Epiphany
Folc4evernaday
Part 9
***
“Hi,” Lois smiled as she walked up to Clark in the Daily Planet lobby Monday morning. They had spent all day Saturday together in Smallville and by the time he’d brought her back home that evening she didn’t want him to leave. Unfortunately, the criminal element had other plans. He’d been called away on several incidents in Southside. It seemed like all at once the floodgates opened and muggings, robberies, attempted arsons, and car jackings all took place at the same time.
He turned to smile at her, handing her a cup of coffee, “Hi,” He said with a smile. She hadn’t seen him since Saturday and he looked so good in his light gray suit with his usual outlandish tie in gray and red. Would it be in terrible taste if she kissed him here in the middle of the Daily Planet lobby? Sure it would give the gossip hounds even more to talk about but right now she really couldn’t think of a reason why she should care.
She was about to act on her impulse when Ralph walked up to them, “Hey you two done giving each other googly eyes yet? The Chief’s called an Emergency Staff Meeting…”
Lois rolled her eyes at Ralph as she watched him race to the elevator and step onto the already full elevator car. “Emergency staff meeting? Wonder what that’s about.”
“Who knows,” Clark shrugged as an empty elevator car arrived on the Lobby floor.
They stepped inside and Lois watched in rapt attention as the doors closed before turning to face him and capture his lips with her own as she dropped her bag to the floor, freeing her arms to feel him freely. His arms circled around her waist as he met her lips just as enthusiastically, “I …missed ….you,” She murmured in-between heated kisses, tugging him closer as she fisted his silk tie with her hand, rolling it upward as she tightened her grasp on him.
“I…missed you…too,” He murmured against her lips. She heard the ding of the elevator and he glanced back quickly before murmuring “Four more floors,”
“Good,” She whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck as she molded the top half of her body against his, deepening the kiss. There was another ding from the elevator and she heard the doors open. She didn’t want to stop. Not yet.
“Three…more…floors..” He murmured against her lips.
“Uh, we’ll take the next one,” a female voice could be heard from outside the elevator.
She couldn’t hold in the laughter as the doors closed once more and his arms tightened around her waist, “Perry’s gonna kill us…” She laughed.
“But what a way to go…” He laughed with her, recapturing her lips once more, “Besides….we….have….seven…minutes…and eighteen….seconds…until we’re….officially….in….working…hours….” He said in-between heated kisses.
“He did…say….save it….for….after hours….” She laughed against his lips.
“Mmm hmm,” He grinned, molding his body against hers.
“One more floor…” She whimpered against him in protest as she tightened her arms around his neck.
“Who cares?” He murmured against her lips, tightening his arms around her waist. “Still have …a few …minutes left…”
The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival on the newsroom floor. Whistling and catcalls could be heard from their co-workers as they reluctantly pulled away. She smiled at him before grabbing her bag she’d dropped on the floor earlier.
“Hey you two, any day now? Since when do you two arrive in the newsroom without a second to spare? You two are too busy acting like Elvis and Priscilla on their honeymoon to notice your emails about the emergency staff meeting…” Perry roared across the newsroom. “Everyone! Conference Room! Now!”
“Someone’s crabby…” Lois muttered under her breath as she dropped her things at her desk and grabbed her notepad and pen.
“I heard that,” Perry warned.
“I know you did,” Lois smiled back at Perry as she headed to the conference room notepad in hand. “You said to keep it professional in the office during working hours…technically we did,”
Perry rolled his eyes as he pointed toward the conference room for them to move. “Lois, conference room…” He muttered irritably as he walked past them to get started.
Ralph’s voice could be heard from the distance, “I told you…they are sooo….”
Cat’s response was simply, “Shut up, Ralph,”
Lois took her seat at the conference table next to Clark and grinned back at him, “So worth it,” She whispered in a barely audible tone that she knew he could hear. He looked back at her and smiled, taking her hand in his.
***
“This doesn’t make any sense, Chief!” Lois argued as she glared at another list of cutbacks from upper management. The Planet is the number one paper people are reading…subscriptions are up. How are we still having budget cuts?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, Lois,” Perry argued, pacing in the conference room as he went over the latest cutbacks, “I take my marching orders from upstairs….”
“So, when will be paid?” Jimmy asked, holding up a copy of his bounced check, “I’ve got bills to pay…”
Perry sighed, raking a hand through his thinning hairline, “They didn’t say. I guess when there’s money to pay you…” He admitted sheepishly. Protests began as everyone started talking over one another and he held his hands up to calm everyone down, “I’m just the messenger boys and girls. I can only repeat to you what I’ve been told….and that’s not much.”
Sanchez shook his head, throwing a pencil across the table, “What are we doing to resolve this? I mean, what is the paper doing?”
Perry snorted, “I have no idea. They haven’t asked for my….INPUT.”
Lois crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the back of her chair, trying to portray a calm she didn’t feel, “Budget cuts, bounced checks, Chief, we can’t live off our savings forever…How are we expected to work like this?”
“I don’t know,” Perry sighed, continuing to pace in front of the board.
Clark shook his head, “They said last week’s problem was a clerical error….What’s the excuse this time?”
“Clerical error? More like the paper’s broke…” Jimmy muttered bitterly, “There’s a rumor the paper’s going under.”
“Jimmy, there’s always a rumor.” Perry retorted annoyed.
“And it's usually true,” Lois snapped back.
“Anything else, Chief? Any more surprises?” Clark asked.
“They…uh, they’re ... Talking about layoffs,” Perry muttered reluctantly.
“WHAT??” The entire room erupted in protest and Perry held his hands up to calm everyone down.
“All I know is if we don’t find ways to save money around here, we’re gonna be out of business,” Perry said, opening the door to the conference room, “That’s it. Everyone get to work. I’ll let you know when I know something.”
Lois gathered her notebook and stood up, shaking her head, “This is nuts.”
“This reeks,” Clark said softly, “All these cutbacks and financial issues….Don’t you think it seems to be happening overnight?”
“I know,” Lois sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Something more is going on here…”
“Maybe we oughta check with Accounting ourselves and see if we can find out what’s going on before the Planet becomes vulnerable to a hostile takeover…” Clark reasoned, “If it isn’t already, that is,”
Lois read off the list from her notes, “No business lunches, no payments for sources, no cabs….”
“Well, I think it’s a scam,” Jimmy interrupted. “The pinstriped pinheads upstairs only want us to think the Planet is broke,”
“Why would they do that?” Sanchez asked from behind him.
“I don’t know,” Lois said, linking her arm around Clark and tugging his arm to her as she headed out of the conference room, “but we’re going to find out…”
***
A balding man stood in an abandoned warehouse looking around nervously. The room was lit by one light bulb as it flickered above him. He heard footsteps from the other side of the room and called out, “You the boss?”
“He sends his regards,” The woman said as she approached with a briefcase in her hand, “You Devane?”
He nodded, “Yeah,”
She handed him a file, “You have a reputation of finding obscure items the government wishes to keep hidden…hacking into files….leaking classified information to the tabloids…”
“What’s it to you?” He sniffed.
“The boss would like to acquire your….talents to help find a rock…”
“A rock?” He echoed, curiously.
***
“The banks are no longer extending credit, the advertisers are no longer buying ad space….” Lois ticked off the notes as she and Clark reentered the Planet.
“And Accounting says there’s no rhyme or reason behind it,” Clark said bitterly.
“I smell a rat,” Lois muttered.
“But who?” Clark wondered aloud.
“I don’t know,” Lois said softly, “This feels….off…Feels like the Planet is a sitting duck waiting for the sharks to take a bite…” A light bulb went off in Clark’s head and Lois recognized the expression on his face, “What?”
He smiled, “Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way…The question is who would want to put the Planet out of business…”
“I guess,” Lois reasoned, “Maybe we should find a buyer,” She laughed as she pressed the call button for the elevator.
“Why not?” Clark asked as they stepped onto the empty elevator car together.
“Why not what?” Lois asked, “It was a joke,”
“But not far off,” Clark pressed. “Someone’s after the Planet. So, we find someone to buy it and beat whoever it is to the punch,”
Lois crossed her arms over her chest, “How do you expect us to do that?”
***
“Lois, you and Kent have come in this office with some whoppers over the years, but this one has to take the cake…” Perry muttered, shaking his head.
Lois threw her arms in the air in frustration, “Just think about it Chief… It makes sense!”
“You want us to pitch the Planet to a buyer before this ‘invisible’ interested party gets a hold of it?” Perry asked skeptically. “How do you even know there is an interested party?”
“We don’t,” Clark shook his head, “but think about it. Everything that’s been going on…It all started last week. That’s way too quick of a time table for the Planet to start having financial issues out of the blue. Someone wouldn’t sandbag the Planet like that unless they were trying to make a play for it…”
“Or trying to put the competition out of business?” Perry guessed.
“Carpenter’s out of business and the STAR just got bought by Multi World Communications,” Lois shook her head. “They’re a bit more liberal with the quality of work expected over there…”
“Well this is certainly an interesting theory, but what do you want me to do about it?” Perry asked. “Even if it’s true…I wouldn’t even know where to begin…”
“We need to beat….whoever this is…to the punch. Get a buyer to buy up the Planet…” Lois said.
“NOT Luthor,” Clark added.
“Definitely not,” Lois shuddered.
Perry arched an eyebrow at them and sighed, “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to dust off the old contacts in my black book and see what I can find out…”
“Yes!” Lois cheered, leaning up to kiss Clark in her excitement. “I knew we could count on you, Chief!”
“Don’t thank me yet,” Perry sighed, pointing to the door. “Everything you have on all your stories…on your hard drives….make copies and keep them at home….Kent’s right. This started last week when you two started researching the boss…”
“You don’t think…” Lois began.
“Just do it,” Perry ordered gruffly.
***
Lois came home that evening with boxes of files and a copy of the map they’d created to map out the known players associated with ‘the boss’. She struggled to get her key through the door and banged against the wooden door, hoping Lucy was home to help. The door opened and Lucy grimaced when she saw Lois struggling under the weight of the boxes, “Whoa, sis, did you leave anything at the office?”
She reached out to grab a few boxes and Lois sighed in relief, “Thanks!”
“Where’s Clark?” Lucy teased. “I thought he’d have helped you home with all this…” Lucy set the boxes down in the living room and sighed, “What is all this anyway?”
“He’s working with Perry on looking into the Planet’s financial issues lately. He’ll probably be by later…” Lois said, sinking into the couch, “These,” she gestured to the boxes, “are copies of everything we have on ‘the boss’ we’re investigating right now. Perry thinks since the financial issues started when we started investigating that it’s probably related and wanted us to have backups of everything…”
“Smart,” Lucy nodded, grabbing the boxes and moving them to the closet. “I’m going to put these up out of the way,”
“Thanks, Luce,” Lois sighed.
“No prob,” Lucy said, grabbing the last box and closing the door to the closet, “So, who’s the boss?” She asked, sitting down next to her.
“I don’t know,” Lois said, sitting up, “but I have my suspicions…Clark thinks that…” A knock at the door interrupted her train of thought and Lois whimpered, “I’m too tired to move…”
“Here, you stay put,” Lucy ordered, “That’s probably Jimmy. He said he was going to stop by and….” Lucy opened the door and stammered, “Mis-Mister ….Lu-Luthor,”
“Very funny, Luce,” Lois rolled her eyes, standing up, “You know if you didn’t want to get the door all you had to do was say…” She stopped cold in her tracks when she saw Lex Luthor standing in her doorway, “…something,” She finished her sentence shakily.
“Lois, I’m so glad I caught you…” He smiled, taking a step inside the apartment despite Lucy trying to block him from entering. Realizing she wasn’t able to stop him she moved to stand next to Lois.
Lois crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes at him, “Lex, what are you doing here?”
“I thought we could talk…you haven’t returned any of my calls…” He began.
Lois looked at Lucy with a raised eyebrow and Lucy shrugged, “I deleted ‘em. Sue me,”
“And you are…?” Lex inquired with a bite in his tone.
“Lucy Lane, Lois’ sister. You know…the FAMILY you never bothered to meet or find out about for a whole year?” Lucy’s tone became more and more bitter with each word.
“Lois, can we have a moment?” Lex asked.
“No,” Lucy said, approaching him with her arms crossed over her chest. “You need to take a hint. Lois doesn’t want anything to do with you…” She pressed a finger into his chest and he narrowed his eyes, glaring at Lucy.
Lois caught the gaze and pulled her sister back, “Luce, back off,” She hissed.
“I think that decision should be something mutually agreed upon,” Lex countered, “and I never agreed to that,”
Lois shook her head in disgust, “Well, that’s too bad because this…” she gestured between the two of them, “doesn’t work for me…I told you I didn’t want to see you anymore. What are you doing here?”
He took another step toward her and Lucy took another step toward her sister, “I know you’ve been…confused…lately, but surely you can’t expect me to give up on us so quickly…”
Lucy snickered, “Us?”
Lois jabbed her in the ribs, “There is no ‘us’, Lex. I already told you we are through! Done!”
“Lois, you don’t know what you’re saying. It’s Kent. He’s gotten into your head and filled you with these lies about me…If we could just take some time…I know we could recapture what we once had…I love you…”
“You need to leave, now!” Lucy ordered, pointing to the door.
Lex looked as if he was fighting the urge to strike her. Lois braced herself, ready to push her sister to the side if need be to protect her. Where was Clark? She glanced at the clock. Why hadn’t she waited another half hour for him to finish? She shuddered as she watched his eyes darken, advancing toward them, “I just want a few moments alone, Lois, please…” He pleaded angrily, turning to glare at Lucy.
“I think Lois wants me to stay,” Lucy snapped, narrowing her eyes at him. “You don’t scare me. I am not one of your servants you can order around and I’m not one of your bimbos….”
Lex ignored Lucy, trying again to sweet talk Lois, “Please, Lois, don’t do this. We have something special. Our connection. I love you….If you could just take some time to see…We are meant to be…” He pulled out a box from his jacket and Lois’ eyes widened.
“Oh, God….” Lois shook her head as she watched him get down on one knee, “No, no, no, no, no….Are you out of your mind? What do you think you’re doing?”
“What does it look like?” He asked, reaching for her.
“Are you out of your mind? Get up! She’s not in love with you!” Lucy snapped irritably.
“I beg your pardon?” He asked, standing up to face her.
“Get out!” Lois spat, pointing at the door.
“I’ll leave when I’m good and ready…” He snapped irritably, pushing Lucy aside as he lunged toward her.
“Hey!” Lucy snapped, trying to stand up.
Lex grabbed Lois by the jaw, “You think I don’t know about your rendezvous with your partner Lois? How long did you wait before you let him into your bed? Hmm? A week? A day?” He caressed her face as he spoke and she cringed at his touch.
“Let…go….of….me….” She hissed slowly, trying to portray a confidence she didn’t feel at the moment.
“I try to give you the world and you spit in my face you ungrateful…” He doubled over in pain and released her jaw. She took advantage of the opportunity and delivered another kick to his back, watching in satisfaction as he rolled onto his back in pain.
“Nice aim,” Lois said, helping her sister to her feet.
“I learned from the best,” Lucy said brushing herself off.
Lex stood up, glaring at them in a rage, “You think you can betray me….humiliate me like this?” He snarled angrily as he finished staggering to his feet.
“Get OUT!” Lois pointed to the door as Lucy started grabbing things from the shelf behind them and throwing them at him. Lois couldn’t help but laugh as he ducked from the books as Lucy continued to throw them across the room. Lois started grabbing things from the shelf with Lucy to throw at him, hoping to push him out the door. He continued to duck as he headed for the door.
He opened the door only to find Clark standing on the other side with his arms crossed in his famous Superman pose. If she didn’t already know his secret seeing him now would have been a dead giveaway. Fortunately, Lex didn’t seem to notice as he glared at Clark. “Why am I not surprised?” He muttered angrily.
“Obviously, you have a problem with boundaries, Luthor,” Clark said stepping into the apartment as he approached Luthor, staring him down, “What part of ‘stay away’ don’t you understand?”
“Well, Kent, I see you’ve wasted no time…” Lex accused angrily.
Clark ignored the dig, “Lois told you to stay away from her. I’d suggest you do as she asked and leave…” Clark gestured to the door for him to leave. His face was a few inches away from Luthor’s.
“This isn’t over…” Lex warned, sulking out the door.
“Arrogant son of a…” Clark slammed the door behind him, locking the deadbolt before turning back to Lois and Lucy, “Spring cleaning?” He teased, looking around at the books on the floor.
Lois bumped Lucy’s hip and smirked, “You started it,”
“You were throwing books right along with me,” Lucy said, wrapping her arm around Lois’ shoulders.
“Are you okay?” Clark asked, walking toward them as he began picking up the books as he walked to them.
“Fine,” Lois said, rubbing her hands up and down her arms, “Just a little shaky,”
Clark placed the books on the shelf before turning to check on Lois and Lucy, examining her reddened jaw to make sure she was indeed all right. “Did he hurt you?” He asked in concern.
“Tried to…” Lois brushed it off, stepping toward the middle of the room as she began gathering the books that were strewn across the room in their confrontation with Lex. “The nerve of that…”
“Tell me about it,” Lucy muttered, taking a seat on the couch as she reached under her to gather a few more books that had been thrown.
“Do I even want to know?” Clark asked cautiously, helping pick up the books with them.
“Probably not,” Lois muttered slamming a stack of books on the shelf.
Clark glanced at her in concern and she didn’t say anything. Lucy supplied, “He was trying to beg her to take him back….then got down on one knee….then tried to manhandle her when she didn’t give him the answer he wanted…”
“That was when Lucy kicked him,” Lois said, slamming another stack of books on the shelf.
Clark raised an eyebrow, glancing back at Lucy, “I’m over-protective….and I don’t like him,” Lucy said hurriedly. “I’m starving. Let’s order some food…”
“No thanks,” Lois shook her head, “You go ahead. I’m not hungry,”
“Suit yourself,” Lucy said, reaching for the stack of take-out menus on the table in front of her as she headed to the kitchen to call her order in, “I’m feeling pizza…”
Lois sighed, sinking into the couch as she watched her sister head to the kitchen. Clark sunk down next to her, placing a protective arm around her, “You wanna talk about it?”
Lois shook her head, pulling Clark’s arm around her as she rested his head against his chest, “How’d it go with Perry?”
“Okay,” Clark nodded, “I think we’ve got a good list together. He’s meeting with one of the potential buyers tonight,” He tightened his arms around her. “Lois?”
“Clark?” She tightened her grip on his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. She could feel the tears stinging the corner of her eyes.
“It’s okay….I’m here,” He whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m right here, Lois,”
***
“Mr. White?” a pretty blonde called from the waiting room and Perry stood up, following her down the long hallway.
“Uh, interesting décor,” Perry said, looking around the office at all the bats that were painted on the hallway.
“Mr. Wayne used to have a fear of them when he was younger so he keeps them around to remind himself that fear is just an obstacle,” She said, pointing to the office ahead. She knocked on the door three times and announced, “Mr. Wayne? Perry White to see you,”
***
Lois rested her head against Clark’s chest, relaying what had happened earlier, “I don’t know what happened. It was like my body just froze and forgot how to scream…” She shuddered against him.
“You panicked.” Clark said, kissing her forehead as he tightened his arms around her.
Lois shuddered. “I’ve never frozen like that. I don’t know why I…”
Clark rested his head against her forehead, “It’s a completely normal reaction…”
“He was insane….out of control…I’d have called the police on him if I thought it would have done any good. He’s got every officer in his pocket…”
“Not every officer,” Clark countered. “Henderson is still clean,” Lois just snorted and he continued, “He thinks he’s untouchable, but that’s his biggest weakness….his ego,”
“Then we’ll just have to use it against him,” Lois said, drawing random patterns on his chest as she spoke, “Prove he’s not as untouchable as he thinks…” She smiled as he tightened his arms around her, “Thank you,”
“For what?” He asked.
“Trying to warn me…even though I wasn’t listening a good part of the time….you tried to warn me. Thank you,” She leaned up to kiss him.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked cautiously.
Lois shook her head, “I don’t have any marks on me….” She held up her wrists for inspection, “He scared me….but I’m fine now. Lucy said she’s going to do a better job of checking who is at the door before answering…”
“You think he’ll try something again?” Clark asked.
“I don’t know. I think you scared him pretty well, but ….honestly I don’t know what to expect.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Clark sighed, kissing her cheek, “I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you,”
“Oh, Clark,” She sighed against him, “I love you,”
He ran his hand through her hair and whispered, “I love you too, Lois,”
She leaned up to kiss him, wrapping her arm around his neck as she pulled him to her. She smiled against his lips as he began to respond to her, deepening his embrace with her as she rolled on top of him, hovering above him as she molded her chest against his, deepening the embrace. “Clark…” She whimpered against him as she ran her hands up and down his chest.
She moved to straddle him and he pulled away, “Lois, we need…to slow down…” He said in-between heated kisses.
“Why?” She asked, pulling him to her by his tie as she kissed him. “This is…so much more ….fun…”
“I know, but…Oh, God…” He groaned as she pressed herself against him, tugging on his earlobe with her teeth. “Lois…”
“Clark…” she moaned against his lips, molding her body against his as his hands slipped down to her hips, resting on the small of her back. “Stay with me tonight…” She pleaded.
He slowly broke off the kiss, realizing her motivation for trying to push things, “Lois,” He cupped her cheek, fingering the strands of her hair cautiously, “You don’t need to…” She shuddered against him and he tightened his arms around her, “I’m not going anywhere,”
***
The next morning, Lois woke up with the sun shining in her eyes. She blinked, trying to adjust to the light. A familiar weight was wrapped around her waist, She looked down and smiled, recalling how Clark had spent the night with her last night.
She turned in his arms to face him, smiling when she saw him in his wrinkled dress shirt. He looked so different without his glasses. It was a side of him that no one would ever see…a combination of Clark Kent and Superman in one. His face looked so relaxed as he slept.
She moved her hand to caress his cheek, leaning up to kiss him. He began to stir, tightening his grip on her waist as he kissed her back softly, “Morning,” He murmured with a grin.
She smiled back at him, “Morning,” She linked her arms around his neck, “You stayed,”
He cupped her cheek, “I told you I would,”
“I love you,” She whispered, leaning into him to capture his lips.
***
Lex held an icepack to his shoulder as he listened to Nigel update him on the latest intel from the surveillance. “Still nothing on Superman?”
“Not yet,” Nigel said, “but I believe I have a lead. They found the surveillance equipment but I was able to replace it with one of our audio transmitter prototypes. Should be hidden well enough to keep from attracting the attention of the Man of Steel,”
“How did he find it?” Lex asked.
“Apparently, Mr. Kent found it and alerted Superman who swept the place,” Nigel said gloomily.
“How?” Lex pressed.
“I don’t know, but there’s definitely more to Mr. Kent than meets the eye,” Nigel said, pulling up the video feed from earlier, “Look,”
<“You could have been mad at me and you weren’t. You didn’t have to believe me when I …”
“Enough of that. I told you I was a bit shell-shocked that night….You’re right I could have been mad, but as I said before I can’t think of a time when you could have told me. You trusted me so I trusted you. It’s that simple.”>
“What kind of secret could he be hiding that would cause Ms. Lane to be angry at him?” Nigel asked, “I asked myself the same question. I’ve got our investigators looking into his background…So far he’s come up clean, but I know there’s something there,”
“Yes,” Lex nodded, “Whatever it is….must be serious if he’s afraid of losing Lois Lane to it,” He grew thoughtful for a moment. “Can we get surveillance put into Mr. Kent’s apartment as well?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Nigel said.
“Good,” Lex nodded, “Anything else of interest?”
Nigel shook his head, “Just your confrontation with Ms. Lane, sir,”
“I lost my head, Nigel…my focus…” Lex shook his head in disgust.
“You seem to have a weakness for Ms. Lane, sir, but don’t let it blind you from the goals at hand…” Nigel reminded him.
“Bringing down Superman,” Lex reminded himself.
“The ultimate goal,” Nigel nodded.
“I always love a challenge, but this is a game I’m quickly growing tired of,” Lex snapped bitterly.
***
TBC...
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