I've finally finished this story. The question mark in the title just means that I haven't figured out yet in how many parts I'm going to post this. I started out wanting to rewrite some fragment that was still sitting on my harddrive and use it as a reply for the Kerth Challenges. Unfortunately, the fragment was written in German and far too long to translate it in just a couple of days. I sure hope that you'll find this is a blessing in disguise, because now you're not going to be stuck with the fragment this story might otherwise have been. If you like this story, you'd probably have sent a couple of these guys after me 
to finish what I've started.
This story should come with a warning. It's PG-13 for angst, violence and language.
There will also at least one scene some of you might consider a WHAM. If you're fine with that, please enjoy. If you're sensitive to some topics, please see the spoiler for more information.
In the second part of this story there will be a scene where Lois thinks she is going to be raped. It doesn't happen, it's not even a close call. She won't be undressed or physically violated.
After that part, the incident will only be mentioned in passing. The word rape will appear several times and Lois will be facing some lewd comments, but that's all. So people who don't want to read such a violent scene but are interested in the rest of the story could continue reading after part 2. I could give a brief summery of the second part at the beginning of the third one, if anyone is interested. Please PM me or mention it in the comments.
The usual disclaimers apply. I don't own these characters, I don't earn money writing and I just do it for the fun of it. A nice side effect is that my English has vastly improved, but I sure hope that no one is going to sue me for that.
I think I'm going to post once a week, on Tuesday or Thursdays depending on the challenges of RL.
A heartfelt thank you goes to Terry Leatherwood for his outstanding beta.And now without further ado...
Live Another Day
Part 1Perry stuck his head out of his office. “It’s late, Lois. Why don’t you call it a day?”
Lois looked up from her desk. “I’m still looking for a lead on…”
Perry shook his head sadly. “Go home. There’s always another lead. Life happens outside the newsroom, you know.” He looked at her with a worried expression that seemed to belong to a father rather than her boss.
Lois gave in. “Okay, okay.” She closed the folder she had been working on.
When she started to pack her things, Perry grinned contentedly and waved his good bye. He returned into his office, humming some Elvis song. It had been a slow news day, anyway. Lois didn’t know why she had even stayed so late. Perhaps it frustrated her that she had been so unproductive. Or maybe she just needed the time for herself.
Her life had taken an unexpected turn. And now she was faced with a confusing jumble of emotions. She found it hard to think clearly with everything that had happened lately. First the financial problems the Daily Planet had faced, and then… Lois grabbed her handbag and went up the ramp to leave the newsroom.
While she waited for the elevator to arrive, she studied her hands. She tried to envision a wedding band on her ring finger. Perry might think that she didn’t have a private life. That was not entirely accurate. She even had a fiancé. Her gut twisted into a knot. Well, maybe – if she said yes, that was.
When the elevator arrived, the doors opened with a hum. Lois stepped into the cabin and pressed the button for the lobby. The doors closed and the elevator moved down.
Lex’ proposal had come as a surprise. On the spur of a moment he’d taken her to Italy for dinner. A flight to Europe for dinner! The concept was completely mind-blowing. Not to mention that Lex had paid the chef and the waiter to stay up well past midnight, after all Italy was six hours ahead of Metropolis. They had had the restaurant for themselves, including a violinist who had played for them while they had danced.
Lois had to admit that it had been very romantic. She still felt incredibly flattered that he’d invited her. It was hard to believe that he could really mean her. During their flight back, Lex had suddenly started talking about their future. And before she even knew it, he’d knelt down on one leg, presenting to her the most breathtaking ring she’d ever seen.
<Lois Lane, will you marry me?>The look on his face had been so sincere and full of adoration. She’d been completely taken by surprise.
<I don't know what to say.>Lex obviously hadn’t shared her predicament.
<There are only three possible choices: Yes. No. Maybe.>She’d tried to form coherent words from the turmoil that had been going on inside her mind.
<It's not that simple. What about my life at the Daily Planet? Perry and Jimmy are like family. I...>He’d just smiled.
<I believe in families. Large ones.> It had been obvious that he hadn’t understood what was bothering her.
So she’d tried again.
<The past few weeks have been wonderful, but... I hardly know you.>His answer had been simple.
<The only thing you need to know about me is that I love you.>He loved her. Lois couldn’t honestly say that a man had ever said such a thing to her and truly meant it. She wasn’t even sure if any of the men in her life had ever uttered those three words – including her father. That someone could
actually be in love with her sent her heart racing. Now Lois was faced with the biggest decision of her life. Should she marry Lex Luthor? She desperately longed to talk it through with someone.
But who would that person be? Her mother? There wasn’t a man in the whole wide world Ellen Lane would be fond of. Lucy? While her sister might be a good person to talk to, her history with men was as much of a disaster as Lois’ own. Her father? He wouldn’t listen for more than two minutes before he changed the topic and talked about something that was on his mind. Lois bit her lips and closed her eyes. She had to deal with this all by herself.
On the one hand, she was flattered. But Lois wasn’t sure about her feelings for Lex. She didn’t feel the butterflies that had fluttered through her belly when she’d been in love with Claude. But maybe, her broken heart just wasn’t willing to risk another injury like that and was more cautious this time. She just hadn’t had the time to actually fall in love with Lex. If she told him that she couldn’t marry him, he’d move on. And what if she realized too late that Lex had been the one for her all along? Would she forever regret her decision and live out the remainder of her days with the knowledge of what could have been?
The elevator came to a halt. The doors opened with a ring and Lois stepped out. As she looked up, she stared at a group of masked faces and a split second later into the barrel of a handgun. Her heart skipped several beats and she raised her hands automatically. Her breath caught in her throat. It took an effort to breathe in again. Her heart started to race and panic took hold of her. The revolver twitched slightly.
"Get back in there." The man barely raised his voice. It was cold and ruthless. "And not a sound."
A shiver ran down Lois’ spine as she followed the order and stumbled back into the elevator. Her legs felt like Jello and her breath came in panting gasps. She desperately tried to remember what she had learned during her Taekwondo classes, but those lessons seemed to elude her. She pressed herself against the wall as the man with the revolver in his hand closed in on her. With one hand, Lois tried to get hold of her handbag that contained OC spray, but she couldn’t find the spray.
The man moved with an ease that showed his strength. His physical presence was quite intimidating with shoulders so broad that she could barely see past him. He towered over her, at least a head taller than Lois. His dark eyes rested on her as if he could see right into her mind.
"No tricks," he said quietly.
Lois tried to suppress a whimper that threatened to escape her as the elevator doors closed again. She forced herself to look at the men. All four of them were hooded and completely clad in black. They wore dark leather jackets and black jeans and shirts. Four pairs of eyes fixed on Lois with an icy gaze. Lois let go of any plan she might have had to fight back.
Instead, she desperately tried to at least control her breathing. "What do you want?"
"That's our business," the man with the gun replied. "You'd better forget we were here, sweetheart."
What should have been a term of endearment was a blatant threat that made Lois gag. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to think about what these men might be capable of. She felt awfully trapped.
Suddenly, the elevator stopped. Three of the guys stepped out, leaving just Lois and the large guy who had pressed his body into hers. With a swift motion he grabbed and turned her until the gun was pressed into her back.
“Move out,” he whispered into her ear.
There was no escaping his firm grip. Lois had no choice but to go with him. They had arrived at the printing plant. The man pushed her through the aisle between the large machines. It was eerily quiet. Their steps echoed through the hall. Printing wouldn’t start for another five hours. Until recently, the printing plant had always been busy with employees. But since Lex had taken over the Daily Planet, the working hours here had been reduced to save money. These guys obviously knew exactly what they were doing.
Suddenly, the man with the gun stopped and pushed Lois towards a rail. He produced a cable tie from his pocket. Lois instinctively slipped her hand into the pocket of her blazer where she kept a pocket-knife that was part of her lock-picking equipment. She flipped it open and held her breath, afraid that he had seen her motion. But the man seemed to be blissfully ignorant as he shackled her to the rail. His motions were swift and left her no chance for an attack. Lois let out her breath, hoping that her time would come.
"Don't move," he hissed threateningly.
He signaled for one of his men to guard her and handed him the revolver. Then he nodded towards the rest of the group and they began to move through the maze of printing machines. Lois couldn’t help but wonder what they wanted here of all places.
Meanwhile, the guard kept his gun trained on her motionlessly. He looked more like a statue than a person. His eyes were dark. He was staring daggers at her and Lois had the distinct feeling that he didn’t like his babysitting duty at all. His gaze never left her, he didn’t even blink. Lois had no chance to put her knife to use. She tested her bonds but realized soon that her captor was quite efficient. Lois had to admit that the bonds alone would have kept her in place. The guard and the weapon were a bonus that made sure she wouldn’t escape. She growled in frustration and started to look around.
The men were still moving through the printing plant. Were they searching for something? But they had brought large bags they had put on a pile next to her. Lois didn’t know why she hadn’t seen that earlier. Or why she was registering those details now. Maybe her reporter’s instincts were finally taking over or maybe she was running out of the adrenaline that was fueling her panic.
Besides the leader of the group and Dark-Eyes, her guard, there was a guy who was limping slightly. The fourth man was fat and walked sluggishly. After a while, the group came back to her and started to rummage through their bags. The fat guy didn’t join them. Instead, he looked at Lois. She got the unpleasant feeling that he was undressing her with his eyes. When she’d chosen her skirt suit this morning, she’d thought that it covered her decently. Now she felt that her skirt was too short and her blouse too translucent.
The fat guy turned to his fellow thugs. "What we gonna do with the chick?"
The leader raised his head. "Shut up. We still got work to do.”
Lois suppressed a sigh of relief as the fat man reluctantly bent down and opened one of the bags. There was a twitch under the mask of Dark-Eyes. Lois suspected that he was grinning. She got sick. How much longer would those guys stay here? And what were they doing in the printing plant? What was inside those bags?
And – Lois hardly dared to think about the next question that popped into her head - would these guys let her go when they were done here? Or ... the thought made Lois’ heart race again. So far, the four of them hadn't given her any clues to identify them. Lois had only heard the voices of two of them. Was that too much? The guys were professionals. There was no doubt about that.
Would they think that even these small shreds of information about them were too much to let her stay alive? Lois didn't think that they had planned to capture her. Her gaze darted back to the revolver, which was still aimed at her with a frightening stillness.
The men withdrew several items from their bags and vanished back into the maze of the printing plant. Lois tried to see what they were carrying. She saw wires and little boxes that in her book bore a striking resemblance to explosive devices. Her heart skipped a beat. Were these guys trying to blow up the Daily Planet? Why? Once again Lois tore at her bonds in a futile attempt to break free. She was done waiting. She had to do something! But the ties wouldn’t budge and the guy watching her just seemed to smirk. At least, Lois thought he did. It was difficult to tell since she saw nothing but his dark eyes.
It didn’t take the limping guy and the fat man long to return. They looked around. After a while they exchanged glances.
“Where the hell is he?” the fat guy asked. The other two just shrugged.
Since their leader was the only one missing, Lois assumed they were talking about him.
Tapping his foot, the fat guy looked at his watch. “He should be back by now! What’s takin’ him so long? We need to get outta here.”
For a couple of minutes, the three men waited in silence. When nothing happened, they once again looked at each other. A series of brief nods seemed to settle a tacit agreement between them. Dark-Eyes remained with Lois while the other two moved out to look for their leader.
But the attention of Lois’ guard was no longer focused on her. Dark-Eyes kept his eyes trained on the other two thugs. Absent-mindedly, he took a few steps toward Lois. The gun drifted a little until it was no longer pointed at her. Finally, the guy just aimed at the floor. Lois took her chance and fumbled with the knife in her hands. She made quick work of the cable tie. Moments later she was free. Her heart was beating madly in her chest. Suddenly Dark-Eyes looked back at her. Lois’ next move was a reflex. Dark-Eyes collapsed in front of her. His gun clattered to the floor before Lois even realized that her leg had shot up.
Within a split second, the leader seemingly materialized out of nowhere. “You shouldn’t have done that, lady.”
He used one arm to pull her into a firm grip, before she even had a chance to do anything else. Then he bent her free arm behind her back until Lois was no longer able to move. Hard as she might try to escape him, the leader was stronger than any opponent Lois had faced during her often hazardous investigations. Without even breaking a sweat, he manhandled Lois back toward the elevators.
“And what do you think you’re doing there?” The man behind her sounded furious. For a moment there, Lois thought he was still talking to her. “Put your mask back on!”
Involuntarily, Lois stared at Dark-Eyes. With a little help from the fat man, he struggled to get up again. His mask was off. Lois gulped. Had she done that? His nose was bleeding. He had probably hit it as he had landed on the floor. Hastily, he pulled his mask back over his face. But it was too late. Lois had already seen the port-wine stain around his left eye. His cheeks were scarred with acne. It was a face that was rather hard to forget. Lois felt sick.
The leader only confirmed her fears. "You leave me no choice but to take you with me."
He produced another set of cable ties and secured her hands behind her back. Then he pushed her toward the fat man who pressed her against his body until she was unable to move. He seemed to enjoy his role quite a lot. The smell of his sweat turned Lois’ stomach upside down.
Her eyes darted back and forth between the fat guy and the leader, who had started to tear the front of his shirt into pieces. He revealed a set of very firm abs. Lois squeezed her eyes shut and struggled against the fat man’s grip. He just laughed.
Lois’ voice wouldn’t work properly. “What are…you going to do with me?”
The leader didn’t reply. He just formed a part of his shirt into a gag and forced in into her mouth. Then he used the rest of the fabric to blindfold her. Lois could only hear the breathing of the men close to her ears. She choked on the gag. The fabric tasted terrible in her mouth. Her heart was pounding in her ears, drowning out almost any other sound. The fear she had felt before turned into blind panic.
Firm hands grabbed her and dragged Lois toward the elevators. She stumbled over her own feet as she tried to keep up with her captors. Apparently, she wasn’t fast enough. Someone picked her up and carried her over his shoulder like a bag. She felt that her ankles were tied with another cable tie. Lois gasped, or at least tried to. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Desperately she struggled to free herself of the shackles and the gag. But if anything happened at all, the cable ties only tightened further. Her cry for help was muffled by the gag and remained unheard.
To be continuedComments go here
