Cat's Paw 5
Lois had called Clark and mentioned the charity event at the Metropolis Civics Center, and that Perry and the paper were covering the cost of their tickets. He'd agreed to go with the provision that if something important came up, he'd have to leave, no questions asked.
Lois agreed and began to tease him about wearing a red and blue tuxedo. "I think that a nice black suit coat and black tie is good enough." Clark countered playfully. "I do own one, you know." He added. As near as he could figure, Clark was now about twenty four earth years old, and Lois was slightly older, having been held back for about a semester from graduating high school.
They would take Lois's new convertible to the event, and if Clark had to leave, he would just carefully zip off. She could spend some quality date time with her fiancée, and tell him about the impromptu ride with the Batman. Lois was certain that Clark would be pissed at the Dark Knight. At least she was safe and sound, despite the harrowing chase and ultimately being rescued by Kara.
Across town, Selena Kyle was almost ready. The blonde beauty had slipped into her sexy evening dress, fed Isis, and the small following of neighborhood cats that seemed to be attracted to her. She would walk into Wayne's formal ball proudly, with her head held high, no longer living in the gutters. Selena wouldn't necessarily rob the patrons tonight. After all, it was for charity.
Part of the Catwoman's scheme was to infiltrate the ranks of the uber-wealthy, befriend them, and when the timing was right, she would strike with catlike ruthlessness. This plan, in her twisted mind, enabled her to do two things, patronize the wealthy in hopes of garnering contributions to her own interests, and case them all for some major follow up robberies. Given Selena's duality, her plan couldn't fail. With feline ferocity, the Catwoman was deadly, a beauty and a beast in one sexy package.
Selena finished boosting her own ego, preening for the night's event. Wearing the sexy black dress, her long legs led down to pristine four inch heels, and her lengthy blonde hair cascaded down her bare back. "Isis, this will be a purr-fectly planned evening." She took one last glance at the mirror, and smiled brightly, a deadly, toothy smile that would immediately disarm any male that she'd meet.
Isis meowed appreciatively, and trotted up to her mistress with an expensive, silver and black handbag in her mouth. "Thank you, sweetie." Selena addressed her pet cat and co-conspirator. "Now you stay here, and when I get back we'll split a big bowl of milk." She directed. "Mommy's got a lot of work to do tonight." Selena petted her purring cat, and locked up the room, her heels click clacking on the floor, into the virtually empty hallway leading to the elevators.
Bruce Wayne and Alfred, his loyal manservant, had made their way back from the airport to the posh, Metropolis Arms Hotel, in the heart of the large Midwestern city's downtown business area. After Bruce took care of some WayneCo business matters with his current CEO, Lucius Fox, it was time for him to dress. "You don't have a date scheduled for this evening, do you Master Bruce?" Alfred asked.
"No, Alfred, females tend to complicate matters." The young billionaire quipped. "Are you speaking of Miss Barbara, the intrepid Miss Lane, or Miss Kyle?" The elder statesmen needled. "All of the above." Bruce chuckled. "Sometimes it's nice to be unencumbered." He added wistfully.
"Will you be taking a late night tour of Metropolis, Master Bruce?" Alfred inquired as he helped the Batman with his tie. "No, I think Metropolis has enough late night crime-fighters to go around. I'd just be getting in their way." He replied. "Tonight, is all about Bruce Wayne and the Metropolis charity crowd. It will almost be like taking a short vacation." Batman joked.
Lois stopped by their new Metropolis apartment to get ready for the charity event. Clark was out saving someone from a burning building, and he returned, covered in soot. "Honey? How was your day?" She asked sarcastically. "Fine. How was yours?" Clark playfully retorted as he put out a small fire that still burned on the sleeve of his blue flannel shirt.
"Are you going to eat after you zip in and out of the shower?" Lois questioned as she brushed some soot off of his face and kissed his cheek. "Yeah. I'd better. It wouldn't do to fall asleep at the charity ball in front of the vaunted Mr. Wayne." Clark replied cynically.
"Aww! It won't be that bad. We'll just schmooze the guests and hopefully shag Wayne for an interview." Lois smiled as she patted Clark on the butt. "Think of it as date night." She teased. "You get to put on that one suit that you own. I get to wear a flashy dress and uncomfortable shoes. What could be better?" Lois's voice dripped with sarcasm. "The best of all, the Daily Planet picks up the tab."
Later that evening, Bruce Wayne had arrived early, mostly to scope out the security arrangements. Some of Metropolis's wealthiest people would eventually be in attendance. Alfred took up his usual position, reviewing the hired help for the event. The wealthy guests would still expect a good amount of pampering, despite the charity theme of the ball.
The guests began entering the Metropolis Civics Center promptly at seven o'clock. Most of the men wore black suits and ties, while the women came adorned with every conceivable form of jewelry, from expensive earrings, to rare gold pendants with large gems ensconced in them. In short, it was a master thief or cat burglar's dream. Sure there was plenty of security, but could they stop Selena Kyle?
Clark looked debonair in his single dark suit, white dress shirt, and bowtie. Lois was stunning, in an elegant black dress, decked out in her mother's costume jewelry. She would also proudly show off her engagement ring, the one that Clark had literally made for her. He'd fashioned a fourteen karat diamond out of the appropriate rock formation, engineering the cuts of the diamond with his laser-like vision.
Selena Kyle followed shortly thereafter, dateless of course, and headed straight for the wine bar. She'd kicked her bout with alcoholism less than two years ago, and had grown so confident, that she could easily down a few glasses of wine or champagne without any fear of falling off the wagon.
Her strong will had enabled her not only to survive through rehab, but thrive, quickly ascending the social ladder. The name of Selena Kyle would no longer be spoken from the gutter. She would no longer be the butt of perverse jokes spoken by scum in the taverns, alleys, and nightclubs of Gotham. The Catwoman was well on her way to becoming a lady, at least that was her current cover story, and she'd stick to it.
Selena held a small glass flute of chardonnay wine, sipping it elegantly, as she cruised through the still milling crowd in search of Bruce Wayne. She momentarily brushed elbows with Clark as he held Lois's hand. "Excuse me." Selena said politely as her bright green eyes sparkled. "No problem." Clark said courteously nodding towards her. Selena had lifted Clark's wallet.
After a few more moments, Selena had reached her temporary fill of marks, acquiring seven men's wallets, and three small ladies' handbags. She gracefully made her way to the ladies' restroom to check on her ill-gotten gains. "Let's see." Selena murmured as she secured the door of a toilet stall. "Clark Kent, Daily Planet Reporter." Selena scowled as she spoke, checking Clark's ID.
"You have got to be kidding, twenty seven dollars?" She grumbled. "Hell, he needs this more than I do. I'll throw this small fish back!" Selena examined the rest of her haul. "This is more like it, one, two, three hundred dollars, four credit cards, six ATM cards, and a partridge in a pear tree." She snickered, amusing herself with the joke. Selena left the ladies' handbags on the floor of the bathroom.
Once back in the hallway which led to the restroom area, Selena casually glanced around and discreetly tossed the men's wallets into the male bathroom. She quickly walked away and resumed her search for Wayne. The startled bathroom attendant appeared in the hallway, discarded wallets in hand, but by then Selena was gone. He would of course report the robberies to the management.
Next, Selena would change her tactics. She strolled up to Clark, who was seated next to Lois at the bar, tapped him on the shoulder, and placed the wallet on the counter in front of him. "Excuse me sir, you dropped this." Selena cooed as Lois looked on angrily. "Thank you!" Clark said and examined the contents. All the money, credit cards, and ATM cards were neatly in place, right where he'd left them. Clark glanced up and Selena had vanished. By now it was almost time for Wayne's speech.
"She must be very good at what she does." Lois snapped. Clark cast a questioning glance. "Huh?" He asked in confusion. "Smallville, that blonde harpy just scammed you." Lois growled. "What?" Clark asked warily. "Lois, nothing was taken from my wallet. All the money, IDs and cards were fine."
"She probably just made copies of your ID and cards to sell on the Internet." Lois pointed out as they headed for a round table with several seats around it near the podium where Wayne was to speak. "It won't do her any good, Lois. All of my cards have PIN numbers and insurance on them." Lois sighed. "That may be so, but her clients don't know that." She added. "Are you sure all the money was there?"
"Yes." Clark confirmed. "I recounted it twice." Lois cracked a wry smile. "Maybe we should be offended." She quipped. "She probably thought that the little bit of money you had wasn't worth getting busted over." Clark reddened. "You're probably right." He agreed sheepishly.
Bruce Wayne took his place behind the podium, and the guests began sitting down. There was a polite round of applause as Bruce was introduced. Selena had taken a table directly in Bruce's line of sight, making it a point to leave the seat next to her empty, indicating that she was unescorted.
Her goal was to approach Wayne and either scam him, or give him a piece of her mind. Both would be considered satisfying to the ruthless Catwoman. Wayne droned on, thanking this individual, or that group, or praising the local establishment. Selena quickly grew bored but stayed in the center of Wayne's attention. At one point, Bruce made eye contact with her, and Selena smiled flirtatiously.
"That's her, Lois!" Clark exclaimed when there was a break in the speech. He gestured towards Selena's table. "I see her." The intrepid reporter affirmed. "What a scam artist! She's sitting right in the middle of everything, hiding in plain sight." She added. "Maybe she's Wayne's girlfriend?" Clark guessed.
"Seriously, Smallville?" Lois commented. "You work for the paper. Don't you know who Bruce Wayne is?" Clark shrugged. "Sure. What's your point?" Lois sighed before answering. "Bruce Wayne is one of the wealthiest businessmen in America and likely the world. He's the billionaire owner of Wayne Enterprises, WayneCo Power and Cable, and I could go on. He's also single." Lois concluded.
"Uh huh." Clark sounded unimpressed. "Anyway." Lois continued. "Men like Wayne don't have girlfriends. They might have mistresses, trysts, companions with benefits, or high society dates on call." Clark gave up the argument. "That sounds like an awfully lonely existence." He remarked.
Bruce had finally completed his speech, and after a round of applause, the audience went back to commiserating. Selena was tracking Wayne from the moment he left the podium. She followed him at a short distance from the makeshift stage to the well-stocked horseshoe bar at the rear of the hall.
The band was beginning to set up for the dance, and tune their instruments, as Selena cornered Bruce. "Mr. Wayne?" She began sweetly. Bruce whirled slowly, making direct eye contact with her. "Selena Kyle, Feline Fashion Enterprises." The Catwoman extended a hand. Naturally, Bruce knew exactly who she was, but dared not let on. "Miss Kyle. Nice to meet you." Bruce responded cordially with a handshake. "Feline Fashions?" He played the role. "That's centered in Gotham City, isn't it?"
"Yes it is." Selena confirmed as she mounted a barstool next to him. "I'm flattered." Bruce decided to play along with Selena in the hopes that she'd let some important information slip. "I've read about Feline Fashions in the Daily Planet and the Gotham Gazette." Batman continued with the small talk. "It's been pegged as one of the new and upcoming female owned businesses in the Midwest and East Coast."
Clark and Lois had angled close enough to Selena and Bruce to overhear the conversation. Clark had chosen to ignore them at first, but with Lois's prodding, he allowed himself to check it out. "Lois, this isn't right." Clark mildly protested. "Is it fair to the other reporters that you and I could grab a scoop that they can't?" Lois rolled her eyes. "Smallville, that's the nature of the business." She argued.
"Perry sent us here to get a scoop and possibly an interview with Wayne." Lois pointed out. "Look, if it bothers you that much, I'll go over there and interrupt Wayne chatting up our mysterious wallet nabber, and ask for an interview." Clark shrugged. "If you think that'll help you." He commented. Lois's eyes narrowed. "Smallville, does it seem odd to you that Wayne isn't surrounded by bodyguards?"
"He's probably got plain-clothes detectives or security personnel all around us." Clark mentioned. "Yeah, but they didn't stop lady light fingers over there." Lois countered. "Maybe I should warn Wayne to watch his wallet." She offered cynically. With that, Lois stalked straight over to Bruce and Selena.
Clark nervously eyed the audience, expecting a security detail to jump out at them any minute. Nothing. Now, Clark had to admit that Lois was right. Where was Wayne's security?