I am chaos, I am darkness, I am evil personified.
Chapter 25: Blurred Vision
Lois answered the door, and a strange, dark skinned middle-aged man glanced behind him. "Yes? Can I help you?" She asked warily. He shoved Lois back into her condo, knocking the startled reporter across the old coffee table that she'd borrowed from Clark.
Without a word, the intruder attempted to zap Lois with a stun gun. She avoided the thrust and somersaulted sideways, and in a moment was back on her feet, assuming an attack position. The assailant charged her again, and Lois countered his advance with a vicious roundhouse kick to the jaw. His lip split with the force of her blow, and began to bleed.
The thug didn't give up, repositioning himself between Lois and the condo exit. The stun gun, Lois's cell phone, and a fairly sharp box cutter, all lay on the floor behind her new couch. Both had the same idea. Lois dove to the right, managing to grab the box cutter.
The attacker followed her lead, diving to the left and picking up the stun gun. They retreated briefly to opposing sides of the couch. Lois feinted to the left, instead leaping across the couch, box cutter in hand. She sliced the creep's exposed forearm, causing him to yowl and curse vehemently.
Lois rolled across the floor again, and popped up into a standing position. Refusing to relent, the marauder again thrust the stun gun at Lois, barely missing her leg, as she spun away from him. Lois yelled at the top of her lungs for help. Unfortunately, the condo had been soundproofed.
The furious goon again charged Lois. She sidestepped him and sliced him under the chin, nearly nicking his throat on the way down. If she'd hit the main artery in his throat, the attacker would've likely bled to death. This time, Lois was in position to run out the door. She took advantage of the moment…
Only to run smack into two more creeps at the top of the stairs. Lois was trapped. One of the creeps had a gun pointed at her head. She was out of options. The three goons had a heated discussion in their native language, which Lois couldn't identify. It sounded middle-eastern to her. There was a sharp blow to the side of her head, Lois's vision blurred, and all went black.
Clark angrily waited for the police to arrive. This is taking too long, he mentally grumbled. He called Chloe, Perry, and even Tess Mercer, and informed them that Lois had been kidnaped or worse. The real shot in the dark was Tess. Clark had no idea whose side she was on. He assumed that she was self-serving. The police finally arrived and questioned Clark.
After a few moments, his cell phone rang. "Hello?" He hadn't recognized the number. It was from another cell phone, in a different area code. "Mr. Kent?" A deep and obviously disguised voice asked. "We have something very valuable to you. If you want it back, we'll need you to get something of value for us. No police, or she's dead. No newspaper stories, or she's dead."
Clark zipped outside and down the block. "What do you want?" The voice hesitated. Clark strained his hearing to check for noises in the background. Seagulls, a forklift truck, a speedboat, and a number of angry male voices made their way through the call. The dock! Clark guessed.
He sped back to the wharf that they'd been at last week, where they met Lex. "We require the balance of the shipment that your port authority seized last week." The voice continued after a few seconds.
"How am I supposed to get it? It's not as if I can just walk into the evidence lockup and take it." Clark stalled as he vainly searched the docks' warehouses one by one.
"That is not our problem. Either you comply or Miss Lane will die." The synthesized voice continued. Clark focused his hearing on that specific call. A dingy bell rang nearby. They were out in the bay!
Clark took a breath and cranked his hyper speed up to full strength, literally running across the tops of the relatively calm Metropolis Bay waves. He'd seen Bart run that fast, but he'd never truly attempted it before. Three ships loomed ahead of him. He'd have to pick the right one.
The trick was to investigate all three ships without arousing any suspicion. "Why are you holding Lois? She's done nothing to you!" Clark kept the kidnapper on the line. "It is not about Miss Lane's guilt or innocence. It is about retribution. Goodbye Mr. Kent." The criminal clicked off the phone.
Clark boarded the first ship, and zipped through it, finding only the crew. He dove off it and into the bay, swimming at full speed to the next ship, and vaulted up over the railing. This time he was visible, and two of the crew stared at him blankly as he landed, soon zipping into hyper speed.
The crewmen rubbed their eyes and shrugged, going back to their work on a fisherman's net. Clark searched this ship to no avail. He sped over to the last ship, and scored a minor victory. Two guards patrolled the upper deck with automatic weapons. Bingo! Clark thought sourly.
On board The Daemon Be:
Clark x-rayed the entire ship, finding six female crewmen or prisoners. He spun downstairs into a cargo bay where two of the women were. They were tied up, bound and gagged. Clark didn't know them, but freed them all the same. He sped away, shocking the women.
He moved on to the next woman. She was cleaning a floor in the hallway outside of some crew cabins. He ignored her for the moment. She appeared to be in no imminent danger. Clark located the last two women. They were in a far corner of the ship, in a dark deserted area. Three guards were at a card table nearby playing poker.
He entered the dark cabin where the women were tied up and gagged. "Lois?" He whispered. A muffled outcry rewarded his search. Clark untied both women. Immediately, Lois yelled. "It's a trap!" Two goons had entered the cabin behind him. The second woman cried repeatedly.
One guard flipped on the light. He pointed an automatic rifle at the strange woman. The second goon pointed a large caliber revolver at Lois. "Gotcha!" He growled. How could this be a trap? Clark wondered. Supposedly, no one knew where he was.
Clark had to plan this escape very carefully. There seemed to be only one option. Using hyper speed, he smashed the overhanging light bulb, plunging the room into darkness. Instinctively, Lois rolled to the ground, and the strange woman slid away, hiding in a corner. Two shots were fired from the revolver. Clark grabbed them both.
The creep with the automatic rifle had spun the wrong way, shooting and killing his partner in crime. A third thug called someone on the inter-ship phone, before venturing out of his room into a new hiding spot beneath the metal stairs leading to the next deck. He pulled out a revolver.
Clark grabbed Lois by the hand, and pulled her out into the dimly lit next cabin, untying her in the process. "How'd you find me, Clark? I thought that I was a goner." She asked. "We'll discuss that later, we're not out of the woods, yet." Clark went back into the room and led the other woman out.
Lois hid behind a large mahogany wood desk. The third goon hadn't yet gotten a good sight line to fire on them. Clark escorted the strange woman to Lois's place of concealment. "Now what, Smallville?" Lois edged behind him. "There's still a third gunman out there." He informed her, verifying that with his x-ray vision.
"Who's behind all this?" She questioned. "My guess is that someone, namely Mosuban, didn't like our article on the weapons bust last week." Clark replied. "And you are?" He glanced suspiciously at the other woman. Before she could answer, a new male voice seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"That is my niece, Katja Mosuban-Khan." HK Mosuban said from somewhere behind them. "Thank you, Katja. You may go." The crime boss instructed. "You could've gotten your niece killed." Lois complained. "If you have a problem with us, come right down here and face us." She dared him.
Katja slipped away. Clark had briefly considered taking her as a hostage, but something told him that Mosuban was so ruthless he'd have probably had her killed just to get to them. Still, a number of things just didn't add up. "Katja is not afraid to die, Kent. No one in my organization is."
"What do you want?" Clark asked angrily, edging closer to Lois. "I told you that I couldn't get a hold of your shipment. By now the American government has impounded it. We're of no use to you." Mosuban was briefly silent. Clark x-rayed the area and saw a group of men splitting into two groups, effectively surrounding them. This is going to be tough, Clark began planning their escape.
"I beg to differ, Kent." Mosuban bravely led his men towards their position. "You are of extreme value to me. Miss Lane, not so much." The crime lord hinted. "Unfortunately, now that I have you, Miss Lane is collateral damage." Clark gulped. "What's so interesting about me?"
"Don't be so modest, Traveler." Mosuban was close enough for Clark to see his sneer. Lois gave Clark a blank look. He shrugged, silently wishing that she still had her latent Krypto powers for protection. "Oh yes, I know all about you. Miss Mercer was good enough to fill me in, before I ordered her death." Clark was furious. He'd never trusted Tess, but certainly didn't want her to be killed.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Clark was still working on a plan. "Tess Mercer was no friend of mine." He checked on the positions of the advancing gunmen. Lois was holding back a sob, trying to remain strong. She considered sacrificing herself to save Clark, yet wasn't sure that it would work. "Lois, we're going to have to make a run for it. I don't see any other option."
She nodded, recognizing Clark's serious, menacing tone. Before anything else happened, Lois grabbed Clark and gave him a big, wet, sloppy kiss. "Thanks." She said. "For what?" Clark whispered. "For being such a good friend…uh…and I love…" Lois's pledge was interrupted by gunfire up on a higher deck. "See what that's about!" Mosuban directed a nearby guard.
"Now!" Clark grabbed Lois, and dashed at a right angle away from the two sets of gunmen, and Mosuban. He shifted into hyper speed, and Lois had no idea what was going on. Clark kicked in a door, as it sailed across the deck. He shifted Lois in front of him, shielding her from the gunfire. A few rounds bounced harmlessly off his back.
A major gun battle was waging on the upper decks. Clark slowed to normal speed, choosing to hide Lois behind a bulkhead. "Wow! Are you fast! How in the…?" She began, wide eyed. "It must be an adrenaline rush." He replied lamely. "Any more ideas? Like who's working the shooting gallery on the upper decks?" She asked. "It could be the Port Authority or the Coast Guard." He offered.
"Now what? Do we hide out until the shooting stops?" Lois wondered. "That sounds like a plan." Clark agreed, keeping an enhanced eye out for any gunmen. "Do you really believe that Mosuban knocked off Tess?" Lois's reporter instincts kicked in again. "I hope not. Maybe Mosuban was bluffing?" Clark made conversation, trying not to let Lois dwell on what she'd just seen.
"Are you okay?" Lois asked, inspecting Clark's back. "No one used you for target practice? I swear that I thought a few rounds hit you. What's with the burn marks on your favorite red jacket?" Clark gulped. Lois was far too observant, even under this kind of pressure. "That must be grease from one of the bulkheads." Clark lied constructively.
The shooting was starting to die down. "I wonder who won?" Lois asked cynically. "Let's check it out." He urged, carefully poking his head above the cargo bay entrance door. Clark x-rayed the area. Many people were down, with minor to life threatening injuries. Some probably died.
He focused his hearing, but only picked up a few stray guns firing, and some running footsteps on the metal decking. "Let's see where we're at." Clark gestured for Lois to crawl beside him, keeping his body between her and the rest of the ship. They made their way to a lifeboat. Clark quickly inspected the boat for damage then casually ripped the ropes off of it when Lois turned away.
"Time to go." Clark said suddenly shoving her into the lifeboat and dropping it into the bay. "Wait! What if…?" Lois's protests were drowned out by nearby gunfire. Lois landed roughly in the water, seated uncomfortably in the lifeboat. Clark had purposely avoided joining her.
He only had seconds to stop all the weapons fire before anyone noticed the splash from the escape pod. Clark zipped through the ship, knocking thugs out one by one. He retrieved every gunman's weapon and tossed it into the bay. Clark returned to the starboard side to check on Lois.
She was furious, but fine. The boat that had started the gun battle was on the port side of Mosuban's ship. It wasn't a Coast Guard, Port Authority, or Police boat. Clark guessed that someone else had been after Mosuban and attacked him and his crew. Soon, the true authorities would board the ship.