Chapter 7
Metropolis
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Lois received a call from Maggie telling her that she would be flying back to Metropolis around 8 that evening and wanted to know if Lois might be able to meet with her for dinner if she did not have any other plans. "Beverly is working that God-awful shift again and I'll end up eating fast food or something unless you want to have dinner."
"Sure. Shall we meet at Hob's Bay near at that Irish restaurant, the Blarney Stone about 9? Stores will be closed and everyone else who is out will be heading to bars and nightclubs. It shouldn't be too busy, and I'll eat a late lunch so I'm not starving for dinner before then."
Maggie confirmed. "Sure, that sounds great," she said. "In fact, let me pick you up on the way over. I'll be coming from the airport and I'll use the Queensland Bridge instead of Clinton. I'll drop you off afterwards."
"Even better. Cops always know where to park," Lois said.
"Hey," Maggie added, "there are some interesting things I found out that I think you'll want to know. So, stay tuned."
Lois put her digital recorder in her purse. Maggie never minded Lois's use of it because she trusted her, and it made for accurate information. It was about 8:55 when Maggie wheeled her Ford Taurus into the parking lot of Lois's apartment complex. Lois was waiting for her and jumped in. "How was the flight?" Lois asked.
"Not bad, as flight go these days." She took off and they arrived at the restaurant, parked, and entered the place about 9:10, five minutes earlier than their reservations.
They ordered their meals and Maggie told Lois that Flint had apparently worked as at one point for LexCorp's security division.
Lois's face drained of color. "You're kidding, right? You don't believe that Lex had anything…"
"Hell no!" Maggie interrupted. "But I believe that's why the brass is so friggin' antsy about this. Anything that is unsavory and even remotely tied to LexCorp puts them in a low hover at the Public Safety Center," she explained. "It's why I don't want to talk over the phone to you about it because if they overheard me, they'd go ballistic."
"So, is there a story or motive or something that Flint's saying?" Lois asked.
"He's all lawyered up," she replied. "Says he might be willing to talk if he's granted immunity." She shook her head in disgust. "Like that's ever going to happen." She paused and had a sip of her beer. "My working theory is someone at ASC Salvage wanted Mickler silenced, and Flint caught their eye at some point."
"That sounds like Occam's Razor to me," Lois replied. "It's probably why he had all the security videos backed on that cube thing. Those recordings were somehow supposed to be his insurance policy."
"Not a good enough one, it seems," Maggie replied as the waitress brought their meals to the table.
"He seemed slimy, but I also felt bad for him when I talked to him. Of course, I had Corben there too and that didn't help. But Mickler seemed to be nervous as hell the whole time, like he suspected something was going to happen to him."
They talked about a variety of things, including the dearth of activity from the Avenging Angel of Mercy. Maggie said that although Lois does not hear most of the stories they get at the police department, admittedly the number of things it was claimed to have been involved in had slowed down considerably. "Maybe it's moved on," Maggie proposed. "I'm sure if it is as fast and powerful as it would have to be to do the things people claim, it probably isn't isolated to Metropolis."
As they were on the way to Lois's apartment after finishing their meals, they were halted by a line of police cruisers with emergency lights and sirens racing down Schuster boulevard toward Centennial Park. Maggie looked at Lois. "I assume you want to follow them, right? If not, I'll let you out here."
"Heck yes, I want to follow them. Light 'em up!"
They followed the line of marked cars with Maggie's grill lights and back deck lights flashing. They reached Centennial Park in under five exhilarating minutes. Lois could hardly believe her eyes when they reached it. The sight was pure pandemonium. There were a dozen police cars, a transport minibus, an ambulance, and two EMT trucks at the scene.
Lois estimated that eight men were sitting on the sidewalk with their hands zip-tied and some were being attended to by EMTs. There were at least four other men in the paddy wagon Lois saw. The oddest part was the park sprinklers were on and all the men arrested were soaking wet.
They got out of the car and headed toward a sergeant that Maggie recognized.
"What's happened, Sergeant Miller?"
"Hi Lieutenant. Gang fight, it looks like. It started as a big fight in the park between the Warriors and the Outcasts. But before they got to brawling, the sprinklers came on and a bunch of them hauled ass. These scumbags," he said, looking at those on the sidewalk, "were the few fighting when the patrols got here, and they caught a couple others on the other side of the park."
"Injuries?"
"Most of them minor except one," he motioned toward an ambulance. "Gangbuster. It looks like he took a bullet to the spine." He sighed. "It doesn't look good, Maggie."
"Oh shit!" Maggie said. "Thanks," she added before heading off quickly toward the ambulance crew. Lois was on her heels. They reached the ambulance as the crew were gently lifting the gurney into the ambulance. Jose was face down and groaned in pain as the gurney collapsed down into the back.
"Hang in there, Jose," Maggie said, reaching out and squeezing his hand. "I'll be at the hospital in a few minutes."
Lois did not know what to say. "I'll see you soon, Jose. We're praying for you." She looked at Maggie and grimaced.
When the doors closed, the ambulance fired up its siren and pulled away, Maggie looked to an EMT from another vehicle for more information. He shook his head. "He was hit in the spine and lost feeling in his legs. Not good," he said before moving off to look at other injuries.
Lois stood looking at those on the sidewalk and saw Clark talking to a policeman. "Holy shit," she muttered, and Maggie tracked her view and saw the man in the dark trench coat talking to the policeman.
"Who is that?"
"Clark Kent," Lois groaned. "He's everywhere! I need to talk to him," she said.
"I'll come with you."
She walked up to Clark. "You got here fast," she said trying to conceal her annoyance.
"Hello Lois. I've been here for a while. I was on the other end of the street where the other gang members were arrested." He looked at Maggie. "Oh, hello," he said politely and nodded.
Maggie extended her hand. "Maggie Sawyer, MPD." Clark shook her hand and introduced himself, but Maggie already knew who he was but did not say so.
"Clark is the Daily Planet's newest rookie reporter. I'm taking him under my wing to get him up to speed at the Planet." She looked at Clark, "What's with the sprinklers? Who turned them on in the middle of the night?" Lois asked.
"It was the strangest thing," Clark replied. "I heard someone fire a gun nearby. I came in a hurry to see what I could find, and someone must have called the police. When I got to the park, I saw these two gangs are kind of squaring up and are yelling and taunting each other. But before they really started fighting, the sprinklers suddenly came on and that sent most of them running in all directions. But a few of them began fighting after realizing that there was no place to hide from the sprinklers. That's when I heard sirens, and the police began showing up. Some quit and started running. The police at the other end of the park nabbed a few who were trying to run that way and then helped break up these guys who had kept on fighting."
"Wait," Lois said. "The sprinklers that usually come on around 5 AM suddenly come on at 10:30 PM? Conveniently breaking up a big fight?" She glanced at Maggie.
Clark shrugged. "It sounded like an electrical issue because one of the EMTs found the connection box and said it was melted and circuits were fused. It's why they can't turn the sprinklers off right now."
"And you didn't think to look around to see if you saw anything else?" Lois questioned, annoyed by the situation.
"Like what?" Clark asked, with a puzzled look. "Oh, you mean for the phantom hero running around Metropolis? No Lois, I was keeping my eyes on the real-life action."
"You didn't happen to see who shot the gun, did you?" Maggie asked.
"No, I didn't. I heard it and that's what drew me here."
Clark noticed a car slowly approaching with four men in it and the windows facing the park were rolled down. He watched as two barrels poked out from the window just as the car was nearing the men sitting on the sidewalk. He heard the pump on the shotgun and using his heat vision, turned the two barrels red hot. The rifle was dropped onto the street, but the shotgun fired before it too was dropped out the window.
The shotgun discharged its projectiles above the heads of the men that were sitting, the pellets peppering the trees within the park itself. Clark launched himself forward and drove Maggie and Lois to the ground, sending them sprawling onto the grass. Clark sent a blast of air at the vehicle as it began to accelerate causing it to roll onto its side. He ended up laying across Lois.
Four policemen ran to the vehicle, weapons drawn.
"Clark! Get off me," Lois barked and struggled to her feet. "What the hell, Clark? Maggie, are you all right?"
"Yeah," she said, as Lois helped her to her feet.
Clark was the last one to get up. "What the hell was that about?" Lois asked, missing the sound of the shotgun blast that sent pellets no more than three feet over her head.
"I don't know," Clark replied, acting dumbfounded. "I was standing here talking to you and it felt like I was shoved in the back really hard. I'm sorry I knocked you guys down when I fell."
"Maybe it's lucky that you did," Maggie commented and pointed at the weapons laying in the street.
Lois saw the guns lying in the street and then looked at Clark, perturbed. She brushed herself off and turned to Clark. "You represent the Planet now, Kent. You can't look like you're homeless anymore," and brushed wet grass and dirt from his sleeves.
Maggie looked stunned and confused. "Are we not going to talk about what just happened? Sprinklers mysteriously come on, breaking up a major gang fight. Then we were knocked out of the line of fire and the car that the shooter was in suddenly rolls onto its side, trapping the perpetrators in there. Are you not at all interested in how any of that happened?"
"Of course, I am. We'll go through it on the way to the hospital. I'll make notes."
"The hospital! Oh no," he cried, "not from me falling on you I hope."
"No! We're healthy women, Clark, not porcelain dolls. The gunshot you heard earlier apparently hit Gangbuster. We're going to see about him. Just send me your draft on this and I'll do some editing before we send it to Perry."
"Uh, Lois? I've already sent the story to the Planet online editor."
Lois clenched her jaw and was annoyed once again. "What do you do? Pre-write articles and just fill in the blanks? Clark, I'm your partner. We're supposed to do these things together."
He frowned. "Partner? I'm freelancing right now, remember? I don't have a partner just yet," Clark chided.
"And Perry told me to show you the ropes. This is me doing just that." She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "Send it to me anyway and I'll add some follow up with Gangbuster's condition for Perry on Monday. We can share the byline."
Her phone dinged and she looked at it. It was the story that Clark had filed, and it had been put online. Damnit!
Monday, November 16, 2020
Lois emerged from the Monday morning assignment meeting feeling wary of what she would find when she returned to her desk in the bullpen. The doors to the elevator opened and she could hear the voice of Jimmy Olsen talking. She paused, took a deep breath, and walked around the wood and frosted glass partition to the bullpen.
Seated with his back to her was Clark, speaking with Jimmy Olsen, partially sitting on the corner of Clark's desk. Shit!
Jimmy brightened when he saw her. "Good morning, Miss Lane," he said. Clark swiveled around in his chair and gave her a look that told her it may not be a pleasant conversation.
When she and Maggie left the hospital, it was early Sunday morning and Jose was out of surgery. He survived but the prognosis was not good. The bullet shattered his lower vertebrae, severing his spinal cord leaving him without feeling in his legs. He would remain in intensive care for a few days until he stabilized and could not have visitors. They departed and rode in silence until Lois climbed out upon reaching her apartments.
It was just past noon when Lois awoke. She made a toaster pastry and had two cups of coffee. The evening before had been a rollercoaster for her, beginning with the revelations about the Mickler case, the strange events at Centennial Park, the frustration with Clark, and her remorse for the injury to Jose Delgado.
By midafternoon, Lois opened her laptop and read the story that Clark had written. She added details concerning Gangbuster and his condition, included the attempted drive-by shooting and the odd occurrence it became. Rather than provide it to Perry that morning, Lois had emailed it before the Monday edition deadline. She overwrote Clark's name on the by line, entering hers instead.
"Good morning, Jimmy," she replied. She nodded at Clark. "Kent," she said and proceeded to her desk. "I see you two have gotten acquainted," she said as she sat in her chair. She looked at Clark. "Shouldn't you be out pounding the pavement for your next story? What are you doing in here?"
"I came in so you and I could meet with Perry over the story. But, funny thing happened when I got here. I opened up the paper and the story was already published in the paper this morning." He did not say anything else.
She leaned around her monitor. "And?" she asked, feigning annoyance.
"Oh yeah, my name was missing from the byline."
Jimmy hopped up and said, "You know, I have a roll of film that I have to develop upstairs. I'll see you later, Miss Lane. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Kent."
"Call me, Clark, Jimmy," Clark replied. "It was nice to meet you too. Maybe we'll try to catch him sometime this week; we'll grab an early dinner."
"Who?" Lois asked.
"Sure thing, Mr., er, Clark."
"Who?" she asked again.
"He's a nice kid," Clark said, sitting down.
"Who are you trying to catch?" Lois asked adamantly.
"Whatever it is that pushed me down in the park and caused that car to turn on its side."
"No! That's my assignment," Lois protested. "Perry assigned me that story months ago, before you even considered coming here!"
"I'm just freelancing, Lois. I figure I have as good a chance of catching him as you do." He paused. "Maybe we can share a byline."
"Oh! So that's what this is all about?"
"What? Do you think I'm making plans with Jimmy because you hijacked my story?"
She stood up to look over the monitors. "Hijacked your story? Let me tell you something, Farmer John, I don't steal other people's work. You should look at this as a teaching moment." She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "I simply expounded on your initial report and made a story out of it that people want to read. I did you a favor by taking a boring Saturday night rumble in the park essay and turning it into a front-page story." Lois sat back down in her chair, embarrassed by the whole matter.
Clark sat expressionless. "Uh-huh."
"Consider it a gentle rap on the knuckles, Smallville. You're lucky because what you sent me was about as compelling as a junior high school book report rather than a story worthy of publishing in the Daily Planet! I saved you the embarrassment of Perry seeing it that way. Rule number two in basic journalism, Rookie, 'Always make a good first impression, especially with the boss!'" Lois paused. "Is that the first impression you wanted Perry to have of you? I don't think so."
He smiled, hidden behind his monitor. "I guess I didn't realize how fortunate I was to give it to you. I'll remind my growling stomach how lucky it is when I don't get paid for it either." He stood up and Lois refused to look at him. "I'll see you around, Lois."
"Um-muh," she acknowledged and began to type gibberish on her screen. Once she heard the elevator doors close, she went to the ladies' room, looked at herself in the mirror, turned and locked herself in a stall, and quietly cried. She had never once considered stealing another journalist's work and hated herself for hijacking Clark's to get a front-page story. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time and he's so damn fast getting his stories in, she thought, in her defense.
But Lois took no consolation from that because she was deeply ashamed of what she did and knew it was petty, shallow, and beneath her. She had broken a cardinal rule against plagiarism. The impact it would have on Clark was short-term, and she could make it up to him if he would let her. The impact on her was nearly catastrophic. She knew that sooner or later, word of what she had done would circulate around the newsroom and destroy her credibility and the image she had worked so hard to build for herself. All for what? Lois asked herself. Being thought of as the best investigative reporter at the Planet? That is what Lois Lane's price is for sidestepping ethical standards and taking credit for someone else's work?
She got her emotions under control, left the stall, wet a hand towel and placed it on her eyes to try to clear the redness and puffiness in them. As she did that, another female employee entered the restroom. "Eye strain from staring at the monitor all the time, huh Lois?" she said.
"It's terrible sometimes, isn't it?" Lois replied.
"You're not alone. There are times I have to just get up and walk out of the building for a few minutes just to let my eyes rest," the woman said.
Lois said nothing more but would use that as an excuse should anyone see her until her eyes returned to normal. She left the ladies' room and went upstairs to the lobby and headed out to the street to let some cold wind hit her face.
Clark remained in his apartment that night listening for alarms or sirens, screams or calls for help. It was a relatively quiet night with only one event, and it was an ambulance on a run to the hospital with a woman who was in labor three weeks prematurely. He floated about Metropolis, high enough above the glow to avoid detection and slow enough so as not to attract the attention of any nighttime star gazers. As he drifted slowly, he detected a heartbeat. It was the slow, steady, melodic, heartbeat he heard almost every night he flew over Metropolis, and he incorrectly assumed it was Lana's heartbeat he was hearing.
Lois watched television but was not watching it. She was deep in thought and self-loathing. What would Perry say if he learned what she had done? she wondered. What would he do? Fire her? Suspend her for a period of time? What bothered her more than any suspension or monetary impact was imagining the look of disappointment in Perry's eyes and that was worse than any punishment he could give. That look would absolutely destroy her. She wondered if Clark would say anything to Perry about it in the morning during his meeting with freelance reporters. She doubted that he would, but she did not know him well enough to judge for certain. Perhaps he would wait until after the meeting to say something.
She slept badly that night, struggling to sleep and then, once she was able to fall asleep, to remain asleep.
The next morning, Lois dragged herself into the office, exhausted and fraught, expecting a phone call from Sally at any moment. That call came at 10:15 AM. "The Chief would like to see you in his office," she said. Lois replied that she would be right there.
She shut off her monitor and grabbed her valise and headed to the elevators. She stopped the car on the floor where Perry's office was located. She stepped out and felt like it was the moment of truth. She walked stridently into the office, past Sally, and stood in the doorway.
Two chairs faced Perry's desk and one was occupied by Clark. "Well just don't stand there, come sit down," Perry said.
Lois thought he sounded perturbed. Or was it disappointment?
She looked at Clark. "Clark," she said, acknowledging him.
He gave her a half-smile. "Miss Lane," he replied and nodded.
She sat.
Perry sat back and put his hands on his desk and Lois worried that he would see the blood running from her face. "Lois, Clark said something after the meeting this morning and I think we need to discuss it."
She was prepared for this, but she still felt like she was kicked in the stomach. Clark did not deserve what she had done to him, but she had hoped they could resolve it between the two of them.
"Clark mentioned to me this so-called Avenging Angel fella and that he's supposedly intervening in things all over Metropolis. He said he suspects that last Saturday night, that phantom was somehow responsible for stopping a gang fight in Centennial Park by activating the sprinkler system and somehow kept you both from being caught in the line of gunfire while turning a car onto its side." He stared at Lois. "Do you agree with his theory?"
"Yes, Chief."
"Clark also tells me that you have been discussing this thing and that you've been working night and day on it along with the other assignments I've given you. He suggested, and I think it's a good idea, that you two team up on this."
Lois shifted in her seat. To someone not aware of her feelings of anxiety when she entered the office, they might believe her body language signaled unease with the idea. At the mention of teaming up, Lois was so relieved that she relaxed enough to realize that she had been gripping the arms of the chairs until her forearms were aching. She shifted in her chair to relieve the pressure on them.
"Now I know how you feel about working with a partner but before you say anything, Lois, my mind is made up on this. Clark made a reasonable argument that you were burning yourself out trying to cover things at night and during the day and that between the two of you, you could decide who works when and share the byline for whatever story comes out. He even conceded that should one of you get an interview with this…thing…that Lois, you would take the lead and the credit in the byline for it. Now I think that's incredibly fair." He paused but Lois said nothing. "Do you have any objections to this, Lois?"
"No Chief, I don't."
"Okay then," he said. "We're done here."
They both rose and Perry said, "Ahh, Lois. Stay back please. There's something I want to talk to you about in private."
She felt like the bottom dropped out of her stomach. She sat back down and once Clark was out of the office and in the elevator, Perry began.
He leaned forward and spoke at a lower level than normal. "Your silent consent to having Clark Kent as a partner wouldn't have anything to do with a rumor floating around about someone allegedly stealing a story from another reporter, would it?"
Tears pooled up in her eyes. "To be honest, I couldn't sleep last night because of it."
"I wouldn't be able to either, Darlin'. I want you to know I asked Clark about it after this morning's meeting, and he said that that was absolutely not true. He said he had filed his story for the Planet online and then more events occurred that he thought deserved a print version rather than just an online story. He said because of that, he sent what he had to you as background for your story.
"I know that's an ugly rumor and it's very upsetting to be accused of something like that. I don't think anyone believes it, but you know rumors and a newsroom. So, I just wanted you to hear that from me and I want you to put it out of your mind and just do your best to ignore them if you hear them again. Okay?"
"Okay," Lois croaked, and Perry pulled a tissue from his drawer and handed it to her.
"Now, go on out there and you two figure out what your working schedules will be and let me know tomorrow, okay?"
She wiped her eyes and caught her breath. "Will do, Chief. Thanks." She rose and left the office. She took the elevator down to the bottom floor and got out. Before going back to the bullpen, she ducked into the ladies' room, wet a paper towel again, and held it to her eyes.
When she emerged, she walked to the bullpen not knowing exactly what she would say to Clark. She was not sure of anything except one thing. Clark had buried the issue and saying thank you did not seem to be enough. She was not even sure how to start thanking him.
She looked at her desk and Clark was not there. She looked around the newsroom and he was nowhere in sight. "Jimmy?" she called out. "Do you know where Mr. Kent is?"
"No, Miss Lane," he replied from his cubicle in the back of the bullpen. "He came back a few minutes ago, sat at his desk for a moment, and then got up and left the bullpen. He took his coat with him, so he probably went outside."
"Thanks, Jimmy." Lois grabbed her jacket and nearly ran up the stairs to the lobby. She walked out of the front doors and stepped down a few steps, looking left and right. She spotted him sitting on a metal bench, about one hundred feet from the main doors to the building. Clark appeared to be waiting for a ride and in the meantime, seemed to be in deep thought. He was hunched over, head bowed, forearms resting on his thighs and hands close together. He sat there motionless, and one could reasonably assume that he was praying and for what Lois could only imagine.
She decided that now was not the time to speak with him. He was clearly contemplating something, and she did not feel like interrupting him. It would give her more time to figure out what to say to him anyway, she rationalized. She turned on her heel and headed back in the door and down to the bullpen on the lower floor of the building.
Clark huddled against the bright, reflected sun as he was trying to read the text from Pete and determine his schedule for the day. They had decided on having dinner and then going somewhere, probably Lana's apartment, to catch up in private. Clark had not told Pete that Lana knew his secret so they would wait until they were outside of the restaurant to share that information. Plus, since Clark returned, he had additional powers that Pete did not know about and there was lots to talk about just involving him.
They were making the final arrangements on times, drivers, and anything else that might require coordination and blocking out the sunlight was the only way to be able to see the words on the screen.
At 6:30 PM, Lana picked Pete up from the hotel where he was staying, and it was a pleasant reunion. They hugged and both were genuinely happy to see one another. Pete said that Senator Ferrell was spending the evening with his daughter, so he was free until 9 AM the next morning.
Since he was coming from a different direction to get there, Clark met them at the restaurant so as not to inconvenience either Pete or Lana with having to pick him up. It was a reunion that would be remembered for the rest of their lives. Clark hugged Pete, then Lana, then both. Lana provided kisses all the way around and they walked from the parking lot to the restaurant door arm-in-arm, three abreast.
They shared stories of what they had been up to for the last five and a half years. Pete graduated from Metropolis University with a political science degree and was working with the Senator as member of his staff for the last year and a half. He mentioned that he was considering a career in politics as a result. They ate and afterwards, left the restaurant and traveled to Lana's apartment because it was closer and far nicer than Clark's.
There, they caught up on all the Clark Kent news as well as Lana revealing that she figured out Clark's secret because of all the strange things happening in Metropolis and Clark's uncanny ability to be two very different places at nearly the same time. They laughed and Pete said that he knew Clark was different since about the ninth grade. Lana had four bottles of wine she had gathered for the reunion and some dessert items.
As they talked and drank, Clark suddenly stood up. "I have to go. I'll come back as soon as I can," he said.
"Check this out, Pete," Lana said, and in a blink of an eye, Clark transformed from Clark to a superhero in a form-fitting outfit that included a cape.
"Holy shit, Clark!" Pete exclaimed. "That's unreal. You look like something really cool out of a science fiction movie or something."
Clark smiled. He stepped out onto Lana's small balcony, glanced around and then launched himself into the air. Pete's mouth hung open as he watched Clark disappear up into the sky. He turned to Lana. "Oh my God. You've seen him do this before?"
She smiled and nodded, tears beginning to fill her eyes.
"What's the matter, Lana?" Pete asked as he walked to her. He put his arms around her, and she began to cry.
When Clark returned, he found Lana in Pete's arms. Lana was red-eyed, and Pete looked up at Clark. "Is everything okay?" he asked. "Lana?" She nodded but said nothing.
"Lana told me that your relationship was going to stay plutonic and how hard it has been to see you and know that nothing more will ever come of your relationship, Clark."
"I'm sorry, Clark," Lana managed. "I just had to tell someone other than you. It hurts a little every time I see you and I can't help the way I feel."
He nodded. "I know. I feel the same way, Lana. But for me, I'm feeling better about the status every time we see each other. But I could tell it is still hurting you, which is why I've tried to disengage a little bit over time. Seeing you try to stay positive but knowing what it does to you hurts me, too."
"I've offered to be her sounding board, Clark. I've told Lana that anytime she needs someone to talk with or whatever, that she shouldn't hesitate to call me," Pete said. "I think between the three of us, we should be able to move on and lead fulfilled lives without all the angst now that your secret is out the way, and you know we're willing to do everything we need to do to protect it."
"Well, I appreciate that and certainly hope it never comes close to that, but I wouldn't want either of you to be harmed on my account. I'm keeping it a secret so I can live a normal life. But I don't want anyone to come to harm because of what I want." He looked at them. "You're the best friends I ever had and could ever have. I would never want you to you suffer on my account." He looked directly at Lana. "Not in any way, if I can help it," he added.
They hugged once again in unison. "What the hell is your outfit made of?" Pete asked. "That's not Spandex or anything I've ever felt."
Lana began laughing and it was a cathartic moment for her. "He's not in an 80's rock band, Pete. Of course, that's not Spandex," she got out before bursting into more laughter. Clark joined her.
"What did I say that's so hilarious?" Pete asked.
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Lois returned to her desk after the Wednesday assignment meeting with Perry. She expected Clark to be at his desk when she returned or soon thereafter. And she was prepared to thank him for his explanation of the events regarding the Monday morning story…over lunch. After thinking it over, she concluded it would be best to have the conversation beyond the range of any prying ears in the newsroom. Settling on it and what to say afforded her a better night's sleep than she had gotten the night before.
Clark arrived at 10:30 while Lois was getting a cup of coffee. "Good morning," he said flatly as she returned to her desk.
"Oh? Good morning, Kent," she replied as if she just noticed him there. She sat down and said nothing but returned to her work. It suddenly felt tremendously awkward, but she was determined not to let him see that. Instead, she started typing but her train of thought was interrupted by a high-pitched rhythmic squeaking from the chair Clark was sitting in. After about five minutes of listening to it, Lois stood and looked over the monitors.
Clark sat, twisting his chair back and forth, smiling at Lois.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Waiting for you to be done so we can talk," he replied.
"About?"
"About what Perry asked us to do. We're supposed to coordinate a schedule. Right?"
Damn, she thought, I forgot about that.
"Oh, I nearly forgot. Well, I suppose we could, uh, go discuss it at an early lunch. It will be 11 before we get there so shall we go now?"
"I'm sorry. What was it you called her," he paused and then, "Oh yeah. Princess McGorgeousface and I are meeting for lunch," Clark replied, smiling.
Lois tried not to show her frustration and replied, "Well that's okay. Lex called me this morning and asked if I wanted to have lunch with him today, but I told him that we would be having lunch together. So, no problem, I'll just call him back." She paused, feeling pleased with her answer.
Clark nodded and Lois began sat back down. "We'll do it sometime after we both get back from lunch then."
She began to type, and the annoying rhythmic squeaking began again. Lois stood back up. "Seriously?" she said and grimaced.
He frowned and asked, "Lois, I'm just curious about something. If you had forgotten about us coordinating a schedule, why did you decline Lex's invitation for lunch again?"
She exhaled exasperated with his question and sat down. She did not give him an answer and began typing. "We'll meet up after lunch," she said. Clark told her okay, and she went back to working on the story Perry had assigned her that morning.
Then the squeaking began again but before she could say anything, it stopped, and Clark stood up and announced. "I'm going to lunch. You better call Lex while you still have time," he offered, smirked and then left.
Lois sat for a moment feeling angry, sheepish, and exposed. She grabbed her jacket and raced up the stairs and caught Clark emerging from the elevators. "Outside, Smallville," she said. He followed her to the large exterior doors and walked outside. She grabbed the sleeve of his coat and pulled him to the corner of the building and spun him around and gently pushed him to the wall. "Thank you for not exposing the whole story about last Saturday night. I shouldn't have filed the story before you saw it and not without your name."
Clark smiled. "It's okay, Lois. It's just a misunderstanding."
"But it's not a misunderstanding, Clark, and I think you know that. It's my reputation, my ethical values, my belief in the sanctity of an individual's work that I jeopardized just to get a byline. I don't know what's come over me but ever since you won that award for Journalist of the Year, I've made it my personal mission to outdo whatever anyone in the newsroom does." She grew teary-eyed. "This isn't like me and I'm sorry and I can't say thank you enough for not ruining what I've work so hard to build here." She swallowed hard. "Can you forgive me?"
"I already have Lois and what I told Perry was factual. I may not have included everything and I applied some journalistic license to tell him what he needed to know and nothing more. He heard all the relevant facts and that is what is important."
"But it was your story, Clark and I owe you one. That's why I was going to take you to lunch as a form of apology." She looked down at her shoes. "Okay?"
"Yep," he replied. "I'll see you after lunch, Lois." Clark smiled and headed off to meet Lana.
Lois watched him walk off and she did not know if she felt better having gotten it off her chest or worse, watching Clark walk away to meet the divine Lana Lang. She returned to the bullpen, dug a stale donut out of a box next to the coffee pot and took it back to her desk. She took a bite and thought, I wonder who was in the White House when this donut was made?
Her phone dinged and she looked at it, hoping it was a text from Lex with a lunch invitation. Instead, it was Lucy. She frowned and opened it. Lucy announced that she would be coming to Metropolis for a couple of days beginning Wednesday, November 25th, which happened to be the day before Thanksgiving. "Oh great," she muttered to herself. "I better hide the good silver."
Friday, November 20, 2020
"Why are you out on Friday night, Miss Lane?" Jimmy asked. "Why isn't Mr. Ke…Clark out?"
Clark and Lois had worked out a schedule that provided for two nights a week for Lois to work and three nights a week for Clark to work. They alternated the pattern every week and the rest of the time, they worked during the day, following up on stories that they learned about well after the fact.
They only worked three to four hours during the hours of darkness, meaning they normally stayed no later than 11 PM, depending on if they actually responded to a suspected event or if they did not. Jimmy also worked three nights a week and usually it was Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
She explained that she had asked Clark to swap the weeks since her sister was coming to visit her the day before Thanksgiving and may stay as long as Sunday.
"What about Mr. Luthor? Doesn't he ask you out at nights, too? He probably doesn't like not being able to go on Friday nights with you." Jimmy observed.
"Well, Lex and I usually have dinner at his place and then spend a couple of hours talking afterwards. It's usually nothing more than that and we can do that just about any night of the week. Fridays for him aren't the same as Fridays for you and me, Jimmy."
Jimmy said nothing further, and Lois wondered what he was thinking. "It's usually nothing more than that," she had told him, and she wondered if he thought that status was of her choosing or Lex's. She thought about the dream she had that resulted in her jolting awake. Was it Lex she desired or Clark Kent? She liked Lex but other than in a dream state, she could not really envision herself making love to him. She could envision making love to Clark Kent, even if he was a little nerdy. But Clark was locked down and she needed to make a decision and move forward. Her life had been in a holding pattern so that she could advance her career. It seemed secure now, but the personal side of her life seemed locked in concrete.
Being in a relationship with Lex appeared impressive to those viewing from an outside perspective. But to know the real relationship would have been disappointing to most and downright embarrassing to others. Cat Grant had laid off her since it seemed a foregone conclusion that after so much time, Lois had to be sleeping with Lex Luthor. If she only knew the truth, she would be hounding Lois at every opportunity.
"I say we call it, Jimmy," Lois said. "Nothing's happening and no need for us to be wasting any more time out here. What do you say?"
"Whatever you think, Miss Lane. I'm following you."
Lois announced that she was calling it a night and they decided to head home. She dropped Jimmy off and texted Lex to see if he was open to having a nightcap. She got no immediate response and decided to stop by.
"Good evening, Barney," she told the security shift leader inside LexCorp tower. "I'm headed up to see Mr. Luthor."
He looked at his schedule. "Ma'am, I don't see a visit on here. I need to check with Mr. Luthor before I send you up."
She made a face. "Really? So, the surprise I have for Mr. Luthor is irrelevant. It's your calendar that keeps Mr. Luthor happy. Is that what you're saying, Barney?"
He looked her over. "You have a surprise for Mr. Luthor, Miss Lane? Where?"
Lois rolled her eyes and leaned closer. "Oh, it's here. I bring it every time I come here. But tonight is the first time I'm bringing it specifically for Mr. Luthor, if you know what I mean." She winked and smiled lasciviously. She looked down. "It's down here underneath my coat but I'm not really comfortable showing it to you. It's just for Mr. Luthor."
"Uh," Barney said. "I don't know Miss Lane."
"Well, I don't want you to get in trouble, Barney. I guess I'll just have to save it for another day, then. But if Mr. Luthor asks you why he didn't get his surprise, you can let him know that it's because it wasn't on his schedule, and you were just following procedures." She winked. "Have a nice evening, Barney."
Lois turned and started to head out of the lobby but before she got to the doors, she heard Barney call her back. She returned and had her sign in. "I hope I don't get in trouble for this," Barney told her.
"I'm sure Lex will be happy enough with his surprise that it won't matter," Lois said.
"He's a lucky man," Barney said as he took the sign in log back from her. She smiled. "Two at a time has always been my fantasy too."
Lois stopped as she was passing the security desk and turned. "Two at a time?"
Barney looked around to make sure he was alone with just Lois. "You know, a threesome. You and that blonde and Mr. Luthor."
Lois looked down and then back up. "So, he's not alone up there?"
Barney's face turned beet red. "Uh, no, Ma'am, he's not," he mumbled. "I'm sorry," he said, fumbling his words. "I…wasn't…I didn't know that, uh, you didn't know that, Miss Lane?"
Lois's clenched her jaws. "I don't know what's worse, Barney. The fact that Mr. Luthor has a hooker up in his apartment or that you thought I'd happily join in," she said calmly.
Barney was clearly flustered, and he apologized profusely. "Miss Lane, I meant no disrespect. Truly I did not and I'm so sorry. It was stupid of me to think that, and I know it. But people surprise you no matter…"
"Barney!" she barked, and he immediately quit blathering. "Relax. Thank you for saving me and Mr. Luthor the embarrassment of having to deal with that situation," she said quietly and calmly. "You probably also saved your job because of it. Just line through my name and we won't speak of this again, agreed?"
Barney nodded furiously.
Lois turned and this time, she walked all the way out of the LexCorp building.
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Lucy arrived at Metropolis International Airport at 5:15 PM and Lois met her at the airport luggage carousel. They hugged politely and made small talk while waiting for her bags.
By the time her bags arrived and they got to Lois's car, it was 5:40 PM. "Do you feel like eating dinner," Lois asked.
"Yes," Lucy replied. "They give you nothing on those flights anymore! My connecting flight was so close to my departure time that I had nothing to eat except a granola bar and cup of coffee. I'm starving."
She drove to a little Italian family restaurant she had heard about. The restaurant that was out of the way for her normally, but because it was located between the airport and Lois's apartment, she pulled in. "I've heard good things about this place, but I've never eaten here. It's across the river and out of the way from where I live."
"That's okay. Moist dog food would be okay right about now," Lucy replied.
The smell of roasted garlic filled the air when they entered, and it made both of their mouths water. They were escorted to a booth that was in a row of booths situated in the middle of the restaurant and tables were set on opposite walls. The crowd was tame and subdued. The lighting was low and although the place would not be considered romantic, it did have a pleasantly relaxing atmosphere.
The waitress took their orders and as they waited, Lucy talked a bit about going to college in Europe and now that she had graduated, working for the Army in the Judge Advocate General's branch as a defense counselor while waiting to get her credentials from the Department of Defense as a civilian JAG defense attorney. She told Lois that she had moved into an apartment in Heidelburg, Germany, where the US Army Europe headquarters was. She had been seeing a pilot who flew their dad to various locations around Europe and the Middle East. But she had recently broken up with him because he was concerned what the general would say if he found out.
"If he treated you well, you should have stood up to dad. Lucy, don't let him intimidate you or the guys you like."
"That's easy for you to say," her sister replied, "He's not the third richest man in the world, either is he? Daddy told me you are dating Lex Luthor. He said he thought it was pretty serious."
Lois replied that she had embellished her relationship to their father because of his reaction when she told him that she was having dinners with Lex frequently and that she wanted to make sure Lex was interested in her and not just gaining leverage for contracts with DOD.
"Still, having dinners with Lex Luthor…wow, Lois!"
"Lois?" a voice said, and she looked up to see Lana walking to a table. She smiled and walked over. "Hello. How have you been?"
Lois smiled and the two exchanged pleasantries before she introduced Lucy. The three women chatted for a few moments and before Lana excused herself to let them continue their conversation. Once she was out of earshot, Lucy said, "My God, she's a gorgeous girl. She makes most of the supermodels look like women's prison matrons. How do you know her?"
"She works for Galaxy Communications and their Metropolis TV station, WGBS. She's a big-time director of design for them."
"She's awfully young, isn't she?"
"Believe it or not, she's probably older than you are."
"Wow," Lucy remarked, noticing Lois scanning the restaurant. "Who are you looking for?"
"Her boyfriend. He works for the Planet. In fact, he works right across from me in the bullpen." She craned her neck. "I don't see him though. Maybe he's not here."
They continued their conversation and once their dinner arrived, Lucy inhaled hers. Lois smirked. "You sure hoovered that Alfredo up. Do you want more?"
Lucy took a deep breath and exhaled. "No, Lo. I feel like I'm bursting at the seams now."
"Well, c'mon then, let's get out of here," Lois said, standing up. "You'll be hungry again by the time we get to my place. We can have dessert there."
Lucy joined Lois as she was paying the check and made a slight wave to Lana. Lois looked and saw Clark's back. She also waved a quick goodbye to Lana. As Lana made eye contact, Clark turned and looked at Lois, nodded, and then turned back to look at Lana.
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Perry White's meeting was delayed and did not begin until 9:30 AM due to a medical appointment he had. By the time the meeting was over, it was after 10:30 AM and Lois asked Perry if she could take a few hours with her sister visiting from Europe. Perry grumbled and gave her an easy assignment that he wanted on his desk by the following Tuesday. He smirked and told her to have a Happy Thanksgiving.
When she got back to her apartment, Lucy was already awake and staring into a refrigerator that offered little in the way of breakfast food. "You have zero breakfast food!" she cried. "What do you eat for breakfast?"
"Donuts."
"Shit!" Lucy said. "Let's go out and get something, okay?"
Lois looked at her watch. "Breakfast places are going to be closing their menus. How about lunch instead? I know just the place," Lois said. "It's really just a lunch place but they make huge hot or cold sandwiches and homemade soup, if that's okay?"
"Oh yeah, that sounds great!" Lucy said. "I just have to jump in the shower and then get dressed."
"Take your time," Lois replied. "I had a couple of donuts for breakfast. I'm not starving."
Forty-five minutes later, they were climbing out of Lois's car and heading into the Starline Diner, a family-owned diner that people from the Daily Planet and other local businesses patronized when they had some extra time for lunch. It was located further from their building than four other delicatessens and restaurants and it suffered a little because of that. But the food was worth the extra time when she had the time available.
It was crowded for the day before Thanksgiving and Lois figured there were a lot of people leaving work early.
"This place must be good," Lucy said. "This is some crowd."
They took a seat at a booth near the front of the diner and ordered their meals. "It's gonna take a little longer than normal," the waitress said. "We got swamped in here today!"
"That's never a bad thing though," Lois replied, and the waitress agreed. As the waitress left, she saw Clark and Jimmy sitting a booth on the opposite side of the diner. Clark saw her and smiled, and Lois offered him a friendly wave.
"Who are you waving to?" Lucy asked.
"Just a couple of guys from the office," she replied.
About twenty minutes later, Clark led Jimmy over to the booth they were sitting at. "Hello, Lois," Clark said. "I missed you this morning." He looked at Lucy. "And who is this?"
"Clark Kent, this is my sister, Lucy Lane. Lucy, Clark." Clark extended his hand and shook Lucy's. "Lucy, this is Jimmy Olsen. He's a photographer for the Daily Planet that works closely with Clark and me."
They made some small talk and Clark said that he was leaving after work to drive to Smallville for Thanksgiving and would not be back until Sunday night.
"What about Friday night?"
"Black Friday? I doubt it will be worth driving back to Metropolis for. Besides, we haven't heard much about whatever this thing is since the rumble in the park." He looked at Jimmy and stood a little straighter. "I gave him the night off!"
Jimmy was staring at Lucy. Although she was not quite as attractive as Lois, she was quite good-looking in her own right. She had softer features than Lois, but large gray-green eyes, dark hair and full lips, just like her sister.
"Is this your first time in Metropolis, Lucy?" Jimmy asked.
"Yes, this is my first time here. I thought after about four years, it was time to visit my sister," Lucy replied.
"If you're not doing anything this weekend, I would be happy to show you around the city," Jimmy offered. He looked at Lois who cocked her head and raised one eyebrow. Jimmy quickly added, "Unless Miss Lane…the other Miss Lane has plans or something for you to do," he said nervously.
Lois shared an annoyed look with Clark, and he took Jimmy by the arm. "We've got to be going, Jimmy. It was nice meeting you, Miss Lane," he said to Lucy. "Let's go or we'll be late getting back," pulling his lunch companion along.
"Lois has my number. Text me," Jimmy called as Clark dragged him away.
"He's cute," Lucy said.
"Yeah, I think he might even be legal, now," Lois replied. "Watch yourself."
Lucy leaned forward. "So, tell me what's going on with you and Lex Luthor. Daddy was so sketchy with the details that I wasn't sure whether you two were hot and heavy, or Lex had kidnapped you and was holding you for ransom."
Lois gave Lucy a quick but sad smile. "Things were really heading in a good direction, and I thought that we might be headed toward something special. But 'were' is the right word. I'm not so sure I'll see him again any time soon."
Lucy frowned. "What happened?"
Lois looked around and leaned forward, telling Lucy what happened the Friday before without including anything that may have inferred that she was having a sexual relationship with Lex. That was a question she did not want to address.
"What a fucking scumbag," Lucy said. "I hope you kick his ass to the curb. You deserve so much better than that, Lo." She grabbed Lois's hand. "Don't let any man disrespect you that way, I don't care who he is or how rich he is. I learned that the hard way."
Lois was shocked by her sister's defense. "I haven't spoken to him since it happened and if I ever agree to meet with him again, it will be in a public place. That's for sure."
"Yeah," her sister agreed. "You don't need to be ruining your good clothes by getting random slut DNA on them!"
Lois chuckled and looked at her Lucy. Maybe she's finally growing up, she thought. If she wants it, maybe I will give her Jimmy's number, she thought.
"Hey, what about that guy, Clark. He's huge and he's good looking too in a nerdy sort of way." She giggled. "He's got that hot nerd thing going on."
She suppressed a smile. "He's bearable at times, but just barely. You've heard the expression about falling off a pumpkin truck? I think he literally did," Lois said and laughed.
"Lo, he's the type that looks better the more you look at him. Trust me, I see these guys all the time in Heidelburg that look like dorks or act like dorks. But you spend some around them, it's like they transform before your eyes. It's like all of a sudden, 'Wow, this guy's really good-looking!' Or 'He's not a dork at all'. They're just not the 'Hey, look at me' types in the beginning, you know?" She paused and Lois nodded. "And you know what else? They won't treat you like shit, Lo. They'll treat you with respect and appreciate you for who and what you are."
Lois smiled and shook her head. "Okay Luce, I'll admit, he's a nice guy, and without those glasses, he is easy on the eyes. He's a farm boy and that's why he's huge. But seriously, Clark can be so damn irritating I don't know if I could stand being around him any more than I am right now. I just can't imagine Lois Lane being with Clark Kent."
Lucy leaned forward and put her hand on Lois's. "Don't dismiss anyone, Lo. Remember, you find diamonds amongst rocks."
"Remember Lana, the one you thought made supermodels look like matrons in a women's prison? That's who he's locked down with. Even if I wanted to give him a chance, there's no breaking those two up, I'm afraid."
"Really?" Lucy replied, incredulously. "God, Lois. He's not just a hot nerd, then; he's a hot nerd on steroids! And by the way," her sister added, "that chick's got nothing on you."