It was dark and Lex had been poring over the long awaited files that he had requested since he came home from the plant – stopping only for a brief dinner. He had sifted through them and pulled out the ones he found to be relevant. He had read through them once fully, and now he was skimming through them again. One of the people even drew a picture; Metropolis P.D. must not have found it necessary to get a sketch artist to any of these witnesses. Admittedly, if he didn't have his experience, neither would he.
He looked at the comic book from his collection that was on his desk as well. Maybe he really was crazy…
"What's all this?" a voice chuckled beside him.
Startled, he looked up, "Don't you knock?" He was smiling instantly.
Rhone smiled as she looked down at him in his chair. "I did," she paused, "For almost five minutes. Hence my interest in what you are reading so intently."
"At the museum…?" he started to ask as he stood.
She held up her hands to stop him, "I said soon, a week is pretty soon."
He nodded but disagreed internally. However, that wasn't what he was going to ask. "I was going to ask…" suddenly he realized he didn't know what to ask. He looked to the artist's tube at her back – he thought she had stopped wearing it when she was here. …A lot had happened since then.
She raised her brow at him, waiting.
Should he ask her about the necklace, the museum, the watch, the files on his desk, or anything else that he wanted to know about? He exhaled but still couldn't decide.
She turned to the windows that were behind his desk. She glanced down at the swords on the rack in front of the windows. The katanas had not moved since she originally had seen them in September. She felt sadness when she looked at them, but… "I was going to send Bones to have a look at you the night of the museum robbery, but Awol said you were fine," she said.
"Even though I wasn't tucked in?" he smirked as he moved to stand beside her. "I managed," he added after a moment.
She chuckled, "Your loss."
"Who is Bones? And why would he need to look at me?" he asked.
"Our doctor like on Star Trek?" when he just looked at her she added, "He's the best there is."
"I would think that he would have more to worry about with you," Lex said as he put his hands in his pockets.
"Why?" she genuinely didn't know what he was talking about.
Jumping through a skylight, plummeting off a helicopter, being shot at – was any of this coming back to her? He shook his head, "No reason."
"Tell me, what happened when I sent New Guy here?" she inquired.
Lex paused. He didn't want to tell her that New Guy had totally botched his little mission. He had given Lex information as well as delivered a very welcome gift. "Thank you for the report," he politely ignored the real question.
"Don't protect him," she smiled and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, "I sent him to you to fail. You're too smart and too strong to allow him to dominate you without words."
"That doesn't sound very optimistic," Lex turned to her.
She tilted her head at him. "I didn't punish him or anything," she smiled, "Being recruited by us essentially means that you are, well, elite – the best. It can be an ego trip." She tried to explain.
"And a quick lesson in humility is the cure," Lex leaned against the shelves that held his rack of katanas.
"The minute you start thinking – believing – you are better than the people you protect," she looked back to the window, "You become Gell."
"What was yours?" Lex asked casually.
"My what?" she creased her brow.
"Your lesson in humility," he crossed his arms over his chest. Surely this was something she had experienced herself – a lesson from Bishop passed down. He believed this wasn't the kind of thing that she would think up.
She turned her attention to the books on the nearby shelves. She didn't know how to communicate something like this. "Women are different," was her answer.
Lex frowned, he didn't like that answer. No, he really didn't like it. She avoided eye contact and she wouldn't tell him. He thought for a long moment and finally raised his eyes to her again, "About the necklace…"
"It was very thoughtful – very beautiful, thank you," she said.
"…You returned it," he stated the obvious.
She finally turned back to him and smiled, "It doesn't mean I didn't appreciate it." She wanted to tell him that she didn't need things like that from him; he was more than enough, that their time together was the only gift she wanted. But it was so much easier to feel it than to say it. "I understand what you were willing to give up," her face became serious, "Not that you needed to."
He was about to do something that he rarely did, "Before you left…"
"Was forgotten well before you sent that necklace," she interrupted. She knew he was trying to apologize out loud. But she didn't feel the need to make him. "I sent the report first, remember?" she pointed to a large book on the shelves.
When he thought about it, why did she send a peace offering first? "Why?" he had to know. No one ever gave him things without getting something in return – excluding Clark.
"Because," she tried to sum up every poem about beauty and charm in a couple of words, but found the effort futile, "You had already given me so much of your forgiveness."
Lex looked at her in need of clarification. He had not done anything of the sort. She slowly raised her hand to the artist's tube on her back and pointed at it. He took a few steps closer to her. "You forgave me despite the fact that I'm…" she paused, "My job basically makes me a bad person."
He looked into her eyes. She said it so honestly; she actually believed what she had just said. The world really was unreasonable. "I don't forgive you or," he searched for a word, "Tolerate what you are. I accept it – I… In all honesty, I don't like it. It's dangerous and… But that has nothing to do with you being a bad person. You're – you're a hero."
She looked at the ground, "Don't ever say that again."
He looked as though he was going to disagree with her on this point.
"True heroes don't need gratitude. I am well paid." She was beginning to feel – guilt? – about his worries. A part of her wanted to ease those worries. …He was so understanding. And his compliments made her want to tell the military and innocent midnight victims of Metropolis crime to go to hell so she could… He opened his mouth to speak but she spoke, "If I may point out, you seem to get into a fair amount of trouble yourself."
He smiled and ran a hand over his head. It was so horribly true. "It has a way of finding me," he defended. He was delighted that their – relationship was all right. She spoke of his forgiveness, but he knew that he had acted in a way that would require her forgiveness. But she never said anything spiteful, took it out on him, or even had any signs of holding it against him – like nothing ever happened. …And she really saved his ass at the museum. …He couldn't help but grin and pine to hold her. She was irreplaceable. …True heroes don't need gratitude – that was the second time she said that.
After a long moment, he finally said, "I have something I want to talk to you about." He had officially decided. He trusted her, she trusted him. He was going to tell her about falling off the building in Metropolis – everything about it.
"I totally want to hear it, especially if it's what has you so – enthralled over here," she gestured to his desk. "But I want to get something out of the way. I met your father," she said simply.
This was new; usually he had to do something underhanded to find out that someone was involved with his father. "Really," he tried to sound blasé.
"Yeah," she said.
"Was he as impressive as his books on tape say he is?" Lex turned back to the window.
She smiled and looked at her feet. Her smile quickly faded; she didn't want to insult his father. She really didn't know Lionel Luthor and Lex was his son, after all. Despite any distaste Lex may have for him personally, hearing someone else say things might be a little different.
Lex noticed her pause and looked over his shoulder at her. He felt a sudden renewal of his perpetual anger with his father, "Did he threaten you?"
"Like he could," she gave him a smug smile.
He remained still, "Then what?"
"He's," she paused for sometime looking for the right, non-offensive word, "Unique."
Now Lex saw what her dilemma was. He smiled, "You're not protecting me. I know he's – malevolent."
She smiled and nodded. If malevolence is a word you use to describe the way you feel when you accept a dinner invitation from Hannibal Lector…
"Why did he…?" he started to prepare for the worst.
"He," she paused and scrunched up her face in thought, "Summoned me." She shrugged.
"He summoned you?" Lex repeated. Why didn't he have that kind of access to her?
She reached in her back pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper. She looked at it for a second before she handed it to him. "This was in The Daily Planet a few days ago," she looked at him and tried to read his is expression.
He took the newspaper clipping and read it, keeping his left hand in his pocket.
"At first I thought it was you," she said.
He looked up suddenly, "What changed your mind?"
She smiled, "It used the word 'desperately."
He laughed lightly, "A word not associated with my father either."
"Obviously it is," she said.
He gave her a sideways glance, "What are you doing reading the personals?"
"What, like elite soldiers don't get lonely?" she said in mock surprise.
His expression remained unchanged. He briefly wondered why he didn't worry about this; he just knew she wasn't the type that would do something like that. She was too – proud. Either that or just too damn busy.
"My name is a red flag. When a red flag word or phrase runs though our computer, it gets pulled aside and we look at it in detail," she explained.
Lex needed to know, "What did he want?"
Her expression remained focused as she exhaled loudly. "I," she paused, "I don't know." She looked at him and shook her head.
He could tell that she wasn't trying to hide something from him. If she was, she wouldn't have even mentioned the meeting in the first place. His father's behavior genuinely perplexed her – he could sympathize. "Well, what did he say?" maybe he could help her figure it out.
She thought for a moment. "I think he wanted to pay a very high price for my katana," she started, "And in addition to the sword, he would have peace of mind knowing that I was no longer associated with his only son."
Why did his father…? Lex shook his head; it wasn't even worth trying to figure out Lionel Luthor. "What did he offer you?" he was curious at what price Lionel valued him.
"It didn't get that far," she turned her gaze to him. "If anything, his argument was much more convincing," she admitted.
Lex lifted his brow; she didn't even listen to his father's offer. He smiled, she really was matchless. "The argument," he led. He wanted to know what she viewed as a problem to – them. He knew that his father would probe into her, Claire had inadvertently ratted them out when he and Rhone had gone home early during the audit.
"Our friendship… There is the potential that I would lose my enigmatic status, but I think he overestimates how much real people, the general population, really cares about your family," she smiled.
Lex chuckled, "He doesn't realize that they only care when we do something wrong or the press doesn't have anything else to report that day." It was the truth. The public cared about Luthor Corp. as a creator of jobs or as a ticker on the stock exchange, but not so much about their personal lives. Lex had hardly seen any real coverage since he stopped being Metropolis' bad boy. Now the exposure he got was mainly business.
"He also mentioned that I might put you in danger, which concerns me," she added seriously as she leaned against his desk.
That was her real problem; Lex narrowed his eyes. "How does he know about…?" he paused. He had just realized that he was one of the few people that knew about her means. It was accepted knowledge to him, but his father…
She very briefly covered her face with her hands in mild frustration. When she lowered them she said, "He has a tape from the museum robbery – a good one." She knew that Lex had seen what happened inside the museum, Griffin told her. And then he questioned her about how she had managed to do what she did again – and again…
Lex exhaled. His father was so… Was there even a word for it? Paranoid? Suspicious? …Obsessive? "Why your sword?" he wondered out loud.
"Maybe he thought trying to buy my underwear would come off as creepy," she joked. There was no way that Lionel Luther knew the legend…
He smiled, "Is that all that happened?"
"It was a pretty short meeting," she admitted. "Are you still checking up on me?" she asked out of nowhere.
"What do you mean?" he thought that was sudden.
"You know, background check? Whatever else you may not feel comfortable asking me directly," she asked.
For an instant, he thought about playing dumb, like he didn't even know what she was talking about. But… "No," he shook his head, "But there are other things I would like know." He never realized that it would be this uncomfortable talking about this with her. They had never mentioned it before, but he knew that she must know. In a way, he regretted looking into her at all. He would much rather hear it from her.
She nodded. Of course there were. "When did you stop?" she asked plainly.
Lex paused for a moment, "The day after you told me the truth about your job." He saw her brow knit in thought.
"This may sound odd, but are you sure?" she lowered her head slightly and looked up at him.
He thought again, even though he knew the answer. She sounded like something was wrong and he wanted to make sure that he was telling the truth. He nodded reassuringly. "Why?" he asked.
"Because someone is looking very hard. And it isn't Chloe Sullivan. Although her attempts with the DMV and The Hall of Records were," she paused, "Cute."
Lex smiled lightly, "I'm sure she would love to hear that." His face turned serious again, "And you think that my father is the one who is looking into you so diligently?"
"If it isn't you," she nodded.
"How do you know it isn't one of your – foes?" he asked tentatively. He was sure that her adversaries were his father's arguments for making their friendship unsafe. He knew she wouldn't hurt him. Perhaps it would increase the government's interest in him and thus in Luthor Corp. But if Rhone was so high ranking, she could just make it go away. …His father just might like that – if he ever allowed himself to like anything.
"Believe it or not, I don't really have them," she said as she began to remove the artist's tube from her back. She was initially worried that Lionel had a valid point, but then after a little more evaluation – and a few words with Griffin – she realized that she really couldn't name any enemies. Lex probably had more rivals than she did.
He really didn't believe her, most likely anyone that she foiled wouldn't find her as endearing as he did.
She caught his look, "It isn't in my job description to leave room for reform." She turned to put the tube on one of the chairs opposite Lex's, "Gell was an exception. I don't leave opponents."
He said it before he had a chance to think, "If you did, would you be here right now?"
"I don't," she answered simply and turned to face him once more.
Not exactly the answer he was hoping for. But he didn't want to press it. He got the feeling that if he knew any better, she might consider his asking an insult. …He was just pleased that whatever the answer was – in the back of his mind he officially made it a yes – she was here now.
She shook her head dismissively. "You had something you wanted to tell me," she turned to the files on his desk, "I'm sorry that I interrupted you."
He shook his head softy. It gave him assurance, knowing that she would tell him about his father. No one ever told him such things. She just came right out and told him; she didn't try to keep it from him. She was honest and he treasured that. "Don't," he closed his eyes, "Apologize for being truthful. It's an attractive quality." He pushed in his chair and stood behind it and beside her.
Her mouth was dry. He called her attractive. No, he said you had an attractive quality. …Still good. She didn't look up; it was like there was a feather in her lungs.
Lex decided it was now or never. He picked up one of the closed files, "Two days before the museum robbery, I was doing some business for my father at the Metropolis Plaza…"