0 0 0
“General,” Ford said quietly to the man standing behind him in the MCC. “We can’t tune the sensors to pick up the specific radiation of element 126.”
“We have the most sophisticated, most advanced detection system on the planet, we can spot a license plate from orbit, and we can’t pick up an alien element signature?” Straker grated.
“We can’t get the detectors to pick it up, sir. Either it’s too subtle or too high a frequency. We’re also still not finding a Kryptonian bio-signature,” Ford said.
Straker shook his head. “Let me know when the Kents get in and have a car sent to pick them up.”
“They should land in about ninety minutes,” Ford reported. “Should we have them brought here?”
“Yeah,” Straker said. “Now all I have to do is figure out how to explain to Martha Kent, and my cousin Jonny, what happened to their little boy, without her tearing out my liver.”
“I wasn’t aware you were related to them, sir,” Ford said quietly.
Straker nodded. “My mom’s younger sister married a Kansas farmer. We weren’t all that close, but I remember spending a few Christmases in Smallville while my dad was overseas. They were nice folks, honest, hard-working farmers. I lost track of them after my mom died, caught up with them again after I was assigned to SHADO.
“It was my report on a possible Ufo incident that led Trask to Smallville in the first place. The incident didn’t fit our regular pattern, there was nothing to indicate the Rokan-shui were involved, no deaths, no disappearances. I filed the report, didn’t think anything of it, until Trask got hold it and decided to investigate for himself, even though the incident was closed. He found an alleged landing craft, recovered it, but didn’t turn it over the way he was supposed to. We found there was a lot of stuff he retrieved and didn’t turn over.”
“He found a landing craft in Smallville?”
“So he said. I never saw it. After I got wind of what he was doing, I went out to see what he’d been up to, checked in on my cousin and his family, found out Trask had scared them half to death more than once asking questions about their son. Hell, he scared most of the town. Took us ages to undo even some of the damage he did, telling them he was working for the government hunting down illegals. Then when Jonny and Martha found out I knew the bastard, she was beyond furious. And I don’t blame her one bit. I don’t know what they’ll do once they find out what Trask’s people did to their son.”
0 0 0
Mike placed his call to his brother Sam, Lois’s father, then went down to the restaurant. As reliable as his employees were, he liked to make sure everything was ready for the dinner rush well before it started.
Clark’s temperature wasn’t coming down. She’d forced him to take some aspirin and tried to get him to drink more water, even though much of it ended up on his chin and the bedding. She kept a cold compress on his forehead and on his neck. She kept wiping the rest of his face with a cold towel, replacing it as it grew warm. She tried to stay close to him as possible. He became agitated when she left to change out the towels, thrashing and mumbling incoherently.
Mike had made some sandwiches for her and left a pitcher of lemonade on the dresser with two glasses. She tried to eat, tried to get Clark to eat something, but he didn’t have the strength. “I should have had Uncle Mike get some Twinkies,” Lois murmured to herself.
Clark opened his eyes, almost focusing on her. “Lois?”
“I’m right here, Clark,” Lois said softly. “It’s going to be okay, you’re safe here.”
“I hurt,” he mumbled, closing his eyes once more. Sweat had started beading on his forehead. He opened his eyes again, confused and worried. “Mom and Dad, do they know we’re away from . . .? I don’t . . .”
“I’ll call them and let them know we got away, okay? I’ll do that right now, okay? You just rest,” she told him. She waited until he closed his eyes and was breathing more evenly before she grabbed the phone off the nightstand and called information for Jonathan and Martha Kent in Smallville, Kansas.
There was no answer at the number information gave her. She left a short message on their answering machine: “This is Lois. Clark and I are safe for the time being and I’ll try to get back to you later.”
After a moment she dialed information and called the Smallville sheriff’s office. Rachel Harris answered on the second ring.
“Rachel, this is Lois Lane, Clark’s partner?”
“Lois, are you okay? Clark’s mom and dad called and said you’d both been kidnapped,” the woman on the other end said.
“We managed to get away. I tried calling Clark’s parents, but they’re not answering,” Lois explained.
“Last I heard they were on their way to Metropolis. Jonathan said he had a cousin involved in looking for you guys and he sent a private jet to pick them up,” Rachel told her.
“Did either of them mention the cousin’s name?” Lois asked.
“Striker? Straker, Ed Straker. Jonathan said he was with Interpol or something like that.”
“Thanks, Rachel,” Lois said, heart in her throat as she rung off. Ed Straker knew Clark’s parents? That didn’t make sense, unless he planned to use them to get to Clark. And that didn’t make much sense either. The man she met had been genuinely concerned about both Superman and Clark and Clark’s parents would never cooperate in anything that would hurt their son.
She realized she was too exhausted to think straight as she went back to wiping down his brow.
0 0 0
“General, we may have found them,” S’vram announced. “Calls were made to both the Kent home and the Smallville sheriff’s office from a number in Metropolis.”
“And?” Straker urged.
“The number belongs to Colonel Michael Lane, USMC retired, Lois Lane’s uncle. I have the address here,” he handed the slip of paper to his superior. “Do you want a team sent to extract them?”
“Negative,” Straker ordered. “I want three teams sent to keep a covert eye on them. Make one of them a sniper team. I don’t want an unidentified fly to get within range of those two. And warn the teams whatever they do, don’t let them find out they’ve been found. I don’t want them running again.”
“And if Myerson comes after them?” Foster wondered aloud.
“I’m counting on Myerson going after them,” Straker said. “This is the best chance we have for neutralizing that sick bastard’s gang once and for all.”
“You’re taking a big chance,” Foster warned him.
“Tell me about it. ”
0 0 0
“Lois, honey, wake up,” Sam Lane said quietly, touching Lois’s arm. She opened her eyes and slowly sat up, taking care not to jostle the man beside her.
Mike had let his brother into the apartment a few minutes earlier and he’d found Lois asleep on the bed on top of the bed covers. Clark was under the covers, and the sheet beneath him was soaked in sweat. Clark’s breathing was shallow and labored, and he was very pale.
“Dad?” Lois said. “Thank God you’ve come.”
“Lois, what happened?” Sam asked. He had already pulled the sheet down to expose Clark’s chest and had his stethoscope out, checking Clark’s vital signs. He had also pulled out a small oxygen bottle and placed the face mask over Clark’s nose and mouth. “All Mike said was that Clark was hurt and he refused to go to the hospital.”
“Clark was kidnapped by some sickos a couple days ago,” Lois said. She didn’t want to go into details with him. She probably had already told Uncle Mike too much. “They grabbed me yesterday.” She saw the sudden concern in her father’s face. “I’m fine Dad, they didn’t touch me.”
Sam nodded, but was obviously unconvinced as he continued to examine his patient. His face visibly paled when he rolled Clark onto his side to look at his raw and weeping back. “Lois, honey, Clark really needs to be in a hospital. You know I haven’t practiced general medicine in twelve years. And he’s going to need more than I can give him here. He’s in shock, and as high as his temperature is, I’m surprised he’s still alive at all.”
“Daddy, you have to do something,” Lois pleaded.
Sam sighed. “I can give him something for the pain, we’ll pack him in ice to bring down his temperature and the oxygen will help him breathe easier. But that’s about all I can do. But I do want to get that thing off from around his neck. It almost looks like radiation burns where it’s touched his skin. But I don’t see any way of removing it.” He reached into his medical bag and pulled out a wrapped syringe and a dark bottle with a rubber top. He prepared the injection and gave it to Clark. Clark whimpered at the additional pain.
“It’s just something for the pain,” Sam assured him. “You’ll start to feel better pretty soon.” He turned to Lois. “Honey, go in and start filling the bathtub with cold water, then call Uncle Mike downstairs and have him bring up as much ice as he can. Buckets of it.”
0 0 0
“General, we’re in position,” the lead sniper said quietly into his headset. He was on his belly, peering over a short parapet on the building just across the alley from Mike Lane’s apartment and the back door of his restaurant. “Ms. Lane, Kent, and Doctor Lane are inside. Colonel Lane is inside the restaurant.”
The leader watched through binoculars whose lenses had non-reflective coatings. “The colonel’s coming out and going up to the apartment. Looks like he’s carrying a bucket of ice.”
“You have your instructions,” Straker’s voice came over the headset of everyone assigned. “No one goes in or out without my express permission. In the event a known member of Bureau 39 attempts to make contact with any of the subjects, you have permission to act with extreme prejudice. The subjects must be protected at all costs.”
“Understood,” the leader told him.
