Chapter 15 - Criton
Even Lex would have had to admit that the flight back to Smallville was more than a little awkward.
Clark sat in a corner of the jet, sniffling. Part of Lex really wanted to put on the ring and go backhand him—give him something to cry about, like Lionel would have—but his weakness wouldn't let him. He hadn't realized how much control it still had over him until yesterday. He'd expected it to give him grief about the way he spoke to Clark, but it didn't have much to say on the flight. It seemed to be focused on holding him back from doing anything to Clark.
It was dark when they landed, a couple of hours after sundown. Clark hesitated a moment before climbing into the limo with Lex; Lex briefly showed him the ring box to remind him what would happen if he didn't cooperate.
Lex didn't have the driver head toward the farm. He had him drive to the caves.
Clark frowned. "We need to get home."
"They can wait."
"Mom and Dad will want to see us."
"They were expecting us to be out for a week. Another hour won't kill them." Lex hadn't expected to find the stone so fast, for one thing. For another, he really had expected to keep Clark happy by taking him on some tours in Egypt. If Clark hadn't eavesdropped where he had no business, they still could have done that. "Let's take the stone to the table, then I can take you home. But you're going to remember our deal, right?"
"Yeah," Clark said, and his jaw pulsed. Over the past few hours, he'd alternated between seeming sad, scared, and angry. Apparently he'd cycled back to angry. "Do I have to make another donation before I go home?"
"No, I just took one from you before we left." He frowned, but he didn't retract his statement—he didn't really have to be following Jonathan's rules anymore, but he wasn't going to just hurt Clark for the sake of hurting him. He'd never hear the end of from his weak side.
They descended down into the caves, each carrying a flashlight from the car. Lex suspected Clark was moving slower than he usually did, but he refrained from snapping at him to move faster; he suspected that would only earn him another hour or more of pointed sulking, or maybe glowering. This was going to get exhausting, maybe even more so than keeping up his facade had been.
In the little chamber with the stone table, Lex set down his flashlight and smashed the Egyptian statue against the wall to retrieve a glowing white stone inside. "Wow," he said. "Wonder what it does."
"I think you have to get all three of them together," Clark said softly.
"Great. You can come with me when I figure out the meaning of that map."
"No!"
Lex gave him a look. "You really think you're gonna win this fight?"
"That wasn't part of the deal. I'm not helping you gain any more power than you already have."
"I agreed not to dissect you or hurt your parents. I didn't say anything about your friends' parents, most of whom I employ."
"What happened to you, Lex?" Clark's voice remained softer. He'd cycled back to sadness, apparently. "You had come so far. You were a part of our family. You could have had everything you've ever wanted."
"Everything I've ever wanted?" Lex let out a laugh. "Sorry to break it to you, Clark, but it's been a long time since I've wanted what you're talking about. Now." He tossed the stone to Clark. "Give it a go."
Clark looked down at the stone, then over at the table. He placed the stone in one corner of the indent; it clicked into place, but didn't do much else.
"Ah. Too bad." Lex tossed aside the pieces of the statue he was still carrying. "Back to the house?"
Clark stared at the stone for another moment before he looked up at Lex. "Yeah," he whispered.
"Cheer up. Nothing's really changed, you know." Lex clapped Clark on the shoulder.
Clark flinched. "Don't touch me."
Lex pulled his hand back, surprised by the hurt in Clark's voice. But Lex didn't care, of course. He wasn't capable of caring. It had been so long since he'd cared about that kind of thing, he couldn't even remember what it felt like. That was his weakness's job. Not his.
They exited the cave, and Lex scanned for the limo, but it was nowhere in sight. A man stood where the car had been; Lex had to squint in the low light to recognize him.
It was Henry Criton, the mineralogist he'd fired. The one who'd been leaving threatening messages with Dr. Fine.
"Dr. Criton?" Lex called. "What are you doing here?"
"Who's he?" Clark asked.
"I'm the one Lex Luthor here screwed over." Dr. Criton took several angry steps toward Lex.
Lex stepped back, putting his hands up. The man was clearly on drugs of some sort. He was the only one Lex had fired for seemed too unstable; he might have crossed lines Lex didn't want to and gotten him in trouble. "Dr. Criton, let's discuss this rationally."
"Rationally? I could have been part of the future of LexCorp labs. Of 33.1. And you pushed me away like . . . like . . ."
Lex turned to Clark. He didn't want Clark listening in on this conversation, even if there was nothing Clark could do about it. "Mind taking a walk? I need to deal with this."
Clark frowned, but he turned away and took a few steps back toward the caves.
Lex took a deep breath and turned back to Dr. Criton. "Listen—"
But Dr. Criton wasn't listening. In one swift motion, he took a gun out of his pocket and fired it.
The bullet hit Lex in the chest before he even knew what had happened.
The next few seconds passed as if in slow motion. He stumbled back, he heard Clark call out his name, he saw Criton gasp, as if in disbelief of what he'd done; but Lex wasn't sure which happened first. He fell back, and Clark's arms caught him before he could hit the ground, but he couldn't have said whether that was before or after Criton ran.
All he knew for certain was that the last thing he felt was the blinding, excruciating pain before darkness enveloped him, and he knew no more.
