Rules of Battle
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 2
Clark flew through the open sky, finding the crowd of police cars outside Metropolis Savings and Loan. He flew down, landing in front of a black sedan, driving on the sidewalk. People were jumping out of the way to avoid being hit. Three police cars were behind in close pursuit.
Clark aimed a beam of heat vision at the tires, and the front tires of the sedan went flat. The driver quickly lost control, and Clark grabbed the front of the car to stop it. The police pulled up on both sides, blocking the passengers of the sedan inside. The two men with face masks on held their hands up, surrendering as the officers began to take them into custody.
"Thanks, Superman. Two other suspects took off in a gray Olds. We wounded one of them." one of the officers informed him.
Clark nodded, "They've probably changed cars by now, but I'll take a look from the air."
***
Lois stared at the screen in front of her in frustration. So far she'd tried close to three hundred different combinations to access LexLabs' information database but no luck. It seemed to be just another reminder of how little she knew about Lex Luthor. The normal dates she'd tried like birthdays and company founding dates came up short, but any other dates like his mother or father's birthdate or date of death were harder to try as she had to look those dates up.
"Hey," a paper cup of coffee appeared in front of her, and she took it gratefully. "Any luck?"
She looked over at Clark as he took a seat next to her, pulling his chair up to hers to peer over her shoulder at the screen. "Nope, I've been trying to access this system for the last three hours and no luck. The password's some alphanumeric impossible code. I've hit a wall."
Clark reached for the keyboard, "Why don't I give it a try?"
"Sure, but it'll probably take you five years to go through the possible combinations...." she lowered her voice, watching as he scanned the newsroom carefully for "Even with superspeed."
He chuckled and shrugged, "We'll see about that." Lois watched as his hands flew across the keyboard at superspeed, disappearing into a blur. She glanced at the screen seeing the green and white screen change from red to yellow almost simultaneously when a final beep signaled he'd finally cracked the code.
"Unbelievable." Lois looked at him with a smirk. "What was it?"
Clark frowned, shaking his head as he typed the first employee's name into the search query, "The password was 'highground09121993.'"
"High ground?" Lois frowned, recalling the phrase but uncertain of its significance.
"It's a phrase he used when he caught us in his study the night of the Orchid ball. It was also the same phrase Dr. Baines used right before she tried to blow us up." Clark typed a few more keys, scrolling through the information as he spoke. "Okay, the week LexLabs was shut down there was a theft report filed for half the supply of uranium."
"Look at the name on the report." Lois pointed out, grabbing the file Jimmy had brought them earlier. "Emmet Vale, head of Robotics."
"He just moved to the top of the list." Clark breathed.
***
That evening, Lois sat with Lucy at a table for four at Lois' favorite Chinese restaurant. Clark had left a few minutes ago to put money in the meter, leaving Lois a few minutes alone to talk to Lucy. She caught her sister's gaze as Lucy looked back at the empty chair next to her and offered them a forced smile. "I don't know what's taking Johnny so long. He said he'd come."
Lois bit her lip, fighting the urge to say what she wanted. Clark was right. Trying to point out that Lucy was wrong wasn't the issue here. Lucy needed to know about Johnny Corbin's past, but she wouldn't be open to hearing anything she had to say if Lois came across like she was telling her what to do. An urge that she found very hard to suppress.
"I'm sure he'll show up," Lois said with a forced smile. "How do you like your roommate?"
"Things are good. I've only been there a day, so I'm still settling in." Lucy said, taking a sip of her tea.
Lois wanted to shout what she knew from the rooftop, but she bit her tongue. Getting Lucy angry with her wasn't going to make her see the light. She needed to be careful how she approached the situation. She recalled how she'd reacted when Clark had tried to warn her about Lex. She just ignored him and found herself getting closer and closer to him. She'd been stubborn and blind when it came to Lex Luthor. She didn't want the same thing for her sister. She had to be smart. She had to be supportive. She had to not be right in this instance.
"So, I was surprised to find out you'd moved back to Metropolis." Lois began, stirring her tea with her spoon. "I mean, the last time we talked you seemed pretty adamant about not wanting to be in the same city as daddy."
Lucy looked down at her drink, contemplating her answer for a moment before shrugging, "I guess I found a reason to come back."
"Johnny seems..." Lois struggled to find a trait to hold onto that would be somewhat positive but couldn't think of one. She offered a weak smile before squeaking out, "colorful."
"He's an acquired taste I know," Lucy smiled, "but he really is a good guy at heart."
"How long have you known him?" Lois asked, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw Clark making his way through the crowded restaurant toward them.
"A few months I guess." Lucy glanced at the empty seat. "I really wish I knew what was taking him so long."
"Maybe he got caught up at work?" Lois offered.
"He's between jobs right now." Lucy frowned.
"Oh." Lois frowned as Clark reclaimed his seat.
"Hi, Clark, that must have been a long line to put money in the parking meter."
Clark nodded, "Yeah, there was an accident about a block away that's keeping the streets crowded. It seems the bank robbers thought they were going to hit another bank. They caught three of them, but the two that were injured earlier are still on the run."
"Yeah, I heard about that." Lucy nodded. "You'd think after awhile these guys would learn they can't hide from Superman, huh?"
Lois shared a look with Clark before turning her attention back to Lucy. "So, do you want to go ahead and order?"
Lucy glanced back at the empty seat and frowned. "We might as well. It doesn't look like Johnny's going to show." The frown quickly disappeared as Lucy turned her attention to the two of them. "So, Clark, I've heard Lois' side. How about yours?"
"Mine?" He asked in an uncertain tone.
"Yeah, I've found there are usually two sides to every story. Lois' version and the real version. So what's going on with you two?" Lucy's eyes twinkled with intrigue.
"Well..." Clark's ears began to burn a bright pink as Lucy continued to give him the third degree. Lois did her best to focus on the conversation over dinner, but all she could think about was how blind her sister seemed to Johnny Corbin's faults.
***
The next morning, Lois drug herself out of bed, still focused on her dilemma with Lucy. She felt like she was lying to her sister by not telling her what she knew but at the same time, she only knew what she knew because she'd gone digging for it. She was in a lose-lose situation.
She and Clark were supposed to try and find Emmet Vale to day and find out what they could about the unemployed robotics expert, but after last night's dinner with Lucy, neither of them were interested in research. Clark had brought her home around eleven, and she'd been asleep before her head hit the pillow.
She was finishing putting on her makeup when a soft knock on the door echoed inside her apartment. She stepped out of the bathroom and headed for the front door. “Lucy?” She widened the door when she saw her sister on the other side in tears.
“I think something happened to Johnny,” Lucy said, stepping inside the apartment.
“What do you mean?” Lois asked, closing the door behind her.
“I mean, I don’t know where he is. I went over and asked his roommate if he’d seen him and he hasn’t seen him since yesterday morning. Lois, what if something happened to him? I...” Lucy said tearfully.
“Okay, okay, calm down,” Lois soothed, wrapping her arms around her sister. “We’ll figure this out. Now did Johnny tell you what he was doing yesterday? Maybe where he was going?”
Lucy shook her head tearfully, “No, he said he had some business he and Angel were going to take care of that afternoon, but that was it.”
“This Angel? Who is he?” Lois prodded gently.
“His roommate.” Lucy sobbed.
“Okay, give me all the numbers and address information you have and I’ll see if I can get Henderson to start looking for him,” Lois reassured her, running a hand up and down her sister’s arm.
“Okay, thanks,” Lucy gave her a watery smile.
“What are sisters for?” Lois said with a shaky breath. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I will once we find Johnny,” Lucy said adamantly.
“I’ll do what I can,” Lois reassured her. “When I get to the Planet I’ll get Clark and Jimmy to…” She stopped when she heard a knock at the door and sighed. “Speaking of which…” She opened the door and managed a half smile when she saw Clark on the other side of the door with a bag of pastries with french script on the bag and two coffees. “Hi,”
He smiled stepping inside, but his face immediately fell when he saw Lucy’s distraught face. “Lucy, what’s wrong?”
“Johnny Corbin is missing,” Lois explained solemnly sharing a look with Clark. She wasn’t sure what to think of her sister’s boyfriend disappearing. Was he in jail? The hospital? Or worse? For Lucy’s sake, she hoped this had a happy ending but knowing what she knew she couldn’t push the what-if scenarios out of her mind.
“Missing?” Clark echoed with an uncertain expression on his face. His jaw tightened, and a solemn look crossed his face. “I’m sorry, Lucy. You know Lois, and I’ll do whatever we can to help.”
“Thanks,” Lucy said wiping the tears from her face. “I’ve got to get to work.”
“Lucy, don’t you dare go into work like this,” Lois argued.
“I’ve got bills to pay.” Lucy shrugged, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes. “I’ll call you on my lunch break. Just keep me updated?”
Lois nodded, "Of course." she managed a forced smile and watched Lucy leave with a sigh. “Somehow, I don’t think this is going to end well for her.”
“Maybe it’s something innocent.” Clark offered. “He could be in the hospital injured.”
“Or dead. Or in jail.” Lois pointed out with a frown. “So much for letting her down lightly.” She muttered to herself taking a pastry from the bag Clark offered her. “How was your morning?”
“Okay,” Clark took a bite of the croissant in his hand. “Those two bank robbers are still on the lam, but patrol was pretty quiet.”
“They’ll show up eventually.” Lois gave him a reassuring smile before taking a sip of her coffee. “They always do.”
“I did get some information on Emmet Vale though.” Clark said, pulling his notepad out of his jacket, “I couldn’t locate him, but I did find his ex. I thought she might be worth a visit.”
“Yeah, let’s stop by the police station then swing by?” Lois suggested. Clark nodded his agreement, leaning in to kiss her. “What was that for?” she asked.
“I have to have a reason?” He asked with a smile.
“No.” She leaned up to kiss him once more.
***
Henderson made his way through the crowded police station with Lois and Clark in tow. “Don’t you have a missing persons section in your paper?” He asked, taking a bite of an apple as he walked.
“Those are for reported missing persons.” Lois reminded him.
“It’s only been eighteen hours.” Henderson pointed out. “I can’t open a case until we hit the twenty-four mark.” He took a seat at his desk and booted up his computer.
“Come on, Bill, this could be the difference between life or death. What if he’s seriously injured somewhere?” Clark interjected.
“Given his criminal history, he’s probably in a holding cell somewhere,” Henderson said gruffly. Lois and Clark both gave him a pleading look, and he relented. “Fine. I’ll see what I can find out, but no promises.”
“Thank you,” Lois said happily.
“The things I do,” Henderson muttered to himself, pulling up the Metropolis P.D. database on his computer.
***
TBC...
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