Twins: 23/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
Of course, he couldn't know that she had gotten past both those reactions within a few minutes of seeing him with Brian, days ago. Still, she thought she understood now. Clark didn't want to be treated like a celebrity. It made him uncomfortable. He didn't want the adulation of the masses, and most especially he didn't want it from her. Judging from what she knew of her partner, she thought she knew now what he did want, but she was going to have to be very careful. If he thought for a moment that she wanted Clark Kent because of Superman, it would hurt him terribly and make any future relationship between them much more difficult. Very well then, since he seemed to like her best when she treated him as she had been doing since they met, that was the way she would deal with him ... at least, within the newer boundaries she had set herself. He was Clark Kent, a mild-mannered journalist with a really strange hobby. They needed to find time for a completely honest discussion eventually, she knew -- but she still hadn't decided what to say. Well, maybe she could stall it off for a little while longer. After all, there was a lot to do today ...
She replaced the contents of her "Lex file" in its folder and got to her feet as he arrived beside her. "I take it everything went well," she said.
"Brian is with Dr. Klein," Clark said. "I also gave my parents a call."
"Oh?"
"Asking for advice," Clark elaborated. "They surprised me. I'll tell you later. Anyway, we still have to talk."
"You know, Clark," Lois said, "'talking' is highly overrated. It'll keep. Let's just deal with Henderson right now, and when we aren't as rushed we'll 'talk'. All right?"
He cast her a worried look. "All right."
She patted his arm. "Give me time, Clark; I'm working on it. Let's take this stuff over to Henderson."
And now, Part 23:
"All right." Clark hesitated. "He's waiting for us."
"Oh?" Lois asked.
"Um ... yeah. Superman made a phone call to him a little while ago and told him we'd be bringing him some information that would interest him. He said he'd try to make time for us."
Lois snorted. "That sounds like Henderson. Okay, partner, let's go."
**********
The sergeant at the desk didn't glance up as Lois and Clark pushed open the heavy, glass doors and entered the small lobby of the 12th Precinct. Hard, wooden benches lined the walls, and a couple of ratty, plastic plants decorated the two corner tables along with their stacks of long out-of-date magazines. Lois didn't hesitate. She rested her arms on the counter and leaned forward until her face almost touched the glass. "Inspector Henderson is expecting us."
"Does he know that, Lane?" the man inquired still studying the pages of a magazine that lay on the desk in front of him.
"You bet he does," Lois said.
"Sit down over there and wait," he said, waving in the direction of a bench. "He's busy right now."
"Superman called to tell him," Lois protested. "We have something he'd want to see."
"Suppose you show it to me and I'll decide how urgent it is," he said, with an air of skepticism.
"Not on your life. This is for Henderson," Lois said.
"Sit down and wait," the sergeant repeated. "It won't be more than half an hour."
"Half an hour!" Lois exclaimed in outrage, "This is urgent!"
"Sergeant Anderson ..." Clark leaned forward, drawing the man's attention. "This really is urgent. We need to see the Inspector right away, and he *is* expecting us."
Anderson raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, Clark, I didn't see you. Just a second, and I'll give him a call."
Clark nodded and went to take a seat on one of the benches. After an indecisive moment, Lois followed him. "How come he listens to *you* and not me?" she whispered in annoyance.
Clark shrugged without looking at her. "Just lucky, I guess."
She opened her mouth to reply when the sergeant spoke up. "You can go in now."
They went past the sergeant's desk, through the door at the rear of the room and down the short hall beyond. Lois glanced at her partner, who was fixedly regarding the toes of his shoes as he walked. "What was *that* all about?" she demanded in a whisper.
"Uh ..." Clark was clearly uncomfortable with the question. "Nothing."
She stopped, grabbing his sleeve. "Oh no you don't, Clark. He was giving *me* the runaround, but he didn't give you any trouble at all. And how come he knows your name?"
"Um ... well ..." Clark squirmed. "Look, it's not important. Let's finish with Henderson first, okay?"
"Clark!"
"Well ... The sergeant doesn't like you very much."
"I got that part!"
"There isn't much more," Clark said.
"He liked *you*!"
He shrugged. "Lots of people like me."
"Clark, you're evading."
"Sort of. Remember the piece you did last month about the police getting free doughnuts from the local doughnut shops? I don't think very many cops are too happy with you right now."
"Oh." She made a face. "Okay, so it was a bit petty. I was mad. I'd just got another parking ticket."
"They'll get over it," Clark said.
"But you didn't explain how he knows your name!"
"I know a lot of people," Clark said, mildly.
"How come he was so eager to help you?"
"My mom has an old saying," he said, and now she was sure she could see the corners of his lips quiver. "'You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar'. Come on," he added. "Henderson's waiting for us."
"Hmmph!"
**********
Police Inspector William Henderson was a slender, olive-skinned man of about forty, whom Clark had known since his early days at the Daily Planet. Henderson had made the "poker face" into an art form, and maintained an air of matter-of-fact cynicism in the performance of his job that tended to deceive most persons. He hadn't deceived Clark, and as he got to know the man better, Clark had come to both like and respect him. The officer looked up from the report he was studying when they walked in, and thrust the folder into a drawer.
"This better be as important as Superman said it is," he said.
"I think you'll agree when we explain," Clark said. He glanced at Lois. "Do you want to tell him, or shall I?"
"Lex Luthor," Lois said.
Henderson didn't react overtly but Clark heard his heart speed up, and his bodily reactions told him that they had the man's full attention.
"Luthor? What about him?" Henderson asked with deceptive mildness.
"Is that all you have to say?" Lois began, but Clark took her hand unobtrusively and squeezed. She glanced at him and stopped.
"Yes, Luthor," Clark said as mildly as Henderson had spoken. "We've been investigating him for some time. We have some information we think you should see."
Henderson glanced at Lois. "I thought you were seeing him, Lois," he remarked. "Your picture is on the society page this morning -- and there's an interesting article about Superman scooping you up just as you were about to get into his limousine. Care to explain?"
"Since when do you read the society pages, Henderson?" she asked, and Clark could read irritation in her voice.
"You'd be surprised what I read," Henderson replied, imperturbably. "It's a good way to keep track of what some people are doing."
"Well, I was investigating him -- or haven't you ever heard of going undercover?" she replied.
"The concept isn't entirely foreign to me," he replied, and Clark saw the faintest crinkling at the corners of his eyes. "So you weren't as blind as I thought you were. What did you want to show me?"
"This." Lois laid her folder on his desk. "Some of it is evidence we've been collecting for several months, but the most important part is the stuff we've discovered in the last week. Superman made a recording for us that you should listen to, and we've got copies of things that his partner in crime has been collecting -- for his own protection, we think."
"That would be Dr. Fabian Leek," Henderson said. "If you've found out what they're up to, you're a step ahead of me. Of course, if history is any indicator, some of your methods are more creative than the police department is permitted."
"You know about Dr. Leek?" Lois asked, and even Clark was aware of a slight sense of surprise.
"Unofficially," Henderson said. "Let's say I've had an interest in LexCorp's activities, and those of its owner for some time. When he starts taking a personal interest in somebody like Dr. Leek, I want to know why."
"In that case," Clark said, "we can help you. You should probably listen to Superman's recording first. The other tapes and documents are copies, but the originals are in the desk in Leek's private lab."
Henderson took the folder that Lois handed him. "Care to give me a summary?"
Lois and Clark looked at each other. "How much time have you got?" Lois asked.
"As much as I need. Have a seat," Henderson said, and Clark could sense the suppressed eagerness in the man, although he would probably die before he would admit it. He let Lois choose the most comfortable seat and then took the other one.
"First," Lois said, "we need your word that if anything comes of this, the Planet gets the exclusive."
"Sounds fair to me," Henderson said. "You have my word."
"All right," Lois said. "Why don't you start, Clark?"
He nodded. "All right. It all started a few days ago ..."
Henderson listened mostly in silence, only occasionally interjecting a question. Ten minutes into the explanation, he held up his hand and punched his intercom. "Frieda, make sure I'm not disturbed," he said.
"Yes sir," a woman's voice said, crisply.
Henderson turned back to them. "Go on," he said. "A clone of Superman. If I didn't have the pictures --" he gestured at the graphic images spread out on his desk, "and if it wasn't the two of you telling me this, I'd think it was science fiction."
"So would I," Clark said. "Until we met him ..."
"You're sure it was a clone?"
"*He*, Bill. Not it. He was like a child in Superman's body," Lois said. "And yes, we're sure. I saw them both together, both with super powers ..."
When they had finally finished, Henderson was silent for nearly a minute. Finally, he shook his head sharply. "I've seen cold-blooded schemes in this business," he said, "but this one takes the cake. I want to listen to Superman's recording. If it's as graphic as you say, I may be able to get a search warrant for Leek's laboratory on the basis of the tape alone. Where did you say the evidence is?"
"It was in the bottom right drawer of the desk, in the lab that connects to Leek's office," Clark said. "Hopefully, it's still there."
"Right. And with any luck, I won't have to tell a judge about your more unorthodox methods of investigation. In the meantime, if you see the clone again -- if he's still alive -- tell him to come see me." Henderson picked up the tape in question, obviously terminating the interview. "I know exactly the judge I'm going to bring in on this. I'll let you know what happens."
**********
"Do you think we should have Brian drop by to see Henderson?" Lois asked as she was unlocking the door to the Cherokee. "It would probably help back up our story."
"Maybe," Clark said, doubtfully. He opened the door and got in. "As long as he doesn't say the wrong thing. And if he's not too scared to go."
"You could explain everything to him," Lois said, as she climbed into the driver's seat. "He trusts you -- besides, Brian may be a kid, but he learns pretty fast."
"He certainly does," Clark agreed. "I guess we could ask him. If we went with him, he'd probably go along with it, but we'd have to be careful. We don't want Luthor to realize he's alive and cooperating with the enemy."
"Maybe we could set it up so Henderson comes to see *him*," Lois said. "It might be safer. I'm not sure we should tell him what's happening, though -- Henderson, that is. Do we want anyone to know that Superman's brother is still alive and healthy?"
"I just don't like to lie to Henderson," Clark said.
"What are you talking about?"
"About Brian. We've more or less inferred that he was going to die, too."
"He is," Lois said. "At least as far as his current identity." She started to turn the key, then paused and to Clark's surprise, rested a hand on his knee. "Think about it, Clark. You lie to the world every day. You're -- well, you know. Don't get me wrong; I know why you do it, and it makes sense, but you let people assume that something about you -- isn't. That's what we're going to do for him. He's going to die and become someone else -- and leave a chapter of his life behind him forever. It's the only way he can have a future, and you know it."
"I suppose so." He watched her as she started the engine and pulled out of their parking space. "You understand why I didn't tell you?"
She made a face. "I didn't say that, but actually, I think I do. I kind of went crazy over Superman -- and I guess I gave you a pretty good reason not to trust me."
"*What*?"
"When I kind of lost my mind and went all out to find Superman. I even stole your story. I can understand why you didn't trust me."
"Lois --"
She shook her head. "I don't blame you. You were protecting your parents and friends as well as yourself. I showed you that, given the right temptation, I'd violate my principles. You had a good reason to think I'd blow your cover completely." She bit her lip. "I probably would have, back then, too -- but not anymore. I mean, I do want a Pulitzer someday, but not at that price." She barely dodged a fuel truck and Clark winced. "I think I was temporarily insane, doing what I did. I felt bad about it even then, but I wasn't able to make myself apologize. Instead, I rationalized that I was teaching you something for your own good -- but I really knew better. I couldn't admit out loud that I was wrong, even when I knew it. I can't believe how petty I was."
"That's all in the past, Lois," Clark said quietly. "I trust you completely. I thought you knew that."
She swiped at her eyes, and Clark grabbed the wheel. "Let's pull over for a minute, okay? There's a parking lot coming up right up there."
She nodded and sniffled loudly, but turned into the entrance that he had pointed out and pulled into the nearest parking space. One wheel of the Jeep resided well across the line in the adjoining space, but Clark didn't even blink at the sad attempt at parking. Instead, he unfastened his seat belt, reached across and took both her hands. "Lois, it's all right. Really."
She shook her head and sniffled again. Clark removed the handkerchief from his breast pocket and pressed it into her hands. Lois wiped her eyes and blew her nose soundly. He said nothing, waiting patiently while his partner regained her composure.
"Better?" he asked, finally.
"Yeah. Sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for," he said. "Lois, I understand."
"That's more than I do," she said. "Clark, I have one more confession to make."
"You don't ..."
"Yes, I do. It's important." He could see her draw a deep, shaking breath. "The other day, when we first met Brian -- where he caught that hostage-taker -- that was the day I realized you were Superman -- or that Superman was you. I saw the two of you side by side. You were looking over the tops of your glasses at him, and it suddenly hit me. I was pretty mad at you, at first. Then I started to think."
He frowned at her, taking in what she was saying. "You knew, and you didn't tell me?"
She nodded. "I was pretty mad," she repeated, "for about fifteen minutes. Then I started to think about why you hadn't told me. After that, I was ashamed of myself. I realized the person I had most to blame was me. I'd acted like a fool over Superman and treated you like a second-class citizen right from the start, even though you showed everybody what a darned good journalist you were. I guess I just couldn't admit I was wrong, and after I got to know you, I realized just how wrong that was."
"That was months ago," Clark said. "We got to be friends after that, Lois."
"Yeah, we did. I still didn't completely trust you, though. Until after I got dosed with the pheromone, and then Lex tried to kill you ..." She broke off and blew her nose again. "It really scared me, and after that, I promised myself I'd treat you better, but I didn't," she continued. "Or not much, anyway. The other night when you came over to help me with the mattress, I'd just promised myself that I really would do better -- and then we met Brian, and I realized just what I'd done. Clark, I'm so sorry. I've really messed everything up, and now you probably won't want to have anything to do with me," she finished miserably.
Clark had listened to her confession at first with surprise, then with dismay, and finally with relief. Among all the jumbled sentences of his partner's confession, he heard none of the hero-worship that had characterized the early days of her relationship with Superman. Lois was trying heroically to explain, and doing better than she probably thought she was at the task.
"I wouldn't say that," he said.
"Huh?"
"Lois, if I trusted you enough to send Brian to get you last night, you have to know I trust you pretty thoroughly," he said. "I've been trying to figure out how to tell you about Superman for some time, like I told you last night. I just hadn't worked up the nerve yet." He removed the crumpled handkerchief from her hands and dabbed at a stray tear on her cheek. "I believe you; I honestly do. Can't we just forget it and be friends?"
She took the handkerchief back and blew her nose again. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I messed everything up. I was trying to show you you could trust me, and after last night, I didn't know what to do. I should have told you right away, but I thought if I did, I'd never be able to make you believe I was over my crush, and liked you for yourself. And I *do*!" she asserted with unnecessary emphasis.
"Well, if you go on treating me the same way, I'm sure I won't have any trouble believing it," he said. "Look at it this way. Now that you know, I won't have to make stupid excuses to run off and save the day anymore. You can make the stupid excuses for me."
"Kent," she said, "no excuse I make for you could possibly be as lame as some of the ones you've come up with!"
Definitely better. "We'll see," he said, unintentionally repeating the words he had spoken to her after her return from the sewage reclamation facility.
"Care to bet?" she asked.
"Okay. Let's see what you say the next time I take off out of the blue."
"It's a deal! But you get to cook me a steak dinner if I do better than your last one!"
"Which one was that?"
"'I left my story notes in the car'? Give me a break!"
"Okay, it's a deal," he said. "Just make sure it's believable."
"Oh, I will; you can count on it!"
**********
tbc
