Chapter 11.

Looking out at the fields from the loft of the barn, Kevin explained that his father worked long hours and was one of the top doctors at Summerholt. After the accident, his father had suggested that it would be better to erase the painful memories in order for Kevin to be able to get on with his life. Kevin had been very reluctant and was frightened that his own father was looking to cover up the truth. His father had actually gone to the trouble of spiking Kevin's coffee one morning, causing Kevin to become delirious. Calling in to work, he'd advised them that he was bringing Kevin in to commence with the agreed treatment programme.

As Kevin was classed as a minor, the procedure could be carried out on his father's authority. When Kevin had come to, he'd found himself strapped to a device that was going to rid him of those memories. It was extremely complicated to understand but in simple terms, the procedure isolated the triggers to certain memories in conjunction with the use of sodium pentothal. Kevin's father would ask a series of questions and monitor Kevin's brain waves to isolate the triggers. These triggers could be manipulated to remove the memories.

Kevin was reeling from the new-found knowledge that his father was actually replacing the memories by manipulating the triggers to recall the same events differently. It had been drummed into Kevin's mind that he was the one who'd fired the gun, thus accidentally causing Dylan's death. Kevin's reality was being blurred but it required hours of intensive treatment for the procedure to really take root. One of the upshots was that Kevin's body was absorbing huge amounts of energy from the liquid meteor rock being used with the device. He was able to expel some of this energy in short bursts and it had the same effect on others as it had on Kevin when he'd been strapped to the machine, albeit short-term.

For Kevin, the only real side effect was the frequent headache caused by his brain trying to cope with establishing reality versus fiction. It had turned a reasonably conscientious student into something of a rebel, and Kevin had been spending more and more time fixing and riding motorbikes and less on his school education. To fund his hobby and his passion was expensive and this is what had led him down the path of stealing. When he realised what a powerful weapon he was harnessing, he began using it to aid his criminal spree.

"My own dad, Clark! He was trying to change my memories so that no-one ever found out about what he'd done. Why would he do that to me?" asked Kevin as they made their way down the steps and out towards Clark's truck.

Clark thought carefully about his answer as he opened his door. "Maybe he couldn't live with what he'd done."

"Look at what I've done since then. Look at all the trouble I've caused."

"Kevin, only you can decide how and when to put all of that right. Right now, my main concern is getting my friend's memories back. I think the answer to both problems lies at Summerholt," said Clark.

Kevin calmed down a little. "Look man, I'm sorry about what happened to your girlfriend. I didn't mean for her to lose more than a couple of minutes. I'm not sure how that even happened."

Clark raised an eyebrow as he considered Kevin's insinuation about Lois. "She's not my…never mind. We need to get to Summerholt."

"I'll take my bike," said Kevin. Seeing Clark's frown, he added, "Don't worry, I won't ditch you. Do you know the way?"

Clark nodded so they left the farm and headed for Summerholt.

After parking his truck in a secluded spot behind Summerholt next to Kevin's bike, Clark and Kevin scaled the chain-link fence and moved quietly towards the building. There was a patch of grass which followed the slope of the path running down the side of the building, and it was a simple process to climb from there onto the rooftop of the nearest section of the building. It was convenient that there were no windows on that side so nobody would have seen them sneak over.

They reached a hatch door that led into the building but it had been solidly padlocked - doubly so in fact. Kevin began to look around to see if there might be another way in. His father worked here and he'd been here many times before so he had a rough idea of how to find his way around inside. Up here, the only way in was through the hatch as there were no doors anywhere. Clark had been glancing over at Kevin and when he saw Kevin a sufficient distance away and looking in a different direction, he pulled the padlocks apart using his hand with consummate ease, prying the hatch open.

The sound of scraping metal made Kevin turn around sharply and he moved back towards the hatch that Clark was crouching beside.

"Hey, wasn't that locked?" he asked.

"It was broken," replied Clark, not looking Kevin in the eye and instead pulling the hatch further open.

Kevin crouched down and moved to climb down the hatch using the ladder within. He knew it must have led to one of the many storage areas within the building. All the offices and labs had windows so a windowless space was either a storage area or maybe a ventilation shaft. The latter would not have a plain metal hatch with a padlock though. Clark followed Kevin down the hatch. They were now inside Summerholt.

Speaking in hushed tones after establishing his bearings, Kevin informed Clark that they needed to go down a flight of stairs from which they could reach the main offices. Around the storage area were shelves filled with large water cooler-sized containers of liquid chemicals. It wasn't clear whether these were cleaning products or whether they were used for treatment. Creeping along the far wall which led to another door, Clark began to feel woozy. Somewhere in this room was Kryptonite.

Kevin noticed Clark stop in front of him and wondered what might have caused him to do so. There was nothing obviously blocking his path.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

Clark was starting to get light-headed as the radiation from the Kryptonite began to impair his eyesight and balance. Hearing Kevin's question, he knew he had to make up an excuse.

"Nothing. Just a little claustrophobia. I hate dark, confined spaces," he lied. "You go ahead, I'll catch up."

Kevin nodded and headed for the door. Clark leaned against the wall gasping and clutching his stomach. He had to move or he was in trouble. Shuffling with his back to the wall, he inched his way towards the open door, and just as he reached it, he looked over to a row of shelves in the middle of the room. There were containers full of a glowing green liquid. The meteor rock had been liquefied. For what purpose? Summoning up the will to keep moving, Clark reached the open door. Crawling through, he closed it behind him. He could see Kevin about thirty feet ahead of him in the dimly lit corridor.

The Sheriff manoeuvred her patrol car into the parking lot and one of the reserved spaces close to the front entrance of Summerholt. Nobody would question a police vehicle's presence and if they did, Sheriff Adams would have a few words for them. Alongside her was Lois Lane, and she was no shrinking violet either.

As sceptical as she was, the Sheriff knew she had to consider the possibility that somebody linked to Summerholt was behind any robbery at the Talon. Kevin Grady's father was one of the doctors there and his son had been coming in for treatment after a traumatic event. The video she had watched showed a scared young man who was clearly being coerced into believing a different version of events to what had obviously transpired. She had a feeling that Kevin was yet another of those people in the town who'd been affected by the meteor shower, and that he'd found a way to manipulate peoples' memories. That would explain why he could steal money - if indeed that is what he'd done - and get away with it. Was his treatment at Summerholt related in any way?

Lois took out her cellphone and dialled Chloe's number again. Yet again it went to voicemail, and Chloe hadn't replied to the 3 other voicemails Lois had left, nor the one left by the Sheriff. Lois grew concerned that something wasn't right because Chloe always used to reply quickly whenever Lois would call her. She loved to chat to her cousin.

"She's still not answering. I know she was here because she sent that video from here."

"Leave it to me Miss Lane," warned the Sheriff. She called dispatch on her radio to inform them of her whereabouts and to request back-up. She knew she was likely to have to make at least 2 arrests. Lois walked off and headed for the lobby.

Walking up to the reception, Lois started asking about Kevin and his father in her usual brusque manner, getting short shrift from the snooty receptionist.

"Look, I've been mind-whammied and have no memory of the past 9 months. I need to see Dr Grady."

The receptionist wouldn't budge. "Look miss, if you'd just like to fill out this form, I'm sure we can arrange for an appointment."

"I don't think you realise how serious this is. Dr Grady has some questions to answer and I know my cousin is back there, so be a good girl and let me through that door," Lois ordered, getting more and more wound up.

By this time, the Sheriff had strolled over and heard how the conversation was going. She was used to dealing with uncooperative people and felt she had a handle on the situation. Before Lois could begin another tirade, she stepped in.

"Miss Lane," said the Sheriff before squaring her jaw and facing the receptionist. "Maybe they pay you enough to be rude, but I don't take kindly to non-cooperation. Sheriff Adams, Smallville PD. You will let me through those doors to see Dr Grady."

The receptionist scrunched her face as though the Sheriff and Lois had offended her. She was still trying to straight-bat their enquiries.

"We would need to see a warrant, Sheriff Adams."

The Sheriff bristled with indignation at the receptionist's bravado. Leaning forward and lowering her voice while adding a hefty helping of sternness, she let the receptionist know in no uncertain terms that she will cooperate. Within seconds, the tension around the desk had dissipated as the receptionist was forced to stand down. She shrunk back into her chair as the Sheriff glared at her - the air of superiority being replaced by worries about her job. Lois grinned smugly at her.