Chapter 33

Lois burst through the double doors of the Daily Planet. Her long dark curls bounced on her shoulders as she strode through the noisy newsroom. She could feel the excitement in the air over the reappearance of Superman.

The newsroom buzzed with a renewed sense of purpose. Employees rushed to and fro juggling papers and pens. Ringing phones were promptly answered and vital information exchanged. Copy and fax machines hummed and spit out eagerly awaited documents while fresh cups of coffee were poured with gusto and clinked together in a toast. Overhead wide-screen televisions broadcast the latest photos and videos of Superman saving the tugboat, saving the sailors, and just for good measure, apprehending a couple of would-be diamond thieves.

Jimmy, carrying his camera, rushed toward Lois, "Miss Lane, Superman's back! Oops, guess you already knew that. He was at your assignment, too. He stopped those diamond thieves. I'm sure you got a great story to write up."

"Um, yeah," answered a distracted Lois. Her head was on a swivel, looking around the newsroom. Her mind wasn't on Superman. It was on someone else. "Jimmy have you seen Richard?"

"No, sorry." Jimmy shrugged and pointed at his camera. "I have to get these photos developed, but it's great knowing Superman's back." And with that, Jimmy rushed out of the double doors.

Lois checked Richard's office and desk. Nothing on the desk had been touched. That confirmed he hadn't been in today. A feeling of unease built in the pit of her stomach. Don't panic. Not yet, she told herself. There could be a lot of reasons why Richard hadn't shown up.

"Lois!" Perry bellowed from his office doorway. "I want your story, in my office, in an hour."

"Mr. White." Lois rushed through the newsroom and up to Perry. She lowered her voice, "Have you seen Richard today?"

Perry frowned at Lois and shook his head. "No, can't say I have."

"I've been trying to reach him all morning. It's not like him to not show up at work and to not return any of my calls." Lois expected this news to provoke some concern in Perry. After all, Richard was his nephew. However, for Perry, the news came first.

"Lois, Richard's a big boy. He can take care of himself. You, on the other hand, owe me a write up on those would-be diamond thieves, and Superman, and in an hour. I want it to be in the morning edition."

A big boy! Lois replayed those words in her mind. Richard had used the exact same words last night. And where was he now?

"Mr. White, something might have happened to Richard." Lois stared at Perry. Couldn't he muster a smidgen of concern for his nephew? "He could be lying somewhere seriously hurt."

Perry rolled his eyes, but softened. "Okay. Okay, Lois. I can see you're worried. Make a few calls, but make them fast. I want that write up in an hour and a half."

Oh, wow. An extra half-hour, Lois thought. "Thanks," she said sarcastically. If only Perry shared her fears. She headed back to her desk, grabbed her cell phone, and dialed Richard's number. His voice mail picked up after a few rings. Lois left yet another message in a long string of messages. Deep down she knew it was useless and the feeling of unease was growing stronger.

Lois called the local hospitals. No luck there. In some ways it was good news. In other ways, it wasn't. If he'd been at a hospital, at least she would have known where he was. Her final call was to Jason's school. The news was a mixed bag. No one had seen or heard from Richard today, but Jason was definitely at school. Knowing her son was safe and sound gave Lois some relief. But her worries over Richard increased.

She put her cell phone on the desk and thought back to her conversation last night with Richard. He wanted proof that Lex Luthor was involved with Lexicon. Richard had suggested snooping around several warehouses on the docks. It was obvious that Richard had gone to the docks this morning. Then what? Where was he? Could he be chasing a hot lead? Maybe, but he would have called her. She was sure of that. They'd been working as a team on the Lexicon investigation. He knew how worried she was about him snooping around those warehouses owned by Lexicon. He wouldn't let her worry about him. He would call her.

No, this wasn't good. To Lois, it seemed very likely that Richard had run into trouble.

"Waiting for a call, Lois?" a female co-worker asked bringing Lois back to the present. Lois had been sitting at her desk staring into space.

"Oh," Lois said bringing her eyes up to meet those of the co-worker standing in front of her desk. The co-worker giggled, shook her head, and walked away.

Lois needed to act. She headed to Perry's office and stuck her head through the doorway. "Mr. White, I have to go. Something's come up."

Perry was at his desk reading an article. He took off his reading glasses and blinked at Lois. "What could be more important than a write up about Superman saving the day? This is a newspaper, Lois. I expect your . . ." Perry didn't get a chance to finish.

"Mr. White, what I need to check on is much more important and is a much bigger story. I guarantee it."

"What? Wait. Lois!" Perry sputtered as he rose from his desk.

Lois was halfway to her desk when Perry rounded his massive desk. She gathered up her things and was just exiting the newsroom when Perry White stepped of out his office. He stood in the doorway fuming, wondering what in the hell was going on with Lois.