Chapter 2
Smallville
Friday, April 17, 2020
"Sounds like you've been burning the candle at both ends," Martha said.
Clark had returned home right after work in order to help his parents at the farm that weekend. It was prime time for planting and with Clark along, preparing the fields would get done in a hurry. At the dinner table that night, he was recounting the things he had been doing at night after work.
Jonathan added, "Are you finding any time to get a good night's sleep, Son? You need to make sure you don't burn yourself out." He looked at Martha. "We couldn't be prouder of you and what you're doing with your life and your abilities. We just don't want to see you forget to take care of yourself in the process."
"Or finding any time to meet new people outside of work. It doesn't sound like you've left much time for anything like that."
Clark shook his head. "No, Mom, I haven't really had much time to do that. I'm getting enough sleep for now but I've been pretty busy and don't have much time for a social life. When things are quiet in Metropolis, I've been looking around for Lori."
Martha stared at him for moment. "You know, Sweetheart, you deserve to have a life too. We both thought the world of Lori but you cannot wait around hoping that she will come back into your life. It's been almost three years since she left it and there's no indication she'll be back, is there?" Clark said nothing. "You deserve to be happy in your own right, not solely because you're doing great and noble things for the world. Being selfless is wonderful, but you told us that your biological father said you should be an example for others to follow. Being happy with someone as special as you by your side sets an example too."
"We thought that might be Lori," Jonathan added. He shrugged. "I guess it still could be. But your mom is right. I can tell you Son, you'll never find true happiness when you have no one to lean on, to talk your problems over with, to hold on to, and who holds you up when things are tough. You need to have a person at your side who understands your trials because I imagine you're going to have more than anyone ever has. You need to that person who lifts you up when you feel like you're at the end of your rope, Clark." He looked at Martha and smiled. "I know I have needed that throughout my life, and I don't know where I'd be today if I didn't have your mom by my side."
Clark thought about that all weekend as he toiled in the fields with his dad. By the end of the weekend, he was worn out from helping his dad get the fields ready for planting the following weekend. They were eating dinner before Clark would head back to Metropolis.
"What are you doing with all that stuff in the loft, Clark?" Martha asked. "Are you going to need any of it in your apartment? If not, we'll take the household stuff down to the consignment shop and put it in consignment for you."
"I'll take a night off and come back after work this coming week and go through it," Clark replied. "There are some towels and things like that I can use. The other stuff I'll just have to see," he said. "I'll probably end up throwing a lot out. I don't think I'll need textbooks and stuff like that."
"What about your TV and the printer you had at school? You'll want those right? Also, you had a bunch of cards from Lana and from Lori that you had kept, I noticed," Martha said. "I didn't read them, but I could tell by the handwriting on the envelope who sent what. My Lord, Lori sent a lot of cards!"
Clark smiled. "Yes, she sure did. She'd bring a card over sometimes for no reason." He thought about those times and his smile turned sad. "Mostly though, it was her way of reaching out when she was at a meet on the road or at home." He paused. "I think I'll hold on to them."
"Okay, well they're all bundled together with a rubber band around them. There are two or three stacks of them as I recall," his mom replied. "There are sheets and a blanket or two in there as well. There is also some football stuff that you'll probably want to keep and if not, we'll want them for a scrapbook so don't throw them out."
Clark looked at his watch and got up from the table, thanked his mom for dinner, and gave his parents a hug. He told them to look for him sometime Tuesday or Wednesday as he headed for the door. The skies were dark and rather than dash, he decided he would fly back.
"Son," Jonathan called, "no patrolling the skies tonight. You worked hard this weekend, and you need to get some rest, okay?"
"Sure thing, Dad," Clark replied and with that, he disappeared into the night sky.
Jonathan looked at Martha. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to seeing that."
Clark flew quickly but not nearly as quickly as if he had dashed to town. He took the time to fly high up above cloud level and take a less frantic pace. Rather than listen to what was happening below him, he replayed what his mom and dad had said. Jor-El had sent him to Earth with the hope that someday he would be a leader but by example, not by force or intimidation.
His parents were right, he concluded, and he wanted a relationship again. It had been years since then and during his time with Lori, he felt connected to humanity in a way he had never felt before. He needed that again. He needed that connection, one developed through a private life if he ever was going to have a normal life.
How to go about that was complicated because Lori knew his secret and that made it simple to maintain a relationship without having to hide his abilities. She had her own secret and there was a mutual understanding about the importance of maintaining it and the potential cost of revealing a secret like that. With any other human, Clark would have to make excuses for leaving suddenly if an emergency happened or for never showing up in the first place. That would make trying to develop a deep and caring relationship while evaluating his potential partner's trustworthiness with his secret a huge challenge.
He wondered if finding someone under those circumstances would even be possible with his burgeoning role protecting people in Metropolis. He thought about the relationships he had with girls. Two had been significant and both had ended rather tragically. Others were less serious and more just friendly relationships with no expectation of anything further. Then there was Lois Lane. He once had a special connection with her that was undefined but that was years ago and he had blamed her, perhaps unfairly, for Lori's disappearance.
When he moved to Metropolis, he had thoughts of perhaps reaching out to her to see if that spark was still alive. But he had not and she had not reached out to him either, Clark reasoned. It was probably for the best, he told himself. He had burned that bridge three years ago and she was no longer interested in him. There was no value in reopening old wounds.
An option presented itself two days later as he stood in line at a food truck park he occasionally visited for lunch. There were several food trucks parked in a small area the city had set up for food trucks near Centennial Park. As he stood in line, someone came up from behind, tapped him on the shoulder and he spun around and found himself staring directly into very familiar eyes.
"Lana?" He was flummoxed. "What…what are you doing here?"
She smiled warmly and stretched out her arms, inviting a hug. "I live here now," she said, suddenly enveloped by his giant wingspan. He felt warm, comfortable, and safe. She had never forgotten the loving, peaceful, and safe feel of being in his arms and she teared up at the thought.
"Well…I was just in Smallville last weekend and my folks didn't mention it." He paused, trying to collect himself and organize his thoughts. That's odd, he thought. Suddenly, he wondered if there was more to his mom mentioning not being alone than just motherly concern.
Lana spoke up. "Well, maybe because of the way we parted five years ago, they thought it was best not to mention it. And I can understand that." She took a deep breath. "I hope that's not the case though, is it? I mean, we can have a cordial relationship still, can't we?"
He nodded. "I don't see why not. A lot has happened since then and we've both grown. I think we should be able to get back to a place where we can at least enjoy each other's company," he said and then quickly added, "That's if it doesn't cause problems between you and Brad."
She shook her head. "That won't happen."
They got their food and went to a nearby picnic table and sat facing one another. "Brad and I," Lana began. "That's another disastrous life choice I made and a story for another time. Tell me what you're doing in Metropolis."
After about thirty minutes swapping stories between bites, Lana suggested they exchange cellphone numbers. "I have to be getting back to work," she said. "Maybe if you're not doing anything this weekend, we can get together for dinner or drinks or something."
Clark grimaced. "I can't this upcoming weekend. I promised my dad I would help him with the fields this weekend." He noticed a dejected look on her face. "But maybe sometime before the weekend unless your job ties you up at night like mine often does."
"It does sometimes but if I know I'm going to have the night off, I'll text you. No pressure though, Clark. If you're busy, I understand."
They agreed and he hugged her again. "It was great seeing you, Lana," Clark said and told her how he looked forward to hearing from her and seeing her again soon.
For the next few hours, Clark thought about Lana and explored how he felt after seeing her again. The pain of their breakup was long gone but the memories were not. He had some difficult moments coming to terms with the feeling of betrayal from Lana. Lori helped put those well behind him so the painful part was over, but the memory was still there.
His mom had told him to forgive her for what she had done, and he felt like he had forgiven her. He held no malice toward Lana and while it ended tragically, it had been a glorious first love for him before it ended so painfully. She had helped normalize him among the townsfolk in Smallville and for that, along with everything else, he was grateful to her for doing.
He had decided that he should give their relationship another chance, but it would have to be slowly and cautiously. On one level, he had missed her. She was still the most beautiful girl he had ever looked upon. Her features had matured in a gentle way and still, at 23, she could easily pass for a teenager. There was a place in his heart that she had occupied and although Lori had been the bandage and salve for his wounded heart, she never completely filled the void that Lana had left. He had grown a lot and learned much since they split and suspected that she had grown as well.
However, on the other hand, his secret was still too precious to let Lana, who had betrayed his trust once before, know his secret anytime soon. The stakes were even higher now as he spent significant hours at night secretly protecting people from harm. But Lana knew Clark and he did not have to spend months getting to know her or letting her get to know him. That part of the problem was solved. It was the trustworthiness part that remained a significant stumbling block for him.
Metropolis
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Lieutenant Maggie Sawyer always looked forward to Thursdays. The day had unofficially become the day of the week that she and Lois would have lunch together. It was enjoyable and it normally came at a good part of the week. By Thursday, the week would have begun to wear Maggie down. Thursday lunches were a pick-me-up of sorts for her and the same was true for Lois. They both had a lot in common and their personalities meshed famously. Only an emergency for one or the other would preempt their standing lunch dates. Each fiercely guarded the days on their calendars but emergencies never respected calendars.
Their friendship had grown even in the midst of the turmoil that had been created by the declared suicide of Lori Lemaris. Lois was part of the reporting team that day and Maggie felt somewhat betrayed by Lois's lack of response to her attempts to contact her and wave her off from meeting the young woman. Their relationship was somewhat icy after that but thawed when Lois shared a tip with Maggie from one of her street sources that led the lieutenant and her team to bust a tractor-trailer loaded with human cargo being trafficked from Bayonne, New Jersey to Gotham. Twenty-two women and children, fifteen of them under the age of 16, were being moved through the city in the early hours of September 23, 2017. It was a human pipeline that had been funneling illegal immigrants, and sometimes runaway girls and boys found on the streets in New York and New Jersey. The ring had been operating for seven months before the snitch told Lois. She passed the tip to Maggie, and she notified Lois of the time and location the MPD would intercept the 18-wheeler as it passed through Metropolis, allowing a front page exclusive for Lois Lane. The MPD, in cooperation with the FBI and Gotham City PD, exposed and dismantled the human trafficking ring and those behind it. The law enforcement action earned Maggie Sawyer a department award, along with a certificate from the FBI, in a Metropolis PD award ceremony that was covered by Lois Lane.
The exclusive story of the human trafficking ring earned Lois Lane a James Aronson Award presented alongside a 2017 'Emjay' award for outstanding investigative news in print given by the Metropolis Journalism Guild at their annual awards ceremony in September 2018. During her acceptance speech, she made a point of paying homage to the dedication and hard work of the Metropolis Police Department and specifically, her guest for the evening, Lieutenant Maggie Saywer. Lois emphasized the importance that maintaining a respectful and professional relationship with local police was for good journalism, eschewing an antagonistic relationship that commonly existed in other cities.
They were her first awards as a Daily Planet reporter but would hardly be the last. She won a 2018 'Emjay' for investigative reporting the following year and had also been nominated for Journalist of the Year, although she did not win it.
The human trafficking ring bust had erased the strain that Corben and Lane had put on the relationship she had with Maggie and their friendship was back on an even keel. After that, they had set aside Thursdays as a standing lunch date to exchange routine information that greatly benefited both.
"So," Lois began, biting into her French dip sandwich. "What's new this week?"
"Some weird things have been going in in Metropolis. One of my jugheads is a social media freak and he keeps showing me posts recently of people claiming to have been saved by some unseen entity or force or something. Have you heard or read anything?"
Lois shook her head. "I haven't read anything. Rumors or incoherent mumbling from some drug-addled junkies get passed on from my sources every so often." She chuffed. "I treat them with the same level of interest as I do Elvis sightings."
Maggie grinned and nodded. "I do too. I tell this junior detective that there are plenty of real things to focus on and if he's so bored that he had to comb social media sites to find tips and things, he needs more work." She grinned. "That usually shuts him up for a few weeks." She didn't say anything for a few moments and then spoke up. "But I have to say, if even some of them are true, then there are some strange occurrences going on in this town."
"Like what?" Lois asked as she popped a potato chip into her mouth.
"Hmm, let me see," she started. "Last week, for example, there was demolition near Suicide Slums where LexCorp is doing some urban renewal project. That explosion caused a tremor that apparently cracked three of the huge windowpanes in an older office high rise in the downtown area. Saturday night, those windowpanes suddenly broke into large shard of glass when the wind off Metropolis Bay hit with at just the right force and direction, I guess." She swallowed a gulp of coffee. "But instead of blowing the glass into the building, the wind sucked it out and those falling shards were about to hit a crowd that was moving along the sidewalk below. They couldn't get out of the way fast enough but just before the glass hit them, another burst of wind caught the shards and sent them slamming against a brick wall half a block away. The glass just pulverized into dust and didn't hurt anyone or anything."
"Sounds a little weird," Lois acknowledged, "but maybe I could see it happening. Right?"
Maggie winced. "I guess. But after I heard about it, I had the traffic cam footage pulled to see what it picked up. I watched it and you can't see the glass changing direction, but you can see the reaction of the people looking up and then shoving to get out from underneath the falling glass. Then suddenly, nothing. People began looking in the direction of the wall where the glass shattered and were pointing."
Lois shrugged. "Okay. I admit it's freaky but…"
Maggie hunched forward. "Here's the thing, Lois. Think about it. A wind with enough force to cause falling glass to instantly change direction by 90-degrees and smash against a building half a block away. Don't you think that wind would probably cause people's hair to blow, fabric awnings to move, or buffet people down the block a bit, if not knock them down completely? But there was nothing. So, it wasn't so weird because of something on the video, it's the absence of anything on it. A single stream of wind was so strong that it could divert large chunks of falling glass and cause them to shatter into dust against a wall, but that wind did nothing to anyone or anything else? Now tell me that's not fucking weird."
"Did you talk to any meteorologists or anything to see if that's even possible?"
"No. I looked at the traffic cam just out of curiosity but I'm not going to investigate anything. There's nothing to investigate. But it's strange, right?" She took a bite of her Cuban sandwich and washed it down with coffee. "There have been other stories of similar things like that, but they seem to happen in the darker areas of town without good lighting or cameras. This one was the only thing I've checked on because the other stuff is probably some bullshit hallucinations from winos or druggies coming off a binge."
They ate in silence for a while. Then Maggie asked, "Hey, have you seen Jose Delgado lately?"
"No. We've met a couple times for a cup of coffee and he's passed on some gang-related things to me but we don't have any recurring meetings like you and I do." Lois paused. "Why?"
Maggie smiled. "I just wondered. He's such a good guy and nice-looking too. I wondered if you ever went out with him or anything."
"I invited him a few years ago to the Christmas party, right after that incident when we first met. But I haven't been out with him again." She paused, knowing the Gangbuster was a friend of Maggie's. "We don't mesh so well," she concluded.
"That's too bad. I know he's had some rough spots with his job and things. He could use a friend."
"You're a friend," Lois said and cocked her head, smirking. "So, you mean he needs more attention than you're willing to give, right?"
"Oh…you know me too well," and burst into a giggle. "Yeah, that would cause me problems at home."
"I'll bet if you asked every man in Metropolis, you'd find that about all of them would say they had hit a rough patch and could use a little more of that kind of attention."
Maggie laughed. "But are you seeing anyone steadily?"
"Not really," Lois replied. "I know we don't talk about it much, but I don't feel like I have much time to spend with someone outside of work. I guess the only person I see outside of work on a recurring basis, besides you of course, is Lex Luthor. But that's a purely platonic relationship."
"And you don't imagine Lex Luthor is hoping to turn a platonic relationship with you into a night between the sheets? C'mon, Lois."
She smiled demurely. "It's why I keep him at arm's length. I like Lex. I like having dinner with him and exchanging thoughts about current events and historical things. I've even asked him about business and investment topics. But I don't always accept his invitations or do I acquiesce to suggestions for more frequent dates."
"Dates?"
"Well, I don't know what else you'd call them. But not like high school dates or anything where you end up making out in a hot car and grabbing at each other's clothes. Our dinner dates are more cerebral and mentally stimulating than physically stimulating, excluding hunger abatement that is." She paused. "I keep him at bay by saying that I need to remain objective if I'm going to have any credibility if I write a flattering story about LexCorp or him." Lois leaned forward. "That seems more important to him than getting into my pants," she added softly. "Not that I think he wouldn't be lights out in bed, but I don't know that I am fully convinced Lex is as upstanding as he wants me to believe he is. And I don't think I want to get between the sheets with someone I'm not sure of."
Maggie nodded. "That was going to be my advice as your friend. You have good instincts about him, Lois. I don't think he is upstanding, and you need to be careful around that guy. He's like a well-mannered but high-strung guard dog. You never know what he's going to do from one moment to another."
They both fell silent for a while. Lois picked up the conversation after that topic had been put to rest. "So, these strange events," she began, "you're not putting much credence into them, right? I mean, I'm not going to get a phone call from you telling me some mysterious phantom is lurking in the Metropolis shadows, are you?"
She shrugged. "I doubt it. But if I come across some credible information, I'll share it with you. If we have evidence that these things are a hoax, you'll get a call. But I don't think you'll be hearing from me before I start hearing from you and your buddies in an official capacity. There is no physical proof of any entity or being involved in these strange occurrences, so I don't know what to say. I don't know how to answer questions that don't seem to have a logical explanation without sounding like a moron, either."
Lois chuckled. "Okay, well here are some standard answers for you to use. 'No one's more surprised than I am', 'I'll get back to you on that', 'Due to the sensitive nature of the investigation, I cannot say more', and of course, the well-worn rejection, 'No comment'." She sipped her coffee. "I'll email you them. You'll always have an answer to about any question you get from the press with those."
"Yeah, those won't fly with my bosses," Maggie replied. "But I don't have to make excuses to them when it comes to shit like these stories. Most of the time, my bosses are only focused on crime stats."
Metropolis
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
His cellphone buzzed and Clark looked at it. It was a text from Lana.
Hey Clark! Free tonite if u r. Let me know.
He texted back. How about dinner? Mateo's? 6:30?
Since the end of April, they had met for dinner or lunch on five separate occasions. There would have been more had Clark been more available. Between helping at the farm and patrolling the nights in Metropolis, he rejected at least four other potential meetups.
After running into Lana at the food truck lot, he told his parents of the meeting and asked if they had known Lana was living in Metropolis. Martha shook her head and Jonathan explained that while they kept a cordial relationship with the Langs, since the breakup between him and Lana, they had not been as communicative. His parents also mentioned some marriage troubles between the Langs and that they had seemed to have isolated themselves from the community because of it.
During the first meet up, Lana hinted her parents were not getting along and she had stayed away from home for much of the time since leaving for college. It was during that meet up Clark had also learned what happened between Lana and Brad Campbell. His parents had surprised him when he returned last year and they mentioned that Lana and Brad, a Smallville High School classmate of theirs, were living together in New York City but never heard anything about it after that.
Lana filled in the gaps. She finished two years of college but had to quit to find a full-time job. Her scholarship ended and her parents could not afford to help support her even though she had been offered a part-time job at Galaxy Communications. She had hoped to complete a four-year degree but landed a great internship with the international media conglomerate, Galaxy Communications, and went to work as a graphic designer in its New York offices at the beginning of 2017. While visiting her parents in February, she connected with Brad Campbell and about two months later, he moved to New York. Brad took a job with a high-end security firm in New York providing security services for the wealthy and famous. In August 2017, she found out that Brad had a cocaine addiction and lost his job in July and had been picking up short-term security jobs since then.
Lana's two-year full scholarship ended in May 2017 and so did her internship. When Galaxy Communications offered her a part-time job, they mentioned the possibility of a full-time position depending on her schoolwork demands. With that, Lana elected to leave school and accept the full time offer from the corporation. She enjoyed the work, the people, and the professional atmosphere and they appreciated her vast talents and work ethic.
However, things quickly went south for her. The stress of not having steady work and his cocaine addiction led Brad to violent outbursts that resulted in him verbally abusing Lana and then later on physically. On the third instance of physical abuse, the shoving turned into beating, and he beat Lana causing her a black eye and nearly breaking her nose. She called the police and had him arrested.
Valuing her talents and realizing the dilemma she was in financially; Galaxy Communications took care of her. CEO Morgan Edge personally offered her a new job in Metropolis beginning mid-September of 2017. Edge made sure Galaxy Communications covered all her relocation expenses. She began as a set designer for WGBS-TV but a year later, was advanced to assistant broadcast design producer. Lana Lang was now the director of broadcast design for the station.
Lana told Clark that she never learned what had become of Brad and was not inclined to. She was relieved the nightmare of Brad was over and was very happy to have a great job with a great corporation doing something she loved and surrounded by a great group of people. She also told him that she had not dated or had a relationship with anything other than her work since she moved to Metropolis.
Clark smiled sadly. He knew what she wanted. He did not have to possess Lori's mind-reading skills to figure it out. Lana was lonely and lacked human contact. And Clark would have loved to give her everything she needed but he was still wary of her trustworthiness.
He did not absolutely rule out trying to have a love affair with her, but he was adamant that he would take it slowly to make sure she could be trusted. They had some unfinished business and that memory had not escaped Clark's mind nor was it unfinished business he would never consider finishing. It was business that they would conduct at the right time because, just as before, he refused to sleep with Lana if she did not know his secret.
So, how and how quickly their relationship developed would be governed by his comfort level with her trustworthiness and nothing else. But when Lana arrived at Mateo's that evening, it weakened his resolve. She was wearing a light pure white sleeveless blouse over a billowy mid-calf length bone-colored cotton skirt cinched at her waist with a hemp-woven belt. She wore sandals with fabric thongs that matched her belt. Her jet-black hair was pulled into a ponytail, exposing her graceful neck. She wore deep red lipstick and very little mascara, allowing her large dark eyes to be seen without enhancement. Her porcelain skin had not diminished in the years since he first met her, and she looked like a hand-sculpted doll.
It was not quite summer yet, but it felt like it to Clark after seeing Lana that night. She walked toward him, and he pulled her into a hug. She smelled amazing and she held on to him a beat longer than a simple hug lasted. Lana smiled as he looked down into her eyes. He knew he was in danger of getting lost in those eyes and he suspected Lana knew that. "You look beautiful, Lana," Clark whispered. "Just like the first time I saw you back in Smallville."
They moved to their table and a waitress was there in a flash to get their drink orders before they even sat down. They each had a glass of red wine and ordered their meal. Once the wine was brought to them, Lana offered a toast of sorts. "I'm glad you could make it tonight," she said. "I seem to be missing our meet ups more and more."
He knew what she was hinting at and would be lying if he said he felt differently. He just had different reasons that she did not understand for not jumping at the chance to finish what they started over five years earlier. He tapped her glass with his and replied, "Me too. It's really been nice reconnecting, Lana."
They ate their meals amid glances and smiles. "God, I love this place," Lana commented, and Clark nodded and replied, "Uhm hmm," with a mouth full of lasagna.
They raced through their meals and ordered cappuccinos after they ate. It was only 7:15 and Lana said, "Why don't we go someplace, Clark. You live around here, right?"
The same thought had crossed his mind. "Yes, it's just a ten-minute walk from here. I walked in fact."
"That sounds nice," Lana replied. "Let's walk then," she said, standing up.
It was not an invitation but a reply to her question. Still Clark could not think of a reason not to go. The way Lana looked and the evening had been so brief, he wanted it to continue but he knew exactly how it would end if they spent too much time alone in his apartment. "That sounds great, but I have to warn you, I have to meet one of the staff photographers back at the Star at eight-thirty tonight for a story I'm working on."
"Oh," Lana replied, trying to hide her disappointment. "Well, that's okay," she recovered. "As long as we can spend a little more time together, it will be a nice evening." She took his arm as they headed to the door. He wondered if he should discourage her but it felt right and so they walked to his apartment on Clinton Street.
"It's not the Ritz," Clark said as they entered the apartment. "But at this rate, it's what I can afford and the landlord lets me make some upgrades so it's fine for me."
"It's small but it's cute," Lana replied. "And it's clean. That's refreshing!"
He offered her some wine and opened a bottle of Cabernet. "My folks gave me this." He chuckled. "I don't know if it was meant to be a housewarming gift or a gift for finally leaving!"
He poured some in a tumbler for Lana and some for himself in another glass. She had made herself comfortable on his couch and he brought it to her. "But you left home before moving here, right? Not Met U but afterwards."
He paused, wondering how she knew that. "I'm asking because there was a lady reporter who called me from the Daily Planet right after I moved to Metropolis asking if I knew where you were. She had apparently been to your home, and you weren't there."
He frowned. "Lois Lane? She contacted you?" he asked.
"Yeah. Your folks had told her that I might know where you were. They didn't know I had moved to Metropolis, so I was surprised when Lois Lane called and began asking about you. We met for lunch, and she seemed nice." Lana paused. "Why was she looking for you?"
Clark took a deep breath. "Did you hear about the Met U swimmer that committed suicide by jumping off the Hobsneck Bridge?"
Lana frowned and cocked her head. "Yes. That happened just before I got here, I think."
"It happened in May of 2017," Clark replied. "She and I were dating when that happened, and Lois Lane was with her partner at the scene when Lori jumped."
Lana gasped. "Oh my God, Clark," she exclaimed. "That's horrible." She reached out and put her hand on his leg. "What did she want from you, though?"
"I'm not sure. They suspected Lori of somehow being connected to a guy who was murdered but I know she wasn't. But Lois's partner badgered Lori so badly, she jumped off the bridge to get away from the guy. Lois was there and saw the whole thing." He paused and got a distant look in his eyes. "I don't think she was trying to commit suicide; I think she was just trying to get away from that jerk. But maybe she hit the water badly or got pulled down by currents. Either way, she never resurfaced, and they never found her body."
"God Clark, I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Lana said and took a sip of her wine.
"Yeah, that was bad enough," he said, nodding absently. "But then, Dad had a heart attack a couple days after that and…"
"Oh my God! He didn't…um…" Lana interrupted.
"No, it was a mild heart attack," Clark said. "He recovered fully but I went home to help until he was back to one hundred percent." He paused. "I didn't want to go back to Met U after that. There were just too many memories there." He looked directly at her. "Too many memories at the farm, too," he added, and Lana knew exactly what he meant, and it stung. "I just needed to get away, so I headed up North to Canada and worked odd jobs for a couple of years."
"I can understand wanting to get away after all that," she said, realizing that dredging it up probably ruined her chances to get Clark interested in reigniting their romance.
"Anyway, I know Lois Lane went to find me. My folks think she was there to apologize for what happened. She left a letter for me, but I never opened it…I never even saw it. Mom packed it away while I was gone and I was so busy when I returned, I never looked for it. Maybe it was an apology or maybe just a letter asking to speak to me since she was after a story. I just don't know for sure what it said.
"I've been here for over six months and have been writing some articles for the Daily Star. I know it's the Planet's major competitor but still, I would imagine Lois Lane would have seen something I've written and know that I'm here." He paused. "It seems apparent that she's not interested in mending fences or contacting me at all. She got her story one way or the other, I suppose, and it's all behind me now. Revisiting it isn't going to change the outcome and it's not particularly pleasant to do," Clark mused.
Lana felt terrible. "I'm sorry Clark. If I'd known the whole story behind her searching for you, I'd never have brought it up." She sat silent for a moment, thinking about the series of events from their last romantic interlude to now and the horrible hand he had been dealt over those two short years. Seeking to change the mood, she asked, "What about finishing college? Have you considered doing that?"
He nodded. "I thought about going to night school and once I am firmly settled at the Star, I'm going to look into it." He paused. "What about you?"
Lana said that she had intended to go but she got such a great job and what she was doing was so fulfilling that there was no point in her going to college at this point. She said that there might be a time that she has to complete her degree but for now, she's where she wants to be and there are opportunities ahead for her at Galaxy Communications.
They talked a little longer and finished the bottle of wine before Clark mentioned that he had to be getting ready to meet his coworker. Lana smiled and nodded. "I'll walk you back to your car," Clark said but Lana told him it was unnecessary. "I insist. If anything happened to you between here and there, I'd blame myself. Come on," he said, holding out his hand to help her to her feet.
She pulled herself up and straight into his arms and kissed him. It was a kiss that he returned. When they separated, Lana said, "I've been wanting to do that since I saw you at the park. I've missed you and I've missed that." She became misty-eyed. "I wish I could turn back time, Clark. There are so many things that would have gone much differently if I had made one less bad decision. I know if I hadn't made that decision, my entire life would be different."
Clark nodded. "I know. I have often thought how things might be different had I made different choices too." He wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "You are not solely to blame for what happened, Lana, and I know that now." He paused. "I'm sorry for the way I reacted that night. I took it so personally, but my mom once warned me about putting others on a pedestal instead of realizing they are human like everyone else. I'm pretty sure she meant you when she said it and she was right, Lana."
"Do you think we'd ever be able to get back to where we were, Clark?" she asked honestly. "I'm not trying to pressure you and I would understand if you said no. Honestly, I'd be happy just being like this until the day I die. But I know you wouldn't and if there's a chance we can get back to that place and leave our baggage in the past, I'll do anything to try to make that happen."
His brow furrowed. "I don't know Lana. I've thought about it a lot these past few months, but I haven't found an answer to that question yet." He softened his tone. "I know how I feel about you and how it felt seeing you again. I know my feelings for you are still deeply rooted, Lana. There are just things I need to resolve in my mind and be comfortable with before I can say one way or the other." He paused. "So, I think it's best if we continue to take it slowly and maybe just stay like this for a while longer. I don't want to hurt you or string you along. I just want to be certain so that neither one of us gets hurt." He leaned down, kissed her, and heard her heart race. "I sure enjoyed tonight though."
"Me too, Clark. And yes, we can stay like this for as long as it takes for you to be comfortable with your decision." She glanced at a clock on his wall. "I hate to say it but we better get going."
They were a block and a half away from Clark's apartment building when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind him. Ahead on sidewalk by an alley, a figure was leaning up against the wall. He put his arm around Lana as they neared the figure and just before they reached the man, the sound of a metal pipe striking steel rang out.
Clark felt the blow to the side of his head and feigned collapsing to the ground. "Shit!" his assailant shouted and dropped the reverberating pole from his aching hands. Lana screamed as Clark went to the ground as the assailant stepped over Clark and grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides and laughing.
Lana struggled as the man who was leaning up against wall pushed himself away from the wall and came up to her. It was dark and she could not see his face clearly, but he had a shrill, nasally voice. "Let's check the merchandise out," he squeaked and ripped her blouse open sending buttons clattering to the ground. He pulled out a knife and shoved it between the cups of her bra and in one quick motion, severed the fabric holding the cups together, exposing her breasts to the night air. Lana screamed and struggled but the man holding her squeezed her tighter, taking her breath away.
"Damn," the shrill man exclaimed. "It's too dark on this sidewalk to see anything. Move her into the alley," he ordered.
The assailant lifted Lana from the ground as she continued to struggle and began to carry her into the alley. As he turned down the alleyway with her, his partner emitted a squeal and went flying through the air past them, crashing into a dumpster at the end of the alley, landing in a heap, unconscious. Before the assailant could react, his arms were yanked from around Lana, and he shrieked as he found himself sailing up into the air and onto the rooftop overhead. The metal pole he had used to strike Clark was wrapped tightly around him so quickly he had no time to react. An instant later, he was sitting on the sidewalk next to the alley, also unconscious.
Lana crept cautiously from the alley to the sidewalk. She saw Clark laying there and knelt down. "Clark!" she cried out, lifting him into her shaking arms. "Clark," she said again, lightly patting his face. He acted as though he had begun to regain consciousness, groggy, and disoriented.
"Whaaat? Lana? What happened?" he asked.
"We were attacked, Clark! Oh my God, you were hit on the head with a pipe. Stay awake! Don't shut your eyes. I'm calling 9-1-1 right now." Her phone was out, and she dialed. He acted as though he was struggling to stand, and Lana ordered him to keep still. He obeyed and within minutes, the sound of sirens filled the air. Two patrol cars skidded to a stop alongside the curb. The drivers stepped out and focused a high-intensity flashlight on Lana and Clark.
The first patrolman on the scene approached and asked Lana what happened, and she recounted what she heard and saw which was very little, other than hearing the sound of the pipe hitting Clark, seeing him fall, being grabbed from behind by one man and another one using a knife to expose her. "What happened to them?" the officer asked.
Lois pointed to the guy sitting on the sidewalk in the shadows. He shined his light at the figure and the man sat unconscious against the wall with a pipe wrapped tightly around him. "That's the guy that hit Clark and grabbed me. He was trying to carry me into the alleyway," Lois recounted.
"Jesus Christ! How did that pipe end up wrapped around him?" the patrolman asked.
"I don't know," Lana replied. "All I can tell you is he had me off the ground and my arms pinned to my sides and was carrying me down the alley and suddenly, he lets go, shrieks, and I think he flew up into the air, but I don't know for sure because it all happened so quickly. I didn't see him again until I crept out to see how Clark was."
"You mentioned another guy with a knife. What happened to him? Did he run off?"
"No. I didn't see how it happened but as I was being carried down the alley, I heard a squeal and he went flying past us. Seriously, he was literally flying through the air past us and ended up slamming into the dumpster down there." She pointed in the direction of the other patrolman who was approaching the object laying at the base of the dumpster. "Until now, I never believed a man could fly," she said and nervously giggled.
The officer moved to Clark and knelt. "Hey buddy, are you all right?" He shined the light into Clark's eyes and noticed the pupils contracting.
Clark kept blinking. "I guess so, officer," he said.
"Let me check you," the officer replied and looked at Clark's head. "Strange. There's no blood. In fact, I can't even see where he hit you."
"Oh, he hit him, all right. I heard it and I kind of saw it after it struck his head. It sounded like he hit hardened steel," Lana responded.
"Are you hurt at all, sir?" the officer asked.
"Well, I'm sure I'll be fine, officer," Clark replied. "I think I just need to walk it off."
"Oh, that's nonsense," Lana carped. "He needs to be seen by a doctor, officer. He took a blow to the head."
"She's right, sir," the police officer told Clark. "Just sit here and the medics will take you to Metropolis General in a few minutes. Just stay put, please," he ordered. "You too, ma'am."
The officer walked off and joined the other policeman at the end of the alley.
Lana cradled Clark in her arms. "You'll be fine, Clark," she said in a soothing voice. She rocked him gently and replayed the events in her mind, slowly. She wanted to know precisely what happened.
Metropolis
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Perry White was ending his morning staff meeting and held up a manila envelope. "One last item," he announced. "I received the nominations for the 2019 Metropolis Journalism Guild awards. Hold on while I see how the Daily Planet fared." He ripped open the envelope. "Let's see here."
He read through the list of names and made grunting noises and facial gestures. "Well," he concluded, "we have several of our reporters nominated. So let's see. There's the usual: Steve Lombard for Sports, Catherine Grant for Society, and Ron Troupe for Editorials, and let's see, anyone else?" He scanned the list.
"God damnit," Lois hissed. "I can't believe it," she muttered.
"Hold on. Oh yeah," Perry bellowed with a half-smile, "I guess I missed it. And Lois Lane in two categories, Investigative reporting and for Metropolis Journalist of the Year award." He announced and chuckled, as did some of the other staff in the room. 'We'll see if Lois can get the hat trick in investigative reporting this year." He looked at her. "Relax, Lois. You've already been awarded a Selden Ring Award for your story about the funeral home scams. You'll get that presented to you no matter what. You won the Investigative Journalist 'Emjay' last year and were also nominated last year for Journalist of the Year You've got a great shot with that nursing home scam piece this year. So, chin up!
"Good job everyone! I'm proud of y'all. That's it, now let's get to work!" he barked and the room began to empty.
Lois stayed back. "Perry, can I see that list?" she asked as everyone else filed out of the room. "I want to see who my competition is this year."
"I intended to post it," Perry replied but Lois did not move. He frowned. "In what category, Hon?"
"Both," she replied. "I'm just curious."
"Sure you are, Lois," he said as he handed her the list. "The ceremony is scheduled for Friday, September 4th, at the Metropolis Convention Center. Man," he exclaimed, "it gets swankier and swankier every year. Before you know it, I'll have to dig out a top hat and tails." He watched her run her finger down the nominees in each category.
"What the Hell?" she said softly.
"What is it, Lois?"
"Journalist of the Year award. I'm up against someone I didn't even think had a chance of being nominated for rookie of the year let alone journalist of the year."
"Who is it?" Perry asked.
"Clark Kent, Daily Star."