"Come in." Lionel called from his place at his desk in the mansion. He had come to Smallville to clean up a few house-keeping items prior to shutting down the plant that he had given to Lex. He had plans to shut the plant down for some time and now with Lex out of the way it would be easy to carry out.
"Hello Mr.Luthor." Chloe stepped somewhat nervously into the room.
He looked up from his papers and stared at her briefly before looking back down at his work. He had seen the brief moment of nervousness she displayed and saw how quickly she covered it up. His interest was slightly peeked.
"Miss Sullivan is it?"
"Yes." She cleared her throat, "Yes it is. I'm a friend of Clark's and Lex's."
"I know who you are. Your father works for me. What can I do for you young lady?" Even with his interest peeked he kept his tone flat and unreadable.
"Well you can start by helping bring Clark and Lex back home."
He slowly put down the papers in his hand and his face turned from shock to amusement then to fake, practiced sadness all in a split second.
"I'm afraid that is impossible. You know as well as I do that I can not return them back from the dead. I feel for your loss. I miss my son very much but they are dead so unless you have found a cure for death I'll bid you good day."
"Mr. Luthor, I know all about Joshua Bruha. I know that they are very much alive and that you are the reason they are where they are. You faked their deaths." Chloe's voice became stronger as she stepped towards the desk so she was looking downwards at him.
Lionel laughed at the accusation. "Those are some pretty serious statements Miss Sullivan. I think that you should research your facts before you go around spreading vicious rumors."
Chloe tossed a copy of the pictures she had taken across the desk at Lionel. "How's that for research. I know you are responsible for their situation. Clark came to you when Lex disappeared and then he mysteriously went missing as well. Now you are going to help bring them back."
Lionel looked at the pictures and then up at Chloe. He stood up and walked around the desk, stopping inches from her.
"Your father will do well as a result of your silence dear."
"Excuse me?"
"Your father. He has a good job with me. He could have a better job or he could have no job. I know that he thinks the world of you so I wonder what would he say if he knew you were playing with his future."
"Leave my father out of this." Chloe snapped back.
Lionel reached up and ran the tips of her blonde hair through his fingers. "So beautiful. It would be a shame to end your life so early."
"Are you threatening me?"
Lionel smirked, "It's not a threat dear. My son and your impetuous friend are in good hands and I intend on them staying that way for a good long time. I'm not sure how you came by these photos but they had best stay hidden away just like Lex and Mr.Kent. Now you," He turned and walked across the room towards the door clearly expecting to be followed. "You will keep your mouth shut or things could get very difficult for you and your father."
He opened the door to the room and was accosted by the flash of a number of different cameras.
"Is it true your son may be alive?" One man in the group of about ten or so called out.
"How do you plan to get him home?"
"How did it feel to learn of his kidnapping?"
"Has there been a ransom demand?"
"What of the Kent boy?"
All the questions were being shot off as quickly as the cameras were flashing.
"I'm sorry everyone but Mr. Luthor is still in a bit of shock at having heard the news." Chloe stepped in front of Lionel and through the door with a professional air to her appearance. "It has been a long day but he is willing to answer a few of your questions."
She turned and smiled knowingly at Lionel who glared back in return. "Mr. Luthor." Chloe's smile continued as she handed the floor over to him.
"Mr. Luthor, how did you first discover your son was alive?"
Lionel took the time he needed to regroup and was begrudgingly prepared to go along with this charade that the young girl beside him had so obviously set up.
"My sources tipped me off a while back after the funeral. They indicated that my son and his friend may not have been on the plane that had crashed after all. I hired Miss Sullivan here to track down the possible leads."
"Is it true that he is being held against his will?"
"We are not sure of that just yet." Lionel started but stopped when Chloe interrupted.
"While under the employment of Mr. Luthor I was able to locate both Lex and his friend Clark Kent. Both are in fact being held against their will in Sudan by a very influential businessman. It is our hope that they will be returned home by the end of the week."
"Mr. Luthor, how do you intend on bringing them home?" Another man shouted from the group.
"Well we haven't quit gotten that far in discussions yet. I need you to understand this is a very touchy subject. One that must not be released to your newspapers and news channels just yet. In order to look into the matter further we must have the element of surprise in our favor." Lionel answered.
He quickly made a mental note to have his secretary get the contact names of all the chief editors and owners of the newspapers that had representatives present. He would personally have to speak to each one and ensure this material never made the headline news.
"Mr. Luthor plans on taking any means necessary to ensure the safe return of his son and his friend." Chloe intervened again.
Lionel looked over at her again. He was furious but yet oddly impressed by the tenacity and intellect of the young lady beside him. He had to give her credit. She had gone to great lengths to find Clark and Lex. She had the courage to confront him and had obviously notified enough of the press to ensure that he cooperated in her scheme to bring his son home.
Anything he did now short of successfully ensuring the safe return of Clark and Lex would be a mark against him and his influences. If he didn't bring them back it would look like he was a failure. Like he didn't have the connections necessary to save his own son, he would look weak and incompetent to his adversaries. Worse, it could look to the authorities like he had never really tried.
"I think that is all the questions we have time for right now." Chloe closed the session and her and Lionel walked back into his office shutting the door.
"Mind explaining to me what that was?" Lionel's voice was menacing as he stepped towards her and grabbed her shoulders.
"I had to ensure that you would help bring them back." She started to ramble on the way she does when she has a plan. "This way you look like the good guy. No one finds out the part you played in their disappearance and you look like the hero that brings them home."
"Why exactly would you care about my reputation?"
"I don't." She answered bluntly, "I care about Clark and Lex. The only way to get them home is to call Joshua and get him over here. You are the only one that he trusts enough to come here to see. Once he is here he can be arrested and the army can enter the palace and free Clark and Lex."
"What makes you so sure I will help you?"
"Because you can't risk not helping me now that the media knows you are involved. It will look like a failure on your part if something goes wrong. Not to mention if someone were to find out about your involvement you would look all the more guilty if you didn't try to rescue them."
"You are playing with fire Miss Sullivan. You had best watch your step."
"I'll have to take my chances."
"What assurances do I have that once Lex is back he won't run right to the police and tell them everything?" Lionel wondered out loud.
"If you help with this then no one would believe Lex even if he did go to the police. You of all people know that appearance is everything. You appeared to be the grieving father when you thought he was dead. Now you appear to be making every effort to save him when you discover he is still alive."
"And if I decide not to go along with your plan?"
"Then I will send the pictures that I have to the media and inform them that there will be no rescue efforts made. You will look as guilty and as uncaring as you really are and the whole world will know you are choosing to do nothing to save your son."
"I suppose you have a plan to get them back then?" He returned to his desk and leaned back in his chair hoping to stump the ambitious young teen.
"Actually yes and no." She answered truthfully. "I do know that you need to call Joshua and have him come here to see you. Once he is here in America he can be arrested and the Sudan police can raid his palace with the help of our military forces."
"And I presume the police are aware of your little plan."
"They are."
"Why aren't they here with you now to ensure I make the call?"
"Because I couldn't speak openly with you if they were now could I?"
"I suppose not."
"Also, I know if you called Joshua while you were being watched it wouldn't be convincing. You need to be able to speak freely about your arrangement if you are going to convince him to come over here."
"Your over planning may be the downfall of your plan my dear."
"In what way?"
"Simply because the media will run with this story and it will be on the front page of every major newspaper. Joshua will read about it and know that something is up."
"The members in the press conference have all signed military contracts binding them not to print a word of this story until the investigation comes to full fruition. They face legal ramifications for themselves and their companies if they breech the confidentiality that they swore to. In return they have been given first rights to the details as they unfold for print after Lex and Clark are home safe."
"Well done." Lionel knew when he was beat and he slowly returned to his desk pulling out the number to Joshua's palace. "Well done indeed."
He picked up the phone and addressed her again. "And what exactly is it that I am bringing him here for?"
"That's something you will have to figure out. I don't know the intricacies of your deal with him." She shot him a glare that defied her age.
"Once this is over I think I could find a position for an aspiring, young woman with your negotiation skills, that is if I don't have you killed in the meantime." Lionel noted truly admiring her underhandedness.
"With all due respect you couldn't pay me enough to work for someone as crooked and as heartless as you." She responded trying to pretend she wasn't intimidated by the last words of his sentence.
He laughed and picked up his address book flipping it open to Joshua's home number. "I will go along with your little plan on one condition Miss Sullivan, I will be the first one in to the palace to retrieve my son and Clark. This way I can ensure their silence."
"What do you mean ensure their silence?" She asked suspiciously.
"No harm will come to them. You're involving the media has already ensured that. I simply want to talk to them and discuss the terms of their silence without them first having the chance to talk to the authorities."
"No deal." Chloe eyed him with distrust.
Lionel leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. "Then I am afraid this meeting is over. Send your pictures to the media. I will call Joshua and tell him to move your friends to a new, secure location."
Chloe thoughtfor a moment and decided now was not the time to call his bluff. "Fine. You go in first, but if anything happens to them I will make sure you are the one to blame."
He nodded at the agreement they had made and then thought quietly for a while as he decided what he needed to say in order to have Joshua come to America. He appeared to have made up his mind as he dialed the phone.
"Have Joshua Bruha contact Lionel Luthor immediately." He told the phone operator on the other line and hung up staring icily through Chloe as he lost himself in thought again. He had thought that he was rid of Lex but somehow that little brat of a son always seemed to come back again to haunt him.
There wasn't room for both Lex and Lucas. If Lex returned then Lionel would have to pay Lucas off in order for him to take a back seat yet again. Lionel thought about what a shame it would be to loose someone as talented and devious as Lucas had turned out to be.
Maybe all wasn't lost. He could easily have Lex, Clark and this pain in the ass girl standing in front of him killed. With his influences he could have them all killed and no one would be the wiser. He could ensure that Lucas kept his place and Lex was a thing of the past for good.
The phone ringing brought him out of his thoughts.
"Are you going to answer it?" Chloe stood trying not to look nervous. She knew all it would take was one word from Lionel to Joshua and this whole thing would go bad. She had done her homework and had tried to cover all the angles that would ensure Lionel's co-operation but with a man like him you could never be sure of anything.
"Hello." Lionel answered the phone.
Chloe stood at the edge of the desk trying not to breath too loudly as she listened intently to the one side of the conversation.
"Yes, hello Joshua. Thank you for returning my call so promptly. Seems we have a bit of a situation."
Chloe held her breath fearful of what would come next.
Lionel laughed into the phone, "No, no nothing serious, but it does appear that the government and the bank are conducting an audit on my transactions over the past year. They are inquiring about a number of the transfers of funds and how they relate to my business holdings. They need to speak in person with anyone who has transferred large sums of money into my account. Unfortunately you are one of those people."
A moment went by before he spoke again. "No I'm afraid that a phone call will not cut it. I need you here to meet with the auditors it person and sign off on some of the documentation. I have told them that the money was for the purchase of some rare vases. I need you to come here and attest to that fact."
Another few seconds passed again, "Joshua I need you on your plan and here by tomorrow afternoon or I will promise you that you will not like what I have to tell the media about the kidnapping of my son. On the other hand if you come here I will make sure it is worth your while. I have a few antique articles that you may find interesting."
Chloe squinted her eyes at Lionel as she tried to decide if he was actually going along with the plan or if he was somehow tipping off Joshua about what was really going on.
"Fine. I will meet you at the airport tomorrow at three. Good bye." Lionel hung up the phone and leaned back resting his folded hands on his stomach.
"Well he's on his way. Now what?"
"Now we meet with the police and they accompany you to the airport to arrest him."
"What makes you so sure that Lex and Clark are still alive?"
"They have to be." She said with finality as she turned to walk out of the office.
When she reached the door she rested her hand on the doorknob and turned back to look at him. "Oh and by the way, I had the phone tapped and the conversation was recorded in case you decide to change your mind. In the event that anything happens to me, Clark or Lex I will have it and the pictures sent to the police and the US Army."
She turned and left the room feeling his stare on the back of her neck. She knew she had covered her bases the best she could and she hoped that all her precautions would ultimately protect them from any retaliation that Lionel may be planning.
Lionel was annoyed and yet oddly intrigued with the young lady who for now had appeared to have bested him.
