Chapter 25:
Lex bit his nails. It was a bad habit, he knew, but it was a small vice. He considered himself lucky he hadn't picked up any other habits or traits over his time on this earth, particularly given his genetic predisposition to some of them. He didn't have to wonder very hard why Lois smoked.
That said, the thrill of coordinating all these situations for the Man of Steel to get himself out of gave him a heady feeling. He could easily see why people became criminals— it was an addiction of sorts. Setting the pins up, knocking them down. Never getting caught. What a rush. And if he was going after Clark Kent instead? He could easily imagine his whole life changing.
"What about a bomb?"
Nigel's inquiry broke Lex out of his thoughts, and he mused on that possibility. "We already saw him swallow a bomb on the Prometheus. What would that prove?"
"It proves his strength, maybe he crushed it with his fists or teeth first. It doesn't prove his vulnerability."
"It's not bad," Lex dragged out the word, toying with the idea. It wasn't a bad idea at all. He darted a stern glance over at Nigel. "I wouldn't want there to be a chance that anyone gets hurt."
"Of course. We could always do it in an empty building, get the area to evacuate."
"Maybe. I don't know if he would show up if there wasn't any incentive, though." Lex pursed his lips and drummed his fingers on the able to keep himself from chewing his nails again. He sat upright in his seat when the solution came to him. "Oh! But maybe we get the area evacuated, and that's how we get his attention. Call in a bomb threat, and the big blue boy scout is the only one in there, and then—" He mimed an explosion with his hands, pulling a little smile out of Nigel.
"I like how you think, sir."
Lex grinned at the praise. He genuinely got along well with Nigel. They'd worked together for so long, he almost couldn't remember life before him. Almost. He shut down that train of thought before it had a chance to leave the station.
Nigel was the one to suggest this plan of action in the first place. He'd discovered minimal information about Clark Kent, and though what he'd learned had spoke volumes on the man's character, there was nothing to indicate anything more nefarious going on. Maybe he was really reading into things, being paranoid. Lois would kill him if she found out he was doing this, and then it turned out to be all for nothing.
But his gut screamed at him that something was wrong that day. He couldn't be that off. He couldn't be. Whether the culprit for that feeling was Clark Kent, or this new hero, or even Lois, he didn't know. So when Nigel mentioned investigating the newly designated "man-of-steel" first, he leapt in with both feet. He needed to find answers one way or another. Plus, if he did need to eventually do something about Kent, it'd be helpful to know what he could do to keep the resident superhero off his back.
He wasn't done with Clark Kent in the least.
"All right, then. Let's get to it, Nigel."
*****LnC*****
As things turned out, they didn't get a chance to start investigating the EPRAD launches just yet. Lois had been mad at first, but the crime in Metropolis didn't seem to be sleeping, and she wasn't one to say no to a good story. They were playing a long game here. Whoever was behind those attacks wasn't going away, and they were clearly content to take their time with it all. Slow and steady would win this race.
She found herself reminding Kent of that more and more often as the newer stories landed in her lap, and they were more often separated at work. He couldn't say she wasn't still working the original case. She was burning the candle at both ends, riding out the Daily Planet's operating hours like a pro. Lex wasn't too happy about it, but he seemed vaguely distracted as well. She tried not to think about what that could mean.
Lois frowned, looked around the office suddenly. Speaking of distant, Clark didn't seem to be around quite as often, either. That was bizarre. She'd started to think of him like her shadow: always there, a little darker than she was, but on her side.
She was probably too close to him. A little distance couldn't hurt. Besides. Disappearing at random intervals of the day? Probably had a new fling, enjoying some afternoon delights. She allowed herself the eye roll, didn't allow herself the pang of jealousy that wanted to beat against her heart. She had a boyfriend, and it wasn't Clark.
She glanced at her watch, noting it was still early. It would be nice of her to surprise Lex, visit him for an early dinner. Maybe they should get out of town, just the two of them, reconnect.
The beck of an open investigation grounded her from that thought.
Okay, maybe they could get away somewhere in-town. She could get them reservations at a hotel in town, take it from there. A grin took over her face. He would love that! She knew exactly the place too.
She started to pack up her things to get ready to go even as she dialed a number on her phone. "Hi, yes. Can you please connect me to the Lexor Hotel? I'd like to make a reservation."
*****LnC*****
Clark blinked rapidly in an effort to clear the smoke from his eyes. What the hell? The bomb had gone off literally as soon as he'd entered the building. He ran the logistics of that through his brain. It could have been pressure sensitive, but then the evacuation of the Carlin building would have compromised the explosive. He hadn't smelled any sort of accelerant, or noticed if there was something he'd triggered as he walked in.
It seemed like someone had their finger hovering over the button, waiting for him to arrive.
That pit in his stomach grew back. It was the same attacker as the one from two weeks ago, with the jumpers.
He knew it was a bad idea to lay off that case so much.
The nerves in his stomach were replaced with a seething anger. Clark told himself to calm down, reminding himself of who he was right now, and took a few deep breaths before stepping out of the rubble and smoke and approaching his awaiting audience.
Cheers erupted around him, and Clark raised a hand in a gesture of thanks, following it up with a quick brush off of his insignia and taking off with a sonic boom.
He circled back around rather quickly, and changed back out of the uniform. He landed about a block away, watching the investigators begin to comb the blast site as he approached, not caring that he might still be a little soot-stained. He gestured to the first man he recognized as soon as he got to the edge of the barrier. "Henderson!"
The inspector took a second to register his voice, but smiled when he saw him and approached the barrier. "Kent. You gotta stop hanging around Lois. She'll get you killed one of these days."
Clark grinned crookedly. "Oh, she'll be the death of me all right, but I'm actually here on my own today."
Henderson's eyebrows jumped in surprise. "Really? That's curious. You two might be more alike than I thought. What brings you over here?"
He shrugged casually. "Coincidence, really. Hey, since I don't see any of my own reporters here, mind if I ask a couple questions of my own? I gotta give them something to work with."
The way Henderson weighed his answer made Clark nervous that maybe he was appearing too curious. The one time he wasn't responsible for any crimes, and now he looks suspicious. Swell.
"Fine. But don't tell Lane I'm doing you any favors."
Clark's answering grin was all he needed, and suddenly he was in. They walked over to the bomb squad van, where the investigators were slowly compiling the bomb components, and anything that could be important.
"All we have so far is that the bomb was remotely set off. Now, we're not quite sure where that puts us, but we've narrowed it down to a five mile radius so far. We're still trying to determine the bomb's components, but likely whoever set if off is up in smoke already, no pun intended."
"Is there any indicators of who could have done this?"
"Not particularly. Although, there were video cameras installed in the lobby that were not part of the building's security system, or any other system that the management company knew about. We think the two are connected."
Clark nodded. It was as much as he expected. "So you're telling me that someone waited for him to appear, watched him enter the building, and then detonated the explosives?"
"That's our theory. Listen, I'll catch up with you in a minute, Kent. I have to go talk to the explosives captain."
Clark ran a hand through his hair. So all in all, it wasn't much more information. The frustration was eating him alive. Someone was gunning for him— for the hero. If somebody was after Clark Kent, he'd understand. He had plenty of enemies. But his alter ego was another story.
If he was weaving a tale for Lois, he'd pin it on Lex. Probably would eventually anyway. But somebody had to answer to him first, regardless of what ended up in the papers. He had to know the truth.
A face in the crowd caught his eye, and he frowned as he stared after the man. He was shifty, trying a little too hard to be apart of the crowd, appear interested for the right reasons. But that wasn't the reason Clark had noticed him.
This man worked for Lex Luthor.
His heart started pounding faster, things starting to click into place. No, it couldn't be that easy. It was exactly what he was planning on telling Lois, and for practically the first time in his life, it would be the truth. Clark turned to look for Henderson, because he had to be sure first.
"Hey, Henderson, on an unrelated note..."
"Here we go. Lane really must be rubbing off on you."
Clark smiled briefly at the mental image that wording provoked, before sobering his attitude. "Those jumpers from last week. You get a psych profile on either of them?"
Henderson frowned, puzzled at the bizarre turn in questioning. "Uh, yeah. I couldn't tell you anything off the top of my head, other than they seemed perfectly normal. Both claimed to be overstressed, overworked."
"Did they happen to mention where they worked?"
"The woman said she worked in R&D for LexCorp, and the man refused to say much of anything, but considering he pushed Lane off the roof, he probably just didn't want to incriminate himself anymore."
Clark could have laughed, except the laughter that wanted to bubble up in his throat was being smothered by an urge to scream with rage, resulting in a weird bubble of discomfort lodged in his chest. He smiled tautly at the inspector, and made his thanks and left.
As soon as he was far enough out of sight, Clark darted into an alley and took off. He might not be able to truly face off with Lex yet, but his alter ego definitely had some words to share with the man.
