Sorry this is late, but my daughter's been sick. She's scheduled for surgery on April 13th. It's only tonsels, but she's 3 and as far as over protectiveness goes I make Pa Kent seem neglectful.
Any prayers are appreciated. Now, on with the show...
CHAPTER 10Fifteen minutes after Superman apprehended Robert Maxwell Inspector Bill Henderson escorted him through the doors of the 102nd precinct. Henderson was feeling a bit smug with himself at the moment as he had bottlenecked the streets around City Hall with police vehicles and had executed what he thought to be a secretive exit with Maxwell to the 102nd for booking. Henderson was eager to get Maxwell into interrogation as quickly as possible to hear what the man had to say and he didn’t want to have to deal with a lot of reporters’ questions before he did so. His smugness, however, was shattered by two words.
“Hey, Bill.”
Henderson froze in mid stride and closed his eyes briefly uttering a silent curse before turning to find Lois Lane seated on the visitor’s bench grinning like the proverbial cat that had swallowed the canary.
“What the hell are you doing here, Lane?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Exercising my First Amendment rights as a member of the news media,” she responded with a smile.
“No comment,” Henderson deadpanned as he turned around and began to direct Maxwell toward a side door, his once cheerful mood now decidedly darkened.
“Hold on, Henderson,” Lois said as she rushed to jump in front of the two men. “Let me rephrase that. I’m here to call in a favor since it was information gained from ‘my’ investigation that led to this arrest.”
“If memory serves,” Henderson said, “the ‘my’ you refer to had another named attached or is Kent just a figment of my imagination?”
“Well, he did have some small amount of input, but I figured you payed him back for that back at City Hall.”
“City Hall?”
“A few minutes ago. The arrest. Lots of news cameras and police cars. Am I ringing any bells yet?”
“I never laid eyes on Kent back there, Lane and I really don’t want to be laying eyes on you right now either for that matter. Now if you’ll excuse me…”
“Kent didn’t get any info from you before the arrest?” Lois asked as she dug in her pocket for her mini-cassette recorder and held it out toward the two men. “Perfect, then you can feel me in on all of the details along with any comments Mr. Maxwell wants to make now for the record.”
“I said ‘no comment’, Lane,” Henderson said batting the recorder away and pulling Maxwell further toward the side door.
“Hold it,” Maxwell said, “I’ll talk to her.”
“What?!” Henderson asked in surprise as he turned to his prisoner.
“These are important people we’re dealing with, Henderson,” Maxwell whispered. “It’s not just a matter of someone naming names and it becomes a slam dunk for the prosecution. If you’re going to get a conviction and I’m going to get out of this without having to look over my shoulder the rest of my life then the press in going to have to be involved. These people are going to have to be convicted in the court of public opinion long before they go before a judge.”
“Yeah, Henderson,” Lois said, “you heard the man. He wants to talk to me.”
“To us, you mean,” said a voice behind them.
Turning toward the voice Lois, Henderson and Maxwell found a frowning Clark Kent standing behind them.
“Lois,” Clark said glaring at his co-worker, “what are you doing here?”
“That’s what I wanted to know,” Henderson said throwing his hands up, “but what the hell, doesn’t seem like my secret hiding place is all that secret anyway so why not invite the entire Metropolis Press Corps.”
Ignoring Henderson’s exasperation Lois answered Clark.
“The Maxwell story is half mine remember?”
“The stadium story, yes. The arrest is another matter entirely. I got there first.”
“Well,” Lois said dragging the word out, “that would appear to be slightly in question at the moment now wouldn’t it?”
Henderson looked back and forth between the two for a moment as they locked eyes with each other and didn’t speak. Clark scowled and Lois maintained an impish, innocent smile.
“Have you two set a date yet or are you just planning on continuing to live in sin together?” he asked finally.
Lois would have laughed out loud at the redness that instantly colored Clark’s face if it hadn’t been for the heat she felt in her own cheeks. Another voice, however, interrupted before either had the need to reply to Henderson’s remark.
“Mr. Maxwell won’t be talking to anyone until myself and his representation have had a chance to meet with him and discuss a few things first.”
Everyone turned to the speaker who had entered apparently only moments after Clark had made his own surprise appearance.
“Hagan,” Henderson greeted the man. “You made good time.”
Forrest Hagan, Metropolis’ second term District Attorney, nodded in acknowledgement to Henderson’s greeting.
“Your message suggested haste was desirable,” he said looking first at Maxwell and then turning a cold stare at the two Daily Planet reporters. “What are these two doing here?”
“At the moment,” Henderson replied, “I’m debating on Loitering or Interfering in a Police Investigation. Which one do you think will keep them out of my hair the longest? Especially the shorter one.”
Lois turned her head slightly toward Henderson and gave the man a frosty glare.
“Try it Henderson and I’ll have the Planet’s lawyers land on you so hard you’ll be reciting the Bill of Rights in your sleep. Besides,” she said turning back to the DA with a smile, “I believe Mr. Hagan here still has some political aspirations and it wouldn’t look nice if he were found harassing the media.”
“I might decide to chance it in this case, Ms. Lane. I seem to recall several unflattering stories from you over the past couple of years so I probably don’t have a lot to lose.”
“Ok,” Clark interrupted holding up a hand, “before this degenerates down to chest pounding and who has the biggest stick let’s try to remember that we’re all adults.”
Looking back and forth between Henderson and Hagan, Clark continued, “One, you owe us. It was our original information that got you Maxwell. Two, Maxwell himself just said he was agreeable to speak with us. And three,” Clark said leaning in close to the two men and lowering his voice, “I don’t think anyone in this room wants mention of Intergang to get out before they’re ready.”
Clark dropped the bomb causally as if mentioning the color of Maxwell’s hair and waited as the shock subsided. Henderson was the first to recover.
“Who the hell told you anything about Intergang, Kent?”
“It was our investigation that originally uncovered this mess. You don’t think we’d miss all of the connections do you? Right, partner?” Clark directed the last to Lois who had been as equally shocked into silence as the two men.
“Uh, yeah, right, Henderson.” Lois said quickly recovering and taking her cue from Clark. “What do you think we are amateurs?”
Henderson wisely chose not to reply to that, but instead turned to Hagan and held the other man’s gaze for a few moments before the DA finally spoke.
“Ok, here’s how things are going to work and it’s not a matter for debate. Take it or leave it,” he glanced back and forth between the two reporters to see if there was going to be an argument and when none was forthcoming he continued. “Henderson and I are going to wait for Maxwell’s attorney to show up and then we’re going to hear what he has to say. If everything checks out and it’s worth making a deal over we’re going to move him to a safe house tonight. If Maxwell is agreeable you two can interview him there this evening.”
After a short pause he added, “And I get final approval on every thing before it’s printed. If I say no it doesn’t see the light of day until arrests are made or any trials are over with.”
“Now wait just a min…!” Lois started, but was interrupted before she could continue.
“That would be completely acceptable, Mr. Hagan,” Clark said putting a hand on Lois’ arm.
“Acceptable?!” Lois said outraged turning to confront Clark. “What part of that’s acceptable?!”
“Every single thing he said,” Clark said in a low voice leaning in towards Lois and using his height to emphasize his words.
“Now hold on a minute, buster…” Lois began, but Clark interrupted her again pulling her off to one side and whispering to her.
“Which would you prefer Lois, nothing or something, because if you push it ‘nothing’ is exactly what we’re going to get. Intergang in big enough that Hagan could care less what two reporters say about him if he has a chance to bust them wide open. Ending that nightmare would ensure whatever political aspirations he has. He doesn’t need us, but we do need his cooperation if we’re going to get this story.”
When he saw Lois start to calm somewhat as she processed what he was saying he added the Coup de Gras, “A story I might add that no other reporter in Metropolis has a clue about for the moment.”
Clark almost smiled when he saw Lois’ expression at those words. The anger drained instantly from her face and it seemed a light dawned as she realized that she was ahead of everyone else on a story before settling back into a grimace.
“Ok, I’ll go along with it, but I’m not happy. I’m only doing it for the sake of the story.”
“Of course,” Clark said keeping a straight face, “I understand completely. The truth must be heard.”
Lois’ eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as she looked up at Clark.
“No one likes a smart ass, Kent.”
Clark’s only answer was a grin that lit his entire face and almost made Lois smile back involuntarily. Almost.
“Ok, gentlemen,” Clark said turning back to the Henderson and Hagan and handing them each a business card, “You have a deal. Give us a call when you’re ready and we’ll be over whatever the time.”
“It may be late,” Hagan said.
“We’ll adjust,” Lois replied. “Mom eases up on the curfew if it’s work related.”
“Thanks again,” Clark said quickly taking Lois’ arm and pulling her toward the door before Hagan could respond.
As they exited the building Lois pulled her arm out of Clark’s grasp.
“You don’t have to man handle me. I wasn’t going to say anything else.” After a pause she added, “Well not much anyway.”
“It’s the ‘not much’ that had me worried,” Clark said over his shoulder as he hailed a passing cab.
Lois chose not to respond as they entered the cab.
“So,” she ventured keeping her voice low so as not to be heard by the driver, “exactly how did ‘we’ learn about the Intergang connection anyway?”
“I was able to speak to Superman apart from Henderson back at City Hall.” Clark responded. “He said that Maxwell made some claims in that regard after he was apprehended. I figured that making them think we would leak the information was a good way to break the stalemate.”
“Well, it definitely got their attention,” Lois said. “Now, what’s our next move?”
“Our?” Clark asked
“You called it ‘our’ investigation back there,” Lois said innocently.
“That was ‘our’ investigation that bagged Maxwell. This is ‘mine’. Besides, need I remind you of the rules ‘you’ set on our partnerships?”
“Not at all. I told you I’d let you know the next time we would partner up. So, I’m letting you know,” Lois said with an indulgent smile as she patted his leg.
Clark looked at her sternly for a second and then spoke.
“Lois Lane’s 1st rule of journalism. The first reporter…”
“Clark,” Lois interrupted, “I know my own rules and if you want to get technical about it I was the one who got Maxwell to agree to an interview.”
“But, I was…”
“The first one at City Hall, I know, but you didn’t speak to Maxwell, I did and he agreed to talk to me.”
“But, I…”
“Got the arrest story first, but that’s all you would have except that I got the agreement for the interview so really, we’re already partners.”
Clark opened his mouth to speak, but Lois interrupted yet again.
“Clark, let’s be honest. We can argue about this for the next hour and in the end you’ll agree I’m right or you can just give in now and we can get to work.”
Clark sat frozen in place with his mouth half open and a dazed look on his face. Finally he dropped his head and spoke.
“When we get back to the Planet we need to put together as much information on Intergang as we can so we can be ready to talk to Maxwell this evening and know what questions to ask.”
“You see? That wasn’t so painful was it? I know a couple of guys who know guys that I can call and get some information.”
“Good thinking, partner,” Clark said raising his head with a look of resignation on his face before breaking into a wide smile.
It was a smile impossible not to return and Lois felt heat radiate through her body as she suddenly found herself in a losing fight against the involuntary flow of blood to her cheeks. Ignoring the blush she knew must be on her face, Lois returned the smile and leaned her head back in the seat with her eyes closed and hummed the rest of the way back to the Planet.
**********
Later that afternoon Lois sat at her desk deep in thought. She had phoned her “people who knew people” and compiled all of her notes and now she found herself contemplating her current partner who was hard at work at his computer several desks away.
She kept thinking about their encounter that morning and the new impression of him that she had gained. She had known Clark for a few years now, but he was still something of an enigma to her. Perry had partnered the two of them on several stories together over the past few years and as much as Lois grumbled about it in public, privately she had to admit that their writing styles meshed perfectly together. The two of them had even become friends of a sort and at times seemed to be brushing against something more, though usually one or the other was quick to pull away.
But, as friendly and open as Clark appeared to be on the surface, once she began thinking about it she realized how little she knew about him. Thinking back on past conversations she realized that he always seemed to turn the subject onto her or work or something neutral so long as it included himself only in the periphery. He was a master at evasiveness. Doubly so because for years he had been able to redirect her, an award winning reported used to catching people up in their word games.
And then there was the fact that his smile made her always want to smile back. In the middle of their worst disagreements all he had to do was smile and she would suddenly find it difficult to concentrate on what they were arguing about. This morning when she saw that look that she had categorized as hunger in his eyes she felt herself moving almost unconsciously toward him. Instinctively moving to feed that hunger.
Whether or not Clark knew it Lois remembered him from MU and their one shared class together and he had made an impression upon her even then. The class had been
Ethics in Journalism and the lesson Lois had learned during their one personal encounter had stayed with her ever since.
**********
Professor Gerald was a big fan of tossing out controversial topics to his
Ethics in Journalism students and then sitting back to watch them go at like participants in a dog fight.
The topic he had thrown out on this spring afternoon was right to privacy. The class had gone back and forth for over one half hour debating various points on the matter and one of the loudest voices belonged to a brash young junior determined to set the world of journalism on fire. Her name was Lois Lane.
“If someone chooses to set themselves in a public position where they are responsible in some way for the public welfare then they have no right to privacy. They sacrificed that right when they chose to operate in the public eye. The public has a right to know about the people that presume to operate on their behalf and we as the media have the responsibility and the right to investigate them.”
After making this final point there was a lull in the room as Lois looked around as if challenging anyone to debate her profound logic. A small smile had settled over her face as she satisfied herself that no one was going to be so foolish when suddenly the silence of the room was interrupted by a quite voice from somewhere behind her.
“We may have the right to something, but don’t we have to consider whether or not it is right to do it?”
Turning around she saw a young man in glasses several rows back near the door, casually dressed in jeans and a short sleeved button down blue shirt. He was staring at her with an open and earnest expression obviously awaiting an answer to his comment.
Looking into his eyes Lois was overcome with the feeling that she somehow knew this young man from somewhere, but shook it off as just her imagination. After all, they had shared a class all semester, certainly she must have seen him before. Finding her voice she finally responded.
“The right to do it? Isn’t it right for us to know about the people that supposedly are working on our behalf?”
“I guess that would depend on what you wanted to know. Are you concerned about how he spends the taxpayers money or are you concerned about how he spends his free time?”
“Doesn’t how a person spends their free time show a lot about their character?”
“Certainly,” the young man answered, “but are you concerned about his character or how he does his job?”
“One usually determines the other,” Lois replied feeling somewhat irritated at this point that this stranger couldn’t grasp the obvious.
“I agree it often does,” the young man responded, “but, who are we to determine what someone’s character is. If you found out that a public works commissioner was a convicted felon would you feel compelled to report that to the public?”
“Absolutely.”
“What if his crime was committed years ago, he had paid his debt to society and was hired with the full knowledge and confidence of city officials and had been doing an extraordinary job since assuming the position, would you still feel compelled to report it?”
“The public still has a right to know about the people whose salaries they pay and to know whether or not they’re employing criminals.”
“But what would you be accomplishing? He’s not a criminal now. The ‘people’ don’t really pay his salary, they pay taxes to the city to make sure that things run properly. The individual in question is doing his part of that. Bringing his past up would serve no purpose except to possibly embarrass him and endanger his job. And if he were fired then you would be the one responsible for not only his loss of employment and difficulty providing for his family, but also slowing down and interfering in the same public works on whose behalf you professed to be working.”
Lois opened her mouth to reply and then closed it as she realized that she wasn’t sure how to respond. Then the young man spoke again.
“I’m not saying that certain people don’t need to be exposed, but it depends on the circumstances. My father always taught me that you have to balance the right to do something against the rightness of doing something. Some people need to be nailed to the wall and that’s our responsibility, but some people keep secrets for a reason and it has little or nothing to do with others.“
Before Lois could say anything else Professor Gerald interrupted.
“Thank you for that perspective, Mr. Kent. Your father’s a wise man. On that note class we’ll break. Please read Chapter 21 and the Right to Privacy case studies therein. It might prove enlightening.”
“Mr. Kent” disappeared quickly from the room as class ended, but Lois took the lesson he left behind to heart. Her first year at the Planet “Father Kent’s Wisdom” was an often-used catch phrase when she was espousing some nugget of wisdom to a colleague. She also always remembered whenever she wrote a story to not only ask the traditional who, what, when, where, why and how, but also what was the “rightness” of the story. Her dedication to this ideal had impressed Perry right off and had even contributed to his assigning her riskier and more controversial stories because he said he could trust her to handle them “right”.
**********
Lois had fallen out of practice using the “Father Kent’s Wisdom” phrase after a couple of years and once Clark started to work at the Planet she prayed that none of their co-workers would remember the phrase and bring it up to him. Lois knew it was only human to be wrong once in awhile, but she’d be damned before she admitted it.
Still, Lois never forgot the wisdom itself and to this day continued to use it in all of her stories. After Clark had started at the Planet and she had learned that his parents had died several years before she remembered even feeling saddened that she would never get to meet the man that she had grown to envision “Father Kent” to be. But even though she never got to meet Jonathan Kent she felt that she had a good idea of the kind of man he was just by looking at his son.
Lois began to mentally tick off the things she did know about Clark. He was friendly and funny and one of the brightest people she knew. He seemed to know a little bit about everything, but was never overbearing about it or gave the impression that he knew more than you did in a conversation. He never ever under any circumstances cursed, at least none that she could recall, and his manners were like something out of Emily Post.
He was helpful to everyone and she had seen him make a special effort to take the time and explain many of the ins and outs of journalism to Jimmy even when he was in the middle of typing up a front page story with the deadline fast approaching.
He was an award winning journalism with an innate talent for seeing the human side of a story. His prose was instantly engaging and he could bring a reader into a story about waste distribution and make them care about its affect on the world around them.
Despite all of these positive qualities, however, he never seemed to be close to anyone. He was undeniably handsome, but he seemed to make a special effort to fade into the background. He just seemed so alone and didn’t seem to have anyone in his life that was there for him.
It was while pondering this thought that Lois saw the red head approach Clark’s desk.
TBC...
