Clark and Lois were sitting on her couch watching a violent action movie.
Lois looked over at Clark and laughed to herself. He looked like he was going to be sick. It didn't surprise her. He freaked out at the sight of a paper cut; you'd think he never got them.
She was tempted to prop her feet up on his lap. He was sitting at the other end of the couch. On top of that, he hadn't been on a date for a long time. If she didn't know he was protestant, she'd think he was becoming a priest.
Her cell phone rang and she cursed herself for forgetting to turn it off. She always took the phone off the hook and turned her cell off during a movie. She didn't want to answer it, but if the person was calling this late and knew her number, it must be important.
"Hello?"
"Lois, this is your father. I have to talk to you."
She groaned and already she tuned him out. However, she couldn't help but catch the words 'Lucy' and 'airplane'. He sounded very angry. She must have took off again. Clark picked up the remote and changed the channel to I Love Lucy. She never really liked that show. How could a woman get herself into such stupid situations? Lucy was pregnant in this episode. She was going to the doctor because she was 'gaining weight'. Lucy scoffed at the other woman's suggestion of pregnancy.
Lois was getting into it, so she said out loud, "You'd have to be an idiot not to see that Lucy's pregnant!"
That was a mistake. She held the phone away from her ear and yelled, "Lucy Ricardo not Lucy Lane. I was watching I Love Lucy!"
Clark gave her the remote and mouthed, "I'm going to bed!"
Clark opened the door to his apartment and saw his answering machine blinking. He pushed play and heard this message:
'Hi, Clark. This is Lex. I have a penthouse in New York. Stop by after work tomorrow and we'll have coffee and catch up. Call 666-1313 for directions.'
That was strange. He knew Lex wasn't going to stay in Smallville all his life, it just took him off guard. He and Lex hadn't spoken for quite a while, but he would go.
4:56 p.m. in the elevator of Lex's building…
Clark stepped off the elevator. You knew the building was fancy when there was a uniformed man operating the elevator for you.
A butler answered the door, led him to the couch, and then retired to his quarters after he told him Lex would be down when he got off the phone.
Clark looked around. He had almost forgotten how wealthy Lex was. He had to be among the top 10 wealthiest people in the world. He got off the couch and walked around the room. When he got tired of that, he went over to the phone. Lex was still talking it seemed. He picked up the notepad and pencil. He was getting ready to doodle on it, when he thought it might be more fun to see what had been on it previously. He took the pencil and scribbled across. The words 'contact V.' appeared.
V? Who was V? Then he thought about Vulture. The police thought Vulture had made a couple major and successful robberies this week and Lex had only recently moved. Could Lex be the boss behind it all? He had constantly had his suspicions about him through the years. The dagger came to mind. Had Lex touched it first and proved to be his archenemy or was he mistaken?
Clark heard the door open upstairs. He shoved the note in his pocket and ran back to the couch.
Lex was very charming and friendly during the coffee, but Clark couldn't help but think it was only an act to hide his dark side.
Clark left pretty early. Nothing bad had happened or come up in their conversation. It was merely talk about the old days. However, Clark was 99.9 percent sure Lex was behind it. Unfortunately, there was no way to prove it and with only 3 weeks and one day left in New York, it was unlikely that he would.
7:16 a.m. in a taxi cab…
It had been a cold, windy day, so Clark and Lois split the cost for a taxi cab to get to work.
"I forgot to ask you what your dad wanted a couple of nights ago."
"As near as I could figure, Lucy has taken a job as a 'lowly' airplane stewardess."
"Really?"
"Yep, and it's all my fault according to the General. I called her yesterday and she confirmed her new job. It makes sense if you think about it. She has a talent for languages, she's a people person, and being an army brat gives you the itch to keep going places."
"Yeah. I guess so."
Lois wanted the window cracked after they had gone to the trouble of getting a taxi. He reckoned you had to be from Earth to understand the hot and cold problems.
"I saw Lex yesterday."
"What'd he want?"
"Just to talk. You don't like him do you?"
"I didn't use to. Particularly when he called me a muffin peddler." Lois never forgot an insult. "My opinion has changed now, I think. I've been reading all the charity work he has done. I guess you just have to accept that most rich people are a little shady and stuck up."
Lex had swindled another person into thinking he was an okay guy. In fact, when she talked about him, she appeared to have a little admiration in her expression. He wasn't about to lose another girl to Lex. Lois was smart and he was sure that eventually she would wise up to his ways like Lana had. He hoped.