Chapter 12

Richard White arrived at the Daily Planet by one o'clock, just in time to see the triumphant return of Jimmy Olsen and Ben Turner. The two men grinned from ear to ear as they entered the newsroom. Not only had they gotten the story about the dock fire, but they were a significant part of the story.

Thanks to Jimmy's insistence on not leaving until he had the perfect picture, the two men had actually stopped the arsonist from fleeing the scene. Jimmy had wandered all around the docks looking for the perfect angle to take pictures while Ben tried to find witnesses to interview.

During his search, Ben had spotted a scruffy-looking guy, clad in worn clothes, coming from behind a building. He noticed the guy kept glancing over his shoulder as if suspecting someone might be following him. Thinking the guy looked pretty jumpy and might have witnessed the arsonist set the fire, Ben decided to try and get an interview. He'd ran toward the scruffy guy. However, the man became frightened and took off, his long dirty hair flying behind him.

"Hey, wait I just want to interview you," Ben had yelled chasing after the man. It had suddenly occurred to Ben this might actually be the arsonist.

Jimmy, still adjusting his camera lens, looked up when Ben yelled and saw Ben running after a man. Jimmy joined the chase, too.

Now, the scruffy man was really worried, with two guys chasing him, and the possibility they might be cops. He ran faster. His mistake had been to turn and check on Ben and Jimmy. That's when the guy had tripped over a chain. He'd tried to regain his balance, but Ben tackled him to the ground before he could.

All those years on the Met U football team had finally paid off for Ben and he was quite proud of himself.

Two nearby police officers, who'd heard Ben yell and had seen the chase, arrived on the scene and took over.

The poor man figured he was done for and completely gave up. He threw his hands in the air and yelled, "I did it, I did it. Just don't shoot me."

Jimmy snapped the perfect picture while Ben got the arsonist's full, sad story of how his girlfriend had recently left him. Since he was burning mad, he'd decided to set the town on fire, starting with the docks and working his way to the warehouses at night.

Ben and Jimmy returned to the Daily Planet as heroes and Perry couldn't have been happier. He hadn't expected much when he sent the two men off that morning, but now he was smiling.

After much good-hearted office joking and a round of applause, things settled down and the Daily Planet returned to business as usual. Ben headed to his desk to write up his first big story and Jimmy left to develop his photos.

At last, Lois and Richard had a chance to catch up with each other. Standing at Lois' desk, Richard said, "Wow, that's pretty amazing," referring to Ben and Jimmy. "Why did Uncle Perry send Ben and not Clark?"

"Oh, that's right, you don't know," Lois replied. "Clark is on a leave of absence. He left yesterday and no one is sure when he'll be back. It's kind of strange if you ask me – to just leave without telling anyone why."

"Remind you of anyone?" Richard asked raising an eyebrow, referring to Superman's previous five year absence.

"If you're referring to Superman, I honestly hadn't thought of that," Lois said and it was true, she hadn't. "But now that we've mentioned Superman," Lois looked around the newsroom, lowered her voice, leaned closer to Richard, and said, "He did tell me he would be gone for a while. Something about being in space and he isn't sure how long he'll be away."

"You haven't told anyone have you?" Richard asked in hushed tones.

"Of course not." Lois wore an expression of don't be ridiculous. She added, "I really don't think Superman wants anyone to know he's not on Earth at the moment. And it's probably not a good idea to announce to the criminal element that Superman's away."

"Agreed," said Richard. "And speaking of criminals, I did find out who owns a very expensive penthouse atop the new Lexicon building here in Metropolis."

Wide-eyed, Lois stared at Richard. "Don't tell me. Lex Luthor."

"Right," Richard said quietly.

"How did you find out? Are you sure?" A worried frown creased Lois' brow.

"It's a matter of public record when you buy a house, or in this case, a penthouse." Richard smiled, very pleased with himself for uncovering the penthouse's owner. "I searched the city's records and found that the penthouse was bought by the late Gertrude Vanderworth's estate. You know who Gertrude's widower is?"

"Lex Luthor." Lois did not enjoy that realization at all. This meant Lex was right here, living in Metropolis, and Jason could be in real danger. What if Lex did something while Superman was away? Don't worry, she told herself, Lex doesn't know Superman's away. Lois sank into her chair contemplating the full implication of this information.

Richard sat on the corner of Lois's desk. As if reading her mind, he quietly said, "Lois, I know I'm not Superman, but I have been there for you and Jason . . . and I'll always there for both of you. You know, I'd do whatever it takes to keep Luthor away from you and Jason. I'd never let anything happen to either of you, if I can help it."

"I know . . . I know," Lois said still pondering the information, but grateful to have Richard's support. It wasn't in Lois' nature to depend on others and now she knew she would have to be stronger than ever, for the sake of her son.

She placed a hand on Richard's and said, "I once told Superman, 'the world doesn't need a savior and neither do I.' I think it's time I start living up to those words. Also, Superman reminded me that Jason does have some of his abilities, he's not completely defenseless."

"That's true. It wouldn't be easy to get at Jason. Both mother and son are pretty strong if you ask me." Richard smiled at Lois and added, "I'm glad to see the fearless Lois Lane hasn't lost any of her spunkiness."

Lois returned Richard's smile. "Is spunkiness even a word?" With her spirits lifted, she said, "Richard, let's celebrate your discovery by going to dinner tonight. We could go to the Italian restaurant around the corner. You know Jason loves the spaghetti there."

"I'd love to." Richard was happy for the opportunity to spend time with Jason. He'd been Jason's father for five years and it hadn't been easy stepping back. He respected and admired Superman and certainly didn't begrudge the big guy a chance to be a father to his son, but Richard did miss the daily interaction with Jason and was thankful Superman had no intentions of severing their bond.

Lois was saying, "I'll pick Jason up from school at four and we can meet you at the restaurant by six."

"Sounds great."

Lois turned her chair and got back to work.

Richard rose and walked toward his office. Passing Clark's empty desk, he couldn't help but wonder why Clark had left so unexpectedly. Rubbing his chin, he muttered, "Clark's gone again and so is Superman."