Not such a long part this time,I'm afraid. Sorry for the delay, guys, but real life was real busy this week.
From Part 3 “You did an interview with Luthor?” Lois said surprised.
Clark only shrugged. “Not really, it was more of a friendly chat,” he replied with a wrys smile.
“And you saved his life?” Lois asked further.
“It was a mugging.” Clark stated simply. “I don’t know who did it, they were already gone when I happened to pass by. One of them had shot Luthor. He was unconscious. I managed to stem the bleeding until the emergency services arrived. It was a lucky coincidence, is all.”
“So without you he might have bled to death. I remember reading an article about that incident, but I don’t think it ever mentioned you or how close he came to losing his life.” Lois said thoughtfully.
“Like I said, it wasn’t all that heroic. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” he concluded, repeating what he had told Luthor over and over. The music was fading and he let go of Lois. “Now, are you satisfied?”
“For now,” Lois conceded. “But I’m feeling that there is more to this story than you’re letting on.”
“Maybe. But that’s all you’re going to hear tonight. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going home. I’m tired.” Clark said. “Good night, Lois.”
“Good night, Clark,” she replied with a smile. “Am I going to see you tomorrow?” He raised his brows questioningly. “I’m going to EPRAD, trying to see the fragments of the Messenger. And Platt promised us his report. After all, we’re supposed to work as partners.”
Clark looked at her, irritated. It did not seem like Lois to go so soft on him. He had expected an interrogation. Instead, she talked about being partners - no tough questions about Luthor, no nagging about the interview. Her fury could not possibly have vanished completely. So, what was her plan? Well, one way or another, Clark was pretty sure he was going to find out.
“Partners,” he agreed cautiously and shook the hand Lois offered him. “Oh, and just for the record - we both get to ask the questions!”
Hurt before
Part 4Midwestern University, March 1988
As dates went, this one was torture. Clark had a hard time paying attention to what Luthor said. To him, the lecture had gradually faded to background noise, as his mind started to drift. In contrast to that most of the students were in the business school and they sat on the edge of their seats as Luthor talked about modern economy concepts. Clark had never really understood people whose single goal in life was the pursuit of wealth. Growing up on a farm, he had always known that money played an important role, but it was not what his life revolved around.
Lana sat beside him. Her skirt was tantalizingly short and revealed her shapely legs. Lana was so close, yet completely out of reach. Clark squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his head against the backrest of his chair. He knew that skirt had been chosen carefully. It served as a reminder of what could be … of what Lana wanted.
Needless to say that Clark wanted it, too. It seemed all he was able to think of, lately His gaze was once again drawn to her creamy skin, wandered up her slender frame. Lana sensed his attention. She shot him a side glance and her lips briefly twitched into a provocative smile, before she looked back at the man up front. The skirt slipped a little higher up as she crossed her legs. It sent Clark’s heart racing.
“Excuse me. What he just say?” a Japanese guest student, who sat on Clark’s left side whispered in somewhat broken english, pulling Clark from his daydream.
“I didn’t listen. I kind of zoned out,” Clark apologized in an equally low voice and blushed. “Sorry about that.”
The guy beside him shrugged disappointedly and tried his luck with his neighbor on his left hand side. Clark forced his attention from Lana’s legs and back on the lecture. But all he registered were Luthor’s moving lips and a few random words that did not make any sense at all. His thoughts once more drifted off.
Lana’s skirt was back in his mind with a vengeance. Spending this evening in a lecture instead of going out on a date was only partially due to her interest in learning from Lex Luthor. Clark suspected that her true intention was to show him that two people could play elusive. It was ironical, because he had practically already decided to finally tell Lana all there was to know about him. And now she had taken him to hear Luthor’s lecture. Clark sighed exasperatedly. He had been rehearsing his speech for the past couple of days and now was listening to someone else’s.
Clark’s conviction to tell Lana faltered. Lana and he had been dating on and off since high school. For a year now they had been a couple, but they were still maneuvering on the threshold towards intimacy. Lana mistook his reluctance to go the whole way for lack of affection. And he could hardly blame her. After all, how was she to know what was at stake?
Lana had known him all his life. He could not very well claim that religious beliefs were the reason why he was waiting. Clark knew he had to come to a decision. If he ever shared himself with anyone, he wanted to do it completely, no secrets left. But he was more the forever kind of guy – and with Lana he just was not sure. And honestly, how could one be sure of such a thing at the age of twenty-one?
Clark’s gaze drifted higher, towards her small waist and her ample cleavage up to her creamy neck and chin. Lana had lips the color of a pink rose, full and enticing. The thought of kissing them made Clark’s mouth run dry. He liked Lana a lot, but was this really the kind of love that lasted a lifetime?
Obviously aware of his attention, Lana reached for Clark’s hand and squeezed it gently. As if someone had turned up the volume, Luthor’s sonorous voice resounded in the lecture hall.
“This is why modern companies need to operate on a global scale. Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen.” Luthor paused to allow for applause.
Clark joined in guiltily and clapped like everyone else. The pad on his desk was painfully empty. He had only a vague idea of what Luthor had been talking about. So much for his article in the university’s paper.
“Any questions?” Luthor asked and looked into the audience expectantly.
Lana let go of Clark’s hand and raised hers. Moments later she got to pose an in-depth question that reminded Clark why he had not taken any economy classes. Luthor’s reply seemed even more difficult to grasp. Clark sighed and gathered his belongings. * * *
“You could have tried to distract her,” Lois growled for the umpteenth time. “I would have slipped past her and…”
“Lois, I’m pretty sure Dr. Baines wasn’t the only one responsible for guarding the building. We saw the wreckage and we didn’t end up in custody,” Clark replied through clenched teeth. “I’d say that is as much as we could ask for.”
Lois snorted and shook her head. “You know, sometimes I wonder how a boy scout like you could ever win a Kerth. You’re…” Whatever else she wanted to say died on her lips as the cab pulled to a halt in front of the Daily Planet. Lois fumbled with her wallet and then handed the driver a 20 dollar bill. “The rest is for you,” she added briskly and climbed out of the car.
Clark followed her, smiling to himself. Lois was ambitious to the point of obsession. Working with her certainly would not become boring any time soon. She was reckless in the pursuit of her story and there was nothing that was going to stop her from getting the scoop. Watching her interview Dr. Baines and Dr. Platt the day before had told him that she was good. Seeing her sneak around the hangar where EPRAD kept the wreckage certainly explained why Perry thought she was one of the best.
An explosion shook the earth, the loud bang resounding in the streets. People all around instinctively ducked their heads. Clark’s heart missed a beat as he saw smoke rise from an excavation where people had probably been working on the gas line. A few workers stood around the manhole, staring at it in shock. The blockade around the hole had partially collapsed.
“There’s a man down there,” the supervisor screamed in horror.
From the corner of his eye, Clark could see Lois start for the site of the incident. She was not the only one. Soon, people gathered around the hole.
<There’s a man down there,> the supervisor’s words resounded in Clark’s head, as he watched the scene, frozen to the spot.
His heart, however, raced frantically. His hearing involuntarily tuned in to the noises that came from below the street. The flutter of a heart-beat, the faint sounds of breathing. Whoever was still down there was alive, but not moving. A soft whistle indicated that gas continued to leak from a hole.
“There was an explosion. Did someone call the police? The fire department?” the supervisor asked no-one in particular. Then, finally, he seemed to have collected himself. “Keep those people back,” he yelled at his shocked co-workers.
Clark looked around. No one was paying him any attention. He could not just stand there and wait until another explosion killed the man, as well as the bystanders. As well as Lois, who was so close to that hole that it made Clark sick to his stomach. His darting eyes spotted a manhole at the other end of the street. He sped towards it, checking one last time if anyone was watching him, before he lifted up the lid and jumped down. In the blink of an eye he was gone and hurriedly adjusted the lid above him before he rushed to help the unconscious man.
In a matter of seconds, Clark had carried the man towards the exit where his fellow workers were waiting anxiously. He dropped the man off, right as he was about to come to and then went back to take care of the gas leak. Using his x-ray vision he watched as the workers dragged their colleague to safety. Outside, fire-fighters and ambulances had pulled up and the police were already blocking the road. With a sigh of relief, Clark returned to the manhole and a moment later, he stood on the street as if nothing had happened.
Clark joined Lois and the other spectators. His partner was already scribbling notes and talking to the supervisor. She was so caught up in work that she surely had not even noticed his absence. When she was done gathering the facts she needed to write up the story, Lois turned around.
“Gee, what happened to you?” she asked, furrowing her brows as she gave him an once-over.
Clark looked down at himself, finding that he was covered in dirt. <Just great, Kent,> he thought angrily. <Why don’t you go out advertising that you’re a freak?>
“Dunno. I guess the wind must have blown the stuff right in my direction,” he said, inwardly wincing at the weak excuse. “I heard one of the fire-fighters mention something about a gas leak,” he added quickly, hoping to distract Lois. “We should call them later to get a final statement.”
“Good thinking,” Lois nodded and took his arm, dragging him towards the Daily Planet. “Now come on, we’ve got work to do.”
“Um, Lois, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get changed, first,” Clark replied, stopping her.
Lois rolled her eyes, unhappy with the delay. “Don’t make such a fuss!” she spat, cringing at her own harshness. “It’s really not that bad!” she hastily reassured him.
Clark only raised his brows.
“Okay, maybe it is that bad,” she conceded with a sigh. “Go.”
“I won’t be long,” he promised and flashed her a smile before he headed home.
to be continued...
