Chapter 47:
"Lois."
She ignored him completely in favor of tossing more papers and memorabilia over her shoulder. Her eyes skimmed through another packet, cataloguing it and scrabbling for something else. She wasn't moving fast enough. Her fingers flew faster, and she looked harder. There had to be a clue, something, anything...
"Lois—"
She brushed a hand through the air. "Not now, Kent."
"Maybe if you told me what you were looking for—"
She threw her hands up in the air sharply and brought her fists back to ball at her forehead. "I don't know what I'm looking for! There has to be something! What did they take? What did they come here for? When? I mean— how long did you say I was out?"
"You slept for about a day and a half, but you were at my apartment a little more than three days."
"Three—" Lois rocked back on her haunches and planted her backside on the ground. Three whole days gone. She barely had a timeframe to work with. She cupped her face in her hands.
"Hey, come on. It'll be okay. Let's just take a beat, take a step back."
His hand gently landed on her shoulder, and a measure of comfort washed over her at the gesture. He was right, they could figure this out. "It had to have something to do with a recent case we've worked on, or it wouldn't matter. The Invisible Man case... Maybe the Beckworth kids?"
Clark inclined his head slightly. "Maybe. Dr. Carlton is in custody though. I don't see how he could have done this."
"He could have had a partner," Lois' eyes fluttered open gently, and she sought his searchingly. His expression was soothing and warm. She swallowed thickly, afraid to even say the words. "It could have been Nigel."
Horror and disbelief struck across his face for a split second as his jaw went slack, but it was quickly lanced by anger and a grinding of his teeth. "No."
"Think about it, Clark—"
He shook his head and stood up from where he was crouched at her side and walked towards her kitchen. She scowled after him and laid out her argument. "You're the one that found evidence of Nigel and Dr. Carlton working together. He was funding his research. And the money had to come from somewhere."
"No way."
Lois got to her feet slowly, mind spinning with a theory already. "And just what have we been working on this whole time? Who's Lex Luthor's right hand man?"
Exasperation made his tone gravelly when he turned back to her. "Lois... listen to yourself. I know things are complicated, but you're still talking about Lex Luthor here. He still cares about you. Why would he send Nigel to trash your apartment? Especially if he wants you back."
Her eyebrows rocketed up. "You think he has a shot in hell anymore? After everything I know about him, and now this? Heck, Kansas, I was under the influence of some crazy aphrodisiac and all I could think about was you!"
His expression went slack as her words registered. Heat flamed at her cheeks and Lois turned away in embarrassment, hands coming up to cover her ears. She knew what he was going to say before he even said it, and she couldn't afford to have this argument right now. Not again. "Let's not do this right now. Let's just calm down and take a look at the facts, okay?"
Clark opened his mouth as if to protest but then shut it and nodded. "Okay. But, Lois?"
She looked back at his face with pain in her expression. She nodded at his unspoken question. "I know."
He seemed partially satisfied with her reply, and moved on for the time being. "All right. What do we know?"
"We know someone broke into my apartment." She tried to reign in her attention once more to the task at hand, kicking at some old trinkets on the ground.
"We know they didn't do that for no good reason."
"We don't know what that reason is," she countered, glaring at him. They said they'd stick to facts.
"Okay, but we know it had to be really recent, otherwise Lucy would have tried to tell you about it. I don't know your sister all that well, but I imagine she'd have cleaned up a little or called the police, and I didn't see any yellow tape—."
Icy dread filled her stomach, and she froze rooted to the spot. "Clark."
"Hmm?"
She was going to be sick. "Nothing's missing."
"Well, I mean, we don't know that for sure yet—"
"Clark."
He turned away from the mess and met her wide, frightened eyes once more, and his features seemed to mirror hers as the realization sunk in for him as well.
"Where is my sister?"
Clark was white as a sheet, and Lois had thought that was just an expression. Her heart leapt into her throat at the fact that he was on the same page. Her stomach twisted into a knot and she bent over in agony. "Oh my God, oh my God. Lucy..."
He was at her side in a second flat, protectively encircling her in his arms and guiding her to the door. "We need to leave, go somewhere safe."
Lois pulled away from him, pushing a hand against his chest. "I'm not going anywhere until I know where my sister is."
"Lois, this could be a trap. It's not safe. We need to get out of here— I'm calling Henderson right now."
Lois snatched his phone out of his hands and turned back to face her apartment. This was more than a break in to send a message. Whoever did this really wanted something from her, and she'd do just about anything to get her sister back. "No, I'll call. They'll respond to me faster."
"Okay. Can we please go back to my apartment? Nobody knew you were there obviously, so we'll be safe for now."
She cradled the phone tightly against her ear as the 911 operator came through. "Not until Henderson gets here."
*****LnC*****
"Not that it's any of my business," her voice grated on his every last nerve. Four days, stuck here with these two women. He was regretting every aspect of this plan, except one. "But what exactly is that concoction going to do to you? And I will ask again why you don't want mine."
Nigel sighed as he rolled up his left shirt sleeve. "It isn't any of your business in fact. But your drug will put me out of my right mind; this one will only enhance it." He removed cap from the syringe and tapped the side to ensure there weren't any bubbles in it. That would be a quick way to an aneurysm. Listening to Miranda another day would lead to a much slower-onset aneurysm.
"Yes, but mine's so much more fun!" She giggled, and Nigel felt a twist in his stomach.
"Dear lord, did you dose yourself with more?"
Another fit of laughter was answer enough for him, and he rolled his eyes. Of course she did. He tried to focus on the task at hand.
Her giggles finally subsided and she brushed a stray tear away. "If I don't dose myself every time it wears off, I'll pass out."
"Hey! Bonnie and Clyde! Any chance you'll be letting me go anytime soon?"
Nigel shot a glare at their captive tied to a chair and then back at Miranda. "I told you not to feed her. She's gaining too much strength back."
"I could knock her out again." They both turned and sent matching scowls towards the younger Lane sister, who squirmed uncomfortably at their turn in conversation. Miranda laughed at the girl. "Hey, it's not our fault your family hasn't missed you in four days. Pretty soon you'll outlive your usefulness."
"Miranda," Nigel warned quietly.
"—And why aren't you just drinking that potion?" She whirled back to Nigel and ran her fingers up his arm smoothly. "It'll give you the same effect five minutes later, and then you won't have an arm that makes you look like a heroin addict."
"Five minutes too long," he muttered, and turned his attention back to his arm, brushing her hand away.
She snorted and flipped her hair. "That's right. Never know when Hunky Blue might appear around a corner. Or Kent. Or god forbid Luthor."
"Kent? As in, Clark Kent?"
Nigel tried not to react to Lucy's reaction to the name, instead taking his time finishing his business and tossing the needle into a far off corner. A coldness slid through his veins, and he could feel his mind whirring already. Those bratty kids had better have been worth it.
Miranda crossed her legs as she sat on the edge of the table, her attention now fascinated by Lucy. "You know the guy?"
"Miranda, I think it's time we take care of our guest," he hinted quietly.
"No, I wanna hear this."
"Me too."
Nigel whirled around at the voice, weapon drawn and at the ready. Lex raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and a dark chuckle rumbled up his throat. "And here I thought you were going to betray me," he spoke to Nigel, a slight lilt of unsteady mirth in his tone. "I do appreciate the sentiment, Nigel, but as much as I hate Kent, I'd rather it not come at the expense of my future sister-in-law."
"Ha! You wish! At this point, I wouldn't call you my brother-in-law if you kept a gun to my head for as long as I lived."
Lex sauntered over menacingly. "That can be arranged," he quipped, leaning down to her level. "Hello, Lucy."
She spit in his face. Lex frowned and wiped his face across his shirt sleeve. "Lovely. Now, which one of you wants to explain what the hell is happening here?"
"Don't look at me, it was Nigel's idea—"
Nigel tossed his hands up exasperatedly. He was about done with this woman. "On what bloody planet—"
Lex held up a hand for silence, and they both shut their mouths. Nigel pursed his lips. A tingle of uncertainty ran up his spine at Lex’s behavior. The man rubbed at his temples as he spoke. "I need to know... what in the hell went wrong here. What happened to the first human trials, Miranda?"
She pouted and flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder. "Buns o’ Steel wouldn't play with me, and Nigel wouldn't play either."
Lex’s eyes went wide and quickly dissolved from shock to anger. "What do you mean— your first test was on that flying freakshow? What would possess you to—" he cut himself off, running his hands over his visage to try and stop the spasms, and he tried to explain himself in very clear, precise words. "He’s not a human, Miranda. At the very minimum he's some sort of superhuman, if not an alien altogether. Or a demon."
"Nigel said it would be best."
"Nigel said—" Luthor whirled on him, and Nigel swallowed thickly. "Why would you suggest that? And what is wrong with her?"
He finally holstered his weapon, remaining cautious but slightly more optimistic. He could explain his way out of this "I figured it would get him out of the way. And if someone had used the hundred percent solution, we'd likely be having a completely different discussion."
"I brought the 100% stuff this time!"
Lex waved her off and turned his focus back to Nigel. "Do you realize what you've done? You think Lois could ever forgive me for kidnapping her sister?"
"To be fair, that wasn't part of my plan—"
"Shut up. I'm done talking with you. We have to release her. Before it's too late."
Fear spiked through Nigel, and he stepped between Lex and their captive defensively. "We can't do that."
Lex's eyes met his with a cool anger. "Step off, Nigel."
"I'm afraid it's too late for that, sir."
"And why is that?" The billionaire folded his arms irately.
"We've had her here four days."
Lex's pallor changed instantly, and Nigel knew he understood the problem now. Lex shifted on his feet. He looked between Lucy and Nigel, uncertainty in his eyes. "Four days? And nobody's reported her missing yet?"
Nigel shook his head. "Not according to the police scanner, sir."
"Then,” he choked on his words, panic eating away at the edges of his tone. Nigel knew what he was going to ask, and he had no honest answer yet.
“Where the hell is Lois?"
*****LnC*****
Clark held the door open for Lois, who ducked into the town car gracefully. He’d successfully convinced her that they should at least wait in the car, that it would be safer until Henderson got there. She slid over with a smile and patted the seat next to her for him. A twinge pulled at his heart, and he smiled at her warmly.
Then he shut the door.
Confusion filled her features, as she scrambled back to the window and rolled it down as much as the driver would allow. "Clark? What are you doing?"
"I'm sorry. I can't have you running headlong into danger on this one. I'm going to stay and talk to Henderson when he gets here, and see what else I can do. But someone is after you Lois. And you have to stay safe. So this car will take you to my place, and I'll be there as soon as I can."
She tried to protest, but the car pulled away in that moment, and Clark was left at the curb all alone. He steeled himself. He knew she would be beyond pissed at him when he got back, but he had to do this alone. Nigel had crossed him for the last time. He couldn't return without her sister.
And he wouldn't return without Nigel in a body bag.
