And you guys thought I'd dropped it.
TOC -------------------------------------------
The bumps grew less and Jimmy had the sensation that the car was slowing. Finally the motion stopped and he heard car doors open and then slam. Getting his hands in front of him had been harder than he’d thought it would be. It had been hard to curl up tight enough in the confined space of the trunk to pull his tied hands past his feet.
It looks so easy in the movies, he thought to himself. By the time he was done, his left elbow was throbbing from hitting the bottom of the trunk as the car bounced.
He got the gag out of his mouth then used his teeth to loosen the rope that tied his hands. His jaws were aching by the time he was done, but finally he was free, except for the part of being in the trunk of Capone’s car.
Jimmy had no idea of how long he’d been in the trunk. But he did know he had to get away, had to get back to the Daily Planet, or at least to a phone, to warn them of Capone’s planned attack. He also knew it was something akin to a miracle he was even alive. People died in car trunks. He felt around in the darkness for a weapon, a tool, anything to help him. To his surprise, he found a tire iron.
Prying open the trunk didn’t take very long. He realized it was nearly dark out. There were voices nearby, angry voices. He thought he recognized Capone’s voice among them, arguing with someone. He slipped out, into the shadows, cautiously shutting the trunk lid behind him. He could smell the river, the stink of the riverside factories.
Somewhere near the Hobbs River, I think.The voices were coming closer, growing louder. Jimmy ducked behind the car, peering out at the gangsters. Capone was with Parker and Barrows and one of the other goons. They were followed by a group of burly construction workers who were jeering at them, at least until the goon pulled out his gun. Capone made him put the weapon away and Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ll be back,” Capone warned. “Nobody but nobody says no to Al Capone.” He turned to his companions. “We have a party to go to.”
Jimmy watched as Capone, Parker, Barrows and their unnamed accomplice climbed into the car and drove off. He breathed a sigh of relief as he came out of the shadows.
“And who the devil are you?” one of the workmen groused, catching sight of Jimmy.
Jimmy straightened up and took a deep breath, searching through his jacket pockets to find his press pass. “James Olsen, Daily Planet.”
The workman eyed the young man suspiciously. “Jake Mooney. I’m the project foreman. So, what are you doing here?”
“Capone and his goons… they caught me at their hideout,” Jimmy explained, looking around. “I think they were looking for a quiet place to get rid of me.”
“They picked the wrong place,” Mooney commented. “We’re already behind schedule. I’m not about to let some gangster wannabe mess us up more than we already are.”
“Hey, haven’t you heard? The FBI thinks that’s really Capone, Parker, and Barrow.”
“You’re joking.”
“I wish I was. They’ve already shot one Planet reporter,” Jimmy told him. “Look, I’ve got to get hold of the Daily Planet. There’s a party there tonight and Capone and his gang are going to kill everyone there.”
“The cops are going to be here any minute,” Mooney said. “Come in to the office, you can call the Planet from there.”
“Capone sounded angry,” Jimmy noted. “What did he want?”
“A piece of our action,” Mooney explained. “He was demanding we change our vendors to ones of his choosing and give him kickbacks or else.”
“Or else what?”
“We didn’t give him a chance to explain.”
0 0 0
Lupe Leocadio looked over the plans to the Daily Planet building spread across her office desk. “You’re sure the intel is good on this?”
Detective Wolfe shrugged. “According to the Olsen kid, Capone stated flat out that he planned on raiding tonight’s party at the Planet. Olsen claims he barely got away with his life.”
“And you believe that?” Leocadio asked.
“He believes it,” Wolfe pointed out. “But yeah, based on what we know about Capone, this one’s acting like the real thing. The real Capone would have had no compunctions about offing the kid and dumping the body in one of the rivers.”
“Which means Capone let him escape so we would find out what was going down. The question then becomes ‘why’? And I can only come up with only two reasons,” Leocadio said. “The Planet’s guest list included everybody we know who was offered a bribe by Capone as well as a bunch of other important people in the city, none of whom had any love for Lex Luthor after all that stuff about him came out. And that many people being threatened should just about guarantee Superman will show up to save the day.”
“Lupe, you’ve read the report on the slugs they dug out of Kent?” Wolfe asked.
The dark-haired woman nodded. “Laced with kryptonite. The stuff that can kill the big guy. And we have no way of warning him that Capone’s attack is going to be a trap.” She gave Wolfe a toothy grin. “But if we’re lucky, we won’t need him and he won’t show up.”
“And if he does?”
“Then we may have to save the Blue Boy Scout, too.”
0 0 0
“How’re you feeling?” Lois asked. Clark had been drifting in and out of sleep all afternoon. His color was getting better, but he was still pale.
“Still tired,” Clark admitted. “It’s like all my energy is gone.” He closed his eyes and Lois thought he’d fallen back asleep once again.
“Your mom and dad will be back in a bit. They went to get some sandwiches,” Lois told him.
After a moment he opened his eyes as he rallied his strength. “Mom said there was some excitement around here and I missed it.”
“One of Capone’s thugs was here. Officer Murphy shot him, but he got away, shot two nurses before the cops and hospital security caught up with him outside the obstetrics unit,” Lois told him. “I’ve already phoned the story in. Murphy’s going to be okay. Perry wants me to do some follow ups. Hospital security, how the staff reacted, how they acted to protect the patients. Should make for a good series.”
“What happened to Officer Murphy?”
“The thug winged him.”
“And why was Officer Murphy even here?” Clark asked. She looked back at him solemnly.
“Clark, there’s a policeman out by the elevators and one sitting outside your door to make sure Capone, and whoever he’s working for, don’t finish the job they started,” she finally admitted. “The cops have assigned a body guard for me as well. They don’t even want me to go home tonight. In fact they’re threatening protective custody.”
“How are you supposed to do your job with a police guard?”
“That’s what Perry and I’ve been arguing with them about,” Lois told him. “Our concession is that I’ll spend the night in a hotel and I’ll just lay low, play it cool for a few days, until Capone and his people are pickled up. Or until Superman shows up. He hasn’t been seen since that first bank robbery, you know. People are starting to wonder where he is.”
She watched him as he tried to figure out what she meant. It was now so obvious. They looked alike, even their expressions were the same, although as Superman, he tended to be more formal, more aloof. Clark wasn't aloof.
She was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he didn’t trust her enough, didn’t have enough faith in her, to tell her the truth. Not the truth that he was Superman, but the truth that he had lied when he’d told her outside of the Daily Planet that day that he cared for her as a friend and nothing more.
‘I'm not in love with you… I would have said anything to stop you from marrying Luthor... I want the same thing you do, Lois. I want us to be friends, and partners. Forever,’ he’d told her that day.
Not telling her about Superman she could understand.
She wouldn’t have trusted her when they first met. And then her fawning all over the hero while ignoring Clark - Clark had probably been too embarrassed to admit the deception.
“I’m sure he’ll show up eventually,” Clark said finally.
Lois patted his hand. “I’m sure he will too. In the meantime, I’ll just have to be careful, won’t I?”
The door opened and Martha stuck her head in. “Lois. I brought you a sandwich,” she announced. “And there’s an officer Sawyer here for you.”
“Tell her I’ll be right there,” Lois told her. She turned back to Clark. “Perry’s party is tonight, remember? I have to at least make an appearance.”
“Be careful,” Clark said. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.
“I’ll be as careful as I need to be,” Lois promised. “I’ll be back in the morning.”
0 0 0
Perry scanned the party. Jacques had outdone himself. The flower arrangements were subdued and tasteful. The band was competent. Jacque’s assistants mingled with the guests carrying trays of champagne glasses. The buffet wasn’t nouvelle or overly fancy. Roast beef and ham, cheeses, bread and crackers, fruits and vegetables with dip, salads. The table for the desserts was by the ramp along with Jacque’s true masterpiece, the five-foot high cake in the shape of the Daily Planet Building.
The party was subdued, despite the free flow of liquor. The Daily Planet staff was still stunned by the news that it had been Clark that Barrow shot at Georgie Hairdo’s club. After the initial relief of discovering Clark was alive, came the realization that the young man was still in danger, could still die from his injuries and that Capone was still after him.
The other guests were also subdued. Capone’s threats had made everyone edgy and suspicious. Perry knew that at least half of the businessmen and community leaders on the guest list had been approached by the gangster. The other half Perry wasn’t sure of. Either Capone hadn’t approached them yet, or he didn’t consider them worth approaching, or worse, they had caved to his threats and taken the money. Perry suspected that the plainclothes police officers who were mingling with the guests weren’t just there to keep an eye out for Capone.
Lois hadn’t shown up yet, although she had promised she would and Jimmy had called in from MPD headquarters to let Perry know he was still alive.
0 0 0
“Do you see them?” Lupe Leocadio asked into her headset microphone as she peered though a pair of night vision binoculars at the loading dock at the back of the Daily Planet building.
“We’ve got ‘em,” a voice came over her headset. “Moving in…”
“Louie, did you get a look at the tall man with them?”
“Looked like one of Luthor’s guys,” the voice replied. “That English fellow, St. John.”
“Bingo. At least now we know where the money’s coming from,” Leocadio said to herself as she backed away from the edge of the roof she was on. She headed down to join the rest of her people.
0 0 0
Capone grinned at his companions as he pressed the button to call the elevator. He looked around the main floor elevator lobby. “Too quiet around here,” he complained mildly “You know what this place needs? Some fireworks.”
“You do remember our bargain?” St. John asked, eyeing the gangster and his companions.
“Yeah, yeah,” Parker said in annoyance. “First Clyde takes out the flying blue hunk then we can have our fun.”
“Precisely,” St. John said.
“And if this Superman character doesn’t bother to show?” Capone asked.
“He’ll show,” St. John promised. “He always does.”
