From part 24...
"Sorry to interrupt, sir."
Lex looked up from his breakfast in the informal dining room--having moved his morning meal inside as the crisp, fall air made it too chilly to dine outside--and saw Nigel in the doorway, holding several papers in his hands.
"Yes, Nigel. What is it?"
"I have something you might like to see." The man moved across the room and dropped the papers next to his employer's plate.
With furrowed brows, Lex picked up the glossy photo paper and scrutinized the picture. Then he looked up, surprise and confusion registering on his face. "What is this?"
"Those pictures were taken by the hidden security camera inside our Bay Area accounting firm and just brought to my attention this morning. It looks like Ms. Lane paid the place a little visit."
Lex's mouth drew into a firm line. "Did she learn anything?"
"Apparently she left with a rather large sheaf of papers she Xeroxed. It's impossible to know what exactly she was looking for, or what she found."
"Damn, that woman." Lex's fingers tightened on the picture as the muscle twitched in his jaw. "She's as nosy as she is beautiful."
It was quiet in the room for a moment as Lex contemplated his next move. When he looked back up at Nigel, his eyes were cold and hard. "The woman's a menace. She's already ruined one of my businesses; I can't stand to have her ruin any others. Put everyone you can on her. I want to know every place she goes and everybody she talks to. Tell our man inside the Chronicle to keep tabs on everything she's researching. If it turns out she's snooping around my corporations, I want her dealt with. Permanently."
Nigel nodded. "Yes, sir."
**********
Now, on to part 25...
**********
Lois walked through the lobby of her apartment building, casting a brief smile at the security guard relaxing behind the desk and watching some sitcom on TV. She envied him his relaxation. After the long day at work she'd just put in, all she wanted to do was climb into a hot tub and forget life for a while.
She stopped in front of the elevator and punched the button, waiting impatiently as the elevator made its descent. She was alone in the hallway, but the silence was far from comforting.
She glanced around. The feeling of being watched tickled her senses, bringing an all-too-familiar adrenaline rush. There was nobody in the hall, and certainly the security guard wasn't watching her. She could still see him from where she stood, and his attention was still focused on the small television on the desk.
With a quick shake of her head, she realized she was being ridiculous. She'd had the same feeling of being watched all day long, and each time she had found nothing out of the ordinary.
"Lois Lane, you are losing your mind," she mumbled under her breath as the elevator doors opened and she stepped inside. Before long the elevator doors opened back up again, and she walked out onto her floor.
Without realizing what she was doing, she glanced around. The hall was quiet. She breathed a sigh of relief. 'See, Lois. It's all in your head,' she thought as she reached for her keys. She had just slipped the key into the lock when she felt a hand descend upon her shoulder.
Letting out a startled scream, she whirled, preparing to let her Tae Kwon Do training take over. To her surprise, she found herself staring into a pair of familiar brown eyes.
"Clark!" she gasped, letting her body slump with relief. A nervous laugh escaped her lips. "You scared the daylights out of me. Where did you come from?"
"I was doing a couple of things along the coast and decided to come say hello." His eyes registered his confusion over her nervous reaction, causing his brows to furrow. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Just then Agnes's door flew open and she appeared in the doorway, looking startled. "Lois!" Then she took in the other figure standing next to her young neighbor. "Clark. Lois didn't say anything about you coming for a visit." She smiled briefly, then asked Lois, "Is anything wrong? I thought I heard someone scream."
"Sorry, Agnes, that was me," Lois admitted sheepishly. "Clark snuck up on me and scared me to death. I had no idea he was here."
"I didn't hear him arrive, either." Agnes looked at Clark in confusion. "Did you just get here?"
"Ummm, a few minutes ago," Clark mumbled, trying to think of a good excuse to cover for the fact he'd landed on the roof inconspicuously and come down the stairwell. At last he offered, "You didn't hear the elevator because I used the stairs."
"Oh." Agnes nodded, accepting his explanation, much to Clark's relief. Then she smiled. "It must be nice to have the kind of job that pays well enough to catch a flight to San Francisco whenever you'd like to make a surprise visit to your girlfriend." Agnes's eyes twinkled as she turned and winked at Lois, then disappeared back into her apartment.
When they were once again alone in the hallway, Lois giggled and looked up at Clark. "If she really knew what a newspaper journalist made, she could become very suspicious of your frequent visits." She turned back to her apartment and unlocked the door. "That was quick thinking, by the way. The stair thing, I mean."
"Well, it wasn't exactly a lie," he told her as he followed her into her apartment and shut the door behind them. "I did use the stairs. I just came down from the roof, instead of up from the lobby."
Lois laughed as she sat her attache down next to the couch, then turned back to step into his waiting arms. "Well, either way, it's nice to see you." She raised herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him deeply.
"Mmmm," Clark murmured against her lips. "I remember now. This is why I came."
"You came by just to kiss me?" she teased in between kisses. "To fulfill some physical yearning? I thought maybe you stopped by because you missed me."
Clark chuckled against her lips. "That, too. And to tell you that I still love you."
Lois grinned and pulled back so she could look into his face. "That's always nice to hear."
He smiled at her for a moment, then furrowed his brows. "What were you so jumpy about in the hall?"
"Oh, that." She rolled her eyes and backed out of his arms. Turning, she headed into the kitchen with Clark on her heels. "It seems stupid now, not even worth mentioning." She reached into the cupboard next to the sink for a glass, then went to the fridge and pulled out a container of juice.
Clark leaned back against the island's countertop and crossed his arms comfortably. "Tell me anyway."
She sighed. "It's nothing, really. I've just had the strangest feeling all day that I'm being watched. Then when you came out of nowhere, you scared the daylights out of me." She laughed a little and shrugged. "It's dumb, I know."
Clark frowned. "It's not dumb. I've learned well enough by now that you have great instincts. And at the moment, that worries me."
"Clark, there's nothing to worry about." She filled her glass, then took a long drink. "I'm sure I was just being paranoid, that's all."
"In our line of work, Lois, paranoia is what keeps a reporter alive. You know that as well as I do." He watched as she downed the rest of her juice, then set the glass in the sink. He followed as she headed out of the kitchen and back into the living room. "Where were you those times you thought you were being watched?"
Lois groaned as she dropped down onto the couch. "Clark, can't you let this go? I've just spent the day trying to work through all the information I took from the accounting firm, not to mention trying to dig up what little I could on that Bureau 39. I've made a million phone calls and talked to a dozen sources, but they're as elusive as the connection between Lex Luthor and Mesopotamia, Inc. I'm tired and frustrated...and feeling rather foolish at the moment, now that I told you about something that was obviously all in my mind."
"Lois." Clark sat down beside her and put his hand on her knee. "You already know I worry about you. And it's not like I'm next door and can hear you yell for help if you get in trouble. If you sensed someone watching you, it makes me wonder if somebody was. Will you promise me you'll be careful? If Luthor *is* behind this, and he's somehow found out we're onto him, you could be in a dangerous position. We both agree there's something about that man we don't trust. Don't push the envelope on this one, okay? If you want to look into something, call me and we'll do it together. That way I know you'll be safe."
Lois's body stiffened at the suggestion and she felt a touch defensive. "Clark, I can take care of myself. I've been doing this for a long time, remember? I'm a big girl."
"I know, Lois." Clark sighed, then continued on, picking his words carefully. "And I don't mean to make it sound like you're incompetent. In fact, you're the most amazing and resourceful journalist I know. It's just how you sometimes act on that resourcefulness that makes my gut tighten. I love you, Lois. And now that I have you, I couldn't bear to lose you, especially for the sake of some story."
Lois softened at his words. She reached up to touch his cheek. "I'm sorry, Clark. I know you weren't trying to tell me what to do. And I love you, too. I guess I'm just not used to having anyone so concerned for my safety. I promise I'll be careful."
"And no more breaking and entering, or walking down dark, deserted alleys to talk to some mysterious source you've never met? You'll at least call me so I can come cover your back in a situation you might be suspicious of?"
Lois looked into Clark's pleading eyes and felt herself weaken. Finally, she rolled her eyes. "Deal," she agreed.
The muscles in Clark's face visibly relaxed. "Thank you," he breathed, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "I love you too much to see you get hurt."
Lois smiled softly at Clark, then relaxed back against the couch. "So, tell me what you found out at work today. Did you have any luck tracking down information on Bureau 39? Please tell me you didn't. I want to track those guys down first and win this dinner bet we have going."
Clark laughed. "Leave it to you to make this about winning rather than bringing the bad guys to justice."
"Hey, I want to take down the bad guys," she protested. "But if we can combine it with a free, exotic, flown-in-from-anywhere-in-the-world dinner, that's only extra incentive."
Clark shook his head and grinned. "Okay, okay, I get it. And no, I didn't learn anything new about them. Even Bobby Big Mouth hadn't heard of them. He told me he's going to ask around, but it may cost me for than a couple of steak dinners this time."
"I'll chip in to cover the fee. Did he say when he was going to get back to you?"
"No, just that he'll see what he can find out."
"Then I guess we're on our own for now. I still have two sources I'm waiting to hear back from. Maybe they'll know something. Now that that's settled," she said, changing the subject, "Can we do something other than talk about work?" She leaned closer to him, then grinned as she leaned in to kiss the spot near his ear she had learned was so sensitive.
His intake of breath told her of the effect, and she smiled against his cheek. "This is more fun than talking, isn't it?"
He wrapped his arms around her and chuckled. "I'd have to agree."
Their lips met in a long, sweet kiss that Clark was really starting to enjoy when suddenly, Lois pulled back. Her eyes sparkled with spontaneity and a smile danced across her face.
"I have an idea," she said. "I'm starving. Let's go out to dinner, then maybe we can walk around for a while--maybe even head down to the piers. It would be fun! What do you think?"
Her enthusiasm wasn't reflected in Clark's expression when he responded. "It does sound fun, but...well..."
Lois caught the hesitation in his voice, and her enthusiasm faded. "What? You can't stay?"
"It's not that," he hedged, his arms loosening from around her and sliding limply down her back. "I'm just...not sure going out is such a good idea."
Lois's face fell. "Why not?"
Clark sighed as he searched for a way to explain without hurting her. "I'd love nothing more than to spend a night out on the town with you, but..."
"But...?"
"But I don't think it's a good idea to be seen by too many people. What if we ran into somebody you knew? How would you introduce me? 'My boyfriend from Metropolis'? 'Clark Kent from the Daily Planet'? Colleagues talk to colleagues in this business, Lois. What if word got back to the Planet that Clark Kent was in San Francisco for the evening? How would I explain being back at work tomorrow? Agnes caught me and knows I'm here, but she's not a threat. She wouldn't know that I'd be back in Metropolis first thing in the morning. But a colleague with connections...." He shook his head. "Someone could get suspicious, Lois. And that's not what either of us needs right now."
Lois was quiet for a long minute, and Clark watched her face carefully, hoping to see understanding there. But there wasn't anything. Her expression remained unreadable. Finally, she stood up and walked across the room to the large windows overlooking the twinkling lights of the city. She wrapped her arms around herself as if to ward off a sudden chill.
He waited for her to say something--anything--but when she didn't speak, he rose and crossed the room to stand beside her. He lifted a hand to her shoulder and felt her flinch ever so slightly at his touch. His heart sank. He hated seeing her unhappy; but even worse, he hated her being unhappy with *him.*
He let his hand fall to his side, then swallowed past the tightness in his throat. "I'm sorry, Lois. Please don't be mad."
She sighed heavily and shook her head. "I'm not mad. I'm just...frustrated."
She turned around to face him and looked up into his concerned brown eyes. A sharp sting in the area around her heart reminded her of just how much she cared for this man--a sting that grew every time she thought of the miles that separated them. They were miles that not even the power of human flight seemed able to conquer completely.
Clark's eyes never strayed from hers as he reached up to stroke his thumb across her cheek. "What are you frustrated about?" he asked quietly.
"It's nothing." She rolled her eyes slightly at her own melancholy mood. "I'm just being moody, that's all."
He let his hand slip from her face and reached for her hands instead. He gave them a gentle squeeze. "Remember what we talked about in my apartment back when we decided to give our relationship a chance? We promised each other we'd be honest with each other about our feelings, and would tell each other if we ever felt frustrated or angry about something. So, please tell me, Lois. I really want to know what you're upset about."
Lois remembered the promise she'd made and gave him a look of resignation. He was right. He did have a right to know what was troubling her.
"It's just..." Lois forced herself to take a deep breath before continuing. "I've never loved anybody as much as I love you, and I want to be with you every minute of every day. But I can't. I know that." She paused to try to control the waver of emotion creeping into her voice. "So, I've resigned myself to the fact that I just have to enjoy whatever time I can get with you, and be grateful for it. But then when you're here, we can't even go out to do anything because somebody might see us--which I understand, don't get me wrong," she hurried to clarify. "But I just hoped this could be a more normal relationship. I guess that's just not possible, though, is it?"
Clark's shoulders slumped, and she knew her words had unintentionally hurt him.
"Lois, I'm sorry..." he began, his expression pained. "Our relationship is *not* normal. *I'm* not normal. And you deserve better than that. I know how hard I am to...be with, and I'm sorry..."
"Stop saying you're sorry!" Lois cut him off, now feeling even worse when she realized just how deeply her comments had cut him. All his life he had tried to fit in, to be normal, and she had just thoughtlessly reminded him that he wasn't. She knew the distance between them was not his fault.
When he stared back at her silently, she sighed. "I'm the one who should apologize, Clark. It was a thoughtless thing to say. I didn't mean to hurt you. I know this isn't your fault, and there's nothing we can do about it."
The room was quiet for a moment. Then Clark spoke, some of his earlier enthusiasm returning to his voice. "I have an idea. If you really want to go out, why don't I fly us to some exotic destination for dinner? How about that?"
Lois lifted her gaze to his and saw the hope shining there. It was obvious that he wanted so much to please her, and that made her feel even more guilty.
She reached out to give his arm a squeeze. "Thanks, Clark, but you don't have to do that. It's not the going out that's the issue; it's the distance between us that makes this whole thing so hard."
After a minute, Lois turned and went to sit down in the overstuffed chair near the window, letting her head fall back against the head rest in defeat. "Sometimes I just wonder if this long distance relationship thing was a good idea," she said on a sigh as she stared up at the ceiling.
She heard Clark's intake of breath. "Lois...what are you saying?"
She lifted her head from the cushion and looked at him, seeing the scared look that appeared in his eyes. She sighed again and shook her head. "I'm not saying anything, Clark. I'm just frustrated and venting. It's not like I want to break things off between us. I love you too much to do that. And I'm sure we can still make this work.... It just stinks, that's all."
A look of relief crossed Clark face, and after a moment's hesitation, he closed the distance between them and squatted down in front of her. He put a hand on her knee and rubbed his thumb across it in a soothing motion.
When he finally spoke, his tone was earnest. "What can I do, Lois? I want to make you happy. How can I do that? Just tell me and I'll do it."
Her gaze lifted to his, and for a long moment she lost herself in the depths of this beautiful man's soul. With all his special gifts, he had the world at his fingertips. He could do anything and go anywhere. But instead he chose to be here with her. The very thought soothed the ache and longing in her heart.
She reached for him, cupping his cheek in her hand. "Just knowing that you want my happiness so badly makes me feel better. I just wish..."
He reached up to cover her hand with his. "I know, Lois. I wish too. Someday soon we'll find a way to be together every day. Something will work out. I know it will." Their gazes met and held for a long moment. Then Clark leaned forward and touched his lips to hers.
Lois closed her eyes and returned his kiss lovingly. If she couldn't be with him every day, she could at least be with him now.
When their kiss finally ended, Clark let his forehead rest against hers, and they were both quiet for a long moment, enjoying the connection they shared.
Then Lois moved back, and the hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Well, instead of heading out of the country to be together, how about we just make the most of it here? We could cuddle on the couch for a while and watch some TV."
Clark's eyes sparkled and danced as a new idea surface. "I can go you one better. How do you feel about a pizza and a video?"
**********
Clark sat at his desk the next morning, staring unseeingly at his computer screen. Ever since he'd left Lois's the night before, he'd been unable to stop thinking about what she'd said.
Yes, it was hard. It was harder than he'd ever thought it would be.
Logically, he knew it was do-able. Lots of people did the long-distance thing--emails, phone calls, packages, sporadic visits. But those people didn't have to deal with a third person in their relationships like he and Lois did. Superman was an added element to complicate things. Superman had to come and go at a moment's notice, keeping an ear out for those cries for help, and rushing off to rescues.
Clark felt as if he were being pulled in three different directions--doing his job at the Planet and being Clark Kent, flying around Metropolis helping where he was needed as Superman, and then keeping up with his relationship with Lois. Flying out to see her and putting in the time a growing relationship involved was difficult, but it was something just as important--if not even more so--than the other aspects of his life. He just wished the pieces would fall into place a little easier.
He thought back to Lois's admission the night before, her words still clear as if they'd just been spoken: 'I just hoped this could be a more normal relationship. I guess that's just not possible, though, is it?'
Her words still haunted him, and he sighed and dropped his chin into his hand. He knew she hadn't meant to hurt him, but her words had cut him to the core. No, what they were dealing with was not normal. And she deserved better than that. More than anything, he wished he could give her the 'normal' she hoped for.
There was a part of him that kept wondering if their relationship would be so much easier with the long-distance element eliminated. Yes, he would still be Superman, but at least they could see each other much more often and have a more "normal" feel to their relationship if they had typical day-to-day contact.
He found his eyes straying to the empty desk to his left. Carma Esquevez, one of their city beat reporters, had recently accepted a job at a paper in the southwest closer to her extended family, leaving the desk vacant for almost two weeks now. Clark remembered the discussion he'd had with Lois not long ago, telling her she should come work at the Planet--and she had grumpily replied he should come work at the Chronicle.
Neither wanted to uproot themselves from their lives and their careers to move across the country and start anew, and Clark wasn't about to press the issue again. She had worked hard to get where she was today, and so had he. But still....
Clark stared at the empty desk only a few feet away. He let himself imagine for a moment what it would be like to have her sitting there, working away, sharing bits of information with him on her latest story. Her eyes would be dancing with excitement as she told him what she'd learned, or how she'd managed to get her latest lead. He would bring her her favorite donut from the box in the morning, and a cup of coffee. They would talk before the morning meeting, comparing notes and arguing good naturedly about how they would acquire their information--Lois suggesting they sneak into their latest suspects office to sneak a peak at their files, and he refusing to do anything unethical. He would be frustrated when she refused to back down...and he would love watching every minute of it.
Then there would be the lunch breaks, the walks home at night, relaxing weekends just being together at one another's apartments....
Clark sighed wistfully and tore his gaze from the desk. As much as he longed for that to happen, he knew it wasn't to be. At least not at this point in their lives. What the future would bring was a mystery. He only hoped it would be worth the wait and the frustration they felt now.
Yes, it was hard. But the flipside, he realized, was that he could be back where he was a couple of months ago--lonely and alone. Choosing which was the harder of the two was no contest. He would rather be facing the challenges he was now, than going through life uncertain and alone as he was before.
And that's just what this was, he realized. A challenge. Not an impossibility.
With renewed determination, he looked up the number of a local florist and picked up the phone. If he couldn't be there every day, he could at least continue to remind her he loved her.
"Yes, hello," he said into the phone when his call was picked up. "I'd like to send a dozen roses to someone in San Francisco please.... Yes, that's right. I'd like them delivered to Lois Lane at the San Francisco Chronicle. The City section."
A startled noise came from somewhere behind him, and Clark spun around in his chair. Jimmy stood only a few steps behind him with a small piece of paper in his hand, and he was grinning.
Clark groaned inwardly. There was no doubt from the delighted and surprised look on Jimmy's face that he'd overheard Clark's end of the conversation.
Hearing a voice on the other end of the line, Clark quickly turned his attention back to his phone conversation. He gave the man his credit card information for payment, then was told they would be delivered later that morning. Clark thanked the clerk, then hung up.
Turning back around, he saw that Jimmy was still standing there, grinning. "You and Lois Lane, CK? Are you two a thing?"
Clark rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. He'd worked hard to keep his relationship with Lois a secret up till now because it was just in its beginning stages. He didn't want to jinx things. If something went wrong, he didn't want to live with the questions, and have to keep explaining how he had failed to win the love of his life.
But now, as he stared back into Jimmy's face, he realized keeping his relationship with Lois quiet was no longer an option. Besides, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to admit to it at this point. They were, in fact, becoming much more serious about each other. Agnes knew. Why not Jimmy and some of his colleagues? Maybe it would even keep them from offering to set him up on those ridiculous blind dates.
He smiled. Maybe this wasn't such a bad time to make this admission after all. Clark looked back into Jimmy's grinning face and nodded. "Yes, Lois and I are seeing each other. Did you have something to say about that?"
Jimmy's grin broadened, yet he simply shrugged. "Hear what? I don't have anything to say."
"Why don't I believe that? Oh yes," Clark said, waving his hand in the air, "it must have something to do with that I-just-found-out-a-secret expression on your face. Now go ahead and tell me you-told-me-so, so we can get it over with."
Jimmy made a valiant effort to wipe the grin from his face and look business-like and professional. "I wouldn't say that. All I'm here to say is that I have a message for you from Bobby Bigmouth."
Clark's interest flickered in his eyes. "Oh? What did he say?"
"Just that he has some information for you on something called Bureau 30-something."
"Thirty-nine," Clark clarified, getting out of his chair and taking the message out of the younger man's hand. He studied the message, then grabbed his overcoat off the back of his chair. "I'm going to go follow up on this. Tell Perry where I went if he asks, okay?"
"Sure, CK." Jimmy nodded. Then his grin was back. "But just for the record...I did tell you that you and Lois would make a cute couple, and here you are, sending her flowers. So I guess I could say I did tell you so." Then he darted away, laughing, before Clark could retaliate.
Clark stared after Jimmy for several moments, contemplating whether or not he should hurry after him and beg him to keep his relationship with Lois a secret. But then he shook his head in resignation. 'It's no big deal. He probably would have found out sooner or later," Clark thought. "And since Lois and I are getting pretty serious, I guess it doesn't matter who knows. At least Jimmy only overheard me ordering flowers, and not talking to her about flying out to see her tonight.'
He grimaced at the thought of how disastrous that would have been. He was going to have to be more careful in the future.
Then, remembering the phone message in his hand, he slipped into his coat and hurried across the newsroom to the elevators. He had to meet with Bobby Bigmouth.
**********
Clark found Bobby at his usual place--the downtown soup kitchen. This time, however, the man was wrapped in a crisp, white apron and standing behind the counter, serving several people as they moved past him in the serving line. Clark waited until the line diminished, then he stepped up to the man.
"Doing the serving instead of the eating for once?"
Bobby looked up, then smiled wryly when he saw Clark standing there. "Yeah, well, I figured I owed these guys some service hours in exchange for all the food I eat. I see you got my message. I figured it wouldn't be long before you were down here demanding to know what I'd found out."
"I wouldn't say 'demanding,'" Clark said. "More like 'requesting.'"
Bobby grinned again. "I see." He glanced behind him and noticed the kitchen help was beginning to clean up now that the lunch rush was over. He reached behind him and untied his apron strings. "Let me hang this up and I'll be right out. Have a seat."
When Bobby disappeared into the back, Clark found an unoccupied table in the far corner where they could talk without being disturbed. He had only waited a couple of minutes before Bobby was back, sitting in the chair across from Clark.
"So, what did you learn?" Clark asked, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table.
"Well, it wasn't easy, but I called in some favors. This Bureau 39 you're looking into? It sounds like you'd better watch your back with them. Apparently, it's some secret government group whose mission is to identify alien threats to the security of this country."
Clark's throat closed up and he found it hard to breathe. "Alien threats?" he managed tightly.
"Yep. You know...UFOs, alien invasion, all that stuff. Sounds to me like they've been watching Independence Day too long. Anyway, their leader is some guy named Trask. From everything I heard, the guy's a loose cannon. I even managed to find out that the group's direction--some guy named Thompson--is in town from D.C. investigating the guy."
"For what, exactly?"
"That, I don't know." Bobby shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't like the way Trask's handling things. Anyway, this whacko Trask apparently takes his job seriously--maybe too seriously."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, my source claims that Trask thinks Superman is some sort of hostile alien sent to earth to prepare the way for an invasion. He's so determined to keep that from happening that he's hell bent on eliminating the threat."
Clark's body stiffened. "He wants Superman dead?"
Bobby nodded. "That's what I heard."
Just then one of the men behind the counter signaled for Bobby to return, so the informant pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. "I hope some of that helps, Clark. You owe me something big for this. A dozen pizzas with everything on them. Including anchovies."
Clark looked up at him and smiled. "You got it. Thanks, Bobby."
The man inclined his head, then hurried off into the back. Clark remained at the table for a long minute, trying to digest the information. He doubted this Trask guy could really do anything to eliminate him, but still an unsettled feeling crept into his stomach. A rogue leader of some covert government agency could be capable of doing almost anything. To anyone.
Suddenly, he had new reasons to be investigating this group. A guy that crazy needed to be stopped.
Standing up from his chair, Clark left the building, renewed determination to his step. If what Bobby was saying was right, he had to talk to this Thompson guy, who was apparently the agency's director. He didn't know if the man would talk to him, but it was worth a try.
**********
Clark walked into his apartment later that evening, an even more unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. He set his attache down next to the couch, then crossed the room, loosening his tie and unbuttoned his collar as he went. He stopped at the entrance of the kitchen and reached for the cordless phone sitting in its base. He had to call Lois. She was the only one--besides his parents--who would understand the gravity of the events that had unfolded that day.
He dialed the number he had long since committed to memory, then put the phone to his ear. "Please be there," he murmured as he listened to the phone ring once, then twice. He breathed a sigh of relief when his call was picked up on the third ring, and Lois's voice came over the line.
"Lois," he said, feeling his tense body relax. "Good, you're there."
"Hey," she exclaimed happily, the smile at hearing his voice evident in her voice. "I've tried to call you a few times today to thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful. You didn't have to do that."
He smiled against the phone cradled along his cheek. "I know, but I wanted to. I'm glad you got them. I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you."
"Just like I've been thinking about you," she told him. Then she changed the subject. "So, tell me about your day. You must have been busy. You weren't even picking up your cell phone."
Clark sighed again as he thought about everything that had happened that day. "I had it turned off for a while. I hardly had a minute to myself the entire day."
"Really?" Lois interest was clearly piqued. "Anything interesting?"
"You could say that. I finally got a big break in the Bureau 39 investigation."
"Are you serious?" Lois squealed. "What did you find out?"
Clark moved over to the couch and sat down, switching the phone to his other ear. "I found out more than I'm comfortable with, I'm afraid." He took a breath, then went on. "Bobby contacted me, saying he had some information for me, so I went to talk to him."
He went on to tell her what he'd learned about Bureau 39, their mission, and their leader Jason Trask being a loose cannon and wanting to eliminate Superman.
Lois gasped at this. "How can he possibly think you're some advance man for an alien invasion? That's just crazy!"
"I agree." Clark nodded. "This guy is clearly off the deep end. When I got back to the Planet after talking to Bobby, I dug a little deeper and found out Trask doesn't have a military service record. He was a part of something called Project Bluebook back in the 60's."
"I know that name," Lois said, sounding thoughtful. "Didn't it have something to do with UFO research?"
"Yes, it did. I found a short article and a picture of the guys involved in the project in the newspaper archives. Apparently, Project Bluebook was some kind of UFO research group involving a dozen or so airmen. Even though Trask doesn't have a military service record I could find, he was in that picture. He supposedly 'disappeared' in 1969, which happened to be the same year the government got out of the UFO business."
"That's convenient," Lois mumbled. "What else did you find?"
"Well, also in that picture was a man named George Thompson. Bobby heard that the guy was the director of Bureau 39, and that he was in town from D.C. apparently investigating Trask."
"So maybe we're not the only ones thinking this Trask guy has gone off the deep end."
"Maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe everybody involved in this project is crazy. Either way, I decided to pay him a visit."
"Ohh, I wish I could have been there," Lois said with a longing sigh. "I always love this part of the investigation--just when it starts to get juicy."
He knew how much she loved the thrill of the chase, and this must have been killing her. He grinned against the phone. "Sorry, Lois, but I wasn't about to leave the trail and come get you. I did manage to get in to see Thompson, but he wasn't much help. He told me he'd flown in from Washington, and claimed to be some kind of government ombudsman. When I pressed him, he wouldn't say exactly what it was he was in town to do. He claimed it was classified. I asked him if it had anything to do with Jason Trask and Bureau 39, and he looked pretty shaken. I must have played my card too soon because he abruptly ended our meeting, saying he had another appointment he had to rush off to."
"Hmmm." Lois paused. "The fact that he looked shaken says a lot."
"Yeah, but that's not all." Clark got up from the couch and began to pace around his living room. "Having super powers has been known to be helpful a time or two when I've been investigating, but this time I'm not sure I liked what I found."
There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment, the gravity of his tone hovering in the air. Then Lois prodded, "What did you find?"
"Just before Thompson rushed me out of his office, I noticed the briefcase on Thompson's desk. I knew my leads were dwindling, so I took a peek into his case. There were some papers in there that had a title page reading "Smallville, 1966." Clark swallowed, still feeling a little shaken. "Lois, that's the year my parents found me. May 17th, 1966 to be exact. Why would Thompson have papers in his briefcase if they didn't think there was some connection to that and Superman? How could they have made that connection in the first place?"
When Lois responded, her voice sounded as shocked at this news as he was. "That must have really rattled you," she sympathized. She paused, clearly deep in thought. Then she continued, "I know this is a probably long shot, but what it these men were the ones who found your space capsule in Smallville? You told me your dad buried it, but when you went to dig it up years later, it was gone. Maybe this Project Bluebook that Trask and Thompson were involved in followed up on the meteor sightings in Kansas and tracked them to that field, and then to your buried space capsule without your knowing it?"
Clark's blood went cold. A distant memory of a conversation he'd had with his parents many years ago came to his mind.
"Clark?" Lois prompted when he didn't respond. "What is it? What's wrong?"
He tried to draw a breath in spite of the heaviness weighing on his chest. "Lois...that made me remember something. Years ago, when my parents explained to me about finding me in the space capsule, they told me that a few days after that a few men showed up in town asking questions. They said they were from the space program, and that they thought some debris had come down from some kind of Russian satellite. When they asked my parents, they wanted to know if my parents had seen anything."
Lois's heart started to hammer in her chest. "And what did they tell them?"
"Nothing. My mom said they were kind of scary, and that she didn't trust them."
"So is that what your parents thought you were? Some kind of Russian experiment?"
"At the time they didn't care if I was a Russian or a martian. I was theirs, and they didn't plan to give me up to anybody. They'd tried for a long time to have kids, but couldn't. I was it, as far as their chance to have children went."
"Which explains why they're so protective of you."
"Yes. But my point is, maybe this Bureau 39 is that same group formerly known as Project Bluebook who was asking questions about that night. Maybe they even have something to do with my spaceship disappearing."
"Or even know where it is," Lois said, her voice a bare whisper.
Clark hardly dared to breathe. "Maybe." He paused. "There's one more thing. When I was looking into his briefcase, I also saw something else."
"What?"
"A scrap of paper with an address on it. I looked it up, and apparently it's an old, abandoned furniture warehouse on Besolo Boulevard."
"Maybe that's Bureau 39's headquarters!" Her voice rose with excitement. "It's very possible the answers to all your questions lie in that warehouse."
Clark immediately recognized that tone in her voice. "Lo-is. You're not thinking what I think you're thinking..."
"You know me well enough to know what I'm thinking by now, Kent. You've got to break into that warehouse!"
Clark's body stiffened. "Lois, I can't! And you know that I can't. It's illegal! And if I use my powers to do something like that--"
"--then it would make you no better than the bad guys," Lois finished, echoing the argument he'd used against her reasoning long ago. "Come on, Clark! This could be your one chance to find out the answers to those questions! And who knows what else we might find out about them. Maybe there's something in their records to explain how exactly they're linked to Lex Luthor! I think that justifies the means."
"It justifies nothing, Lois." Clark shook his head. "I won't do it."
"Then come get me and I'll do it!" Lois pleaded.
He moaned in frustration. She just wasn't getting this. "Lo-is..."
"What?" she demanded. "You may not believe it, but if I've ever seen something that justifies a little breaking and entering, this is it!"
"No, it doesn't." Clark remained firm. "We'll just have to find out what we need through other means."
Lois let out a growl of aggravation. "Clark, I swear, if I didn't love you I'd hang up on you right this second. Why do you have to be so innately good? It makes me crazy!"
Clark chuckled. "Sorry. I guess it's because *you're* not. We end up balancing each other out."
"I suppose," she grumbled. Then she sighed. "I guess I'm not going to be able to convince you, though I wish I could. I don't know that you realize what you could be missing, and how potentially dangerous this could be to you, too...as Superman. If you don't get to the bottom of Bureau 39's mission, how else are you going to defend yourself?"
The question lingered in the air between them for the few minutes left of their conversation, and remained in Clark's mind long after they'd said their goodnights. He continued to ponder them as he lay in bed, staring up at his darkened bedroom ceiling.
He rolled over and pulled the covers up around his shoulders, trying to push the words from his head. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized she was right. But what was he supposed to do? Breaking and entering went against everything he stood for.
'But can't Superman do a little breaking and entering to save himself?' a little voice in the back of his head pressed. 'Superman saves everybody else. This time it could be *your* life at stake. Isn't that worth considering?'
With a moan of exasperation, he flipped back over on his back and stared up at the ceiling again. What *did* that warehouse hold? Did it hold computers with information that might shed some light on his arrival on this planet? What about this meteorite they claimed to be looking for? What about these "pieces of a Russian satellite" those men said they were looking for when the showed up in Smallville? The answers to these questions he'd always had in his mind could be in that warehouse.
He sighed. His conversation with Lois replayed again in his mind, and her words once again came back to haunt him.
*This could be your one chance to find out the answers to those questions! And who knows what else we might find out about them. Maybe there's something in their records to explain how exactly they're linked to Lex Luthor! I think that justifies the means.*
A tightening in his gut made him groan. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right.
Throwing off his covers, he climbed out of bed and started walking to the secret closet where he hung his Superman costume. He slid the compartment door open silently in the dark and started to reach for the suit. Suddenly, he stopped.
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to put on the Suit. Maybe it was better if he did this in his clothes, in something nice and dark. That way, if anybody saw or caught him--though he didn't intend to be; there was too much at stake--it would be Clark Kent, investigative reporter for the Daily Planet, not Metropolis's infallible superhero.
He slid the compartment door shut and returned to his bedroom closet, pulling on a pair of black jeans and a black sweatshirt he sometimes lounged around in on the weekends. He slipped into the clothes quickly and started to leave his room when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He paused. Then he smiled.
What would Lois say if she were here now? Dressed all in black, with the intention to do a little law breaking. He couldn't help smiling a little at the irony.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," he murmured, knowing what he was about to do was wrong, yet unable to stop himself.
Going over to the window overlooking the alley, he slid it open quietly, then scanned his surroundings to make sure nobody was watching. Nobody was.
Taking a deep breath, he launched himself into the night air. There was something to be gained by breaking his first law. There just had to be.
**********
to be continued in part 26...
