Honeymoon in Metropolis – Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
Lois and Clark now live in Clark's ‘old' apartment.
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously:
A little later they were in the newsroom. Lois had given the hand scanner to Jimmy to download and print what she had gotten with it. It was only a few minutes before Jimmy joined them with the printouts.
Jimmy laid the papers out of the conference room table and they all gathered around.
It was like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. As they found the pieces that were associated, Cat taped them together. Finally Cat read the heading of a sheet that seemed to be by itself, "Tsunami." Looking up she asked a question that demonstrated that she didn't have the vaguest notion of what it meant. "Is that the one with avocado and crab?"
Patronizingly, Lois said, "Yes, Cat, that's the one." Lois looked around to make sure she had everyone's attention before she said, "I was about to copy that file when I heard something in the outer office." She looked pointedly to Clark because she knew he would understand before she continued, "What, we'll never know."
Still not understanding, Cat asked, "Why would they keep a file on Japanese seafood?"
Clark took pity on Cat and explained, "Cat, 'tsunami' isn't ... what you think it is."
Before Clark had a chance to continue, Jimmy explained, "It's a giant wave. Like a tidal wave."
Cat wasn't sure if they were all pulling her leg or not. She looked from face to face and saw that they were serious.
Perry held up a piece of paper and said, "Wave? I've got a wave here too!"
Lois had actually scanned the file cover along with the papers inside and Perry read, "Shock Wave / Preliminary Analysis."
What Perry just said, triggered a memory for Jimmy, he almost shouted, "Wait a minute, 'Shock Wave' ..." Jimmy jumped up and ran from the conference room.
Jimmy's outburst had surprised the rest and they simply watched as he dashed to his desk and grabbed a stack of printouts from the corner.
After Jimmy returned to the conference room he was a little winded, but managed to get out, "Harrington's committee voted on something called Project Shock Wave not too long ..." He sorted through the papers in his hand. He found what he was looking for and said, "Here it is!" He started reading, "'Appropriation approval for system test installation.'"
By this time, Jimmy had everyone's attention and they were all reading over his shoulder.
Lois spoke up, "It says that vote took place five weeks ago."
Clark added, "Passed eight to zero with one abstention." He paused for emphasis, "The abstention was Congressman Harrington."
Frustration in her voice, Lois blurted out, "But nothing about what it is." Then it hit her, "This is what they were talking about. Roarke wanted Harrington to have the vote reversed."
Perry offered, "Yeah, and his own system approved instead. Whatever that means."
Lois mused, "If we only knew what ‘Shock Wave' was."
Clark looked at Cat. So far she had almost completely been left out. He asked, "How'd it go with Harrington yesterday?"
Realizing that she was going to be judged on her performance and not wanting to be considered an airheaded gossip monger not worthy of working on ‘hard' news, she pulled out her notepad and read, "One-thirty: lunch with a semi-attractive blonde. Three o'clock: haircut and manicure. Four-thirty: drinks with a-so-so redhead. Seven p.m.: dinner with a mousey brunette ..."
Perry quipped, "Nice to know our tax dollars are being spread around."
As if she hadn't been interrupted, Cat continued, "Ten o'clock: drinks with a striking auburn-haired beauty."
On that last one, Jimmy made a comment, "Finally, a little class. Who was she?"
Cat, with the look of the cat that ate the canary answered, "Me." She accepted their startled looks as a compliment and then continued, "Like super glue, remember?" She paused to let that sink in before she finished, "Then he came back here to meet Roarke." She closed her notebook with a flourish and put it away.
Perry said, "Okay, Jimmy, you were supposed to be following Roarke."
Jimmy answered, "After last night's fire drill, Roarke and Bart drove to Pier 31 and went into a warehouse. They were still there this morning when I left to come back here. When I got back here I checked. The warehouse is leased to ... you guessed it … Apocalypse Consulting." Jimmy tore the page with the address out of his notebook and handed it to Lois.
Curious, Clark asked, "Did you get a look inside?"
Disappointment in his voice, Jimmy replied, "No windows."
Lois was frustrated and it was evident in her voice as she said, "We're spinning our wheels. Some test, monitored by Naval units, is taking place tomorrow at dawn, and Roarke is planning on sabotaging it."
Perry came to a fateful decision, "I think it's time. Time to go to the top. To the man who always knows what's happening. To the man who's
never let me down."
Jimmy gasped and in a hushed tone asked, "You don't mean …"
Perry nodded in a conspiratorial fashion and said, "I do mean … Sore Throat."
And Now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 8
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Some time later, Perry led Lois and Clark as they headed for a rendezvous in an underground parking garage. Once there they took up station in an out of the way alcove to wait.
It was getting on into colder weather and the bare concrete structure did nothing to warm the atmosphere. Lois started pacing up and down, swinging her arms in an attempt to keep warm. She complained, "Why here? It's freezing!"
Resigned to have to put up with Lois' complaining, Perry replied, "Sore Throat's choice. He’s a … creature of habit."
Stepping over to Lois and shrugging out of his jacket, Clark draped it over Lois' shoulders as he said, "Here, Lois, take my jacket."
She gave him an appreciative look as she accepted his love offering. His jacket held his body heat. It was warm and cozy warming her and making her feel loved. She slipped her arms into the sleeves and pulled the coat tightly by wrapping it and her arms around herself she could smell his scent. Just smelling that aroma sent a rush of emotion through her. She associated that scent with him and how much she loved him.
Suddenly, dragging her out of her reverie, a somewhat portly, fifty-something gentleman stepped out of the shadows. He had on a long overcoat and hat with the brim pulled low and in spite of the fact that there was little light, he also wore sunglasses. As soon as they were all aware of his presence, he stepped back into the shadows. In a rather raspy voice, he said, "You should dress more warmly, Miss. This
is the cold and flu season after all." Breaking off suddenly he sneezed and sniffled. Pulling out a tissue he blew his nose and then commented, "Allergies. They're killing me. Always good to see you, Perry. Who are they?”
“Two of my best reporters.”
“This violates our agreement. Our understanding was, I speak only to you.”
Perry stuttered, “Well, I .. it .. doesn’t violate it exactly, it just expands it. Please, uh, trust me.”
Grudgingly accepting the situation, Sore Throat said, “Well, okay. Just this one time.”
Perry, never one to mince words and knowing that Sore Throat didn't like to waste time, cut to the chase, "What can you tell us about Project Shock Wave?"
The effect of Perry’s question on Sore Throat was obvious. He was shocked and his voice was strained as he asked, "Where did you hear that name?"
Clark spoke up for the first time, "We have reason to believe Thaddeus Roarke is working with Congressman Ian Harrington to sabotage Project Shock Wave." He paused for a second and then continued, "It's due to be tested ..." They knew that it was scheduled for dawn the next day, but he left the end hanging for Sore Throat to fill in the blank.
Sore throat appeared to consider for a second and then decided that since they knew this much, they might as well have the rest, "At dawn tomorrow. I know all about it." He cleared his throat and blew his nose again before continuing, "Project Shock Wave: experimental coastal defense network. A couple of years ago, the Navy began lobbying for their own version of a Star Wars system. Several proposals were made, the Navy picked Shock Wave. Roarke's system was runner-up."
Perry asked the crucial question, "Can you tell us who's behind Shock Wave?"
Sore Throat's answer was immediate, "Luthor Technologies."
Lois, Clark and Perry all exchanged glances as if to say, "We-should-have-known."
Lois challenged, "Why was Shock Wave picked?"
Sore Throat's answer was swift and sure, "More sophisticated. It's designed to automatically identify any foreign object within sensor range and calibrate an appropriate response."
Clark, eager for more detail because he knew intuitively that he might just have to deal with this, asked, "What kind of response?"
Sore Throat didn't know the reason for Kent's interest, but decided that he needed to make sure they had the information they needed. He had recognized them even though Perry hadn’t introduced them, knew the reputation of both Lois Lane and Clark Kent and their relationship with Superman. By giving them the information he could very well be passing it on to Superman indirectly. "Think of it as a sonic 'curtain.' Sonic vibrations providing an impenetrable barrier that would disable whatever tried to pass." He paused for a second as he dredged up the additional details, “Roarke had millions tied up in his own system. I'm not surprised he's taking steps."
Sore Throat sneezed again and then asked, "Anyone have a tissue?"
Lois delved into her bag and bringing one out, handed it to him. As she did, she asked, "Mr. … Throat, what would you suggest we do?"
He considered for a second and then answered, "You could take whatever evidence you have to the Navy, but they'd probably accuse
you of espionage. This test is beyond top secret." He thought for a few seconds and then offered, "You could publish your theories, force the Navy to cancel the test, and face government censure and a slew of lawsuits." There was another pause before he finished, "Or, you could do what I’m gonna do."
Clark asked the obvious question, "What is that?"
"Get out of town." He cleared his throat noisily and said, "I need a drier climate."
Lois was astounded and blurted out, "That's it?
That's your advice?" More than a little note of sarcasm entered her voice as she finished, "The great Sore Throat has spoken?"
Defensively, Sore Throat replied, "What'd you expect to hear? Follow the money?" He shook his head and then added, "You know, I
never understood that." Finished speaking, Sore Throat started to turn away to leave.
Perry stopped him, “Keep in touch.”
Sore Throat stopped and replied, “As always,” but thought he would add one final log to the fire, "Oh, by the way, did I mention that Roarke was completely insane, with maniacal delusions of grandeur?"
Perry was dumbfounded. All he could say was, "No."
Sore Throat replied, "Well, he is." Now he was finished and he beat a hasty retreat.
Lois, Clark and Perry just stared after him and each other for a minute before heading back, Perry to the Planet, Lois and Clark to the Lexor.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois was still wearing Clark’s jacket, and they were discussing the benefits of the recommendations that Sore Throat had made as they approached the door to the Honeymoon Suite.
Lois said, "I say we publish. We gather up everything we've got, video, audio, research, and put it in the afternoon edition.” Delving into her bag she searched for her keycard. She muttered, “It was here a while ago.”
Clark's response was quick, "Assuming Perry goes for it, I agree."
Lois was still searching for her keycard as she replied, "Roarke scares me. If half of what we've heard is true ... he's got to be stopped."
Clark reached into his pocket and pulled out his keycard to open the door. Slipping it into the slot he unlocked the door and swung it open.
The sight that greeted them caused both of their jaws to drop in shock. The suite had been ransacked! The audio/video equipment was smashed to pieces, tapes destroyed, furniture overturned, sofa cushions torn, wallpaper peeled off the walls. Lois pushed the door closed behind them.
When she did, it became apparent how they had found them. Lois' room keycard was pinned to the back of the door with Bart's knife. Lois mused, "I was wondering where that was." Lois headed into the bedroom and found that not only was her wardrobe scattered around, most of it had been slashed and ruined.
In the sitting room, Clark could hear Lois' exclamations of despair with each new piece of clothing she found destroyed. Clark started doing a minute examination of the sitting room using his telescopic and x-ray vision. He started in the area where the equipment had been and branched out from there, trying to find anything that would still be useable. He heard a slight noise and zeroed in on the sound with his vision. When he did he saw a bomb, hidden in the couch. It had apparently been triggered by their entry and the timer had counted down to one second.
At superspeed, Clark closed the distance and decided on the appropriate course of action. He grabbed the bomb and pulled it into his stomach, curling his body around it. He had to use his body to dampen the explosion. When the bomb went off there was only a very muffled explosion. Fortunately, since he had pulled the bomb in close to his body, his aura had protected his clothes and other than some smoke there was no damage.
Lois stuck her head around the corner of the door and asked, "Did you hear something?"
Clark said, "Yeah. They left us a little present."
"Oh? What?"
Clark stood and indicated the smoke rising from his chest, "A bomb. It was timed to explode after we entered the room."
"Good thing you found it." Lois had something in her hand as she said, "Obviously, Roarke knows we're on to him."
Indicating the ruined equipment, Clark replied, "Worse than that, he's destroyed all our evidence."
Lowering his glasses, Clark looked across the way to the offices and said, "They've cleared out, lock, stock and barrel."
Lois was determined as she said, "We have to stop him. That sick so-and-so is capable of anything." She held up what was in her hand. It was Clarkie bear and his stomach was slashed wide open with his stuffing protruding.
Just then, Clark's head tilted to the side as his superhearing picked up a distress call and he said, "Lois, I have to go. Why don't you head back to the Planet and get together with Perry. Let him know what had happened and see what we can do."
"Okay."
Clark sprinted for the stairs and Lois said, under her breath, “After I check out something."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After Clark left on his rescue, Lois went home and changed clothes. She made sure that she had everything she would need in her camel colored bag and headed for an address on pier 31 and the warehouse that Jimmy had mentioned.
When she arrived she found that there was a fence around the perimeter. Finding a gap near a gate, Lois managed, thanks to her slim figure, to squeeze through the gap. As she did she thought, <Clark, where are you when I need you. You could have floated us over this fence.>
Lois saw that attached to the warehouse was a boat house. Thinking that it might be easier to enter the boat house than the warehouse itself, Lois descended a set of steps at the side to near water level.
She found a door and delving into her bag, pulled out her lock picks and went to work on the lock. It yielded to her efforts in short order and she opened the door.
Stealthily, Lois made her way into the boat house. She had to move around crates and other obstacles. She saw a light at a distance and headed in that direction. When she got close enough she looked through a door into a lighted room and saw Congressman Harrington, bound to a chair and gagged. He was slumped over, possibly unconscious.
Suddenly, Roarke stepped into view. He had a briefcase and he started putting papers into it.
Lois reached into her bag again and pulled out her camera, intent on taking pictures. Just as she was bringing the camera up to look through the viewfinder she felt a hand on her shoulder and suddenly there was a knife at her throat. With a startled expression on her face, Lois gasped. She knew it wasn’t Clark.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later, at the Daily Planet Clark joined Cat, Jimmy and Perry in the conference room. Clark asked, ‘Where’s Lois?”
Perry replied, “I don’t know, son. Isn’t she with you?”
“No, we separated. She was supposed to come back here and fill you all in on what happened, while I followed another lead.”
Jimmy asked, “Could she have gone back to the apartment, I mean, your apartment. You know, to change clothes or something?”
Picking up the phone, Clark dialed the number. When the answering machine picked up he hung up. With a worried look, Clark said, “She’s not there,” and started to leave, but Perry stopped him. He asked, “What happened? I thought you were going to bring the evidence you had collected here.”
“Perry, that’s just it … there is no evidence. They found out about us and ransacked the Honeymoon Suite. They destroyed all of our evidence.”
In a resigned tone, Perry said, “Well, that’s it I guess. We got nothin to take to the authorities. Look, wait right here. Let me make some calls.” Perry returned to his office.
The longer the delay, the more anxious Clark was becoming. He was sure that Lois had gone off like a loose cannon again and was in danger, he just didn’t have any idea as to just where she could be.
As a conversational gambit, Jimmy said, “I bet Lois was pretty upset, losing all of your evidence.”
With a rueful shake of his head, Clark said, “You can say that again.”
Cat really hadn’t been paying strict attention to what all was going on and said, “I’m starved.”
Jimmy was the first to see Perry returning and said, “Chief?”
Perry replied, “I called everyone I know in Washington. No one's interested. And, as far as the Navy's concerned, there
is no test.” He looked around and asked, “Lois turn up?”
Clark was reaching the end of his patience. He didn’t know where Lois was and he was worried. Then he had a thought. There was one avenue that hadn’t been followed. He moved to his desk, picked up the phone and dialed.
Jimmy asked, “Who are you calling?”
Clark held up his hand for silence as the phone was answered. He said, “Hello, this is Clark Kent with the Daily Planet. I’d like to speak with Lex Luthor, please.” He listened for a second and then replied, “
Yes, it is important.
Very, important.”
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