Previously:
This story is set at the end of season 1. Luthor has just proposed to Lois and she stays late at the Daily Planet, trying to figure out if marrying Luthor is what she should do. When she's heading home, she runs into four bad guys who have come to plant Luthor's bomb. When she sees the face of one of them, they take her prisoner. As she wakes up in their lair, they talk about raping her. The leader of the gang, who is identified as Chuck, wants to claim Lois for himself and gets into a fight with the others. He wins and drags Lois into his room. But instead of violating her, he just tells her to scream so that the others believe he has actually raped her. Lois is completely terrified and ends up having a panic attack. Chuck helps her through it and then leaves her alone.
Live Another Day
Part 3:
Ray didn’t even try to hide his anger. “Damn it, what’s the matter with you, man?” Despite his excess weight, he followed Clark with an amazing speed. “I don't see why you should have the babe all to yourself.”
“Oh yeah?” Clark stopped his tracks for the briefest of moments.
He flashed Ray a stern look before he moved on.
Clark’s insides, however, were burning with anger. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath, hoping that he would manage to appear unfazed. The truth was that he’d had a bitter taste in his mouth ever since he had thrown up in his bathroom. It was the taste of deep self-disgust that probably wouldn’t leave him any time soon. And the more he told himself that it had been necessary to be so cruel, the less convincing his own arguments became. He could only hope that scaring the poor woman to death would somehow serve a larger purpose. Otherwise, he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to look at himself in the mirror again.
Clark cursed himself that he hadn’t reacted when he’d heard the woman’s heartbeat, when he’d seen her in the elevator. But he hadn’t known what to tell the others. The night-watchman had been patrolling the staircase which was why he’d suggested taking the elevators in the first place. It would have seemed odd if he’d changed his mind all of a sudden.
He'd screwed up badly. Dan would skin him alive if he found out. And if his mother ever learned that he’d treated a woman like that-. He wasn’t sure he’d live to tell the tale. His stomach lurched as he imagined how disappointed and furious she’d be. And rightfully so. He wondered if she’d even believe that he’d done it in the best of intentions. Clark grimaced - as if the fact that he’d meant well could somehow make him less despicable.
“Hey, I'm talkin’ to ya, bastard.” Ray grabbed Clark by the shoulder and yanked him around.
“But I’m not talking to you,” Clark replied as calmly as he could.
He concentrated on his breathing and tried to control the rage that was coursing through him. He was playing a dangerous game and it was getting riskier every second. It would be so much easier to just lash out at the people who’d forced his hand. Clenching his hands into tight fists, Clark desperately tried to remind himself that he still needed these guys. He drew in a calming breath and let it out slowly.
"C’mon, at least tell us if it was worth it.” Hank grinned broadly as he joined them in the hall. “After all, ya kinda owe it to us.”
Clark felt his bile rise. “You shouldn't boast about that, idiot.”
He grabbed Hank’s collar so hard that he came close to lifting him off the floor. When Clark realized his mistake, he immediately let go of Hank as if he had burned himself.
“You put the whole operation at risk. Do you think the Boss will be pleased that the bitch can identify you?” His stomach tightened. How naturally such a word crossed his lips. He had been here far too long and still he wasn't one step closer to his goal.
“Now she can identify ya, too.” Hank pointed out. “She can even carry your DNA right to the heat.”
Clark growled at him as he fought to suppress the new surge of rage that threatened to set him ablaze. It cut him right to the quick that Hank was convinced he could do such a horrible thing to another person. But that was exactly what he’d wanted him to believe, or hadn’t he? Clark felt thoroughly thrown out of the loop.
Joey hobbled up from a dark corner of the old hotel. "Chuck’s right, Hank. You screwed up first."
Joey’s hands were hidden in his pockets. The way he hunched his shoulders made him appear somewhat smaller than he actually was. The fact that he dragged his right leg only reinforced that impression. Of the three of them, Clark found him the easiest to deal with.
“I wouldn’t have screwed up if Chuck here hadn’t been gone so long.” Hank said defiantly. “Where were you, anyway?”
“That’s none of your damn business,” Clark replied tersely. Gradually, he managed to regain the control of his raging emotions. His mind started working again. “The only thing you should worry about right now is what we're going to do with the woman. If you hadn't shown your face, we wouldn't be in trouble. But as long as she lives we can't frame Olsen.”
That seemed to give Hank some pause. He stared at Clark. “Why?”
“Remember that I picked you out, because you have the same height and statue as Olsen?” Clark reminded him with a pang of satisfaction. “Or why do you think it’s your job to plant the evidence in his apartment?”
Hank seemed to shrink a little at the rebuke. Clark could practically see the wheels in his mind turn as he thought about the implications.
“We could find someone else to put the blame on,” Ray argued. He folded his arms across his massive chest. If he was trying to look more impressive that way, he was failing miserably. His shirt was stretching at awkward places and his arms seemed too short.
Clark sensed that he was winning the upper hand in this battle of will. Feeling a lot calmer, he shook his head. “The Boss stated precisely that the main suspect has to be Olsen. The woman has to die.”
Ray, Hank and Joey blanched. They had no qualms about raping a woman. It was their idea of having fun and it was so easy to put the blame on the victim. But having to kill someone was more than they had bargained for. They looked at each other. The ensuing silence was palpable.
“Are you goin’ to do it?” Hank asked quietly.
Clark shrugged as if he didn't mind taking a life. Inwardly, he shivered at his own words. “What do you think? After all, I have to make up for your mistake.”
“Tonight?” Ray was still a little pale. He dropped his arms to his sides, giving a rather pitiful sight all of a sudden.
“Of course not.” Clark stated callously. An idea was forming in his mind though he couldn’t quite grasp it yet. “Her body can't just turn up somewhere.”
Joey folded his arms across his chest. “And why is that?”
Clark rolled his eyes, feeling a little better now that he’d managed to slip back into his role of the hard-boiled, cruel leader of this group. “Lane and Olsen are friends! I doubt the police would find it believable that Olsen would kill Lane in cold blood. No, she has to die in the explosion. That way it will look like she was an accidental victim.”
“Are you insane? You expect us to run back into a building that is about to explode?” Hank shouted. “That's bull and you know it!”
“Hank's right,” Joe and Ray chimed in.
Clark cocked his brows. “You have a better idea?” He let a vicious smile play around his lips. “Or do you want to explain to The Boss why we weren't able to follow a simple plan?”
The three men fell silent. They couldn't hide their fear. Hank shifted from one foot to the other. His usual arrogance was gone. Joe and Ray each stared at the floor and were biting their lips.
The Boss was a faceless threat that each of the men had heard of. Occasionally he had struck. Old buddies had suddenly vanished because something hadn't gone according to plan. Although none of the men had ever met The Boss, they all knew that it was fatal to be at the receiving end of his wrath.
“So what we gonna do now?” Hank asked meekly. A haunted look had replaced his smug grin.
“Simple enough. I’m going to take her back to the Planet and make sure she dies in the explosion. And you’re going to follow the initial plan. And I’d strongly suggest that you make no further mistakes, or we’re all dead.” Clark turned on his heels and left the others.
His footsteps echoed off the walls as he went through the old hotel. For a building that was just waiting to be demolished, the hotel was astonishingly well preserved. Clark had done a little research. According to official records, the building belonged to a company that had wanted to renovate the hotel. But some legal affairs had kept them from going through with their plan. Clark didn’t know the details, but he strongly suspected that the whole lawsuit was staged anyway. Strangely, only a couple of bathrooms had been redone. It was just enough to make the place habitable for people who didn’t ask for much. The building had been turned into the perfect hideout for the men who did the dirty work for the criminal mastermind who called himself The Boss.
The trip back to his room was short. Clark barely had enough time to collect his thoughts. Far too quickly, he was standing in front of the door. Judging by the sound of it, a beautiful woman was crying herself to sleep. Each of her sobs felt like a punch in the gut.
“Damn it, Dan,” he mumbled to himself. “I didn’t sign up for this.”
The whole operation was spiraling out of control. Even after searching the Planet building at superspeed, he had no idea why Luthor wanted it destroyed. Thus, he had been forced to stick with the real explosives instead of the fireworks he’d originally intended to place. As long as they didn’t have anything solid to tie Luthor to the crimes he’d committed, he couldn’t risk blowing his cover.
Again Clark fumbled for the cell phone, his only connection to a world outside these walls. He stared at it for long moments before he put it back into his jacket.
It was too late to call Dan. He had to deal with this problem on his own. His stomach clenched again and he tasted acid that he could only swallow with difficulty. With a pounding heart, he reached for the handle. But then he dropped his hand again. He couldn’t face the Lane woman like this, couldn’t look her in the eyes that were most likely puffy from crying. And he couldn’t stand to watch her. What was he supposed to do in his room, anyway? He didn’t want to sleep, not unless he was dead on his feet. He dreaded the nightmares that would inevitably haunt him.
Clark squeezed his eyes shut and rested his back against the wall. He needed advice on how to deal with the woman. He had absolutely no idea what he could do or say to soothe her. His mother would probably know. But it was only one hour earlier in Kansas which meant that his parents had gone to bed already. He knew that his mom wouldn’t mind if he woke her. She’d be thrilled to hear from him again. They still had to reconnect. But he didn’t know how to explain his reasoning for treating the Lane woman like he had. His mom had always been the most understanding person in the world, but he feared that asking her advice now would be pushing her too hard. No, his parents weren’t an option to get help either.
Clark quickly turned on his heels and rushed into one of the empty rooms. He looked over his shoulder before he opened the window and jumped out into the night. For a moment he hovered over the old hotel and checked on the Lane woman. Her breathing had become more even as she gradually drifted off to sleep. Ray, Joe and Hank were still to shell-shocked to try anything. The woman would be safe for the moment.
Clark allowed himself a brief smile before he headed for the one place he knew that was his alone. Being there always helped him to put things into perspective. He soared high up into the sky until the atmosphere around him became so thin it was almost non-existent. The Earth looked so small from up here – and the sun so majestic.
As he was floating through space, he knew what he had to do to get the woman out safely.
***
Lois woke with a start. For a moment she felt disoriented, until the waking nightmare she was living through returned with full force. Men had broken into the Daily Planet and taken her prisoner. Lois struggled to get to her feet. She was horrified to see that she had actually fallen asleep on Chuck's bed. Then something caught her eyes. Her handbag was lying on the floor. And next to it, someone had placed a glass of water and a plate with a couple of sandwiches.
So Chuck had cared enough about her that he had gotten her something to eat. But what really surprised her was that he’d also returned her personal belongings. She quickly searched her handbag. The OC spray was the only missing item. Figures!
But where was Chuck now? The black sky was slowly turning to a deep dark blue as dawn was approaching. With a start Lois realized that she’d at least slept for a couple of hours.
A low murmur tore Lois from her confusing thoughts. She recognized Chuck's voice, heard him talking frantically to someone who didn't answer. She remembered the cell phone that he had brought out briefly. Curiosity outweighed Lois’ fear and she hurried to get out of bed. She crept quietly over to the bathroom door, which to her surprise was only ajar. Lois leaned forward and heard Chuck loud and clear.
"No, Dan, I'm serious. She has to vanish,” Chuck said.
Vanish! What did he mean by that? Lois’ breath hitched when she realized that Chuck was talking about her. Her heart clenched in fear and she clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. For a while it was silent as Chuck listened to the person on the other end of the line. He paced up and down restlessly. A few times Lois thought that he was going to notice her. But then he went on and Lois’ heartbeat calmed down again.
“If you don’t want to follow my plan, then you have to come up with something. In any case, she can't stay here,” Chuck replied. As he continued, he sounded angry. “It's not my fault either. I had no choice. She saw Hank’s face. If I’d left her there, these guys would have become suspicious. For the moment they still accept that I’ve claimed the woman for myself, but I fear that will change very soon."
For a while Lois heard nothing but Chuck’s breathing. She remained sitting in her spot until it dawned on her that the conversation was probably over. There was just a door between her and Chuck. It wasn’t even closed - not much to protect her from him. She glanced at the second door that led outside and cursed herself for wasting valuable time. As long as he had been talking on the phone, he probably wouldn’t have paid attention to her. Now her chance was gone.
“Are you completely insane?” Chuck hissed.
Lois almost jumped in surprise. She took a step back.
“I’m not going to use her to get to The Boss! No, you listen to me carefully! I told you from the start that we would do it according to my rules of the game. That's out of the question.” His tone made it obvious that the conversation was over. "Damn it."
He snapped the phone shut. As if her feet had suddenly taken up control of her body, Lois stumbled backward. She bumped into the door and felt for the door handle. The door wasn’t locked.
The surprise sent a surge of adrenaline through her body. She didn't think, she just opened the door and ran. The sound of her footsteps echoed through the hall. The fear that Chuck just had to hear her, spurred her to run faster.
Soon, Lois reached the end of the corridor and she had to choose. Should she turn left or right? Lois had no idea. One of the men might be lurking just around the next corner. Hoping that she was making the right decision, she took the corridor to her right.
"Hey, stay here!" Chuck's voice didn’t sound as loud as she had expected.
Did she have more of a lead over him than she had even dared to hope? She couldn’t take the time to check. She had to go on. There was no reason to believe that she was safe, yet. Lois turned another corner and followed the corridor. There was a door at the end that she prayed would lead her to the staircase.
"Hey, honey," someone called.
It was the fat guy’s voice and it sounded a lot closer. Lois gut twisted in fear. She heard footsteps on the floor behind her and in the next moment, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her around.
The fat guy grinned at her and held her in a firm grip. Where had he come from? Panic surged through Lois as she tried to free herself. But her attempts were futile. The fat man had obviously learned from his buddy's mistake and was on his guard. Lois gritted her teeth as his fingers closed around her arm like a vice.
She felt his breath against her ear, could smell the stench of too much hard liquor. "Where are you going, sweety?"
The fat guy no longer wore a mask. Lois could see every single pore of his oily skin. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he just pulled her closer to him. It was obvious he was enjoying himself a lot.
He grinned at her. "Now that your fate is sealed, I don’t see why we can’t have a little fun."
Lois's stomach did a somersault.
Then Chuck reached them. His voice was dangerously calm. “Let go of her."
Lois felt the fat man flinch, but he still kept her in a firm grip.
"Why should I?" he replied angrily. "You don't seem to be able to keep her under control, either.”
"Let go of her," Chuck repeated. He built up before Ray and his eyes stared at him menacingly. “I said she’s mine. After all, I’m going to have to clean up the mess. Until then, I get to enjoy the merits.”
With two steps he was close to Lois and forced the fat man to release her arm. The sudden, unexpected freedom made Lois stumble backward. She hit the wall behind her and sucked in air between her teeth. Lois felt slightly dizzy. All she could do was dodge as Chuck threw the fat man against the wall next to her. His moan was nauseating. But if he was stunned by the impact, it only lasted briefly. His fist sent Chuck unerringly to the ground, and only moments later the fat man sat on his stomach and pressed him to the ground with his full weight. Chuck tried in vain to free himself from the grip.
"Do you still feel like the great leader?" The fat man asked sardonically.
He slapped Chuck in the face several times. Then, the fat guy got up and pulled Chuck with him. Now it was Chuck's turn to be thrown against the wall. The next moment, a knife blinked in the hands of the fat guy. He brandished it before Chuck. They engaged in a struggle. Lois felt unable to move as she watched their fight. Suddenly she was afraid of what might happen if Chuck would lose. After all, he had just saved her from the fat man. And he hadn’t raped her though he could have. She wasn’t sure that the other three men would be as considerate.
Lois heard more footsteps as Dark-Eyes and the limping guy stormed around the corner. Neither of them seemed to have noticed Lois. They ran past her carelessly to pull the fat man away from Chuck.
"Have you lost your mind?" the limping guy yelled. He ducked to avoid a blow as the fat man turned towards him. "Chuck is our only connection to The Boss-"
“I don't give a damn," the fat man slurred.
“Look at yourself. You’re wasted!" Chuck spat in disgust. He was breathing hard and leaned against the wall.
Completely enraged, the fat guy started another attack. A new fight ensued and for a while it was impossible to tell, who was going to win the upper hand. Lois held her breath as she saw that the fat guy still brandished his knife and repeatedly tried to stab Chuck. The two men struggled to win the upper hand.
Finally, Chuck managed to yank the knife from the fat man’s grip. With a hard shove, he pushed him towards the other two thugs. The knife clattered to the floor. The blade was broken.
"Get this boozer out of my sight and try to sober him up." Chuck grabbed Lois by the arm and pulled her with him.
His grip was less hard than Lois had expected. But there was no question that he could easily prevent another attempt to escape. Lois didn't want to take the chance. It was certainly not advisable to make him angrier than he already was. Her heart pounded as they made the long walk back to his quarters. He walked slower than he had before and with a start Lois realized that Chuck was dragging one leg.
To be continued
Last edited by bakasi; 07/20/21 07:20 AM.
