Testing A Theory
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 10
A/N: Final chapter is here...finally. Hope everyone enjoys the twists and turns.
***
“Could you repeat the question?” Cat’s face spread into a broad grin and Detective Wolfe’s let out a frustrated groan. His face was turning redder and redder by the minute. She knew it was a dangerous game to continue playing but given the cold stares she continued to get from Superman across the room.
‘Clark’ her mind reminded her. She felt a small amount of doubt creep into the forefront of her mind. He had to be. It was the only answer that made sense, right? Superman hadn’t shown himself when Clark had been exposed the red kryptonite and pheromone mixture. That was proof, wasn’t it?
‘Could be a coincidence,’ she thought to herself. ‘Or not…’
"I’m not going to ask again, Ms. Grant, did you know your cousin was in cohorts with known members of Intergang?" Detective Wolfe's tone was harsh as he continued with the questions.
"Intergang?" Cat's voice echoed from the other side of the room. "No, Sam would never..."
***
Clark did his best to remain detached as he listened to Cat try and play dumb. After what she'd done--what he suspected she'd done--to him and Lois earlier there was no way he believed she was as clueless as she pretended to be.
"Intergang?" Cat's voice echoed from the other side of the room. "No, Sam would never..."
The referral to the woman that had kidnapped his wife and helped strap her to explosives as ‘Sam’ like she was some innocent caught up with the wrong people grated on his nerves. He couldn’t hold it back any longer. He folded his arms across his chest and stared her down, "We're talking about someone that thought nothing of blowing a building up and killing at least five people in order to cover up her own crimes. I don't think 'never' is an accurate depiction, Ms. Grant."
She narrowed her eyes at him but didn't say anything. Detective Wolfe piped in, "If you know where she is and you're hiding her you could go to prison. No judge in the world will let that slide."
"I don't know where she is," Cat snapped angrily. "If I did going back to jail is the last thing she'd be worried about. Trust me,"
"Cat, is there anything your, uh..." Perry's face fell as he let the descriptor roll off his tongue, "cousin might have said or done recently to give these officers a clue?"
"No, Perry," Cat's face softened, turning to Perry. "Sam's done a lot of dumb stuff. A lot of idiotic things, but she'd never plan something like this. She'd never..."
"She attacked three guards and released laughing gas tainted with Miranda’s Revenge on a room of unsuspecting people." Clark cut her off. "Some of which were allergic and are being treated at the hospital. Don't tell us she'd never do something like this. The fact of the matter is she did."
"A package was delivered to you from Metropolis Corrections. Maybe we can take a look in it and see if there are any clues there?" Officer Wallace suggested, giving Cat a look of disapproval.
"No, no, it was nothing." Cat said hurriedly.
"Seems like something," Detective Wolfe countered. “Especially when we look at the log for the case against Miranda and find your signature on the books…” he glanced over at Perry. “Among other reporters for the Planet. You running a series on that witch’s brew we need to know about?”
“No,” Perry shook his head in disapproval. “I can assure you we will get to the bottom of it and the Daily Planet will cooperate as best as we can.”
"Perry," Cat gave him a pleading look.
"Cat, I'm sorry darlin' but this is..." Perry's phone rang and he hit the speaker button to answer. "Perry White, I'm in the middle of..."
"Dad!" the out of breath voice of Jerry White filled the room. "You gotta get ever-everyone out of th-there. Get out!"
"Now hold on, son, slow down." Perry tried to calm his son down.
"There's a bomb, dad! Get out now!" Jerry's voice echoed through the room and Clark immediately went into action, scanning the floor for any sign of an explosive device in the building. He moved at super-speed, flying through the newsroom, trying to find any clue.
"All right, let's get everyone out of here!" Officer Wallace called out, heading for the door.
"We'll finish this downtown, Ms. Grant," Detective Wolfe said, pointing to the door.
"They ...took her. I'm tailing the car but..." Jerry's frantic pleas could be heard through the speakerphone as the officers began corralling everyone to the stairwell.
"Everyone, clear the building. This is not a drill!"
"Took who?" Perry asked as Clark zipped through the building at super-speed.
Then he saw it.
The brown box on Lois' desk. No name. No label.
"Lois, Dad. They took Lois."
Clark scanned the box and grimaced when he saw the red blinking digits change from fifteen seconds to fourteen.
"What?!" Perry's loud bellow could be heard from the office.
"Mr. White, we need to clear the building now!"
“Jerry, where are you, son? Jerry?”
Not having time to do anything else, Clark grabbed the explosive-filled box and flew through the window, shattering the glass all around him, pushing higher and higher as fast as he could go, hoping to get the explosive device as far away from the city as possible so as to keep anyone from getting hurt.
***
Lois felt the numbness from her face begin to disappear. Slowly but surely the effects from the chloroform filled haze began to lift and she attempted to open her eyes. It was dark. There was a dim light from the corner.
She attempted to move her arms but found her arms restrained behind her back. She attempted to move her arms against the chair she was sitting in, feeling for a sharp edge. She let out a soft whine, straightening up in the chair when she felt a prick against her skin.
A groan across the room caught both their attention and she turned to see another figure on the floor. He sat up in the dimly lit room and Lois squinted her eyes to try and make out her face. "You!"
***
Clark Kent straightened his tie as he approached the crowd outside the Daily Planet. The police held everyone around the building, questioning everyone. Cat stood to the sidelines with Perry and his son, Jerry. He had to remain calm. He had to find out what Jerry knew so he could find who was responsible for the bombing and for kidnapping Lois. In order to do that he needed information. Something that was easier to come by as Clark Kent rather than Superman.
"Did you see that?"
"A bomb!"
"Where'd Superman go?"
Detective Wolfe was walking away from the trio as he approached the front of the Planet. "I think that's all the questions we have, but we will be discussing the meteorite your cousin sent you, Ms. Grant."
"I didn't know it was Kryptonite until this morning, honest!" Cat insisted as Clark approached.
"Kryptonite?" Clark looked at her in surprise.
"Yes, fine! I'm the bad guy. I get something sent to me with a cryptic note and I must be behind something nefarious, right? Meanwhile, Lois Lane has a bomb sent to her and no one bats an eye."
"That is not what I said, Ms. Grant," Wolfe attempted to correct her.
"Would you just let the man do his job?" Jerry growled at him.
"I didn't see you getting manhandled by the police. I'll act however I want!" Cat turned to Clark, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be elbow deep into trouble with your wife by now?"
Perry let out a sigh of relief when he saw him, "Clark, thank God, son. Please, please tell me you know where Lois is."
Clark did his best to keep his emotions in check as he responded with a tight, "No, I'm not, but Superman did update me on what happened. Is everyone all right?"
"We're fine," Jerry cut in, "But some guy in a ski mask nabbed Lois and the police are looking for her."
"Jerry saw it happen," Perry said with a sigh, running his hand against his neck.
"I'm sorry. I was trying to keep up and then I lost them. " Jerry explained with a frown.
"Wait a minute, how did Superman have time to update you?" Cat looked at him in surprise. "He just left here fifteen minutes ago."
"He is super-fast," Jerry pointed out then turned to Clark, "Clark, I’m really sorry. I..."
"It's all right," Clark reassured, placing a hand on Jerry's shoulder. "Do you remember anything about the vehicle that took her?"
"It was just a plain white construction van." Jerry shrugged. His face was covered in remorse.
"This isn't your fault, son," Perry reassured. "Now, Lois has a knack of getting herself in jams, but she always finds a way out."
"On a weekly basis, it seems." Cat cut in with a roll of her eyes. Clark shot her a glare and she shrugged, "I'm right and you know it, Clark."
"We just need to figure out who took her for starters so we can find out where they may have taken her." Clark said, ignoring Cat's comment.
"Where were you when you last saw the van? Maybe that'll give us some clue." Clark prompted, trying not to seem too eager after Jerry had endured the questioning of the police.
Jerry shrugged his shoulders, “I’m sorry, no.”
***
Samantha stared at the figure across the room from her. Two hours ago she’d been locked behind bars in the Metropolis Corrections Center. Now she found herself in another prison. One set of bars for another. Only this cell held a roommate she could have done without.
The sound of her occupant’s weak attempts to loosen her binds began to grind on her nerves and she let out a low moan, sitting up.
“You!” Lois Lane accused in recognition.
Samantha gave her a bored expression and muttered, "That's not going to work. Believe me, I've been trying for the last hour."
"You've got to be kidding me." Lois let out a low moan.
"Afraid not," Samantha snapped back in disgust.
"Of all the people in this city to be kidnapped with I'm stuck with the likes of you!" Lois scoffed bitterly, straightening up in the chair when she felt a prick against her skin.
"Believe me, the feeling's mutual," Samantha shot back.
A loud snap came from across the room and Lois let out a satisfied cheer, “Ha! You were saying?” She reached down to untie her ankles and Samantha looked over in surprise.
“How did you…?”
“You get through one of these enough times you learn a few things,” Lois muttered with a shrug.
Samantha straightened up, looking to her with a plea in her eyes, “Wait!”
“What?” Lois looked at her in surprise when she crossed the room, looking for the door.
“You’re not going to just leave me here, are you?” Samantha pleaded.
“The thought has crossed my mind.” Lois pointed out. She stared at her for a moment before letting out a long breath, crossing the room toward her. She lifted her hand over Samantha, “Hold still,”
A hard snap against her wrists caused her to cry out. “Thanks,” Samantha stood to her feet, mumbling under her breath as she stood to her feet.
“Let’s just get out of here,” Lois shrugged her off, heading toward the blacked out door that led to their freedom.
The door opened and a familiar figure stood in the doorway. “And where do you think you’re going?”
Samantha swallowed hard, seeing the media mogul in the doorway, “Mr. McCoy, thank God! You wouldn’t believe what happened…”
“Stop talking,” Lois hissed, glaring at her.
“But…”
“No, she’s right,” McCoy flicked his cigarette ash on the floor and took a step through the doorway, “Stop talking.”
***
Four hours. Clark felt the hard lump in his throat continue to build as he paced in the Daily Planet conference room. Nothing. No sign of Lois and he could feel his nerves wearing down with each waking second. He’d scanned the city and found no sign of Lois. No cries for help. No nothing.
The police continued questioning everyone but were getting nowhere and if he had to look at Cat Grant’s smug face one more second he thought he would snap. “It’s been four hours. We’re no closer to finding Lois than we were when this started ….”
“Nor are we any closer to finding Sam,” Cat remarked quietly, staring out the open door of the conference room.
“What were you doing with Revenge?” Clark finally asked, glaring at her with disdain in his tone. He never would have thought Cat capable of stooping so low but the evidence was damning.
“I didn’t help, Sam!” Cat snapped angrily.
“Sure looks like you did,” Clark snapped. “How else do you explain the bottle going missing from the evidence locker?”
“I wasn’t the only one looking through that locker,” Cat sniffed, narrowing her eyes at him.
“No, but the evidence was missing when Lois and I found the locker. You were the last one to check it out.” Clark shrugged. “And your cousin escapes prison using it. That and your possession of Kryptonite doesn’t really boast a lot of trust from me at the moment.”
“I don’t know how Sam got a hold of Revenge. I know I didn’t give it to her, but my having Kryptonite has nothing to do with any of this.” Cat argued.
“Are you kidding me?” Clark scoffed, doing his best to contain his anger, “It has everything to do with it. I’m not an idiot, Cat. I know what you did to Lois and…”
“I haven’t done anything to Lois,” Cat remarked with a shrug. “You want to be angry at me for whatever reason that’s your prerogative but don’t try and make me the villain here. Your wife gets herself kidnapped on a weekly basis!”
“Yeah, you’re innocent, Cat?” Clark snapped at her. “So innocent the police have an officer watching you until they find your cousin.” Clark pointed to the officer by the door. He shook his head in disbelief, “I can’t believe I defended you to Lois.”
“You’re angry and upset. I get that but you’re not the only one with someone you care about missing.” Cat shot back angrily. “I never did anything to Lois.”
He wanted to yell at her further but awarding her any information after what she’d done wasn’t something he felt comfortable doing. The problem was admitting to what she’d done to him and Lois meant opening a can of worms he wasn’t ready to delve into. He knew he was right, but he could tell she was being genuine about her concern for her cousin as well.
“I’ve never been more disappointed in anyone in all my life,” Clark muttered, turning away. He saw the uncertain expression on her face before making his way out of the room. He scanned the newsroom, stepping into the bullpen and spotting Perry talking to Officer Wallace. The elevators behind him opened and out stepped the obnoxious face of Barry Dunning. He let out a groan,
catching sight of a familiar face. 'Not now,' he thought to himself.
"A shocking turn of events unfolds as we see the prestigious Daily Planet brought to its knees by ...."
"Hey! Dunning! Get back here!" the sound of Detective Wolfe's voice come from behind the paparazzi.
Clark’s super-hearing picked up the sound of the conversation taking place. “Detective, what do I owe this pleasure?”
“What’s in the tape deck, Dunning?” Wolfe asked, pointing to the camera. “You were lurking around here before we showed up. How do I know you’re not involved?”
“I think we both know that’s a bit of a stretch.” Dunning shot back. “I’ve been right here, all along.”
“Then let’s see the tape,” Wolfe pointed to the camera once more. Dunning made a run for it and Wolfe called after him, "Someone grab him! He might have evidence!"
Clark spotted Barry running his way and reached out to grab him by the collar, stopping him mid-stride and hoisting him up in the air.
"Hey! Let go, Kent!" Barry squealed, kicking his legs in the air.
“Don’t even think about it,” Clark hissed slamming him against the column behind them.
“Clark, hold on!” Perry called behind him. “Let him go!”
"Kent, easy there…" Wolfe approached him from behind. "If I were you, Dunning I wouldn’t do anything to rile Kent here up any further. Hand over the tape, " He said, pointing to the camera.
"I know you're not suggesting I give you my personal property, Detective. This tape is protected by the SHIELD Law." Dunning stammered from beneath Clark’s grasp.
"I doubt video footage of you stalking your show's subject matter is what they had in mind." Clark remarked with a glare. "Hand over the tape."
"My, my, my how the tables have turned," Dunning said with a sneer. "No more 'get lost' or 'stay away' but rather 'give us something' eh?" The man's face lit up with delight and Clark fought the urge to throttle him.
"I swear to God I will snap you like a twig and not think twice about it..." Clark threatened, tightening his grasp on him.
"Did you hear that, detective?" Dunning looked to Wolfe with a sneer, "Threatening violence. Sounds of desperation to me. What are you hiding, Kent? Skeletons in the closet you don't want anyone to know about? All these weeks of avoiding me and my crew and now I've got you right where I want you."
"Barry, don't you dare!" Perry cut in, raising his fist in the air.
"You have no idea who you're messing with..." Clark warned, pushing Dunning further against the wall.
"Boys, boys, boys," Cat cut in, "Now surely we can come to a compromise?"
"I doubt it," Clark's gaze darkened as he stared Dunning down.
"Oh, I think we can come to some sort of agreement. Barry doesn't want any trouble, do you Barry?" Cat cooed, running a finger against his cheek.
He blushed, letting out a low sigh, "No, of course not, but I don't give information out for free."
"Of course not," Cat smiled, "I mean why would you?"
Clark narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene unfold. he couldn't believe the fate of his wife was being left in the hands of this maggot. Right now he wasn't sure what to make of Cat's sudden interest either.
"After all, it's not everyone that can make a comeback the way you have." Cat added, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Com-Comeback?" Dunning stammered, his eyes widening.
"Oh yeah, I mean if I were you I wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning let alone face the crowd of supposed fans that were looking for that tidbit of dirt that could end you." Cat let out an exaggerated sigh and Dunning swallowed hard, "I don't know how you do it."
"I don't know what you-you're talking about." Dunning stammered.
"No?" Cat's eyes narrowed at him. "Dr. Virginia Friedman ring any bells?" It was clear the name resonated with Dunning as he opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. Cat continued her monologue with a broad smile, "Dr. Friedman is a very close personal friend of mine. She doesn't normally do shop talk about her high-profile surgeries but well in this one instance she just couldn't help herself. I mean it was a one of a kind case. She'd never seen anything so tiny in all her...."
"Fine! You win! You win!" Dunning held the tape up, waving it in the air like a white flag in surrender.
"Thank you," Cat cooed, leaning in to give him a peck on the cheek. "Chin up, Barry. All those wrinkles make you look ten years older."
Clark lowered Dunning back to the ground and he scurried toward the elevator to get as far away from him as possible. He spotted Cat who wore a smug grin as she held the tape in her hand. Why had Cat helped him?
“How did you…?” He asked, looking at her in surprise.
Cat shrugged, “I have my own style of interrogation. Now, how about we call a truce? Take a look at this tape and figure out who took Lois. As much as a pain in the rear she is to me I don’t want to see anything happen to her.”
“Thank you,” Clark responded, surprised.
“And maybe you can check on your contacts to see who might have gotten Sam out of jail?” Cat prodded. “I know you think she’s all bad, but she really does have some good in her. She’s just been dealt a bad hand. I know she didn’t escape.”
Clark thought about it a moment before nodding his agreement, “Deal.”
***
The cigarette smoke filled the air as William McCoy let out a long breath, breathing the white smoke in their faces. Lois scrunched up her face as she smelled the nicotine in the air. “Ms. Lane, it seems we underestimated the time on that dosage. You weren’t supposed to wake up for another half hour.”
Lois took a step back, “I always was an early bird,” She looked around the dark room nervously, “Who do we owe the accommodations to? Kidnappers-R-Us?”
“Ah, there’s that famous Lois Lane spunk.” McCoy laughed good naturedly.
“You know the whole city will be looking for me.” Lois warned, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Yes, well, I doubt even Superman will be able to find you here, Ms. Lane. Given that this entire building is lined in lead and we’re three hundred and sixty feet underground.” McCoy grinned back at her.
“What do you want?” Samantha asked.
“Me? I’m just following orders.”
“Spoken like a true lackey. Can’t you guys ever own up for your own shortcomings?” Lois snapped.
McCoy snorted, looking back at her, “You’ve become a thorn in the boss’ side for far too long. We aren’t taking our chances this time.”
“We?” Lois echoed.
He pointed to the wall behind them. “Might as well make yourself comfortable. The boss doesn’t want any mistakes with this operation.”
“McCoy,” the feminine voice came from behind him and both Lois and Samantha turned to see Mindy Church standing in the doorway. “What have you done?”
***
Clark sat in the conference room with Detective Wolfe, reviewing the tape. After her save with Barry Dunning Cat had provided everything she knew about Samantha’s attack in jail and the note she’d received with the red kryptonite. Perry had thankfully been able to take possession of the dangerous meteorite and take it to STAR Labs.
A call into Bobby Bigmouth resulted in some more information on their case against Warden Baker. It seemed the prison wasn’t the only place with Intergang pulling the strings. Who was running things still seemed out of their grasp but he had more information. Ever since Gene Newtrich’s arrest the trade of red kryptonite between criminals within the jail cell walls kept business booming. Cat was currently going through the list of names Bobby provided to determine if any of them had been mentioned by Samantha.
The image of Lois walking toward the Daily Planet could be seen on the footage. She stopped and turned as a man came running out of the Planet. Glasses, jacket, and hat all disappeared and he looked to the camera for a split-second before turning away.
"There," Clark pointed and the technician froze the pane.
Detective Wolfe's brow furrowed and he stared at the screen, "Is that...?"
"Mike, " Clark finished for him.
"Find him," Wolfe ordered, looking at Wallace. He turned back to Clark but found an empty space.
***
Mike looked over his shoulder as he crossed the street. He had one hour before he was supposed to meet with McCoy to exchange the tapes. He still didn’t know why the boss wanted the coverage on the Metropolis P.D. and the Daily Planet but he wasn’t going to question it. The money he was getting paid was more than enough incentive to keep the operation going.
He took a step onto the curb and felt a hard force against his shoulder, lifting him up. He let out a quick cry as he flew up into the sky. ‘Crap,’
“Wha…?” he gaped, looking at the very angry face of Superman staring back at him.
“Don’t even bother,” Superman grabbed him by the collar and pointed to the distance between their place in the sky and the cement below. He removed the pair of sunglasses sitting on Mike’s head and tossed them to the ground. Mike winced when he heard a hard crunch. “Where is she?”
Mike gulped, feeling the tension in the air as he stared back at the angry eyes of Superman. The grip on his collar began to waver and he gasped in shock, staring back at Superman’s stern features. There was no doubt in his mind that Superman would let him enjoy the same fate as his sunglasses if he didn’t tell him what he knew.
“Don’t make me ask again!”
***
"Mindy," Lois said the name with venom as she stared at the ditzy blonde.
"Oh, you do remember me," Mindy gushed stepping into the room.
"I see you've taken over right where your husband and step-son left off. Kidnapping a hobby or are you doing it full-time now?" Lois asked, tightening her arms over her chest.
"Oh, Lois, always were quick with the comebacks, weren't you?" Mindy's face grew dark, "I've always admired that quick brain of yours."
"You two know each other I take it?" Samantha looked at Lois in surprise.
"Oh, yes, Ms. Lane and I go way back." Mindy cooed. "She just has this horrible knack of wriggling out of my traps." She pulled out a pistol. "Not this time."
"What's the great plan, now?" Samantha asked in-between gritted teeth.
“I…”
A loud crash came from the corner of the room and Lois jumped back, yelping in surprise. The familiar red and blue uniform of her husband moved at super-speed through the room, tying up both McCoy and Mindy with a large metal pipe.
“Superman,” Lois breathed a sigh of relief as the dust settled.
“This is going to come out of your paycheck,” Mindy warned, glaring at McCoy.
“I want a deal,” McCoy snapped.
“Are you all right?” Clark looked to Lois in concern.
“Fine,” Lois nodded, keeping control of her emotions with the audience she had.
The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance. “The police are on their way.”
“I..I can’t go back there.” Samantha began to stammer. “They’ll kill me.”
Lois looked at her in concern and Mindy laughed, “You don’t know the half of it,”
Clark glanced toward Lois, meeting her gaze. The tone in Mindy’s voice sent a chill down her spine. If half of what they’d uncovered on Baker was true it wasn’t’ a stretch to think there were similar things occurring in the Corrections Facility.
The sound of a scuffle from above could be heard and the voice of Detective Wolfe came from the hole Clark had created above them, “Everyone okay in there?”
“Everything’s fine, detective,” Clark called back up. “We have a few new occupants for your jailcell though.”
***
Clark readjusted his tie as he approached Lois outside the entrance to the underground subway station. Police surrounded the area. Mindy Church was hollering insults toward Officer Wallace as he helped her into the back of his squad car, “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer…”
He let out a sigh of relief as he wrapped Lois up in his arms, “We’ve really got to quit meeting like this.” He whispered in her ear.
“I’m fine,” She reassured, placing a hand on his cheek. He stared into her eyes for a moment, the emotions from the day, threatening to overwhelm him. Without a word, she leaned in and kissed him, stroking his cheek. “Everything’s fine.” They slowly parted and she pointed to Detective Wolfe, “Rumor has it Superman had a lot of people working with him to crack this case open.”
“Yeah, he did,” Clark smiled back at her. “Even Cat helped. And thanks to the arrest of those two…” He gestured to the squad car where McCoy was being led to, “The case on Baker is closed and this time I’m the one that was right.”
“Cat may not have been behind the murders but I still think she’s been up to something.” Lois said with a shrug.
“I agree, but whatever was motivating her before seems to have been moved to the backburner after Samantha escaped…err got kidnapped.” Clark flashed a smile at her, reaching over to cup her cheek.
“I guess it takes a big disaster to see what’s important.” Lois remarked. “Any idea what she was doing with the Pheromones?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted, “but the police are convinced she wasn’t helping her cousin.”
“That doesn’t excuse the fact that she drugged us,” Lois sniffed.
“No, but how exactly do you plan on confronting her on it?” Clark asked. “She admitted to having red kryptonite. She never said what she used it for but given what happened earlier I think we both know how it was used.”
“So we can’t call her out without giving away your secret,” Lois realized, shaking her head. “I hate this.”
“She did help us figure out who the bomber was.” Clark pointed out. “Barry Dunning had the tape of the bomber’s face on it and was trying to blackmail an interview in exchange for the tape…until Cat threatened to reveal a very embarrassing secret.”
Lois laughed, “I’m sure she did.” She let out a long breath after a moment, “I guess she’s not all bad.”
“Or a murderer.” Clark added.
“That we know of.” Lois pointed out.
“You can’t do it, can you?” He grinned at her.
“What?” she asked.
“Admit you were wrong,” He grinned.
“Yes I can.”
“Then say it.” He grinned back at her.
“I…” She pursed her lips into a pout, “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
“I don’t hear the words,
‘Clark you were right’ in there at all.” He teased.
“Fine, you were right, are you happy?” Lois asked.
“Very,” he leaned in to kiss her.
***
<<“I’ve never been so disappointed.” >>
Clark’s words to Cat hung in the air, cutting her like a knife. Reeling from the events and the close call she’d found herself in with the police left her numb. After everything she’d put him through she couldn’t blame him. The problem was she could no longer justify her actions to herself, let alone anyone else.
She knew she had to do something to make it right. Despite everything, Clark Kent had always been a friend to her. He had seen her for who she was…beyond to façade of the party girl and Gossip Queen. He had been a real friend to her and she’d betrayed that for what?
Another flood of guilt washed over her. ‘What had she done?’
The elevator doors opened and Lois and Clark stepped out onto the newsroom floor. She sighed in relief, seeing Lois before coming face to face with the stony expression on the woman’s face. “Lois, I see Superman found you,”
Lois glared at her for a moment. She expected Lois to try and hit her, yell at her, anything, but instead she just shook her head and walked away. Clark placed a hand on Lois’ shoulder and pointed to the conference room, “I think we need to talk.”
“I’ve got nothing to say,” Lois said defiantly.
“I’m sorry,” Cat blurted out, seeing the disdain on her colleague’s face. “I screwed up. I know I did, but I never meant for anyone to get hurt. I just…” She stopped, noticing the stares from the reporters around them. “Can we talk, please?”
“You’ve got ten minutes. I’ll be timing it.” Lois said, turning and heading toward the conference room.
“That could have gone better,” Cat muttered aloud.
***
Lois stared at the table in front of her, feeling her anger from the last two days threatening to overtake her. Cat closed the door behind her and took a seat across from Lois and Clark. There was a silent lull between the three of them until Clark finally spoke up, “I just have one question, why?”
Cat crossed her arms, staring back at them, “I was trying to prove something…that I’ve come to realize doesn’t matter at all. I’m sorry.”
Lois gaped, uncertain what to make of Cat’s admission. “Excuse me?”
At the same time Clark let out a, “What?”
“Prove what?” Lois asked in disbelief. “What could possibly be so important to prove that you would hurt everyone around you and….” Lois clamped her mouth closed, unwilling to divulge what Cat had done.
“Why?” Clark asked, shaking his head. “What could you possibly have to gain?”
“Well like I said I didn’t mean for anyone else to get hurt but I needed to prove I was right.” Cat sniffed.
“I…”
“Do you realize how much damage you could have done? You could have gone to jail, Cat!” Lois threw her arms up in the air. “I mean, what possessed you to do the things you…”
Cat shook her head, her expression full of remorse. “I know. I know. Believe me I know. I’m sorry. I really am.”
“What were you trying to prove?” Clark asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” Cat said, standing to her feet. “Look, I’ve done a lot of thinking. Nothing but thinking today actually. I can’t take back what I’ve done but I can try and earn your trust back and make things right.”
“She did help track down the fallout shelter Mindy and McCoy had you in.” Clark reminded her, turning to Lois.
Lois still wasn’t ready to completely forgive Cat but she saw the genuine remorse in her eyes. “I still don’t trust you.”
“I know.” Cat said, standing to her feet. “I think maybe a trip back to California is in order. I need to sort some things out and some distance might do us all some good.”
“California?” Lois echoed in surprise. “I don’t get it. You’re just going to run away again?”
“I’m not running away.” Cat corrected. “Perry’s agreed to let me telecommute for a few months until I get everything in order. I have a buyer interested in Cat’s Clothing Line and I need to give closing that deal all the attention it deserves.” She let out a sigh and turned to them before leaving, “I really am sorry.”
With that Cat left, leaving Lois and Clark reeling from the news. “What do you think that was all about?” Lois finally asked.
“I don’t know,” Clark shook his head, “But does it really matter?”
“I guess not,” Lois glanced toward the door and spotted Cat by the elevator with Samantha. “What’s she doing here?”
“Detective Wolfe and Superman decided it might do them both some good to have a talk before he takes her back to jail.” Clark explained.
“You’re such a softie,” Lois said with a shake of her head. She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.
“Guilty as charged.” He leaned in to kiss her.
***
Cat breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Samantha being escorted inside the newsroom walls. She looked to Detective Wolfe who stood behind Samantha with a reserved expression. “Sam! I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Me too,” Samantha cheered with a shrug.
“What happened?” Cat asked.
“I got kidnapped,” Samantha explained.
“I knew you wouldn’t do something like that,” Cat tapped her hand on Samantha’s shoulder.
“They’re taking me back,” Samantha let out a sob, shaking her head. “I thought you were going to fix this. I thought you were going to make this all better. I told you what happened and…”
“And I told you you can’t expect to get out of this, Sam.” Cat reminded her. “You did something awful, Sam. Really, really awful. You actually convinced me that helping you would change things, but it doesn’t. It doesn’t change anything. You helped conspire to kill someone, Sam. Do you get that?”
“But Lois Lane…”
“Can be a royal pain in the ass. Believe me I know,” Cat rolled her eyes, “but at the end of the day she didn’t deserve what you put her through.”
“I’m telling you, I saw…”
“I don’t care what you saw, Sam. You committed a crime. A serious crime that could have had devastating effects. Don’t you get that? Aren’t you sorry at all?” Cat narrowed her eyes at her cousin, seeing the look of doubt on her face. “I’ve spent the last few days doing a lot of things I never would have dreamed I would have done….trying to help you. Trying to prove something that doesn’t even matter.”
“So you do believe me?” Samantha countered.
“No,” Cat lied, shaking her head. “I think you need to do some serious thinking, Sam and figure out your priorities before you go to trial. You have an opportunity to do the right thing. I think you should take it and drop this ridiculous vendetta against Lois Lane. At the end of the day I’d rather have her in my corner than anyone.”
“So you’re taking her side?” Samantha sniffed. “Of course you are.”
“This is about something bigger than sides, Sam. I don’t want to lose my cousin. I want you to have a life.” Cat let out a sigh, running a hand against her forehead.
Detective Wolfe took that opportunity to speak up, “Superman offered to talk to the DA and help get her get a lighter sentence.”
Cat looked down with a shake of her head, “Given everything you did I’d say that’s very generous. It’s up to you to take it though.”
***
One Week Later…Lois Lane awoke in the middle of the night, hearing the sound of her husband sleeping next to her. She smiled to herself, turning on her side to face his sleeping figure. It had been a hectic week. She climbed out of bed, wrapping her robe around her and heading downstairs.
She made her way to the kitchen to fix a cup of tea to help lull her back to sleep. Two am was not a time to be waking up when so much had to be done today. The president was coming to Metropolis this afternoon for his re-election campaign. Who knew what to expect from that?
Jerry had been able to provide testimony against both William McCoy and Agent Rollins. McCoy had sung like a canary and given the police everything they needed to connect Mindy to Intergang. Something Lois had been all too eager to gloat about given how many times everyone had dismissed the accusation again and again. Mike had been charged with attempted arson and kidnapping, and Warden Baker was now enduring the cruel treatment he’d besotted on his inmates. Mindy had, of course, pointed the finger at Bill Church Jr—Randy Goode’s murder and more to count. It had come out in Jimmy’s research that the name Bruno Mannheim was used to cover a hit by Intergang. The guards involved had been charged and a new warden had been hired to clean up the corruption. With the long line of suspects turning on one another Inspector Henderson said it would be the biggest case since Lex Luthor’s arrest in 1994.
Of course, every bit of it would be covered by the Daily Planet as it should be. Lois smiled recalling the look on Perry’s face when he saw their expose on the prison corruption that had been uncovered. It was a bigger case than she’d ever imagined.
It felt good to be back at it. After Cat’s threat on Barry Dunning, miraculously all the paparazzi that had been hounding them magically disappeared. If Cat’s threat proved anything, it was to never underestimate the gossip queen.
She felt a grin spread across her face as she moved toward the desk where the forgotten paperwork from their to-do list sat unattended. She felt a yawn threaten to overtake her just staring at it. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to work on filling the forms out. After all, what better way to get to sleep than to start filling out tedious paperwork, right?
~The End
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