Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Clark TOC can be found
HereWhere we left off in Part 117 …“So, you should rest on your laurels now?” Henderson said dryly. “Free and clear?”
“I wish I knew,” Clark said softly, looking at his hands. “It’s the not knowing that’s killing me. All I can do is live my life and hope we find an answer to who’s behind this, and soon.”
Henderson nodded and set the photo back into the file.
“Wait. Tell me about the watch,” Clark said. “What does this have to do with my abduction?”
“One of the men who pulled you from the water found it on you. He pocketed it before the police and EMT arrived,” Henderson explained. “He had seemed jumpy when I first interviewed him about the event, and I knew he was holding something back. Friday, he came into my office and turned over the watch, telling me he had been racked with guilt for keeping it, especially after hearing that you still have partial amnesia over the event. He said he hopes that the watch will be the clue that leads us to find whoever did this to you.” The inspector pushed the picture back towards Clark. “Is it?”
Early last week, Clark had visited Reed Frazer and Jake Simpleton at the warehouse beside where they had found him in the water. He had returned the sunglasses and thanked the two men for saving him. He wished he could’ve done more than shake their hands, but wasn’t sure what. Gratitude had always been enough for him.
Staring at the photo of the watch, Clark could almost see the red and green stones glow like Kryptonite, and he was thankful that Henderson had only shown him a picture of the watch. If those green crystals really were Kryptonite… Clark shook his head. It must be his nightmare about Luthor killing him and Lois, which was polluting his mind; other than that, the watch still seemed unfamiliar. “I’m sorry, Inspector. I’m still a blank slate. I have no idea where that watch came from or how I had it in my possession.”
“It’s okay, Clark. It was worth a shot,” Henderson reassured him.
Clark was sure Henderson must feel just as frustrated about his lack of memories as he did.
***
Part 118******
Jumpy******
Lois stormed out of the elevator and straight over to Clark’s desk. He wasn’t there. Damn! She had felt like yelling at someone for leaving her in jail all night. Perry would have to do. She looked around and found him standing in front of a television tuned to LNN with Jimmy at his side.
She dropped her briefcase at her desk and marched over to him. “Chief!”
Perry held up his hand for her to be quiet.
“
World financial markets are collapsing,” Gloria Campos, anchor for the LNN, was saying. “
Banks and other financial institutions have closed their doors, creating a mass panic. Doctors are performing emergency surgeries under warzone conditions.”
“Great shades of Elvis,” Jimmy mumbled.
“You’ve got that right,” Perry agreed with him before turning to Lois. “It’s nice of you to join us, Lois. Does this late arrival come with a story attached?”
“Well, after I finally got released from jail this morning, I figured I was due a half-hour of scrubbing the scum off myself, a fresh set of clothes, and a cup of coffee that didn’t taste like grease from a police cruiser. I even treated myself to a cab ride to work, which I should have known was asking for trouble, because all the traffic lights in Metropolis are on the fritz,” Lois said, her eyes fixated on the television. “I ended up walking the last seven blocks. You want me to write
that up? Where’s Clark?”
Perry nodded towards the television, where LNN showed a couple of airplanes sitting on the tarmac.
“
Airports are shutting down; several of near misses have already been reported,” the LNN anchor continued. “
Nothing has seemed to escape this deadly virus with no end in sight. The Army and Navy are on full tactical alert…”
“Clark’s covering this mess. Got it,” Lois said, knowing that Perry meant the near misses with the airplanes. Superman would be having a busy day, so it looked like she’d have to fix this problem on her own. “Eugene was right. It
is a computer virus. Jimmy, call your cousin. Tell him that he and the others in Eugene’s virus fighting class need to get started working on an antidote for this thing.”
“Jimbo’s at school; how am I…?” Jimmy started, before catching Lois’s glaring scowl. “Right. My problem. I’m on that!”
“I’ll see if I can get the D.A. to release Eugene so that he can join them,” Lois said to her boss as Jimmy ran off.
“I doubt that’s going to happen. Laderman’s a convicted murderer who has already escaped from police custody once. You’ll need special permission from a judge to get him released, which you’re not likely to get being that you harbored a felon, and not just any felon,
that felon,” Perry said.
“Eugene’s innocent, and the charges against me will be dropped once we prove it. The man with whom Lena’s been having long lunches is Henry Harrison, Lena’s husband and the man whom Eugene was convicted of killing,” Lois said, taking a sip of the coffee she bought at the espresso stand two blocks away. It was twice the coffee in size, and thrice in flavor, as the one Henderson had given her. “I couldn’t put it in my story because I don’t have any corroborating evidence that Harrison is still alive, and I know how much you love those cold, hard facts. Eugene had just recognized him when Reed knocked on my door last night.”
“Of course Harrison is alive,” Perry said, humoring her. “Because his convicted killer is ‘innocent’, but that doesn’t explain the dead body in the generator room. Somebody was still killed, Lois, and until
that murder is solved, the D.A. is going to consider Laderman good for it and unlikely be willing to release him from prison.”
“Then this country is in deep doo-doo, Chief, because Eugene is the only person out there who saw the Ides of Metropolis virus while Harrison was working on it; therefore, Eugene will be the only one who can kill it before it does serious damage,” she replied.
“Well,” Perry said slowly. “I’m glad we have a convicted murderer on the case to kill this virus; it’ll make for nice copy. Kind of like what our front page would’ve looked like if it had included color photos like the Metropolis Star did.” He lifted up a copy of the Met Star, showing Reed and her men leading Lois and Eugene into the police station in handcuffs with the banner headline
Daily Planet Harbors Murderers. “But at least the Daily Planet had the
inside story on Laderman’s capture, because my star reporter got arrested with him!”
Lois grabbed the paper out of his hands. “Linda King scooped me? How is that possible? I told you she was a bad luck magnet! Did
she rat me out to Reed? How in the hell would she know about Eugene’s capture?
Clark!” She growled.
Perry took her arm, leading her away from the television and her co-workers. “Now, Lois, we both know that Kent would never have told a rival newspaper about one of our investigations.”
“Maybe he would if he were looking for a new job, because the Daily Planet’s readers keep abandoning us for them,” she exclaimed, tossing the Metropolis Star onto Clark’s empty desk. “Okay, you’re right. Clark does like to hold on to his secrets,” she admitted with a grumble. “Perhaps I was wrong about the Voyeur, and it was the Met Star trying to get a jump on our next headline. It would explain why they have reporters following us.”
Her boss looked her in the eye. “Do you have a lead on the Voyeur?” he asked.
Lois shrugged. “I thought it might be Bureau 39,” she lied weakly, taking a sip of her coffee.
Perry’s eyes narrowed, so Lois decided to return to their original topic: how to stop the Ides of Metropolis virus.
“Because Harrison is still alive, we should be able to convince a judge to let Eugene out of jail to work on the antidote for this virus. Eugene said our nation runs on computers and from what he saw, this virus eats non-Harritech software for breakfast.”
“Any
other ideas, Lois, that don’t require reviving the dead dodo bird?” Perry asked.
She bit her bottom lip in concentration. “Hope that Jimbo aced his Computer Virus class he took from Laderman?”
Perry’s gaze turned sad.
She tried again. “Invest in gold bars?”
His lips pressed together in annoyance.
“Find Henry Harrison?”
“There we go, Lois,” her boss said wryly, patting her on the back. “I think he’s buried out in Whispering Pines.”
“Nope,” a voice said from behind them.
Lois and Perry turned around to see Detective Reed heading their way down the ramp from the elevators.
“Why look, it’s Cagney and Lacey all rolled up into one,” Lois groused.
“There was a body down in Harrison’s grave,” Reed continued, handing Lois some papers from the coroner’s office. “But it wasn’t Harrison’s.”
“How’s that for reviving a dead bird, Chief?” Lois murmured under her breath as she glanced at the papers Reed had handed to her. “You dug up Harrison’s body?”
“If the body found in Harrison’s generator room wasn’t Harrison’s, who was it?” Perry asked.
“A homeless man who lived in the generator room at Harrison’s building. His family reported him missing. It seemed he called them once a week. The dental records matched,” Reed explained with a shrug.
“Why weren’t these checked at the trial?” Lois demanded.
“They were. There was a match,” Reed replied.
“How is that possible?” Perry asked.
“Computer records can be falsified, especially by computer experts. Besides, Lena identified the body,” Reed admitted grudgingly.
“So, Eugene was telling the truth,” Lois said with a gloating smile. She loved being proven right, especially by the person who arrested her. “Great! Now, you can release Eugene from jail, so he can fix this…” She waved towards her computer. “Ides of Metropolis virus.”
“I have a dead body on my hands,” Reed reminded her. “Harrison is still missing. For all we know Eugene Laderman killed two men, and cooked up this virus himself as a way to get back at the world.”
“You
can’t be serious,” Lois scoffed.
Perry leaned over, patted her shoulder, and whispered in her ear, “Oh, look! The dodo’s extinct again.”
“I’ve got a job to do. Maybe he did it. Maybe he didn’t. For now, I’ve got to discover where Harrison’s body ended up,” Detective Reed said. “I only brought this to your attention, because you said Eugene told you that Harrison was that guy on the video with Lena.” She pointed at Lois. “Don’t think this is because I like you, because I don’t. Where was that video shot?”
“At the Lexor Hotel,” Lois replied, realizing that Reed was okay, despite arresting her. Just another hard working woman in a man’s field, doing her job. It wasn’t personal. “They’ve also been spotted at the Regency. You might want to tell your guys to get out of the car when they tail someone next time.”
“Oh, believe you me, my
guys are already being written up for missing Laderman in your apartment on their first sweep. Hiding behind an open shower curtain, ha!” Reed scoffed, and then grumbled, “Damn police department cutbacks.” She grabbed her coroner’s report and marched back to the elevator.
Lois glanced at Perry. “Do you think we could use that quote as ‘someone inside the MPD’ said?”
“Only if you want to get on Reed’s bad side again,” Perry said, shaking his head. “Okay! Off with you. Go find your dodo bird!”
Lois grinned and, jumping to her feet, hollered, “Jimmy! Have you tracked down your cousin yet?”
***
Clark had only opened the door from the Daily Planet stairwell a crack when he saw Lois and Luthor not three yards away. He quickly closed the door to watch and listen in privacy from the other side.
“What do you mean 'you bailed me out'?” Lois demanded to Clark’s delight. At least, she put his heart at ease by not having taken Luthor’s assistance willingly. “You shouldn’t have done that, Lex. I was arrested while working on a Daily Planet story;
they should’ve bailed me out, not you.”
We would’ve if Luthor had given us half a chance. “I couldn’t bear the thought of you remaining in jail any longer than necessary, Darling. With the financial troubles the Daily Planet has been experiencing, they might have left you in there,” Luthor responded. “As soon as I heard about your arrest, I contacted a friend of mine at the courthouse to move up your hearing, and sent over one of my attorneys to assist you.”
“Wait. Wait. Wait,” Lois said, holding up her hand. “Schwartz is one of
your lawyers? I thought he worked for the Daily Planet.”
Clark couldn’t help the grin that came to his lips. He knew Lois’s annoyed voice instantly. He could recognize it with amnesia. Happily for him, this time she was spouting it at Luthor.
“Of course. Only the best for you, Darling,” Luthor replied.
Clark’s brow furrowed. Wasn’t Luthor’s top lawyer named Sheldon Bender? Clark remembered the man whispering in Luthor’s ear during one of the West End Redevelopment hearings he had attended.
“Lex, I’ve told you repeatedly that I don’t like it when you use endearments with me. Not only is it belittling, but people will assume that we are more than friends,” Lois griped. She took Lex’s arm and led him a bit closer to the stairwell door and away from the others, typing away on their non-computerized typewriters. Thankfully, this move also brought Lois and Lex closer to Clark. “As I’ve told you before, while I’m flattered beyond belief by your attentions, I’m not looking for a relationship right now. Trust me, Lex; you don’t want to get involved with me. I’ve screwed up every relationship I’ve ever had. I ask too many questions to be just arm candy. It’s for the best that I concentrate on my career right now, and we just remain friends. I appreciate you bailing me out, really, I do, but it puts my job as an unbiased reporter in jeopardy. Therefore, I can’t drop everything and go to lunch with you. Right now, my career needs me here to finish my investigation.”
Luthor nodded as if he had been listening, and then said, “Beautiful that you are, Lois, I like that you have something to contribute to a conversation. I’d much rather speak with you than hear what most other people have to say.” He smiled his smarmy smile. “Please know that you’ll always have a job at LNN, if ever your career needs it. I understand that you’re busy now, though. Are we still on for our usual Thursday night dinner, then?”
Lois’s elbow moved back slightly, and her hand balled into a fist, but then she took a deep breath and relaxed her hand. “I’m sorry, Lex, but I’m not going to be available until this Ides of Metropolis mess has been cleaned up. Speaking of which, how are you doing? Has LexCorp been badly hit?”
“No, not badly,” Luthor said nonchalantly. “My in-house security noticed a slowdown in the computer systems a few days ago and was able to block out most the virus.”
Well, thanks, Mr. Luthor, for sharing this information with the rest of the country, Clark thought wryly.
Lois stared at Lex for a moment, before exclaiming, “That’s terrific, Lex! How did you accomplish that? If we get the word out, maybe we can stop this thing in its tracks.”
Luthor leaned forward and whispered in Lois’s ear. “Off the record, we merely disconnected from the Internet for the last few days. We’ll reconnect once an antidote is found, but in the meantime at least we haven’t lost any of our data.”
“Oh,” Lois said with a frown.
Why did Clark have the strange feeling that Luthor was lying? Oh, right. He was speaking.
Luthor set his hand on Lois’s elbow, causing Clark to bristle. “Lois, you are a dear friend,” he said entirely too tenderly for Clark’s comfort. “Please let my attorneys assist you in this harboring matter. I would hate for you to end up in prison.”
“I won’t,” Lois said in that confident way that Clark loved. Although, it was this over-confidence, which often got her in the most trouble… such as being arrested.
“Oh, do you have a friend whom you think will break you out?” Luthor teased.
“Would you do that for me? How sweet!” Then she laughed, nudging Lex’s shoulder in a much too friendly manner for Clark’s tastes. “No, Lex. I can’t be convicted of harboring an innocent man,” Lois retorted.
Had Luthor been speaking of himself? Clark had thought that he was referring to Superman. Sadly, Clark knew that if Lois were ever wrongly convicted of a crime, Luthor would be right because Superman would bust Lois out of prison in an instant, damn the consequences. Why when it came to Lois, did Clark find he would have no problem crossing that ‘truth and justice’ line he wouldn’t for anyone else? He knew the answer. She was worth the sacrifice and, yet, that didn’t make him feel any better about knowing this weakness about himself.
“Either way, Lois. I want you to know that I’ll
never allow you to end up being convicted,” Luthor reassured her.
Clark wondered exactly how the billionaire would accomplish such a feat, being that the police found Eugene Laderman
in Lois’s apartment. Oh, that was right, by illegal means. Unfortunately, Luthor’s promise was merely words and not proof of any legitimate bribery scandal within the justice system, but it could be a new angle for Clark’s investigation. How often did the same judges see Luthor’s court cases? Had any of the judges changed dockets with another judge at the last minute in any court cases involving Luthor or companies owned by Luthor? If so, why? What were the financial holdings like for those judges who had ruled in Luthor’s favor?
Lois set her hand on Lex’s arm, which too seemed too endearing for a woman who had just told him that she only wanted to be friends, in Clark’s opinion. Then again, he hated Lois being in the same room with the billionaire, so he might be a bit biased.
“That’s very kind of you to say, Lex. Thank you,” Lois replied, and from her tone Clark knew that she didn’t mean it. Luthor must have discounted her tone though, because his answering smile told him this was exactly what he had wanted to hear from Lois.
Lois didn’t want Luthor to bend the law for her. On the other hand, she might not want
any man to break the law if she was truly guilty. Of course, that would require Lois to admit guilt, which wasn’t something Clark could picture as likely.
Lex kissed Lois’s cheek and, finally, headed for the elevators.
Clark waited a full minute before entering the bullpen. During that minute, his mind raced over every word said, every gesture, every tone Lois had uttered, and yet, he still didn’t know what to think, except that he could have lived a thousand years without needing to see Luthor kiss Lois’s cheek again. She had seemed too friendly with Luthor, but her words had told the man off. Should Clark listen to her words, or her actions? The conversation had both reassured him that Lois wasn’t currently in a relationship with Lex, or seeking one, but he was extremely uncomfortable in the amount of touching she allowed from the billionaire. Clark was so confused, not knowing what to believe. He tried to look at the conversation as an unbiased observer. In that light, he had to admit that Lois’s actions weren’t any friendlier than with her co-workers. Still, he didn’t like it. Lex Luthor was no mere co-worker.
Opening the door to the newsroom, Clark sought out Lois. She wasn’t at her desk, or in the conference room, or Perry’s office, or getting coffee. Where had she disappeared off to? He listened for a moment, but with the noisy bullpen couldn’t pinpoint the location of her heartbeat. It was still here, but where?
Clark stepped into the nearby supply closet in hopes that she would be there instead of the restroom, and saw Lois standing on her tiptoes trying to reach a notebook on a shelf above her head. It was just like Lois to not ask for assistance or use the stepstool.
“Here. Allow me,” Clark volunteered, shutting the door behind him.
At his voice, Lois stumbled backwards and into his arms. It was too perfect a moment. With her rejection of Luthor still on his mind, Clark took a chance. He drew her close and lowered his lips to hers. She didn’t flinch before melting into him, which told him he had made the right move.
“Where have you been?” she murmured between kisses.
“Oh, you know, around,” he said vaguely.
“Perry said you were covering Tealboro Airport,” Lois said, her arms tightening around his neck. “Have you spoken to Superman? Were there any more near misses between planes?”
Why did she have to talk shop when they finally had a moment alone? “A few, but luckily they were all still misses,” Clark answered before kissing her again. “All the planes are grounded for the time being. That took several hours to accomplish.” He ran his fingers over her hair and down her back. “Superman said it’s almost an eerie calm in the skies above America, so quiet.”
“I bet,” she said, her chest pressing against his.
“I’ve mi…” he hardly had begun when Lois interrupted by pulling his mouth to hers again. Clearly, she had missed him as well. When she relaxed her hold of him, and reluctantly released his mouth, he spoke again, “Did Perry tell you that I tried to come visit you last night? They wouldn’t let me back to see you without proper identification.”
“I wish they had. Maybe we could’ve gotten a jump on this thing,” she said, her fingers playing with the hair at the back of his neck.
“How so?” he asked.
“Oh, right. You’ve been out of the loop. Eugene recognized Henry Harrison as Lena’s ‘other man’ on the video, and he also said that the program he had witnessed Harrison working on before their big fight about Lena, was the Ides of Metropolis,” Lois explained before brushing his lips again with another soft kiss.
Clark wished they could conduct every one of their meetings in this manner.
“Your friend Detective Reed stopped by this morning and said that the body in Harrison’s grave, the one Lena identified as her husband, was a homeless man who lived in Harrison’s generator room,” Lois went on.
“Why do I have difficulty in assuming that you’ll be right, even when you so often are?” he mumbled, enjoying the feeling of her smile against his neck before she leaned back to stare at him.
“‘So often’? Don’t you mean ‘always’?”
“Well, you did get arrested… Wait; did you say ‘my friend Detective Reed’? Do you think I turned you in to the police, Lois?” Clark asked with a frown.
“Maybe it was your girlfriend Linda,” Lois suggested. “The one who posted my handcuffed picture across the front page of the Metropolis Star.”
“Very funny,” he said in all seriousness. “She’s a good reporter.”
“Don’t even try to go
there, Clark; somebody knew,” Lois said, running her fingers and eyes down his chest. “Reed said she’d been ‘tipped’.”
“Is that what this is about?” Clark asked, stepping back. “Don’t you trust me?”
Lois stepped forward, and Clark took another step back. They continued this game until she had him pinned against the wall. “Not any less than you trust me,” Lois whispered in his ear, before sucking his earlobe into her mouth.
Clark’s knees felt as if they turned to liquid, and he was very glad he had the wall and Lois’s weight to hold him up. He cupped Lois’s jaw in his hands. “I trust you with my life,” he murmured before pulling her tightly against him and hungrily kissing her.
“…better… I… save…” Lois said between breaths. “… you… life.”
What she said didn’t make much sense, and he wondered if he had caught it all. He was just about to ask when he heard the soft snap of a metal latch. Lois then pushed the jacket off her shoulders and tossed it across the room. This movement brought his attention back to where they were and what they were doing. “Lois, wait. This isn’t the time or place,” he said, his voice deep and husky as she returned to kissing down his neck.
“I know,” she agreed, but that didn’t stop her lips on his throat.
“I’ve got to type up my Tealboro story, and then we need to find Harrison…” Clark said until Lois’s mouth covered his and shut him up.
She was right. That could wait a few kisses longer.
“Jimmy’s checking all the luxury hotels in town to see if Lena’s registered,” she replied. “I’ve just had the night and morning from hell, and want to do something for me.”
Clark couldn’t help the feeling light-footed. Lois considered time with him as her reward... her stress relief from being hauled off to jail. “Oh? Am I your chocolate ice cream,
Minha?” he teased.
Lois nipped at his bottom lip, moaning. “Tastier and much more satisfying, Chuck.”
“Let’s go out and announce to everyone about us,” he suggested on a whim.
“Now?” she sounded disappointed.
True, that would mean returning to real life from this fantasy kissfest, but the ultimate reward would be worth it. “They’re probably wondering why you haven’t returned from the supply closet anyway,” he reminded her.
Her lips disappeared from his. “You want to gloat about our little… whatever this is… in the supply closet? Are you insane? No, we should give our little bait test with Linda another shot first.”
“You want me to go on another date with her?” he asked incredulously. Why would he want to do that?
“Someplace public, where everyone can see you,” she said. “Maybe with dancing.”
“And where will you be?” he asked. “Giving Luthor back his watch, I hope.” As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he knew that their little closet tryst had ended.
Lois’s lips pressed together and not in that good way, they had a moment before. She moved away from him and over to where her jacket lay. Picking it up, she shook it lightly and then draped it over her arm.
“Lois, I didn’t mean…” he started.
“Actually you did,” she corrected. She pulled the watch out of her jacket pocket and snapped it back on her wrist. “You see my new watch as some sort of engagement ring, don’t you? Well, it’s not. It’s just a watch. Wearing it doesn’t mean that he owns me, Clark. I’m still me underneath it.”
“Are you?” Clark asked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lois snapped. “I’m the same person I’ve always been.”
“No, Lois. Since meeting Lex you’ve become scarred for life,” he reminded her.
“It’s just a watch!” she growled.
He closed his eyes, unable to believe what he was hearing. Taking a deep breath to stop himself from saying something he shouldn’t, Clark rested his hand briefly on her right bicep over the spot Lex had shot her. “Not the watch, Lois,” he murmured. “Not the watch.”
Lois shifted her jacket over her wrist, and then took hold of his hand over her arm, squeezing it. “I haven’t forgotten, Chuck,” she said softly.
“Please, don’t,” he pleaded, gazing deeply into her eyes.
“Come on,” she said, heading for the door. “We have a country to save, Su…” She froze, and then smacked herself in the forehead. “Supplies!”
“Right. Supplies,” he said, removing a couple of notepads from the shelf and handing them to her. For a second there, he thought she was going to say something else.
They walked back into the newsroom together, and a part of him was disappointed that nobody seemed to notice. Everyone buzzed around as fast as they had during Nightfall. There was a major story crashing down around them, and everyone was too busy to care about office gossip.
“I better go type up that Tealboro story,” Clark said to Lois with a gentle caress to her back. “Then we can discuss where to search for Harrison.”
Lois nodded and sat down at her desk. Someone had placed an electric typewriter on her blotter and she scowled at it.
What must have been only a few minutes later, though Clark had been so absorbed in his thoughts of kissing Lois and the near misses in the sky that he couldn’t really say for certain, Jimmy stuck his head into the Chief’s office. “Hey, where’s Perry?” he asked Clark.
Clark shrugged. He hadn’t seen him since he returned.
“I think he left about fifteen minutes ago for lunch or a meeting upstairs,” Lois responded, not even glancing away from what she was typing.
“Oh, no,” Jimmy exclaimed. “He left? During a huge crisis like this?”
“What’s going on?” Clark asked, approaching his friend.
“I promised I wouldn’t say anything, but I found out that the Chief got bad news from his physical last week. I think he’s trying to do away with himself,” Jimmy said, quickly putting on his jacket.
“No,” Clark said.
“Jimmy, that’s absurd,” Lois countered, interrupting, as she opened her little bottle of correction fluid.
“No. I’m serious. There was an entry in his calendar for today that said that he was going to the Metropolis Bridge,” Jimmy said, heading towards the elevators. “I think he’s going to jump.”
“Of course he’s going to jump, Jimmy,” Lois said, returning to her typing, and much more calmly than Clark expected. “But not until tonight after the paper's been put to bed. People are known to do crazy things when they turn fifty, including going bungee jumping.”
Jimmy halted and backed up to her desk. “What?”
“What what?” Lois replied, looking Jimmy in the eye.
“Excuse me? What did you say? The Chief is going bungee jumping?
Bungee jumping? Mr. White?” Jimmy said, staring at Lois.
“How do you know about Perry’s birthday?” Clark asked. The Chief had seemed quite certain nobody at the Planet knew about his big birthday.
Lois’s gaze shifted to Clark. “Huh? His birthday? I don’t know. I just…
knew,” she mumbled as her whole body went rigid. Slowly, she stood up and her stare at Clark deepened. Her face turned white and she stammered, “P…P…Per… Perry’s birthday… is t…t…
today?”
Clark nodded slowly, moving towards Lois. He was beginning to recognize the signs of her premonitions: knowing something she shouldn’t, the shock at knowing it, and the color draining from her face were all dead giveaways that something wasn’t right.
“Geeze, guys, you could’ve clued me in. I’ve been worried sick all week,” Jimmy griped. “Hey, Lois, are you okay?”
“P…Per… Perry’s... his
birthday?” she repeated before her eyes rolled back into her head and she started to fall to the floor in a dead faint. Luckily, Clark was close enough to catch her.
***End of Part 118*** Part 119 Please don't break the
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Cagney & Lacey was a television show from the 1980s about two opposite end of the spectrum female detectives.
