CHAPTER 13: Going after the Devil (Part I )

Lex and Bruce boarded Wayne Enterprises´ chopper around ten o´clock in the morning to fly to Metropolis. Driving was out of the question because crossing four states to get to Kansas on time for the operation would be an impossible feat- even for two devil-may-care billionaires in a Porsche and a Ferrari. Taking Lex´s own helicopter to Lisbeth´s ranch would have left a trail for Lionel to follow, and they were now too close to jeopardise everything.

The flight to Bruce´s estate in the outskirts of Metropolis was uneventful, but Lex´s mind was too full of Chloe to really notice what was going on around him. He went over every detail of their night together and everything that had passed between them in the morning, including the fleeting look he had caught in her eyes when he had said goodbye to her in the parlour. She had promised she wouldn´t interfere and still, his gut told him she´d try to do something.

There were a couple of times during their flight when he felt tempted to ask the pilot to turn back and, if it hadn´t been for the tip he had got from the doctor at Belle Reve, he´d have carried out his wish. He would have kept her locked in the room, loved her, pampered her and made sure no harm came to her.

¨You´ve been more brooding than usual, Lex, ¨said Bruce. ¨Are you afraid of what she might do? ¨he cocked an eyebrow.

¨I hope she won´t do anything stupid, ¨sighed Lex.

¨I saw the way you looked at each other this morning. You´re a lucky guy, Lex. I don´t think she´ll jeopardise what you have. ¨

¨You don´ t know her as well as I do. She´s stubborn. ¨

¨Well... she´s finally found her match, hasn´t she? Stop worrying about her. The security detail I´ve assigned her will watch over her and keep us informed. I´ve left only one person behind, and, believe me, he won´t need a gun to neutralise whoever dares come close to Chloe. I met him in Tibet, and he can kill a man with just two fingers,¨ Bruce reassured him

¨One of these days you´ll tell me what it is you do when you take off the mask of Bruce Wayne the entrepreneur. ¨

¨I drink, play roulette and pursue beautiful women, what else? ¨smirked Gotham´s billionaire.

¨There´s more to you than your playboy image. Don´t try to fool me, Bruce. You´re entitled to your secrets, but don´t pretend you don´t have them, ¨responded a sobered Lex before the ringtone of his mobile interrupted them. ¨Luthor. Good. We´re on our way. Don´t do anything until we get there. Is that clear? ¨he ordered with a tone of voice which left no doubt as to what would happen to the man on the other side of the apparatus if he dared disobey. ¨They´re moving, ¨he told Bruce gravely.

¨Take this with you, ¨responded Gotham´s billionaire, unlocking a cabinet to hand his friend a Glock and a box of projectiles.

Bruce took another gun for himself, which he stashed away in his jacket. He had no intention of using it. There were more effective and less lethal toys to fulfil the same purpose, but he had to save face in front of Lex. By the time they´d have to use them, Alfred would have brought the Batmobile and its arsenal to Smallville´s woods.

Lionel Luthor arrived at the Headquarters of Genome two hours before the scheduled transfer of the last group of inmates from Belle Reve. He had taken extra precautions, preferring to make use of the old labyrinth of underground corridors which had been dug by the government in the 1950´s. It took him six hours on foot and several stops along the way to get to his final destination, but he couldn´t afford to be seen and spoil the last stage of the project.

Dr. Dinsmore had promised him results before the month was over, and he was about to deliver. Apparently, threatening the guy with sending his daughter Emily away to an overseas LuthorCorp facility where he would never have access to her again had worked to perfection. Once the samples from the three last meteor freaks were obtained, the altered genetic map would be complete and the awakening could take place. They had been close, so close, the previous time, but they needed a few extra meteor-mutated genomes to make sure there was no organ failure or speeding up of the aging process.

¨Dr Dinsmore, ¨said the CEO of LuthorCorp with an authoritative voice which always made the scientist´s hair stand on end, ¨is everything ready? ¨

¨Yes, sir. The inmates are on their way and the prototype´s already been prepped. ¨

¨Prototype? ¨hissed Luthor Sr.

¨I´m... sorry, sir. It´s just that... ¨

¨You don´t think clones are real people, Dr Dinsmore. What would that make of Emily, then? ¨

¨It won´t happen again, Mr Luthor, ¨said Dinsmore, swallowing the lump in his throat and feeling his perspiration starting to soak the shirt under his pinafore.

¨I won´t stand a second failure, Dr, ¨responded the older man with a threatening voice.

¨Here come the subjects, ¨answered the scientist relieved.

¨Good. Take what you need and then, kill them. ¨

¨K... kill them? ¨

¨There mustn´t be any loose ends, doctor. ¨

¨But... why not erase their memories? ¨

¨I don´t trust the mind, doctor. We don´t know what or when it can start remembering. ¨

¨But the others? ¨

¨Terminated. A necessary sacrifice for a greater good. This person´s worth the sacrifice of every worthless meteor- infected criminal we´ve used for this project, ¨he said matter-of-factly, making the doctor wonder what Luthor Sr had planned for him and his team of scientists. ¨Start the procedure, ¨he ordered, looking at the clone on the gurney. ¨Johnson, ¨he added, addressing a security man, ¨you can bring her now. ¨

¨Damn! ¨exclaimed Lex under his breath when he realised where the inmates were being taken. ¨We´ve got a problem, ¨he spoke to Bruce on the radio. ¨Bruce, are you there? ¨ he repeated.

¨Sorry, sir, this is McGann, ¨another voice answered.

¨Where´s Wayne? ¨frowned Smallville´s billionaire.

¨He took some equipment and went ahead of us to do some reconnaissance, sir ¨ stated the senior member of Bruce´s team.

¨What the hell does he think he´s doing? ¨exploded the young CEO.

¨He´s well-trained, sir¨responded the hire gun.

¨Well, he won´t be able to do much I´m afraid. The headquarters are located in the underground nuclear silos. They´re strong enough to resist a blast of several kilotons. A set of picklocks won´t be enough to get us in. We´ll need a miracle.¨