Ft. Bragg, North Carolina
Lieutenant General Sam Lane leaned back in his office chair as his computer logged off. He reached into his uniform pocket and drew out a cigar, pausing to sniff the aroma of the hand-rolled stogie. Sighing, he put it back into his pocket, regretting the regulations that prohibited smoking in all government buildings. Sam looked at his computer, verifying that he was logged off, and let his eyes drift to the pictures of his daughters sitting on his desk. Lucy smiled at him with an innocent expression. She was so much like her mother, smart, strong willed and fiercely independent. Lucy had disappeared in Europe again. Sam was concerned, and thought about calling Lois again to get her help in tracking Lucy down. Thoughts of his eldest daughter made his eye wander to Lois' picture. Lois was not smiling. She seemed to never smile when he was around. He didn't blame Lois, not really. He had never been a good father, or even a bad one. He had treated her like a soldier, giving her discipline, drive and responsibility. She was like him, strong and loyal. Her hazel eyes stared into his soul. He didn't need her help. He was always just looking for an excuse to spend time with her. He wanted to heal the breach that he had created, but didn't know where to begin. Sam sighed again. So many regrets, they weighed on him as much as his duties did.
A knock on his office door broke Sam's reverie. "Enter," said General Lane through the wood paneled door.
Major Mike Preston, Sam's Aide-de-Camp, entered, quickly closing the door. He crossed to General Lane's desk and opened his Day Planner containing the General's schedule. "Sir, we need to go over tomorrow's schedule of events" said Mike.
"Right, we are speaking to Congress tomorrow?" asked Sam.
"Yes sir," said Mike. "The appropriations committee meeting is at 1000 hours. It shouldn't take more than two hours. Our flight leaves at 0730 hours sharp, Captain Donaldson is the pilot. I've confirmed with Senator Kent's office that you will be having lunch with the Senator at 1230 hours. We will leave D.C. at 1530 hours. You are speaking at the Officer Wives Club dinner on post at 1900 tomorrow night."
Sam made a face, "No way to get out of that one, I suppose?" He really didn't want to make a speech to a bunch of stuffy socialite women.
"Sorry, Sir, but you did promise General Sinclair's wife you would be there."
Sam sighed again, "Right. Well, let's take another look at the speech on the plane tomorrow. We could probably shorten it up some."
"Yes sir," said Major Preston, saluting.
"See you tomorrow, Mike" said General Lane, returning the salute. Major Preston left the office, quietly closing the door behind him. Sam came to a decision to call Lois. Lucy really needed to be found…
Vienna
Lucy Lane was nobody's fool. She liked to think that she could take care of herself in any situation. Right now, she felt in over her head. She stumbled down a dirty alley, the early morning light casting steel hues around her. She tried to keep to the thin shadows. She fearfully cast glances over her shoulder, looking for any sign of her pursuers. She ended up in Vienna three months ago, in another bid to get her father's attention. She would disappear for awhile, and when she was sure her father and Lois would start looking for her, she left a trail of breadcrumbs to her door. They always found her, and gave her a royal ass-chewing for scaring them. Then, she would be good for a few months, and start all over again. But this time, something had gone horribly wrong. Somebody had found her before her father. And Lucy didn't think that it was just an ass-chewing that was catching up with her. Lucy crouched behind a dumpster, shaking and close to tears. She heard heavy footsteps pounding along the street. She closed her eyes and prayed like she hadn't in years.
Smallville, Kansas
Clark sat in the kitchen alone. He finished his glass of milk and stared at his empty plate. He just felt lost. The Zod crisis had been resolved, to it's final and bloody end. He and Lana were friends, even if they would never be intimate again. Clark was surprised that he wasn't as regretful as he thought about that. She was shocked to discover that he was Kryptonian, the Kal-El everyone was looking for. She had felt betrayed at first, but became accustomed to the idea that he was not human. They had seen Lex for the slime he truly was, the betrayer of humanity. But even Lex was suffering. Expelling Zod's spirit back to the Phantom Zone had put Lex Luthor even closer to the edge of darkness. Clark was more powerful than ever. He had gotten over his aversion to flying, and his breath could be expelled with tremendous force. He could even freeze things with it. Lois was still hanging around the farm off and on, but had quit being his mom's chief-of-staff to pursue a degree in journalism, of all things. She was actually really good. His mom was in D.C. full time with Congress in session. Even Chloe didn't have time to hang out with him, between the Daily Planet and school.
Clark's super-hearing picked up a car moving up the drive. He recognized Lois' engine. He even recognized the barely controlled way she charged up the drive. As a quick experiment, he focused harder and listened to her steady heartbeat, frowning. It seemed a little fast, even for the NASCAR style of driving Lois preferred Clark stood and began to clear his dinner dishes into the sink. He mentally steeled himself for another round of verbal sparring with Lois. Strangely, he had started to look forward to these exchanges. They were almost his only form of human contact anymore. A lot of the bite had gone out of his comments to her, and she had been sticking to criticizing his "pity parties and flannel disasters". Lois came in the kitchen door and half waved to Clark. She was talking to someone on her cell phone.
"Daddy, look, I'm starting to get things together here. Lucy is a big girl now and she doesn't need rescuing when you don't get a phone call. When she wants to be found, she will be found" said Lois, rolling her eyes at Clark. Lois made her thumb and forefinger into a pistol and shot at her phone. Clark gave her a small grin. Lois' relationship with her father was less than ideal. Clark was sure that she loved her father, she just wasn't good at showing her feelings to anyone. "Alright, Dad. I'll make some calls and see what I can find out. But you can't keep uprooting me from the life I'm trying to build. Right. Good bye." Lois closed her cell phone and sighed. "Hey, Smallville. No plaid today?" she said with half-heartedness.
Clark smiled and attempted to lighten the mood. "What, is that it? I've been looking forward to a good fight all day!" he said brightly.
Lois stared at him for a second and began to laugh. "Oh, Clark! My heart's not in it now." She stopped laughing. "The General wants me to help look for Lucy again. I really don't want to."
"Is she in trouble?" Clark asked.
"Not that I know of," sighed Lois. "Whenever the General doesn't hear from her for a few months, he gets all overprotective. He still thinks that it's my responsibility to look after her."
"Well, you know, if you need some help, I'm here" offered Clark.
"Thanks, Smallville, really. But I'm not going to do it. My father can't interrupt my life any time he pleases anymore" said Lois. She looked around. "So, is there anything here to eat, or am I going to have to get a pizza again?"
Clark smiled and went to the refrigerator. "There's some meat loaf and mashed potatoes left from last week. They still look good."
"Ugh," said Lois. "Not really in the mood for that again! I swear, you must have made a whole cow and used up every potato in Idaho making that meal!"
Clark grinned, Lois was getting back to her old self again. He looked up as the phone rang. "Aren't you going to answer that?" quipped Lois.
"You know, you live here too" said Clark, reaching for the phone.
"Yeah, but it's not my house. I'm a guest and you're a host" smirked Lois.
Clark picked up the phone. "Hello, Kent residence" he said. "Lucy! What…wait…slow down!" Clark looked at Lois, "It's Lucy. She sounds like she's in trouble."
Lois rushed to the phone and grabbed it from Clark. "Luce, where are you? What! What the hell are you doing there? Who? Okay, do you still have your dependent ID? Okay, go to the nearest NATO base. Don't leave there and don't take any chances. Stay in crowds and keep your head. I'll call the General and he'll have someone pick you up." Lois looked at Clark with fear in her eyes. "Lucy, be careful. I'll get there somehow." Lois hung up.
"Lucy's in Vienna. She says that someone is trying to kidnap her. Clark, I've never heard her that scared." Lois dialed the number for her father. She waited and waited. "Daddy, I just got a call from Lucy. She's in Vienna and she's in trouble. She's going to try to get to the nearest NATO base. Please call back soon." She hung up and looked at Clark. "Voicemail" she explained. "I need to get a plane ticket."
Half an hour later, Lois was shouting at a ticketing agent. "No, tomorrow afternoon is not okay! I need a ticket from Metropolis now! This is life and death! Hello? DAMN!!!" Lois threw the handset. "I can't believe they hung up on me!"
Clark looked at Lois. She was really scared for her sister. "Lois, you could probably get more results if you were nicer" he offered.
"I don't have time to be nice, Clark!" Lois was really losing it. "And why hasn't my father called back? He never goes anywhere without his phone. I just got off the line with him."
Clark took Lois' shoulders in his hands and looked into her eyes. "Lois, you aren't going to help much if you run off half-cocked. We need to come up with a plan."
"Smallville, the plan is to get to Vienna and find my sister. We'll bring her back here and keep her safe. Now, let go of me so I can find a flight."
Clark sighed. He let go of Lois' shoulders. He truly considered telling her that she didn't need to get a flight, he would take care of the "travel arrangements". But, like always, he was afraid to take the last step in telling people of his origins. He was not afraid of someone taking him away to be experimented on, he was too powerful for that. He was afraid of hatred, fear and rejection. He and Lois were friends, he was sure, and she wasn't as judgmental as others he had known. But, still, they had grown closer over the last few months, and he didn't want to endanger her by her knowing the truth.
Lois went back to the phone book and looked up another travel agency. Clark had seen her obsessed before, but this was the most intense he had ever seen her. She was terrified of Lucy getting hurt. Lois had told her father earlier that she wasn't responsible for her baby sister, but Clark knew that Lois would give her own life to protect those she cared about.
Lois cell rang. She scooped it up, checking the caller ID. "Finally!" she said as she pushed the call button. "Daddy…Who? Major Preston? Why do you have dad's phone?" Lois face lost all color, and she sat heavily on the couch. Clark focused his super hearing on the conversation. "I just talked to him, is he…"
"Lois, all we can determine is that he isn't at the scene of the accident. We have our best men on the investigation, but it looks like he may have been kidnapped" said Major Preston. "From what I've seen, it was a professional job. Quick, clean and no witnesses."
Lois started to tremble. "Damn it. How could this happen? What about the security detail?"
"Dead. Shots to the head."
Lois went cold all over. "Thanks, Major. Let me know what happens."
"Of course, Ms. Lane. Where are you staying?"
"I'm at the Kent Farm in Smallville, Kansas. But I might be taking a trip soon" said Lois. She closed her phone and dropped it on the floor. She put her hands in her face and began sobbing silently, her entire frame shaking. Clark sat beside her and enfolded her in an embrace, silently offering his support. Lois broke, turning her face into Clark's shoulder, wailing and clutching at his shirt. Clark rubbed her back, murmuring words of comfort.
Lois was exhausted. Clark used her credit card to buy two plane tickets to Vienna, with a stopover in Paris. Lucy had called from a NATO base in Vienna. She had managed to evade the men who were trying to kidnap her. She didn't know about her father's disappearance. Lois told her sister to stay put until she got there. Clark put Lois in bed in his room, pulling the warm covers up to her chin. She whispered thanks and soon fell asleep. Clark stayed in the room, watching her. She seemed so vulnerable and fragile laying there. His thoughts played over the phone conversations with Lucy and this Major Preston. There was too much coincidence for his liking. A kidnapping and an attempted kidnapping on two different continents at roughly the same time? Clark knew that General Lane was in charge of secret projects for the Pentagon. He was also well known and respected as a leader and public figure. Were they criminals or terrorists? Would there be a ransom demand? Clark knew that Lois would not be able to sit by and let the authorities handle this. She would throw herself into the middle of the action. He sighed and went down to the couch, preparing for his night's sleep.