Short piece, but I wanted to get this bit posted before the boards go down again. And I know you're eagerly waiting for this conversation!

In case you missed it…
Part One Part Two Part Three
Part Four Part Five Part Six

Operation Argus
Part 7

The wind clawed at her hair and tore at her cheeks. Screams tore from her throat with burning force as she twisted and turned, trying to find anything to grab. This was her worst nightmare - complete lack of control, no options, nothing to stop the forces of the world around her. Then suddenly, everything stopped. She instinctively threw her arms around the body that held her, and her feet swung to find purchase on the absent ground. Her wide eyes found a smiling gaze. “Don’t worry, Miss, I’ve got you.”

A wild look around revealed they were hanging in mid-air, somewhere in the vicinity of the 20th story of the building. “You’ve got me?! Who’s got you?!”

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Relief flooded through Lois, and she clung tight to Superman as he whisked her up into the air away from the threat. Her heart beat shifted from the adrenaline fueled sprint to a more comfortable marathon speed - just fast enough to remind her of what she’d escaped. She pressed her face to his chest and inhaled deeply. The feel of the fabric was different - there was a more prominent weave to it now, without the smooth, cool sensation beneath her fingers. But while the suit was different, the man was completely familiar to her.

In some ways, she was shocked at the strength of her memories. And it wasn’t even so much the memories of events, but of his touch and his scent, the sensation of the wind wrapping itself around them. When he moved to swing her legs up and carry her in a cradle position, her weight shifted into place automatically with complete trust. For her body, it seemed to have been just yesterday she was last in this position. Nothing was awkward, it was a well-remembered dance between the two of them - her gradual relaxation as the adrenaline faded, his firm grip as he reassured himself that she was safe. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, pressing her against him in a tender embrace. She could hear his heart beating, and fancied her heart had settled into a corresponding rhythm.

All too soon, she felt a gentle rock as he touched down on terra firma and placed her back on her feet. It jolted her from her haze, and she looked up into his face as she stepped back quickly. She had to swallow and clear her throat before she could say, “Thank you.” She hoped her face didn’t show the flush of embarrassment she could feel. Behind him the Daily Planet globe was softly lit up, and she realized he’d brought her to the rooftop of her office building.

He smiled at her, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Just lucky I was in the area.”

“Where have you been, anyway? No,” Lois self-corrected quickly, slicing a hand through the air as if she could physically cut herself off. “No, that’s not where I want to start with you. I have so many questions -“

“Lois -“

She began to pace. “- I mean, first there’s the whole Krypton story, which is absolutely ridiculous -“

“Lois.”

“- and then I have so much to tell you -“

“Lois!”

She stopped, her mouth hanging slightly open, and she turned to look at him. He looked… tired. Had she ever seen him tired before?

“I can’t stay for an interview tonight.”

“Who said anything about an interview?” she cried. “What happened to being friends? Whatever happened to just talking to each other?”

He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and took a deep breath. His red cape fluttered at his back, emphasizing his slumped posture. “I’m sorry. Are you - are you all right?”

Lois huffed in annoyance. “Yes, I’m fine. And you know that. This isn’t about me, this is about you. What’s going on? Why the bogus story about going to Krypton?”

His hands moved back to his side faster then she could see, and his gaze became wary. “What are you talking about? Of course I went to-“

“Don’t. Just don’t. You and I both know that’s not possible. You could never -“ Superman appeared right in front of her, his hand pressed over her mouth. Her eyes were wide in shock and she jerked away.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say good-bye, Lois. There just wasn’t time.”

“This isn’t about good-bye, this is about what you-“ Again, he stopped her from speaking, this time with a sharp glare that stole her breath.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could give you a better explanation, but I can’t.”

She searched his eyes, trying to puzzle out what he was trying to tell her. Frustrated, she stepped back from him and tried to organize her own thoughts. “Fine. Whatever. There are more important things to talk about anyway, like what happened after you left, and about Clark-“

“What about Clark?” He looked startled.

“He -“ Don’t get your hopes up, Lane! “He disappeared shortly before you did. We - his mother and I - we were hoping maybe you knew something about where he’d gone, or what he was working on.”

Superman’s eyes were wide, and did she only imagine the loss of color in his face? “You’ve been in touch with his mother?”

Lois nodded. “She called me when he dropped out of contact with her. We searched for months, but it was like he disappeared without a trace.”

He turned, strode over to the edge of the roof, and braced himself on the perimeter wall while looking out over the city. “No,” he said tightly. “I don’t have any information for you about Clark.”

“Oh.” Despite her best intentions, she could feel a little flicker of hope inside as it sputtered and died. “It was a long shot anyway.” She wrapped her arms around herself and briskly rubbed at her arms. “Anyway, that’s not… I mean, sure, I’d hoped… but I have to tell you about-“

Superman straightened abruptly. “I have to go.”

“No, wait!” Lois lunged forward, reaching for him, his cape, anything to keep him there for another few minutes. He flew up just out of her reach before turning to look at her. “I have to go, Lois. Please, try to be careful. I can’t… I’m not in Metropolis as much as I once was.”

“Wait, you don’t understand, I have to tell you -“

“Good night.” And he was gone.

Lois stamped her foot in frustration. “Don’t fly off when I’m trying to tell you something important!” she shouted. For a moment, she considered just blurting it out anyway. He’d still hear her, she was sure of it. But she didn’t want him to find out like that, especially if he was on his way to a rescue that might need his full attention. And she didn’t want to fling it at him like an accusation. She wanted to see his face, wanted to be able to sit down with him and really talk about it all, figure things out.

But she’d lost her chance. She slid down the perimeter wall until she was seated on the cold concrete, and pulled her knees up to her chest. There will be other chances, she told herself. There have to be. In the meantime, Lois was left with an empty feeling. None of their conversation had gone as she imagined it would, and his behavior was just bizarre. He was hiding something, she knew he was, but she didn’t know what, and she didn’t have the faintest idea why. And the way he’d stopped her from speaking, it was almost as if -

She placed her hand over her mouth in imitation of his. As if he knew someone was listening. Pulling herself up, Lois started searching the area of the roof for any sort of recording equipment. She found two cameras, pointed at the globe and the roof access door, but neither had anything that looked like a microphone. She inspected the equipment box below the slowly spinning globe, but didn’t see anything suspicious about it. Turning, she looked around at other buildings. It was possible someone was using a parabolic mic from a neighboring building, but someone would have needed to be standing watch and waiting for them. How likely was it that someone had been lying in wait? She wasn’t even supposed to be up here tonight, and he’d brought her from another part of the city entirely. But she shuddered at the possibility.

And speaking of not planning to be on the roof, she went to check the access door and found it locked from the inside. Lois groaned and all thoughts about the preceding conversation fled as she worried about being stuck on the roof all night. She hit the intercom button to get the attention of the security guards below. She waved her arms at the camera and held up her badge, and made an obvious lip-sync of saying “Lois Lane, Daily Planet”. She heard a click as the door unlocked and she slipped inside, relieved someone had taken pity on her. She’d have to talk to Perry about getting that system upgraded - she didn’t want to have to recall Superman after a rescue in order to rescue her from the roof!

She slipped down the access stairs and made her way to the elevator doors. Once inside, she reached up and slapped herself in the forehead.

Her car was still in the warehouse district.

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