Lois looked at the red pen in her hands and felt concerned. She walked over to the window and reflected the noisy city outside. Looking at the Metropolis skyline somehow always helped to sooth her. She had always loved beautiful modern city with its tall, modern buldings. As she gazed outside, she could see Superman flying across the sky. It was an image that somehow reassured her that everything would be okay.

Then she heard a voice behind her that made her heart sink. "It's time, Lane." It was Mayson Drake, and she was holding her hand out.

Lois gulped. She turned around to face Mayson, a frown upon her face. Mayson's confident smirk annoyed her greatly. She clearly didn't know that Lois couldn't pay up, and the prospect of what was to come as a result scared Lois greatly.


"Coffee?" Lois offered, a crack in her voice.

"No thanks," Mayson replied. "Just give me what I came for. No stalling."

Lois frowned and took a step back, as if trying to find a way to escape. Mayson was having none of it, though. She took a step closer, nearly pinning the reporter against the window.

"Look Lois," growled Mayson, with a glare that reminded Lois of a deranged dog. "You owe me $5,007 right now."

Lois looked into Mayson's eyes and twisted the red pen she still had in her hand nervously. "Mayson, I don't have the money," she replied.

The two women looked at each other with hostile feelings on both sides, like two wild animals about to fight over a single piece of meat.

"Look," Lois stammered. "I know I agreed to pay you back for the damages I did to your car after I wrecked it while chasing that criminal, but I'm flat broke."

Mayson glared. "And what exactly am I supposed to drive, then?"

"Metropolis has a great public transportation system," Lois whimpered. Then, a thought came to her. "Or, you could take my car as compensation. She held a pair of keys in the air. "It's the red truck parked in the employee of the month spot."

Mayson snatched them from Lois and walked away as Lois sighed a sigh of relief. Now her only problem was figuring out what to do once Mayson discovered those were the keys to her gym locker and that that truck belonged to Ralph.

THE END