Part 3
The fire burned late into the night. When he arrived, Superman found a number of people trapped on the upper floors. The fire escapes had been long neglected so there were gaps between floors. The stairways were cluttered with garbage, toys and prams. He used the first few minutes rescuing the people from the burning building. Then, while the police officers were evacuating nearby apartments, he worked with the fire fighters to contain the fire that was quickly spreading. By the time he wasn’t needed anymore, it was early morning. He went home, showered and headed into the office.
Clark didn’t feel like going into work, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to write up the story for the paper, and he also wanted to do some research on the owners of the building. It had been so neglected that it was the waiting accident that had finally happened.
On the other hand, he didn’t want to go into work because he knew that Lois was incensed. Well, not with him, but with Superman, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to react to that. In some ways, she had every right to be furious. Superman knew the kind of person Luthor was, and he knew that Lois would respect what he had to say. At least she would have done some investigating into Luthor’s past and his business dealings before she made any kind of commitment to him. Instead, he behaved childishly. Did he want Lois to suffer? Yes, the rogue side of him had to admit. He had let his own exasperation with Lois’s attitude to Clark’s confession of love dictate his behaviour. Basically, he let her find out for herself. Learn from experience. But experience might have happened too late and Lois would have been married to Luthor. He knew that Lois was right. Friends didn’t do that to each other.
But, as Clark, he had warned her against Luthor several times. Granted, he never told her what he suspected. He just cautioned her, hoping that her instincts would make her question Luthor’s motives. But instead of listening to him, she had only taken his words of warning as signs of his jealousy. Yes, he was jealous, but he also was being honest with her. How could she have been so blind to what was staring her directly in her face? She didn’t have to love him, but she could have trusted him to tell her the truth.
So, who was right here? He wanted to believe that he was, but he wasn’t sure.
"Whatcha working on, Clark?" Lois asked as she came up to his desk. This time it was Lois who was holding two mugs of coffee in her hands.
"Just writing up the fire on Bayside Avenue."
"I hear it was a pretty bad one."
"Yeah, it was. Luckily, no one got hurt." He took the coffee that she handed him and sipped it. It was perfect—just the right amount of cream and sugar. Exactly what he needed at that moment.
"What started it?" she asked.
"Neglect. Mismanagement. The place was really a mess. People lived there, but the management company ignored basic safety features."
"What do you mean?"
"For example, they had fire alarms in the hall, but the batteries were dead."
"Do you think the management company did it for the insurance?"
"That’s what I’m looking into it."
"Who owned the building?"
"So far all I have is that it was run by Abbott Management, located in an office building a few blocks from the apartment."
"Any other information on this Abbott Management."
"Not yet," Clark said. "I’ve got Jimmy digging deeper."
"What else have you got?"
"I’ve written up the story with quotes from the fire chief and Superman. Right now, it looks like a straight news story, but I ‘d like to do more with it. How can faceless companies manage these buildings while ignoring and neglecting the safety of the people living there? One hundred and forty-eight people lived in that building. Any one of them could have been killed because the fire escape was broken. Railings were loose on the balconies." Clark got up and began pacing around his desk. "I don’t get it. What is this Abbott Management getting paid for? Don’t they have any sense of responsibility?"
"You’re really passionate about this one, aren’t you?"
Clark just shrugged, running his hands through his hair. "When I got to the site, after the fire was put out, I watched the people who lived in that building. One teen-aged girl was sitting on the sidewalk across from the apartment. She was stroking her dog and crying. I heard her ask her mother, ‘Where do we go now?’ That same scene repeated itself over and over again." Clark stopped talking remembering what he saw at the fire. Finally, he turned to Lois and said, "I think I could do something about this, maybe help make some changes."
"So, go into Perry and ask him if you can run a series about this. I’ll back you up."
"Thanks," he said, appreciating her ability to understand what was important to him.
Before they were able to go into speak to Perry, Clark fielded a phone call. He jotted down notes as he listened. Lois stared at him, her curiosity piqued.
"That was my contact at the fire department," he said in answer to Lois’s gaze. "Apparently his men found two bodies in what they assume is the basement of the apartment. The coroner’s got the bodies now. I’m going over as soon as I send this article to Perry. Wanna come?" He surprised himself when he asked Lois that question considering that he was wary about the argument she had with Superman the previous night, but it seemed so natural to ask.
"Sure."
In Lois’s Jeep, an hour and a half later, Clark sat recapping what they had learned.
"There are no people who were living in the apartment building unaccounted for. So who do those two bodies belong to?
"Vagrants? Squatters?" Lois offered.
"Criminals?"
"Don’t be silly, Clark. Vagrants or squatters make more sense to me."
"They were two men with bullets in them. The coroner hasn’t done a complete autopsy yet, but she felt that they ‘d been shot before the fire. So why couldn’t it be some gangland killing?"
"Because Clark, you can’t go looking for answers in illogical places."
"You’re just saying that because a criminal connection is my idea, not yours."
"But there is no evidence."
"So, let’s go find some."
"Where?" she challenged him.
"I don’t know, yet." Clark sat back in the car ."But we’ll find something, I’m sure."
They drove the next few blocks in what was, for Clark, an uncomfortable silence. Instead of focussing on their investigation, he was more curious to know what was on Lois’s mind. Looking over at her, he saw that she was preoccupied with more than her driving. Normally, he would ask her what she was thinking about, and normally, she would let him know. This time, he had a suspicion that she was thinking about Superman. He didn’t want to deal with the discussion.
"Superman came over last night after the Charity Ball," Lois said as she kept her eyes on the road ahead of her. "He’s a jerk."
Clark sat up. He had known she wanted to talk about last night, but he wasn’t ready to deal with his other personality, especially when he knew that he was in the wrong, wasn’t he?
"Aren’t you going to ask why?"
"Why?" he asked flatly.
"I’m glad you asked. I wanted to know why he didn’t warn me before I accepted Lex’s proposal. Did you know that Superman didn’t trust him because Lex had tested Superman soon after he got to Metropolis?"
"Yes. So?"
"Why didn’t he tell me?"
"Who?"
"Superman. Why hadn’t he warned me about the kind of monster Lex was? He made me go through the engagement, the wedding, Lex’s awful death, and all the personal issues afterwards. I thought Superman was my friend."
"I told you," Clark said in a hushed voice, "You didn’t believe me."
"That was you, Clark. You didn’t tell me that Lex was a criminal. You just told me to watch out for him; he wasn’t what he seemed to be."
"And you didn’t believe me."
"You didn’t offer me any evidence."
"So why would you believe Superman?"
"Because Superman didn’t have a vested interest."
"And I did?"
"Yes, you did. You said that you loved me, remember, that day in the park...I...I thought you were jealous."
"I didn’t want you to get hurt. And I warned you before that day in the park."
"That’s not the point. Superman didn’t think it was important enough to tell me."
"He was helping us dig up the dirt on Luthor," Clark said, knowing that it wasn’t exactly the truth.
"I don’t think I can ever forgive him for this, Clark."
Clark watched Lois lift her hand from the steering wheel to wipe away a single tear running down her cheek. He’d done it again; he’d hurt Lois. How did he manage to trip over himself so often? So now Superman was in the doghouse, and Clark was Lois’s friend. But that wasn’t right either.
In a sense, he was glad that Superman had fallen a notch or two in Lois’s estimation. He was no longer a perfect man. In most cases, there were no consequences in his having a dual identity. He was fairly safe helping people, working with Henderson, even dealing with Jimmy and Perry. His only stumbling block was Lois. And that block was there because she didn’t know the truth. But now wasn’t the right time to tell her. As she said, she could never forgive Superman. How did he manage to get himself into these binds?
Lois and Clark remained lost in their own thoughts the rest of the way back to the Planet. When they walked into the newsroom, Jimmy, who was grinning from ear to ear, accosted them with the information that they had asked for.
"Okay, CK, this is what I found out. Abbott Management is a company run by two brothers, Stanley and Alvin Rossi. They’ve had a number of businesses over the years that they’ve basically run into the ground. At this time, they are managing quite a number of properties owned by Bennett Realty Limited which has land and buildings all over the city parceled out to various management companies. They don’t have any hands-on connections to the buildings at all. Interestingly, over the last six months, four of Abbott’s buildings have burned down or, in one case, a wall actually collapsed."
"I remember that one," Clark muttered. Jimmy and Lois looked at him questioningly. "I passed it when I was out one day."
"Okay? Anyway, all the properties are managed by Abbott. And just in case you’re wondering if Abbott is mismanaging all its holdings, they’re not. They have several expensive, well-cared for condo buildings in the city. They’re managing some new ones in your neck of the woods, CK."
"Strange," mused Lois. "Why would they take care of some buildings and let others deteriorate and be destroyed?"
"Where are the four buildings that have been destroyed located, Jimmy?" Clark asked.
Jimmy called up a map of the city on his computer and pointed out the areas. "I’ve looked here already, CK, but I can’t see any connection to the sites."
"Neither can I," Clark said, staring at the computer screen in front of him.
"Where do you want me to look now?" Jimmy asked.
"Keep looking at what else you can find about Abbott and Bennett, Jimmy," Lois said, giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulders. "You’ve really got a knack for digging up information on the computer."
Jimmy grinned like a child who had been given a gold star by his favourite teacher. "Thanks, Lois," he beamed.
Clark moved over to his desk and sifted through the paperwork he’d accumulated on this story so far. "I thought computers would cut down on the amount of paper that we use, but it hasn’t. I think we create even more," he said to no one in particular.
"Probably." Lois walked over to her desk ready to turn her mind to another task when an idea struck her.
"Clark," she said, "I’m going over to the building and check it out. Whaddya say? Do you wanna come along, partner?"
"Lois, it’s dangerous going through a burnt building. You don’t know what’s stable and what’s not."
"Well, I’m going. You can come along or not."
"Like that?" asked Clark looking down at Lois’s crisp burgundy business suit and her high-heeled pumps. Lois followed Clark’s gaze and understood his question.
"No, I’ve got some grubby clothes in my locker. I’m going to change and then I’ll go." She looked Clark up and down before she added, "I don’t think that suit will survive this outing, either."
It didn’t take the reporters long. Dressed in more appropriate clothing, they drove to the site of the fire.
Police tape, cautioning residents of the danger, surrounded the structure. Lois ignored the tape and pushed her way to the entrance of the building. The front door was off its hinges and much of the shattered glass lay surrounding the entrance. Lois, without checking what was in front of her, quickly moved through the opening and went towards what used to be the stairwell.
"Be careful, Lois. That could be dangerous."
"I know that Clark, but I want to go down to the basement and look around, and the elevator isn’t working."
"Lane!" yelled Fire Inspector Jeremy Lyons. "Where do you think you’re going?"
"To the basement, of course."
"You can’t go down there. This is an investigation and I can’t have you tampering with the evidence."
"Give me a break, Jeremy. When have I ever tampered with the evidence? As a matter of fact," she bulldozed through any answer that Lyons could give her, "how many times has my so-called tampering led to information for you to work with." And once again before Lyons could interject she plowed on, "And I share with you, but do you always share with me?"
Lyons looked helplessly at Clark. "Help me out here, Kent."
"You know she’s right. Let her look around. I’ll keep an eye on her."
"What do you mean by that, Kent?" Lois asked, not happy with what her partner was implying.
"I mean that if you seem to be in some kind of danger, I’ll call Jeremy for help. That’s all."
"All right. I can accept that."
"The stairs are fairly safe," said Lyons, once again giving up the battle with Lois. If he were twenty-five years younger and single, he would definitely go after Lane. She was quite a woman. "Here, you’ll need a powerful flashlight."
Clark took the flashlight from Lyons and followed Lois, who already made a head start, down the stairs. It was dark. The stairs and the walls were covered with wet, slimy soot. Lois’s running-shoe clad foot lightly slipped, but Clark caught her elbow and prevented any fall.
"Careful, Lois," he whispered.
"Why are you whispering?" she asked, "Jeremy knows we’re here."
Clark kept his hand on Lois’s elbow as they continued down the stairs. At the foot of the stairs, they were facing the laundry room with the charcoaled washers and dryers. In the centre of the floor, police tape marked where the first of the two bodies was found. Clark shone the light on the floor outlining the path that they should follow, avoiding pot holes and places where plaster and wood had fallen in.
"The body was buried under the rubble. Looks like a lot of stuff fell through the ceiling," Clark remarked when he shone the light up above their heads. "But the coroner said that most likely the men were dead before the smoke could asphyxiate them."
As Clark spoke, Lois kept walking around looking closely at the floor beneath her feet.
"Clark, shine the flashlight over here for a minute."
Clark did as he was told, shining the light back at the entranceway. Lois crouched and began to scrape away some of the debris. She picked up a round, shiny object.
"Look at this."
"What?"
"This. It looks like a coin...no...it’s a button that looks like a coin...like a quarter. See here’s the post on the back."
"And?"
"It could be a clue."
"A button in a laundry room? I don’t think so."
"Don’t be in such a hurry, Clark. Think about it. This is an expensive button that would be on a coat or a suit. Most coats and suits are not washed; they’re dry cleaned, so..."
"Whoever lost the button was wearing the coat or suit could have lost it while either putting in or taking clothes out of the washing machine."
"I don’t do laundry in good clothes, do you?"
"Sometimes, if I’m in a hurry."
"That’s not the point and you know it. This is probably a clue, Clark. We can’t ignore it," Lois said as she slipped the button into her pocket.
"Lois."
"What now?"
"You can’t put that button in your pocket."
"Why not?"
"Because if you’re right, then it’s evidence, and you know that you have to give it to Jeremy."
"It’s just a button, Clark."
"Lo-is," he emphasized each syllable as a parent would to a child who knows she’s misbehaved. "Give me your notebook."
Lois, with a big smile plastered on her face, rifled through her purse until she pulled out her notebook and a pen. She handed them to Clark who opened the book to a clean page and sketched the button on it and then put the button under the page to make a tracing of it.
Lois looked over his shoulder impressed by the accuracy with which he had captured the button. "Okay, I’ll give it to Jeremy, but only because you admitted that I’m right and that it is probably a clue," she said smugly.
They kept walking around the room looking at the ground for any other clues that they could find. Clark pointed the flashlight out into the hallway. Together they followed the light. They maneuvered around the debris that was in their path, coming to the tenants’ storage space where the second body was found. Their eyes swept the area looking for more clues, but there was nothing that stood out. Clark swung the flashlight up to the ceiling and peered into another level.
"I’m going up to the second floor above the laundry room," said Lois.
"Lo-is!"
"Cla-ark," she mimicked, "What?"
"It’s dangerous up there."
"So?"
"You could get hurt. I don’t want you taking any unnecessary risks."
"Don’t get macho on me, Kent. You know what Perry says. You can’t get to know Elvis without getting to know the Colonel, and I’m not going to get this next story without taking any risks."
"Wait for me," he answered, without enthusiasm, and followed her.
With so very little natural light getting into the building, it was harder to see on the second floor. Clark kept close behind Lois to make sure she didn’t slip or fall on the sloppy soot that was underfoot. He was surprised that Jeremy Lyons had allowed them to wander freely through the burnt out building. It was dangerous. On the other hand, it was difficult to stop Lois if she had her mind set on exploring the premises. And, she was right; she did manage to find evidence that others couldn’t find. She had an unexplainable sixth sense for these kinds of things. She could have been a detective instead of a journalist.
Clark followed her into an apartment that appeared to be directly on top of the laundry room.
"Careful, Lois. Part of the floor has already fallen in."
"I know. I’m careful." She walked away from Clark toward the edge of the hole in the floor and kneeled, peering into the laundry room below. "I just want to look at what ‘s below this..."
Within a fraction of a second, a piece of floor had broken off and Lois, who had been peering over the hole, was falling. Without stopping to think, Clark rushed over, grabbing her by the wrists. Her body pulled back as if she had come to the end of a bungee rope. Her scream pounded in his ears.
"I’ve got you, Lois. Don’t squirm."
His next problem was to lift her up, back onto the second floor without her body scraping the ragged edges of the floor. She was facing away from him, but he worried that she might realize that he had abilities beyond that of a normal man. And then, within a fraction of a second, he knew that he would do anything to ensure that Lois did not get hurt, even if it meant risking his secret.
He levitated, and as he moved higher, Lois’s body began to rise up above the floor line. Slowly, he moved his hands down her arms until he grasped her under her arms. He lowered himself and stepped back from the edge to haul her towards him, finally able to set her on her feet, but just as he did that, her legs gave way beneath her. Clark caught her in his arms and held onto her.
Lois began to shiver. In her mind, she was still falling face first into the debris below. Her heart was thumping in her chest, but she was trying to tell herself that she was safe now, being held in Clark’s strong arms. She hadn’t realized how much power he had in his arms. Lifting her up could not have been easy. Yet, he did it, so easily, as if she was nothing more than a feather. Thank goodness for his quick reflexes. She could have been lying two floors below in the mucky soot. Instead, she was here in Clark’s arms.
"Clark," she muttered over and over.
"It’s okay, Lois. You’re okay." He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back and neck.
They stood there for several minutes, each clutching onto the other.
"What’s going on here?" Jeremy Lyon’s voice boomed.
Lois jumped at the intrusion. She didn’t want to leave the safety of Clark’s arms just yet.
"Nothing. I had a...fright...yes, a fright...it’s dark," Lois explained. "Come on, Clark." Lois stepped back from the comfort of his arms. "Let’s get out of here."
Lois took Clark’s hand and led him back to the stairs where Lyons who was worried about Lois, was climbing the stairs to meet them. He guided them back to the main floor, out of the building. When Clark urged Lois with his eyes, she reluctantly handed Lyons the button explaining her theory about the relevance of the button. Lyons took it from her and placed it in an evidence bag. There was nothing left for the reporters to do but go back to the newsroom to write up the story.
**************
tbc
