Chapter Sixty-One

Alex worked as quickly as he could so he could have dinner with Clark on time. He meant to explain his suspicions to Clark tonight that Hamilton was involved with Lionel's death. It wouldn't relieve all of Clark's self-imposed guilt, but hopefully it would help alleviate some.

Hamilton's suicide resulted in the entire floor of his building to go up in flames. Luckily, there were no deaths as Lois had managed to pull the fire alarm and started yelling for people to "get out". Alex himself had pounded on doors as he ran for the exit, trying to leave as quickly as he could. He broke the news of Hamilton's death last night so Clark wouldn't be shocked when he read the paper. As it turned out, the news story of a tenant blowing up his floor was nothing more than a small article. No more than a five hundred words on page twelve near the bottom of the page.

A man of Hamilton's intellect should have been able to afford a better place. Alex had taken in the mold covered walls. He noticed the mouse traps in the corners; the smell of cat urine that filled the hallway. It wasn't until after Lionel's death, when Alex had access to Lionel's files, that he discovered Hamilton had been working for slave wages. Which made Hamilton's death that much more surprising and caused Alex to reflect. The doctor could have blackmailed Alex, threatening he would divulge the truth to Clark in exchange for money or recognition. Instead, Hamilton pulled the pin on a grenade. Alex now would never know if Lionel played a part in his mother's death. And, by extension, if Hamilton coerced Julian to kill Lionel.

The quiet of his office was broken as Lois Lane stormed through the doors, a protesting Dominic following behind her.

"Here." Lois dumped out all her binders and notebooks on to of Lex's desk. The thrust of her papers made pens scatter and pushed his laptop to a dangerous angle on the desk. "Here is all the research I did about your little kidnapping stunt."

Alex managed to calm Dominic down and assure his butler everything was under control. He didn't speak until his butler left the room. "Ah, yes. Your little research project. Well, Miss Lane, sometimes the results we want aren't what we get."

"Yeah, cause sometimes facts get manipulated." Lois stared hard at him. "Do you understand how wrong all of this is?"

Alex wasn't the bad guy here, and it was annoying to be considered one. Lois needed to understand the hard truth of the matter. "You know about his involvement with Asclepius." He waited until the heated brunette nodded her head. "Lionel kept Julian in a lab for his entire life. Poking and prodding and finding ways to profit off his DNA. When Lionel died, Julian became free. So, Miss Lane, in this world you thought you saw, was Lionel still alive?" Alex chose his words carefully just in case super ears were nearby.

"That doesn't make it right." Lois protested, holding firm to her misguided convictions.

Alex wanted to change the subject. "Why were you at Hamilton's office?"

"Nah." Lois seemed pleased with herself as she started to walk away. "Enjoy your prisoner." Lois shouted over her shoulder.

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The Sullivan's ordered Chinese takeout for Lois' last dinner in the house. Lois was in a sour mood but forced herself to smile for Uncle Gabe. Chloe seemed to have a storm cloud above her head, too. Lois had to drag it out of her, but she and "Julian" were on a small break until Chloe knew who she was dating.

Lois had already said her goodbyes to Jeff, Zatanna, and Molly. The enhanced techno-geek was able to give her cellphone an upgrade, assuring she'd be able to get excellent cell service and Wi-Fi no matter how remote from civilization she was.

The one person she couldn't seem to bring herself to confront was Clark Kent. She had failed him.

The doorbell rang just then, and Lois went to go answer it.

"Hi," Clark said, his arms filled with a box. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

"I won't stay too long. Just figured I'd say 'bye' before you left. And I figured there isn't a general store for a couple hundred miles, so I thought you could use some essentials." The box was filled to the brim with double fudge crunch bars.

"Thanks. That's very thoughtful. Clark."

"Lois," Clark sighed.

"I know you don't believe me," Lois took the box, setting it on the ground next to her, "and I know I don't have any proof. I just know what I saw."

"Lois, I told you. I…"

"Look, Hamilton was the one who told me how to get the key. He let me into the plant and showed me the Eurydice device. He was the one who activated it and sent me over. Now, after all that, the guy just commits suicide?" Lois sighed and looked down at the floor. "I won't be here anymore, so I can't follow through on my suspicions. Just be careful, Clark."

"Consider myself warned. But it's Julian." Clark held out his hand. "Good luck, Lois. I mean it when I say 'thank you' for all you did for me. Even if things didn't turn out like we wanted them to."

Lois chose to hug him instead. "Goodbye, Smallville. It's been weird. But don't worry. I'll visit."

"Is that a promise or a threat?" Clark joked.

Lois playfully punched his arm in return. "See ya around."

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Pete Ross inhaled the evening air, trying hard to not throw up. He was leaving a rave thrown by some of his junior teammates, soon to be seniors. They were in eager anticipation of what the new school year would bring. How they could best show off to the scouts to score some scholarships and get out of this lame excuse for a town. At parties like these, there was enough beer and jello shots to go around for everyone so even the losers could dream, just for a little while, they could throw the winning pass and secure themselves a full ride.

Not like I have a chance, Pete thought to himself glumly.

He had good grades, and he was a good player. But he was never good enough. Not good enough for the college scouts. Not good enough for the coach to give him extra consideration.

Pete would never get the chance to leave Smallville. Not like some of his friends, who would get scholarships. Not like Chloe who was currently living her dream with that internship. An internship she had gotten because of Julian Luthor. His face got red remembering the humiliation he suffered at the Spring Formal because of him.

"Pete Ross?" A voice called from the shadows.

"Who's asking?"

"Someone who believes the Luthors need to be taken down a peg or two." The stranger pulled out a vial that glowed a fluorescent green. "Interested?"