Rules of the Game
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 3
***
Clark stood in the corner of the cabin, examining it with his x-ray vision to make sure there were no hidden surveillance devices. One of the soldiers helping with the transport of Mr. X—whom he’d immediately recognized as Michael Disanto, former news anchor at Top Copy before he disappeared last month—pointed to the window. “We have a secure perimeter around the place. No one gets in or out without us knowing.”
“I still want to check before we open that door,” Clark instructed, motioning for the soldier to step aside. He flew out the door at super-speed, scanning the perimeter. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He turned back to the cabin and knocked three times to signal it was safe to begin movement.
The door opened and Michael with a black hood over his face stepped out with two plainclothes agents and two soldiers creating a perimeter around him. “It’s about ten feet from ….” He stopped, hearing the sound of a rifle being loaded. He turned, seeing a red light from a telescopic lens and quickly moved in front of the witness and agents to protect them from being hit.
He heard another muttered curse and aimed a beam of heat vision to the rifle. He didn’t dare move yet without knowing if there were others out there. “Keep moving.” He instructed.
Keeping his cape extended to help protect the agents as they moved to the car, Clark kept an eye on the heartbeat of the assassin. The rifle was discarded and the assassin’s face was covered in black soot, but he recognized her.
After Disanto was safely in the car, two tankers followed it to a location on the outskirts of Metropolis. He kept guard, keeping watch from the sky. No sign of the assassin. Hopefully, she’d given up. Once Disanto was secured inside the new safe house he headed back to the original location he’d protected him from gunfire at.
Retracing the steps he found in the grass the melted rifle and a golden necklace with a small charm on it. He frowned, looking down at it. It appeared he’d found his first clue.
***
Mayson Drake stood with DA Michael Clemmons, Newly Elected Mayor Reed and FBI Agent Rawlins. Superman had requested they call a press conference tonight after the attempt on the witness’ life had been made. She still wasn’t sure how good of an idea it was to threaten the assassin. She stared out at the crowd of reporters, noticing one of the news circuits seemed to be missing.
Top Copy.
“Yes, we’ll take your questions in just a moment,” Mayor Reed assured the crowd of reporters that were chomping at the bit to get the latest news on Mr. X.
The sonic boom from the air announced Superman’s arrival. Mayson looked to DA Clemmons who already appeared to be trying to work the crowd.
‘A born politician.’ she thought to herself.
A sudden hush fell on the crowd as Superman landed on stage. In his hands was a badly burnt rifle scope. Then lens looked to be completely destroyed and the barrel looked to be melted into oblivion. “I’d like to make a statement.” He said, approaching the podium with a grimly determined expression on his face.
The crowd was silent as the cameras and lights directed themselves to him. “An attempt was made on the life of a state's witness. I want to say to anyone out there thinking of making a second attempt....” Right before their eyes he snapped the rifle in half without breaking a sweat and added. “Don’t.” The broken metal fell to the floor and he continued, “I am now personally protecting this witness and if anything happens to him, I will hunt his killers relentlessly.”
***
Clark unlocked his front door, completely exhausted from the day. He saw a note on his front door from his mom saying they were getting dinner with Al and his wife and not to wait up. He sighed, closing the door behind him. He still wasn’t sure how to explain everything to Lois.
He knew she was already chomping at the bit to go after Diana Stride after this morning’s close call. Why she was coming after him he wasn’t sure but given that he’d discovered her night job was a trained assassin for Intergang he knew the two couldn’t be unrelated.
“Hey,” He heard a voice come from the living room.
He smiled, seeing Lois on the couch with a pile of notes on the floor and a throw blanket wrapped around her. “Hey, yourself,” He said, taking a seat next to her.
“Your parents left for dinner with your dad’s friend.” She said with a yawn.
“Yeah, I saw the note.” He said, resting his hand on her thigh. “Hiding out?”
“Something like that.” She said, leaning her head against his shoulder. “I just needed to get out of there. Hope you don’t mind.”
“No,” He said, wrapping an arm around her. “I like it when you’re here. Makes the place feel more like a home.”
“That’s sweet.” She seemed distracted by that comment.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, tapping her shoulder with his index finger.
“Just another crazy night at the Lane household.” She said with a frown.
“You want to talk about it?” He nudged her shoulder and she sighed, resting her head against him. “I’m a pretty good listener.”
“Is that so?” She looked at him with a half-smile.
“Yeah,” He gave her a lopsided grin.
“I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the rest of this week.” She let out a long sigh, shaking her head.
“Well, we do have that really complicated story about an Intergang assassin turned state’s evidence to distract you,” Clark added with a smile, trying to coax her out of the current mood she was in.
“Yeah, that and Ms. Stride circling like a vulture around the Planet. Who does she think she is? Over there trying to sweet talk Perry while spinning her little story as if it’s a publicity stunt. You and I know better than that. Diana Stride is as fake as they come in the news business. Even her dye job comes out of a box.”
“Gee, Lois, tell us how you really feel.” Clark teased, hugging her tightly as she grinned against his chest.
“I’m very territorial.” She responded, fingering the collar of his shirt with her index finger.
“Yes, I’ve noticed.” He grinned back at her. “Although, you might have to add assassin to your list of complaints against her.”
“What?” Her ears perked up as she turned to look at him.
“I found this next to the melted rifle where the assassin threw it.” Clark held up a gold chain necklace with a half crescent moon charm on it. “Recognize it?”
“Wasn’t Diana Stride wearing that this morning?” Lois asked, holding the necklace to get a better look at it.
“Yes, but it’s not exactly a rare design either. We’ll need more than that to connect her to Mr. X.” Clark explained with a frown.
“Has Mr. X given the assassin’s name yet?” Lois asked, running a hand up and down his chest.
“I’m not sure. I left before they completed the questioning, but I do know what I saw.” He said, shaking his head.
“Which was?” Lois prodded, leaning in to kiss him. He let out a soft moan, enjoying the feel of her in his arms as she peppered his neck with featherlight kisses.
“It looked like Diana Stride.” He said with a grimace.
“Unbelievable,” Lois muttered, shaking her head as she leaned against him.
“Though, I have a feeling we’ll need more than just Superman’s identification. We can have Jimmy run some background checks in the morning and maybe check and see how common this design is? Then have him pull up everything he can on Diana Stride.” Clark suggested, letting out a low moan as he fell back against the couch cushions, pulling Lois with him.
She grinned against him, “Sounds like a plan.” She grew quiet for a moment and he moved to cup her cheek. A grin crossed her face and she sighed, “Hey, maybe we can get this wrapped up before the end of the week and solidify that Meriwether award.”
“Yeah,” He ran his hand against her jawline, seeing her glance down with a sad smile. “Hey, what is it?”
“It’s just...everything.” She said sadly. “You know, I’m supposed to be able to get to the bottom of a problem and...I can’t even figure out where or when everything broke with my own family...My parents’ marriage. My relationship with my parents. It wasn't’ always like this. We used to actually be happy.
Normal. Now I can’t even get through dinner in one piece.”
“I’m sorry.” He soothed, running a hand up her back. “I know it can’t be easy having your mom and Lucy all under one roof.”
“Lucy’s not so bad. It’s just when they get together…” Lois sighed, leaning back against him. “They drive me nuts.”
“I’ve noticed.” He grinned at her, ducking when she flung a pillow at him. “Hey, careful. Those things do break.”
Lois grinned up at him, “Only on Superman.”
He chuckled, “So you hiding out for the night or the week?”
“Can I do both?” She giggled, looking up at him impishly.
“It might get a little crowded whenever my parents get back here.” He pointed out with a grin.
She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder blade, “I love your parents. They’re just so ...
not insane.”
“Come on, your mom’s not that bad.” He tried to reason.
“You didn’t have to grow up with her.” Lois retorted. “Everything is a disaster. She never thinks before she does anything and then she….” He did his best to hide his amusement, listening to Lois complain about her mother. “What is so funny?”
“Nothing. Just finding it comical that you’re complaining about someone not thinking things through.”
“That’s different.” Lois harrumphed, sitting back on the couch and crossing her arms over her chest.
“Of course it is.” He grinned, “Just like I’m sure she told your grandmother the same thing.” She took the pillow and hit him across the chest with it and feathers went everywhere. “What did I say about the pillows?” He teased, throwing a wad of white feathers at her.
She giggled, throwing another handful at him. He leaned in to kiss her, enjoying the feel of her in his arms as she relaxed against him, dropping the feathers in her hand as he cradled her in his arms. Her hand moved to caress his cheek as he concentrated on savoring the taste of her lips against his.
“I love you,” She murmured against his lips with a grin. “Even if you do have feathers in your hair.” She giggled against him and he gave her a lopsided smile, shaking the feathers off.
“You laugh but the next set of pillows are going to come with plastic vinyl covers…” He threatened and she laughed harder.
She caught her breath and a silence fell between them. He reached down to flick a stray feather out of her hair and she placed a hand over his looking at him with a pained expression, “What if we end up hating each other?”
He stopped, looking at her in concern, “What?”
“It happens all the time. People grow apart and divorce and then can’t even be in the same room with one another. What if…”
“Lois,” He cupped her face, turning to look at her.
“Right now we only see each other when we want to, but what about when we don't? What if you're in a bad mood, assuming that's possible, should I go stay in Missouri for awhile?” She rambled at full-speed and he did his best to hide his amusement, knowing full well that this was serious to her.
“Lois, I'm sure there'll be hard times...just like in any relationship, but we'll work it out.” He pressed his lips against her cheek, “Like we always do.”
“What if we don’t?” She looked up at him tearfully. “My parents loved each other at one point now they can’t stand each other and I can’t bear the thought of…”
“We’re not your parents any more than we are them.” He reminded her. “Unlike your parents, we have this thing called communication going for us that comes in handy.”
“It started out small.” Lois pointed out, sighing against him. “We’d plan vacations and then Daddy’d have to cancel last minute because of some emergency. Mom grew bitter from having to quit her job and move to the city to be near Daddy’s work.”
“So, you know what not to do.” He pointed out. “Lois, I don’t know the future anymore than you do. I do know that I love you...and you love me. And that's the best, and strongest, foundation we can have.” He was quiet for a moment before adding, “When I was a kid, my home meant permanence... a place to be safe. I spent years traveling the whole world but never found that anywhere until I came to Metropolis. I know there’s still a lot of things we both have to figure out but isn’t that what marriage is about? Compromise. Give and take. Permanence and building a life together.”
Lois stroked his cheek and sighed, “When I was a kid, home was where Mother sat in the lounge chair, getting drunk, while Daddy burned steaks at the barbecue trying to explain why he was kissing Mrs. Bellcanto in the church parking lot… Permanence... wasn't so permanent.” He could hear the crack in her voice as she spoke and almost see Lois as the hurt little girl watching her family be torn apart.
He chose his words carefully, trying to reassure her the best way he knew how. “Lois. You and I are as
permanent as permanent can get.” He promised, hoping his words could reach down to that little girl that couldn’t trust forever meant eternity to him.
He hated what she’d had to endure and wanted to kiss away every tear and every ounce of pain. The memory of her father so blatantly disrespecting his children and his vow to their mother struck a chord with him. After everything he’d learned about Claude, Paul and Sam he knew he needed to reassure her. She needed to hear it even though the fear was unfounded.
“I don’t cheat.” He said, looking at her sincerely.
“I know.” She gave him a watery smile. “You’re pretty good with those speeches.” She said, fingering the collar to his shirt. “How do you always know what to say?”
“I had a really good teacher.” He grinned, “My dad’s speeches put mine to shame.” He leaned in to kiss her.
“Is that so?” She smiled, linking her arms around his neck.
He looked back at the feathers scattered everywhere and grinned, “Yep, I can already hear the lecture for the feather incident now…” She laughed against him and let out a long sigh before tossing a handful of feathers in his hair. He smiled, mesmerized as he looked into her eyes, seeing the love he felt for her reflected back as he leaned in to capture her lips with his.
Her arms tightened around him, fingering the hairline on the back of his neck. He let out a moan as her hands moved up and down his back. He moved his hands up her sides, enjoying the feel of her in his arms as he settled the rest of his weight on her. She let out a soft moan and moved her hands through his hair encouragingly as they deepened the embrace.
“Clark…” she sighed his name, whispering in his ear with a sultry moan. He could feel the heat from her body press up against him as she devoured him. Each kiss grew more and more insistent and he could feel himself beginning to respond to her touch.
“I love you,” He murmured, brushing his lips against her jawline. He let out a guttural moan as she pressed against him. He let out a pleasurable groan as he felt the heat from her body surround him.
“I don’t know which key it is.” His super-hearing picked up his mother’s voice from outside the apartment and he groaned, pulling away.
“What?” Lois looked back at him in exasperation. Her chest, rising and falling heavily and her face and neck still red from their embrace. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together.
The door opened and his dad looked around the apartment with amusement on his face. His mom followed his gaze then looked to Lois, a twinkle in her eye as she spoke, “Hi, Lois.”
Lois cleared her throat, pulling her feet back under her as she straightened up on the couch, “Hi.”
***
“I am now
personally protecting this witness and if anything happens to him, I will hunt his killers
relentlessly.” The voice of Superman came from the television and Diana scowled, nursing the burn on her hand and placing an ice pack on her knee.
Superman was proving to become more and more of a problem. Her plan to expose his secret identity in order to neutralize him wasn’t panning out how she’d planned. She glanced back at the photos she’d laid on the coffee table earlier. Every article ever printed about the man of steel and every photo she’d been able to get her hands on laid on that table.
There was something he was hiding. That much she was sure of but how to get to the truth she wasn’t sure. It was obvious he had plenty of people working to help protect him. Namely, Lois Lane. Diana rolled her eyes, recalling the sparing of words between herself and the famous investigative reporter. It was no secret Lois Lane had a special place for Superman. Plenty of talk had circulated over the first few months of his arrival, giving the tabloids enough to keep busy for years. Still, she wondered if there was any truth to the rumors...
The light on the lamp next to her flickered and she groaned, reaching over to grab the remote from the table and typing the familiar code. The TV flickered and Darryl appeared on the screen. “Did you watch the news?” She asked.
“Not like you to bungle one, Diana.” Darryl chastised. “And now you’ve turned Superman into his own private bodyguard…”
“There's been a rumor about a substance that can kill him... a chunk of meteor Lex Luthor got ahold of. Can you get it?” Diana asked, wincing as she rubbed the ointment on her hand.
“Are you telling me…?” Darryl began to ask.
“I'll kill Superman. For free. Just get me the rock. Then get me in touch with the Science Division.” Diana ordered. Superman had become more of a problem than she’d originally anticipated. She was going to see to it he didn't get in her way again.
***
Lois took a deep breath, closing the front door to her apartment quietly and trying not to wake anyone. She glanced at the time. It was a quarter past eleven. The Kents had returned from dinner and thankfully hadn’t said anything about the feathers all over the place. A blush crept across her face as she recalled how heated things had begun to get on Clark’s couch. After exchanging greetings with one another she had grabbed her things and made a beeline for the exit. She tried not to think about what would have happened had Clark not heard them outside the door.
“It’s almost midnight.” She heard a voice from the dining table say.
She looked over at the table and saw her mother sipping from a coffee mug with a solemn look on her face. Lois sighed, recalling how she’d left earlier, “Yeah, I needed to clear my head.”
“Am I really that horrible that you can’t tell me your boyfriend proposed to you?” Ellen asked, looking at her with a hurt expression on her face.
Lois recalled the fight they’d had earlier and sighed, pulling up a chair, “No, you’re not. I just...You have to understand I’m still trying to process all of this. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you’re a bit demanding when it comes to mine and Lucy’s relationships.”
“I am not,” Ellen argued and Lois gave her a look. She conceded and sighed, “I just want you to be
happy.”
“I am.” Lois smiled at her. “I
really am, but starting the conversation about grandchildren of all things puts a lot of pressure on an already stressful situation.”
“I’m sorry.” her mother looked down at her empty cup. “But at the time I didn’t know about the proposal I thought I was just venting.”
“I know,” Lois said quietly. “But I don’t think Lucy or I are going to be having kids anytime soon so maybe you should adopt a puppy.”
Her mother laughed, “No, I don’t suppose you will.” She grew thoughtful for a moment. “He seems nice...from the time I’ve spent with him at least.”
Lois smiled, “He is. He’s a good man.”
“Just be careful.” Her mother prodded, “I don’t want to see you make the same mistakes I did…” Lois grew quiet, watching her mother with a pained expression. Ellen placed a hand on hers and added, “But I don’t want you afraid to live your life because of my mistakes either. You and your sister put up with far more than anyone should have to at your age.”
Lois looked up at her mother, surprised to see tears in her mother’s eyes, “I know. It was really a bad thing that happened.”
“It was
betrayal.” Her mother corrected, shaking her head. “All these years and I still can’t even think about it without getting angry.”
Lois sighed, recalling her father’s adultery that had contributed to her mother’s drinking problems over the years. “You’re right. It was really bad, mom. Sometimes all I wanted was for things to go back to normal and others I just wanted him gone. But at some point, I had to decide whatever hell you and Daddy were going through was between the two of you, and not let it wreck the rest of my life.” Lois sighed, running a hand through her hair as she recalled Clark’s words from earlier. “Yours and Daddy’s divorce was horrible but I think instead of hiding from the idea of marriage I’m going to learn from it.”
“Those are some pretty wise words.” Her mother commented with a smile.
“Yeah, well, I heard them from this pretty great guy I know.” She smiled.
“Does this mean you’re going to accept his proposal?” she asked.
Lois smiled, not willing to say more as she stood up from the table. “Don’t stay up too late.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart.”
***
TBC...
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