Chapter 40
Lex Luthor grinned ever so slightly as he adjusted his silk tie. His cold gray eyes stared back from the sleek office mirror. Finally, he thought with immense satisfaction. Finally, his plan was coming together—and quite nicely if he did say so himself. The boy would draw Superman to the docks and Brainiac would finish off the Man of Steel once and for all. Then, with the help of robotics expert Dr. Emmett Vale and his nano-probes, Lex planned to finish off Brainiac and harvest his technology.
If all went according to plan, Lex, and not Superman, would have the distinction of saving the Earth from an alien attack.
"That's right. NOT Superman!" Lex snarled and shook his fist at the mirror. "This time, I will be Earth's savior." With a twisted grin, and a crazed gleam in his eye, Lex added, "With the vast alien technology I will reap from Brainiac's ship, the possibilities, the power I will have . . . I'll be unstoppable."
Turning to the window and surveying the sunny afternoon sky, Lex went over the plan in his mind again. Once Superman was out of the way, Brainiac would return for the Kryptonian technology, and that's when Lex would strike. He would use Dr. Vale's nano-probes. All Lex had to do was lead Brainiac to the special room and release the probes at just the right moment. Not too soon and not too late. The words reminded him of some inane fairy tale. Oh yes, some nosy little blonde girl and three bears. If he remembered correctly, things didn't work out so well for the girl. The buzz of the office intercom brought Lex out of his reverie.
The receptionist's voice said, "Dr. Vale is here to see you, Mr. Luthor."
"Send him in."
"Yes, sir."
The balding Dr. Vale entered the office clutching a small metal case to his chest. He placed the case carefully on Lex's desk, beamed at Lex, and pushed up his circular eyeglasses. He pulled a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his expensive pin-striped suit and patted his brow. He replaced the handkerchief and smoothed down his suit jacket then cautiously cracked the lid of the case.
"Is this much caution really necessary?" Lex asked clearly annoyed by the fastidious doctor.
"Well… uh. Perhaps not. Actually, no," Dr. Vale admitted and appeared deflated.
"Good. Then let's get on with it. I want to see the nanoprobes."
Dr. Vale opened the case. "Here they are." He beamed like a proud father introducing an accomplished son.
Lex looked from the open case to the doctor. Dr. Vale reminded Lex of the Cheshire cat. The Cheshire cat with a big toothy smile and a ridiculous bow-tie.
"Well done, doctor." Lex eyed the shiny pieces of metal affixed to the cushioned lining of the case. Tilting his head and meeting the doctor eyes, Lex asked, "Is the room ready?"
"Yes. Yes it is." The Cheshire cat smile never left the doctor's face.
Lex asked the most important question, "How are the probes deployed?"
"That is one of the quite brilliant aspects of the probes, if I do say so myself." Dr. Vale puffed himself up like a peacock and gave another toothy smile. "I have programmed them to seek out alien, or um, foreign technology. The nano-probes are fully capable of flight and maneuvering to acquire their designated target."
The doctor bent over the case and picked up a cylindrical object resembling a small flashlight. "When you are ready, simply press this plate." The doctor placed an index finger lightly on a small square plate on the side of the device. "With one touch, the probes will be launched."
"Excellent." Lex stood, took the device, and slipped it into his pocket. "I will have another project for you very soon, doctor." Lex closed the metal case. "It will involve some very unusual DNA."
Dr. Vale arched his eyebrows and pushed up his owlish glasses. "Sounds most intriguing. I look forward to the project."
# # # # # #
Word of Jason's abduction in board daylight, in the Metropolis City Park, spread quickly through the Daily Planet. Perry White gave strict instructions that this story did not leave the room. The safety of Jason, and probably his nephew, depended on keeping information about their disappearances quiet until the police were consulted.
Concerned coworkers exchanged worried glances and whispered prays. Many were quite worried about Lois. She was slumped on her desk, face buried in her arms.
"I think she's in shock," said a petite blonde editor.
"Who wouldn't be?" snapped an older woman filing papers as though nothing had happened.
The petite blonde glared at the older woman and said, "I wish there was something we could do. I guess we'll just have to wait for the police to get here. They'll know what to do."
For now, all anyone could do was wait patiently, or impatiently, for the arrival of the police.
Perry approached Lois' desk, leaned on it and in a comforting voice said, "Lois, the Metropolis PD are on their way."
Lois lifted her head and nodded. Ben rushed forward with a glass of water, spilling some as he set it on Lois' desk.
Lois wiped her red-rimmed eyes with the back of her hand. "I was right there. I should have gotten the license plate number."
Ben raised a hand tentatively. "Um, Miss Lane. I know it's not much, but I got the last three digits of the license plate."
Lois blinked at him incredulously. "You did? Oh my gosh. Thank you, Ben. That's fantastic. I'll run them through the DMV right now." Lois sprang into action, accessing the DMV website on her computer.
A flustered Ben dug through the breast pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a 3 by 5 notebook. Nervously, he flipped through the pages until he found the numbers.
Perry put his hands on his hips and nodded approvingly. "Now we're getting somewhere. We'll have some information for the police when they arrive."
Jimmy entered the newsroom carrying a manila folder. He gathered round Perry, Ben, and Lois. He was just in time to hear Lois say, "I have no doubt Lex Luthor is behind Jason's kidnapping and Richard's disappearance."
"Lex Luthor?" Jimmy asked from behind Ben. "Hey, maybe Jason and Mr. White are being held together."
Lois looked at Jimmy as if he'd said the most profound thing she'd ever heard. "You could be right, Jimmy." Lois liked the idea of Jason and Richard together. It gave her a sense of comfort. Richard would protect Jason with his life. And … Jason had some powers …
"Hey, if it's any help, I have pictures of the car." Jimmy held up the manila folder containing the photos.
Lois almost cried. She knuckled the corner of her eye before a tear could escape. "That's fantastic, Jimmy. Incredible actually. You and Ben have given me hope."
Perry White's prim and proper secretary appeared in the doorway and announced, "Sir, detectives from the Metropolis Police Department are here."
# # # # # #
Sitting on the old mattress in the dimly lit metal room with Jason on his lap, Richard gently scolded, "Jason you should've stayed with mommy. I could hear her yelling for you."
"But Daddy, Mommy asked me to help find you. And I did!" Jason's little face lit up with pride.
"But Jason I don't think she meant for you to get caught with me." Richard's unshaven face was drawn and tight.
Jason didn't fully understand why Daddy was so worried. He blinked his blue eyes and said, "Daddy, I can protect you."
"No, Jason," Richard said. "It's the other way around. Grown-ups are supposed to protect children. You have to be very careful here. The people here are .. are not nice. Promise me you'll listen and do as I say."
"I will, Daddy. I promise." Jason snuggled into Richard's arms.
The heavy metal door slid open interrupting the happy moment.
A masked man entered with a bag of fast food and sarcastically said, "Dinner's served." He tossed the bag on the mattress with two empty paper cups and quickly departed slamming and bolting the door behind him.
# # # # # #
Lex propped his elbows on his office desk, his hands and fingers formed a steeple. He watched Richard and Jason on a monitor and asked, "What exactly did you mean by, 'Daddy, I can protect you?'"
Lex stared intently at the monitor. "All I need is one strand of hair. One small bit of DNA . . . on a blanket . . . a cup. You'll leave something behind."
Bored by the father – son interaction and having no desire to watch them consume their meal, Lex turned from the monitor and pressed a button on the intercom. He had other matters to attend to before his meeting tonight.
A/N: I know this was a brief introduction to Dr. Vale. There will be more information on him and his background in later chapters.
