Part 5

Thursday didn’t go any better for Clark than Wednesday had. Superman had been called away before he could talk to Lois last night. All day they’d missed each other, again. He had been able to do a bit of research, but he’d not been able to let Lois know what he’d found out before he’d heard about the volcano in Singapore.

Lois stormed around the office. “I don’t know where he is, Perry. I’ve checked everywhere. He left me a message that he’d gotten the facts we needed to go to print before deadline, but now I don’t know where his information is.” She paced back and forth in front of Perry’s desk. “I’ll keep looking.” She turned to her editor. “I have my half written up. Maybe it would…” Perry was shaking head. “I’ll see what I can find.”

Lois eyed Clark’s computer. It was off, naturally. Perhaps he hadn’t left his information on it anyway. She booted it up, wondering if his password was Smallville or something lame. Perhaps his birthdate. She pulled out the drawers of his desk, sifting through loose files in the top drawer that looked current. Why was his desk so tidy? She pulled out one file, but it was the other one they’d started working on for next week.

She pulled out the middle drawer and saw the camera. It certainly didn’t look new anymore. What on earth had he done to it? She tried to access the photos inside, but the battery must have been dead.

The large bottom drawer held a hanging file. He sure kept paper copies of a lot of stuff. What had he called this case?

She rifled through the files; shaking her head, when she found a ‘birthday gifts’ file. Too much organization could be a bad thing. But for someone so organized as it appeared, he sure was late for appointments a lot! What he really needed was a planner. Down beneath the hanging files she glimpsed something on the bottom of the drawer. She pulled the files apart, but her arm wouldn’t fit through. She removed a few folders, then checked over her shoulder before reaching in and retrieving a tan planner. She sat back in the chair, flipping through it. She didn’t recognize any of the appointments that were in the book. Perhaps it was someone else’s. Clark’s would have current things in it, like their upcoming date tomorrow night. She studied it for a few more minutes, then shut the book and dropped it back into the drawer before putting the files back.. Perhaps he’d ‘acquired’ it as part of an investigation. She’d ask him about it later.

If he weren’t so squeaky clean, he’d certainly be an interesting person to figure out!
She turned the chair to his computer. The password screen blocked her access. No big deal, this was Clark. How complex was his mind anyway? She began typing in words. Smallville...Corn…Wheat...Twinkies…Mason...Mason Drake...What could it be? Boy Scout? Who was that guy that started the Boy Scouts?

Eagle Scout…donuts…Superman…Daily Planet…chocolate. No, he didn't like chocolate as much as she did. What did he like anyway? She took a stab at a few more things. His birthday. His parents’ names. Kansas. Lois Lane. Lois. She was in! She felt a shiver of excitement that he had used her name for his password. Maybe it was just because they were partners. She’d have to think about it later, sometime when she wasn’t angry at him for being late for deadline.

She opened his recent documents. There were the superman stories from yesterday, but nothing for today. Oh wait. Here was something. She scanned the notes. No, this was all stuff she’d given him. Darn that farm boy, where was his research?

She turned the chair around, pulled his memo pad over, found a pencil and rubbed the blank page on top. A phone number appeared. Before dialing it, she pushed ‘last number redial’ on the phone to see if it was the same one he’d left on the pad. No. Excellent. She had two phone numbers to check out.


What a waste of time. Lois was furious as she headed back to Perry’s office. “He made two appointments but didn't show. I got what I could from them, but it’s not much more than I already have.”

“He said he was sick yesterday. Is he at home?”

“He’s not answering his phone. I’ll go over.”

Fifteen minutes later Lois was knocking on the door of 344 Clinton Street. As she suspected, there was no answer. She picked his lock and opened the door on the silent and incredibly immaculate apartment. His bed was made, his bathroom, kitchen and living room were spotless. There wasn’t a sign of him or of his notes. However, the light on his answering machine was flashing.

She pushed the button and heard Martha Kent’s voice. “Clark, we heard the news. Call us when you get back.”

What news? Clark’s parents knew he’d gone somewhere. She had no restraints when she was on a mission. She checked the telephone to find the number of the last caller. There it was…Jonathan Kent 555-378-9765. She dialed it and waited.

No, they hadn’t seen or heard from him. Work always kept him away from home until seven or later. That was no help. They did assure her he’d be back soon.


“I can’t find him, Perry.”

“Okay then, Darlin’, just send me what you’ve got, I’ll see if we can run with part of the story.” Perry turned back to the work on his desk, muttering.

“Excuse me?” Lois asked.

Perry’s head snapped up. “His job’s on the line.”

Lois’ eyes widened. “No! Perry! You can’t do that! I need Clark! You can’t fire him!” her voice went from shock to dismay. She brushed her hand angrily over the moisture on her cheekbones. “Don’t fire him. I’ll kill him!” she muttered angrily as she threw the door open and returned to her desk

Perry looked at the slammed door shaking in her wake and leaned back in his chair. “No, you’re right Darlin’, you need Clark. How about we just teach him a lesson.” He pulled the paper Cat had left with him out from under a pile on the desk.