"Zebedee's Sons"
by Anne Spear (raggedyanne7@yahoo.com)
Rated: PG
Submitted:
Lois Lane stood on the dock with the other reporters and television cameras. Checking her watch, she saw that it was almost 10:00 as she pulled her wool coat tighter against the bitter February wind. She moved closer to the front of the crowd and turned on her micro tape recorder as Police Commissioner Maggie Smith raised her hands for attention.
"So far," Commissioner Smith began, "we've learned that two teens, John Housman and his girlfriend, Jamie Burke, rented a sailboat at 5:00 this evening and were last seen sailing out into the lake. Emergency Services received a 30 second call from a cell phone at 6:27 that we believe may have been John Housman. Unfortunately, rescue teams were not dispatched at that time because there just wasn't enough information given before the call was cut off. A tape and transcript of that call will be released shortly. As of 9:30, the sailboat has been found but there is still no sign of the missing youth."
The reporters all raised their hands vying for the Commissioner's attention as a collective group. The Commissioner's gaze travelled through the crowd until she chose one reporter. "Mr. Grey."
"How old are these kids?" Harold Grey from the Tribune asked, pad and pen in hand.
"John is 18-years-old and Jamie is 17. They are both senoirs at Steven McBride High School. Next question, Ms. Lane…"
"Where was the sailboat found, exactly?" Lois asked.
"Approximately two miles from the north shore."
"And how wide is the entire lake?" Lois continued.
"Five miles across at its largest," the Commissioner supplied as the reporters' hands raised again. "Ms. Abrahms."
"Has Superman been helping with the rescue efforts?" Roz Abrahms from channel 7 questioned.
"Yes," Commissioner Smith verified. "His help has been invaluable since he is able to stay under the frigid water much longer than the police divers can."
"And yet, the teens still have not been found…"
"No, they have not. Thank you, no more questions." With that, the Commissioner turned her back on the reporters who were still trying to get her attention and walked back to the area that had been taped off by the police.
~*~*~*~
Back home, Lois quickly typed the story and emailed it to the Night Shift Editor to make sure it got into the morning edition. She was hoping that Clark would be home in time to give her an exclusive "Superman" quote, but that could be saved for the follow up. After sending the story, she moved to the sofa, found the television remote, and started flipping through channels. None of the news programs had any new information, so she just picked one to settle on.
Not much later, Superman flew in through the living room window and found Lois asleep on the sofa, while "The Tonight Show" played on the TV. He spun back into the sweatpants and t-shirt Clark had been wearing when he found out about the search and turned off the TV.
'She looks so peaceful,' he thought, gazing down at his wife. He thought back on the whirlwind life they'd shared so far. Only one thing could make everything perfect. 'No,' he told himself, 'I promised myself I wouldn't live in regrets.' It had been nearly two years since he'd told Lois that being a family of two was enough, then they thought they would have a baby and that happiness was taken away so abruptly. At least now he knew exactly how his mother had felt before his parents found him, considering he and Lois' infertility was all his fault. The fact that he's an alien is the reason they can't have children. Only the assurance from H. G. Wells that Utopia would be founded by Superman's decendants was enough to give him faith anymore.
As he continued to gaze lovingly at his wife, he noticed a small smile starting to form on her face and realized that she was really awake and knew he was there. Without a word, h scooped her off the sofa and headed from the stairs. Her eyes flew open in mock terror and she playfully struggled in his arms.
"Hey," she exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm taking you upstairs to make love to you until your toes curl."
"Oh, okay," she smiled, settling her arms around his neck. "But you'd better hurry. My husband will be home any minute now."
~*~*~*~
When Lois and Clark exited the elevator into the newsroom the next morning, they were still discussing the missing youth.
"There's no way," Clark was telling Lois, "that those kids drowned in that lake. 'Superman' checked every inch of that water and they just weren't there."
"Maybe their bodies got tangled up in the weeds at the bottom," she suggested.
Clark shook his head. "'Superman' even x-rayed the sand. There's just no way."
"What condition was the sailboat when they found it?"
"It was upside-down in the water, but otherwise there wasn't a scratch on it."
"So, if the boat capsized but they didn't drown, where are they?"
" That is the sixty-four thousand dollar question," he replied. "Maybe we should interview the parents to try and get a better idea of what may have happened."
tbc...
