When Churches Come Crashing Down
Folc4evernaday
Part 32
***
Inspector Henderson stared at the mountain of files on his desk. He had barely slept within the past few days. Crime was at an uprise and there had been no help in the Superman department in helping to calm the chaos that had taken over Metropolis since the Superman double had started the fire at the Metropolis Correction’s Facility.
Most of the escapees had had connections to Intergang in one way or another. The criminal organization had quickly taken its own in, preventing the police department from bringing in any of the fugitives. The only escapees that they had managed to take back into custody had been the small time criminals that had too many probation violations or had been habitual offenders.
“Henderson?” Detective Wolf knocked on the door to his office.
“What’s up?” Henderson asked, looking up weary eyed at the fellow detective.
“Something… big.” Wolf stammered, “You got to see what…or who just walked through the door.”
Henderson sighed, rubbing his neck as he stood up and followed Wolf out to the lobby of the police station, “This better be good Wolf, you saw how many reports I still have to file…” He stopped when he saw the visitor, “Dr. Lane?”
“Inspector,” Sam Lane nodded at him.
“I told you-you wanted to see this,” Wolf said.
***
Sarah Doughtery had brought up the ratings for Barry Dunning more in the past few months than any other producer. Barry was grateful, but he still felt a nagging insecurity in the back of his mind. There was something not quite right about the way Sarah refused the spotlight at the luncheons for making Top Copy’s ratings skyrocket. She even refused phone calls and meetings with Mindy Church and that was a woman you never wanted on your bad side. It was almost like she was afraid of the spotlight, but why would she get in the television business if she didn’t want attention?
***
Lucy let out a long breath when she pulled up to her apartment building. It had been a long day. Her back hurt. Her feet hurt. She was pretty sure once she got inside she’d begin to get hungry again. She would never understand why women considered the experience of being pregnant a gift. She was in pain most of the time with her emotions running all over the place with her hormones. She didn’t consider this a gift. She knew her child was a gift but the rest was something she’d love to give back.
After her conversation with Lois, she was even more confused about what it was she wanted to do. There was something creepy about James Turner. He reminded her of Lex and not in a good way. She clicked the automatic lock to her car and made her way up the steps to her apartment. The corridor was dimly lit but she could make out the silhouette of the average height man standing outside her apartment. She could only guess.
“What are you doing here?” She asked when she approached the apartment door.
“I wanted to talk,” Dan smiled at her. “You got a minute?”
Her first instinct was to say ‘no’ but she decided against her better judgment to hear him out. Her conversation with Lois earlier had left her rattled, uncertain of anything she’d done or said in the past few months. Was she closing herself off from men because she still cared for Lex?
“Sure, but only for a minute.” She warned, opening the door for him to enter. She followed, closing the door behind herself.
In the corridor of her apartment complex, Jimmy stood at the bottom of the steps shaking his head as he buried his hands in his pockets and headed back out the way he came.
***
“You really think she’s onto something?” Clark asked skeptically as he held Jordan up for her to dry him off.
“I don’t know. I don’t know. She was really rattled when she came over. Upset about Jimmy and the baby. She’s been so closed off from everything that happened. Either way, it’s all stemming from her and Lex’s relationship. He handed her everything she wanted on a silver platter then yanked it from her and humiliated her in front of everyone. That’s a lot to come back from. Then this Turner guy shows up acting the same way…” Lois laid Jordan down on the changing table and put his diaper on as he squirmed, trying to roll away. “You can play in a minute,” She reassured him.
“I don’t know,” Clark shook his head. “I never thought she was really in love with the guy, though,”
“He still hurt her,” Lois explained. “In love or not,” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He humiliated her and played her for a fool. Jimmy pushing her isn’t going to do any good. She’s just going to pull away even more.” She finished snapping the buttons to Jordan’s pajamas and picked him up.
“I don’t know. I’m worried about her.” Lois sighed, laying Jordan down in his crib and turned the mobile on. “She’s been through so much this past year,”
“Well, hopefully, she and Jimmy can work things out. They’re talking; that’s a start, isn’t it?”
“I guess…” Lois shook her head, “Clark, you should have seen her…She was so upset. She was shaking when she was asking if it was possible Lex had survived…”
“Anything’s possible I guess…” Clark shrugged, “but highly unlikely. Turner’s up to something or sure, but I don’t know if…” Jordan yawned as he continued to watch the mobile moving around him. “I think somebody’s tuckered out,”
“Yeah, he’s just about…”
A loud incessant knocking came from downstairs, startling Jordan back to the present and away from dreamland. His lip quivered, crying as he reached up to be held.
“Who in the world is that??” Lois hissed in a harsh whisper as she held Jordan, trying to calm his cries.
Clark lowered his glasses and scanned downstairs with an amused grin when he saw the intruder. “Your mother,”
***
Turner threw a vase against the wall as he reentered his penthouse. “That miserable…”
He continued his rampage, throwing objects against the wall until he was satisfied with the damage. He reached for the phone, calming himself as he took control of his voice, “I need to speak with security. My penthouse has been destroyed,”
After assuring the bumbling man over the phone that he was alright and simply needed security he hung up the phone and poured himself a scotch. He’d waited for hours at the hotel and Lucy had never shown. That wasn’t like her. She had always kept their dates no matter what. She’d always come; now she was no longer the same person it seemed. Or perhaps it was that she just didn’t know him anymore.
Yes, that seemed more possible. He reassured himself. He hadn’t lost his touch. He simply needed to approach things differently.
***
Lois’ soft sighs echoed in his ears as he gently massaged her tense muscles. Ellen Lane had demanded their undivided attention earlier to plea Sam’s case to Lois and himself for help in getting him out of jail. After all the years of fighting between them, Ellen was still there to fight Sam’s battles with him. Neither himself; nor Lois had been able to give her an answer she was satisfied with. She had left angry, leaving them to deal with a cranky and distraught ten-month-old. Two hours later he’d finally fallen asleep and now he was working on trying to help Lois drift off to sleep as well.
She let out a soft moan as he rolled his palm against her smooth ivory skin. He could feel his body beginning to respond to her pleasurable moans. The tension within her muscles released beneath his touch as he aimed a ray of heat vision against her back, massaging the tension out of her body. “That better?” Clark asked. She was lying on the bed with nothing but a sheet wrapped around her waist as he continued to gently massage the aches and pains out along with the tensions of the day. The battle between his brain and his hormones began to take over, becoming more and more evident with each caress.
She nodded, “That feels good,” She murmured, looking back at him. He placed a kiss against her shoulder as he continued to massage her lower back, aiming another blast of heat vision against her. “That feels better,” She laughed.
Clark smiled, “You ready for bed?”
“Not quite,” She teased, lying back down on the bed. “I think I need you to work on my back a little bit longer,”
“You need your rest,” Clark pointed out, letting her know he was onto her.
She looked back at him over her shoulder, “I know,” She moaned as his palm pressed against her vertebrae, “Mmm, that feels so good, Clark,” Her midsection lifted off the mattress slightly as her back arched against his touch. She knew exactly what she was doing to him. “Hopefully, Jordan stays asleep all night. He doesn’t cope well with his sleep schedule being interrupted,”
“Hopefully he’ll stay asleep.” he whispered, brushing his lips against the back of her shoulder.
She sighed, “I still can’t believe my mother came over here at this hour,” She glanced back at him, “You have no idea how lucky you are. Your parents don’t make you want to jump off the interstate screaming,”
“Enough with the exaggerations,” He whispered, placing a protective kiss on her cheek as he laid down next to her, rolling her over so he could wrap his arms around her.
“Who says I’m exaggerating?” Lois shot back.
“Your mother isn’t…that bad.” He edged.
“It's ten o’clock at night. She wanted you and me to go down to the police station and demand my father’s release and an apology from the police commissioner.” Lois reminded him.
“Okay, so she’s a bit high-strung,”
“That’s an understatement,” Lois scoffed.
“What happened to going to sleep?” He whispered in her ear.
“But I’m not tired,” She teased, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned up to kiss him. He groaned in approval against her lips as she pulled back from him.
He cupped her cheek, “You have that ah, Loiiissss,” He couldn’t suppress his surprise when she climbed on top of him, straddling him as she let the sheet fall down between their bodies; rubbing her body against his. He groaned in approval, wrapping his arms around her waist, leaning up to capture her lips.
He groaned in pleasure when he felt her chest graze against his. He could feel the soft flutter of his daughter’s movements against his abdomen. She smiled against his lips pulling away from him, “She’s moving more and more,” She murmured.
He nodded, recapturing her lips once more, “Four more months of it to go,”
“Maybe,” She whispered back, pulling away from him slightly, “Jordan didn’t make it past seven months,” She linked her arms around his neck, holding him close.
Clark’s face sobered a moment, “He had a little help with that, though,”
“I know,” She whispered softly. He reached up to brush a stray tear that had escaped off her cheek.
“It’s gonna be different this time,” He promised.
“I know,” She whispered, “It’s just scary. I don’t know what to expect…”
“She’s gonna be fine,” He brushed his lips against hers softly, cupping her cheek as he ran a hand through her silky hair.
“Promise?” She tightened her arms around his neck as she brushed feather-light kisses against his face.
He opened his mouth to respond when he felt his body stiffen. His super hearing had kicked in. No. Not now. This wasn’t supposed to happen now. He did his best to suppress it but to no avail. He needed to bury himself in Lois; forget about the calls for help. He wasn’t Superman anymore. It wasn’t worth the risk of exposing his family. “Promise,” He deepened their kiss, guiding his hands down her body, caressing every curve. His hands rested on her bottom as he nibbled at her neckline, eliciting a moan of pleasure from her.
“Clark?”
He looked back at her, forcing himself to focus back on the task at hand.
“Are you all right?” She gently cupped his cheek.
“Never better,” He whispered, recapturing her lips.
“Clark, are you sure you’re…?” She murmured against his lips. “Oh, God, Clark,” She gasped as he began a trail of feather light kisses down her chest. She raked her hands through his hair, combing it with her fingers as he continued the pleasurable assault on her body, intent on forgetting the cries for help that echoed in his ears.
***
Ellen Lane stormed up to Lucy when she emerged from her apartment the next morning. She’d been given the brush off the night before by Lois and Clark, but she was sure she could appeal to Lucy in the name of 'family.' She had connections with the district attorney’s office and with the judge overseeing Sam’s case. She had to do something. “Lucy, we need to talk,”
“What is it, Mother?” Lucy did her best to suppress the bite in her tone.
“Your father is what’s up,” Ellen Lane followed her daughter to her car, “Do you realize he’s being charged with that little boy’s kidnapping? You know he would never do anything like that. The police commissioner owes him an apology. How could they…?”
“Mother…” Lucy snapped, irritably. “Get to the point!”
“That is no way to speak to me,” Ellen harrumphed.
“I’m sorry, but I’m running late. What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to clear your father’s name. There is no way he’s done what they’re saying he did,” Ellen argued. She looked up at Lucy’s face a moment then at her attire then grimaced, “You need to use lighter colors in your wardrobe. They’ll cover up the dark circles,”
Lucy bit her tongue as she opened the door to her car. “Whatever you say, Mother,”
***
Jack tapped at the keys on the keyboard in front of him anxiously. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. He’d been researching Sarah Doughtery for the last few weeks; trying to find out what he could about her. He knew she was hiding something, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
After discovering no background information on Sarah he’d begun to cross reference her known background with other people in Metropolis to try and find a connection. So far he’d found over ten thousand matches.
***
“Where is it?” Jimmy mumbled under his breath as he searched his desk. Nowhere. He couldn’t find the file from S.T.A.R. Labs anywhere.
“Jimmy, you okay?” Allan asked.
“I’m…I’m fine. I just. I can’t find something…very important.” Jimmy stammered.
“Try backtracking your day,” Allan suggested. “Works for me,”
“Backtracking? I had a pile of files I was…Oh, no,” Jimmy shook his head. “Oh, no, no, no…”
“What’s wrong?” Allan asked.
“I…I screwed up,” Jimmy said, heading for the conference room.
***
Lois sifted through the file on her father once more, shaking her head, “I just don’t understand this. Why did Jimmy not tell us about this file? He put it in with the rest of the stuff on ACL Industries.”
“Maybe he didn’t mean to?” Clark suggested.
“Why wouldn’t he?” Lois asked.
“I don’t know,” Clark shook his head.
Jimmy knocked on the conference room door where Lois and Clark had files scattered all over the conference table, “Guys? You wanted to see me?”
Lois looked up at him with a stern look on her face, “Yeah, close the door, Jimmy,”
Nervous, he did as he was told and then asked, “So, what’s up, guys?”
“I don’t know,” Lois snapped, throwing a familiar file on the floor in front of him. “What is up? What is this?”
“I…” Jimmy stammered, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kept it from you, but Jack…”
“Jack??” Lois and Clark asked in unison.
“Yeah, he found the file over at Top Copy,” Jimmy explained, “Anyway, Jack wanted to make sure everything in the file was legit before I brought it to you,”
“And?” Lois pressed.
“And…?”
“And was it?” Clark pressed. “You handed this file to us without a word.”
“Oh, no, guys, I didn’t mean to give that to you.” Jimmy apologized. “I haven’t heard anything from Jack yet. I don’t know if this is some joke someone’s playing or if…”
“If my father is actually working for Intergang?” Lois finished for him. “It’s okay. You can say it.”
“Lois…”
“Get a hold of Jack and have him double check Top Copy’s files and see if there is anything else that link’s my father to Intergang. Then I want you to cross reference his personal files with what we have on Intergang,” Lois said.
“You got it,” Jimmy nodded, heading for the door.
“You might want to check with ACL Industries too,” Clark suggested.
“ACL Industries?” Lois asked, “Why?”
“There’s something going on with them. They have a lot of common assets. They may have more than that in common,” Clark pointed out.
***
“How could you be so stupid??” Ellen chastised Sam as she paced in front of him.
Sam remained silent, watching Ellen pace.
“I know you wouldn’t do something like this, but you refusing to talk isn’t exactly helping things. You were obviously the fall guy for whoever was behind that poor boy’s kidnapping. You need to help the police catch them. Sam? Sam, are you listening to me?” Ellen snapped.
“I’m listening, Ellen,”
“But you don’t care,” Ellen noted, angrily tapping her heels as she watched him resume his silence by folding his hands in front of him. “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to meditate. It’s calming,” Sam replied.
“You don’t have time to meditate!!”
“Ellen, just let it go. Whatever will happen is just going to happen. I can’t change anything.”
“Why are you so….pigheaded??” She slammed her fist on the table then turned to walk out of the visitors’ room. If Sam didn’t want to help himself then she wasn’t going to kill herself trying to save him.
***
TBC...
