Chapter 14
Metropolis
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Jenny was studying at the dinette table in Lois's kitchen when Lois came out to raid the refrigerator for a snack. "Test coming up?" she asked.
"Thursday night is our first big test of the semester," Jenny replied. She looked around and quickly said, "Sorry if I'm hogging all the table space, Lois. I can spread this out in the living room if you need to use the table."
"No," she answered, "you're fine there." She closed the refrigerator and opened a cabinet. She scanned it and pulled out a packet of microwave popcorn. She removed the bag from the film and stuck it in the microwave and pushed the preset to pop the corn.
"What's the test in?" she asked and perused the open textbooks.
"It's my anthropology course," Jenny replied.
Lois shrugged. "Can't help you with that," she said, noticing a small stack of printed screenshots among the notes and textbook. "What are these?" she said, picking up a couple.
"I printed those out from the internet," Jenny replied. "They are pictures of artifacts connected to an ancient civilization."
Lois thumbed through the photographs and stared at one in particular. "These are beautiful." She stared at one for a few extra moments. "I think I've seen this piece of pottery before," she said. She showed it to Jenny. "This is one I saw in Lex Luthor's den."
"Really?" Jenny said excitedly. "You think he has something like this?"
"Not like this; exactly this one!" Lois replied. "I'm almost one hundred percent certain it is the same piece, unless I've seen this picture elsewhere and I'm mentally imprinting it on the one Lex has."
"Oh man! You've got to be kidding!" she exclaimed excitedly. "These are so incredibly rare! Do you…," Jenny began to say, and then stopped.
"Do I what?" Lois asked.
"Never mind," she said. "I know you and Lex Luthor aren't on very good terms anymore."
"Well, that's an understatement. I really don't want anything more to do with Lex, but I might be able to make an exception," Lois said.
Jenny grimaced, "It's just that I'd love to see it and ask Mr. Luthor about it," she said. "It's freakin' amazing to me that an actual piece is here in Metropolis. These are so incredibly rare and the ones in that group of pictures have been sold to collectors all around the world."
The popcorn finished popping and Lois took the bag out. "Let me think about that one," she said. "He definitely owes me, but I am not certain that I'm interested in collecting if you know what I mean."
"I do," Jenny replied. "I hate to put you in any position that makes you uncomfortable around him so don't do it if it would."
"It would be fine while you're there," Lois replied. "It's afterwards that I'm concerned about. He may see this as an opening to try to reconnect. I don't want him believing that I'm interested."
"Especially now that you're with Clark, right?"
Lois frowned. "Whaaat? Okay, we've kissed a couple of times but that's about it. I was kind of excited last week after we had a makeup moment to put all the drama behind us because it really detracts from my work. But as far as being 'with' him, I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to that," she mumbled. "Do you want some of this popcorn?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Lois! Don't deny it. You're spending a lot of time with him. You are obligated to be around him when you're at work, but on the weekends? You can't deny that you and Clark are a couple now, even if you don't want others knowing it."
She suppressed a smile. "Okay, just maybe we're more than a reporting team. But hopefully, you know that only because you live here and know my off-duty schedule better than anyone else." Lois got serious. "I'd like to keep our private lives private, Jenny. In fact, you can help by pouring water on any comments that you hear from others who say we're more than just co-workers and a good reporting team. I don't want others thinking Clark and I are anything other than a great reporting team who are also close friends. I'm not one to parade my personal life in the office because it's no one's business, you know?"
She nodded. "I get it and I understand. In a building full of reporters, I don't blame you. Especially when Cat Grant is around sticking her nose in everyone's business."
"Well, not everyone's," Lois replied. "She seems to enjoy sticking her nose into my business for some reason."
"You don't know why?" Jenny asked.
"No, not really."
"Wow, I think it's so obvious. She sees you as her competition in the office. And the fact that you're not trying to compete, but guys are still interested in you makes you even more threatening to her. She seems so desperate to find a guy and it's strange to me the way she goes about it. She's a very attractive woman and yet she acts so slutty and desperate. She's always trying to get the attention of the men in the office. Even though you aren't trying, you still get their attention and so she tries to undercut you as much as possible." Jenny paused. "You do know that, right?"
She frowned. "If the truth be known, I really don't spend much time trying to understand her motives," Lois replied. "You know," she added, "I truly mean it when I say that in Cat's case, I just consider the source and I really could care less what she thinks or says. Cat's really good at her job as the Lifestyle editor and it's sad that she seems desperate for attention. Maybe it's because she's divorced with a young son."
"And no long-term prospects it seems," Jenny added.
Lois shrugged. "Who knows? Although she seems to have become very friendly with Gangbuster. Maybe that's why she's toned things down with me lately." Lois paused and chewed a few pieces of popcorn. "On the other topic, let me see what Clark thinks about me approaching Lex and I'll let you know, okay? I don't want to upset the apple cart again."
"That's fair," Jenny said. "I wish I knew Clark better. He seems so nice, but he hardly even notices me, not that I expect you to say something to him about it. It's like he never sees me when you're around, you know?" She popped a piece of popcorn in her mouth. "I don't think he sees anyone but you. And I'm not trying to be mean about him. It's obvious why and I'm not offended by it. If anything, I'm just sorry that I haven't really been able to connect with him other than about one day when we all went to lunch and even then, when he was answering something that I said, his eyes seemed to be glued on you!"
Lois blushed. "I'm sure Clark doesn't mean to be that way. It's just that he's a little awkward when it comes to being around women. He was an only child and was pretty sheltered growing up from what I've been able to gather. But he doesn't have a mean bone in his body, and I know it would probably kill him if he knew the way you felt."
"Well, that's how I know that he's really head over heels for you, Lois. The fact that Clark doesn't even really notice others when you're around, he's obviously smitten!"
Lois was feeling even more embarrassed by Jenny's comments. In truth, Lois was falling head over heels for Clark in return, but she did not want Jenny to realize it so soon in their relationship. Lois wanted to tell Jenny that if she stood up a little straighter, and that she did not wear her hair so extreme and wore contact lenses rather than the octagonal, blue-tinted wire rim glasses, her appearance might be easier to notice without staring.
Instead, she picked up the photo and studied it once more. "God, I'm sure this is the piece of pottery he has in his den."
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
"Lois," Perry said at the morning meeting, "Anything happening on that murder case with the DNA match?"
She shook her head. "Nothing lately, Chief, but I'm meeting my source tomorrow and see if there are any new developments. Since Mayson Drake's murder, that case has slowed down to a crawl."
"Is that because there's a new DA and he's getting up to speed or is it being slow-walked for any reason?"
"I think it's the fact that he's still getting his grip on things. I guess Mayson Drake had a lot of balls in the air when she was murdered."
"Anything new on that case?" he asked.
Lois shook her head. "It may be tied into that DNA case or it may have nothing to do with it. I mean a DA is always a target of violent criminals, but I'll press my source tomorrow at lunch and see what the prevailing theory is for the slowdown, Chief."
Perry looked dissatisfied. "Folks," he implored, "we need to try to dig up something because things are pretty slow in the news department these days and we have papers to sell. If we don't get something to increase circulation soon, you'll be out making a living trying to sell them on the street corners." He looked at his team of reporters. "Well? What are you sitting here for? Get out there and find those stories!" he barked.
Everyone stood and quickly filed out of the meeting room. Lois and Clark squeezed into the back of the elevator with a dozen other reporters. As they rode down to the basement floor, Lois mused, "I think things are slow because of the Blur. He's sort of neutered the criminal element here it seems and everything else is just routine stuff," she said to Clark quietly, but intentionally loud enough for others to hear. "At least, that's my theory."
"I think you might be giving him too much credit, Lois," Clark replied in a low voice, but loud enough for most to hear. "Metropolis is a pretty safe place with or without him. Besides, no one even knows if he's even around here."
"I'll find out. I'm going to land an interview with him," she said, "just wait and see."
"I don't know, Lois. He seems pretty hard to pin down and he seems pretty adamant that he wants his identity to remain a secret," Clark replied.
"Mark my words. If anyone gets a face-to-face interview with him, it will be me. I'm going to make it happen!"
"You don't even know what he looks like and it's just an interview," Clark replied. "Why not focus your attention on someone you can actually see and who you know actually exists?"
Lois snorted. "Well, that sounds awfully defensive there, Farmer John," she shot back. "Do you mean like yourself? I imagine it's easy to feel that way. He's got some pretty amazing abilities, and from the description the firefighter gave, what he wears isn't made of flannel." She paused. "But I doubt he's an authority on the Farmer's Almanac, so you have that going for you, Smallville."
A few people snickered and murmured at Lois's remarks in the crowded elevator. When they finally made it from the elevator to their desks in the bullpen, she winked at him, and Clark nodded knowingly with a slight smile.
"So, I've been thinking a lot about what happened to you last week and what we've found out since then," Lois said, leaning forward to keep her voice down. "I keep playing the scenario over in my mind and the one variable in all of it was Jose and Cat. But unless Cat had kryptonite in her pocket, that leaves Jose. It wasn't until he appeared that you became ill. And once he was gone, you recovered."
Clark also leaned forward. "I don't recall much of it, Lois. The instant I started feeling something, everything became foggy in my memory. I'm not even sure about the chain of events, other than one moment I was fine sitting at my desk and the next I was curled up in agony on the floor with you and Steve Lombard huddled around me. So, what are you thinking?"
"Well, Jose was walking normally after an experimental medical device was installed in him. I mean, come on, that's just amazing. Cat said it was an experimental device that restored the nerves in his legs. Nerves operate on electrical impulses between the brain and their endings. And any device like that has to be electrical and it has to be powered by something. That power has to come from something other than lithium batteries, I suspect. The mineral LexCorp is collecting under Project Emerald Table has remarkable energy properties according to what your friend Pete says, right?"
"Uh huh," Clark replied. "And your father sort of confirmed that, too, when he said it was a Department of Energy project."
"Don't you think it possible that it might be kryptonite they are collecting? I mean, the mineral they are collecting comes from the general area where a certain individual just happened to make his first appearance a couple decades ago. And if it is the source powering Jose's device, it would explain why you were affected the instant that he came close to you," she said.
"Well, Pete said it came to the attention of LexCorp engineers about 11 years ago, but I would suspect they learned of it before then because they were collecting it. Knowing it had useful properties for over a decade, they are bound to have begun looking at applications for it."
"Okay, then, say that it is," she continued. "Perhaps LexCorp siphons off a certain amount from what it collects and has found a way to keep that hidden from the government," Lois hypothesized. "Or maybe it already had a reserve of it collected before the government became aware they were collecting it. Or the Emerald Tablet project contract may allow them to retain a very small percentage as an incentive. In any case, it probably is LexCorp using it for experimental applications."
"It also means that for years, thousands of other people may have found bits of it and kept it for jewelry, as trinkets, or even kept in kids' rock collections." He looked at her. "That could be a real problem for me."
She nodded and then squinted. "But don't you think if it was that prevalent you would have come in contact with it before now? If it was spread all over the region, you would have bound to have encountered it if there was a lot of it, right? I mean, you were on the football team traveling all over the region, right? You were bound to encounter it before now."
He nodded. "I suppose so." Clark thought about it for a moment. "Maybe it needs to be refined somehow to be that potent enough to me in a small amount. Isn't that what LexCorp is doing under Emerald Tablet; collecting and refining it?"
"Yes, that's right. And there are other types that don't cause you pain or suffering. Isn't that what your father told you?"
"Yes. There are a variety of types and it's the green type that can be lethal to me. The others seem to just temporarily affect my mood or powers or something," Clark acknowledged softly.
"So maybe there are very few bits of green kryptonite out there and that's why it's so protected and the collection project is a secret," Lois added. "Maybe there just isn't that much to worry about," she concluded.
Clark sat back. "Wow. I hope you're right." He looked up at her. "You know, you've really connected the dots on this, Lois."
Lois chuffed. "It's what I do, Smallville," she retorted. "You should know that by now!" She raised an eyebrow. "I think you have to be careful if Jose is around until I can sort this out. You don't want to keep falling out if he's the cause and he comes by. That would be very suspicious. And I sense that he and Cat are an item now so he may pop in every once in a while." She paused and then pushed back from her desk. "I'm going to talk to Cat to find out more about Jose's remarkable recovery and the device that was planted in him. I'll be back in a little while."
Clark finished up a story Perry had assigned him the week prior before Lois reappeared. "I have to check something, but I think my hunch is right." She plopped back down at her desk and searched for the company that produced the experimental medical device that Cat had mentioned, eventually tracing back to its corporate roots in LexCorp. "Got it!" she whispered. "That has to be it; the green mineral that's powering Jose's medical device. The medical device company is a subsidiary of LexCorp." She looked up at Clark.
"It makes sense," he said but then frowned. "But wouldn't the product have to go through clinical trials first? There would have to be a record of them somewhere, right? Even if they used the devices as experimental on military personnel with service-connected paralysis as part of their treatment, they would want to have some kind of records to show that, wouldn't they?"
"LexCorp would definitely want them. I'm sure the medical device company would have them unless the experiments were off the books. In that case, they probably wouldn't want them available. But LexCorp probably has them secured somewhere," she replied. Her eyes narrowed. "I can think of a way to try to get into them, but you won't like it. I don't even like it," Lois replied.
Clark knew immediately what she meant. "No, Lois. We'll find another way."
"Well, speaking of that, there's something else that came up." Lois looked around and then at the clock on the wall. "What about an early lunch today? We need to talk about a few things."
"Okay," Clark replied. "I can do that." He tapped a few keys on his keyboard and definitively hit the enter key. "There, I'm done."
It was 11:12 AM and a little early for lunch but they rose and headed for the elevator. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"Someplace quiet," Lois replied.
The chilly February weather prevented them from sitting outside in a park so instead, Lois suggested that they share a giant sub sandwich and two drinks from the Metro Deli and eat them while sitting in her car. Clark agreed and within twenty minutes, they were sitting in a parking lot overlooking West River, a few blocks from the Metropolis Police headquarters building.
"What's on your mind that we need this degree of secrecy?"
"Well, first off, I wanted to know if you intend to go with me tonight to meet the Batman? I'm fine on my own…"
"I'm going," Clark interrupted. "First and foremost is your safety. I know he's a vigilante that is tough on criminals but who knows what goes on in his head. I am going to be there, full stop! Next topic."
"Great," Lois replied. "I'll pick you up at eight and we'll head to the casino."
"So, what else?"
"A few things," Lois said as Clark bit into his sandwich. "But before you say 'No', you need to hear me out."
He shrugged and nodded, sipping iced tea through a straw to help wash down the submarine sandwich he took a bite from.
"More and more reasons are bubbling to the surface that led me to believe I need to reconnect with Lex Luthor."
"No way, Lois," Clark sharply protested.
"Just hold your horses, Mister," Lois shot back. "You need to consider all that's going on. Let's start with Emerald Tablet. Mayson Drake knew it was important and was murdered before she could bring it to light. Batman, by the way, thinks there's something suspicious going on too. Maybe we'll try to find out why it's on his radar tonight. Furthermore, if it does involve green kryptonite like we believe, which by the way is extremely dangerous to you, I'd like to know why Batman's interested in it and what LexCorp is supposed to be doing with it. So, there's that connection with LexCorp.
"Then, there is the murder of Mickler and his connection with antiquities that were plundered illegally. It was the case that Mayson was dealing with when she was murdered. There may be a connection between all of this, and maybe Mayson's murder had to do with the Mickler case but her last words pointed us to Emerald Tablet. That leads us back to the connection with LexCorp."
"That's a lot of 'maybes', Lois," Clark replied. "I'm not sure it justifies you reconnecting with Lex Luthor."
"There's one last thing. Last night when I was talking to Jenny, she was studying for a big anthropology test and had a little stack of screen-printed pictures among her notes. I looked at the photos and one of them was a piece of ancient pottery that I could swear is in Lex's den."
"That's interesting but I don't see why it's important enough to risk getting involved with Lex over."
Lois sat quietly for a moment. "Mickler was connected with antiquities and was murdered. Someone from the salvage company is suspected of killing Mickler but the salvage company was under contract from LexCorp."
"But there must be hundreds of companies under contract with LexCorp, Lois." He paused for a moment. "Are you trying to make the facts fit your theory or is your theory based on facts? That's what you have to resolve. To me, it sounds like you're making the facts fit a theory, although I'm not sure either of us know what that theory is at this point." He looked at her. "Let's develop a solid theory after we meet with Batman, and we'll see if you reconnecting with Lex is the best way to resolve the question, okay?"
She frowned and then nodded. "Okay, for now. But all of these things are starting to merge into a single picture and once that picture comes into focus for me, I think you'll see we have a huge story to pursue. I sense there's a really important connection somewhere in all of this."
Lois took his hand. "Change of subject! I want to know if you're still on board with making a public appearance as the Bl…um, Superman?"
Later that evening, they arrived at the casino parking garage with about ten minutes to spare. They waited in her Jeep Grand Cherokee and like the time before, at 9 PM sharp, the lights in the garage flickered and Lois got out from behind the wheel and Clark moved around the back to stand next slightly in front of her.
He saw Batman arrive and Batman saw him waiting with Lois. "Lois, who is this?" he asked.
"My partner. This is Clark Kent."
"You did not need to worry, Lois. I am no threat to you. Just the opposite, actually."
"I insisted," Clark said and then nothing else.
Lois filled him in on what she learned. "And you're sure this isn't a defense department project?" he asked.
"I can only tell you what we've been told," she replied. "The mineral being collected is apparently highly valued for its energy properties."
"And you believe that's the truth?" he asked, almost incredulously.
"I have no reason to question it. Both Clark and I got very similar explanations from two completely separate sources of what Emerald Tablet is about, excluding specifics since it is an 'off-the-books' project. It's been black booked but not because the government has discovered that it's a very powerful energy source but extremely scarce. The government doesn't want everyone scouring the landscape for bits and pieces apparently."
"LexCorp has the contract. And LexCorp makes a considerable number of advanced weapon systems for the defense department. Having an exotic power source that is as effective as uranium but emits harmless radiation means the military applications are exponential."
"So are the non-military applications. City power grids, trains, airplanes, long-haul trucks, they could all be powered by this mineral but not if every Tom, Dick, and Harry are out collecting their piece," Lois replied.
"I could envision exotic weaponry built around the mineral's properties. Smaller, lighter, and as powerful as nuclear energy without the terrible effects on man or the environment sounds like something Lex Luthor would love to control the recovery, refinement, and production of the finished mineral." Batman paused.
"It's interesting that you mentioned refinement. What makes you think it's being refined?" she asked.
"Most minerals require some degree of refinement to make them useful. Uranium must be refined before it is useful, I don't expect this mineral to be any different. If it is as rare as you've told me it is, then I doubt that there is much of it to be had."
"That was our thought," Lois replied, "and why the government is keeping it quiet." She then asked, "Hopefully, this answers your most pressing questions. But what will you do with the information?"
"Investigate further through some online data mining and on the ground surveillance. I want to learn what LexCorp is up to and how much of this stuff it has collected first. I also want to know if they are making weapons from it, if it is happening right under the nose of government or at the behest of the government." He looked at Clark and then back at Lois. "If it's at the behest of the government, then that's one thing. But if it's happening without the government's express knowledge and consent, I'll find a way to expose it or end it.
"Thank you, Miss Lane." He looked at Clark. "You two should probably go now."
"Just a minute," Clark said. "You mentioned surveillance. What facilities do you plan to surveil, the Cadmus research facility?"
"Yes, mostly because it's nearby. But LexCorp has a rather large complex located in a sparsely populated part of southeast Missouri, just south of St. Louis. It appears to be nothing more than a few big warehouses on a large footprint surrounded by fencing. It looks short-term storage for transshipping goods across the country. But I believe that is where the collected mineral is being warehoused and processed. That's where l'll start to find out more about what they are doing."
"And would you provide me the results of what you find?" Lois asked. "If it looks illegal, it never hurts to go public with the shenanigans that billionaires pull," she added. "We can definitely give the public something to read with that information."
Clark thought he detected a slight smile. "We'll see," he said. "Let me find out if they even have found any substantial amounts of it," he concluded.
"Thank you," Lois said and moved to the driver's door of her Jeep. "Good night," she added, and Clark moved to his side of the vehicle. He looked back and Batman was gone from normal sight except that Clark saw him rappelling down the side of the parking garage to his vehicle below. He watched him climb in and the lights in the garage flickered and came on.
"I'm going to follow him and see where he goes," Clark said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." He leaned over and kissed Lois and she smiled. He got out of the car and practically vanished as soon as he shut the door. Her heart was pounding, and she took a deep breath.
First Superman, and now Batman. I could get used to this life.
Clark flew high above, watching the vehicle travel backroads of greater Gotham and then travel straight ahead at a point where the road turned hard to the left. The vehicle he traveled moved straight ahead and traversed what appeared to be a very shallow stream that ended at a waterfall. The Batman's car disappeared beneath the falls and into whatever lay beyond. The ground was way too dense to see where the tunnel led but atop the craggy cliff from which the waterfall originated was a large estate with a castle-like home on it.
He imagined that unless the structure was an elite hotel, its owner was extremely wealthy and was most likely Bruce Wayne's mansion. He had never met the man, only heard of him. He could presume it was Wayne but not knowing exactly where the tunnel led or seeing a clear image beneath the cowl, it would only be a presumption. Clark suspected Wayne was connected with Batman in some way because of the advanced gadgetry he possessed and the proximity to what appeared to be Bruce's mansion.
Bruce Wayne's probably bankrolling the Batman and all of his gadgets. Wayne Enterprises may even be making some of them.
Thursday, February 4, 2021
"So?" Lois asked. "What did you discover last night?" She asked quietly, as she snapped on her monitor.
"I lost him when he traveled into an underground tunnel beneath a hillside," he said quietly. Clark was leaning forward across his desk, speaking to Lois who, too, leaned forward across her desk.
"What about in the garage? Didn't you get a good look at his face then?" she whispered.
"My vision doesn't work like that, Lo. When I look through something like a hood or an article of clothing, it's not like the person beneath took the hood or clothing off. I see an outline of what's beneath but not the details. Just like you see when looking at an x-ray, you'll see bones and shadows of the body they're contained in, but you don't see surface details."
"Of course. It's x-ray, I get it," she replied. "But you did see where he went though, right?"
He nodded. Before he could go into detail, a familiar voice sounded behind him. "What are you two whispering about?" Cat asked, drawing attention to them. "Your plans for Valentine's Day?" She looked at Lois. "I'd whisper too if mine were as boring as yours probably are, Lois. Clark, I don't know what you'll be doing but my door's always open."
Lois made a face. "Really? You think spending it with the third richest man in the world is going to be boring?"
"I guess not! Particularly if that bouquet was any indication," Cat said, irritating Lois.
"And I'm taking a quick flight to DC after work," Clark said, smiling.
"That's right! Lana Lang is there now, isn't she? How is that working out for you, Clark?" Cat asked.
"Better than I even dreamed it would, Cat," Clark replied and cut a glance at Lois.
"Well, I'm sure that's true for you," she said. "I don't know that I'd like to have you that far away. But I guess it's safe as long as you have Lois as a desk mate." She chuckled. "If you do get lonely though and you're tired of flying, come on by." She looked at Lois. "I'll see you soon," she said and walked off.
"Not unless you're on the top floor of LexCorp tower," Lois called and winked at Clark. "But wait! You didn't tell us what you're doing, Cat."
Cat stopped and spun around. "Jose and I have plans that involve dinner, drinks, and an intimate evening together," she replied.
"Well, that sounds nice," Clark remarked. "And by the way, I was sorry that I had that spell when you brought him by last week. I wanted to tell him that I was very happy to see him walking again. Would you pass that along to him, Cat?" he asked.
She smiled. "Of course, Clark. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear it." Cat turned back around and continued on her way.
"Why did you say that?" Lois asked. "The last thing you want is for him to show up unannounced again. He may think he has a new friend to hang out with or something."
"I'll keep an eye and ear out for him from now on until I find out more about his device and what's powering it. I'm sure it's kryptonite but I'd like to know how much and how it's contained. If it had a lead lined containment device, it wouldn't be a problem."
"Yeah," Lois said, "You know, that's not a bad thought. If that's what we end up finding out, maybe some enterprising company can make a containment unit like that for that power source," she said.
Before she could move on to the subject of developing a theory about Emerald Tablet, Mayson Drake's murder, Mickler's killer, and LexCorp's tangential connections, her cell phone rang, and the display showed 'Maggie'. "Hi Maggie," Lois answered.
"You want a scoop?" Maggie asked.
"Hell, yeah!" she replied.
"Flint just gave the DA the location of Sal D'Amato, the ASC Salvage company president who went to ground about a month or so after Mickler was murdered. He apparently went to ground, literally."
"And I assume Mr. D'Amato is in no condition to speak to the press concerning his whereabouts over the last two plus years," Lois replied.
"Not unless you're using a medium," Maggie replied. "I'm going to text you the location if you want to come out and meet me there."
"Should I bring Clark?" Lois looked up and Clark shook his head. "Well, hold that thought," she added. "He just disappeared on another story or something. Shoot it over to me and I'll be on my way."
"I wanted to go through some of the things that we talked about yesterday and see if I can make heads or tails out of them. Unless you need me there, I'd rather hang back on work on this," Clark said.
"Need you there?" she said loud enough for several people to hear her. "You've got to be kidding, right? This is Lois Lane you're talking to. I don't need you to help me with a story, Smallville. Thanks," she chuffed. She grabbed her jacket and winked at him. Clark smiled. "I'll see you after I come back with a headline," she said as she headed for the elevators.
Lois met Maggie at the scene and received a full briefing on the circumstances under which Sal D'Amato's body was found. It allowed Lois a chance to craft a story that would scoop the TV news outlets with a Daily Planet online breaking news story.
"I'm going to be tied up here for a while," Maggie told Lois. "We'll catch up at lunch next week. And if anything more comes out of it, I'll text you and give it to you over the phone, okay?"
"Sure," she replied. They hugged. "Thanks for the scoop, Maggie. We needed a win like this at the Planet!"
"Remember, good press for MPD!" Sawyer called out as Lois left. On her way back to the Daily Planet, three TV news trucks passed her headed for the site where D'Amato's body was discovered. "Yes!" she hissed.
Lois went immediately up to Perry White's office and Sally told her that he was free. She stuck her head in the door. "Chief?"
Perry was watching the TV news broadcasts from the scene where the body was found. "Are you seeing this?" he asked. Lois ducked around the door jamb and glanced at the coverage. "Is this connected to the murder that Mayson Drake was working on a plea deal with the killer over?"
"I don't know if it is for sure."
"Well, then why are standing here?" Perry barked. "You need to get yourself out there and get some information. The TV news people are kicking our butts."
"Chief, have you looked at the online edition? Don't you get notifications when a breaking story hits?"
He muttered and pulled out his cell phone and fiddled with it. "This damn thing shuts off when a software update occurs and won't restart unless I enter my passcode. I didn't get any notifications."
"Check it on your desktop. I filed the story with them over an hour ago." Lois snorted. "It's how these TV talking heads learned about it!"
Perry pulled up the site, skimmed through the story, and his mood immediately changed. "Well, this is top notch work, Lois!" He read a little more. "It says the killer gave up the location in exchange for a plea deal. Is that accurate?"
"It is," Lois said and grinned. "I think the Mickler case is going to get real interesting very soon."
"Well, this is just fantastic, Darlin'. It's just what we need to stay relevant in the news game. We have more people signing up for our online edition of the newspaper than we do the hard copy, and this will make it even more attractive." He smiled at Lois. "Great job!"
Lois returned to her desk, energized by scooping the TV news stations and Perry's excited reaction to it. Clark was not at his desk and probably out to lunch and she was actually glad that he was. She was anxious to work on a theory on how all these seemingly random pieces converged. Her intuition told her that all these pieces were somehow connected but exactly how and to what end continued to vex her.
She pulled out a pad of paper and began jotting down what she knew to be facts. With the additional insight they got from Batman and the murder of Sal D'Amato being discovered today, it made her even more convinced that LexCorp was involved on some level. She was not sure how it all fit together but while Clark was away, she decided that she would develop a cogent theory that they she could move forward with.
After about half an hour of notes and lines connecting certain facts and events, Lois decided to add to it notes of things she suspected. She suspected Flint killed D'Amato. She suspected that it was D'Amato who had ordered Mickler killed by Flint, but who wanted D'Amato dead and why was unresolved.
She suspected Flint was ordered to kill Mickler because he had the responsibility to guard the priceless antiquities but had let his guard down and they were stolen and that Mickler was pilfering pieces to sell on black market websites. And Lois knew that ASC Salvage had been contracted by LexCorp to recover an unmanned submarine belonging to LexCorp but suspected LexCorp was unaware of the company plundering antiquities and selling them on the black market that occurred.
Lois suspected that the case involving Flint and Mickler led to Mayson Drake being murdered but she was not totally convinced of it. In her dying breath though, Mayson had told Clark about Emerald Tablet and that was another part of the riddle containing some aspect of LexCorp being connected.
Lastly, Jenny had photos of a piece of pottery created by an ancient civilization and Lois suspected she had seen that very piece of pottery in Lex's den. But she was not 100 percent certain of it and needed Jenny to see it to be absolutely sure. She was also not certain that Lex had done anything illegal by acquiring the pottery.
A sandwich in a white paper sack plopped down in front of her and she looked up to see Clark standing behind her. "Oh, thanks, Clark," she said and opened the sack.
"I figured you would be hungry after working through lunch with your source," he replied. "So, I brought you a roast beef and cheddar on whole wheat." He smiled. "There's also a bag of those kettle cooked potato chips that you like so much," he added.
"I think you're the most thoughtful man that ever lived," she whispered. He moved to his desk and sat while Lois dove into her sandwich. "So, what did you come up with?" she asked after swallowing her first bite of sandwich.
"LexCorp is very possibly at the center of a lot of the things going on or is very possibly just connected because of its massive reach," Clark said. He took a deep breath. "I'm not so sure it's solid enough to warrant a visit to Lex."
"Even if I took Jenny with me?" she said, after washing down her bite with coffee.
He shrugged. "I think it would be safer if she was along but are you willing to give Lex the impression that all is forgiven for what he did to you on New Year's Eve? I don't know that I'd be very comfortable with you sending him that message."
She leaned forward and spoke softly. "Clark, you're a sweetheart and I love that you're so concerned, but I'm perfectly able to extricate myself from the 'clutches' of someone like Lex Luthor." She winced and cocked her head. "This may come across wrong, but I don't do this job to make you or me comfortable. And what I wanted to know from you is if you thought there was enough of a connection to make it worth my while to reconnect with him, not your permission to do it."
Clark leaned back in his chair. "Oh." He did not say anything more and instead, turned away slightly and snapped on his monitor to check his email for assignments.
"Well?" she asked. "Do you think there's enough there?"
"Since my sense of comfort or permission is not relevant to the discussion, I'd say go with your gut." He stood, grabbed his empty mug, and walked to the coffee pot.
"Now don't walk away like that, Smallville," she said as he passed. "There's nothing in that coffee pot that warrants interrupting the discussion we're having," she added.
Finished with refilling his coffee cup, Clark returned to his desk, sat, and looked at Lois. "It doesn't seem like a discussion, Lois. It seems to me that you want affirmation of your plan to reconnect with Lex, not my thoughts or opinion. Maybe I wasn't direct enough before but no, I don't think there is enough of a connection to LexCorp that justifies you reconnecting with Lex."
"It's not like I'm reconnecting on a romantic level with Lex," she replied.
He frowned. "You've always characterized the relationship as platonic, not romantic. Yet, on New Year's Eve…"
"You're still insecure about that?" Lois snapped.
"Mr. Kent?" a voice called out from the entry into the bullpen.
He turned and saw a man holding a large manila envelope. "Right here," Clark replied, and the man walked toward him as he rose from his desk.
Clark extended his hand, and the man shook it. "Mr. Kent, my name is Danny Reilly. I'm an old high school friend of Sal D'Amato's."
"I'm sorry to hear about your friend, Mr. Reilly," Clark said. "What can I do for you?" Clark pulled a spare chair over to his desk and invited the man to sit.
"Please, call me Danny." He sat and handed Clark the manila envelope and a key. "My friend, Sal, disappeared a little over two years ago. But before he disappeared, we met and he was extremely worried about something and he gave me this envelope, and a key to a safe deposit box at the First National Bank of Metropolis. He said that should anything happen to him that I should bring it to the Daily Planet and give it to an investigative reporter."
Clark looked at the envelope. "What's in it?"
"I don't know," Danny replied. "He told me to keep it sealed and it should not be opened by anyone other than the reporter that I gave it to."
Clark nodded. "Okay, but why didn't you bring it here before now? Mr. D'Amato has been missing for over two years, right?"
"I almost did but he said he was going to hide out and go dark for a while," Danny replied. "I didn't know for certain what 'a while' meant. But today, I learned what happened to him and that's why I've come here now. He said if anything happened to him."
"And that was all he said?"
"Pretty much. He was scared about something. I don't know who or why, but it was clear that he was afraid of something happening to him."
"So, you two just met long enough for him to give you this envelope and then left?"
"Yes. We met in Centennial Park. He seemed to be in a hurry and said he had an appointment or meeting or something to go to. Anyway, he hands me the envelope, the key, and says if anything happens to him that I should give it to an investigative reporter at the Daily Planet. Then he says he's going to go away and will be incommunicado for a while."
"And that's all he said?" Lois asked.
He looked at her, not knowing who she was, and replied, "He said one more thing. He said don't give it to Lois Lane."
Lois felt her face burn with embarrassment at the comment. "Did he say why?" Clark asked.
"No, only that I should give it to an investigative reporter as long as it's not Lois Lane." Danny made a face. "That's not you, is it?"
Lois nodded. "Yes, I'm Lois Lane."
"I'm sorry Miss Lane. I didn't know that was you, but it's what Sal told me, that's all."
She shrugged. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Mr. Reilly. You're just following your friend's instructions."
Clark had not opened the envelope but instead, asked Danny Reilly, "Do feel threatened or at risk for coming here today?"
He shook his head. "We're very old friends but we're not really close friends. We played football years ago in high school but were on opposing teams. I don't know what's in that envelope but if it's incriminating for anyone, I can't imagine someone would know it came from me." He paused. "I just felt that I had a responsibility to an old friend to do this."
"Did Mr. D'Amato say why you shouldn't give me the envelope?" Lois asked.
Reilly nodded. "He said you and Lex Luthor were together and that whatever is in here needed to be received by someone who was not in a relationship with him."
She nodded and said nothing more. Clark looked back at Reilly and asked if he could be contacted if any other questions arose. Reilly nodded and gave him his cell phone number. He stood and thanked the man for the envelope and waited for him to leave before discussing it with Lois.
"What's in it?" she asked.
Clark x-rayed the envelope. "It looks like a letter inside a regular business envelope and some other documents. A couple of pictures too."
"Wait! Before you open it, maybe I should contact Maggie and ask her to come here. If there is evidence beyond Flint's involvement, I think she should be present when it's opened, chain of custody and all that." She cocked her head with a raised eyebrow. "What do you think?"
"It probably wouldn't hurt. It obviously has a connection to Lex Luthor as well." He paused and considered saying something else but decided against it. "Can you see if she's available to come by?"
Lois called Maggie who had left the scene where Sal D'Amato's body was recovered as it was being searched by the MPD crime scene unit. Given it's condition, D'Amato's body had been there a while, and it was unlikely that any substantive evidence would still be left, but the scene was processed anyway as a matter of thoroughness. Maggie had chosen not to stay for the processing after the remains were removed.
"Would you be able to stop by? We received a letter from Sal D'Amato's friend who gave instructions that he should deliver it to a Daily Planet investigative reporter should anything happen to him." She paused as Maggie asked questions. "No, we haven't opened it yet. I thought it might be best if you were here when we did, just in case you needed to testify to anything there that could be used as evidence."
Lois listened as Maggie finished. "Okay, we'll wait for you. Thanks." She disconnected and looked at Clark. "She's on her way."
Clark sat quietly and Lois regretted speaking to him the way that she had. But she also knew that his concern for her welfare could be debilitating if she did not set boundaries early on and enforce those boundaries. Otherwise, she would never be able to do anything that he might perceive risked her well-being.
"Are you sulking over there?" she asked quietly.
"No."
"It sure seems a lot like you are."
"I'm not," he said tersely.
"Do we have to go to the top floor to work this out?"
"There's nothing to work out, Lois." Clark turned and looked at her. "You marked your territory and I'm going to respect it."
She made a face. "Marked my territory? What does that even mean?" she whispered.
In Clark's view, he had saved her four times when she was in over her head or had otherwise put herself in a threatening situation. He felt her rebuke had failed to recognize the instances that required his intervention to prevent her from being badly injured or killed.
"It means you set boundaries that you don't want me crossing unless you're in a bind." He paused. "I get it," he said with a tone that indicated he felt marginalized.
"No, I don't think you do," she replied, trying to balance her desire not to hurt Clark's feelings with her determination that she will choose what risks she's willing to take. "I can't do my job if I have to check with you first, you know? I love that you care and have vowed not to let any harm come to me. But I have to decide for myself whether or not to take a risk to get to the bottom of a story. I can't be me otherwise."
"Someday soon, I won't be exclusively in Metropolis. I may not always be able to protect you from…well, from…"
"From myself?" she interjected. "From my bad decisions?"
He leaned in. "I wasn't going to say it that way, but yeah. I won't always be able to protect you if you get yourself in a bind because you haven't weighed the risk." He stared at her. "Lois, I'm not trying to stop you from doing what you do best, but if anything ever happened to you, it wouldn't just be happening to you; it would be happening to me, too."
"Lois?" Maggie called out.
"To be continued," she said and stood up. "Over here, Maggie."
"Hi Clark," Maggie said, extending her hand. "It's nice to see you again."
"This time I promise I won't fall on you," he said, and Maggie smiled. He picked up the manila envelope.
"Is there someplace we can do this in private?" Maggie asked.
"Let's go to the fourth floor. There are some empty offices up there," Lois replied, and Clark agreed.
They found an office that had a desk, a chair, and nothing else. Clark held the chair for Maggie and Lois sat on the corner of the desk. Once Clark closed the door, Maggie reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out latex gloves and put them on before she opened the envelope. Once on, she carefully looked at the envelope. The flap had been taped and initialed by the sender over the tape to prevent it from being unknowingly unsealed.
"I should get a picture of this," Maggie said.
Lois pulled her cell phone out and was about to photograph it.
"Stop!" Maggie said. "You don't want your cell phone to be subpoenaed by some defense attorney if this is evidence," she said. "We need a photographer."
"I'll get Jimmy," Clark said and disappeared from the office.
Maggie looked at Lois. "Are you two okay today? You both seem to be a bit uncommunicative."
Lois made a face and rolled her eyes. "It's just Clark being Clark and because of that, we've had a disagreement that's been blown out of proportion. He doesn't think I should try to reconnect with Lex in order to dig around LexCorp for records and I think I should."
"Oh," Sawyer replied. "You do you, Lois but I'm going to take Clark's side on this one. Opening the door to that scumbag isn't in your best interest no matter what the story is."
She looked aghast. "What? You've got to be kidding me. I'm not going to give him any reason to believe I'm interested in him."
"Did you previously?"
"Well, long ago, maybe. But not recently I don't think," Lois said, waffling on her answer.
"That's what I'll bet Clark's worried about because if Lex believes you've forgiven him, that's going to embolden him. At least, that's what I think," Maggie said. "What's he going to do when he finds out you were faking it to get information?"
Lois squinted. "I didn't really think that far ahead," she replied. "We just disagreed on boundaries and him not smothering me with his…"
The door opened and Clark said, "Jimmy's on his way."
"Okay, we should wait," Maggie said quickly.
They waited in silence for just a few moments until Jimmy joined them, shutting the door behind him.
"Please take photographs of the envelope and focus on the sealed part where the initials cross the tape onto the envelope itself," Maggie instructed. "Please get a close up of the initials too."
When he was done, Maggie instructed him to photograph the contents once she extracted them. With a knife she pulled out of her back pocket, Maggie carefully slit the top of the envelope, leaving the sealed flap unmolested. She turned the envelope over and poured out its contents, carefully setting the envelope aside. The contents of the envelope were a certificate of some sort, an envelope with a letter inside, and four photographs. She arranged them all and then instructed Jimmy to photograph the contents. After about three minutes, she picked up the certificate.
"It appears to be a copy of a certificate of authenticity from a LexCorp anthropologist attesting to the authenticity of a stone or marble sculpture," she said while reading it. On the back of the copy was a notary stamp certifying the copy.
Maggie picked up one of the photos and there were numbers written on the back of the photos. "The certificate authenticates the sculpture in these pictures." She looked at the back of one of the photos and saw a handwritten number on the back with initials over top of the number. She picked up the others and they were the same. "The certificate says nothing about the numbers or pictures though."
Sawyer instructed Jimmy to take close-up pictures of the envelope that, too, had initials on the flap of the sealed envelope although there was no tape. When done photographing it, Maggie slit the top of the envelope and pulled a letter out. She looked at it a moment and then read it aloud.
To the Investigative Reporter at the Daily Planet,
My name is Salvatore D'Amato and this is my sworn testimony of events that have led to my disappearance and presumed or confirmed death.
I was the president and owner of the now-defunct ASC Salvage and Recovery company, LLC. My company was hired in March 2015 by LexCorp to recover an unmanned submarine lost in the Florida Straits somewhere believed to be near the Dry Tortugas. Its exact location was unknown as LexCorp lost communication with the submarine and subsequently lost track of where it was. In the process of searching for the submarine, members of my company notified me that they had discovered undersea ruins of an ancient civilization unknown to historians or anthropologists. Guidance on what actions to take was sought from me.
I spoke with Mr. Lex Luthor personally about the ruins that were found and advised him that the recovery of the submarine would be delayed pending the documenting and recovery of what appeared to be antiquities from the ruins we discovered. He acknowledged the message and permitted the delay in recovering the submarine.
After the conversation, I knowingly approved the illegal plunder of the site by my salvage team. I expressly authorized the collection of all retrievable artifacts from this site of ancient ruins. I did not seek approval or permission from the US government to do this nor did I inform the US government of our find. Upon finishing, my company had removed approximately three tons of artifacts from the site. Initially, the plundered items were stored on salvage ships in Metropolis Bay. However, the artifacts were eventually secured and sealed in 38 protective wooden packing crates and stored along with the recovered submarine in an industrial warehouse along Hob's River in Metropolis, in the Spring of 2016.
Mr. Luthor personally assigned me the responsibility of securing the warehouse and its contents. I cannot attest to Mr. Luthor's knowledge of whether or not he knew that plundering of the underwater ruins was a crime or that I had not reported it to the government, but he was aware of their existence as well as their estimated street value.
I personally hired Alvin Mickler, a former security officer with experience in monitoring access control, to maintain security and access control of the warehouse. Mickler had demonstrated skill in electronic surveillance and monitoring. He also had skills with accessing and using sites on the dark web which I knew would be used to sell individual pieces of artifacts recovered from the underwater site to antiquities collectors. Given the illegal nature of their recovery, I could not provide them to museums or other antiquity collections.
For approximately five months, Alvin Mickler slowly sold individual pieces of plundered artifacts from the collection to buyers through the dark web. Proceeds from the sale were split between LexCorp and ASC Salvage and Recovery, LLC. Eighty-five percent of the proceeds were directed into an account established by an attorney for Mr. Lex Luthor, and fifteen percent of the proceeds were directed into an account established by this same attorney for ASC Salvage and Recovery company. The attorney's name is Lester R. Selman, and he is located in Metropolis.
Furthermore, Mr. Mickler removed as many as four pieces of plundered artifacts from the warehouse without authorization and stored them at his residence to secretly sell on a different dark web site. I discovered that Mickler sold two and kept the proceeds of the pieces he secretly sold. The third piece was vanished or given by Mr. Mickler to someone not connected with ASC Salvage and Recovery or LexCorp. The fourth piece was eventually recovered after Mr. Mickler's death.
Mr. Selman was retained to act as a trusted courier for the fourth piece, a priceless pristine sculpture removed from the underwater ruins, and deliver it to a Metropolis University anthropologist for authentication. That anthropologist's name appears on the certificate. Upon authenticating it as a genuine ancient artifact, a certificate of authenticity was signed, and the sculpture was retrieved by Mr. Selman. Mr. Selman contacted me to meet him at a predetermined public location at Metropolis Union Station on December 14, 2017. I took possession of the sculpture on that date.
Today is January 12, 2018, and I am scheduled to meet with Mr. Lex Luthor at 3:30 PM at LexCorp Tower to discuss matters surrounding the disappearance of the articles and artifacts stored at the warehouse along the Hob's River and Mr. Alvin Mickler's involvement in the burglary.
The photographs and copy of the original certificate of authenticity I have included in this packet pertain to the sculpture mentioned above. I will deliver the sculpture to Mr. Luthor as consolation for the loss of the plundered antiquities that had been estimated to attract $750M and $1B on the black market. The sculpture was retrieved from the residence of Alvin Mickler at some point following his death.
If you look closely at photo 3 depicting the bottom of the sculpture, you will notice a crescent mark largely unnoticeable and dismissed as normal by a casual inspection. This mark was made by me as proof of the original sculpture and was placed there after the certification by the anthropologist. This sculpture will be in the possession of Mr. Lex Luthor should anything happen to me that necessitates an investigation and involvement by Metropolis PD.
I have faithfully documented my actions in this letter. I have done so because I fear that I will be murdered, blamed for inadequately securing the plundered antiquities and exposing LexCorp to the negative publicity of being a party to the criminal act of plundering ancient ruins and selling the items on the black market. I accept responsibility for my part in these series of crimes and this letter is intended to assist in bringing accountability to the others who were a party to these crimes.
As a part of my confession, I will add that I had no knowledge of, role in, or participation in the planning of, the execution of, or any actions in the aftermath of the murder of Mr. Alvin Mickler, other than those I attest to above. I was not involved in the hiring of Jerome Flint, a professional killer that was hired by someone to murder Mr. Mickler, nor did I have any advance knowledge that such an action would take place. Only after it happened did I learn of Mr. Flint's hiring from a member of the LexCorp legal bureau who also warned me that my life could be in peril.
The contents of this letter are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and I swear to them under penalty of perjury and as a dying declaration.
Sincerely,
Salvatore D'Amato
"The letter was notarized as well," Maggie ended. She looked at Clark and Lois. "Flint doesn't know this letter exists. If we can get him to admit that he was involved in getting the artifact to Sellman, it confirms the facts presented in this letter and it strengthens the evidence against him in Mickler's murder and very well may be strong circumstantial evidence of his involvement in D'Amato's murder."
Lois shocked Maggie, Clark, and Jimmy when she said, "That sculpture is in Lex's library."
"How can you be sure, Lois?" Clark asked. "Have you happened to see the crescent mark on the bottom of it?"
"I don't need to see the bottom of it to be sure," Lois said. "It's in his library, not his den where other pieces of old pottery, sculptures, and art are staged. This sculpture is on a fixed pedestal and protected by a glass or Lucite containment cover and is illuminated by glowing light from the surface of the pedestal itself." She paused. "As soon as you get off his private elevator, you can see the library straight ahead. You walk through the foyer first and then the library is essentially a sitting area formed by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on three sides and a hallway to the left that leads toward the dining room and other rooms. In between the bookshelves that you see when you get off the elevator is that lighted pedestal." She looked at Maggie. "It's right there and that sculpture is breathtaking."
Maggie looked at Lois, then Clark and then Jimmy. "Jimmy, please provide me with the photos you took here. Not a word of any of this to anyone right now. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am," he replied. She gave him a business card and told him to send the photos to her email address but to save his image card apart from the camera.
"I'll lock this one up and put a fresh SD card in," Jimmy replied and then left the room.
She looked at Lois and then to Clark. "I need to take possession of all this stuff if that's all right, Clark." She pulled out a form. "I'm going to take a few minutes to fill this out and ask you to sign it, Clark. It's a chain of custody document."
"Of course," Clark replied.
"Maggie, I'm going to have to let Perry White know about this," Lois said. "I…we can't keep him in the dark about it."
"That's fine," she replied while filling in the descriptions of the letter, certificate and photos on the chain of custody form. "I just don't want it floating out into the general public right now."
"I'm also going to snap some photos for reference as well," Lois said. She took a picture of the letter, the certificate, and finally the photos.
"There is someone I want to show the pictures of the sculpture to and get her opinion." She glanced at Clark and answered his unasked question.
"Jenny."