A/N: I know. It's been forever, and I left you on a cliffhanger. I'm getting more comfortable using dictation to write, as my wrists have been giving me problems, and I'm adding in one long-term project at a time. Hoping to get back into regular updates on this story; I do have some plans for the coming chapters!

Chapter 71 - Anger

Ryan didn't have many friends or family members, so his funeral was pretty small. Pamela was the one who put it together. Clark's parents came to support him, and Ryan's aunt came out, but Lex wasn't there. Pamela said he had been called away on unexpected business, but it didn't take a mind reader to know that that was only the official story. Clark knew that the employees at the plant had already declared a mutiny, and the town was growing increasingly hostile. He just would've thought that if Lex cared about Ryan at all, he would show up to the funeral.

His absence cinched it in Clark's mind. The coward didn't even have the guts to face what he had done.

Being angry was the only thing that kept him from crying during the funeral. Everyone else was, with the exception of Clark's dad, who looked like he was close. But Clark himself didn't let sadness or grief touch him. He convinced himself that what he wanted was justice for Ryan.

It was hard to get himself to believe that when he had already turned down his opportunity. He could have tried to expose Lex, he could have gone to the police, he could have taken it out on Lex himself—he certainly had the power. Clark had learned over the course of the last couple of years that he was one of Lex's only friends; simply removing himself condemned Lex to quite a bit of loneliness. He deserved worse. In the moments when Clark's anger peaked, he told himself he would enact justice or revenge, but in the end, he was tired. He was sad, and hurt, and he missed his younger friend.

Clark was quiet on the way back home from the funeral. He didn't want to admit that they had been right all along; he had fought so hard against them, gone behind their back, eventually convinced them to see his side. It was hard to confess the whole truth.

As soon as they reached the house, Clark headed toward the barn to cool off in the loft.

"Sweetheart, where are you going?" his mom called after him.

"Just need some time to think."

He didn't wait for a reply. He just went into the barn. All he wanted was to be alone.

It didn't happen. Chloe was waiting for him.

Clark grimaced. "I'm sorry, Chloe, I don't wanna be rude, but I'm really not in the mood for company right now."

"I just came to check on you. I heard about Ryan."

That surprised him. He hadn't talked a lot about Ryan at school. "How do you know about him?"

"His story was fascinating." She shrugged. "And I could tell you really cared about him, by the way you talked about him. I'm really sorry."

Anger took over again, and Clark stormed past her. "So you're here for a story."

"No! Well… I can't say I'm not curious. I thought he was getting better."

"You thought wrong."

"Look, I understand if you don't wanna talk about it, I was just—"

"Lex did it."

She was silent. He turned back to look at her, and her jaw had dropped.

"You gonna print that in your paper?"

"I… I'm having a hard time believing it."

"Yeah, well, believe it."

"What happened?"

Clark couldn't tell her the whole truth, as much as she would love to hear about their experiments on meteor mutations, but maybe he could give her a little. "He injected him with an untested drug, and it killed him."

"That doesn't sound like him."

"And you would know?"

"I mean, you get enough experience, you learn to read through the headlines. At best, Lex is a little eccentric, but he's trying to do the best he can. At worst, he's dangerous and reckless. But… it takes a special kind of person to inject an 11-year-old with some thing that will probably kill them."

"And you don't think he's capable of it?"

"I think the Luthers have a history of pushing dangerous boundaries. But… Lex isn't quite his father. And he is your friend, isn't he?"

"Was." Clark felt a flicker of pain at that, although he tried to mask it with anger.

"How do you know he did it?"

"Ryan told me Lex was acting suspicious. And then I found the syringe in his room."

"Well, that's sloppy."

Clark frowned. "What does that mean?"

"I mean, if you were going to do something shady like that, wouldn't you hide the evidence?"

Clark didn't technically have to protect Ryan's secret anymore, but he couldn't quite bring himself to tell her, either. "It's… It wasn't as easy to hide things from Ryan as you might think."

"Yeah, but leaving the syringe in the room?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying… Did you do any investigating beyond just what was on the surface?"

Clark liked Chloe, most of the time, but her investigative journalism was really getting on his nerves. "I think it's time for you to go."

"I'm just saying, he was your friend. I think you owe it to him. Not for the story, just…" Her voice caught. "Don't you wanna know the truth?"

He took a step closer to her. "The truth is, my best friend betrayed me, and a kid I used to think of as a brother is dead."

He left the barn and headed into the house, ignoring his parents calling after him as he started up the stairs to his room and closed the door behind himself.

There, he sat back on his bed, and tried to convince himself there was nothing to what she was saying. Ryan had sounded so scared. He had also been acting like Clark wasn't understanding what he was saying. There was something suspicious to that. And Lex himself had taught Clark how to cover something up if he didn't want to expose himself. It was hard to believe he had made such an obvious mistake.

No. Unlikely or not, it was what had happened. He had to accept that, so he could move on.

Clark groaned and buried his head in his arms.

Lex had never had to budget before, not for his personal spending. He brought enough cash that it wasn't going to be a concern, but a lot of things had been a lot easier when he didn't even have to think twice about bribing someone—or helping them, for that matter.

Sooner or later, he would have to make his way back home. He had put the few employees who still trusted him in charge of the plant, and he hoped that as things cooled down, and as the managers who still trusted him took leadership, the rest of the employees would eventually settle on his side. It might've been too much to hope for, but hope was all he had at the moment.

He tried to keep himself busy, to stay on top of what his father was doing, but he found himself jumping at shadows, worrying he had been discovered. Part of him knew he was taking a risk staying in Metropolis when his dad worked out here, but he had to be close to the action. But he knew if his activities were discovered, that would put the people he cared about at risk. Fear kept him from contacting Clark, or even Pamela. And one of her doctors had permission to contact him in the case of an emergency, so he knew she was alive for now.

Lex hadn't realized how much he had come to rely on the people in his life for company. There had been a time in his life when he was used to the depression. He had never had the chance to mourn Julian's death, or his mother's, really. Now, the fact that he couldn't properly mourn Ryan was getting to him.

He numbed it by drinking too much. Like he always had.

A couple of weeks after he had settled into his apartment, he was starting to feel stir crazy. He called a driver to take him to a bar; it wasn't as if he would run into his father there.

He was glad he came. Sitting alone at the counter was one of the most gorgeous women he'd ever seen.

He slid into the seat next to her, ordered a drink for himself and told the bartender to bring her another of whatever she was drinking, then he looked at her to gauge her reaction.

She raised her eyebrows. "Not interested."

"I can order you something else."

She rolled her eyes and looked away. "I guess this usually works for you."

"You can let me know in the morning."

"Money. Admittedly good looks."

"Look who's talking."

"A lifetime of practice saying the right thing to get what you want."

"I take it you know who I am."

"Everyone knows who you are, Mr. Luthor."

"Please. Call me Lex."

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

He smirked. "What's your name?"

She sighed heavily. "Helen Bryce."

He grinned. "I bet you say that to all the guys."

"Point taken. Now will you leave me to drink in peace?"

"Peace. Is that really why you came to the bar?"

Her eyes sparkled, teasing.

Lex couldn't get it out of his head what Clark would do in this kind of situation. What Jonathan Kent would tell him he should do. But he had more experience. He knew what a woman looked like when she really wasn't interested, and he knew the game of hard to get. He wouldn't lay a finger on her until and unless the game ended with her enthusiastic assent, but he also wouldn't stop talking unless it ended with her telling him in no uncertain terms to get lost.

There was something different about the look in her eyes, though. She was definitely hiding something. Maybe she knew something about him; maybe they had met before, and he didn't remember; maybe it was something stupid, like his shirt having a stain or his tie coming loose. He was sure it wasn't that, though.

Maybe it was his paranoid mind, but part of him wondered if it was possible she knew his dad. Maybe they had talked; she could be spying on him. It would explain that look on her face. He could be alerting his dad to his location right now.

That part wasn't a danger. As long as he didn't tell her anything about himself that was true, she couldn't pass on any information that his father could use.

The bartender brought over their drinks, and Lex angled himself toward her. "So, Helen Bryce," he said, "what does bring you out here this evening?"