From Part 5...
This Saturday was exactly three weeks and two days since Lois had helped to make the Spider map, and Alice was hoping the reference to sunset was a timeframe for when Lois would again be able to visit.
Rising from her chair at the kitchen table Alice went over to the sink and refilled the kettle. It wouldn’t be much longer until the sun went down, and if she was right in her interpretation of the message, Lois would be here soon, and no doubt they would both need a steady supply of coffee.
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And now Part 6...
Lois heard the familiar whistle of a kettle boiling as she raised her hand to knock on Alice’s font door.
As the door opened, a tirade of questions met her. “Lois, are you all right? What’s been going on? Why all the secret messages? Is Luthor threatening you?”
“I’m fine, Alice. I’m sorry about not being able to talk to you properly.” Lois replied as she stepped through the open door. “Lex hasn’t been threatening me, but he has been monitoring my every move. I didn’t think anyone could be as controlling as that man is.” Lois didn’t bother trying to hide her distaste.
“Oh, honey, that must be so hard. I was getting so worried about you. I guessed from your first message, it wouldn’t be a good idea to call you, but it sure has been hard not to pick up the phone and just make sure you were O.K.,” Alice said as she led Lois towards the kitchen.
“I don’t know if he’s tapped my phones, but he’s got people following me wherever I go,” Lois said, thinking of the two cabs, short jog, detour through the ladies’ toilets, and the dash in the department store before getting another cab, just to shake the tail Luthor had put on her. “And the ‘job’ at LNN is just another way he can keep me under control,” Lois added.
While Alice began making two hot drinks, Lois talked about the last three weeks. How Luthor had taken her out every night, spent all his lunches and sometimes whole afternoons ‘dropping in’ on her at LNN to go over wedding plans and house designs.
“So you see, Alice, I haven’t had much time to look into anything, and what I have found hasn’t led to Luthor. While working on one of the few stories LNN has given me, I managed to find some unexplained bank deposits to four of the lawyers mentioned on the Spider Map, but that’s about it.” Gratefully Lois accepted the coffee Alice handed her. “I only hope you’ve had more luck than me. The wedding’s only one week away.”
Alice sat down next to Lois at the kitchen table. “So far, I’ve got taped information from two lawyers, leads on a judge who seems to be on the take and descriptions of a couple of the thugs behind the corruption.”
“That’s fantastic, Alice. Do any of the descriptions match Lex?”
Reaching over to one of the neat piles of paper stacked on the kitchen table, Alice picked up a handwritten sheet of paper and handed it to Lois.
“Unfortunately, no. The main man’s description doesn’t fit Luthor at all. Our guy is described as medium height, medium build, brown hair and a brown beard. He wears glasses and appears to be in his late forties. Everyone so far has reported him wearing a bowler hat, chocolate brown in colour, brown leather gloves, no doubt genuine, and a brown tweed overcoat, regardless of the weather. Oh, and he uses a cane.”
“What about his eyes?” Lois asked, scanning the paper in her hands.
“Some say brown, some say hazel, green and even grey. That was one point that nobody I talked to could agree on. Probably due to the glasses,” Alice answered.
“A cane.” Lois frowned, “Hmm, so is it for decoration, or does he need it?”
“He’s got a limp, rather pronounced.”
“So, you think Luthor is using this ‘Mr Brown’ to do his dirty work,” Lois summarised, uncrossing her legs. She had finished reading the sheet of paper that contained Alice’s notes on the main suspects behind all the extortion.
Lois commented, “The description of a ‘leggy African-American woman’ is no doubt Mrs Cox.” Distaste showed on Lois’ face. “I never did like her, Personal Assistant my foot.”
“Yes, but she’s only been on the scene for a few months. It’s this ‘Mr Brown’ that I’m interested in. He seems to have been around for years. My guess is he’s the main character, besides Luthor himself.”
Lois shrugged. “Well, I’ve never heard or seen anyone who fits that description around Lex.” Lois paused before asking, “Is he Lex’s muscle?”
“More than that. He’s been directly involved in a lot of the planning, giving orders to the lawyers on what they were to do and say, even provided ‘evidence’, which either points the blame at something other than Luthor’s companies, or at least casts enough doubt for the company to get away with a minor slap on the wrist.”
“You’ve got proof?” Lois asked, unintentionally edging forward on her seat.
“Not yet, but soon. The first lawyer I spoke to was a man called David O’Hara.” Alice took a sip of her coffee before continuing.
“Apparently, he’s been trying to find a way to escape ‘Mr Brown’s’ clutches for some time, but he just didn’t know how. He’s quite paranoid, though, if half of what I’ve heard about ‘Mr Brown’ is true, I can’t say I blame him.
“He’s agreed to meet me Wednesday afternoon and hand over everything he’s got. That includes taped conversations, photos, written notes from ‘Mr Brown’, dates, times and companies involved. You name it, he’s got it.”
“Then we’ve got him!” Relief showed on Lois’ face.
“No, I’m afraid not,” Alice said regretfully. “From what O’Hara was telling me, all the evidence points to ‘Mr Brown’, not Luthor. He’s still coming up squeaky clean.”
Lois slumped back into her chair, “I just know it’s got to be Luthor behind all of this. It’s too widespread amongst all his companies, too well organised…”
“You don’t hear me arguing with you, Lois,” Alice interrupted. “So far, all we’ve got is a mysterious ‘Mr Brown’ whom we can’t trace. No job, rap sheet, address, nothing at all.”
“But we’re so close!” Clenching her fists, Lois continued. “There’s got to be some sort of connection.” Lois stood up, unable to sit still any longer. “I’m running out of time, Alice. The wedding’s only three days after your meeting.” Lois unclenched her fists and moved away from the table.
“I told you not to accept that proposal. You walked straight into his trap,” Alice half-heartedly scolded.
“Alice, I knew what I was doing.” Lois walked into the living room where she paused to watch the sun’s final plunge to earth through the large arched windows. “I had to accept or Lex would have suspected something. It’s been horrible, watching everything I say, having him touch me, never feeling safe… or clean.”
Alice followed Lois into the Living room. “I know, I know. I’m just worried about you, Lois,” Alice replied. “I can’t see how we’re going to find our link in three days. Maybe we should just get you out of the country until I can get what we need.”
“No way.” Speaking quietly but emphatically, Lois continued. “I am *not* running away. Besides, if I disappear, it will warn Luthor, and who knows what will happen to our evidence, or O’Hara.”
Sitting down on the couch, Alice sighed. “I know you’re right. I want to bring Luthor down as much as you do, but I don’t want anything to happen to you. Luthor will stop at nothing”
“I know.” Lois bit her lip. They had gotten so close, they had all the evidence to put Luthor away for life, if only they could prove he was giving the orders to ‘Mr Brown’.
“Clark would know what to do. He always could come up with a new angle, a fresh way of looking at the problem”, Lois said wistfully.
“The Hottest Team in Town. I miss him so much.” Lois sighed. Over the last three weeks of separation from Clark, she had come to realise just how much she missed Clark…and how much she needed him. Lois knew she wasn’t operating at her best, that she was missing something vital. Only her fear for Clark’s safety kept her from contacting him. If Luthor suspected that she still had feelings for Clark, feelings that were getting stronger with her forced separation, then Luthor would simply remove Clark from her life, permanently.
“Lois, I meet with O’Hara on Wednesday afternoon. Maybe there will be something in his collection that he’s missed.”
Turning to look out into the now dark night sky Lois only hoped it would be enough.
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“I guess he could have been visiting a business associate,” Jimmy suggested lamely.
“Yeah, but he seemed to be going to a lot of trouble to make it look like he wasn’t there,” Clark countered.
“And Superman said he went into the car park’s utility room? That doesn’t sound like your usual business meeting,” Jack added.
“I know.” Clark ran his hands through his hair, frustrated. It was Saturday night. Jack, Jimmy and Perry were back at his apartment listening to his description of what Superman had seen at Montague Place’s car park.
Another minute and he would have known just what Luthor was up to. But that was the price of being Superman. He couldn’t just ignore cries of help to suit his own agenda. Luckily, there hadn’t been any fatalities in the multi-car pileup that had interrupted his surveillance of Luthor, but that would have been different if he hadn’t arrived at the accident when he did.
Clark paced next to the couch in his living room, whilst the others sat on the comfy couch and chairs. They were comparing notes on their respective week’s work, and while they had discovered a lot, none of it pointed to Luthor.
Jack and Jimmy had found that a guy called ‘The Boss’ was behind most of the criminal activity in the city. However, despite Clark being sure Luthor was behind the crime syndicate, the few basic descriptions Jack and Jimmy had gotten of ‘The Boss’ didn’t match Luthor.
Jack had found the lowlife, John Black, who had set him up for the bombings, and with Clark’s help had convinced Inspector Henderson to take him in for questioning. It had turned out that John Black would do just about anything for the right amount of money, and once fingerprinted, Henderson discovered that John Black, a.k.a. John Smith, a.k.a. John Doe, was wanted for a substantial list of other offences. Unfortunately, other than give a poor description of ‘The Boss’, and get Jack out of jail, they were still no closer to Luthor.
Perry had followed the paper trail on the Planet’s sale and insurance policy and come up empty. Extra insurance had been taken out on the Planet, but the insurance company had since mysteriously closed, and all their records destroyed. ‘Yet another quick clean up job by Luthor,’ Clark thought dejectedly.
Clark flopped down in the remaining chair. It was like looking at a jigsaw puzzle. They had all the pieces, but couldn’t seem to put it together. If only he could talk to Lois. But that was out of the question. Whilst watching Luthor, Clark hadn’t been able to avoid seeing Luthor fawn all over Lois. She must really love him to let him be so…possessive of her. They had been to lunch almost everyday, and their evenings were spent at various elite gatherings where the dinners cost more than an average Joe’s weekly wage.
“What about bugging Luthor?” Jack asked, breaking the bleak silence.
“We’d never get anywhere near his office or penthouse, what with all his security,” Jimmy replied.
“I’d say it was a good idea son, but if Superman hasn’t seen or heard anything incriminating, then there’s not much point in a bug, even if we could find somewhere to plant it.” Perry added.
‘Another bust suggestion,’ Clark thought. ‘Lois would know what to do’.
“I haven’t finished yet.” Jack said a bit indignantly. “What about the utility room in the underground car park?”
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A cold wind swirled about Alice’s feet, bringing with it a fresh whiff of the acrid chemical odour that hung about the old manufacturing warehouse. At the far end of the warehouse, a giant roller door dwarfed the smaller man-sized door which she had entered through twenty minutes ago. Above her, patches of sunlight entered the rusted building where sections of the roof had collapsed. The concrete floor was scattered with rubble, broken crates, left over drums and rusted tools. To her far right, a large industrial machine sat, the sound of its engines long ago silenced.
‘Why a deserted warehouse?’ Alice wondered irritably. David’s last minute instructions on where to meet had not left Alice in a very good mood. Driving out to Hobbs Bay to one of the grubbiest, dingiest, remotest, run-down places in all of Metropolis, to meet a man who had links to the city’s biggest criminal, was not something Alice wanted to think too much about.
She checked her watched yet again. ‘I’ll give him five more minutes,’ Alice told herself, trying to squash the growing sense of unease she was feeling.
A sudden flapping caused Alice to let out a small scream. Annoyed with herself for letting a lone seagull scare her, Alice again checked her watch.
‘This is worth it. I’ve got to see this through. I’ve got to find that connection for Lois. I can do this.’ Alice’s pep-talk did little to calm her nerves. Although a formidable woman, most of Alice’s career had been spent dominating a court room or chasing up police leads, not hanging around deserted warehouses.
‘Why is he taking so long?’ Alice again looked at her watch. It had almost been half an hour. Another sudden sound reached Alice’s ears, only this time it was of a squeaking door.
Relief flooded over Alice as she saw David O’Hara emerge from the rusty door at the end of the warehouse. His footsteps echoed loudly in the empty building.
“Alice, I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Took your time didn’t you, David?” Alice bit out, her nervousness making her sound snappier than she intended.
“I’m sorry. I thought I might be followed, so I took some extra detours to make sure no-one knew where I was going.”
“Hmph. Why meet here? It’s not exactly…” Alice looked around “…cosy.”
“Look, I want to get off this merry-go-round Mr Brown’s has had me on for the last twelve years, but I’m not about to go advertising that to him. This place is not on Mr Brown’s radar and that makes it about the best place I could think of.” He added sarcastically, “Or would you have rather I’d sent him an invitation to our little ‘tête-à-tête?”
“Actually, O’Hara, I think the clues you left were sufficient” The voice of Mr Brown came from the open doorway David had used only moments before.
“You!” David stammered. “H-h-h-how?”
“Well, I am an expert hunter, O’Hara. You should know that by now. Those little ‘detours’ weren’t even worth bothering with. I knew you would be coming here long before you hopped into your car,” Mr Brown stated with an air of superiority as he made his way over to where David and Alice stood.
Close on his heels was the sleek Mrs Cox, her expensive clothes a stark contrast to the run-down surroundings.
Alice stared at the mysterious Mr Brown. “Who *are* you?”
“I’m liberation. I free people from their problems.” Turning to David, Mr Brown continued. “And you, O’Hara, have a big problem.” So swiftly did Mr Brown’s hand move that Alice wasn’t aware of what was happening until she heard the rapport of the shot echo around the desolate building. Shocked, she looked to where David had been standing a moment before, his still body now crumpled on the ground, a small pool of blood forming under his lifeless body.
“Consider yourself liberated.”
Mr Brown turned the sleek gun to Alice, his face impassive except for a glint in his cold brown eyes. Shocked, Alice realised that Mr Brown had *enjoyed* shooting David.
“Now, would you care to introduce yourself, or shall I do it for you, ‘Alice White’?”
“Why bother? You’re just going to kill me.” Alice’s struggled to keep her voice neutral.
“Ahh, yes, why indeed? It’s not the killing I enjoy so much as the hunt. You, Ms White, I have not hunted. It would bring me great pleasure to know who exactly it is that I will be killing. And why you were meeting with the unfortunate Mr O’Hara here.” Mr Brown inclined his head to where David now lay.
Abruptly Mr Brown turned to Mrs Cox. “If you would, Mrs Cox, I’d like a full report on what exactly Ms White here knows, and whom she may have shared that information with.” Turning to Alice he continued. “Normally, I would take it upon myself to perform this little task, but unfortunately, I am urgently needed elsewhere. Mr O’Hara’s poor attempt to distract me has wasted precious time.” Pausing, Mr Brown looked Alice up and down. “Rest assured however, Mrs Cox is more than up to the task.”
With that, Mr Brown took one last satisfied look at the dead form of David O’Hara. The chilling sound of metal against concrete echoed around the warehouse, as the “tap tap tap” of Mr Brown’s cane sounded in his wake.
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From the author, a challenge...
O.K. Now who can guess who Mr Brown is?
