Chloe breathed in, trying desperately to calm herself. Though she was no clausterphobic, the room was small, really small and smelled….disgusting. Though she had been in countless situations like this before, never had it been in these particular circumstances.
"Figures," she murmured, rubbing her bare wrists. Earlier, she had been shackled, but when it had become obvious to the men she was no threat, they had simply left her alone. She cleared her throat and coughed, then turned towards the scarce remaints of the food on the plate.
"Great," she muttered, "Frog legs and pickled cucumbers sure put a hole in it." She almost vomited. She didn't really want to eat, normally she wouldn't. But she knew of countless circumstances where the victims starved or something like that, and when an opportunity came, they were too weak to go. Not her though, oh no, when the opportunity came, she'd be out of there.
"Ahhh, Ms. Sullivan."
She turned to the tall, graceful figure coming towards her.
"Who the hell are you?" She snapped.
"My name is Kristena." A female voice sounded. Chloe studied her. She was beautiful and slender, with long jet black hair. Her face was small, yet full, with gorgeous hazel colored eyes and full red lips.
"I don't care who you are!" Chloe snapped, "Let me out of here!"
"Shhh," said the woman, placing a long slender finger on the lips. She now came in to full view. She was wearing a red parka and underneath it, a small T-Shirt that hugged her upper figure. Her khaki pants were carefully creased and her brown boots had obviously been recently washed.
"Don't tell me to shut up!" Chloe shouted, "Just let me out!"
"Darling, you know it won't be that easy." Kristena said.
"Don't call me darling. Don't ever call me darling, you damn criminal."
"I'm no criminal." Kristena said lightly.
"Oh, yeah, what are you doing now?"
"Simply…using you for less than legal purposes."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Sure…if that makes you feel better."
"You have quite a mouth." Kristena observed.
"Comes with the job."
Kristena smiled and nodded. She looked down at the food, "Nasty, isn't it?"
"I can stand it." Chloe studied her suspiciously.
"It's o.k., darling, those bastards can't cook for anything."
"As hard as it is to believe, my primary concern right now isn't the quality of the food."
"You know, a sharp tongue won't help you here."
"Well, neither will you so what's the point of this conversation?"
"I do want to help you, Chloe."
"Of course you do," Chloe replied sarcastically.
"I'm trying to be patient with you."
"Do both of us a favor and get away from me."
Kristena shook her head and sat down across from Chloe. "You don't want that."
"Why not?"
"I'm here to help."
"You're sure doing a great job."
"I need your cooperation."
"You're not getting it."
"Why are you so stubborn?"
"You be kidnapped and we'll talk about hospitability."
"You're a tough one." Hilda smiled.
"You can do anything you want to me. I'm not saying anything."
"You don't want to do this, please, don't do this to yourself."
"How dare you tell me what I don't want to do."
"I don't want you to die."
"Then help me. Just help me out of here. Please."
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
Chloe became angry. "Then get out of here. Go, just get the hell out of here!"
Kristena cupped Chloe's chin in her hand and said, "Don't be so angry with me. I'm only trying to help."
Chloe lost it now. She hit Kristena in the wrist, knocking the hand away, then spat in to the woman's face. Kristena fell back, her eyes dripping with saliva. She wiped at it frantically. Her expression turned first to surprise, then disgust, then anger. Chloe hastily stood up and dove at her. She clawed desperately at the older woman. Her nail dug in to Kristena's cheek, drawing blood.
"Mansa!" Kristena shouted.
"Coming!" A loud voice boomed.
An Asian man ran in to the room. He was of a light complexion, bald, and very tall, with small dark eyes, and a muscular, athletic body. He wore a skin tight shirt and military pants with military boots. "Awww!" He shouted. He grabbed Chloe and threw her off Kristena. Chloe flew back and hit the wall, falling to the floor with a thud. She groaned.
"Where were you!" Kristena hollered, wiping blood off her cheeks.
"You told me to wait outside, mistress." Mansa pleaded.
She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. "Very well, I'm sorry, Mansa."
"No problem, mistress." He pointed to Chloe, "Do I take care of her?"
Chloe shakily stood up, "Bring it on." She said defiantly.
"With pleasure." Mansa said, starting towards her.
Kristena held out her hand, stopping him. "No, Mansa."
"She disrespected you, mistress." Mansa argued.
"I said no!" Kristena snapped.
Mansa sighed and nodded. "Whatever pleases you, mistress."
"You're so pitiful." Chloe said snidely.
"And you would be dead right now if I hadn't stopped him." Kristena said coolly.
"Kill me if you want," Chloe said nonchalantly.
"You don't want that." Kristena strode up to the girl.
"You're in no position to tell me what I want." Chloe replied.
"Few people don't fear death. You're not one of them."
"Wanna bet?"
"You shouldn't have done that." Kristena said, wiping blood off her cheek.
"I'm glad I did it." Chloe replied.
"Why are you so damned stubborn?"
Chloe didn't answer.
"Answer her when she talks." Mansa snapped.
"You can go to hell." Chloe shouted, pointing at him.
"You little-''
"Mansa!" Kristena shouted.
Mansa nodded and sighed. "Very well, mistress."
"Very well, mistress." Chloe mimicked him.
Mansa ground his teeth.
"You'll regret that." Kristena said softly.
"I won't regret anything."
"Oh yes you will. Let's go Mansa."
The two figures headed for the exit and locked the door behind them. Chloe swallowed, now very frightened.
To say Lois Lane was pissed was purely an understatement. Her long hair was frazzled and in a mess. Her face was red with anger and frustration. Her clothes were dishevelled and she sat in her SUV, cursing under her breath.
"Dammit, Clark, where are you?" She muttered.
She pulled her car in to the driveway of the Sullivan house and got out. She had been trying to call Clark but to no avail. Wait until she got her hands on him. Though she hated her self for it, she stopped at a local store and bought a pack of CAMEL cigarettes and a lighter. She toyed with it as she drove, then lit it at a red light, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel.
"C'mon little cuz," she whispered to herself, "You can make it through this."
She drove down the street and pulled in to the parking area of the Talon. A red Lamborghini had just caught her eye. She dropped the cigar to the floor and stomped on it, then made her way inside the compound. The Talon had been hastily rebuilded and was now easily 4 times the size that it had been before. It had been repainted, and though it wasn't finished, it was a sight to behold.
Construction workers walked around the area, smoking, drinking, talking, anything but work. They were obviously on some kind of break. Lois ignored the catcalls and made her way to the entrance. An thin Asian man sat in the doorway. He was 5 ft. 11 inches and 189 pounds. His hair was long, greasy and blonde with streaks of red. His right ear was pierced with a ring. He wore glasses and his face was thin, his skin pale and his nose too big for his face.
"Move please." Lois said, crossing her arms.
"Hey sweet thang." He said, biting his bottom lip in a seductive manner.
"Get out of my face!" Lois snapped.
'Oohs' reasounded around the compound.
The man swallowed and tried to regain his pride. "Screw you."
"Whatever." She said, shoving past him and sticking out her leg as he stumbled back. He flipped backwards over her outstretched leg and fell on his head, rolling back in a clearly uncomfortable position. The workers erupted in to fits of laughter.
"Oh!" He yelled out in a combination of surprise and pain.
"Awww," Lois said mockingly, "Is the little man hurt?"
He swallowed and sat up. "Go to hell!"
She winked mockingly and entered the Talon.
"You sure have a way of making men feel good about themselves, Ms. Lane." Lex said, sipping calmly on a plastic cup of hot coffee."
"Let's not go there today!" Lois yelled.
Lex shrugged. "So, what have I done to make you resent me today, Lois?"
"Ms. Lane, Luthor," She said, pointing at him, "And don't you forget it!"
"Oh, yes, we're back on these social terms."
"Don't play these games with me!" She shouted.
"What have I ever done to deserve No more like dislike."
"Contempt? Let's not sugar coat things, Luthor. Dislike? Even contempt wouldn't cover the feelings I have for you."
"Ahh, a step forward. Now you actually have feelings for me."
"You son of a-'' Lois started but was interrupted.
"Are there any problems here?" It was a short, buff man, no older than 30 with short cropped brown hair and a squarely angled face.
"No, Jarvis." Lex said, never taking his eyes off Lois.
"But, Mr. Luthor-''
"They're no problems here."
"But Mr. Luth-''
Lex turned around angrily. "Go back to work immediately or I'll make sure you never get a job in Smallville again, do you understand me?"
Jarvis stood for a moment, shocked.
"Do we understand each other?" Lex asked again.
Jarvis nodded. "Yes, sir, Mr. Luthor, I apologize." And with that, he stalked out.
"That was kind of harsh, wasn't it?" Lois asked.
Lex sat quietly for a moment then smiled and said, "An irony, isn't it? You saying that?"
Lois was silent for a moment, then said, "Whatever."
"Besides," Lex said, leaning back, "I have just saved some very important parts of his anatomy, considering what you did to my security guards the other day."
Lois grimaced. "That bad, huh?"
He nodded. "Yes. That bad."
Lois sighed and sat on a nearby stool. "Are they going to sue?"
"They already have."
"Why didn't I hear about this?" Lois asked.
"Because I handled it."
"I don't need your money, Luthor."
"You know, you can call me Lex. What is it, because of my family's empire?"
"No," she said simply, "I just don't like you."
"You could start by saying thank you, you know."
"I didn't ask you to settle my debts. I learned at a young age that you pay for your own mistakes."
Lex smiled, "We shared the same kind of childhood then."
"The same? You're a Luthor, some poor, unfortunate bastard probably wipes your ass for you."
"Must we be so vulgar?"
Lois shook her head, "Damn you."
Lex stood, "Very well, now that greetings are aside, what did you storm in here for."
"My cousin."
"Yes, Chloe."
"Where the hell is she?"
"How am I supposed to know?" He asked puzzled.
"Don't play these games with me." She said firmly.
"I'm not playing any games with you. I don't know anything."
"Yes you do! You had something to do with this."
"Why? Because I'm a Luthor."
"Well…yes," She conceded and he snorted. "And also because you had some thing to do with Phillip Rafferty."
"Oh, forgive me." He said sarcastically, "I must have missed the newscast that declared it a crime."
"He did something."
"What?"
"He kid-'' It was at that particular moment that her phone rang. She was about to turn it off when she saw it was Clark. She made a face at Luthor and stormed out. "Smallville, where the hell have you been?" She shouted in to her cell phone.
Clark grimaced. "Umm, around."
"I've been worried sick. I couldn't do anything without you. You know how worried I was?"
"We found something, Lois," He said, "But we need to spend more time here."
"What?" She hollered, "Get your ass back to Smallville right now or I'll-''
"Bye, Lois." Clark said, rolling his eyes.
"If you hang up on me, I'll- ''
Clark hung up and put his phone in his jeans pocket.
"You ready?" Bart asked.
"Let's go." Clark said, and they made their way across the street to Big Eddie.
It was Bart who smelled it first. Big Eddie was slumped back against the wall. His eyes were completely white and his throat was slit. Dried blood stained his shirt and his lips were swollen and purple. There was a giant, bloody slash mark across his humongous stomach and flesh hung over his waist.
Bart sighed. "I guess this lead is gone."
Clark stood still for a moment, then he covered his eyes. "Oh, no."
Bart was silent.
"It was our fault!" Clark said guiltily. They were silent for a few moments. Bart walked over to Eddie and closed his eyelids.
"Let's go." Bart said, heading out.
"Bart," Clark said grabbing his arm, "This game just got a whole lot more serious."
Bart nodded and swallowed. "Where do we go from here?"
"I don't know."
"I do." A voice said.
Clark turned and looked. It was a middle aged woman with a slender figure and long, red hair. Clark was surprised he hadn't heard her.
"Who are you?" Bart asked as she made her way down the last of the steps.
"Donna Rafferty, Phillip's wife."
AUTHORS NOTE: WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS? PLEASE TELL ME.