Chapter 31:
"I need to run by the store, maybe take a drive and clear my head," he told Nigel as he pulled on his coat. "Don't wait up. I'll be back shortly. Anything you need?"
"I could go for anything that wasn't drowned in barbeque," Nigel drawled in irritation. Lex smirked and made no promises as he headed out. He couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped him once the man was gone. The feigned the need to go on an errand was nothing short of a lie, but Nigel needed some space of his own. Whatever the man felt he needed to attend to without him, he couldn't care less.
Nigel flicked aside the musty curtain gently, peeking out to make sure Luthor got into his car and put the vehicle in drive before turning back to face the rather paltry motel room. He made a beeline for the yellowed handset on the nightstand by his bed, and dialed the number he knew by heart.
"Yes?"
Nigel squashed the nerves that suddenly settled in his stomach. He'd picked up on the first ring. That couldn't be a good sign. He swallowed thickly, convincing himself this was a good idea. "Sir."
He could hear the creak of the chair as the man on the other line snapped to attention. "Nigel?? Where the hell have you been? It's been seven days—"
"I'm with Luthor. He wanted to take this trip on a whim—"
"Nothing to do with Lois walking in on our little fight, I'm sure. Speaking of which, why didn't I get a heads up about that?"
"About what?"
"Lex trying to blow him up," the statement came across on a growl, and Nigel felt the pit in his stomach growing.
"I was merely trying to switch him onto a different track. His first instinct was to investigate you."
"Watch yourself, Nigel. Don't think for a second that you're doing me any favors by protecting me from him in any way, shape, or form. I can handle myself. Now, that said, you've missed a hell of a lot here. When can we meet?"
Nigel pursed his lips. "We're not back yet."
"Back from where?"
He wanted to say the words. He opened his mouth to say the words, but the words that came out were entirely different. "Texas. Apparently the Lexcorp office down here in Dallas had some crisis, lost a few managers. Luthor felt it would be prudent to make an appearance at some board meetings."
Silence met his answer on the other end of the line. Nigel held his breath, waiting for a response that would be the end of him, or at least another line of questioning.
"Fine. Let me know immediately when you're back in town."
He heard the click of the line going dead before he could even reply in the affirmative.
*****LnC*****
The story about Thaddeus Roarke trying to sabotage the Project Shockwave results went wide just yesterday, and already Lois was done with it. She had made a tentative sort of peace with Kent— for the sake of work, nothing else— but the constant reminder of working on this case was not at all helpful. Not when every page she turned, every piece of evidence collected, had her reliving the weight of his body over hers; her name whispered roughly in her ear; his lips, soft but unyielding; hands that seemed to touch just about everything except where she wanted...
Focus, Lane.
Yeah. She would be glad to be on to the next case, and she assumed that, provided she kept some distance, she'd be back on normal terms with Kent in no time.
She rode the wave of guilt that crashed over her like a pro. She needed to talk things through with Lex still. As much as he was in the wrong— committing crimes and atrocities, going after the most beloved man in Metropolis like that— he was still her boyfriend, and that should still mean something, until their relationship became otherwise. She appreciated how much time and space he seemed to be giving her, but it was time to talk to the man. She slid her papers back into the desk drawer and collected her things. Assuming a story didn't fall directly in her lap on the way over to Lexcorp tower, she would go talk to him now.
But hey. There was always hope for the small miracles. Maybe she'd get hit by a bus first.
No such luck.
She was about to step on the elevator when the desk manager caught up to her, flagging her down like he was trying to land a plane. She rolled her eyes heavenward and turned back to the man with a smile. "Yes, Roger?"
He was winded, having tried to grab her attention for so long and running after her that he could hardly get words out. She gave him a minute to catch his breath, patience wearing thin. "I... Mr. Luthor asked me to give you this when I saw you next. I thought you'd be in sooner, but—"
Her eyes alighted on the thin white envelope and she snatched it out of his hands before he could even say any more. She ripped it open and pulled out the single sheet and skimmed the document quickly, nostrils flaring. "How long ago did he give this to you?"
"About a week ago. He left on a business trip."
"Do you know when he'll be back?"
"He... he didn't say."
She crumpled the paper and gave the man a saccharine smile. "Thanks, Roger. I'll see you next time," and she spun on her heel, storming out of the lobby with more vigor than she had coming in. She weaved around a few touristy looking bystanders on the sidewalk, trying her best to not scream at them to get out of the way. She ground her teeth together tightly, the need once again for a cigarette flaring up and she had her way in a flash, taking her first drag with her eyes closed and begging for the relaxing sensation to kick in quicker—
A hard thunk knocked her back a few steps and knocked her cigarette onto the dirty sidewalk. She swore emphatically. "You godda— Kent?"
There he stood, looking as surprised as she was to see him. He gaped at her for a few moments before apologizing profusely for running into her, and even lit her another cigarette and handed it back. The glowing red end was a good enough ice breaker for her, and she accepted the olive branch as it were with a quiet murmur of thanks.
"Is everything all right, Lois? No offense, but you were careening down the road like a bat out of hell."
She opened her mouth to say something offhand that would cover for her reaction, defend her choices, but then she shut it again. Why should she constantly defend him? It was exhausting, and it was high time they got to the bottom of things anyways.
"You know what? Everything isn't alright, Kansas. Come on. We've got a story to look into."
*****LnC*****
Clark eyed the way Lois was stalking across the conference room with a sense of nervous anticipation coiling in his stomach. She hadn't even asked what he was doing there, so close to Luthor's place, luckily. He didn't have an answer for that question, other than he thought it might be prudent to make sure Luthor really was gone and Nigel wasn't tied up in the basement or something.
Because if he knew one thing for sure, it was that Nigel had lied to him.
Nigel never lied to him. Omitted the truth, pled the fifth, provided him with plausible deniability. Never lied. And this was a plain as day lie. A last minute business trip. The timing of that was way too coincidental. He'd have believed it more if the man had said Luthor went off to go sulk, or treat himself to a nice spa day. Heck, he'd have bought it if he said the man had jumped out of an airplane, trying to shake away the remains of the day with an adrenaline boost. But no. He'd told him they were in Texas, taking care of some business things.
It was too vague, and yet including the detail about Texas had been too specific. Something was definitely up.
Lois secured his attention once again when she turned to write on the whiteboard she'd confiscated from who knows where. He smiled. She did everything with a passion. He knew he wanted to try getting some distance from her, but she was like a tractor beam, pulling him back in with every glance, every word, even the way she underlined the name on the board with a flourish.
Oh. Oh-ho-ho.
This was going to be wonderful.
She capped the pen with a sense of finality and looked him square in the eyes. "What do you know about Lex Luthor?"
