Chapter 22

[Thirty Minutes Later—Daily Planet]

The bullpen buzzed on that afternoon. Deadline loomed within Hourglass' turn. Reporters typed away and yelled into phones. Editors planned the next edition's sections.

Travers watched her computer screen. News events flashed across the ticker. Attempted firework robbery on the Fourth of July weekend in New York?

Buzz interrupted Pursuit…

Who'd be calling me now? This had better be good! She answered it. "This is Travers."

"Hi, Ms. Travers. It's Peter Parker. Has the edition gone to bed yet?" Peter plugged the memory chip into Lex's desk top.

"You've got ten minutes. Wait! You're still in New York? I just heard there was an attempted hijacking of a truck full of fireworks. Please tell me you got pictures!" She opened her laptop.

"I'm uploading them to a computer and sending them to you now. I'd volunteer to do an article but my wife and Lex Luthor are the two witnesses. I don't want to be seen as having a conflict of interest. We're at LexCorp right now." He brought the pictures up on the screen. "Yeah they look good! I got five clear ones of the scenes. Spider-Man stopped the robbery. Can you imagine that? Gwen and I were just coming to meet Mr. Luthor here when it happened!"

"That's very fortunate, Mr. Parker. Can you send them to me?" she requested.

Peter typed up a quick email. "I'm attaching the pictures to a message and sending now." He moved the mouse to the 'send' button. An additional click sent the pictures on their way. "They're on their way. Sorry it's last minute."

She tapped her fingers. "News doesn't just operate on our schedule. I'm glad you were there. Nobody has pictures yet. It's just a few words on a ticker screen."

The email alert came up on her screen.

"Let's see what you have, Mr. Parker." She opened the message and the attachments. She leaned back in her seat. "Unbelievable! You just scooped everyone!"

"I meant what I said back in April, Ms. Travers. Sorry I can't do an article because of conflict of interest. I can give you some information on the truck and where it was supposed to go." He drank a mouthful of water.

"Indeed you will. One minute." She downloaded the pictures to a flash drive. "Gerald!"

The skinny receptionist scurried into her office. "Yes, Ms. Travers?"

"See that this gets to Diana Reynolds in proofing now! These are pictures from the New York Fireworks Hijacking. Peter Parker's on scene and just got them. They go into tonight's edition!" She shoved the drive into his hand. "Get moving!"

"Yes, Ma 'am!" Gerald took off on a dead sprint toward the Assistant Editor's Office down the hall. The guy's not even here yet and he's already producing? Wow!

"Before we go any further, I'll make sure that direct deposit gets to your account." Travers brought up her deposit program. She selected his entry. Her fingers typed in a few figures. Then she hit send. "That'll show up in the morning." She brought up her word processing program. "All right, Mr. Parker. Tell me your account."

"All right." Peter glanced over at Gwen. "Gwen and I were walking down the street in front of LexCorp's New York Office. Luthor was talking with a security guard. The guard had his hands up while trying to stop someone. The guard jumped out of the way. The white rental truck crashed through the exit gate and out into the street. I left my wife and tried to keep pace as best I could. I got to the scene just as Spider-Man landed on the truck's roof. I watched him peel the cab's roof back and jump down. Next thing I see is the truck slowing down and stopping. I took a chance and got there before the police. Spider-Man let me take pictures of the scene before he took off. I got back here to LexCorp as soon as I could to make sure Gwen and Luthor were all right."

"I see." Travers typed his account into the computer. "What else did you see? What kind of damage was there?"

"The truck left a trail of cars that it crashed into. I followed the impacts. That's how I knew where to go." Peter glanced at Gwen. Is Travers going to buy this?

"Good instincts, Mr. Parker. I wish you'd taken pictures of those damaged cars. Still you did get pictures of the truck and the damage around it. How's everyone at LexCorp?" Travers typed away.

"Everyone's fine. The guard was all right. I don't know where Luthor is right now." He took another drink.

"And the truck? What can you tell me about it?" Travers raised an eyebrow. Intrigue sucked her into his story.

"Luthor rented it. The fireworks were heading north to Cherry Plain, NY for the county's firework show tomorrow night. Apparently the truck was loaded. The thief somehow got to the truck and took off with those fireworks. NYPD has the fireworks for evidence. They're going to try and get them released before tomorrow." He frowned. Disappointment loomed for the kids and adults expecting their show on the following night.

"That's fine, Mr. Parker." Travers typed away on her keyboard. "I'll get Sullivan to write this up. I'll have her contact Lex Luthor to see if he can provide more information. Thank you, Mr. Parker. For someone who had a news story drop into his lap, your eye for detail has fleshed everything out for me. If I have any questions, I'll call back. You have a good evening. Thank you for getting this to me."

[LexCorp]

Peter disconnected the call and shoved the phone into his pocket. He opened up another email screen. "I promised Captain DeWolff those pictures." He typed a quick message and DeWolff's email from the business card. He attached the photo files. With a final click, he sent them. "There! That's done!"

Gwen considered his assessment. "Jean's taken care of. The Planet's taken care of. What about Lex? He's still trying to get this situation under control."

"The truck story's already on the news ticker in Metropolis. I'm sure it's everywhere else by now too." Peter sighed.

"Indeed it is." Lex walked into the office. "Sorry I was out in the hall while you were talking to Travers. I appreciate you leaving the internal mess out of it, Peter. I can verify everything you said."

"I think Chloe's going to be calling you for an interview. You might want to get ready," Peter advised.

"I stand warned. Miss Sullivan will be prepared. I will be as well. Sorry but I have to call Dave and Angie. We won't be heading up to Wabash until tomorrow now. I have a meeting with the section chief." Lex shook his head. "What do you guys want for dinner? It's on me."

"There's a great Italian place about ten blocks from here. It's called Lunardi's." Peter's mouth watered at the restaurant's mention. Lasagna tempted his appetite.

"I could use some of that chicken fettucine! Mmm!" Gwen chimed in.

"Done! Give me twenty more minutes. I'm not meeting with my section chiefs until the morning. All I have is the interview and…." Lex heard his cell phone ringing. "I bet that's her."

"Already?" Surprise widened Gwen's eyes.

"It's Chloe." Lex put the phone to his ear. "Lex Luthor. Hi, Chloe. Give me a minute. What can I do for you?" He walked out of the room.

Peter and Gwen looked at each other. Unexpected Events and Twists seemed to offer new wrinkles…

Red Tape offered some benefits after all….