?"

Clark's chest feel heavy. This sounded really wrong. Clark knew that, technically, Lex's scientists were "running experiments" on Clark, but it sounded like they were experimenting on some girl—and not just on her blood and marrow.

"Well, she doesn't respond to Lindsay. Keeps asking about somebody named Kal-El, talking about how she came from Krypton."

Clark gasped, his fists clenching

"I warned you she was crazy."

"Not as crazy as Dr. Criton. He's still calling—"

Clark stopped listening. He knew he should keep using his long-distance hearing to figure out what was going on, but he couldn't bring himself to hear any more of this. His head felt like he was deep underwater, gasping for breath.

Lex had lied to him.

He'd said that Lindsay has been a no-show at the caves. But he didn't just know where she was; he had her. He was running experiments on her.

Clark wanted to believe that Lex still had Clark's best interests in mind, that he had a good reason for lying, but they had promised each other no lies. He wanted to think that, even if Lex was experimenting on Lindsay, he wasn't really hurting her. He must have had her consent, just like he had Clark's.

But he had had to ask scientist whether she was cooperating. That didn't sound to Clark like he had her consent.

Anger boiled inside of him. He had trusted Lex. He had even suspected that maybe he shouldn't, but his mom had talked him out of that, and Lex had betrayed him. Maybe his Darkness had taken over, and he had been lying to them this whole time about it. Clark's fists itched to teach Lex a lesson about lying and betraying his family, but then he remembered the last time he'd punched Lex. His father had been more upset with Clark than he ever had been, and he'd reminded him how dangerous losing control of his anger could be.

Clark took deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. His mom had talked to him about what to do in this situation. If Lex's dark side had taken over, yelling at him wasn't going to make it any better. He had to be gentle, or he might push Lex even further into the darkness.

And if Lex's dark side hadn't taken over, and he really had a good reason for whatever he was doing, Clark's accusation would hurt him. Clark had to be really careful about what he said and did right now.

He spent the next few minutes taking deep breaths and pacing slowly in the little hotel room. When the door to the suite opened, he made himself smile at Lex, acting like everything was okay.

"What's wrong?" Lex asked immediately.

"What do you—why would you—"

"Come on now, Clark. I can tell when you're upset about something."

Right. Clark was really bad at acting, and even worse at lying. "Um, I got a little nervous when I saw you were gone."

"My apologies. I had to make a work call."

Clark nodded slowly. "Um, about what?"

"Since when have you been interested in the daily operations of LuthorCorp?"

"Um. I dunno."

Lex sat down on the couch and opened his laptop. "It's really nothing that would interest you, Clark."

Clark's jaw clenched. Lex lied so easily, so effortlessly. Like it was nothing. "So . . ." Clark began to pace in front of the couch. "What do you think happened to Lindsay?"

Lex didn't even look up from his laptop. "We may never know. You don't find out what happens to most of the people you meet who have been infected by kryptonite, do you?"

"You never saw her again?"

"I told you she was a no-show, didn't I?"

It didn't even make Clark angry this time. It just hurt. "Lies," he said softly.

Lex blinked and looked up from his laptop. "I'm not lying, Clark."

"Yes, you are. I . . . I saw your notes." That technically wasn't a lie; Clark just wanted to know how Lex would explain this one.

There was a flash of annoyance in Lex's eyes, then his brow furrowed with regret. "I'm sorry, Clark, I should have told you—"

"You saw her?"

"She asked what I wanted with you, and I tried to explain that you were my brother, but she didn't accept that for an answer, so I told her about the potential healing effects of your blood. She wanted in, but she made me promise not to tell anyone. She gave me a sample of blood and fled."

Clark's heart pounded, slow and steady and hard. "I—I'm your brother. Lex, why are you lying to me?"

"Clark, are you feeling alright?"

"I heard you on the phone, Lex. You were asking your scientist whether she was cooperating."

Lex's eyebrows raised. He very slowly closed his laptop, set it aside, and came to stand beside Clark. He took what appeared to be a ring box made of a gray metal out of his pocket and opened it.

Clark gasped with pain as Lex took out a green kryptonite ring and put it on. Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach. "Lex?"

"Had you going, didn't I?"

Clark had been right all along. The darkness had taken over. But if that was the case, maybe his brother was still in there somewhere. "Lex . . . please . . ."

"Brought this just in case," Lex said, admiring the ring. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use it, but now that I am . . . I guess I don't mind."

"I'll tell everyone," Clark said.

Lex gave him a slight smile, almost amused. "No, you won't."

"Why not?"

Lex took a step closer, and the pain from the kryptonite intensified. "Because the only reason I haven't dissected you is that I have a cover to keep. See, I like having Smallville on my side. I like having your family in my pocket. But if I don't have that, I'll take the next best thing. And that's you, strapped to an operating table."

The pain was getting worse still. Clark choked out, "Our parents would . . . never let you."

This time Lex actually laughed, and it was a laugh Clark had never heard from him before. It gave him chills. "Your parents? What are they going to do to me?"

Clark breathed in to speak, but he really didn't know what to say. His parents' discipline methods all relied on a relationship. Lex didn't care about their approval; he wouldn't follow the terms of a grounding; a scolding would mean nothing to him. He tried anyway: "They'll be disappointed."

For a split second, Clark thought that might have had an effect on Lex.

Then he burst into laughter again.

Clark felt sick, and it had nothing to do with the kryptonite.

"Now." Lex tapped the ring. "If I put this away, are you going to try something?"

"I could kill you now. Make it look like an accident."

Lex raised his eyebrows. "That's some dark thinking from the innocent farm boy. You won't kill me, Clark. You're too convinced there's still goodness in me."

Clark frowned, taking a step back from the kryptonite to think clearer. He hadn't even noticed Lex manipulating him to get his blood and marrow, but Clark didn't feel like he had been manipulated. Those projects were good. "What about that vaccine you're working on?"

"It'll make me the richest man alive."

"It'll help people."

"And if it didn't, I'd still do it."

"But I want you to do it."

Lex smirked. "Is this you telling me we have a deal?"

Clark let his breath out. He couldn't hurt his brother, not really. Not when there was a chance he could still get him back. "Yes."

"You make your parents believe everything is normal. You make a blood donation once a week. In exchange, I'll use the blood to help humanity—at a fair price—and I won't come after your family or dissect you."

The room blurred, though whether from the kryptonite exposure or his own tears, Clark wasn't sure. He missed his brother so badly. Those blood donations were going to be a lot harder to endure without the promise of comfort afterwards. And his parents would be livid if and when they found out Clark had lied. Maybe he could tell them the truth in secret . . . "Deal."

Lex took the ring off and put it back into the lead box, slipping it into his pocket. "I won't hesitate to use it again," he said.

Clark took a deep, shaky breath. His heart was still pounding hard, even as the pain died away. "I'm going to bed, Lex. Um . . . good night."

Lex didn't say anything.

"Lex?"

"What?"

"I said good night."

"Yes, I heard you."

This time, the room really did swim because of Clark's tears. But he didn't want to let them go now. In this state, Lex would just mock him.

There was nothing left to say. Clark took his leave and went to bed.