Chapter Nine Part Four- Sacrificial Love:

Clark walks into the Torch causing both cousins to turn towards him, "How did the talk with Lionel Luthor go?" Chloe asks while Lois watched him pull off his jacket and set it down at his desk.

"He said that Lex has taken up where he left off, sending earrings by way of courier so that they he could get rid of her before she became a problem. Apparently, Lex sends them to the women he spends the night with as a peace offering."

"Nothing says I'm not into you like diamond earrings." Lois looks down at the piece of jewelry, "These women who Lex picks up remind him of the one person that means the most to him and then he throws them away the next day without a second thought, there could be hundreds of scorned women out in Metropolis with a grudge against Lex."

A thought suddenly occurs to Chloe and she is quick to work through several files on her computer, "If Lex is anything like his father then they shop at the same jewelers, all diamonds are coded with a serial number to trace them through the system in case they're ever stolen. In some cases it separates authentic diamonds from blood diamonds" she pulls up several windows and scans the screen before turning her chair towards her cousin, "Laser carve the serial number into the gem so that when you enter the number you can figure out who bought it and from what jeweler they bought it from."

Lois takes the earring and rises to her feet, "Then what are we waiting for?"

When Lex awoke he found himself in the den of his mansion tied down to a chair in the dimly lit room, he searched around the room for any sign of movement until the smell of gasoline caught his attention and he spotted Shannon finishing off the small can that she had spread around him in a circle.

"Welcome Home" she says throwing the can to the side and pulls the gun from her pants and walks towards him minding to not step in the flammable liquid, "You should really get better security, all I had to tell them was that you had one too many drinks in Metropolis and they helped me carry you inside without a second thought."

Lex stares at her and asks, "Why are you doing this?"

She just shakes her head and looks around the room, "You may not remember it but this is where I earned my earrings. I had a fiancé, but you didn't know that. I cheated on him with you because I thought that you loved Me." her voice seems to break with emotion, "So when I broke it off with him, I called to tell you that, but you wouldn't take my call. You didn't care about me or any of the others." she steps over the line and walks closer to him with the gun gripped tightly in her hand.

"I'm sorry, had I known…" he is silenced when she smacks him across the face with the back of the gun causing the side of his temple to bleed.

"Save your excuses for someone who gives a damn." she steps back over the line and sets her gun down on his desk to grab the roll of duck tape, "When I found about Eve Andrews I contacted her and told her that you wanted to make amends, like any lovesick fool she agreed to come to the hotel." she once again steps over the line and takes the small strip of tape and places it over his mouth keeping him from talking any further, "After we made love I slipped something into your drink, it's funny how your blood test didn't pick that up." she looks down at him with a sadistic smirk, "You were suppose to get caught at her house destroying evidence but that stupid farm boy friend of yours ruined it by going to your father so here we are."

Lex struggles against his bindings when she walks back over towards his bar and grabbing his favorite bottle of brandy, "Its funny how life works, all the women you loved ended up dying or leaving you but it's the ones that you never really cared about that are the ones who loved you." she dumps the entire contents of the bottle over him, "I had a life, Lex. I had a fiancé." she lets out a hurtful laugh, "You ruined my life, and you didn't even know who I was. And you do this all the time." she pulls out a lighter and flicks it on causing Lex to struggle even more trying to get free and away from whatever she had planned, "All the suffering and pain you caused ends tonight, I'll finally be free of you."

After Lois "borrowed" a microscope from the nearest lab they ran the numbers and waited for Lionel's jeweler to fax over the purchase records, "What if this mystery girl isn't the killer?" Lois whispers to Clark while Chloe stood over her fax machine, "I'm not saying that Eve Andrews deserved to die but what right does Lex have lying to these women and just throwing them out with the morning trash the next day with nothing but a pair of earrings to remember him."

"I'll admit that what he does with his personal time is bad but would you really side with the killer because Lex broke a few hearts."

She just shakes her head negatively, "I still think its wrong, Eve would still be alive if Lex at least acted like he cared about someone other then himself."

Chloe grabs the freshly printed paper and quick scans it, "Two very expensive diamond earrings. Couriered to Miss Shannon Bell."

"The girl from Lex's law office?" Lois asks looking over the paper almost to double check, "She would have access to the case and Lex…" a thought crosses her mind and she immediately turns to face Clark, "She's gonna try to kill Lex."

"You guys call 911..." he speeds off while Chloe's back was still turned away from him leaving Lois to have to come up with another excuse as to where he ran off to.

Shannon stares at the orange flame then back towards a terrified Lex Luthor, "Goodbye Lex." she throws the lighter and watching as the fire spreads around him in a circle almost engulfing him.

A gust of wind knocks her into the nearby wall as Clark speeds behind Lex and takes off his jacket to spin it around circulating the flames until they rose up into the air and disappeared into thin air leaving only a dark ring on the hardwood floor.

He speeds out leaving a confused Lex to look around thankful for whatever force spared his life.

The Next Day…

Clark was busy getting out the scorched marks from his red jacket when Martha appeared carrying a large laundry basket, "Maybe its time to throw that thing away, you've had it for so long and it would be really nice to see you wearing something other then red and blue."

"I think I look really good in red and blue, besides it's the only jacket in my closet that hasn't shrunk or gotten destroyed whenever I save someone." Clark puts down the small sponge and lifts up the jacket only to see that there were still more burn marks, "Maybe if run it through the washer a few times it wont be that noticeable."

Martha just smiles at her son and sets the basket down on the counter as she took the jacket from him saying, "Some things just need a mother's touch."

The doors to the study swing open slowly and cautiously, Lex looks up from his desk surprised to see Lois standing a few feet from him dressed in an impressive yet slightly alluring business attire.

"I thought you'd want to see the latest issue of the Daily Planet…" she hands him the paper with the front headline: LEX LUTHOR FOUND INNOCENT by Lois Lane, "I made sure to leave out your past indiscretions, but I can't guarantee that they'll stay buried."

Lex looked from the newspaper to Lois with a confused look on his face, "You and I haven't had the best partnership, I thought you would've crucified me when given the opportunity. Why the change in heart?"

"I'm not gonna be one of those reporters that slings mud just to get what she wants, I'd rather be stuck in a dungy basement writing obituaries then knowing I only go to the top by ruining people's lives and you're the closest thing to a brother that Clark has."

He stares at Lois in a completely different light, "I've clearly underestimated you Lois, you're someone that's willing to put friends/family first and that's something that I'm accustomed to." he rises to his feet and walks around the desk to stare at her face to face, "Perhaps we could learn to trust one another someday…" he extends his hands towards her, "Maybe even become real friends."

Lois stares at his hand thinking about all the things that had occurred at the hands of the Luthors but shakes off the past and flashes a genuine smile while she took his hand into her and shook it, "Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, people aren't gonna believe this when they hear about it."

TBC

I'm not to happy with this last part of Chapter Nine but I added some scenes that I did enjoy writing and hope you guys don't hate me for what's gonna happen in the next couple chapters.

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