CHAPTER 27
"Where the fuck are you?" Lex growled into his cell phone, standing tall beside a blown-out lamppost. "If you really wanted the money for your services, you would think you'd make it a priority to be punctual."
A gruff chuckle made Lex fill with such vile anger that he thought he might explode. This man, this pathetic excuse for a human being, was laughing at him. Disrespecting him. Before he could respond to the derision, the man on the phone had begun to speak. "Don't wet yourself, Luthor. I'm just running a little late. Flat tire. It happens."
"Why do you insist we maintain this disgusting underground habit of payment?" Lex wrinkled his nose disdainfully despite his anger. This place was wretched and smelled like a combination of old garbage and the inside of a sewer. The crumbling buildings around him were decorated with elaborate graffiti and the sooner he could get out of this hellhole and back to his immaculate penthouse apartment and his vintage scotch, the better. "I don't tend to handle these sort of matters personally, but you so kindly requested I meet you here myself. So I hope you can understand why I'm slightly annoyed with your tardiness."
"Stop with the million dollar words, Lex, and just make sure you've got the million dollars. And don't forget the files you've got on Superman. I'll show you mine if you show me yours." He laughed again, and it resounded in Lex's skull, echoing mockingly.
"Get your pathetic street scum ass over here or I will make you wish you were never born." He snapped tersely before hanging up the phone and placing it back in his pocket. This was the problem when dealing with low life petty criminals, uneducated slobs who got a rush out of picking up a suitcase full of cash out on an empty street in the middle of the night. Lex clutched the handle of the suitcase tightly by his side and nodded to his driver, who was parked across the street. He gestured for the man to circle the block; if he was being tailed, it wouldn't look good to have such a noticeable car parked for too long in one spot. Watching the sleek black limo drive away, he felt a small tremor of fear. Had he just heard something? He shook it off, it was just paranoia. His driver would be back in a few minutes, he could certainly hold out that long on his own. He was, of course, the only person foolish enough to be out here at this time of night. And yet, his ears strained for outside noises, struggling to hear past the sound of his own breathing. It was too dark to see anything farther than a few feet ahead so Lex held his breath and felt his heartbeat pound in his head.
Footsteps.
Getting louder and faster.
He turned on his heels to run but was grabbed roughly by his silk shirt and pulled backwards. A small, thin figure in bulky black, wearing a matching woolen ski mask was inches away from him, struggling to wrench the suitcase from his grip. The man stepped in even closer, and jerked his knee up to Lex's crotch. Lex fell to his knees with a hiss of pain and the suitcase fell with him. The man swooped down to grab it and disappeared into the darkness with a near graceful quality. Lex groaned as he pulled himself to his feet and reached for the pistol in his inside jacket pocket. He didn't shoot, not yet. He wanted to be close enough for a straight aim and besides, he found himself curious as to what new street urchin had the gall to take on Lex Luthor himself. And with that thought in mind, he took chase.