From Chapter Ten:
“Intergang? Is that as ominous as it sounds?” Lois asked.
“No proof that it actually exists. But rumors had it that Luthor and the mysterious kingpin of Intergang were at war over control of Metropolis. That’s why I don’t know why they’re after you. Luthor Corp is part of Edge Enterprises now, and whatever criminal activity Luthor Corp was up to is pretty insignificant now that the company’s extinct.”
“Lenny!” they both said at once.
“He must be the mysterious kingpin of Intergang and because I heard his name mentioned on the phone….” Lois speculated.
“Or, he was Luthor’s mole at Edge Enterprises…..in any event I have a feeling that no one is supposed to know a ‘Lenny’ existed…or exists, as the case may be,” Clark said, playing devil’s advocate.
“Hey, I noticed that this is not the way to Le Choc. I never did ask Mark where he was staying,” Lois commented.
The jeep ahead of them turned right onto a side road. There was a small sign on a tree on the corner.
“Elf Aquitaine-ELEL Oil Co, Brazzaville division”, the sign stated.
Chapter Eleven
Metropolis
Perry scratched his head in disbelief. He had instructed Timmy Carlson first thing this morning to run a search for the name “Lenny” in combination with “Luthor” to see if there was any connection. Now, he was reeling with the news that he was a mole for Edge Enterprises. Every bit as good with computers as his older cousin, but with none of his millions, Timmy was jealous and resentful of him. But to totally betray a family member? What was the world coming to? Perry wondered.
Edge’s lucrative offer for Timmy to find a way to break into the Daily Planet’s network server to determine what stories they were working on that might link Edge to Intergang had taken a deadly new twist. Unexpectedly, they had discovered that Lois was alive and that Clark had been sent to bring her home. What information Lois still had that might be of interest to Edge Enterprises, Perry couldn’t fathom. But it was apparent from what Agent Olson said that Lois and Clark were in danger in Brazzaville, and that John had even sent an anonymous e-mail to Lois with a blind cc to Clark in order to tip them off.
Perry had also been astounded to learn that ten years ago, John had gone undercover and portrayed himself to be a street person! He was “Johnny Jabbermouth” and had come to know Lois very well. He knew the types of risks she took to get a story. He had been the one to give her the tip about Luthor’s gun running in the Republic of Congo. He had suffered with guilt pains over that for a decade when she disappeared. She was like a daughter to him. Funny, she never knew he cared, Lois thought all he wanted from her was a good meal.
When his son had taken over the Daily Planet, John had a falling out with him. He told his son that he was fantastic with computers, what was with him thinking he could run a newspaper? Of course, James got defensive, told his father that he always wanted to be in the news business, and to mind his own business. After all, how many years had his father lied to him about his real profession?
To be fair, though, Perry thought, James had turned out to be a decent businessman who put the best reporters in the right places, and let them do their thing. He had legal advisors who told him what should and shouldn’t be printed, and circulation numbers were decent. With the advent of internet-based media, even the U.S. mail had been in a downslide. Why mail a letter when you can send an e-mail?
Perry decided that he had to go back over to the Planet and see if James had been able to figure out that his system had indeed been compromised. Without breaking Agent Olson’s confidence, perhaps he could “lead the horse to water”. He didn’t think he could look Timmy in the face right now, so he would have to practice his best ‘poker face’ in a mirror before he left!
===================
Brazzaville
Clark looked at his watch. “Lois, we only have about ten minutes to get this jeep back to the hotel. Turn around, it’s getting dark now, we’ll come back using our ‘own transportation’!”
“OK, but what if they’re not there when we come back?”
“We’ll only be gone about fifteen minutes, Lois. We’ll put our dark clothes on and be right back here.”
“I think you need a lead-lined body suit also, Clark.” Lois did a u-turn and started heading back to Le Meridien.
“Shucks, I plumb forgot to pack that in my suitcase, I left the States in such a hurry,” Clark joked, trying to lighten the moment.
They arrived at the hotel right at 7:00 p.m. Lois handed the keys over to the clerk, who informed them that James Olson had called a second time. There were no pay phones, so Clark asked the clerk if could use one of their lines to make a collect call, and he agreed.
Lois, meantime, was arguing with Clark that they were wasting precious minutes and that he should return James’ phone call when they got back.
“Lo-is, he’s our boss, remember, and he may have some information that will help us. And, I haven’t been in touch with him since I left the States,” Clark replied.
After about ten minutes of haggling with overseas operators, Clark was finally patched into the Daily Planet’s phone system.
“Daily Planet, may I help you?”
“Yes madam, a mister Clark Kent is calling collect, will you accept the charges?”
“Yes, we will, operator.”
“Hello, this is Clark Kent. Who’s this”?
“This is Mildred at the front desk. How are you, Mr. Kent, and how can I help you?
“I’m fine, Mildred, thanks for asking. Could you ring James Olson’s extension, please,” said Clark.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Olson has been out of the office all morning. Would you like his voice mail?”
“Well, Mildred, I’m calling from overseas. Do you know how I may reach him? He’s called the hotel here twice in the last several hours.”
“Do you know his cell phone number?”
“Yes, but I can’t call his cell phone collect!!” argued Clark. “Ok, put me through to his voice mail,” Clark conceded.
After listening to James’ standard voice mail greeting, Clark began his message.
“James, Kent here. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch. Lois and I have been working on a hot lead and we will be returning to the States tomorrow by 10:00 p.m. I’ll fill you in then. See you soon.”
“Let’s go, Clark!” Lois urged. Her ‘Mad Dog’ personality had taken over. She could smell a story – a big one – as long as they were alive to write it, of course.
They took the elevator upstairs. Meanwhile, the desk clerk, finishing up his shift, called a certain oil company.
“I need Boyle or St. John,” he said.
“Yeah, St. John here.”
“They switched their flights. They told their employer they would be back home by 10:00 p.m. tomorrow. I’m sure you can figure out what flight they’re on. Oui, the usual payment is fine. Bon soir.”
Lois and Clark, in their black “spy” clothes, took off from the roof of the hotel.
“Clark, I did research on this place before I came here. Most of the oil companies were in bed with both the government and the rebel forces here. They were walking both sides of the lines, anything to hide their real profits from taxation. Most of the oil rigging is down south of here, at Point Noire, by the coastline. Elf Aquitaine was one of the dirtiest French oil companies that recently came under serious scrutiny from the World Bank. Did you notice the extended name, ‘El El’? As in Lex Luthor?”
Lois was in full babble mode.
“Wow, how do you breathe and get all that out? You’re so cute,” Clark said, smiling. “You know, ‘El El’ could also be Lois Lane.”
“Yeah. right. You’re a riot. I wouldn’t have been living in the rags you found me in if I had serious contacts to the oil industry, Clark.”
They were at the turn in the road. Clark and Lois silently flew down the entryway to the Oil company’s office. It looked as if it was just a local branch, as there was no rigging equipment in sight.
Clark spotted Nigel and Mark inside. Using a combination of enhanced vision and hearing, he was able to determine what their conversation was about.
“Lois, the desk clerk is dirty. He informed them of our travel plans.”
“Figures. Corruption is everywhere here.”
“Oh, Boyle just took a phone call.”
“Can you hear who it is on the other line?”
“No one’s voice that I recognize. He’s being very careful not to identify himself. Kind of talking in riddles. I don’t really know Morgan Edge’s voice all that well, if he is the one behind all this.”
“Do you see the package?” asked Lois.
“Yes, the person on the phone is asking him about it, if it was received on time. He’s opening the package right now,” Clark informed her.
“Is it Kryptonite?”
“Yes, one of the biggest chunks I’ve seen.”
Clark watched as the meteor rock was placed back in its lead box and closed. The phone call with the mysterious ‘boss’ was concluded. Mark and Nigel stood up, and as it appeared they were going back out to the jeep, Clark landed in the woods surrounding the building and motioned to Lois to be as quiet as possible.
As they vehicle passed, Clark lamented, “This is great. I am not allowed to use my powers overseas unless it’s to avert a natural disaster, and even if I could, they have the one thing that can kill me. Just great. And, I finally meet the woman of my dreams, and we’re in dire straits.”
Lois smiled at Clark. “You know I thrive on this stuff, Clark. We’ll find a way out of it. I always do. Hey if I survived ten years in this jungle, I can do anything,” Lois proclaimed.
“Yes, Lois, you do have a great track record, I’ll admit. But everyone’s luck runs out sooner or later. I was hoping it would be *later*!”
They began to fly, trying to follow the jeep from a distance again.
“Clark, I’m not sure we should do this. The world needs its Superman.” Lois said, unexpectedly.
“Don’t tell me you want to back down from a story? This is truly not the Lois Lane I’ve been told about,” Clark remarked.
“Look, you said that the clerk told them what time our flight is tomorrow. What if we switch it again to foil them? Once we get home, and you can use your powers openly, we have a better chance of finding out who’s out to get me,” Lois reasoned.
“No, we’re getting on that plane tomorrow morning. I can’t wait to get out of this place.” Clark was adamant.
“There is some reason they don’t want me going back to Metropolis, Clark. We need to find out what that reason is, or our problems here will follow us home,” Lois argued.
“?? So what are you saying? We’re back on the story again? Did you just talk yourself into changing your mind” Clark said, shaking his head.
“Hmmm…yes I guess I did,” Lois said, smiling. “It *is* a woman’s prerogative, after all”.
They continued to follow the jeep, which, unexpectedly, headed back toward their hotel, Le Meridien.
“Uh-oh! What are they up to?”
“I think Boyle’s going to ask you out to dinner again, Lois, and this time, you should go,” Clark advised.
“What do you want me to do, seduce him to find out who’s he’s working for?”
“Well, let him think you’re falling for his lines until you get the info, then I’ll swoop in before it gets too far,” Clark promised.
“Sure, and then he whips out the Kryptonite….what happens then?”
“I better go buy my lead-lined suit in a hurry, huh?” Clark grinned. “Boyle must know that we know he’s a fraud. Does he think his charm and good looks alone can win you over? What an ego.”
“Quick, let’s get back to our room! We don’t want them to think we were following them.” Lois exclaimed. They landed on the roof and, with no one in view, sped back to the suite.
Several minutes later, there was a knock on their door. The concierge of the hotel was standing in the hallway.
“Madame Lane? There is a gentleman in the lobby to visit with you. He says his name is Monsieur Mark Boyle,” he advised. “He asks if you can please come downstairs to have dinner with him, and he asks that it be without Monsieur Kent. He also says he has a parting gift for you.”
“Please tell Monsieur Boyle I will be downstairs shortly,” Lois told him.
“OK, Lois. See, he wants to get you by yourself!”
“I can’t believe he thinks I’m going to fall for this. Talk about the stupidly direct approach!”
“Well, you go downstairs to meet him. I’ll come downstairs a few minutes later. I’m going to check my e-mail and see what, if anything Perry has to say. Perhaps Timmy has tracked down some info on this mysterious ‘Lenny’.
“Just don’t leave the hotel with him. I will be listening the whole time from the internet kiosks.”
“OK, but this is really weird,” said Lois.
Lois put on the dress that Clark had bought her in Paris, did her hair and makeup, and the finished product elicited a wolf whistle from Clark. “Whoa, I didn’t mean for you to look *that* good!” he said. “You’ll definitely have him distracted!”
“It’s what I used to do best,” Lois replied, with a wink. “Keep your fingers crossed that this doesn’t blow up in our faces!”
When Lois exited the elevator, she spotted Mark waiting by the front desk. Nigel was nowhere in sight. Perhaps he was waiting in the jeep outside?
“Lois, you are stunning….very beautiful. Thanks so much for agreeing to dine with me. I hope Kent didn’t take offense,” Mark said.
“Clark has some last-minutes things to catch up on. He’s fine with it,” Lois replied. He really *was* a good-looking man himself, Lois thought. [An older Clark Kent. Maybe that’s why I find him so attractive, because he reminds me so much of Clark].
They went to one of the hotel’s more expensive restaurants for dinner. At the same time, Clark was sitting down at the computer to check his e-mail. His ears were tuned to pick up Lois’ voice.
After they were seated, and a bottle of fine wine ordered, Mark said, “Lois, I have a confession to make, and I hope you’re going to be able to forgive me.” He leaned in, and gave her one of his more electrifying smiles.
[His smiles are almost as magical as Clark’s. The British accent is so sexy, too. Omigod! What am I thinking? Focus. Focus].
“Perry didn’t send me to find you, that first time I came here.”
[Act surprised]. “Whatever do you mean?” she said in her best air-head voice.
“I lied to you. I really came to see Kent. When you rushed up to me, I couldn’t resist your charms, so I made up that story to get you to spend some time with me.”
“That’s sweet, Mark, but how did you know that Clark was going to be here?”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about. I’m afraid the Daily Planet’s server is not as secure as your owner, Mr. Olson, would like it to be.”
Lois was taken aback by Mark’s forthrightness. [This wasn’t in the master game plan. Well, Clark is listening out in the lobby. Just keep winging it, Lois].
“You mean, you were able to read Clark’s e-mails?”
“And yours, as well.”
“Could you start at the beginning? You’re scaring me, Mark,” Lois said. [And I really mean it].
Clark, out in the lobby, suddenly realized that not only was he hearing the two-way conversation, but Lois’ thoughts were popping into his head. Telepathy? Was that a hidden power that no one had told him about? He realized Lois was frightened. And he wasn’t sure if Mark was on the level, but he was *pretty* sure he was scamming her.
Meanwhile, there were several e-mails from his folks, and one from Perry. He opened Perry’s first.
He was aghast as he started to read Perry’s e-mail about Timmy being a mole for Edge Enterprises.
There had to be a connection between Boyle and Edge Enterprises, if Timmy was the one who had hacked into the system and Mark had read all of their e-mails, up until the time Clark had started using a web-based e-mail address (his Yahoo account).
He replied to Perry, advising him that they would be home in Metropolis at 10:00 p.m. tomorrow and that they were aware that someone – probably Edge Enterprises – was out to get Lois.
He was distracted from the e-mails from the conversation taking place with Boyle.
“Twenty-three years ago, I did meet Perry. That part of the story is true, Lois. That was also when I met Nigel St. John. Believe it or not, he was an investigative reporter for the London Times when I worked there. Do you know who he is, Lois?”
“Wasn’t he recently associated with Luthor Corp?”
“Yes, Nigel was Luthor’s administrative assistant. But he was his public relations officer prior to that.”
“Really? I didn’t know that,” Lois said, genuinely surprised. [Nigel St John – a reporter? Is he yanking my chain here?]
Clark “heard” Lois’ thoughts. Since he was on-line, he pulled up a search engine and punched in “Nigel St. John”. Sure enough, there were a few “hits” related to the London Times and some press releases from Luthor Corp. [He’s telling the truth, Lois], Clark thought.
Lois’ head perked up. Was that Clark’s voice she just heard in her head??
“Ok, so you met Nigel….” Lois said, urging him to continue the story.
“Yes, Nigel quit newspaper reporting for private industry. He said writing news releases might be boring, but it was quite lucrative. Especially if his particular spin on a crisis resulted in that company’s continued profits. He used to tell me that a good PR man was worth his weight in gold to a big corporation.”
“OK….and this was twenty years ago?”
“Yes. We lost touch for awhile.”
“Well, who is he working for now, since Luthor Corp’s down the tubes? The papers in the States
pretty much said that Nigel had disappeared in the middle of night.”
“Nigel has always had more than one employer, Lois, and so have I.” Mark’s expression turned deadly serious.
“You know that a reporter’s salary doesn’t allow one the finer things in life.”
[Clark, if you can hear me…..I don’t like the look on his face. Do you see Nigel in the lobby at all, or out in the parking lot? I can’t believe he would betray him. What’s he setting me up for?]
[Lois, I don’t know how…but yes I can hear you. I see the jeep they drove in with, but there is no one in it. The box with the Kryptonite is missing, also. Nigel could be anywhere].
Just then, a man wearing dark glasses, a hat and overcoat sat down at the kiosk next to him. He had a large attaché case with him. He turned to Clark and said, “Good evening, Monsieur Kent. Your lady companion is not with you this evening? What a shame,” he said, as he opened his oversized briefcase which contained a rectangular lead box.
“Now, you can make a scene, but there is really no law against carrying Kryptonite in a valise in Brazzaville. There is a U.N.- mandated law against you using your special powers here, however.
"If you let us leave with Ms. Lane, I will not open the box. The desk clerk is on my payroll. He will not care if you turn green in his lobby. No one here knows or cares about Clark Kent-who-is-Superman. Most people around here are so poor, they hate Americans. What will it be?”
[Lois, I need you!]
As Mark was rattling on about Nigel’s unsavory career and how he talked him into writing PR spins for Luthor Corp, Lois “heard” Clark.
[Omigod, I’ll be right there!]
“Mark, I need to freshen up. I’ll be right back,” and she nearly ran from the table.
[Clark where are you? Still on the computer?]
[Yes, the guy next to me is Nigel. He has the Kryptonite.]
Lois crept up to the lobby, but nonetheless, Nigel spotted her.
“Ah, Ms. Lane, you’ve so graciously agreed to save your new boyfriend’s life. How sweet.”
Nigel stood up, flipping the Kryptonite box open and grabbing Lois’ arm simultaneously.
Clark writhed in agony and fell off the chair. [Lois, kick the box shut if you can. Arghgh].
Lois spun around and tried to kick-box both Nigel and the Kryptonite. She only succeeded in moving the Kryptonite a little further away from Clark. At that moment, Mark Boyle came up behind her.
“Lois, and we were having such a lovely dinner. I guess the atmosphere here is not as pleasant as we thought,” Mark said sarcastically. “I guess we’ll have to go somewhere where the ambiance is better.”
“Lois, walk out the door with us amicably, and I will instruct the desk clerk to close the box of Kryptonite as soon as we are safely out of sight. Screaming won’t do you any good here. War and destruction has been a way of life for too long here. You of all people should know that. So making a scene will just ensure that your Superman will die on a hotel floor in Brazzaville. Won’t that make great headlines?”
[Clark?? Can you hear me?]
There was no reply. Apparently when Clark’s powers were stripped of him, so was the telepathy.
“OK, I’ll go with you. Just please don’t kill him. Promise me you won’t let him die there,” Lois pleaded.
Boyle walked to the desk clerk, and gave him instructions. The three of them fled in the jeep.
Ten minutes later, the clerk walked over to the box of Kryptonite, and closed and confiscated it.
Five minutes later, a courier came to the front desk and retrieved the Kryptonite box from the desk clerk.
Clark started to feel better, but he was extremely weak. Furthermore, as was typical with Kryptonite poisoning, he was bereft of his powers. [Lois, can you hear me?].
[No response. No powers, no telepathy].
Maybe the desk clerk was really greedy, and would be willing to betray his “employers”.
“Look, I need a jeep. I’ll pay you anything you want. I have to save that woman. I love her,” he pleaded to the clerk in his best French accent.
“Anything, monsieur? Are you certain?”
“I’m certain.”
“Very well. This is what it will cost you,” he said, writing a sum roughly equaling $500.00 American dollars on a pad.
“You got it. Now, where’s the box holding the green rock? Do you have it?”
“No, monsieur, Someone came and retrieved it.”
“Who was it? Have you seen him before?”
“No, monsieur”.
“Can you describe him for me?”
“He was an errand boy, sir. African, like me. A runner. Nothing special. We all do whatever it takes these days.”
“How much do I have to pay you not to report to someone that I’m out looking for her?”
“That will be another – “, as he wrote another figure equaling $500.00 American dollars.
[God, I can’t wait to get out of here. Good old American criminals are looking good to me now.]
“How do I know I can trust you? Dropping that kind of money ought to buy me your word,” said Clark.
“I guess you’ll have to take your chances that I won’t get a better offer,” the clerk said, smiling sadistically.
Lois, Nigel, and Mark arrived at the site of the Elf-Aquitaine El-El Oil Company.
“What do you guys think I know, anyway? I came here to do a story on Luthor Corp supplying the rebels with weapons. Luthor Corp is no more. What use could I possibly be to you now?”
“Ms. Lane, you were smart to stay under the name of ‘Linda’ all those years. We really thought you were dead until we read your e-mails to the Daily Planet,” Nigel said.
“You still haven’t answered my question? What is it that makes me such a nuisance to you people?”
“I think our employer can answer that question better than we can,” said Mark.
They dialed an overseas number, and put the call on speaker phone.
“Sir, we have Lois Lane here. She wants to know why we have detained her. Would you like to answer her question?”
“Indeed I would. Lois, you have a very bad habit of listening in to other people’s private phone conversations. I’m sure you shared the conversation with Kent. But only you will know why it was important to us, and you’ll be dead so it won’t matter.”
Lois stiffened, in shock. She recognized the voice on the phone. But it couldn’t be! It sounded just like Lex Luthor!
TBC
