From Part 6...
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.
**********
Now Part 7
“So, how’d it go, kids?” Perry asked Jack, Jimmy and Clark as they came into Clark’s warm apartment. He was wearing a striped apron and standing in front of Clark’s stove, stirring a big pot.
“All set, Chief,” Jimmy replied with a grin. “This spy stuff is fun.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe all the gadgets they sell at that ‘I Spy’ store,” Jack said, coming down the landing stairs.
“Man, Clark’s good though, he got in and out of that utility room with no problems,” Jimmy added.
Clark came through to the kitchen where Perry was preparing lunch, with Jack and Jimmy following.
“Yeah, I thought that security guard was going to catch him for sure,” Jack said.
Perry poured in the raw crawfish to the boiling pot of water, sending up a small cloud of steam. The three onlookers glanced at each other as a loud hiss interrupted Jack and Jimmy’s story.
Clark used the moment to change the direction of the conversation. “We got a video recorder with sound from the ‘I Spy’ store. It’s motion activated so we’ll only get footage when someone’s in the utility room.”
Perry indicated to Jack to get some plates, and somewhat cautiously Jack began to set the table. Clark got the glasses, while Jimmy fetched the cutlery.
“Wednesday is the store’s discount day, so we got a good price for the video recorder,” Jimmy said, as he grabbed for one of the forks that had started to slip off the table.
“I wouldn’t mind going back there, once I’ve got some more cash,” Jack said, handing the plates to Perry.
Jack and Jimmy discussed all the different gadgets they had seen while Perry served the mixture on a bed of rice. In a few moments, the four were sitting down at the table, ready to eat.
“So, what is this, Chief?” Jimmy asked, not sounding very sure about Perry’s culinary skills.
“Crawfish etouffee”
As they all began to dig into the food, Perry casually mentioned “I hope you like it spicy,” just as Jack and Jimmy grabbed their throats and rushed to the kitchen sink, while Clark noticing his companions response, downed his entire glass of water in one shot.
Apparently oblivious to the reaction his food was causing, Perry chewed happily, thinking about the video recorder.
As Jack and Jimmy returned to the table, red faced, Perry voiced his thoughts.
“Now all we have to do is wait for Luthor to return to the utility room.”
********************
Perspiration glistened off Alice’s bare forearms, the only indication of her true state. Alice’s outward appearance portrayed a woman in control, a woman who despite what she had just occurred, was not afraid.
Mrs Cox gave a hollow laugh. “I must give you credit for your self-control, Ms White. Most of my customers do not stand up so well when faced with my…services”. Stepping closer to Alice, her voice as cold as her eyes, she continued, “Do not be fooled Alice. This will be painful, and you *will* tell me everything I need to know.”
Alice’s forced her eyes to remain on Mrs Cox. ‘I must not give away my trump card,’ she thought.
As Mrs Cox’s arm rose up to Alice’s face, a small 38 nestled in her hand, a sudden clutter of disused metal drums falling from the second floor onto the rusted machinery below drew her attention away.
In that split moment, Alice acted.
As Alice threw herself to one side, another figured moved out from the shadows towards Mrs Cox.
Disorientated by the sound of the clattering drums and Alice’s sudden movement, Mrs Cox didn’t see the form hurtling towards her, instead she trained the gun onto the swift moving Alice.
For the second time that night a gunshot echoed through the building.
Mrs Cox was knocked down as the unknown intruder barrelled into her. Before she could react, her assailant knocked the gun out of her hand. Sprawled out on the dirty floor, Mrs Cox turned her head, trying to see who was attacking her. Pushing her long hair out of her eyes, she cleared her vision just in time to see an old metal pipe descending towards her head. Out of instinct she rolled to one side, the clang of metal hitting concrete inches from her head.
In one swift motion, Mrs Cox rolled to a crawling position, ready to pounce on her attacker. As she moved upwards, her shorter opponent, anticipating the attack dropped, and in a sweeping kick, Mrs Cox was once again knocked to the ground.
From her position on the floor, Mrs Cox saw her gun, only a few feet away. Crawling towards the pistol, Mrs Cox smiled in triumph as her hands wrapped around the cool metal handle. She could hear the sound of heavy breathing as her attacker approached, and using the sound as a guide, she waited until the last moment before swinging her body around to point the gun at the person now standing over her. Before she could bring her arm completely around, the flash of sunlight on metal caught in her eyes, just before the metal pipe again descended down towards her head.
**************
Alice winced involuntarily as a dull thud reached her ears, followed by the clang of something metal falling to the ground. As the sounds of footsteps approached her, Alice forced her eyes open.
Looking up through a haze of pain at the fuzzy outline of a petite woman, Alice asked, “Are you okay, Lois?”
“Alice, you’ve been shot!” Lois exclaimed as she knelt down next to Alice.
“Yeah, but that was quite a fight you put on.” Alice grinned. “Remind me not to get on …” she winced as another wave of pain shot through her arm. “…your bad side.”
Alice clenched her teeth as Lois used her black jumper to form a makeshift bandage over Alice’s right arm. Once the bleeding was under control, Lois checked for any other injuries.
“Lois, I’m fine. It’s just a scratch. Hurts like hell, but I’ll be fine. Can you get David’s briefcase, I want to know if he brought the stuff he said he had on Mr Brown, and if there’s a connection to Luthor.”
*****************
Lois looked around for the briefcase, her thoughts awhirl. ‘‘I only just formed this amazing friendship with Alice and she almost ends up dead. All Alice can think of is getting Luthor.’ Lois shook her head in amazement. ‘This must be what it’s like for Clark,’ she thought as she looked around.
Walking over to where David lay, Lois picked up the black briefcase that sat next to his still body. ‘All that time, I thought Clark was being over-protective, acting like a typical macho male trying to protect the little woman, and it wasn’t that at all.’
Lois went back to Alice and handed over the briefcase. ‘Clark just cares for me and I treated him like dirt. He finally got the courage to tell me how he feels and I threw it back in his face’.
Satisfied that Alice was okay for the moment, Lois went back to her hiding place to retrieve the items she had brought with her. She removed a roll of duct tape from the brown satchel she had stashed behind some of the crates.
Returning to the now moaning form of Mrs Cox, Lois expertly tied up the Personal Assistant.
That taken care of, Lois returned to where Alice was sorting through David’s evidence. ‘I hope the price he paid was worth all of this,’ Lois thought sadly, her eyes avoiding the spot where David lay.
“It’s all here,” Alice said as she scanned through the documents in the briefcase. “Everything he said he had. We’ll get Luthor now, Lois, I’m sure of it.” Alice’s voice sounded confident, but Lois wasn’t so sure.
Noticing the way Alice’s eyes were darting to the tied up form of Mrs Cox, who was starting to come round, Lois realised, with a start, that Alice’s reassurance wasn’t just for her sake. If Mrs Cox thought they already had a firm case against Luthor she would be much more likely to talk.
Playing along, Lois looked at Mrs Cox. “Not just Luthor, but all his associates. Wouldn’t you agree, Mrs Cox? Especially, now that we can add attempted murder to your list of charges.” By the sour look on Mrs Cox’s face, Lois guessed the personal assistant believed them.
Lois looked at Alice in admiration. “Alice White, you’re one amazing woman”.
***************
It was late Wednesday night. The plush red carpet of the famous French restaurant muffled the voices of the other patrons, giving the room a quiet, intimate atmosphere. A perfect location for an engaged couple about to be married. ‘Or it would be’, Lex thought irritably, ‘if only the other half of the couple would turn up!’
The curious glances the other guests were giving him only intensified Lex’s ire. How dare she disappear like that! The incompetent idiots, who had lost Lois that afternoon when they were supposed to be *discreetly* trailing her, had already been replaced. He couldn’t believe those imbeciles had lost Lois, not after it had been so explicitly explained what had happened to the previous employees who had lost her on Saturday.
Drumming his fingers on the polished mahogany tabletop, Lex’s eyes wandered over to the expensive timepiece hanging over the restaurants’ decorative fireplace. Half an hour late. Where was she? A sudden thought occurred to Lex. Maybe Lois had already been and gone. After all, his…business meeting that afternoon had taken longer than anticipated, causing him to be five minutes late.
Signalling for a waiter, Lex’s thoughts wandered to the business meeting he had just come from. The report that a ‘Ms White’ was involved in the futile attempt to bring his unofficial court business to light was niggling at him. For some reason, that name sounded familiar.
“Oui, Monsieur, how can I be of assistance?” The polished voice of the waiter asked.
“I need to speak to the maitre d’.” Lex commanded.
“Certainly, Monsieur. In the meantime, can I get you anything? Another drink perhaps, or maybe a paper to read.”
“No, no. Just get me the maitre d’.” Lex replied, in his well known charming voice.
He shifted his body aside, as the waiter leaned over to clear his empty glass. There wasn’t much to read in the paper anymore now that the Daily Planet was gone. The same sense of missing something tugged at Lex’s conscious. Unable to grasp it, Lex turned his mind back to Lois. She was definitely too independent. Her disappearing like this only proved it. It didn’t matter though, in three days they would be man and wife.
He glanced over to the entrance, where the waiter was now talking to the maitre d’. The waiter’s offer of a paper came back to mind. That was it! Perry White. The ex-editor of the Daily Planet. White was such a common name, so he wasn’t about to jump to conclusions, - but it seemed a bit too coincidental that Lois Lane, investigative reporter was missing, and a high powered lawyer by the name of White was chasing him.
Getting to his feet, Lex made a beeline for the door. The maitre d’ scurried to meet him.
Not giving the maitre d’ a chance to talk, Lex asked briskly, “Did a woman arrive here before I did, asking for me? She is about 5”4’, brunette with shoulder length hair.”
“No, Monsieur, is there anything wrong?”
Ignoring the maitre d’ and concealing his anger behind a practiced mask, Lex left, determined to find out if Ms White was indeed Perry’s wife.
*****************
The stark glare of the overhead florescent lights shone down on the group of four men walking briskly down the hallway. The scent of disinfectant mixed with the other hospital odours, which caused Perry to wrinkle his nose in distaste. He didn’t like hospitals. In the background, a page was put out for Dr Hill to report to paediatrics, followed by a sudden clutter as a metal tray was accidentally dropped behind him at the nurse’s station. Neither slowed down Perry’s pace.
Glancing at the room numbers, 14…16… 18… Perry tried to quell his churning stomach. The brief phone call telling him his wife was in surgery for a gun-shot wound had been like a slap in the face. What if she had died? He hadn’t had a chance to apologise, to ask her forgiveness… he came so close to never being able to hold her again. The years of tension, distrust and worry, brought about by his refusal to accept Alice’s apology about Bennet and then his disbelief when she tried to warn him about Luthor, hung like a weight around his neck. How could he have let things get this far? How could he have threatened to leave Alice? To go to Graceland without her?
Room 26.
He could hear through the open doorway the sounds of soft voices against the background of a slow beep…beep…beep. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pants, one at a time, swapping the now limp bouquet of roses from one hand to the other as he did so.
The panic that had seen him race to the hospital was replaced by fear. What if she didn’t want to see him? What if it really was over between them? What if…
“Chief, we’ll wait out here,” Clark said, giving Perry a nudge through the door.
Haltingly, he walked towards the bed, vaguely noticing Lois leaving the room. Alice was sitting up in the bed, someone having retracted the bed to an upright position. His gaze fell on her bandaged shoulder, and travelled up to her pale neck, towards her face. A sob escaped him as he saw the look of love and longing on Alice’s face. In a heartbeat he was holding her, his words gushing out, mixed up with her own apologies and tears.
They didn’t notice when the door quietly closed.
********************
The bright morning sun was streaming through Clark’s kitchen windows, dancing lightly on the metal appliances and reflecting onto the laminated bench where he was preparing breakfast. Clark was casually dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a white t-shirt, his slightly damp hair made his fringe form into a curl. Hearing the sounds of someone getting up, Clark switched the coffee percolator on and began setting the table for two.
Clark shook his head in wonder at the excuses Jack, Jimmy and Perry had given why they wouldn’t be staying last night, as they had done for the past week and a half. Perry wanting to stay at the hospital was reasonable, but he doubted Alice had left her house in such a shambles that she would need both Jack and Jimmy to ‘get it ready’ for when she came home.
Remembering the protective way Perry had hovered over Alice during their visit at the hospital last night, Clark was glad that whatever differences Perry and Alice had at the moment, causing Perry to bunk at his place, Alice’s brush with death appeared to have brought them closer together.
The percolator had just finished brewing the freshly ground coffee beans when the sound of someone approaching made Clark turn. His heart did a little flip-flop at the sight of Lois wearing his old sweatshirt, her hair all mussed up and arms stretched out in the process of a wake-up yawn.
“Mmm, Clark, that coffee smells wonderful.”
Blinking, to stop himself from staring at Lois, Clark turned to the percolator and began making her a cup of low-fat cream, artificial sweetened coffee.
Hearing Lois settle herself at the table, Clark racked his brains, trying to think of what to say. The shock of seeing Lois last night, after a month of only glimpses of her from the air, had worn off, leaving him with the sense of betrayal and hurt that he had been carrying around since overhearing her accept Luthor’s proposal.
“Thank you, Clark, for letting me stay here the night. I know we didn’t get a chance to talk much at the hospital, but I really appreciate this.”
Clark shrugged his shoulders. “You know I’m always here for you, Lois.” It surprised him in a way, that he still felt that way, despite their separation.
“I guess I do.” Lois replied, sounding nervous. “It’s just that I haven’t seen, or heard from you in so long, that, well, I wasn’t sure.”
Clark put the finishing touches on breakfast, and placed the two plates of toast and omelettes down on the table. After getting his cup of oolong tea, he sat down opposite Lois.
“I need to explain that, Clark.” Lois said, her fork poised before her mouth.
“Explain what?”
“Not calling you, or seeing you.”
“Oh, that.”
“Yeah.”
Looking embarrassed, Lois put down her folk. “Look, I know I should have listened to you. After all, you’re the last Boy Scout, heaven knows how, after a year in the city, but then, you surprise me on a lot levels. I mean, take that confession in the park. Talk about left field. Okay so I knew you had feelings for me, but love? How was I supposed to know it wasn’t jealously? It’s not like you gave me any proof, or even tried explaining why you thought that. I know now that you probably couldn’t find any proof, he doesn’t leave it lying around, but I’m supposed to be your best friend.”
As Lois took a breath, Clark interjected “Park? Proof? Lois what are you…?”
But he was too late to stop Lois. Now she had stood up and was pacing around his kitchen.
“I guess I should have known it wasn’t just jealously on your part, and I can’t believe I was fooled for so long. As angry as I am with Superman right now, I really owe him a big thanks. It’s not like all the clues weren’t in front of me the whole time. How could I have been so blind? And once I started looking into things with Alice, well, it soon became apparent that he wasn’t happy just to blow up the Planet, rip all my friends away from me, no, who knows what lengths he’d go to if he thought you were competition?”
Lois stopped in front of Clark. Her eyes beseeching him to understand, she concluded, “So you see, I had to pretend we had a big fight so that he would leave you alone, so that you would be safe.”
Lois slid into her chair, as Clark tried to digest Lois’ babble. What *was* she talking about? At least it seemed like she didn’t hate his guts. In fact, the way Lois was looking at him right now was something more than just a friendly look.
“Clark, these last four weeks have been torture for me, constantly watching my back, having Luthor put his hands all over me, pretending to be happily engaged.” Lois placed her hands over his. “But the worse part was not seeing you everyday. I’ve misjudged so much in my life of late, and I’m sorry for not acknowledging or accepting what I feel for you. It was easier to stay friends than risk something more, but being with Luthor, has shown me that I do want more.”
Clark felt like his jaw had dropped to the ground.
Lois waved her hand in front of Clark’s face, “Earth to Clark! I’m pouring out my heart here. Can’t you say something? Anything?”
Clark gathered his wits, as best as he could. Turning his hands, so that he was now holding Lois’ hands in his, he looked deep into her eyes, searching to see if this was real.
“Lois, are you saying that you might care for me? And not as a brother?”
He held his breath, waiting.
Shyly Lois’ eyes meet his.
“Yes.”
Clark’s heart felt like it would burst with joy. He was sure someone was playing the old hymn ‘Hallelujah”, the sun was ten times brighter, the city sounds somehow more musical and the air had never smelt so sweet, filled with the scent of Lois Lane who *liked* him!
***************
Holding Clark’s hands, watching his face transform from a guarded wariness, to one lit by his brilliant smile, brought an equally joyous smile to Lois’ face. She had thought long and hard about her relationship with Clark over the last month. The old adage ‘you don’t know what you have until you lose it’ had proved too true. The hole in her heart, from missing her best friend, had only intensified after realising that he was no longer just her best friend. She wasn’t sure when she had stopped thinking of Clark as just a friend; it had snuck up so gradually, but now, holding his hands, sitting at the small breakfast table, with goofy grins on their faces, all her fears and worries seemed to evaporate. Being with Clark was just… right.
Together they shared their experiences of the last four weeks. Clark described how he had thought Lois had totally rejected him, yet still worked to save her from Luthor. He told her about ‘The Boss’, the insurance company that had disappeared, of Jack’s proven innocence and the frustration of not being able to prove anything against Luthor.
Lois shared her disgust at having to pretend to be happily engaged and being under constant surveillance. She told Clark about Alice’s discoveries of Mr Brown and the arrest of Mrs Cox after the warehouse shooting. The magic that had been missing in her investigation was back. With Clark at her side, she knew she could stop Luthor.
Having finished telling Clark about her fight with Mrs Cox, Lois jumped up and ran to Clark’s bedroom, where she had left her backpack.
“I can’t believe I forgot all about this, Clark,” Lois called out from the bedroom. “I meant to check it last night, but with Alice being shot, being at the hospital and talking to the police, I forgot.”
Going straight to the living room, Lois carried a video cassette in her hand. “Come in here, Clark and see this.”
“What is it?” Clark asked, coming in from the kitchen and seating himself comfortably on the couch.
“It’s a video I took of the warehouse. When Alice told me she was going to meet the lawyer there, I insisted on coming along. When Alice realised I wasn’t going to change my mind, she suggested video taping the meeting. I set the camera up on an old crate, so it should have my fight with Mrs Cox.”
Snuggling next to Clark on the couch, Lois watched the tape. The quality was quite good, and she could clearly see Mr Brown as he mocked David O’Hara. Even though she knew it was coming, she still jumped when David was killed. Something was familiar about Mr Brown, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
Next to her, Clark tensed as David fell down to the ground. Listening to Mr Brown talk she found herself focusing on his mannerisms and the sound of his voice. Yesterday, Lois’ aim had been to stay hidden, but here, in Clark’s embrace, she found herself drawn to that voice. She had heard it somewhere before. But where?
“The man with the gun resembles the descriptions Jack and Jimmy got of ‘The Boss’,” Clark commented, pushing his glasses back. “I was sure ‘The Boss’ had to be Luthor. Maybe if we can find Mr Brown, we can get him to point the finger at Luthor.”
Clark’s voice echoed in Lois’ head. ‘’The Boss had to be Luthor”, “Point the finger at Luthor”, “Mr Brown, Luthor…Luthor…Luthor”
“That’s it!” Lois exclaimed turning to face Clark. “You’re right, ‘The Boss’ is Luthor. I knew that voice sounded familiar.”
“I’m not following, Lois.”
Too excited to sit still, Lois stood up, pausing the video. “’The Boss’ is Mr Brown, and Mr Brown is Lex Luthor!”
Pointing to the frozen image of Mr Brown, Lois continued. “If Mr Brown were to stand up straighter, lose the cane, glasses, facial hair and the bower hat, you’d have the worlds’ third richest man.”
“Are you sure, Lois?” Clark asked, pushing his glasses slightly down his nose.
‘Why does he do that?’ Waving the thought aside Lois continued. “Of course, I’m sure. I‘ve spent every spare minute for the last three weeks, aside from work and sleep, in the presence of that man and I would recognise him anywhere. That’s Lex’s voice,” Lois pointed at the screen for emphasis. “And *that* is Lex Luthor.”
Clark stood up and embraced Lois, twirling her around the living room, mindful of the furniture. “You’re brilliant, Lois. Have I ever told you that?”
“Yes.” Lois replied smugly. “But you can tell me again.”
Smiling, Clark stopped twirling. His arms were still around Lois’ waist, and her arms were around his neck, her head tilted up to look at him.
Clark’s eyes searched Lois’ and slowly his head descended towards her.
Time stood still.
Lois felt her whole body tingle as Clark’s lips brushed against hers. She responded with a desire deeper than anything she had felt before. She could almost believe they were floating.
“Wow.” Lois said breathless.
“Yeah. Wow.”
*****************
The thick carpet muffled the sounds of her footsteps. For the first time she did not notice the famous paintings that hung on the wall or the expensive pieces of artwork displayed at intervals along the wide passageway. This was an all too familiar hallway, leading to an all too familiar doorway. She paused and composed herself as the butler knocked on the solid oak door.
All too soon the door was opened and Lois was left alone in the penthouse with Lex Luthor--the man who had shot David O’Hara in cold blood - and enjoyed it. She suppressed the shiver that ran down her spine and accepted Lex’s welcoming kiss. She could do this. If anyone could find the evidence to prove Lex Luthor was Mr Brown, a.k.a. ‘The Boss’ she could.
“Lois my dear, I’m so glad you could make it.” Lex lead them through to the balcony where one of Andre’s delightful meals was set out. “I was so worried when you didn’t make it to dinner last night.”
Lex’s smooth voice set Lois on edge and it took her a moment to reply. “I’m so sorry about that Lex. I tried calling but they said you had already left. An old work friend of mine – her partner was rushed to hospital. I completely forgot about our dinner date until after the surgery – it was such a shock. I’m grateful that you could see me for lunch.”
“Oh my, is she all right?”
“Yes, she will be, thankfully.”
“What happened?”
“Street mugging gone wrong. She was shot in the shoulder, fortunately nothing vital was hit. Still, it makes you appreciate what you have.”
Lex held out a chair for Lois to sit in, and after she was seated he followed suit. Wracking her brains for a way to snoop, Lois’ eye fell on the beverages. There weren’t any.
If she could get Lex to fetch the wine, instead of simply getting Andre to bring a bottle, maybe it would give her the opportunity she needed.
Giving Lex what she hoped was a disarming smile, Lois asked, “Would you mind Lex choosing a wine for our dinner? You have such exquisite taste.”
“Actually, Lois, I was going to ask you if you would like to go to the cellar and help me choose. I don’t know if I’ve shown you my wine collection.”
“Well, I don’t’ really know that much about wine, Lex, I’m sure you could choose something more appropriate than me.” This wasn’t going to plan.
“No time like the present to learn. Besides, when you’re my wife, you’ll need to know. So, shall we?”
Unable to think of any more excuses, Lois reluctantly got up and allowed Lex to lead her through to an adjoining room. The fireplace on the far wall had several comfy chairs aligned around it, with the usual paintings, souvenirs, and artwork placed tastefully around the room. The forest green walls, coupled with the wooden trim gave the room a relaxing atmosphere, and irrelevantly Lois wondered why Lex had never entertained her in this room, for it was more to her taste than the rest of Lex’s ‘display’ rooms.
“This is a beautiful room, Lex. How do we get down to the wine cellar?” Looking around, Lois couldn’t see stairs or an elevator or any other doors other than the one they had entered through. Unwittingly, her heart rate sped up.
“Near, yet far, my dear.”
Wondering if she could talk her way out of this room, which no longer felt so welcoming, Lois was startled when the fireplace suddenly moved. As it dropped down into the floor, accompanied by a slight humming sound, she gasped as she saw what was hidden behind the fireplace.
“I’ve always wanted a secret door, call it the little boy in me, but what’s the point of being the world’s third richest man if you can’t indulge?”
Lois forced herself to smile, as she allowed Lex to usher her into the elevator. Like all of Lex’s belongings, it was large and expensively decorated. Mirrors adorned two of the walls, with the third boasting a landscape painting, hanging over a cushioned bench. The carpeted floor was a deep red in colour, a stark contrast to the white of the elevator doors as they closed behind them.
The ride only took a couple of minutes, a feat in itself, Lex explained as they were going from the top of the penthouse to several levels below ground. During the trip, which seemed both eternally long, and at the same time, too short to Lois, Lex happily discussed the different types of wines, what they complimented and the art of wine tasting.
Lois felt a soft jolt, as the elevator came to rest. The doors opened up to a small flight of stairs, which curled around a stone wall. As they walked down the steps, Lex continued to describe the skills needed in choosing wines, including the need to store it properly.
“The stone walls are excellent for keeping the room cold, yet not damp. We are currently 30 feet underground, part of a wider network of rooms I had built over the years. I like to come here when I don’t want to be disturbed by the sounds of the city, or unwanted interruptions. Only two other people know of this place, now three, but I know I can trust you, Lois, to keep this quiet.”
By now they had entered the large wine cellar. Rows and rows of wine racks went back as far as the dim light allowed Lois to see. To her right, the wall was covered from bottom to top with wine barrels, and immediately in front of her a large space stood empty, as though waiting to be filled with something. More wine perhaps?
Slightly dazed by the sheer size of Lex’s wine cellar, Lois turned to compliment Lex, but the words froze on her lips.
“Lex, please, don’t!”
**************
The black night air wrapped itself around him like a cloak, hiding him from detection. The sounds of the city faded away as he focused on the quiet footsteps of the petite woman below him. Willing himself to see, the layers of concrete, metal and wood peeled away, leaving him with an aerial view of a butler knocking on a door.
Superman watched as the scene unfolded below him. Lois’s heartbeat was slightly faster than normal, the only indication that she wasn’t as calm as her outward appearance portrayed. Luthor’s heartbeat was steady, but then in the past month of surveillance, he had never known it to rise. Luthor was as cold as a snake in the middle of winter.
He scanned the entire top floor, looking for clues, as he listened to Luthor suggest Lois go with him to pick out a wine. Nothing. Where did Luthor hide everything?
The sound of Lois’ heartbeat speeding up brought his attention to a green room, where Luthor was approaching a fireplace. He wished Lois hadn’t agreed to meet Luthor, but all his arguments had been for naught. When Lois made up her mind, no-one could get her to change her mind.
Suddenly he tensed. Something was wrong. Luthor’s steady thump thump thump had increased a notch. If he hadn’t been paying attention he would have missed it. Focusing on Luthor, he watched a small bead of sweat run down the back of the billionaire’s neck. He saw Luthor pull down on the fire poker, which made the fireplace retreat into the wall. In its place a plush elevator appeared which Lex ushered Lois into.
He wrestled with himself, as the elevator descended. Lois would kill him, superpowers or not, if he came hurtling in like an 800 pound bull and scared Luthor off. But then he was sure Luthor was up to something, and he couldn’t let anything happen to Lois, especially after their talk that morning.
Suddenly his view was blocked, and he realised that the elevator had plunged below the ground and was hidden by a layer of lead. In a flash he flew through the open balcony doors and into the green room. In his haste to reopen the fireplace, he snapped the poker in two. As the elevator doors appeared, he forced them open and flew down the narrow shaft. Hearing Lois’ cry of “Lex, please no!” He put on a burst of speed.
*****************
Lex smiled in triumph as the Man of Steel crashed through the elevator’s roof and into the wine cellar to stand by Lois’ side. Just as night followed day, so Superman followed Lois Lane.
“Put the gun down, Luthor.”
“Superman, I’m glad you could join us. It saves me having to explain this twice,” Lex said as he casually strolled over to one of the barrels of wine, his gun still trained on the headstrong Lois.
“I’m not playing games, Luthor, it’s over.”
“Over? Well, yes, but not in the way you think, Superman.” In a deliberately calm motion, he twisted the valve on one of the barrels of wine. A clattering noise heralded a metal prison coming to rest around Lois and Superman.
“Bars won’t hold me, Luthor.”
“Oh?” Lex replied mildly. “I think these will.”
As the sickly green glow of the cage’s bars became evident, Lex smiled his arch enemy withered to the floor in agony.
“Lex! No, stop, you’ll kill him.”
“That’s the idea, Lois. I wasn’t going to have you watch this, but after I found out that you had been working with Alice White, well, it just seemed right. No one double crosses me, Lois. Remember that. After tomorrow we will be man and wife, and I *will* have your complete submission. “
“You’re mad if you think I’ll marry you, Lex.”
“While I admit, it would be nice if you were to marry me willingly, in the end, it does not matter. Surly you must realise I love you, Lois.”
“Love me? This isn’t love Lex! And I certainly don’t love you.”
“That’s irrelevant. You are beautiful and intelligent, a bit too tenacious maybe, but that just adds to the challenge. I look forward to breaking that independent spirit you have. Given time, you will love me. After all, you were willing to marry me, so there must be some feelings that you have for me.”
Walking towards the stairs, Lex paused. Turning around, one hand on the rail, Lex contemplated Superman. “Is this a mistake? Will the pain of losing the challenge you represent be worse than the discomfort of constantly losing to you?”
Taking a final look at the moaning form of Superman, etching the moment into memory, he answered his own question. “Nah!”
Once in the elevator, he checked to make sure the incompetent thug in his wine cellar hadn’t broken the elevator’s mechanisms. Naturally, he had a back-up plan, should the elevator not work but it looked as if he wouldn’t need it. He gave a sigh of satisfaction as the white doors silently closed.
*****************
As he shielded his eyes from the glare of the afternoon sun, Perry looked up to where the old Daily Planet globe used to be. The charred building stood out against the bright blue sky and a small breeze brought the slight odour of ash to Perry’s nose. Behind him he heard the squeal of tyres as a car came to a sudden stop. Ah, Metropolis, how he had missed it!
“Hi, Chief! Why did you want to meet us here?” Jimmy asked as he walked away from the yellow taxi cab he had just arrived in.
“Yeah, and where’s C.K.? I thought he was going to meet us here.” Jack added, as he came to a stop beside Perry. “Did he decide Thursday afternoon was early enough to go on a long weekend?”
“I don’t know where Clark is, Jack. He should have been here ten minutes ago. You’re both late as it is.”
“Sorry about that, Chief,’ Jimmy said, handing over a small device. “We stopped by Montague Place’s underground car park to retrieve the video recorder. It took a while longer than we thought.”
“I’d say.” Jack added. “That security guard almost caught me in your little ‘diversion’ idea, Jimmy.”
“Well, I thought you could run faster than that, Jack.”
Deciding it was prudent to step in, Perry accepted the video recorder from Jimmy. “So, have you had a look at what’s on it yet?”
“No, we came straight here.” Jimmy answered.
“Well, I say give Clark five more minutes, then we should probably see what’s on this tape. It’s not like Clark to be this late.” Perry hid his worry that something was wrong and cleared his throat. It was time for some good news.
“I ah, talked to a fellow called Franklin Stern yesterday.”
“Franklin Stern, as in owner of the Wolf Empire, the second largest media company, after LNN?” Jimmy asked in awe.
“Doesn’t he own TV’s channel 8 and the Triple 8 radio station?” Jack asked, impressed.
“And he has a publishing company,” Jimmy added.
“Well, now he has a newspaper as well,” Perry said, unable to stop the grin from spreading across his face.
“So we get our jobs back?” Jack asked tentatively.
“Yep, rebuilding starts on Monday. Give or take a couple of weeks, we’ll be back in business.”
Perry smiled as Jack and Jimmy gave each other a high five, calling out, “All right!”, and other exclamations of joy. He accepted the bear hug Jimmy gave him, and allowed himself to enjoy the moment.
“I won’t be there to open the paper though.”
“What!”
“Why not?” Both guys asked simultaneously.
“No, I’ll be on my second honeymoon. This time round, Alice comes first. I almost lost her yesterday, and I’m not going to throw away my second chance.”
“That’s great, Chief.”
“You will be coming back though, won’t you?” Jimmy asked cautiously.
“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away, Jimmy. No, I’ll be back, but with a few changes. I won’t be working a 14 hour day, and I’ll be in need of an assistant.”
“That sounds like a very smart decision, Mr White.” Jack remarked.
With the good news out of the way, Perry felt his earlier worries come back. Trying to sound more hopeful that he felt, Perry stated, “Now all we need is Clark.”
******************
The eerie green glow illuminated the Superhero who lay on the floor curled up into himself, too weak to move except for the occasional spasm of pain running through his body. Lois numbly listened to the sound of the retreating elevator. The ensuing silence was complete. She couldn’t hear any cars, sirens or the hum of machinery. Not even the comforting background sound of the city penetrated through the 30 feet of soil separating her from the rest of the world. A moan from the Man of Steel jolted her into action
Crouching down beside Superman, all the buried feelings she had told herself weren’t real resurfaced.
“Can you hear me Superman?”
A moan which could have been a yes escaped his clenched lips.
“Is this kryptonite? Can it kill you?” Lois asked, as she placed her hand on his forehead.
“Yes.” Superman weakly replied.
Superman’s forehead was burning up, and his breathing was becoming shallow. It looked as though this time Lois would have to do the rescuing. Realising that she couldn’t help Superman while he was in the cage, she looked for a way out.
The bars which seared Superman’s hands when he had grabbed them were cool to her touch. She worked her way around the cage, looking for a loose bar, a weak spot, anything that could help them out.
The moans from Superman were like a knife through her heart. The third side of the cage she checked had a door in it, with a lock keeping it shut.
In a matter of moments she deftly moved two hairpins in the internal mechanisms of the lock. A satisfying click was accompanied by the cage’s door slowly swinging open.
Lois reflected on the irony of her escape from the cage as she struggled to drag Superman out. A month of being constantly in Luthor’s company and yet he still didn’t know what everyone from office gofer to the paper’s editor knew about her - Lois Lane was an excellent lock picker.
Realising that moving Superman was like trying to pull a locomotive, Lois bent down next to him.
“Superman! I need your help. I’ve opened the cage’s door, but I can’t drag you out. Can you stand up?” Lois shook the Man of Steel by his shoulders as she spoke. After what seemed like an eternity, Superman responded.
“Lois? Is that you?”
“Come on Superman, you need to get out of this cage.”
“I’m so sorry, Lois.”
“Shh, come on, that’s the way.” Lois slowly helped Superman to his feet, and the two began a slow shuffle towards the cage’s door.
“I never meant for you to get hurt.”
“It’s okay, Superman.” Lois concentrated on getting the two of them through the cage’s door and away from the sickly green trap they had been in.
As she neared the light switch, Lois tried to turn the lights back on. However, for some unknown reason, they wouldn’t work. Maybe the power went off once the elevator had left the basement. With Luthor, who could guess?
As soon as they reached the first row of wine Superman appeared to lean less heavily on her. By the time they were several rows away from the cage he was walking, albeit slowly, by himself.
The darkness was now complete, as was the silence, broken only by their heavy breathing and the shuffle of their feet on the cold stone floor. Lois felt her silk blouse sticking to her body, the effort of getting Superman out of the kryptonite cage more draining than she realised.
“How do you feel now?” Lois asked the dark form beside her.
“Better. Not super, but the pain’s only a dull throb now.”
Reaching out in front of her as they walked, Lois’s hand suddenly felt stone.
“I think we’ve reached the end, Superman.” Lois said, using both outstretched hands to feel the wall.
“Do you think we’re far enough away?”
“This is fine.” Superman said as he lowered himself to the ground.
Lois followed suit and soon the two were crouched on the ground, their backs up against the cold stone wall.
“Thank you, Lois, for what you did.”
“Well, only a couple of hundred more times of rescuing you and we’ll be even,” Lois said lightly, trying to lighten the mood.
Lois guessed that about three hours had passed since she first arrived at Lex Towers. Clark was expecting her back by 4 pm, so that gave her about an hour to fill before he noticed her missing.
Clark, being the protective man he was had protested her even going to see Luthor, and had been just as reluctant to wait at his apartment for her to return. A month earlier, it would have been a bit annoying, having Clark hover over her, but now, with the eyes of her heart opened, finally, she realised it was just one of the many ways Clark showed how much he cared for her.
“Is that your teeth I can hear chattering Superman?”
“Noo. Noo no.”
Lois felt to the right of her, the darkness stopping her from seeing Superman. She felt his arm, and moved her hand up to his forehead. Whereas before it had been burning up, it now felt like ice.
“Superman! You’re freezing.”
“I’m…I’m fine, Lois.”
“Look, we can’t stay here. Your body’s been subjected to a terrible shock. I don’t know what might happen, but I don’t want to get you away from that cage only to have you go into shock, or a coma or get pneumonia or something worse.” As she was speaking, Lois removed her dress jacket and spread it over Superman.
“You stay here and I’m going to find a way out of this dreaded basement. I want you to count slowly so that I know where you are, and so I can find my way back, o.k.?”
Lois didn’t wait for an answer but stood up her hands on the stone wall, and turned to her right. She hoped to be able to walk around the perimeter of the room, using the wall as a guide, until she arrived back to where the elevator had arrived.
“I can’t hear you counting, Superman,” she called out. As long as the numbers were being called out, Lois knew that Superman was still conscious.
The slow rhythmic of Superman’s voice begun, “one…two…three…”
Superman was in the hundreds when she realised she could faintly make out the outline of the ceiling high wine racks. At the sight of the giant green cage she paused, looking for the mechanism that Luthor had used to bring the cage down. Maybe she could retract the cage. The first four wine taps she turned caused aromatic liquid to fall to the concrete floor. The fifth, however, was the one she was looking for.
Silently offering up a prayer of hope, Lois turned the tap. She heard a click, but nothing more. Luthor had made the cage only go down on its prey. In the background, the numbers were slowly becoming fainter.
“Keep going, Superman,” Lois called out as she hurried to check the immediate wine barrels for hidden doors behind them. Nothing.
Superman’s voice reached her ears slightly stronger than before and Lois turned to check the spiral staircase for any more ‘secret’ doors Lex may have installed. Again, nothing.
Lois returned to the elevator shaft and removed one of her high heeled shoes. Using the heel, she tried to pry open the elevator doors. After straining her muscles, she felt something give – a sharp snap accompanied the heel breaking off the shoe. Not one to give up, Lois looked around for another tool.
Lois paused at the stairs and looked at the banister rails. Although a Tae Kwon Do brown belt, she doubted she could kick the wooden rails hard enough to break them-- they were simply too thick. However, maybe a wine rack would do.
Making her way over to the first row of wine, she quickly removed the wine from the lower rungs. Stopping to gather her wits, Lois realised she couldn’t hear Superman counting anymore.
“Superman! I can’t hear you! Talk to me!” Lois called out. Faintly she could hear a reply, and the counting started up again.
Lois braced herself, and brought the full weight of her leg down onto the bottom rack. She cried out, as her foot twisted, and she heard the sound of wood being split.
Lois could hear Superman calling out, “Lois! Are you okay? What happened? Lois?”
“I hurt my foot, Superman, it’s okay though. Stay there.” Lois replied, gingerly trying her weight on her foot. Reassured that she hadn’t broken anything, Lois gathered up one of the larger pieces of wood and made her way carefully to the elevator doors.
Although the light was considerably dimmer around the corner of the spiral staircase, Lois could see well enough to insert the wood into the elevator’s doors. This time, she was successful. As the door opened, Lois let out a disappointed sigh. The elevator wasn’t there. She hadn’t really expected it, but she had hoped it might be.
The light only went up a few feet higher than her head, and then darkness enveloped itself around the shaft.
No stairs could be seen.
The darkness and the silence wrapped itself around her, casting a veil of despair onto her.
“Superman!” Lois called out, aware that his counting had again stopped.
The sound of her laboured breathing was all that greeted her strained ears.
As she rushed down the stairs to try to return to where she had left Superman, her foot, already weakened by breaking the wine rack turned again. Her arms waving frantically to regain her balance, Lois plunged head first towards the concrete floor, a dull thud sounding as her body struck the cold surface.
Then there was silence.
