The Cat's Meow
Part 4
Lois had left the newsroom to meet a source about a new lead a few minutes before Clark had arrived.
“What’s this?” The tall lanky man at the shaded picnic table in a park in the East End asked, looking into the brown lunch bag. “You expect information for this amount of food?” He raised his eyebrows at Lois as he tossed the bag back to her. “Ut uh. I’m not talking till you give me a decent meal!”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Fine! I’ll be back in a minute.” She pushed herself up from the picnic bench and slung her satchel over her shoulder, heading to the closest food vendor. The smell of fried chicken mixed with cole slaw and potatoes.
In a few minutes she returned with a much larger bag, setting it down in front of Bobby Bigmouth. “Okay, now spill it!” She demanded, her fists moving to her hips as she glared at her source.
“All right, all right. But you didn’t get me anything to drink. How about some of that purple stuff? Oh, and I’ll need desert, too!”
Lois huffed and turned on her heel before stalking off to the line of vendors nearby. When she had finally satisfied Bobby’s cravings, he was ready to talk.
“Okay, now what I’ve heard is this: Cassandra Johnson’s a geneticist. She’s been able to mutate tiny worms and make them live ten times as long. She wanted to experiment on people to see if it would work. So she’s been in cahoots with the coroner to get terminally ill patients declared dead. She removes them and takes them somewhere. But when she alters their genes, they recover and become as healthy and energetic as when they were 25! Sounds pretty good to me!”
“Yeah? And where is she doing this?”
“Beats me. Seems she was trying to get approval for her research to move to humans, but she was denied and went underground with it.”
“What happens with the people she’s cured?”
“That’s the thing. One guy thinks they’re ending up in the bay with cement feet.”
To Lois’ confused look he added, “Well, it’s not like she can release them back into society. They’ll talk and she’ll be in hot water for not getting the approval she needed from the ethics and whatever other boards are out there.”
“Okay, Thanks. Can you tell me anymore?”
“Just that the chicken was great but this pie tastes like a rubber tire.”
Lois smirked, “Glad you liked the chicken. So you’ll call me if you hear anything else?”
“Who else am I gona call? And hey, where’s your partner? Word is you’ve got a date coming up!”
“What? How do you know that?” she demanded.
“The walls have ears, Lois!” he smiled and wiped his face with the large white napkin still in the bag.
Lois returned to the newsroom looking for Clark. When she didn’t see him, she headed to Jimmy’s desk.
“Jimmy, get me whatever you can on Cassandra Johnson and on genetic research on aging. Oh, and any bodies that have been found in the bay in the last, oh, six months.”
The young man with the short hair and a look of innocence looked up at his favorite co-worker…okay, second favorite. “I’m on it, Lois.” He turned to his computer and began searching.
Lois dropped her satchel on the floor by her desk after removing her notes and headed for Perry’s office.
“Perry, I’ve got a lead…” she said, kicking the door closed behind her.
Ten minutes later Perry was nodding. “Okay, get me what I need before deadline, then you can move on to this one.” The look on Lois’ face was familiar to her old boss, “and Lois? Try to be careful this time, huh?”
Lois grinned. “Who me? I’m still alive aren’t I!”
She returned to her desk and was deep into her research by the time she heard Perry yell for Clark.
Clark swallowed and clenched his jaw. Perry held out the afternoon edition of the Metropolis Star to Clark as he walked through the office door.
“Yes, sir?”
“It’s so good of you to join us Kent. I don’t suppose you know what this is?”
Clark looked at the headlines on the paper…Childcare Plan Scrapped.
“You’ll notice that the Daily planet, the world’s best newspaper is leading with a different story…” he glared at Clark. “…with not a word about today’s announcement!” he paused for effect. “According to my sources, The Daily Planet’s reporter at the conference LEFT before the announcement and hasn’t been seen SINCE!”
Clark knew there was no sense in making up excuses. He had none. He couldn’t even offer photos for the Superman rescues he was about to write up. The camera was obviously flawed. It didn’t take deep sea pressure well. It wasn’t even waterproof. What kind of a camera was that to give to Superman? Right. It wasn’t given to Superman, it was given to Clark Kent. Unless he was going to let his editor know, and perhaps most of the rest of the world, he wouldn't be able to give Perry the photos he wanted.
“I’m sorry, Chief.”
“Sorry? SORRY? So where did you have to go that was so important that you couldn’t give your editor the story he wanted before deadline?”
“I…uh…I wasn’t feeling well. I spent most of the day in the restroom.”
“And you couldn’t use your cell phone? You couldn't ask ANYBODY what you’d missed? Couldn’t phone Lois for backup?”
“I thought I’d be right back but I was pretty sick.”
Of course, Clark didn't look sick, unless you counted the fact that he was about to lose the best job he’d ever had…likely ever would have. He hung his head, shaking it slowly. Then his decision caught up with him. Should he have let the bomb go off? He wished he could have phoned in. Should he have ignored the woman about to be mugged? No, he’d done the right thing. He sat up straight.
“I’m sorry I let the Star scoop us. If you feel you need to fire me, I’ll understand.” Clark stood up. “Otherwise, I have some articles to write up. If you’ll excuse me please, Chief.” He put his hand on the door, not wanting to face the fact that he was about to be terminated. He opened the door and walked back to his desk, confident that he had made the right choices.
As he returned to his desk, he noticed Lois heading to the Ladies’ room.
In a few minutes, he had written up and sent in three Superman stories. The third was Superman’s account of the earthquake and how he’d dealt with it. It also detailed Superman’s resolve to learn more about plate tectonics and using his superpowers to deal with them and the tsunamis they created.
Perry called Clark into his office after he’d received the stories.
“So you saw Superman today?”
“When I left city hall this afternoon, Superman was flying overhead and stopped to talk to me.”
“No photos? Not even one of Superman talking to you?”
“No, Sir. I didn’t get any photos.”
“I see, Kent.” Perry leaned forward and squinted his eyes at Clark. “Don’t you EVER miss a deadline again!”
“Yes, sir.”
Perry watched as Clark stood to leave. “Oh, and something in your pocket is leaking.”
Clark turned back to look at his boss, his hand feeling the waterlogged camera in his jacket pocket. The corner of his mouth turned up half heartedly. “Thanks, Chief.”
He headed to the men’s room to empty the water from what used to be a brand new camera. In the stall he shot a ray of heat at the camera, knowing even if he did dry it without frying the mechanism it was highly unlikely it still worked. It would make a good paper weight for his desk…if only he didn’t have to hide it now.
Lois was mad at Clark for his latest disappearance, so she’d been avoiding him since she’d found he was back. She’d have to tell him about their next assignment soon, though.
Just before five, Cat Grant opened Perry’s door and poked her head in. “Is it safe to come in, Perry?”
“Hi, Cat. What can I do for you?” Cat stood in front of her editor’s desk as he tried to find somewhere to rest his eyes other than on her scantily covered body. “Can’t you afford clothes that cover your whole body. I think ‘business attire’ is what it says on the dress code. You certainly don’t dress like your business is writing for the greatest paper in the country.” He stopped before he said what it looked like her business was.
“I’ve heard that Lex Luthor is dating someone new. But, nobody knows who she is. According to my source at the resort he frequents at this time of year, he has reservations this weekend…for two. Perry, I need to be there. I’ve gotta find out who she is. This is big news.”
Perry rolled his eyes at the thought that gossip could be news to anyone, but it was her job as the society columnist and it sold papers, no matter how little he cared to read it or know about it. “So what do you want from me?”
“I need to be there this weekend at the Planet’s expense.”
“Just where is this resort?”
“It’s in upstate New Troy, about three hours from here.”
“Well, at least it’s not in the Mexican Riviera. I’ll need more information, though. What have you got on the resort?”
Cat handed him a printout. He looked through his bifocals and read aloud. “A private couple’s resort. No singles allowed?”
Cat smiled demurely as Perry shook his head. “Who were you planning on attending this with?”
“Oh, I have…”
Perry shook his head. “No way. You go on your own nickel if this is some getaway you’ve got up your…uh…sleeve.”
“But Perry!” Cat resorted to begging mode.
“No, Cat. Business is business.” He jerked his head at the office door. She got up in a huff and sashayed out the door. Perry sighed and turned back at the article he was editing on his paper-strewn desk.
((If you like reading this...just take a sec to Feedback))
