Chapter 11
Metropolis
Monday, December 28, 2020
On the Sunday following Christmas, Clark drove the three-hour trip from Smallville to Metropolis and held Lois's hand for a good portion of it. He wrestled her luggage to the elevator, and onward to the front door. He waited until her door was unlocked and when she opened it, stepped aside for him to put it inside her apartment. He then returned to the door and before he could say goodbye, she hugged him and thanked him for taking her to Smallville for Christmas.
The following day, Lois's thoughts were a million miles away sitting in Perry White's meeting. "Lois, what do you think?" Perry asked, snapping her out of her daydream. She looked surprised. "I don't know, Chief. Whatever you think," she replied, sheepishly.
"Let's try to stay focused in here people, okay?" he grumbled. "Okay everybody, that's it. Now go out there and write some stories. Let's finish out the year strong!" He looked at Lois as she headed out the door. "Hold up," he told her as the room emptied. He walked over and shut the door. "Now what in the world is going on with you this morning?"
"I'm sorry, Perry. I guess I was reliving the weekend. I won't let it happen again, Chief."
Tears began to pool in her eyes, and it alarmed him. She started to leave, and he said, "Well hold on just a minute. It's okay. I just you to have head in the game, okay?" She nodded but could not vocalize an answer. He frowned. "What's the matter, Lois? This isn't because I caught you daydreaming."
She swallowed hard and said, "I just spent the nicest Christmas with Clark and his parents. I haven't had a Christmas like that since before my mom died. It was just perfect; the Kents were so sweet and so loving towards me and each other.
"I make fun of Clark all the time because he's from a farm town called Smallville. But after spending time there this weekend, I realized that a place like Smallville is the type of place that would give me the life I truly want to have. It made my heart ache for a family like that, Perry."
Tears pooled in her eyes and crested her lids, streaking down her cheeks. Perry retrieved a tissue from his desk and handed it to her. He felt awkward, not having a daughter to comfort, he struggled to find something to say.
"Lois, you'll have that someday. You will because you know what you want, know what your heart longs to have, and I know that you will find the right guy to build a family like that with. You know what qualities he needs to give you the life you want and he's out there just waiting for you to find him." He gave her a reassuring smile. "And from what I can tell, Darlin', any man would be happy to have you. So, you have to be sure it's not some guy just saying what you want to hear, but the one you're absolutely certain who truly means those words." He tucked his head down and looked her in the eyes. "Okay?"
She managed a smiled. "Okay, Chief." She wiped the remainder of tears from her eyes. "Thank you."
"Okay, then. Now let's get going!" She began to leave but he stopped her. "Hey, you haven't forgotten about that intern, Jenny, right? You two still going to help her move out this week, right?"
"Sure, Chief," Lois replied. She had not forgotten but she had not called Jenny with definitive plans yet.
"Good. Now, if you want to take Thursday afternoon off to get her moved, I'll consider that to be the Planet's contribution to you for giving her a place to stay."
She thanked Perry and then stopped at the ladies' room before getting into the elevator. She applied a wet paper towel on her eyes and went into a stall and fanned air at them. When she finally reached the bullpen, Clark was not at his desk, but his computer monitor was on. She hoped that he could not see the redness in her eyes and if he did, she was ready to say that she had not slept well.
She switched on her monitor and thought about what Perry had said. He was right. The right guy was out there and waiting for her to find him. What she did not tell Perry was that she was petrified at the thought that after the weekend in Smallville, she believed the right guy might be sitting directly across from her in the bullpen.
When Clark did finally arrive at his desk, he brought her a steaming cup of coffee and two maple donuts from the little donut shop she loved. "Good morning, Miss Lane," he said, with a very official tone.
"Well, good morning, Mr. Kent. I see you finally found your desk this morning," she said and winked at him as he sat. "Thank you for this," she said. She took a sip of coffee. "Wow! How do you manage to keep it so hot?" she asked softly. "Particularly as cold as it is?"
"A trade secret," he said quietly and grinned. He then reached over, lifted a small soft-sided insulated tall cooler, unzipped the top, pulled out his coffee, and set it on the desk.
She smiled. "So, before I forget, Perry has given us Thursday afternoon off to help move Jenny Jurwich from her apartment to my apartment. Since you're the man with the truck, I hope you're still available to do that."
"Yes, I am." They looked at one another and he suppressed a smile. "So, with a short week, what's on your agenda? Did Perry assign you anything good?"
"Just the usual. County commissioners meeting and a brewing transit strike. That on top of the AAM and this story about CEO Dale Rennick possibly being compromised."
"What's that about?" Clark asked.
"It indirectly involves you, Rookie. Rennick is apparently ignoring corporate finances and is making budget cuts that aren't necessary."
"You think it's greed?" he asked.
"Maybe. But what would you say to talking about it over lunch?" she asked.
He smiled. "I'd like that."
Later that day, after the sun set, Clark flew north to the Fortress. Leveraging the knowledge of the 28 known galaxies within the crystals provided by Jor-El, Clark was able to design a tiny component, roughly three times the size of the head of a pin. That device, powered by radiant body heat, would emit an ultra-high frequency signal capable of traveling through virtually any substance for up to 2,100 miles that only he could hear. He decided to have it attached to a pair of earrings he had bought Lana as a graduation gift over five years ago. Because of the way their relationship ended, he never gave them to her.
As the design was being generated into the device, Clark used the time to call Lois. Using a software patch on his phone, he was able to conceal his phone's identity, its location, and his voice when in use. He dialed her number.
Lois happened to still be at work, using the Daily Planet online data search services to find Dale Rennick's home address, phone number, vehicle license plate, and other information she believed to be relevant to tracking his movements. She had compiled the dossier and was printing it when her cell phone rang. She expected it to be Maggie, Jenny, or Clark. Instead, the screen read, "Unknown". Her breath caught in her chest.
"Hello?" she answered, cautiously.
"Good evening, Miss Lane," the heavily modulated voice replied. "It's nice to hear your voice."
"And yours," Lois replied, not knowing exactly how to start. "Before I say anything else, I wanted to thank you for all the times you've saved me. I know there were at least three times and maybe a fourth."
"You are almost correct," the voice replied. "There was one other time, but you did not realize you were in danger."
"Okay, so that leads me to my first question. Why me?"
"That's odd. I would have guessed your first question would have been about me."
"In a manner of speaking, it is. But more directly, that will be my second question."
"There are thousands of reporters, Miss Lane, but none like you. I believe that you, above all, embody the values and qualities that should be part of every reporter's make-up. But that is not the case. As an honest and ethical reporter, you are a highly endangered breed, Miss Lane, and like every endangered species, you must be protected."
"I'm not sure I can live up to your expectations but I'm truly thankful for them. I can only promise to try."
"I have no doubts." There was a pause and then, "So what is your next question?"
"Who are you?"
"The Avenging Angel of Mercy, according to everyone else. I really wish that someone would find a better name for me than that. It's pretty ostentatious and very inaccurate." Another pause and Lois waited, hoping he would expound, which he finally did. "I was not born here, but I grew up here and this is my home. I love the people of Earth, I love their potential, and I want to help. That is all. I am not here as part of an advance element looking to invade or dominate another lifeform. I have a job I go to almost every day. I have a home where I eat, sleep, and live like everyone else does on this planet. I have bills to pay like everyone else."
"So, you're an alien, is that what you mean? You're not from France or Canada, right? You were born somewhere on another world?"
"Yes, but I prefer extraterrestrial to alien."
"But if you have a job you go to everyday, then you must look human, right?"
"Yes. As I told Miss Madden, I have a normal life that I want to live, just like everyone else. It is why I have remained hidden."
"Do any others know of your existence? I guess I should say your heritage?"
"Seven people that I know of are aware of my background. I do not know of any others who do."
"And your family; are they still with you?"
"No. My parents passed away a long time ago." He did not mention birth parents versus the parents who raised him.
"Do you have a wife or someone special in your life?" Lois asked and then quickly said, "I'm sorry if that's too personal. You can just…"
"No, I do not have a wife. There is a very special person in my life but I'm not sure she feels the same way about me."
"Oh," Lois said and frowned. "Does she know that she's very special to you and if not, how does that work? If so, are you saying that she doesn't tell you the way she feels about you?"
"Something like that," Clark replied. "She doesn't know everything about me."
"Hmm. How could she not? Strike that, it's none of my business." She moved to change the subject. "I think we caught a glimpse of you at the radio station."
"Was that when your photographer grabbed his camera? I put that note under your rear window wiper and it thumped, and it looked like it startled him, and he grabbed his camera."
She made a sound. "Yes! That's exactly what happened, and he ended up with a gray blur we believe is you."
"Then I'm sure it was me. I move pretty quickly though, so…"
Lois waited a moment and then asked. "So, what if I name you 'The Blur'? Would that be more to your liking?"
"The Blur. You know, that will do for now. I think it's a whole lot better than AAM, don't you?"
"Yes, I do and I'm going to lead with that by posting one of those photos from the night at the station." She paused. "Are you okay with that?"
"Yes, I am. I would sure like people to quit using that other name for me."
"I know you said why you saved me. But why is it me that you want to talk to? There are others who know of your existence, yet you want to talk to me. Can you tell me why?"
"None of those people live here and…" He stopped and mumbled something unintelligible. "That's not the real reason. It's true that none of them live here but that isn't the reason I want to talk to you, Lois. I want to talk to you because I want you to get to know me. I want you to know that I'm not someone to fear. I want you to know my heart is like yours when it comes to compassion, sympathy, empathy, caring, and love. I want you to trust unequivocally that when I do something, there is no doubt that I did it for no other reason than with good intentions." He paused and Lois was shocked into silence. "I also want to get to know you, the real you, not the reporter. I want to know what your day is like. I want to know what you think about certain things." He hesitated and then said, "Hearing your voice telling me your thoughts makes me feel like any other person on this planet. We all need someone to talk to, Lois, and I'm no different by that account."
"Will I ever see you?" she asked.
"Yes. When I think the world is ready, you'll be the first to know."
"How will you know?"
"When I can trust that I can lead a normal life aside from the things I can do, then I'll make myself visible to others. This first step in that trust is with you, Lois. Our conversations and the things I say and think. They are for you and you alone, not for publication. Can I trust you to keep these conversations strictly between us?"
"Yes. I'll keep the content private, but you can't ask me to keep the fact that we talk a secret. I have people I trust, Perry White and Maggie Sawyer. I tell them everything and I need to be able to talk to them too."
He was silent for a moment. "You can let the people you trust most know that we talk. But things we talk about and what I tell you is only for you, Lois. If it became common knowledge that we talk, you would be hounded by scores of people every day. These conversations are important for me, Lois, but if it becomes known by others beyond those you trust, then I won't be able to continue talking to you. Okay?"
"Yes! Yes, I understand. Please believe me, you can trust me," Lois said, almost pleading for him to believe her.
"Okay, I must be going now. I'll call you again. Good night, Lois." He disconnected the call.
Lois sat back in her chair, stunned by the things he said. "Good night," she uttered to a dead connection.
So, it's me he wants to talk to. It's not to get his story out.
"These conversations are important for me, Lois."
He just needs someone to talk to.
She glanced at the notes she scribbled while he talked. There were others who knew of his existence, but he wanted to talk to her. He had no family. He was not born on Earth. But one note was circled and underlined. 'The Blur'.
She wanted to call Clark and tell him, but she had to be careful. He warned her about letting people know of their conversations.
Could she trust Clark with this secret?
She was almost certain that she could. He had given her no reason not to trust him and the fact that he was the first person she wanted to tell said something in itself. She knew he was from a solid, values-based upbringing like she had been.
Lois decided she would wait to tell Clark before she spoke with Perry and Maggie. She would go home for the evening and could hardly believe how late it had gotten. Her excitement dulled her hunger, but she needed to think about it in the confines of her own home. She quickly grabbed her research off the printer, put it in her desk drawer, grabbed her coat and purse and headed for the exit.
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
"Good morning, Chief," Lois said, sticking her head around the door jamb and then coming fully into the doorway.
He looked up. "I know what I'm doing here. What are you doing here?" Perry asked.
"I'm here to work, Chief. I have to…"
"That's what I'm doing here," he interrupted. "It's 7:42 AM," he said, looking at the digital display on the opposite wall. "You couldn't sleep, could you?" he chided.
"Just trying to finish strong, Chief." She said nothing more and he stared at her. "Okay, you're right," she confessed. "I couldn't sleep but when you know why, you'll understand. May I?"
He made a face. "Do I have a choice?"
She grinned, scurried in, and sat in front of his desk. "I got a call here at work last night when I was pulling some background stuff on Dale Rennick. Guess who it was from?"
He frowned. "Lois! It's 7:43 AM. I'm not here to play game show contestant. Just tell me what you apparently have to tell me. I promise I will act as excited as you hoped I would."
"I talked to the Angel of Mercy last night." She said nothing else, and he stared at her until she provided more information. "He called me. Right here," she held up the screen that showed a call from 'Unknown'. "We talked for about twenty minutes, Perry. It was him. His voice was modulated but other than that, I know it was him because of things he told me that only he would know."
"Like what?" the old editor asked, leaning forward.
"He asked me not to discuss the contents of our conversations with anyone."
Perry sat back and looked skeptical.
"Okay, he told me about the times he saved me. No one knew about those things unless they were right there and no one knew about the most recent one, when the taxi slammed into that scaffolding." She paused and he seemed unconvinced. "Perry, it's him. I swear to God, it's him. And I'm changing his name officially to 'the Blur'. Because I want to put an article in the paper about Jimmy and I catching a glimpse of him at the WJOB station when he left an image on their control room window." She paused. "I have a picture of it." She pulled it up on her phone. "And here's the note he left on my back window when we were sitting there." She opened the note. "See the image at the bottom? That image meant nothing until he left it on the control room window at the station. And I know it's authentic because it was on this note before that image was ever published." She pulled out up his final text. "And see here, he said we would talk soon. That was the same night he saved me from getting buried and impaled by scaffolding."
"Okay, then. I believe you. And this is good stuff. But if you can't tell anyone what you talk about, how can it be news?"
"I'll find a way, Perry. Just give me permission to use the photo and the narrative from that night, knowing that I have proof of its authenticity."
He rubbed his chin. "Well, I'll have to see the write up, okay? Good job, Lois!"
"You got it, Chief." She stood up and started out of the room.
"Hey, hey, hey," he said, "next time you're in here before 8:28 in the morning, just tell me that you couldn't sleep, okay?" he smirked. "I know you're dedicated but that dedication doesn't usually kick in until about 9:30 AM. It'll just save us both time. Got it?"
She grinned sheepishly and nodded, "Yes, Chief," she said and then scurried out.
When she reached her desk, Clark had arrived and was awaiting his meeting with Perry. "Good morning, Lois," he said cheerfully. On her desk was a steaming cup of coffee and the usual two maple donuts in a white paper sack.
"Good morning, Mr. Kent," she said, smiling at him and picking up her coffee. "You know, you keep this up and I'll be inclined to tell Perry that you're worth keeping around and I want you as a partner so that we can continue to work together." She bit into a donut and her eyes rolled. She took a sip of coffee. "Life couldn't be any better than this," she mused.
"Well, you're in a better than average mood, Lois. And you're here early? Couldn't sleep?" Clark asked, smirking.
She shook her head with an incredulous look. "Why does everyone assume I'm not sleeping well when Perry told us to finish the year out strong and I'm in here trying to do that?"
He cocked his head and looked at her skeptically.
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, maybe this one time I couldn't sleep and came in early." She leaned forward and said softly, "I owe you that much for the donuts and coffee, Farmer John. But don't think that I'm going to start spilling all of my secrets just because of it." Then she paused. "Why are you back to door number two glasses?"
"What?"
"The TEDs. Why are you wearing them?"
"I just figured I'd be doing a lot of work behind the monitor today, that's all." He adjusted them. "Back to my question. So, you didn't get enough sleep, but your mood is better than average. What's up?" Clark asked.
She exhaled to demonstrate her exasperation. "Um, I spoke to Perry about the photo and about the note on the Jeep. I made him realize that it's not all a hoax because of the image imprinted into the bottom of the note before the image in the radio station was published. I told him the photo shows this guy and I've decided to re-name him since he said on the radio that he didn't like it." She paused for dramatic effect. "I'm calling him, 'the Blur'. What do you think?"
Clark pondered it for a moment. "Yeah, I think that's pretty good, Lois. It's much better than what people call him now. 'The Blur'. And the photo confirms it," he said nodding. "There's room for improvement but I think 'the Blur' works."
"I think that will be my strong end to the year that Perry is looking for."
"Yours or ours?"
"C'mon Smallville. You're not going to deny me naming rights, are you?" She looked at him. "I mean, if you insist, I'll share the byline but…"
He chuckled. "It's okay, Lois. You can keep the byline on the name. I'll wait for the face-to-face interview." He got up, got some coffee, and came back to grab a notebook. "I'm heading up to the meeting with Perry. I'll be back when it's over."
"Thanks for the warning," she ribbed and took another sip of her coffee.
While in the meeting, Clark's desk phone rang twice within three minutes. About five minutes after the last call, a runner came down from the second floor with a stickie note and stuck it on Clark's monitor. Lois nonchalantly stood, stretched, and headed for the ladies' room. She came back shortly thereafter and read the note. It read, Please call Lana ASAP. Urgent.
She sighed. "And the day was going so well," she quipped and returned to her desk. She took the last of her maple donuts from the sack, took a bite and savored it before washing it down with coffee. She opened up the story she was developing on Dale Rennick and began looking at the casinos Rennick visited and who owned them. Her research led to a man named Ari Grossman. She looked into him and found that he was a multimillionaire who owned several casinos in the Gotham area and was part owner of a professional hockey team in Ohio. Then she spotted something. Grossman was one of the members of the investment group behind the development of affordable high-rise apartments for seniors in Metropolis.
She decided to follow Rennick to see if she could catch the interaction between him and Grossman. According to his travel routines as captured by location apps in his cell phone, Rennick normally went to the casino on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Since Thursday was New Year's Eve, she thought it might be a good time to follow him.
Clark walked into the bullpen as she worked. Before he sat, he reached out and snapped off the stickie note left on his monitor. "Who put this on my monitor?" he asked Lois.
She acted indifferently to the note. "Oh, that happens on occasion when a reporter isn't in, and someone takes a message. I heard your phone ring a couple times over about five minutes, so I assume whoever was calling left you a message with the switchboard where tips come in." She continued typing nonsense on her computer. She looked up at him. "Is everything okay?"
"I believe so," he replied and pulled out his phone. There was a voicemail there and he listened to it. He took his coffee cup to the coffee pot and refilled it while he sent a text to Lana. Call me, it said.
He returned to his desk and began looking at the stories he was still working on when his cell phone rang. "Hello," he said, speaking as quietly as possible without seeming like he was trying to keep a secret. "Okay…that's fine," he said. "Sure, that's fine." He paused, listening, "Yes, I'll make the arrangements. Vincenti's, then. What's that? Okay, I'll see if it's available! I'll see you." He put down his cell phone and looked up the phone number for Vincenti's Ristorante.
He called the number and made a reservation for seven PM. "Is it possible to get a seat by the window? It's kind of a special occasion," he added. "Great! Thank you so much," he said. "I'll see you later."
Lois acted as though she was not paying attention but caught every detail of the conversation and knew that tonight was a special occasion for Lana and Clark, that they were meeting at 7 PM, at Vincenti's, and would be sitting at a window table.
Sitting there thinking about what she might do, she told Clark, "I'm thinking about following Dale Rennick to the casinos tonight. It might be fun. Do you want to go along?"
"Wow, that does sound interesting, and I wish I could, Lois, but I have some other plans tonight."
"Well, he usually leaves around 8 to 8:30 PM if you're free. Give me a call and we'll go together," she offered.
He nodded. "That sounds good. I'll do that if I get free by then."
"Would you like to grab some lunch?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, I have some errands to run today. I won't be able to go to lunch with you. Raincheck?" he asked.
"Okay," Lois said, getting more irritated by the minute. "But unlike Cat Grant, I have expiration dates on my rainchecks, capisci?"
Clark smiled. "Got it!" he said, snapping off his monitor and grabbing his coat.
"Where are you going? I thought you had a lot of work. You know, the TEDs?" she asked, circling both eyes with her index fingers.
"Yeah, well, I have things I need to get done today so I'll come back to those tomorrow," he said. "If I don't see you tonight, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Must be nice being freelance," she muttered as he left. As soon as she was certain that he was out of the building, she called for Jimmy.
"Yes, Miss Lane?"
"What do you guys have up in the photography section for surveillance work? Any video?"
Lois parked down two blocks down the street until she saw Clark's truck pass by. She waited for ten minutes and then found a spot across the street that provided her a perfect view of the restaurant.
Now, just get a seat at the window.
As if he had heard her, he sat at a window that gave her perfect view of him and Lana, who showed up four minutes later. She plugged the mini video camera and mini video screen into an adapter that powered both devices through the cigarette light port. She aimed the camera directly at the two of them and watched the miniature monitor that was in her lap during the entire meal.
The two chatted and smiled. Lana smiled more than Clark, but he laughed once. At the conclusion of their meal, about forty-five minutes later, Lana reached over and brought up a gift bag with a large gift in it. He reached in and pulled the large box out, removed the lid and pulled out a gray fedora with a charcoal band. He smiled. Lana said something to him, and he nodded, then put the hat on.
If it had not been a gift from Lana, she would have told him how much she liked seeing him in that hat.
He pulled a small, wrapped box from his overcoat pocket. Jewelry comes in those boxes, she thought. She unwrapped and opened it. She leaned over the table and hugged his neck. Whatever was in there stayed in there, but she was examining its contents while he spoke to her about whatever was in the box. Her stomach tightened when she nodded, smiling.
She felt relieved a bit later when Lana pulled the item out of the box and it appeared to be an earring. She held it to one of her ears, smiled and Clark nodded. She examined it again, put it back in the box and put the box in her purse. Clark talked and she nodded and then smiled.
It was 8:15 PM when they emerged from the restaurant and Lois ducked down below the dashboard level, watching the two on the grainy video taken in the low light. Lana hugged Clark, who was now wearing the fedora, and she raised up on her toes and pulled him into a passionate kiss. They held one another for a few seconds longer and then she let go of Clark and he stood at the entrance and watched as she walked off before he turned and walked to his truck, climbed in and drove off.
Lois was wounded and felt foolish for having believed Clark's assertion that relationship was over. It was clear that no matter how special the occasion was, that he was not over Lana. Not by a long shot, she judged. She wished she had someone to talk to and thought about calling Maggie but decided not to do that. Instead, she drove around Metropolis aimlessly.
When drove past LexCorp, she saw a security guard at a desk inside the doorway. Something came to her, and she parked, walked up to the door, and saw Barney, the security guard she had seen weeks before. She knocked on the door and waved slightly. He buzzed her in.
"Hello, Barney. Remember me?"
"Yes, Ma'am, I do. How are you, Miss Lane? Merry Christmas to you."
"Same to you, Barney. I hope you had a nice time with your loved ones."
"I did," he replied. "Are you here to see Mr. Luthor?"
She winced. "No, not tonight, Barney. Actually, I wanted to ask you something."
"Me? Sure," he said.
She smiled and then rummaged around in her purse and pulled her phone out. "Just a minute," she said. She typed something in, and an image appeared on her screen. She showed the image to Barney. "Do you recall if that is the woman that Mr. Luthor was with the night I came here, and you kept me from interrupting them?"
He looked at the image and then looked at Lois, then back at the image. "Miss Lane, I don't want to be the source of any trouble."
"Oh! Forget it, Barney. There's no trouble here. I think you misunderstood the situation with Mr. Luthor. If that's the woman, then he was answering questions from her; she's the District Attorney for Metropolis."
He nodded his head, relieved that she was not an escort. "That's her. I wouldn't forget her face. A very pretty woman but very business-like. Not as pretty or as nice as you, though Miss Lane."
Lois chuckled. "You've only seen me on my good days, Barney."
"I doubt that, Ma'am," he replied.
"Aw, thanks Barney. And see, you helped clear up a misunderstanding and I'm sure Mr. Luthor will be pleased because of it, although you won't get any credit for it." She shrugged. "It happens that way sometimes."
"You're welcome, Miss Lane. If the boss is happy, we're happy!" He watched her leave. "Have a happy New Year, Miss Lane."
"You too, Barney," she said and disappeared into the night.
Now she really felt conflicted. She did not feel the same way about Lex as she did about Clark. But Lex had not made her feel foolish for accepting his overtures. Notwithstanding that difference, Clark was clearly moving in her direction and although tonight, his liaison with Lana had left her angry and hurt, Maggie's words kept returning.
Keep him in your world, Lois.
Maggie was right, she would not shut him out. She needed to simply play it smart and not do something that seemed vindictive but instead, show that taking her attention for granted could be a mistake.
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
It was 9:45 AM and Perry had already concluded his meeting. She had moved back to her desk in the bullpen and was glad Clark had not yet arrived. She called Lex and discussed dinner at his home for New Year's Eve, followed by fireworks from the penthouse balcony.
By the time they had made plans, Clark still had not shown up and she was hoping he would be there to hear it.
She hung up and waited for him to arrive and decided to re-enact the call for his benefit once he did arrive. Lois buzzed the receptionist at the front desk. "Kiki," she began. "When you see Clark Kent come in, would you buzz me please?" The receptionist said that she would, Lois thanked her, and she hung up and waited for the notification.
At 10:11 AM, Lois's desk phone buzzed, and she picked it up. It was Kiki. "He just stepped into the elevator, Miss Lane."
"Thanks again, Kiki," Lois said and hung up. She listened for the elevator doors and when she heard them, she picked up her cell phone and as Clark rounded the partition, she said, "Tomorrow night? Well, I guess so. Why not?" Clark came into the bullpen. "It sounds really amazing." She paused and he sat a cup of coffee down on her desk and a white bag with donuts. "Nine o'clock is fine. Thank you, Lex. I'll see you then," she said, and acted like she disconnected from the call.
Lex. Clark was not happy to hear that and did not understand it either. Things were really going well with Lois. He did not understand why she was accepting Lex's invitations. He wanted her to go with him to watch the fireworks down by the riverfront, but he was too late now.
"So, did you just make plans for tomorrow night?"
"Uh-huh," she answered nonchalantly. "Why do you ask?"
"I had hoped you might want to come with me to the riverfront and watch the fireworks," Clark said.
"Really?" Lois said, feigning disappointment. "I would have loved to, Clark. We could have taken a basket with some goodies, maybe a bottle of champagne to toast the year, laid out a blanket and a couple more to huddle under to keep the chill away. I wish you would have asked me sooner, but Lex just invited me to watch the fireworks from his penthouse."
She immediately felt bad about the penthouse reference because it sounded like she was throwing Lex's wealth in his face. But Lois told herself that it was the bitter medicine he needed to realize that her attention should not be taken for granted.
"Thank you for these," she said, holding up the bag and coffee. "You're the best, Kent," she said and smiled.
Was that smile as insincere as it seemed? And Kent? She hasn't called me that in a while and she only does that when she's upset at me about something. He thought about it. Was it the dinner with Lana last night? That had to be it.
"I guess I'll plan a little better next time." He turned on his monitor and logged in. "Well, it sounds like you'll have a better view of the fireworks than you could get at the riverfront."
Lois turned back to her monitor and began to act like she was working, and Clark had unlocked the lock screen on his computer. She glanced his way and he appeared to be working, too. A half-hour passed before either spoke.
"About tomorrow night, don't you have something you can do or someone to do it with?" she asked.
"No." Clark decided that he would fly over Metropolis on New Year's Eve and help anyone who might need it since he had no one to share it with.
She was not expecting that reply. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't know if maybe they were having a New Year's Eve party in your apartments or not." He said nothing. "I guess not," she added and went back to typing.
"Hey," Lois began again, "why don't you ask your friend Lana to go to the riverfront?" She tried to keep any inflection in her voice from revealing her contempt for Lana.
He stopped typing and looked at his watch. "That would probably not have been a good idea given the status of our relationship. But it doesn't matter because Lana just left the Metropolis airport about twenty minutes ago. She's gone and unless she's here on assignment, she won't be coming back."
"What?" Lois's cheeks burned.
"She's gone off the Washington. You knew she was leaving. You told me mom had told you. Remember?"
She frowned. "You said she had accepted a job and your mom said it would be after the new year. I just assumed it would be sometime in January. In my mind, I thought maybe she'd begin moving around the middle of January!"
Lois was starting to connect some dots about the night before and wondered if she had overreacted. Then she started wondering if the kiss she saw was as passionate as she first believed it was. Damnit! That was a goodbye kiss and Lana initiated it, not Clark. God, Lane! They had a long history together and they parted as friends. If the roles were reversed, you…
"Lois?" a voice called, and she looked up to see Mayson Drake at the partition with a manila envelope in her hand. "Good morning. I have your deposition here for you to sign. Do you have time right now, so you don't have to come to my office."
She came over to Lois's desk and handed her the transcribed interview. "Please look over it and make sure it's correct," Mayson instructed. She looked up. "Hi Clark," she said.
"Hello Mayson," Clark replied, looking up from his work. "Did you have a nice Christmas?"
"I had a quiet one," she said. "And in my job, anything quiet is good." She smiled.
"I imagine that's right," he said.
Lois was picking up on the exchange and needed to interrupt. "Everything looks good, Mayson. I'm ready to sign."
Mayson instructed her to raise her hand and swear to the accuracy of the contents of the document. She then signed it.
"Thanks, Lois," Mayson said. She collected the documents and Clark looked in her direction.
"Mayson," he said, "I know it's only a little after 11 but if you want to catch an early lunch, would you like to go now?"
She brightened up. "Sure, I can eat." She looked at Lois and then back at Clark. "As long as you didn't have plans already. I don't want to disrupt anything."
"Um…" Lois was about to say that she had asked him the day before and he deferred but she did not want to sound like she was bidding for his attention. "No," she replied.
"You're not disrupting anything, Mayson. I'm not getting anything done here anyway," he said. "C'mon. There's a nice deli nearby that I go to a lot that has great sandwiches and soups." He stood, locked his screen, and glanced at Lois without Mayson seeing him do it. Lois was watching him and glanced away. He grabbed his coat and his fedora from the coat rack.
"That's a nice hat," Mayson said as they were leaving. "It looks great on you, Clark. I like the way you look in it," she said as they got into the elevator.
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Clark was typing away as Lois rose from her desk. It had been a very quiet in the bullpen from the time Clark returned from lunch the day before until now. The silence was a small change. The larger, more symbolic change was the absence of a cup of coffee and white sack with two maple donuts waiting on Lois's desk for her arrival.
Clark had thought back to what his dad had told him. Do the things you know that matter to her. It's the small everyday things that people do for those they love that endear one person to another. He had done that. He brought her coffee and donuts almost every day. He always brought them before the weekend and this time, he did not.
Lois noticed it immediately and began to question her strategy. She discussed it with Maggie at lunch. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong," she said. "I try to keep him in my world, but he keeps meeting up with Lana Lang."
"Does he?" she asked.
"Well, okay. Maybe I overreacted to something this week, but I didn't know the whole story," she admitted.
"Spill it," Maggie said.
Lois explained her watching them at dinner on Tuesday and they exchanged gifts and then kissed as she left. "It was a pretty passionate kiss, if you ask me." She went on to explain that Lana had left for good the next day and when she learned that she felt bad about maybe misjudging him.
"That's it? That caused a freeze in your relationship? That doesn't seem to be very much."
"That and I made sure that he heard me accepting an invitation from Lex to his place to have dinner and watch the fireworks tonight from his penthouse balcony." She winced as she said it.
"Oh no! You didn't?" Maggie exclaimed.
"Yeah, I sort of did. And then Clark told me that he was going to ask me to join him at the riverfront to watch the fireworks."
"That's where Bev and I are going," Maggie added. "Lois, how does that keep him in your world when you're flaunting a relationship with Lex Luthor? Don't you think he's already challenged thinking that his competition is the third richest man in the world?" She shook her head. "How do you write such disciplined articles but have such poor control in your personal life? I'll never understand it," Maggie added.
"So, what is your suggestion? I know I stepped in it this time. What should I do, Maggie?"
"See it through and downplay it. With Luthor, that shouldn't be hard. Let him know how poorly the evening went."
"I did tell him that Lex and my relationship is purely platonic."
"And he believed that?"
"Not at first. He said he thought we were boyfriend and girlfriend. His demeanor changed when I told him that," Lois said. "It was really a very personal time we had at his parents' farm last weekend. He opened up a bit to me as well, telling me that he had ended the relationship with Lana Lang months ago and his mom told me that he has issues trusting people, I think Lana Lang was the reason."
"It sounds like you had a nice time."
"It was the best Christmas I've had since my mom died, Maggie. His family is so damn nice and easy to get along with. They're just the best and if I could have what they have, I'd die happy!"
"God, Lois. You can have that. It's sitting right in front of you and all you do is watch for signs that he's interested in someone else. That's crazy! Were there any other girls there at his family's farm last weekend?" She shook her head. "So, when did all this exchange of personal information happen?"
She made a face. "He has a loft in his family's barn that was converted into a retreat of sorts that he stayed in when he was a teenager. It's really pretty neat. He has a loveseat and Edison lights strung up there. But we talked up there and it was so nice, Maggie. It was romantic, actually. We were on a loveseat, we talked about things we never talked about before, and shared a blanket, he had his arm me and I had my head on his shoulder. It was perfect. Then, on Tuesday, he's making out in front of a restaurant with Lana."
"But you said she was leaving."
"I didn't know that at the time."
"So, you just assumed he was lying to you over Christmas, and he's still involved with this other girl, right?" She nodded. "Sounds like he's not the only one with trust issues."
"Okay, that was fair," Lois replied and nodded.
At 1:30 PM, Clark pulled up in front of Jenny Jurwich's apartment. She had very little in the way of possessions and she really didn't need a truck. Lois's Jeep Grand Cherokee would have sufficed.
Lois introduced Jenny and Clark seemed distant the entire time. He said very little to Lois and was coolly polite to Jenny. At this rate, she thought, Jenny will be gone before she could help lure Clark into Lois's world.
She knew the reason for the silence and barely a glance her way. But she had to go through with what she said planned rather than bailing on Lex. She owed Lex that much.
Moving Jenny into Lois's apartment took less than an hour from door-to-door. She did not have much, other than books. She seemed to have a lot of anthropology books and bathroom stuff. Clothes and other stuff were minimal, but Clark reasoned that she had moved there to finish a final year and she took little of her personal things from home.
Jenny thanked Clark and he smiled and said it was nothing. Lois said thank you as well and Clark nodded and left.
"Is he always that quiet?" Jenny asked her new roommate.
"We are in a weird place," Lois started and then put the brakes on sharing. "Clark is a quiet guy to begin with and he's just kind of lost now that his old childhood sweetheart has left Metropolis."
"That's too bad. He seems like such a nice man," she said. "And he's pretty good looking too."
"He was a big deal in college. He was the quarterback for Met U in fact."
"He doesn't strike me as the jock type, you know?"
Lois sighed. "I'll tell you about it someday but essentially, he went from hero to zero overnight." She paused considering that she had done enough sharing for the first day. "Are you going to be all right here by yourself tonight?"
"Of course. You saw where I was living. This place is like ten steps up from where I was. I feel safe here and I'll be fine, Lois."
Later that night, Lex had Chef Charles fix an exquisite New Year's Eve dinner. "It's been too long, Lois," he said. "I guess my trip left a lot of loose ends back here that I've been consumed with them. I apologize," he said.
Their evening went about the way that Lois had anticipated. They had a lovely meal and Lex talked at length about his Asian trip and all the challenges his businesses were facing from his competitors in Asia. He talked about industrial espionage schemes that they had uncovered and then he talked about currency manipulation and other schemes that made less rich men more rich.
Clark was flying over the city and had already intervened twice in incidents involving a fire that was started by a privately-owned firework. One incident occurred when a projectile landed in a nearby tree and the other incident one embedded itself into a crevice that formed in the shingles of older homes. He soared through the night sky, high above the rooftops, invisible to those below. For all the festivities, it was a peaceful crowd.
Lois and Lex had finished dinner and had retreated to Lex's den from which the city could be viewed through his huge panoramic windows. "We'll wait until the fireworks begin to go out on the balcony. It's a little cold out there."
Lois agreed and they sat, making small talk until the countdown began. With thirty seconds left, they moved to the balcony where Chef Charles had set a bucket and champagne with two glasses. Lex popped the cork and poured the sparkling wine into the champagne flute, and they toasted the impending new year.
Clark had just reached the LexCorp tower and saw movement on the balcony at the top floor of the building. He stopped, suspended and watched Lois and Lex toast and drink what he knew to be champagne.
Lex pulled Lois in close to him as the countdown dropped to single digits and when the fireworks shot off and the new year arrived, he pulled Lois into a deep, passionate kiss on the balcony.
Lois did not resist the kiss but did not share the intensity of it or assign any feelings to it. She was simply allowing it.
The sight caused Clark to feel betrayed. Lois had told him less than a week ago that she and Lex had a purely platonic relationship and that it was not a romantic one. Yet, here she was locked in a deep embrace and kiss with the man she disavowed as a paramour. He drifted silently and was bathed in the colored lights of exploding fireworks. The explosions drew his attention away from the intimate embrace and he turned, devastated by the sight, and flew off into the night sky far away from Metropolis.
Lois gradually pushed Lex back and he pulled her back, dropping his left hand to the small of her back while holding her against him with his right hand. His left hand moved down, lightly caressing and then cupping the right side of her bottom, his fingers inching closer to the warmth he felt radiating from between her legs as he pulled her hips against his. She struggled and as he pressed against her harder, she felt him becoming aroused. Lois tried to separate herself, but his embrace was remarkably strong. When she finally created enough space, she stomped her heel onto the bridge of his foot and forcefully pushed him off her. "Get your hands off me, Lex!" she shouted, and Lex released her and took a painful step back, the bridge of his foot perhaps broken by her fury.
"Lois, I'm sorry," he tried to say but she was already exiting the balcony and back into his den. "Please forgive me. It's been so long, and I am overcome by your beauty. I got carried away," he pleaded.
She demanded to be taken home. "Where's Ronald? I want to leave right now!"
"He's here," Lex reassured her. "Let me summon him. Please, Lois, just stay there and I'll get him."
She had no choice but to wait in his den. As he limped out of the room, she looked at her surroundings and suddenly realized what a mistake it had been to even enter this room. What she once thought was captivating and magnificent took on a whole new characteristic. His den was a cleverly designed trap built with tiny spotlights stabbing down through the darkness to provide just enough light to navigate the room, overstuffed leather chairs on Persian rugs, a heavy onyx bar boasting rare brandies and bottles of 121-year-old Scotch, and an entire wall dedicated to literature, bathed in a dim amber glow. Interspersed with the books were exquisite pieces of ancient primitive pottery and sculptures in small partitions secured behind glass under soft light blue lighting. In the other corner, a massive humidor with boxes of cigars from across the globe, also lit under soft white light. It all existed to overwhelm the senses and seduce its occupants with suffocating power and unimaginable wealth. What Lois once believed to be his inner sanctum to reflect on his thoughts revealed its true purpose, to rob its guests of their will to resist, and to convey the futility of resisting its master's entreaties.
In the past, she had been overwhelmed by Lex and the intense power the room radiated and had succumbed to its intoxicating allure, sharing her passion with him because of it. She had considered giving herself to him at one point and nearly did. And now, realizing why, she vowed it would never happen again. She recognized her surroundings for what they were and by extension, what Lex was.
He reappeared and informed Lois that Ronald was at the front door. He gingerly escorted her to the door and tried to apologize once again as Lois left.
Saturday, January 2, 2021
"Good evening, Miss Lane," the Blur's voice poured through Lois's cell phone. "Happy New Year," he said.
"Happy New Year to you, too," she replied. "Have you noticed that now all the media sources are calling you're the Blur?"
"Yes, I noticed that and thank you, Miss Lane. That's so much better than that other name."
"I hope you had a nice New Year's Eve," she said. "The fireworks were exceptional, don't you think?"
"They were until I saw something that made me feel it was time to leave. That was the exceptional fireworks on a balcony at LexCorp," he told her.
Lois's heart sunk. "I hate that you saw that. It was a mistake for me to be there."
"It is none of my business, Lois. I'm not here to judge. But from my vantage point, it didn't seem to be a mistake that either of you were struggling with."
"Not at first, but later on…"
"Miss Lane," the Blur interrupted. "I'm just glad that you had a nice evening. I simply wanted to wish you a happy new year."
"But wait," she said, "I…
"Goodbye, Miss Lane," he said, and the connection went dead.
There was a certain finality to the way he said it that made Lois believe that it might be the last time he spoke to her. She was distraught at the thought that he saw Lex kissing her and her not resisting.
"It was just a kiss!" she muttered. "Oh, God!" She flopped backward onto her bed. You really screwed the pooch this time, Lane, she thought. First Clark, now the Blur. And you probably broke Lex's foot. You're on a roll, girl. And then the hypocrisy of her situation dawned on her. She had witnessed Lana kissing Clark and never gave him the benefit of the doubt.
She had to fix this, and she would, starting Monday morning by apologizing to Clark. Apologizing? Well, she thought, I'll think of something.
Monday, January 4, 2021
Clark sat in Perry's morning meeting, his first meeting with the other staff reporters and editors. It was exciting for him, and he took it all in. He avoided eye contact with Lois to the extent possible without it looking obvious. She looked exceptionally nice that morning and it was difficult to not look, but the vision of her in Lex Luthor's arms in a deep embrace made it simpler to resist.
When the meeting concluded, Clark rode down the elevator with Lois and others. As others exited the elevators at different floors, eventually only five reporters including Clark and Lois were left on the elevator. She attempted to engage him, asking if he saw any of the college games over the weekend. He replied, "No," and said nothing more.
When they exited the elevator, they rounded the frosted glass partition into the bullpen and were greeted by a huge bouquet of over two dozen red roses in a Waterford crystal vase sitting on Lois's desk, presumably from Lex Luthor. The sheer size of the bouquet stopped Clark in his tracks and Lois bumped into him, pushing by. "Clark!" she complained until she passed him and saw what he was looking at.
He moved to his desk without a word and sat down. He snapped on his monitor and looked at the assignments Perry had just given him.
"Oh my God!" a husky, female voice from behind him said. She came up from behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Are those from you, big guy? They're beautiful," Cat Grant asked,
He took a deep breath and let it out. "No, Cat. They're not from me," he said and glared at Lois for a moment.
Cat grinned and Lois looked up from the giant bouquet. "My God, Lois. You must have made someone's new year extremely happy! There's hope for you, yet! I can only imagine how you earned those!" She snickered and walked away, leaving Lois embarrassed and speechless.
"My thoughts exactly," he muttered, got up and started to leave the bullpen, grabbing his coat and hat as he did. Lois looked at Clark who still avoided making eye contact with her.
"What did you say?" she asked, but he ignored her. She jumped up from her desk and caught him before he got to the elevators. "Let's go!" she said, grabbing him by the arm.
"Where are we going?"
"The supply room!" She pulled him to the room, opened the door and pulled him in, locking it behind her. She spun around. "Look! Clark, I may have jumped to some conclusions that were a little off base but not talking to me won't make working together any easier. I will confess that I saw you and Lana at the restaurant on Tuesday and I saw you give her jewelry. And then I saw her kiss you."
"So, you spied on me? Why, Lois?"
"Because you told me it was over between you two. And I was a little hurt that you stood me up to go with her after you told me it was over between you two. That's why I acted the way I did on Wednesday. Because I felt hurt and deceived."
"What you saw was me giving Lana a pair of earrings for Christmas that I had bought her as a high school graduation gift but ended up never giving to her until last week."
"Yeah, she told me all about it and I'm sorry she cheated on you, Clark. Your mom said that's why you have issues trusting people, and I get it. I obviously didn't know that at the time nor that it was her last night in Metropolis."
"But you just assumed that I was lying to you when we were in Smallville up in the loft, right?"
She shrugged slightly. "Maybe, but then, what about Mayson Drake. You purposely invited her to lunch when we had talked about it the day before because you knew it would irritate me."
"I didn't do it to irritate you, Lois. I did it because you made plans with Lex, your platonic friend. I don't have anything to impress anyone with, but Mayson seemed eager just to spend time with me. Lana's gone, Lois. And as you pointed out to my parents, I don't have any friends here. So, I thought why not Mayson? She seems nice and she's interested in getting to know me even though I don't own a penthouse."
"Well, that's not fair at all," Lois protested.
"Isn't it?" Clark asked. He stepped around Lois and unlocked the door.
"Stop," she said. "Clark, can't we just put this behind us, just chalk it all up to crossed wires? You're just making wild assumptions that something happened between Lex and me that just isn't true. Let's just go to lunch today, we can sort this out and we can both start our new year off right."
Clark opened the door, turned around and looked at Lois. "From the looks of your desk, Lois, you've already started your new year off right. What can I add to that?" He walked out and bypassed the elevator and instead, walked up the stairs to the lobby and out of the building.
Lois stood in the supply room watching him take the stairs two steps at a time and felt sick to her stomach. The scent of roses had permeated the air in the bullpen. Whether it was the overpowering scent of roses, the misconceptions Lex had created by giving her such a huge bouquet, or concern that she had extinguished the spark with Clark because he believed she slept with Lex on New Year's Day, her stomach turned.