Rules of Engagement
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 2
***
The sound of the fax machine humming a few feet away screeched in Lois’ ears as she stared down at the notepad in front of her, willing the list in front of her to magically transform into something useful. After Clark had gone through the file on GE Mallow at super-speed, they found more and more notes on the file that referred to a ‘confidential’ status. They had a call into the detective leading the investigation, but so far they hadn’t received a call back.
She still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that had come over her when that package had arrived. Clark had quickly disposed of the box and card for her so as not to upset her any further but her mind kept coming back to one question: why?
Why would someone send her something like that? It didn’t make any sense. The usual suspects that would try something like this were behind bars. Could it be Lex? Could he be behind it? She wouldn’t put anything past the former crime lord and philanthropist. A chill ran down her spine as she recalled her last encounter with the man. He’d risen from the dead and tried to force her to go to Zurich of all places to escape. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. She still didn’t know what would have happened had Clark not shown up when he did.
A look of determination crossed her face, and she turned to Clark, “We need to pick a date.”
“Didn’t your mother already do that
for you?” He teased, trying to lighten the mood.
She crossed her arms, looking at him defiantly. “I’m serious.” She ran a hand through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh, “I don’t get it. We said we’d give it until Friday and then pick a date. Of course, my mother would pick the date that wouldn’t work.” Lois shook her head in disgust as she set the notepad down on her desk.
“I’m sure there’s something we can do,” Clark reassured her, taking her hand in his. “It’s only been twelve hours since she picked a date. She can’t have gotten
that far in the planning. Especially considering we’re keeping this small.”
“You don’t know my mother.” Lois grimaced, shaking her head. “She’s able to throw together a thirty-top dinner party complete with synchronized service and a full seven-course meal in an hour’s notice. Don’t underestimate her.”
“Well, what had we put on the list to book when we settled on a date?” Clark prompted, “Maybe we can make some calls and find out if they’re available on some of the other dates we were looking at.”
Nodding her head, she reached for the notepad where the list of possible venues and vendors had been. “Here. You call the church and the Metro. I’ll call Luigi’s and…”
The phone on her desk rang, and she glared at it defiantly. “Maybe that’s your mother calling to apologize?” Clark guessed, trying to be optimistic as he reached for the handset on his desk and began to dial.
“Or she’s scheduled something else for our wedding,” Lois grumbled, reaching for the handset to answer the phone. “Lois Lane,”
“Lois?” Martha’s voice echoed through the phone she held cradled between her shoulder and the side of her face.
“Martha, hi,” Lois said, a smile crossing her face when she heard her future mother-in-law’s voice on the other end.
“I hate to bother you at work, but I got a call from a woman named Beverly and wanted to make sure I had everything correct.”
“Beverly?” Lois echoed in surprise.
“Apparently she’s your wedding planner?” Martha prompted amused, “She said the date had been set for the twenty-third of next month? That’s the weekend of the Mid-West Farmer’s Festival.”
“I know, I know. We’re trying to sort this out. We did not hire a wedding planner, and we are not having the wedding that weekend.” Lois sighed, shaking her head, recalling the conversation she and Martha had had about this last week. Even though the Kents could have someone cover for them, not everyone had that luxury. Many of Smallville’s residents relied on the income from this festival to carry them through the winter months. Asking them to risk their families’ financial security to attend their wedding wasn’t something she or Clark was comfortable with.
“Any other weekend would be fine, Lois,” Martha added. “It’s just with how much income that festival brings it’s hard to miss it. At the same time, nobody wants to miss your wedding either.”
“Believe me, we don’t want anyone to miss it either,” Lois reassured her. She glanced at her notepad, drumming her fingers against the imprint from where she’d written the names and dates. “Do you have the number for this ….Beverly?”
“Sure,” Martha said, finding the number for her. “Beverly Lipman. 555-0515.”
“Great,” Lois said, jotting down the name and number. “We’ll call you once we get the date situated.”
“Thanks. Have a good day.”
Lois replaced the handset and swiveled in her desk chair back and forth contemplating her next move.
“Bad news?”
She looked up and saw Clark standing over her with a look of concern. “That’s the understatement of the century. Please tell me you have good news.”
“Unfortunately, no,” He grimaced. “The dates we’re looking at are all booked.” He glanced at the notepad where she’d written down her notes from her conversation with Martha. “How about you?”
“I was able to get the wedding planner’s number.” At Clark’s surprise expression she added, “Yes, wedding planner. She hired a wedding planner.”
Clark ran his hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Oh, I’ve got a bad feeling…”
“God only knows what’s already been ordered.” Lois sighed, looking back at her notepad. “So, we need to pick a date. A real date.”
“Lois, Clark?” Perry interrupted, approaching with a distraught Jimmy in tow.
“Jimmy, what’s wrong?” Clark asked in concern.
Jimmy had his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he struggled to find the words, “My….my doctor’s been murdered.”
“What?” Lois gasped in surprise.
“He just called me yesterday. Left a message on my machine. I was gonna call him back today…” Jimmy’s voice cracked as the emotion overtook him.
Perry handed Lois a file, “I want you two on this.”
“Absolutely,” Lois stood up, gathering her things to leave.
“Chief? I want to help.” Jimmy said adamantly.
Lois and Clark exchanged a look as Perry shook his head, “Now Jimmy, I understand how you feel, but…”
“We could use an extra pair of eyes.” Lois prompted and shrugged, “Besides, if the story breaks it’d be nice to have someone that knows how to take a page one photo nearby.” Perry still didn’t seem convinced.
“Chief, please. I knew Dr. Goldman my whole life.” Jimmy pleaded.
That struck a chord with Perry, and he nodded, “All right,” Jimmy beamed back at him and raced to his desk to grab his camera, and they headed out.
***
Ellen took a deep breath, nervously smoothing the imaginary wrinkles in her dress as she stared at the door in front of her. She’d gone inside countless times. She had hosted parties here and attended luncheons. She had been the life of the party—until she wasn’t. The pain from her betrayal came rushing back, hitting her like a wave until she found the strength to push it back.
‘Pull yourself together.’ she told herself, reaching for the door.
***
At Metropolis General, Lois, Clark, and Jimmy approached the nurse’s station. A few feet away three police officers and a detective stood outside the door where police tape had been taped over one of the doctor’s offices. A large woman in her mid-thirties was at the front counter. Clark approached her. “Excuse me; we’re from the Daily Planet. We’d like to take a look at Dr. Goldman’s office.”
“Oh, you would? Well, I have strict orders not to turn this into a media circus,” the nurse replied, “and Nurse Berkley never breaks her orders.” She gave them a threatening look and pulled out a sign handwritten with ‘No Press’ and laid it on the counter.
Lois eyed the nurse’s name tag. “Nurse Berkley, I can assure you that we…”
“Do you understand English?” Nurse Berkley looked to Clark. “Maybe you can translate for her? ‘NO.’ Do I need to call security? Security!!”
“Uh, that won’t be necessary. We’ll be going.” Clark steered Lois away from the nurse.
“Unbelievable!” Lois muttered as they stepped away from the nurse’s station. Do you believe that woman?” Lois asked, dumbfounded.
“Talk about your bedside manner,” Jimmy commented.
“Well, we’ll need a distraction to get past her,” Lois remarked.
Clark watched as a pregnant woman, obviously in labor was wheeled into the ER in a wheelchair. “I’ve got an idea.” He motioned for Lois to follow him. “Jimmy, watch for your chance to get into Dr. Goldman’s office and see what you can find.”
“Okay.” Jimmy nodded.
“Where are we going?” Lois asked curiously.
“Come on,” He pointed to the medical supply closet, motioning for her to follow him.
***
Dan Scardino typed away at the keyboard, reading the information he’d come across in amazement. “Project Valhalla, eh?” The phone in his pocket chirped, and he pulled it out to answer it.
“Scardino?” The voice on the other end of the line asked before he could say ‘hello.’
“Hey, Sarge, what’s the word?”
“Orders are to stay close but under no circumstances are you to orchestrate a single-man mission. Authorities have been alerted and will rescue Mallow. Do not interfere.”
“But…”
“That’s an order, Scardino.” There was a click, and a long hum from the dial tone rang in his ear.
“Great.”
***
Back at the hospital, Lois laid on a gurney Clark had found, wearing a hospital gown they’d retrieved from the supply closet. Clark wore doctor’s scrubs and a surgical face mask, wheeling her around the corner and toward the nurse’s station.
“Oh! I’m in so much pain!” Lois cried out. She could feel her breath brush back against her through the oxygen mask she wore.
Clark leaned in to whisper to her as he pushed Lois through the hospital. “Just keep it up, Lois,” He lifted his head and shouted as he approached the nurse’s station, “Nurse! I need some help!”
“What seems to be the problem, Doctor?” Nurse Berkley asked.
“I’m in so much pain!” Lois cried.
“Uh, we need to prep for a C-section,” Clark replied, uncertainly. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the act, but he was doing his best to keep the charade up for Jimmy to get into Dr. Goldman’s office.
“Who do you want me to call for Anesthesiology?” Nurse Berkley asked, picking up the phone.
“Whoever can get there first,” Clark replied, using his Superman-toned voice.
“Take the staff elevator,” Nurse Berkley called after him.
He headed toward the staff elevator and almost ran into a trio walking down the hall. “The security in this hospital is atrocious,” one of them, a woman, said.
She wasn’t looking where she was going and had walked right in front of his path. He stopped the gurney at the last minute.
The jolt caused Lois to lose her grip on the basketball, which fell to the ground. The trio stared at Lois and Clark in surprise. Clark caught the ball and smiled. “Look, congratulations, a healthy baby basketball.”
“Whoops! I guess I won’t need that C-section after all.” Lois grinned as she stood to her feet at lightning speed. Clark took her hand, and they made a break for it.
Nurse Berkley hollered out, “Security!”
***
“I think that’s the last of it,” Clark said, setting his surgical mask on top of the hospital gown and oxygen mask Lois had already disposed of.
Lois ran a hand through her hair, smoothing the stray strands and shooting him a grin, “That was a pretty good idea. Hopefully, Jimmy was able to get into Dr. Goldman’s office.”
He tapped his earlobe and pointed his head toward the hospital behind them, “I haven’t picked up any yelling from him, so I think we can assume he’s okay.”
Lois ran a hand down his chest and smiled at him flirtatiously, “You look good in green.” Her hand wandered down his arm, feeling the firm bicep under her palm.
“Is that so?” He whispered. “I think it might be too late to change the suit.”
She laughed, “I don’t think that would go over very well.”
“Probably not.” Clark shook his head ruefully. He ran his palm against her cheek and leaned in to kiss her.
“Hey, guys!” Jimmy jogged toward them, holding a notepad in his hands, “That was cutting it close.”
Clark sighed, pulling away from Lois to turn toward Jimmy, “Of course.” He muttered under his breath.
“Yeah, our, um, basketball came a little early,” Lois laughed, turning to face Jimmy.
“Jimmy, what were you able to find out?” Clark asked.
“It’s what I didn’t find that was interesting. Three files were missing from Dr. Goldman’s office. Mine along with two others…Dr. Goldman also tried calling them as well. One of the names is someone we already know. G.E. Mallow.” He handed them his notes.
“Sarah Goodwin and G.E. Mallow?” Lois read the names off Jimmy’s notes. “The same G.E. Mallow that was kidnapped?”
“One and the same.” Jimmy shook his head.
“What did your message from Dr. Goldman say?” Lois prompted, looking to Jimmy.
“He said he had some test results to discuss,” Jimmy explained. “I get a blood test done every year around this time as part of my physical.”
“Do you know what lab your doctor used?” Clark asked.
“STAR Labs,” Jimmy answered.
“Hmm, it may be nothing, but it’s worth checking out,” Lois said, turning to Clark. “Why don’t you check out STAR Labs and Jimmy and I’ll see if we can find this Sarah Goodwin.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you back at the Planet,” Clark said, leaning in to kiss her before pointing at Jimmy. “Keep an eye on him.”
***
The room was the same.
It was always the same.
Ellen scanned the crowded dining room until she saw the familiar face. It had been a few years, but he was still the same. Tall, mid-fifties with a balding hairline and white hair that she was sure he would find a way to blame on her. She took a deep breath, approaching the table as he stood, “Sam,”
“Ellen,” He nodded, pointing to the chair across from her.
“You know it doesn’t seem like they’ve changed anything here.” Sam chuckled as he reclaimed his seat.
“Nope,” Ellen said carefully, tapping her hand on the table.
“So, you called.” Sam prompted, taking his glass of water from the table and taking a sip from it.
“Several times.” Ellen gave him a disapproving look as she stared him down.
“I’ve been busy,” Sam said simply as if that explained his lack of returned phone calls. “You said it was important. I called as soon as I could. What is it? I heard about the condo.”
“Yes, well, that’s already been taken care of,” Ellen replied coolly. “This has nothing to do with the condo or the real estate.”
“Hmm, I see,” Sam grunted, setting his glass back on the table. “Then what is it about?”
“You haven't listened to
any of your messages, have you?” She accused.
“I’m in the middle of a medical breakthrough. I got the first message. I figured the rest was more of the same.” Sam shrugged.
“Typical,” Ellen snorted, trying to remain calm.
“Oh, don’t start with me, Ellen. I’m here. What do you want?” Sam barked irritably.
“I don’t want anything from you.
Your daughter does.” Ellen snapped, doing her best to remain calm.
“Lucy in some sort of trouble?” Sam guessed, a concerned expression on his face.
“No,” Ellen responded carefully, feeling her anger boil inside her as she fought the urge to yell at him for being so disconnected from his children that he had no clue what was going on in either of their lives. “When was the last time you spoke with either of them, Sam?”
“I, uh,” He drew a blank for a moment then snapped his fingers. “Christmas Eve.”
“Which one?” Ellen prodded, knowing full well neither of her daughters had heard or seen their father this past Christmas Eve.
“Oh, I guess it was….” He shook his head, “I’ve been out of touch with them for awhile, is that it?”
“Sam, Lois is getting married,” Ellen said as calmly as she could, feeling her voice quiver as she spoke. “She’s engaged. She’s getting married, and she can’t set a date because you won’t return her phone calls.”
Sam looked back at her in surprise, “Married? To who? I didn’t even know she was dating anyone.”
Ellen couldn’t resist the urge to add, “I wonder why that is. Maybe if you actually were involved in your children’s lives, you’d know these things.”
Sam held up a finger and wagged it at her, “Hey, I have to work. That’s how you can afford the nice things you have and how we could afford to keep putting Lucy through school and….”
Ellen scowled at the inference he was trying to make and snapped, “Oh, don’t give me that, Sam. Your guilt money has only gone toward taking care of your children. Lucy is doing quite well for herself considering everything she’s been through this year. Not that you care!”
“She moved across the country in the middle of the night without a word.” Sam snorted. “She’s the one that doesn’t reach out.”
“And what’s your excuse with Lois?” Ellen challenged, staring him down. “She said the last time you even called her was the week after that Metallo fiasco. Even then it was a five-minute chat.” She could feel her voice growing louder and louder as she added sarcastically, “Great parenting there, Sam. Really, you should hold a seminar.”
“I’m not doing this.” Sam stood up from the table and threw a few bills down. “I knew this was a mistake.”
“That’s what you’re good at, Sam. Throwing money at a problem and walking away.” Ellen chastised as he headed out the door.
***
TBC...
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