Chapter 61:
"Lois! Glad to see you back, darlin'. You still look like hell, but you're starting to look like you got a few licks in of your own."
She smiled shyly at her boss, pulled her hair forward a little to cover the bruising around her jaw more. "Thanks, Perry. Good to be back."
"It's not too soon, is it? Because one wince, one moment of hesitation, and you'll be back home faster than a knife fight in a telephone b—"
"No, I'm fine, Perry. Believe me. I... I just really want to go back to normal."
He gave her a tight-lipped smile. "I don't know how you do it, but I'm amazed that you do. Well, go ahead and get situated. I don't have any stories for you right now, but I heard you've been working on a spotlight-type investigation, so if you want to work on that, feel free."
She turned to face the door to his office, glanced at her coworkers outside and sealed them off from the rest of the bullpen. "Perry, there's going to be some stuff coming out with this investigation," she started.
He held up a hand to cut her off. "I know. I got the rundown from James already. You sure you're okay to work on this thing?"
She shot him a watery smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just…” her mind drifted back over Clark's revelations, the pit in her stomach lessening a little more every time she thought about it. She shook her head to clear away some of the darker thoughts. “You think you know a guy."
Perry stood and rounded his desk to rest a gentle arm across her shoulders consolingly. "Hey, hey. It's gonna be alright. Before you know it, this will all be behind you, just a blip on the radar. Besides, it seems like Kent has been there for you, right? Everything's good there?"
She drew a shade down over her eyes but projected a warm smile anyways. "Yeah. He's been great.” She hoped there would be a day where those words didn’t taste quite so bitter in her mouth. “I don't know how I would have gotten through all this without him."
A sharp rap on the door had Perry grumbling good-naturedly. "Speak of the devil... Come in, Kent."
"Everything okay in here?"
Lois stiffened a little at his intrusion. She didn't like feeling as if he were checking up on her. He should trust her by now.
"Yeah, come in, come in. Shut the door. Now listen, Kent, I feel like I owe you an apology. I don't know what got into me the last time we really spoke, but I ain't too proud to admit when I'm wrong. Thank you for looking out for our girl, here."
"Happy to do it."
Another knock on the window, and Jimmy popped his head in. "I hate to break up the party, but Lois, you have a visitor."
Lois frowned. A visitor? That was odd. She followed James out to the bullpen and left Perry and Clark to hash things out. Men were stupid sometimes. But she supposed that it was good for them to get along. If Clark was going to remain a part of her life, and she’d determined that already, then Perry would have to learn to deal with him.
A man she didn't recognize stood nervously at her desk, looking around the bullpen with passing curiosity. She approached cautiously and shot him a smile to put him at ease. "Can I help you, sir?"
He startled at her sudden intrusion into his thoughts, and gave her an awkward half-bow, half-wave. He cleared his throat, and she was thrown by his deep, midwestern accent. "Ma'am. Are you Lois Lane?"
She cocked her head at him curiously. "I am; and you are Mr.—?"
"Oh, please. Call me Ronnie."
She would have been charmed by his aw-shucks routine if something wasn't telling her that there was something fake about him. "Okay. Ronnie. What can I do for you?"
"Uhm, this might seem like an odd request, but I actually used to be friends with Mr. Kent, and I heard he owns this paper, and that you work together a lot. I was wondering if you would make an introduction."
Lois squinted her eyes at Ronnie, unsure still. He seemed nervous, but genuine. "Uh-huh. Ronnie. Where you from?"
"Central City, by way of some other places. Look, it doesn't have to be now, I'm sure he's a busy man, but if you'd just give him my card— here— and have him give me a call. Any time. Day or night. Tell 'im I got something that belongs to him."
She took the card hesitantly, looked over the plainly typed details on the front, and her alarm bells were going off all over the place. She gave him a placating smile. "Look, Ronnie—"
The man suddenly straightened as he saw someone walk in— Lois craned her neck and clocked Henderson and Sawyer walking up, badges visible, and her frown deepened. Something definitely wasn’t right here with this Ronnie, and his acquaintance with Clark or any piece of his past didn’t do anything to soothe her suspicions. "I've taken up enough of your time. Have a nice day, ma'am."
He turned on his heel and kept his head down low as he blazed past the detectives and out into the elevator. Henderson stopped and did a quick double take before approaching her once again and shaking himself. "I swear, I know that guy from somewhere…”
Lois quickly grabbed a piece of tape from the roll on her disorganized desk and taped the card to the edge of her computer so she wouldn't forget about it. She frowned at the sticky note beside it, written in some barely legible scrawl. Lois plucked it gently from her screen and turned it sideways, only able to make out a few words. Something about someone wanting to deter her from going to see a Shadi broke, whoever or whatever that was?
“Lois! You're looking... uh, well, anyway. You got a moment?"
Lois gave Henderson a polite smile and nodded, pocketing the sticky note discreetly. Her pulse skyrocketed and she tried to project an aura of calm, not the oh-my-god-they-figured-it-out reaction she initially had. She hated Clark for making that her first reaction when she saw her friend; then again, it was better than losing said friend over a manslaughter charge. She smiled placidly at the Detective, telling herself reassuring thoughts as she followed him to the conference room.
They shut the door behind her, and she couldn't suppress the tiny jump at the sound. Bill looked at her questioningly. "You okay, Lane?"
She sighed and fidgetted as she took her seat. "Yeah. Just a little jumpy still. What's up?"
Bill and Maggie shared a look before he finally sat at the table with them. "We just wanted to follow up on a few questions we had about this Luthor investigation. You up to talking about it?"
She considered her options for a second, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Uh, yeah. The sooner this is over with, the better, in my opinion."
Bill smiled sympathetically. "I get it. Now, you said that... Nigel St. John was the one who kidnapped you, correct?"
She schooled her features carefully and leaned in as she agreed.
"And he was the one also responsible for kidnapping your sister?"
"Yes. Although I think in that case it was Miranda who was her... primary... abductor. But in both cases, Lex was paying them, on and off the books, to torture us." She paused while Henderson scribbled something down. "That's not to say they're still not responsible. I'd like nothing more than to see Nigel St. John rot in a cell for the rest of his days, but I know who was in charge."
"Can you describe what happened when you first realized Lex was behind your kidnapping?"
She tried to keep her hands very still as she sat there, giving away no hint of fear. "I suspected from the beginning. But Nigel didn't confirm anything. He'd knocked me around a bit, and then I feel like Lex came out of nowhere. He was just suddenly in front of me." She slammed her eyes shut at the memory, trying to bury it deep where it belonged. "I kept my eyes closed for a while."
Maggie reached a hand out across the table to soothe over her own, and Lois jolted alert at the sudden touch, pulling her hand away in a snap. "I'm sorry," she intoned softly, offering a soft smile before nodding back at Bill.
"And what did he say to you? Lex. What did Lex say to you?"
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. This part of her statement was all true, but it still stung. "He... He mostly wanted to know about Clark. If we... If we'd been together. I was so worried he'd found out about our investigation, but no.” She watched him scribble his notes down, a bitter scoff escaping her throat as she thought about it more. “That's Lex for you. Self-obsessed to the end. If he had known about the investigation, I'm sure you would have found me in a body bag instead, or floating ashore in Hobb's Bay."
Bill stared at her intently at that, hand frozen mid-scribble, and she puzzled over what she said. "What?"
"Nothing. Just curious you picked the bay."
"Well, we weren't near the West River. Why, what's wrong with Hobb's Bay?"
Maggie brushed away Bill's comment out of the air. "It's nothing. We just heard about a jumper who washed up in Hobb's Bay yesterday."
Lois nodded like that made sense, but it decidedly did not. She did her best not to dart a furtive glance up at Bill, but they'd nearly told her something, and she had an idea what it was. She uncrossed her arms and leaned forward across the table. "So, have you found anything yet? How close are we on the Luthor investigation?"
Henderson sighed and stood up to pace. "We're getting all our ducks in a row. Hence the grilling. Better to have as much hard evidence as possible going into a trial like this. We want every charge to stick. Kidnappings, assault, murder— everything."
"Me too."
He smiled and gave her a once over. "You sure you're alright, kid? Looks like Lex really did a number on you."
"I'll be fine, Bill. Just make sure you get the son of a bitch. Now tell me when this is all going down so I know when to save space for my article."
He beamed at that and nudged his partner in the arm. "There's the Lois Lane I know and love. I told you she's an amazon warrior." Maggie smiled and nodded, and Lois tamped down her embarrassed flush at the praise. In a lot of ways, Bill Henderson was like a proud and teasing older brother. Bill continued. "Like I said, we're still tying up a few loose ends, but should be soon. We'll be raiding his building within the week, but it seems Lex has been in the wind since your kidnapping."
That surprised her. She'd expected him to have gone home at some point. Maybe he had someone do that for him, or he could be hunkered down inside somewhere. She swallowed thickly. "Well, they can't stay hidden forever. I'm sure Lex and Nigel will come out of the woodwork with some other plan in play."
Henderson agreed with a smile that seemed a little too big, and Lois stood up. The interview seemed to be done, so she made for the door.
"Oh, one more thing— would you mind sending Kent in here when he gets a chance? Like I said, the more evidence the better."
*****LnC*****
Clark flipped through his folder casually, eavesdropping on their conversation. The bad news was Henderson seemed to have a lead on Nigel. The docks on the other end of Hobb's Bay was where he'd dumped him, and he was definitely sensitive to that throw away line, even if Lois genuinely didn't know that's where he was. The good news was they were still going after Lex.
He busied himself more thoroughly in his paperwork when he heard Henderson say his name and dammit, he was next. Lois looked a little shaken as she walked over to greet him, and he stole her hand away to press a discreet kiss to her knuckles. "Everything okay?"
She gave him a faux smile. "Yeah. I just don't like talking about Lex this much."
He bussed her lips, massaging her wrist gently. The swelling had gone down significantly in the last week, but the bruising was still vicious. "I know. It'll all be over soon, don't worry."
A twitch of regret or remorse or something bitter flickered across her features, and Clark did his best to ignore it. She knew Lex was a bad guy. She’d seen enough of it firsthand, and yet still there was an element of doubt. He wished she’d square away any residual guilt she had already and get it over with, but he was painfully aware that they weren’t on steady enough ground yet to say so.
He wasn’t sure what it would take to get her over it.
"They want to talk to you, too," she muttered, eyes darting to his lips as she spoke.
"I heard," he murmured, lips a hair's breadth away from her own, tasting her breath on his lips. It was almost as good as kissing her.
A catcall from outside Perry's office sounded, and the moment was shattered. Clark glowered as Eduardo slapped a twenty dollar bill into Ralph's hand, and a low growl rumbled in his chest. He'd kill them for their asinine, juvenile—
"Clark," she warned, pushing his mop of hair back in a soothing manner. He darted his eyes over to hers, still displeased, but more pacified by her ministrations. He quirked his lips up at her, and a spark of mischievousness ran through him. He ducked his head towards her again and claimed her lips as his own in a strong, powerful kiss. She moaned into his mouth, and he shivered. He opened his eyes to peer out of the corner of his eye, and watched the two's faces fall and grow to new levels of distaste for every moment he spent kissing their coworker.
Lois wrenched herself away from him suddenly and smacked his hand off her hip where it seemed to be traveling of its own accord. "Do you have to be an asshole?"
He laughed at that, eyes sparkling. "I'm not."
An eye roll. "Sure. Just go talk to Henderson already."
He stuck his tongue out at her before turning to do as she asked. She was right, he liked being an—
She smacked his butt playfully, and he feigned mortification at her. Lois laughed, and he walked backwards out of the room, miming the I'm-watching-you gesture before finally turning back to the conference room.
"Took you long enough. Are you finished?" Clark bit his lip to stop himself from saying something blue, and instead nodded. Henderson stood up and shut the door behind him, much less carefully this time. "Good. Question time."
Clark smiled politely as he settled into his seat. "Anything to help. What do you need to know?"
His pause was weighty as he rounded the table and sat back down. "It's more what you need to know. And I don't want this getting back 'round to Lois yet." Clark agreed eagerly, ready for him to get on with it. "We found Nigel St. John."
Clark had figured as much. He let surprise read easily on his face and tried to react as naturally as possible. "Oh, thank God. Where is he? You have him in custody? Oh, please— please tell me you have him in custody."
Henderson pursed his lips and flitted his eyes over to his partner's once again. "Oh, we got him all right. In the morgue."
An involuntary tic of nerves flickered across his face before he loosed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." Clark scrubbed a hand over his face and leaned back in his chair, trying to come across more refreshed by the news, instead of anxious.
"You seem relieved."
He scoffed at the Inspector. "Look, I understand that this is part of your job and all. But I really just need this to be over. For Lois' sake. She's been... She'd never tell you, but she's been a wreck. Constantly looking for Nigel or Lex over her shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Maybe this will help calm her down a little."
Henderson nodded sympathetically, and a part of Clark felt a tingle of victory run through him at the success of the ruse. "I hear what you're saying. How long have you and Lois been seeing each other now?"
Clark shrugged and played it vague. "Couple of weeks."
"Must be hard."
Clark glanced through the windows out at Lois, currently berating her coworkers for the apparent betting pool that was going on regarding their relationship. He grinned as she smacked Ralph over the head with the morning's edition, and a bubble of sappiness welled up in his chest. "Lois is a tough nut. She's gonna get through it."
"Actually, I meant for you."
He looked back at Henderson with a furrow in his brow, and waited for the man to clarify.
"It must be difficult, seeing someone you care about so much go through something so traumatic."
Ice settled in Clark's bones and he stilled. Henderson wasn't actually suggesting... he cocked his head innocently at the Inspector. "Where you going with this, Bill?"
Henderson twiddled his thumbs absentmindedly but kept his gaze firmly trained on him. Clark took the moment to glance over at his partner— only to find himself stonewalled there too. His heart skipped a beat. He was so close, so close to being done with it all. And now—
"Where were you at eleven thirty pm on the twenty-sixth?"
The conference room was silent for everyone except Clark. He wished he could have silence. Instead he heard everything. The printers running downstairs, the clacking of keyboards in the bullpen. Perry's bellows at everyone to get back to work and Lois defending her assault on Ralph. Clark tried to focus, and instead zeroed in on the two in front of him. Maggie Sawyer was notably more nervous— her heart rate betrayed her— although she didn't waver in her focus on him. Calm, cool, collected, like she'd been there before.
The difference was that Henderson actually was calm, cool, and collected. He had that glint in his eye, like he had an ace up his sleeve. And for a moment Clark forgot his own cards.
"I, uh, I can't say I remember exactly. It's been a crazy week."
"Try."
Clark looked up at him piercingly. "I'm pretty sure I was at home. With Lois. I wasn't watching the clock, if you know what I mean, but—"
"Lois was with you, then?"
He frowned. The inspector was using very clear, very precise phraseology, and he felt cornered. "Yeah. I believe we were enjoying some... life-affirming... activities. And then we went to bed." Sawyer squirmed in her seat then, momentarily drawing his attention away. "That enough detail for you, or would you like a diagram?"
Bill's grimace gave him a small pleasure, but it didn't last long. "What about earlier that day, when Lois made her escape. Maybe three in the afternoon?"
"As I believe I told you before," he ground out the words through clenched teeth, "I was with the Man of Steel.” He emphasized the phrase. If they didn’t believe the caped hero, then his word would literally mean nothing. Fear knotted his stomach. “We were looking for Lois."
"And he will corroborate that of course?"
"Of course."
"I hope for your sake, Mr. Kent, that Big Blue is as keen on making his court appearances as he is at making his rescues."
The muscle in the side of his neck pulled as he squared his jaw before smiling wolfishly. "Inspector, is there a question you're trying to ask me?"
Bill shrugged. "Just curious. Who do you think would have motive to kill Nigel?"
"How about the man who hired him?" he spat back, leaning forward over the table. Henderson narrowed his eyes at him, but it was Sawyer who spoke next.
"Why would Lex kill his right-hand-man?"
"Because he let her escape? Or maybe because he hurt her at all? I don't know! I ain't his— I'm not his psychiatrist! All I know is that Lois is the most important thing in the world to Luthor—"
"And you would appear to have the exact same motivations."
Clark huffed a dry laugh into the silence that followed. He could hear his own blood rushing in his ears. This was insane. The one time he didn't do anything really wrong, the one time... He straightened in his seat, pulling at the cuffs of his shirt sleeves to distract himself. A twisted smile pulled at his mouth, and he made eye contact with his accuser. "You know, Henderson, it sure as hell sounds like you're dangerously close to making an accusation. If you have something to say, just say it. But you better be careful about what it is you're saying before I get offended."
Henderson stared him down, and Clark didn't dare move. He waited for the death knoll to come with a growl trapped in his chest. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for it all to come crashing down around him. He'd almost had it all. His gut churned, but part of him almost welcomed the chance for a change.
Henderson had no idea who he was dealing with.
"We have a witness who claims someone with your description was out around the docks about when we assume Nigel's body was dumped."
"And that's it? A witness?" Clark laughed. "Did this witness see me dragging a body around? Did he say me specifically? Because if he did, I'd remind you who we're up against in these files, and if he didn't mention me by name, then it could be anyone."
The inspector blinked, the detective beside him squirming a little uncomfortably. That threw them. It was as if they hadn't considered he wasn't a suspect before now. Henderson scrubbed a hand across his jaw. "We'll look into the source. There's a chance this is actually Luthor's doing." Relief. They were buying it. He was safe. Lois was safe. "In any case, don't go too far, got it? We might have some more questions for you."
Clark didn't breathe for another long moment, hardly daring himself to speak as he collected his thoughts. The rush of adrenaline flowed out of him so fast it almost left him shaky. "Right," he drawled. This wasn't over yet. "I wouldn't leave town before seeing Luthor behind bars anyway."
"Good. You can tell Lois she doesn't have to worry about St. John anymore."
Clark eyed them both carefully, a small smirk creasing the corners of his eyes and his mouth. "Of course. I appreciate you both... keeping me informed."
"Not a problem. Crazy how the world works, huh? Sometimes the bad guy sorts himself out."
The line felt like a jab, and Clark gave him a tight smile in return. "Crazy is a word for it," he agreed.
"We'll keep you and Lois appraised of our investigation. Let you know if anything else crazy crops up."
Clark wasn't sure if that was a threat or a reassurance. He stood up and nodded curtly before slamming open the door and storming out of the conference room.
