From part 21...
He leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, then stepped back. "I'll tell you what. Why don't we just hang around tomorrow night, and maybe go over the notes you have on the story? And I'll bring the rest of what I have from Jimmy. Maybe together we can turn up some new information."
She smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."
He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then took her by the hand. "Come on. You go on to bed, and I'll clean up in the kitchen before I leave."
"Goodnight, Lois. I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"
She nodded. "I'll be looking forward to it."
He watched her disappear down the hallway and into her bedroom, then heard her shut the bedroom door softly. He smiled.
"Me too, Lois," he whispered to the empty room. "Me too."
**********
Now on to part 21...
**********
"Thank you, Superman!"
Clark looked down at the five-year-old boy and smiled as he reached out to tousle his thick, sandy blond hair. Superman had arrived on the scene a short time before when he heard that the police had received a threat of a bomb in the city office building. As the bomb detection crews searched the site, Clark had helped evacuate the workers and citizens from the building. The little boy had been there with his mother, and was now standing outside on the sidewalk, gratefully clutching the stuffed alligator Clark had gone back in to retrieve for him.
The small act appeared lost on the grownups around the boy, but Clark could tell by the glow on the young boy's face that his alligator's "rescue" meant as much to him as his safety meant to his own mother.
"You're welcome," he told his adoring young fan, giving the boy's shoulder a squeeze. "You take good care of that alligator, you hear?"
The boy nodded vigorously, clearly in awe of the red and blue clad superhero standing before him. "I will."
Clark flashed a smile at the boy's mother, then hurried back into the building to see what, if anything, he might do to help the bomb detection crew. Twenty minutes later it was determined there was no bomb, and the officials began sending everyone back inside to resume their tasks. Clark found himself shaking his head angrily with the rest of the police crews. Why would anybody want to call in a bomb threat? It seemed so malicious and pointless.
Once he was certain the area was secure, he decided to head back to the Planet. He passed the front entrance to the city office building and crossed through the police barricade, where a large crowd of interested bystanders were standing. Just as he did, an unfamiliar, stabbing sensation shot through him. He grimaced and clutched at his stomach, then reached out for the hood of a nearby police car as his knees suddenly went weak.
'What is happening?' he thought in growing panic as he struggled against the tightness in his chest. He didn't feel pain. He was invulnerable. At least, he always had been. So what was causing this?
A fresh wave of pain surged through him, and he gritted his teeth against it. But a moment the feeling diminished, and he was able to straighten up a little. Confused at the new sensations, he barely noticed when a set of arms reached out for him, and he looked up into the face of a concerned looking police officer.
"Superman? Are you okay?"
Clark glanced up at the frowning policeman and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," he told the man, even though he wasn't entirely sure if he really was.
He found himself breathing a sigh of relief when the pain finally diminished to a dull ache, then disappeared entirely. The weak feeling in his knees and limbs remained, however, and he struggled to compose himself as he walked through the people on the crowded sidewalk, many of them eyeing him curiously. He'd never been more grateful to escape into the privacy of an empty alley not far from the city office building.
He took advantage of the privacy to lean up against the brick wall, tipping his head back to rest wearily against it. What had just happened? In his entire life, nothing like it had ever happened. The pain was gone, but he still didn’t feel like himself. He felt weak and exhausted.
And that scared him.
Lifting his head from the wall, he looked down at his hands as he clenched and unclenched them. Other than feeling tired, everything seemed to be in working order. He decided to test the theory and bent over stiffly to pick up a brick that had fallen from the old building's wall. He squeezed. After a moment the brick crumbled and fell in larger-than-expected pieces to the ground, but Clark frowned. That was harder than it should have been. The bricks on the building were crumbling on their own. He should have been able to reduce that brick to powder.
His heart went into his throat. What was happening to his powers?
Ever since he was little he had known he could do things that no other person could do. In a way, he had always taken his powers for granted.
Until now.
His frown deepening, he realized he needed to get to the bottom of this. Whatever it was that had caused his pain weakened his powers, he had to know.
For the first time in his life, he felt afraid--afraid of something other than being exposed for his differences. He was afraid for his physical health. It was a fear he had never had before.
And he didn't like the way that felt.
**********
Lex pulled the ringing cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. "Yes?" he inquired, leaning back against the plush leather in the back seat of his chauffeured limo.
"It's me." Nigel's voice came across the line. "Our theories proved to be correct. The meteorite does have an effect on him."
That caught Lex's attention. "What kind of effect?"
"It appears to be toxic to him. As soon as I pulled it from the lead container it was brought to us in, he appeared to be in great pain. It also seemed to weaken his powers. He barely managed to hobble off."
A slow smiled slid across Lex's face. "No flying? Interesting. It sounds like we got our money's worth."
"I agree, sir."
"Thank you, Nigel. Get back in touch with our contact at the lab. I want as much of that rock as you can get." Without waiting for a response, Lex snapped the phone shut, then settled back against his seat. He pursed his lips and smiled.
Unbelieveable. A rock that weakened Superman. Obviously the hero wasn't as invulnerable as he had made himself out to be.
With a sense of victory settling in around him, Lex turned and looked out the window at the city of Metropolis passing by. Once again the world seemed alive with possibilities.
**********
Lois hurried in through her apartment door, trying to catch the phone before it stopped ringing. She used her foot to shut the door behind her, then tossed her keys and attache onto the couch before making a lunge for the cordless phone on the end table.
"Hello?" she asked breathlessly.
"Hey, Lois, it's me."
"Clark!" she exclaimed, a smile settling onto her face. "What a nice surprise. I'd say that was worth charging through my apartment for to get the phone."
She heard the smile in his voice when he spoke. "I hope so." There was a pause, and his tone became more serious. "How are you after last night? Do you feel any better this morning?"
Lois blushed at the memory of falling apart in front of Clark the night before. "I'm fine," she answered quietly. "I appreciated you listening last night. I'm sorry I got kind of emotional."
"Oh, Lois, don't be. What you had to go through was really tragic. I'm just glad you finally told me."
Lois felt her heart grow warm with his words. She loved how caring and considerate he was. It made her feel lucky once again to have him in her life. Changing the subject, she asked, "So, how did your day go? What did I miss, being out here on the opposite coast."
There was a pause. Then Clark said, "Actually, that's kind of why I called. I had the most unsettling thing happen today, and I was hoping to get your thoughts on it."
"Uh-oh." She sat up straighter and frowned slightly. "That sounds ominous. What happened? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay, I guess."
Lois's frown deepened. "You guess? What do you mean? Don't you know?"
Clark began to fill her in on what had happened earlier that day, finishing with an account of his weakened powers. "I barely managed to fly home, Lois. It was scary. Nothing like that has ever happened to me. I don't know what to think."
Lois's brow was furrowed with concern. "How are you feeling now? Any better?"
"Yeah, I think so," he said hesitantly. "I still feel a little weak, but not nearly as bad as I did a few hours ago. I think that whatever caused this is wearing off. But still it's unnerving."
"I can imagine," Lois sympathized. "Have you been feeling any different lately? Any signs of getting sick or anything?"
"I wouldn't even know what signs to look for, Lois," Clark answered, clearly frustrated. "I've never been sick. But no, I don't recall anything unusual. At least, not until this afternoon. It just hit me when I was leaving the city office building to go back to the Planet."
"Well, what was around you when you started hurting? Did you notice anything unusual?"
He thought for a minute. "No, not really. There were a lot of people around, though, so I could have missed something." He sighed. "I don't get it, Lois. All my life I've never had to worry about my health or my powers, but here I am facing that very thing. It's so frustrating. All these questions keep coming into my head: Are my weakened powers just a temporary thing? What caused this? Will it happen again?"
Lois thought for a minute. "I know that I don't have any idea how your powers work, but is it possible that you've just been overdoing things? I'm guessing that you've never used your powers this much and this often before. Maybe your body isn't used to that?"
"I suppose it's possible. I just don't know."
Lois shook her head sympathetically. "I wish I had some answers for you, Clark, but I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help beyond listening. Have you talked to your parents about this? They know your powers better than anyone, since they saw them develop. Maybe they would have some suggestions?"
"It's worth asking," Clark admitted. A few moments later he sighed regretfully. "I guess this means I won't be coming out there tonight to see you."
"That's okay, Clark, I understand. I just wish I could be *there* for you."
"I appreciate it, but really, I'll be fine. I think I'll take your suggestion and call my parents. Maybe they will have some ideas for me. Anyway, thanks for listening."
"You don't have to thank me. That's what I'm here for. I just hope you can get to the bottom of it. Be sure to let me know what you find out, okay?"
"I will. And I promise I'll make up tonight to you. I promise I didn't want to cancel our date."
"Oh brother, Clark." Lois rolled her eyes. "I know that. When you're feeling back to normal--and you *will* get back to normal, I'm sure of it," she assured him matter-of-factly, "we'll get together. Until then, you take care of yourself, you hear?"
He chuckled in spite of himself. "Man, you're bossy. Okay, okay, I will. Have a good night, Lois."
"You, too, Clark. Tell your mom I said hello, will you?"
He assured her he would, then they said their goodbyes and hung up. Lois remained on the couch for a long time, thinking. From everything Clark had told her, he was invulnerable. Nothing could hurt him, and she found a strange sense of comfort in that. Hearing what he'd gone through that day made her stomach twist.
She hoped they could some pieces of the puzzle together soon. She'd taken a lifetime to find Clark. She didn't want to lose him now.
**********
The next evening, Lois was sitting cross-legged on her living room floor, studying the paper in her hand. It was a list of holdings for Sandstone Enterprises, the conglomerate that owned the shipping company in Metropolis that had had the diamond shipment confiscated during the Customs raid.
She sighed. The list was huge, and she suspected following the paper trail of each company's ownership would take forever. But she knew there had to be a paper trail to Mesopotamia, Inc. in there somewhere. There just had to be. But if there was, she certainly wasn't finding it.
She looked around at the dozens of stacks of paper carefully placed on the floor around her. The research was all there; she just had to go through it all. And if the hours she'd already spent on it tonight--as well as the past few days--were any indication, she wasn't going to get through it anytime soon.
"Ugh, I need a break," Lois grumbled, setting the paper in her hand down on the stack by her left knee, then climbed stiffly to her feet. She stretched, trying to get the blood back circulating through he limbs.
Deciding she'd been sitting for too long, she took a long, lounging step over the stacks of papers, careful not to disturb her hours of work, and headed for the kitchen. She walked over to the pantry in the corner and took a couple of cookies from a bag. Automatically she headed for the table, but then stopped. She didn't want to sit.
She glanced over at the sliding glass door. The terrace. Perfect. It was a beautiful evening, and the fresh air would probably help clear her head.
Sliding the door open silently, she stepped out and shivered slightly as the cement chilled her bare feet. She curled her toes slightly as she walked, trying to get used to the temperature change from her warm carpet in her apartment. When she reached the balcony railing, she grasped it lightly and looked out over the twinkling lights of the city. She instantly felt her body start to relax, and she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. For several moments she stood that way, letting the night air work its magic on her soul.
A breeze rustled through the leaves on her potted palms and tousled her hair slightly, but still she didn't open her eyes. It felt too good to relax for a while and forget the world around her. She was so deep in her meditation that an unexpected voice to her right nearly made her jump out of her skin.
"Hi Lois."
Her eyes flew open and a startled gasp escaped her lips. She turned her head quickly as she sought the source of the voice and spotted Superman hovering just on the other side of the wrought iron railing.
"Oh my gosh, Clark, you scared me to death," she breathed, putting a hand to her chest. Then she laughed at her own reaction. "Next time make some noise, would you? A little sonic boom would be nice."
He chuckled as he floated over the railing and touched down next to her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"That's okay. It was worth the nice surprise." She dropped her hand to her side and smiled at him as he walked up to her. "I didn't expect to see you tonight."
"Well, I was out helping a stranded freight boat get to shore not far from here, so I decided to come by and see you." Clark stopped before her, then reached up to place his palm on her cheek. His voice was husky as he spoke. "I missed you."
Lois felt a warm, tingling sensation start in her heart and work its way out from there. She smiled softly. "I missed you too."
She tipped her face up to his invitingly, and that was all the encouragement he needed. He leaned down to kiss her hungrily, the time spent apart bringing an intensity that left Lois breathless. As his lips continued to roam over hers, she slipped her arms around his waist and moved her hands lightly over the smooth spandex beneath his cape.
Clark moaned softly at her touch, letting his hand slide from her cheek to tangle instead in the silky curtain of hair at the nape of her neck. Their kiss continued to deepen until they finally pulled apart, both feeling heady and dazed from the experience.
Lois watched as Clark's eyes unclouded from their moment of passion and grinned up at him playfully. "I take this to mean you're feeling better?"
He smiled back at her as he moved his hand from her neck to her shoulder. "I do. My powers came back gradually last night until it was as if they'd never left."
"That is just so weird." She frowned. "Did you talk to your parents?"
With a nod, he took a step back and reached for her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. "I called them and explained what happened, but they were as baffled as I was. They don't remember anything like that ever happening before, either."
"Hmmm," Lois mumbled thoughtfully. Then she shrugged. "Well, at least you're feeling better now. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again."
"Agreed." His tone was firm. He glanced over at the spot at the railing where she'd been when he arrived. "What were you thinking about when I got here? You seemed pretty wrapped up in your thoughts."
"Not really. I was trying to relax more than anything else." She sighed and turned back to look inside her apartment. "I've been going over notes, trying to research that conglomerate and find out if any of their subsidiaries tie in to Mesopotamia, Inc., but again I think I've hit a dead end."
"Would you like some help?"
Lois looked back at him, a smile spreading across her face. "I'd love some. Don't you have to get back, though? Some Superman duties to perform?"
He shook his head. "Nope. For the evening, I'm all yours."
"You're going to be sorry you said that," she told him with a grin as she led him inside and into the living room.
When he saw the stacks of papers and folders spread out across the living room floor, his eyes widened. "Good grief. How long have you been at this?"
She sighed. "About three hours. And like I said, I think I'm at a dead end."
Clark suddenly squeezed her hand and turned to her. "I just had an idea. Why don't I fly home quick and get the rest of the research Jimmy gave me? I didn't fax everything I had to you, thinking some of it was insignificant. But maybe it's not. It's worth looking over, at least, especially if you're at a dead end."
"That would be great!" Lois nodded eagerly. "I'm willing to look at anything at this point."
"Then I'll be right back."
In a whoosh he was gone, and Lois let out a squeal as she saw that the breeze from his departure had sent several of the pages on the tops of the stacks fluttering about the room. She hurried after them to put them back where they belonged and was just righting the last few pages when she heard Clark open the sliding glass door.
He saw her straddling the stacks nearest the couch and studying the ones at her feet intently. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously.
"The breeze from your little departure sent some of the papers flying. I'm trying to put them back where they went."
A blush colored Clark's cheeks and he looked sheepish as he approached. Slowly. "I'm sorry," he told her, looking like a little kid being scolded for breaking something. "I didn't realize--"
She smiled and shook her head, noticing how endearing he looked when he was apologetic. "Don't worry about it," she assured him with a wave of her hand as she set the last paper on its proper stack. "But if you decide to change out of that suit and cape, do your spin thingy in the other room or you're busted."
He laughed. "Got it."
She took the stack of papers he held out to her and flipped through them briefly. Then she sighed. "There's a lot here." Then she looked back up at him, a twinkle in her eye. "I just thought of something. How fast can you read?"
~*~*~*~*~
Clark sat on the floor next to Lois, both of them leaning back against the couch with their legs stretched out in front of them. Clark had gone into the other room, as ordered, to change out of the Suit, then came back in to get to work. They'd been working for a little over an hour now, and already Lois's eyes were tired from reading so many pages of information. Clark's vision had proved helpful in skimming the documents and giving her a brief account of what they said so she could put it in the system of piles she had going.
Their shoulders were touching as they sat, and she felt rather than saw Clark reach for yet another handful of peanut M&Ms from a bowl sitting between them.
She shook her head. "You're going to have to let that Suit of yours out if you keep eating all that junk food," she warned in a sing-song voice.
"No I won't," he teased back, his eyes never leaving the paper in his hand he was studying. He popped a couple of the M&Ms into his mouth. "That's one of the benefits to being invulnerable. I can eat all the junk food I want and never gain a pound."
Lois turned and glared at him playfully. "I hate you."
He chuckled and turned to look at her, his brown eyes sparkling. "No you don't. You love me."
"Not after learning that little bit of information I don't," she said, pretended to be indignant as he leaned closer, his shoulder pressing against hers and his face drawing closer.
When his lips were mere inches away, his gaze flickered from her eyes to her lips, then back up again. With great effort, she forced her breathing to remain steady, but she knew very well Clark would be able to hear the sound of her heart's erratic rhythm--a fact proven by the slow smile spreading knowingly across Clark's face.
"Yes, you do," he whispered. " I can tell by that increased heart rate of yours that I've managed to…distract you."
She felt her own gaze slip to his warm mouth and the tiny mole above the right side of his upper lip. Her resolve to appear indifferent began to waver and she watched one corner of Clark's mouth turn up.
"I don't love you," she whispered back, mesmerized by the beautiful brown eyes staring into hers. "I just think you're a good kisser."
The other corner of his mouth joined the other in a full blown grin. "Really?" he teased flirtatiously. "That's all I am to you? A good kisser?"
His lips moved even closer, and Lois could feel his warm breath on her lips. She almost forgot to breathe. "Isn't that enough?" she asked, her distraction growing by the second.
"I don't know," he whispered back. "Let's test that theory."
In the next second his lips were on hers, and Lois let the papers fall from her hand as she reached up to slip her hand behind his head, pulling his head even closer to hers, crushing their lips in a kiss of deepening passion. She shifted on her hip to move closer, and Clark's strong arms went around her waist.
In one swift movement he pulled her onto his lap, and she moaned into his mouth as she felt his hands slip under the back of her shirt and settle against the bare skin underneath. She tightened her arms around his neck and leaned in, forgetting everything around them as she lost herself in the moment, enjoying the sensation of Clark's lips roaming over hers, nibbling, tasting, kissing.
When they finally pulled apart after several long moments, Lois had to put her hand on Clark's chest to steady herself. He grinned, pleased to see she had been as affected by their kiss as he.
"I'm not sure that proved anything," he murmured with a smile, his hands kneading the muscles at the small of her back, "but I'm not complaining."
"Me either," she agreed with a smile of her own. "But one thing's for certain. I'm not going to get any work done if we decide to test any more theories."
Clark chuckled, the sound low and rumbly in his chest. Tipping her head forward, Lois let her forehead rest against Clark's. Neither of them said anything for several minutes as they tried to slow their breathing, enjoying a few light kisses in the interim.
Finally Lois sat back and turned to look at the stacks of papers around them and sighed. "Sadly, I don't think we're going to get anywhere with this tonight. Maybe we should call it a night."
"Do you want me to come back tomorrow to help you? I can," he told her sincerely. "Barring a certain superhero being needed, I don't have plans."
She turned back to him and smiled, then leaned in for one last, light kiss. "That sounds great."
In an awkward movement, Lois attempted to stand up, but Clark tightened his grip on her.
"Hold on a sec," he told her.
Lois stilled her movements, then gasped as they started to levitate off the floor. She unconsciously slipped her arms around Clark's, staring down at the ground beneath them as they drifted across the pile. When they were clear of the papers, Clark righted them and drifted lower until finally Lois found herself on her feet.
She looked up at him in wonder. "No matter how many times I fly with you, I think it will always take my breath away."
"Just like you do to me every time I'm with you," he murmured, reaching up to trail a finger down her neck.
Her heart skipped a beat and she felt her entire body start to tingle. She stepped forward into Clark's arms, snuggling up against his chest. She felt his arms go around her and she sighed in contentment. "I feel the same way, Clark. I just wish we at least lived in the same city, or better yet, worked at the same newspaper. It would be so nice to spend every day with you."
He pulled back, his expression looking hopeful. "You know, I'd bet anything Perry would hire you at the Planet. Maybe you should quit your job at the Chronicle and come to work there."
"Or maybe you should quit your job at the Planet and come to work at the Chronicle."
Clark's hopeful look faded. "Yeah, I guess it's not that easy, is it."
Lois shook her head. "Unfortunately not. You have friends in Metropolis you love, and I have fr--" She paused, then made a face. "Well, okay, maybe I don't have a lot of friends here, but I do have Agnes. And you know how important she is to me."
Clark reached up to touch her face. "Yeah, I know."
"And I've worked hard to make a name for myself the Chronicle," she went on. "I'm not sure I like the idea of starting from scratch somewhere else."
"I know," Clark repeated. "I guess it just sounded nice."
"It does sound nice," Lois agreed sincerely. "I guess I'm just not ready yet to think about that. Maybe we should just enjoy what we're building and go from there. If we need to, we can cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Deal." Clark smiled at her tenderly, then looked around the messy living room. "Do you want to leave everything where it is, or should we clean up a bit?"
Lois put her hands on her hips and turned to look at the mess. "I think I'll leave it. I'm going to pick up the papers I dropped, though, thanks to you." Her mouth quirked into a grin as she remembered what had caused her to drop them earlier. Clark grinned, too, and she knew he remembered exactly what she was referring to.
She walked over to pick up the scattered papers and began straightening them. Suddenly she paused near one of Clark's stacks. "Wait a minute. What's this?" She grabbed the paper and straightened up, her eyes moving across the page.
Clark walked over to her. "What? What did you find?"
"It's a list of accounting for Mesopotamia, Inc.," she said, distracted. She didn't say anything else for a minute as she pored over the information. "I don't remember seeing this before, but apparently Mesopotamia, Inc and Sandstone Enterprises have their accounting done by the same firm here in San Francisco. That seems like an awfully big coincidence, don't you think? Especially since they're based on completely opposite coasts?"
"It does," Clark agreed, leaning over to get a look at the paper in her hand.
In a sudden burst of inspiration, Lois stepped into the center of the piles and looked around for one in particular. When she found it, she picked up the papers and started flipped through them, pausing to skim each one. Then she pulled out one in particular and held it out to Clark.
"Isn't this interesting," she said with growing enthusiasm in her voice. "The shipping company here in San Francisco that was shut down for drug trafficking had their accounting done by the same company."
"That can't be a coincidence. I think we need to find out more about this accounting firm. I'll have Jimmy do a little research on them tomorrow and get us everything he can find."
Lois rolled her eyes impatiently. "That takes too long. Besides, there are other ways to get the information we need."
"What do you mean?" Clark stared at her blankly. "What ways?"
A mischievous grin spread across her face. "How do you feel about a little after-hours investigating?"
Clark's expression of confusion creased into a frown. "Please don't tell me you're talking about breaking and entering."
"Well, of course," she stated matter-of-factly. "What did you think I meant? It's a perfectly justifiable means for getting what we want."
His frown deepened. "Lois, I can't believe you just said that. How exactly is breaking the law considered justified?"
"Clark, you're annoyingly good. We're not going to steal anything; we're just going to do a little research. That's not going to hurt anybody...well, except the bad guy's chances of staying out of jail."
She grinned, but Clark shook his head. "Lois, I can't believe you've stayed out of trouble this long. One of these days you're going to get caught by the wrong people, and it's going to get you killed."
"Yeah, well, that's the risk I'll just have to take." She straightened up and squared her shoulders. "Sometimes in this business you have to take risks. I knew that going in, and I love the thrill of the chase. Don't you?"
"Yes, but not by doing things that are illegal. Being Superman is a responsibility. I can't do something like breaking and entering. That wouldn't make me any better than the criminals I catch."
Lois grinned at his comment and shook her head. "Goody two-boots."
Seeing that he wasn't being convincing, he reached for her hands and gave them a little shake. "Lois, promise me you won't do anything dangerous or illegal. I don't want to see you get hurt."
Their eyes met and held in a clash of wills, and after a moment, Lois shoulders slumped. "Okay, fine," she drawled, rolling her eyes indignantly. "I won't do anything illegal."
"Good." Clark let her hands fall and he stooped over to pick up the remaining scattered papers.
It was quiet for a moment, then Lois said, "But what if they left the door unlocked? Then that wouldn't be considered 'breaking.' Just 'entering.' And then it wouldn't be illegal, right?"
Clark stood up and let his gaze shift heavenward in a silent plea for extra patience. "Lo-is…"
"And just so you know, I never really break anything," she hurried to add. When she continued, her explanation became a smooth ramble. "I can pick a lock so fast and so cleanly that it never does any damage, so really, it's not that big a deal. It's not like I ram my car into the front of the building or break a window, or anything."
"Lois, stop." Clark put his hands on her shoulders and held them firmly. "Listen to me. You are not going to break into any buildings, you hear me? Quit being so stubborn and impulsive for once. I'll talk to Jimmy about getting that research first thing in the morning and tell him it needs to be top priority. He'll get the information we need fast, don't worry." He fixed her with a stern look. "Okay?"
"Fine," Lois said after a moment, sighing in resignation.
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"Okay, then." He released her shoulders, then turned to resume his straightening.
Lois watched him for a moment, pouting. Then she brightened. How would he know if she went ahead and did her "research" tonight? He didn't live anywhere near San Francisco. Surely he wouldn't be hovering over the city, watching her to make sure she stayed out of trouble. Besides, there wouldn't be any trouble. She'd done this kind of thing before and had never once been caught. He may not think so, but to her it was a perfectly acceptable means to an end.
That accounting firm held the answers she needed. She was sure of it. And tonight she was going to find out what they were, whether Clark wanted her to or not.
**********
to be continued in part 23...
