...I Knew The Truth
Part 12
It was already dark when Lois and Clark returned to Metropolis. The flight had been uneventful and mostly spent in silence. On Lois’ part that had been due to her utter amazement. Though it was the second time she had seen the world from above, cradled in the arms of this strong and yet gentle man, it was the first time she could actively enjoy it without the stress of just having been mugged. Clark on the other hand, remained a mystery to her. As soon as his feet touched the ground in a dark alley not far from Lois’ apartment, he hastily set her down just taking enough time not to inadvertently hurt her. Lois still was not sure whether he had agreed to come with her simply to keep her safe from Luthor’s thugs while she met Bobby in one of the worst parts of town or whether he had actually come to stay.
Deciding, that it was no use musing about his intentions, Lois had a look at her watch. “We still have time before we meet Bobby,” she said, briefly looking at Clark, who was straightening his clothes. “I need to get changed and then we should collect the food we ordered.”
“I still don’t get why you had to call three different take-out places,” Clark spoke for what had to be the first time since they had left Smallville.
“You’ll understand it, once you get to know Bobby,” Lois replied with a grin. “He’s insatiable. Besides, we’re going to ask a lot of him. He’s going to demand a decent payment.”
She started for her place, hoping that Lucy had already begun to clean up. Lois had called her sister at her friend’s, for once glad that Lucy usually did not attend any lectures before afternoon. Lucy had been shocked to hear about the break-in and had promised to change the locks even without Lois needing to ask her to do it. Then, Lois had called the police, demanding to be put through to Inspector Henderson. Though housebreaking was not his usual department, he was one of the few cops in town that Lois inherently trusted.
During her years on the beat, their path’s had crossed more than once. Over time, they had forged a fruitful albeit reluctant truce. Lois occasionally let Henderson in on the results of her investigations; in return he sometimes gave her an exclusive. The gruff cop would never admit to it, but Lois felt that she was more to him than just another reporter who made his life difficult. So, when Lois had called, Henderson might have been grumbling, but he still had been willing to listen. As she told him about the intruder and that she might have stepped on the wrong set of influential toes, he had promised to send someone who would handle the investigation with care. Plain-talking, that meant someone would look into the break-in who was not on the take.
A few minutes later, Lois and Clark stood in front of her apartment building. Lois felt her heart beating nervously. The dark brown door looked so very innocent, just as it had the other night. Even though Lois knew that the locks had been replaced – Lucy had called her back to let her know that she would leave the keys with the Sitkowitz’ who lived a floor above them – she was wary of going back into the house.
Clark must have felt her hesitation. “There is no one there,” he said gently and placed his hand on the small of her back in a reassuring gesture. As Lois turned towards him, he immediately withdrew the hand, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Stifling a groan, Lois just nodded and took her key out of her handbag to open the front door. Together, they climbed up the two flights of stairs to get up to the second floor. Lois knocked at her neighbor’s door. All too quickly, Arnold opened it, muttered a greeting and handed her the keys without further ado. The noise in the background indicated that he was just watching a basketball game, which explained why he was so short-spoken. While Lois was grateful that she did not have to deal with the endless babble of a well-meaning Michelle, she was not sure whether she liked the idea of having no further excuse to stay away from her apartment. Despite Clark’s assurance that there was not going to be an intruder this time, she still felt uneasy.
“We’ll be quick. I’m just going to change into some fresh clothes,” she said to Clark, wondering if she was informing him or trying to give herself a pep talk.
The trip down to her apartment was over in no time and Lois found herself fumbling with a new set of five locks, trying to find the right key for each of them. She managed eventually and stepped back to let Clark in ahead of her. He hesitated briefly, probably trying to figure out whether the circumstances made it appropriate for him to walk ahead of a woman. Sometimes, Clark was so irritatingly polite that it simply drove Lois up the wall. At other times, he was just plain annoying and most of the time Lois was not even sure which was which. In another life, she certainly would have given him a hard time about his Boy Scout behavior.
Realizing that she was again trying to stall the inevitable, Lois finally set foot into her apartment and winced. It looked almost worse than the evening before. The police had once more turned everything upside down to secure the evidence. Only the two love seats in the middle of the living room were upright again and a little space on the table had been cleared, where Lucy had left the remains of the take-out she had ordered before leaving for work.
This time, she did not manage to stifle the groan that escaped her lips. “It’s going to take forever to clean up all this mess,” she grumbled unhappily and went over to the table, picking up Lucy’s mess as a meagre way of getting started. She took the garbage to the kitchen and then headed for her bedroom, hoping that there was something left to change into. “I won’t be long,” she promised with a quick look over her shoulder.
Clark just nodded, standing in the middle of her living room, hands stuffed deeply into his pockets. Of all the things that were amiss in her apartment, her life really, Clark probably stuck out the most. He looked a little lost, his hair slightly mussy and his clothes seemed too large for him. All in all, he was a pitiful sight, one that Lois did not want to indulge in. Forcing her attention back on the things at hand, she rushed into her bedroom and pulled open the drawers. She threw a longing glance towards the bathroom, but ultimately decided against having a shower. Bobby Bigmouth was not a patient man.
With regards to the dark streets which Bobby usually roamed, Lois chose a pair of jeans and a grey sweater and left the fancy clothes she had worn for her date on her bed. Given all the mess in her apartment, one more item lying around did not really matter. Within minutes, Lois left her bedroom and went back into the living room.
As she entered the room, she froze with a gasp. Not only was Clark gone, but the place no longer looked a mess. The furniture was where it belonged with all the drawers put back in place. What had been lying on the floor was arranged in neat piles. The pictures were hanging straight again with the exception of those which had been broken. There was not a single piece of glass lying around and if Lois was not mistaken, everything was dusted off – the single part of the previous mess that had been Lois’ own fault. Amazed, Lois went towards the kitchen, finding it equally neat. A dark blur whirled in front of the sink, adding clean dishes onto a pile that grew with breathtaking speed.
“Clark?” she asked quietly, one part of her afraid to startle him, the other too stunned to speak any louder.
The blur took shape as he slowed down, gradually turning into Clark, who had rolled up the sleeves of his dark shirt. His hands dripping with white foam, Clark quickly dried them off on a towel, before turned around to face Lois. His expression looked a little sheepish, much like a child who had been caught with his hands in the cookie jar.
“I’m sorry… I hope you don’t mind my rummaging through your stuff …” he stuttered and ran his hand through his hair. “You sounded so unhappy when you saw all this mess, so I thought I could help.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Lois muttered, still slightly dazzled and giving her sparkling kitchen a once over. “Thank you, I guess.”
Clark hung his head. “I really should have asked you first,” he said apologetically.
“Are you kidding me? You don’t happen to look for a room in a shared apartment, do you?” she joked, winking at him. “Because your powers would sure come in handy.”
“So, you’re not mad?” Clark asked tentatively, as if he was not quite able to believe she had left him off the hook that easily
“Over hours of housework I don’t have to do? I wouldn’t dream of being mad!” Lois replied firmly. “And now come on, we’ve got a source to meet.” She laid a hand on his back, urging him away from the sink. On her way through the living room, Lois grabbed the car keys and threw one last glance at her neat apartment.
Indeed, she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. With all her possessions arranged in piles, it was not going to take long to put them all back where they belonged. Strangely, she did not mind at all that Clark had gone through her stuff. Perhaps, it was because someone else had already invaded her privacy in a way that had been much worse. Given that Clark had only touched the stuff already lying on the floor, he had not really done anything she could resent. But maybe, and that thought worried her a bit, it was because Clark had won her trust and inexplicably was becoming a friend – something that had never come easy to Lois.
“We’ve got to get going,” Lois said more to herself, as Clark was standing right behind her.
She shook off the uncomfortable musings with a shrug of her shoulders as she opened the door with the same determination that had earned her the title of Mad Dog Lane. Clark followed her quickly and quietly watched her as she deftly ran through the procedure of locking the door with five sets of keys. Lois did her best to ignore his gaze on her and stormed off as soon as she was done.
She almost ran down the flight of stairs, drawing in a deep breath as the cool night air welcomed her outside. It seemed to be the first one in a while and felt so good as if Lois had just narrowly escaped suffocation. As Clark joined her on the street, she instantly felt his quiet presence. It was equally as comforting as it was disconcerting, a constant source of confusion that only got worse over time. Lois risked a glance at her former and present, though reluctant, partner, trying to merge his mild mannered appearance with the powers he hid underneath his black shirt. It was impossible.
“Ready?” he asked as he caught her glance and raised a brow.
“Sure,” Lois replied, giving herself a mental slap. She grabbed her car keys more firmly and purposefully strode over to the parking lot.
* * *
Less than half an hour later, Lois had her car parked on the outskirts of Suicide Slum. Metropolis’ very own version of London’s Soho. The quarter called “Riverview” housed the less fancy part of Metropolis’ night life, which consisted of all kinds of restaurants, run down theaters and shady bars. It was a world of its own where the people seemingly spoke anything but English, a multicultural melting-pot that was just the perfect place for a snitch like Bobby Bigmouth.
A delicious smell filled the car, emanating from the various bags and boxes Lois had stashed on the back-seat. They contained an assortment of all the things Bobby loved and unfortunately, he was not the only one. Lois’s mouth watered as she thought about the spring rolls, which sat on top of one of the bags. She bit her lips. There was not a doubt in her mind, Bobby would notice if she took one. He always did.
“So, all this food is just for one person?” Clark asked and turned around to have yet another look at the impressive pile.
“You’re going to be surprised how quickly that will be gone,” Lois replied, following Clark’s gaze with a longing glance of her own. “That’s Bobby’s version of payment. He’s one of the best informants I have ever had. If anyone knows what’s happening on the street, it’s him.”
“And you think that he knows who broke into your apartment?” Clark went on.
“If he doesn’t, I’m sure if anyone find out, he can,” Lois said confidently.
“We’ll see,” said a third voice from the back-seat of the car.
Lois and Clark both turned around, startled. Somehow, Bobby Bigmouth had managed to sneak inside and was already rummaging through the various bags. His ability to get inside her car without Lois even noticing it had always baffled and also worried her. That he could pull that trick with Clark was an even bigger testament to his excellent qualities as a snitch. Bobby wore a white shirt as he usually did. It was covered in remnants of brown and red gravy, not to mention all the fatty stains. He pulled out one of the boxes, opened it and only moments later was chewing on the spring rolls.
“Working with a partner now, Lois?” Bobby asked between bites.
“I’m sorry, Bobby,” Lois apologized. “This is Clark Kent. He’s helping me with the Messenger story.”
Bobby nodded, taking yet another bite, while beside Lois, Clark watched him with a mixture of fascination and disgust. Lois knew exactly how he felt; she had been down the same road several years ago. But now was not the time to become sentimental. She needed to discover what Bobby had found out, before he had eaten up his payment.
Lois jumped right in. “What can you tell me about Sidney Burke?”
Bobby swallowed down a mouth full of food, a concession to Clark, obviously. “You were right about the gambling part,” he told them. “As far as I heard, he usually gambles in a club belonging to the Metros. Very discreet. It’s going to be tough finding him there. They don’t let anyone in without an invitation, which you only get if you know one of the gamblers.” He shrugged, indicating that this was something he still needed to find out. “Plus, they never play at the same spot, but meet in different back rooms of bars.”
Lois groaned in frustration. “Please don’t tell me, we’ve hit yet another dead end,” she pleaded.
Bobby gave her a lopsided half-smile and dug his teeth into a slice of pizza. “I’m afraid so,” he replied, but promised. “I’ll see what else I can find out, though.” He started to gather all the bags that sat on the back-seat.
“Wait,” Lois said. “There’s something else. Someone broke into my apartment the other night and I’m sure it was to make me drop this investigation. Any chance you can find out who did that and more importantly – who hired him?”
Bobby shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll ask around,” he replied. “Anything else? You gonna have to bring something more tasteful than this.” He gestured at the boxes with a slight look of disgust. It was a complaint Lois did not take too seriously. Bobby loved playing games with her and he would never admit to being satisfied, a trait he had in common with her.
“One last question. I promise you the best Chinese take-out, you’ve ever had,” Lois vowed with a look at Clark, remembering the fabulous food he had brought one night in the Daily Planet. As he caught her glance, he seemed slightly alarmed, but Lois chose to ignore that. “Have you ever heard of someone who controls every illegal activity here in Metropolis?”
“You mean someone like the ‘Boss’?” Bobby smirked, searching his food boxes for something else. He paused a moment, obviously enjoying the reaction he evoked in both Lois and Clark. They were sitting at the edges of their seats, almost breaking their backs as they stared at Bobby. With pleasure, he dug his teeth into a piece of cake.
“Come on, Bobby, tell us what you know,” Lois practically begged. “You mean there really is some criminal mastermind?”
Bobby took his time chewing on the cake, but eventually he said. “I wouldn’t exactly call him a criminal mastermind. The ‘Boss’ is not the only one controlling the underworld. As far as I heard, there are also the Metros and Intergang trying to get their piece of the action.” Taking another bite, Bobby continued, his voice slightly muffled. “But I wouldn’t be surprised, if the ‘Boss’ would try to destroy the Metros and take over their part. I heard their business was pretty much run down.”
“Do you know who this ‘Boss’ is?” Clark asked, causing both Lois and Bobby to flinch in surprise. He had been quiet for so long, Lois had been starting to forget that he was sitting beside her.
But her focus quickly returned to Bobby, who shrugged his shoulders. “No one does,” the snitch said. “He’s more of a rumor than a real person. Could be a woman, for all I know. But somehow, I doubt that.” Once again grabbing the remaining delicacies, Bobby opened the back door and slipped out. “See you.” With that he was gone.
Lois and Clark looked at each other, baffled. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Both were still trying to process the information Bobby had just given them. Lois felt caught in a strange mix of enthusiasm and disappointment. It was as if someone was offering her a bone, leaving it dangling in mid-air, just out of her reach. No matter how hard she tried, any information she got just led to more questions, which ultimately led her to a dead end. Though Bobby had provided them with another clue that Clark’s theory about Lex Luthor was actually right, they still had nothing more substantial than an alias for a person that might or might not exist.
Clark heaved a sigh, putting all of Lois thoughts into one sound. “We’re not getting anywhere,” he said, frustrated.
“If Luthor really is the head of Metropolis’ leading criminal organization, there must be some sort of proof,” Lois insisted. “Maybe it’s time that we break into his apartment.”
Clark shook his head quietly. “It’s too dangerous, Lois. Besides, I already tried that - to no avail.”
“You broke into his lair?” Lois asked, raising her brows in surprise.
“Not literally, no. But I searched it from the outside,” Clark corrected, pointing at his eyes. “X-ray-vision,” he explained. “Lois, as much as I appreciate the idea, I’m pretty sure he has cameras everywhere. He will know it was us.”
Lois mulled over that for a while. “We could always cut the power,” she proposed, realizing just as she said that, how many holes that plan had. “There’s got to be some way,” she insisted, though for the life of her she could not have said which way that was supposed to be. Impossible was not a word that sat well with her.
She looked at Clark, who hung his head. He had probably gone through all the possibilities countless times before. If proving Lex’s illegal affiliations was as easy as breaking into his apartment, he would certainly have done it already. Lois let out a frustrated breath.
“Sooner or later he will start making mistakes,” she said without much conviction.
“Yeah, maybe he will,” Clark replied lamely and lifted his head to lean it against the backrest. “I don’t think we will accomplish anything tonight. You should go home and get some sleep, Lois. I’ll stick around and keep watch in case Luthor tries to send anyone else after you.”
Immediately, Lois opened her lips to protest, but reconsidered as she remembered the uneasiness she had felt upon entering her apartment. Though she hated to admit to any weakness, she would indeed sleep a lot better knowing that Clark had an eye on her place.
“Don’t you need some sleep as well?” she asked instead and turned the ignition key, her eyes still trained on Clark as the motor softly roared to life. He answered her question with a shake of his head, his eyes flickering in silent defiance. Clark did not need words to tell her that he would not budge, no matter what she thought about his protectiveness. But there was also something else, something far less obvious in his eyes that irritated Lois. “You really don’t need to sleep, do you?” she whispered, taken aback. At Clark’s side, it was so easy to forget that he was so much more than the ordinary man he pretended to be.
Again, he shook his head. “I do need sleep,” he said defensively and his face hardened into the impenetrable mask she had seen so many times before. “Just not as much as you do. Go home, Lois.” He reached for the handle to open the door and left her alone.
“Clark,” Lois protested and reached out to try and hold him back. Her hands grabbed only thin air.
“Clark!” she repeated, but the door closed behind him with a heavy thud that ended their conversation quite effectively.
A sudden burst of anger surged through Lois. She could not believe that Clark was doing it again – leaving her alone with more questions than answers like he had done on the field after the launch of the Colonist Transport. How dare he ignore her? Lois wanted to smack his head against the car frame in order to knock some sense into him. Hurriedly, she turned the car off and opened the driver’s door, ready to tell him her mind and at the same time knowing full well that he was almost certainly already gone. That only fueled her anger.
“Clark Kent,” she yelled furiously, but made it no more than a few steps into the night, before she literally ran into Clark.
He stood like a column in the night, barely visible in the darkness of the alley. His posture was tense; he had lifted his head ever so slightly. Lois rubbed her arm that felt as if she had run into a wall, her anger at Clark momentarily forgotten. He was engrossed in whatever he was doing and completely ignorant of her presence. Lois was about to say his name once again, when she heard it.
“Help,” someone screamed in the distance. “Oh god, help me, please. No!” The caller was female and there was a tone of despair in her voice that tore at Lois’ heart. “No! No!” The voice died down to a muffled cry.
Clark started running and with a gust of wind he was gone. Lois could only guess in which direction he was going, but her feet were moving before she had consciously decided what she was going to do. She hurried back to the car and jumped behind the wheel. The car roared to life as she turned the ignition and moments later, she followed the route she assumed Clark had taken, driving towards the screaming woman.
The streets became darker, if that was even possible, as she drove further into Suicide Slum. Usually, Lois avoided this part of the city when it was dark. Instinctively, a shiver ran down her spine, causing her to shrink a little behind the wheel. She grabbed it more firmly until her knuckles turned white. Lois had read way too many reports about muggings in Suicide Slum, which did not only happen to people who were careless enough to take a walk in the dark. But her curiosity won the silent battle with her fear and she drove on.
A dark figure crossed the street in the distance. Lois blinked, trying to determine if this could be Clark. It was impossible to tell. The headlights caught another figure, no two of them, Lois corrected herself silently and could not stifle a gasp of surprise as she indeed recognized Clark in the company of a small woman. She clutched at her clothes, trying to hold them together in front of her chest, shaking like a leaf. As she slowed the car down, Lois could see that Clark was talking to the woman. The trembling became a little less pronounced and she nodded.
Clark lifted a hand and signaled for Lois to stop. With another glance at the distressed woman, he approached the driver’s side of the car and patiently waited for Lois to lower the window.
“This woman was almost raped,” he said quietly. “I just came here in time,” he added and for what seemed like the first time ever, Lois saw something on Clark’s face that resembled contentment. “I talked to her and she wants to go to the police.”
