Rules of Engagement
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 1
***
Ellen Lane took a sip of the sparkling cider in her glass, feeling a rush through her veins as she glanced at the catalogs laid out for her approval. She had met with four different wedding planners over the last few weeks and finally found one that shared her vision for her daughter and soon to be son-in-law’s upcoming nuptials.
“Crystallized sparkling cider.” Beverly Lipman, the latest wedding planner, said as if Ellen could read her mind to understand what she was referring to. “Nothing but the best for my clients.”
Ellen smiled, looking around the room that had begun to resemble a wedding expo rather than the comfortable, newly renovated townhome she’d been living in for the last few weeks. After the fire that took place, she’d been offered a settlement from the complex and used the money to buy herself a new townhome. “Oh, it is refreshing.”
“Cleans the palate for the guests. I serve it all the weddings I do.” Beverly explained happily, “Now let’s talk dates…”
“They haven’t settled on a firm one just yet, but I’m told sometime by the end of next month.” Ellen blushed and let out a sigh, not wanting to voice her frustration at the situation in front of Beverly. Truth be told they couldn’t confirm a date because her ex-husband refused to return a phone call. Lois was still holding out, hoping they would finally hear back from Sam but she knew all too well that family wasn’t high on her ex-husband’s list of priorities. She just hoped he didn’t disappoint their daughter again.
“Oh, that’s quite all right. I can work with a flexible schedule.” Beverly soothed.
“My daughter hasn’t actually done much on the wedding planning. We have a few ideas. She doesn’t even know I’m meeting with you.” Ellen blushed.
“O-kay,” Beverly pursed her lips and flipped through the catalog, “Let’s see what we can find here…I’m sure once your daughter sees everything she’ll be thrilled.”
“I’m sure we can get a date confirmed soon.” Ellen stammered, pasting on a smile. Her inner doubts remained in the back of her mind.
The phone from the kitchen rang, and she stood to her feet to answer it. “Oh, excuse me, I’ll be right back.” She answered the phone, “Hello?”
“Ellen?” Her ex-husband’s voice echoed on the other end of the phone line.
“Sam.” Her tone went to ice. “Are you averaging a number of missed calls before you respond or maybe you’re just waiting until the messages have just enough panic in them?”
“Now, Ellen, don’t start…” Sam interjected.
“Don’t you
‘Ellen’ me!” She shrieked in a harsh whisper, stealing a glance toward the living room where Beverly was engulfed in her catalog. “Six weeks. Six weeks of phone calls and messages and talking to everyone in that God forsaken office you call a laboratory….Six weeks of silence. Your daughter is getting married, Sam. Married. I would think that somewhere in that cold heart of yours you might be able to take some time out of your life for that, but no, you disappoint everyone again. No response. No nothing.”
“Married?” Sam’s voice echoed from the other end of the phone.
“You didn’t listen to all the messages I take it?” Ellen let out a sigh.
“No, no, I didn’t,” Sam responded.
“Well, the wedding’s going to be at the end of next month. You better show up, or I swear to God…”
“I’ll be there,” Sam interjected. “Listen, I’ve got to go, but we’ll talk about this tomorrow? Are you free for lunch? Eleven?”
“You’ve got to be kidding…”
“Ellen, I’ve got to go,” Sam said in an impatient tone.
“Fine. Eleven is fine.”
“Great. I’ll meet you at the club. The usual table.” The dial tone echoed in her ear, and she sighed, hanging the phone back on the receiver.
She turned back to Beverly who was approaching her cautiously, “I believe I have just the thing…”
Still reeling from her anger at her ex-husband she found the words coming out of her mouth before she could stop them. “The twenty-third.”
“Sorry?” Beverly looked at her in confusion.
“The twenty-third. The wedding date.” Ellen confirmed. “The twenty-third.”
“Twenty-third it is,” Beverly said, noting in her planner. “Now, about the wedding party…”
***
‘GE Mallow Still Missing’ the red ticker ran across the television screen. Lois’ gaze wandered to the seemingly less cluttered apartment she and Clark shared. Most of the weekend had been spent finding creative ways to maximize space and consolidate some of the larger items where they could. The move had forced both of them to let go of some items that weren’t used as much and some that she was looking for an excuse to get rid of. The gaudy sweater dress her mother had purchased seven Christmases ago and the cat-themed appliances that did nothing but collect dust came to mind.
The right corner of the apartment was covered in folded down boxes. Next to it, her seemingly ‘ridiculously sized’ fish tank--as Clark had put it--was set up. Try as she might, fish seemed to be the only pets she could maintain. Something about watching them swim around and explore was so soothing after a hard day. Having them here, helped the apartment feel more like their apartment rather than just Clark’s apartment.
She smoothed the wrinkles in her dress and readjusted her jacket as she scanned the apartment. You wouldn’t think it had only been two days since they had moved in. Thanks to some super help they had been unpacked in a matter of minutes. Consolidating and sorting through the double appliances had taken some time. Her gaze shifted to her left hand where the clear diamond caught her eye. A smile crossed her face, recalling her and Clark’s recent engagement and how far they’d come. From partners to friends to more than friends and now soon to be husband and wife. They still needed to settle on a date but now that she and Clark were under the same roof finding the time to sit down and plan everything out would be a lot easier. Over the last few weeks, interruption after interruption seemed to get in their way.
A hand reached across the table to hand the mug to her, and she looked up into the spectacle covered mocha brown eyes of her fiancé. A smile crossed her face as he leaned in to kiss her.
His arm looped around her waist, pulling her to him as he murmured in her ear, “Morning,”
She cocked her head, turning to look at him, “Morning,” She caught a glance of the clock. “Cutting it a bit close, aren’t you?”
“I know.” He grimaced, stepping back as she reached for her purse sitting on the table. “I wanted to scan the area G.E. Mallow disappeared at again before heading in…”
“Still nothing?” She guessed from the sour expression on his face.
“I just don’t get how a guy could up and disappear without a trace in broad daylight like that.” He let out a resigned sigh as he ran a weary hand through his hair.
“There has to be an explanation. There always is.” Lois reassured him.
Clark offered her a small smile, “Yeah, let’s just hope it doesn’t turn into something bigger in the process.”
“Like?” She ventured, picking up on his disheartened tone.
“Like Intergang or resurrected mobsters, or money hungry scientists looking to experiment on unsuspecting hoodlums…” He let out a long sigh, “It’s been a crazy year.”
“I’ll say,” Lois said, turning to the door as she hooked her arm in the crook of his elbow. “In case you’ve forgotten Mr. Darryl confessed to running Intergang. Al Capone is dead, and his other resurrected gang members are sitting behind bars along with Lex Luthor and the crazy scientists that turned Johnny Corbin into a Kryptonite cyborg. So, that only leaves us with one possibility.”
“Which is?” He looked at her curiously.
“It could be a really big story when we crack this case wide open and figure out who’s behind this.” She grinned back at him, tugging him toward the door. “Come on, we’re going to be late.”
“Sounding pretty confident there.” He smirked at her as they walked down the steps to their apartment.
“Always.” Her eyes sparkled, and he leaned in to kiss her.
***
Claudette Wilder took a long puff from her cigarette, allowing the white smoke to circle around her. She looked to the dark room where her latest beau stood over the hooded figure strapped to a steel chair. The sound of the muffled screams could be heard as she pulled out a needle, “Mr. Mallow, we have so much to catch up on.”
***
The sound of the cars moving across the street at high speeds and the honking of horns filled the air as Clark followed Lois to the crosswalk. He caught the slight arch of her eyebrow as she cradled her phone between her shoulder and ear and finished her conversation. “Well, what do you mean you don’t know? You either hired her or you didn’t.”
The shrill of Lois’ mother on the other end echoed in his eardrums, unable to help but listen to the conversation as he watched the red blinking hand at the other end of the street, “It all happened so fast. There was champagne and bonbons, and then you father called and…”
“Daddy called?”
“So, the next thing I knew I was giving her a check and had confirmed the twenty-third for the wedding.” The confession his future mother-in-law let escape her lips hung in the air. He stole a glance at Lois whose hand was clenched tightly around the mobile phone in her fist to the point that her knuckles were white.
The light at the crosswalk changed, but Lois didn’t move. “You, what?!”
“Now, before you say anything I...”
He heard a loud click of a button ending the call and the sound of his fiancée letting out a muttered curse as she shoved her phone into the outer zipper pocket of her purse. Even if he didn’t have super-hearing, he would have been able to pick up the crystal clear foul language escaping Lois’ lips as she cursed her mother’s name.
“Lois?” He ventured carefully as he followed her through the crosswalk after she’d darted out into traffic, yelling obscenities at the oncoming drivers that dared get in her way of crossing the street, despite the blinking red hand signifying to ‘not cross.’
***
Dr. Katherine Wilder ran a hand across her tense muscles in her neck, looking around the dimly lit office as she finished reading through the file in her hand. She’d spent the last forty-eight hours consuming everything she could find of her father’s files on Project Valhalla. In just a few moments they would be meeting with their potential buyer, Amir Muunour, one of the most feared and hated leaders in the middle east.
“He’s here.” Her mother’s head poked into her office before slamming the door shut once more and disappearing.
Katherine sat up straight, clearing her throat and running a hand through her hair as she threw her shoulders back, preparing herself for coming face to face with one of the most ruthless leaders in the world. The door cracked open, and the man she recognized as Mr. Amir Muunour stood in the doorway with her mother and a tall man with curly brown hair stood behind him.
***
It hadn’t taken any longer than it normally did, but Lois could have sworn Clark had flown them at super-speed across the crosswalk, through the Daily Planet lobby doors, and into the elevator. She still couldn’t shake her shock and anger at her mother. She and Clark hadn’t even had time to settle on a date yet because her father hadn’t responded to any of her phone calls or messages.
It was her and Clark’s wedding. All she’d asked for was time.
Time to give him—her father—a chance to step up.
Time to pick her own wedding date.
Time to plan her own wedding the way she and Clark wanted it.
Instead, she had a date thrust on her that she now knew would exclude more than half of Clark’s family and friends from Smallville.
A frustrated grunt escaped her lips, and she went into full babble mode without any warning, pacing around the small quarters of the elevator as her fiancè stared back at her with a concerned expression. Her mother was trying to take over just like she did with everything else.
“Unbelievable! I cannot believe she did this. How hard is it? She’s already probably told over half the town by now and ordered the invitations in a color I hate, on a day that won’t work just to spite me and ….”
Two strong hands firmly grasped her shoulders as her fiancè’s lips covered hers, silencing her ramblings. She let out a muffled sigh against him, losing track of where her mind had been headed moments ago. His hand moved across her cheek in a fluid motion as he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers.
“You’re babbling again.” He whispered, letting out a heavy breath.
She smiled into his eyes, twisting her mouth, “I don’t babble.”
He opened his mouth to retort, but the chime of the elevator doors opening and Perry’s bellow across the newsroom for Rodriguez made him pause. “We’ll finish this later.” He said, guiding her out of the elevator with an arm over her shoulders.
They shared a look before exiting the elevator and rounding the corner of the stairs to enter the bullpen. As with any other morning, the Planet newsroom was filled with the sound of journalists hard at work, mixed with the 24/7 news circuit from the television sets playing in the background.
“Gary Edwards Mallow was last seen Sunday morning leaving his local church at around seven a.m. and has not been seen or heard from since. Authorities suspect…”
“Hey, guys!” Jimmy approached them, arms full of files. “Did you guys hear about the missing person’s case?” He gestured to the television monitor with his head.
Lois followed his gaze to the image being shown on the screen. A full-screen photo of a middle-aged man in a green polo shirt panned across the television. It was the same image that had shown up when the first report aired the previous evening. “No leads?”
Jimmy shook his head, scratching his arm as he spoke. “Nah, nothing.”
Lois noticed the large rash on Jimmy’s arm and looked at him with concern, “That must be some itch.” She commented as he rubbed it.
Jimmy looked at the red rash on his arm and shrugged, “Yeah. I get it every year around this time. Ever since I was a kid.”
“Isn’t there something you could put on it?” Clark asked, eying the rash.
“I’ve tried everything, but my doc says not to worry.” Jimmy shrugged and turned toward Lois’ desk. Lois caught Clark’s concerned expression as Jimmy pointed to the thin file sitting in her inbox. “There’s the file you asked me to pull. Not much there, unfortunately. Army brat. Lived in Metropolis most of his adult life. Married. No kids. Nothing really screams kidnapping.”
Clark frowned, “Well, there’s been a lot of odd occurrences over the past few years.” He began flipping through the file, cautiously under Jimmy’s watchful eye.
Lois peered over his shoulder, “He used to work for LexTel before they went under.”
“Him and about half of Metropolis.” Jimmy added, holding his finger up and reaching over to flip to the page for Clark, “Although there was one interesting thing. There’s a file listed ‘classified’ under the military’s database.”
“Well, you said he was an army brat.” Lois shrugged. “You know how secretive the military can get.”
“For soldiers. Not their dependents.” Jimmy corrected. “I was born at Fort Truman. Believe me, everything dumb I did on base you can look up and pull the file. Whatever that is, it’s not something the military didn’t want anyone to know.”
Lois glanced over at Clark, and they shared a look, “Well, let’s start digging into Mr. Mallow’s time at Fort Truman then.”
“Ms. Lane?” Lois felt a hand tap her on the shoulder.
“Yes?” Lois turned to see one of the Planet’s couriers standing in front of her with medium sized box.
“This just came for you.” He handed her the box.
She frowned, uncertain what it could be. She set the box down on her desk and opened the card that was taped to it. “I wonder what it is.” Jimmy commented, looking at the ribbon on the box and pointing, “It’s probably an early wedding gift. Open it up.” He prompted before adding, “Speaking of which, when are you guys going to choose a date? I thought you said you wanted a short engagement.”
“We’re working on it,” Clark interjected before Lois could respond as he lifted the top of the box open. She smiled, silently thankful not to focus on the chaos her mother had created this early in the wedding planning. “Oh, no,”
“What is it?” Lois asked, peering over his shoulder. Inside the box was a miniature wedding cake that had been smashed with the bride and groom broken. “What in the world?”
“Maybe the guy dropped the box? That happens, right?” Jimmy asked, his tone was anything but convincing.
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Lois said, revealing the note on the card. ‘Marrying Clark will be the beginning of the end.’
***
Katherine Wilder pointed at the small vial in her hands, watching the crystalized bubbles move as she spoke in a confident tone to Amir Muunour and her mother, “Only three of Project Valhalla’s one-hundred test subjects are still living in Metropolis.”
Her mother smiled proudly, filing her nails as she spoke, “Katherine’s completed the tests on one. I think you‘ll be impressed with her findings.”
“I am impressed with nothing I have seen so far,” Muunour replied dryly, unaffected as Claudette ran a hand across his shoulders.
“Nothing?”
“Mother!” Katherine scolded, mortified at her mother’s behavior, “Have some respect for yourself.”
Claudette pulled her arm back and smiled, “My daughter views this project as some kind of validation of her late father's work. Me? I smell money...lots of money. So my goal is to please you.”
Muunour looked between Claudette and Katherine unamused, and Katherine chose that moment to continue her presentation, “The synthetic virus injected into these subjects is lying dormant and can be activated only during heightened metabolic periods. These periods are indicated by a red rash.”
“Go on.” Mr. Muunour nodded.
Katherine lifted a model of the human brain from her desk and continued, “The virus only affects the cerebral cortex... that's the area that controls free thought.”
“I know what it is. I'm not a moron.” Muunour sniffed.
Katherine narrowed her eyes, challenging him as she handed the model to him, “So I can assume you know where that area is?”
His chest rose with confidence as he reached out his hand to pinpoint the temporal lobe. Katherine couldn’t help but celebrate a silent victory as she moved his hand an inch to where the cerebral cortex was. He glared at her and withdrew his hand.
He turned away, looking back to her mother as Katherine continued, “The ultimate effect is similar to brainwashing. Once the subject is injected with the pentobarbital serum, the virus is activated. Then they’re able to be controlled by use of the trigger word, ‘Warrior.’”
“But given the price you ask, you still haven't convinced me of its value.” Muunour sniffed.
Tired of the games Katherine snapped, “You know, Mr. Muunour, unlike my father, you are a man of little vision.”
“Katherine!” Her mother scolded.
Katherine shook her head, ignoring her mother’s pleas, “The virus can be mass produced. Under the guise of public health, you can set up clinics and alter everyone in your country.”
Claudette smiled wistfully, running a hand over Mr. Muunour’s shoulder, “Imagine a whole nation that blindly answers to your command. I’d say that’s valuable, wouldn’t you?”
It was clear the presentation had swayed Muunour. “I want proof. And on a male subject only.: He turned to Katherine and added snidely, “Where I come from, we don’t need drugs to control our women.”
“Well, aren't we in luck.” Claudette pointed to a door in Katherine’s office. Katherine got up from her desk and opened the door, revealing GE Mallow, bound, gagged and unconscious on the exam table. “Mr. Muunour, meet Mr. Mallow.”
***
“The virus can be mass produced. Under the guise of public health, you can set up clinics and alter everyone in your country.”
“Imagine a whole nation that blindly answers to your command. I’d say that’s valuable, wouldn’t you?”
“I want proof. And on a male subject only. Where I come from, we don’t need drugs to control our women.”
Dan Scardino hit the stop button on the tape recorder, looking to the office door where Amir Muunour had disappeared behind. This was bigger than he’d initially anticipated.
***
TBC...
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