Chapter 14: Dinner with Lana

"So, Miss Lane, what kind of mischief are you getting yourself into now," Turpin asked, taking sip of his morning coffee.

"It's about Lexcorps new CEO, Lana Lang. I don't trust her," Lois answered after finishing her mouth full of scrambled eggs.

Turpin chuckled underneath his breath; he knew that this was going to rear its ugly rear head sooner or later. The truth was that he was also very angry that Lexcorp was avoiding bankruptcy. He had worked for years to bring down Lex Luthor and his evil empire. The corporation needed to have their doors shut, and the legacy of Lex Luthor needed to wash away from Metropolis forever. "I've heard that they've decided to put a young, spring chicken in charge of the company. So, what's she done to get your feathers all riled up?"

"Did you know that she sold a huge stockpile of Kryptonite to my father? You know my father's opinion of Superman and what he's capable of doing."

"Hmm," Turpin grunted. He did indeed know General Lane well enough to know what he could and probably would do with a giant stockpile of Kryptonite. When Superman first arrived at Metropolis, Turpin was not thrilled with someone stepping in on his job. Unlike the general, however, Superman had won over his respect and willingness to work together to break the back of the criminal underworld that was trying to take root in Metropolis. The general was too busy looking at Superman as a possible future threat to see him as alley in the here-and-now. "While I share your concern about what your father might do; I doubt that the DOJ will allow him to do anything rash, at least, until the fly-guy has a chance to address the issue."

"I wish I share your optimism," Lois replied dryly. "Who knows what could happen with Lana Lang running Lexcorp. I don't know how much pull she has with the U.S. Government. The fact that she was able to get my father in her back pocket is very disconcerting."

Turpin finished the last bite of his bagel and then at sat back in his bench. His eyes were bobbing around in his sockets, testifying of the busy activity going on in his mind. After a minute of silence, he finally replied. "I suppose I can look up Miss Lang's background and see if anything pulls up. Unless there is evidence of foul play, that's the extent of what I can do."

Lois thought about the offer. Was she taking this too far? What would Clark think if he found out that she was having his ex-girlfriend's background checked for criminal activity? The last thing she wanted was to hurt him, but there was something about the woman that she could not bring herself to trust. She refused to believe that this was about jealousy; there had to be some other explanation for the way she felt, and she was determined to prove it to herself.

It was an answer to her prayers. Lucy was so bored out of her mind at her sister's apartment, then when the door bell rang, she was quick to answer it. If she watched another stinking soap opera, she was going to tear the apartment up. When she opened the door, she was pleasantly surprised to see Jimmy standing there. "Jimmy? Aren't you supposed to be at work now?"

"I've decided to play hooky. The way I see it, I've never missed a day of work in my life. I think I'm entitled."

"Look at you; ain't you a bad boy," Lucy grinned, happy to see that Jimmy was not afraid to break the rules once in awhile. "Wanna come in?"

Jimmy's eyes became wide as he looked around her inside the apartment. It took Lucy everything she had not to laugh. "My sister's at work, remember? There's no reason to worry."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Jimmy laughed at himself as he entered the apartment. He found it very disconcerting to be in Miss Lane's apartment. He still could not shake the feeling that she was going to appear and chew him out for coming into her apartment. She was not a big fan of strangers coming to her apartment. "Anyway, I'm sorry our date didn't turn out too well."

"It was exciting though," she replied. "Of course, my sister is now even more of an over-protective freak."

"So, you're stuck in here all day by yourself?" Looking around the apratment, he saw that there was very to keep someone like Lucy occupied other than television. There was no computer in the apartment and no books to read. Lois was not much of a movie buff so there were no DVD's or blu-rays to keep her entertained. She did not even have cable; the most channels she had to chose from was nine. This apartment was hell for a young man or woman.

"Lame, isn't it?," Lucy replied "You know what? I've got an idea. Let's really be bad; let's get out of here and have some fun."

"What did you have in mind?" Jimmy asked.

"I dunno, Let's just be spontaneous! You're not afraid, are you?" She smiled at him wryly.

Actually, Jimmy was afraid of running into Lois and having everyone know that he really was not sick, however, being around Lucy was well worth the risk. "Me? Afraid? Let's go!"

Clark and Lois were in Perry White's office upon his request. This little conference was not unexpected; in fact, Lois was surprised that it had not come any sooner. That did not mean that she was going to like what was about to happen. "Due to the rise in violence plaguing the Metropolis, I have no choice but to impose some new restrictions."

"So why are you singling us out, Perry?" Lois asked.

"Because you're you," Perry frowned. "This goes for everyone at the Planet, but especially you, Lane, because I know you'll never listen. Mr. Kent, you're here to make sure she stays in-line. From now on, you two are to stick together like bread and butter; like toast and jam. No one is to work alone, and Jimmy will be stuck with you two when he returns. Furthermore, work hours will be strictly nine-to-five. No putting in overtime after hours, and no evening hour investigations."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lois protested.

"Great Ceaser's ghost, Lane, will you do as your told for once! I'm trying to save your life! It's not like I'm trying to get you to learn the latest Windows operating system!" Lois hated computers with a passion. Perry had tried everything he could to try to get her to learn how to use them, but she had proven too stubborn for even the likes of the editor-in-chief. She was content with typing her stories up with an electric typewriter.

"If you had been asking that of me, I wouldn't still be here."

"Times are rough on all of us; the economy is crap, and now this. Financially speaking, this decision is going to hurt us tremendously, but I rather have you alive and unemployed rather than dead. Mr. Kent, I'm counting on you not to let her out of your sights until she is safely at home."

"What, now I need a baby sitter? No offence, Clark."

"None, taken," he replied.

"The decision is final. Now, get out of my office!"

Lois stormed out of the office. Clark left on a more somber note. "Lois, you know this is only temporary. Things are going to get better." He followed after her until they reached her desk. Since his desk was across from hers, he went over to his and sat down.

"Quit being so naïve, Smallville; this city's under siege. The only way we're going to get to the bottom of this is by doing what we do best…investigate."

Before Clark could respond, he found a hand-written note on top of his computer keyboard. He read it to himself, and he was stunned to see that it was from Lana. He had to read it a second time to make sure he was not reading what he wanted to read.

"Clark? Are you listening?"

"Uh, sorry Lois," Clark said. "We'll get to the bottom of this, but first It appears that I have a lunch date with Lana."

"What? You on a date? You're joking, right? I thought things between you two were over a long time ago." The thought of Clark on a date was bad, but the thought of him skipping out on her to spend time with Lana was worse, almost insulting.

"The two of us have some personal issues that need taken care of. Whether we decide to get back together or not, that's our concern." Clark needed to find closure for what he had put Lana through. The way he ended things between them was unforgivable; he saw that now. He ended things, so he could fulfill his destiny to become Superman. He had been certain that their relationship had to be sacrificed for him to fulfill that calling, but maybe this was destiny's way of repaying him for the many sacrifices he made. Whether that destiny was to reunite with her or to, properly, end things with her and strengthen what he had with Lois. This dinner would go a long way in helping things become clearer.

"Okay, go ahead and have your lunch date. Don't mind me; I'm sure I'll be able to find someone to go eat lunch with." Lois said, trying to put the guilt trip on Clark, but when she looked over, he was already gone.

Jimmy found himself at a Starbucks drinking a Frappuccino with Lucy. Jimmy was never big on coffee, but these Frappuccinos were pretty good. Somehow, though, Jimmy got the feeling that this was just a warm-up to what Lucy had planned. She was buttering him for something big; he could feel it. The crazy thing was, he was almost ready to do anything to impress her.

"I take it that you've never stepped foot in a Starbucks before?" Lucy had already acquired an uncanny ability to read him. It caused him to question if his life was too simple.

"That's not true," he responded. "I've been in a Starbucks before. Of course, I was taking pictures at the time, since it was a crime scene."

Lucy laughed harder than Jimmy had ever seen her laugh in the short time they've been together. It made him feel good to make her laugh; it made him feel a lot less of a dork. It was hard enough to imagine why someone so attractive as Lucy would even notice him in the first place.

After taking her final sip of her Frappuccino, she slapped the empty plastic cup onto the table. "I'm really tired of my sister's nagging over me. I know it's all because of the Intergang running amuck in Metropolis; so let's do something about it, already!"

Jimmy was expecting a bombshell of a suggestion, but nothing of this magnitude. "What can we do that the police or Superman hasn't?"

"They can't because they're too busy, but we're not. Let's go find the Intergang's hideout! If we can find it, then my sister will have the story of a lifetime!"

"Whoa, I wasn't expecting anything that heavy," Jimmy moaned. He would have thought that her hostage situation would have unnerved enough to try and attempt something this crazy. He should have known better; she was, after all, Lois Lane's sister. "Don't you think that's a little out of our league? We're not reporters, and we're definitely not qualified for something like this."

"Awww, where's your sense of adventure?" She taunted with a devilish grin on her face.

"You're really serious! You really want to go find their hangout?"

"Why not?" Lucy replied. "The Intergang is nothing more than a bunch of hyped-up youth hooligans. We can probably blend right in without them even knowing it."

"I don't know," he shook his head. "You'll have to dye your hair, and I'll have to get same facial jewelry. Even then, I don't think I can pass for a gang member."

"Oh come on, do it for me?" Lucy hopped off her chair and walked around the table. She clutched onto his arm passionately as she leaned towards his face. She pressed her lips against his, taking Jimmy by surprise.

When she pulled away, it was almost as if he had been brainwashed. With one kiss, he was ready to go to hell and back for her. Perhaps it was just all the hormones going wild, but it didn't matter. "Okay, let's do it."