Live Another Day
Part 6:
Clark felt thoroughly out of the loop. His first impulse had been to let her talk to Scardino and Henderson. But he couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t use the opportunity to also warn Luthor. If he were his normal self, this wouldn’t be an issue. Her heart rate, the smell of her sweat, the slightest hitch in her voice would alarm him that she had ulterior motives. But without his enhanced senses he was just as susceptible to lies as everyone else. So instead of replying to Lois' question, Clark closed his eyes and drifted back into the meditative state that allowed him to focus his energy on restoring his strength.
But his thoughts were straying. Learning that Lois was almost engaged to Luthor and probably had feelings for this monster had shocked him. It had been unprofessional to even tell her as much as he had already told her. She was not only a reporter but could very well be the enemy. But part of him desperately hoped that Lois was on his side.
It was the part that still tingled with the memory of her touch. And the more firmly he tried to push those thoughts aside, the more insistently they invaded his mind. Clark squared his jaw, fighting against the onslaught of his raging hormones. He shouldn’t forget that even despite his new found freedom, there were things about him that were never going to change. Things that she certainly wouldn’t be able to accept. Clark swallowed down the lump that was building in his throat.
In order to regain his focus, Clark recapped everything that had happened in the past hours, starting with the elevator door sliding open to reveal Lois. As he recalled the faked rape and Lois’ almost engagement to Lex Luthor, he suddenly knew how to use Lois to achieve his goal without putting her in danger.
“Hey, are you passing out on me again?” Her voice pulled him back to the surface of his conscious mind.
“I’m not passing out,” he replied grumpily.
Lois folded her arms in front of her chest. “Looked a lot like passing out to me.” It was impossible to tell if she was seriously concerned or just teasing him.
“I’m fine,” Clark insisted.
He looked down at his bandaged leg that was already showing a red stain. If he didn’t want to bleed out, he should at least stop the bleeding. Clark closed his eyes again and concentrated on letting his wound heal just enough to keep him out of further trouble.
“Hey, you didn’t tell me if you’d let me talk to Henderson!” Lois asked.
Clark shook his head. “Not here. Too dangerous.” He had a look at his watch and then struggled to get to his feet. “We need to get going.”
“Are you sure you should already be up and about?” Her gaze wandered across his bandaged leg.
Clark shrugged her concern off. “That can’t be helped now.”
This time he almost managed to stand without swaying. The dizzy spell that hit him as he was upright only lasted for a couple of seconds. Tentatively, he put weight on his injured leg. The pain in his wound had subsided to a manageable level, though he certainly wasn’t going to forget about his injury. He gritted his teeth. After all, that had been the whole point of the exercise.
He took a moment to assess his situation. His strength was back to a more human level. He would be able to function sufficiently to get Lois and himself out of this place. For the time being that was all he needed.
Clark gave her a stern look. “I’m going to call Dan and Henderson now. You can talk to them later. Don’t even think about trying to warn Luthor.”
Lois sounded rather offended. “Of course not. Do you really think that poorly of me?”
Clark didn’t reply. He limped toward the bathroom and washed his hands. When he was done, he returned into his room, picked up his jacket and pulled his cell phone out of one of the pockets. He changed the SIM card and then quickly dialed Scardino’s number. The phone rang two times, then Scardino answered the call.
“Mmmh, Scardino.” He sounded like he had just woken up.
Clark rolled his eyes. “You’re still in bed?”
“Clark, is that you?” Dan seemed to pull himself together. “No, actually I’m in Henderson’s office. We’ve been brainstorming half the night how to solve your little problem. Guess I must have fallen asleep sometime. It’s something that happens to us mere mortals.” He laughed heartily.
“Very funny,” Clark said dryly. “Listen to me, Dan. We’re going to stick to the original plan.”
By the increased volume of Dan’s voice, Clark could tell that he didn’t like this. “You mean pretending that Lois Lane died in the explosion of the Daily Planet? Forget about it, Clark. Henderson is already having a heartattack as it is that he is supposed to back up your blowing up the Planet. He certainly doesn’t want any non-existent bodies on his hands to add to his troubles. Besides, what good would it do to kill off Lois Lane?”
Clark ran a hand through his hair. “She’s engaged to Luthor.”
“Almost engaged,” Lois interjected.
“Luthor wants the newspaper destroyed because of Lois. If he learns that I’m the one responsible for raping and killing her, he’s going to want revenge.” Clark pointed out. “And he’s going to be so intent on making me pay that he’s going to forget about hiding his tracks.”
Lois paled. “What do you mean, kill me?”
“Not literally,” Clark clarified.
Lois didn’t sound the least bit reassured. “I don’t care if you kill me literally or virtually. I don’t want to play dead. Why don’t you tell Lex that you kidnapped me? That’s not so far from the truth, after all. He’d do everything in his power to free me.”
Scardino had obviously heard that. “Sounds good to me. I bet that would make him just as mad.”
Clark wasn’t convinced. “It wouldn’t – even if we fed him information about my… raping… Lois.”
Involuntarily, he shuddered. Clark still didn’t like the feel of this word on his tongue. Visions of her scared face invaded his mind. He closed his eyes against the onslaught of those memories. Naturally, it didn’t help.
With an effort he forced his attention back on his conversation with Scardino. “If we’re just looking for ransom, he’s going to pay us without as much as breaking a sweat. He’s probably going to kill us later and as per usual, he’s not going to leave a trace.”
Scardino was silent on the other end of the line, obviously chewing on that piece of information. “And what if we…” His voice quickly trailed off again. He clearly didn’t have any better ideas.
“If it helps Henderson’s peace of mind, we can offer to switch to pyrotechnics instead of blowing up the Daily Planet for real.” Clark added. “Now that we know why Luthor wants the destruction of the newspaper, I’m sure that having the Daily Planet out of commission for a couple of days will serve our purpose just as well.”
Scardino let out a breath. “That would be a start. But we’re going to have to talk about feigning Lane’s death. I still think that we could use her to infiltrate Luthor’s lair. If she’s on our side that is. Do you think she would betray us?”
Clark rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think so. But do you want my honest opinion? I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Scardino shouted. “Just ask her and do your – whatever it is that you do to find out if someone is lying.”
Clark hung his head. “I can’t.”
Scardino managed to roll his eyes verbally. “You can’t? What’s the matter?”
Again, Clark raked his hand through his hair. “Let’s not discuss it right now. We don’t have much time if we still want to exchange the explosive devices. We’ll meet at the Daily Planet in half an hour. And bring Henderson with you.” He hung up the phone and turned it to switch the SIM card again.
Lois stared at him and stood with her hands on her hips. “Did I hear right? You’re planning to fake my death to get me out of here?” At Clark’s nod, she continued. “Do you honestly expect me to sit by idly while you uncover the story of the century, just assuming that Lex Luthor is indeed Metropolis’ very own crime lord? Which has yet to be proven as far as I’m concerned. I’m a reporter – I need to report the news – not pretend that I’m dead. Let me stay here as your hostage.”
Clark balled his hands into fists, trying to control his flaring temper. “In case you didn’t notice, I can no longer protect you!” He gestured towards his bandaged leg. “If the three guys out there find out that Lex Luthor would most likely pay a fortune to get you back, do you think they’d just watch me get the money? I’ll make sure Scardino and Henderson will keep you posted on my progress.”
“And what about you?” Lois asked. “What I gathered from your end of the conversation, your plan is that Lex is going to kill you as soon as he learns that I’m dead and that you allegedly raped me. That doesn’t sound like much of a plan to me. What if he succeeds?”
Clark brushed her concern off. “He won’t.”
“And how are you even going to pull any of this off?” She wrung her hands. “I don’t suppose you have a dead body lying around somewhere that happens to look like me and carries a sample of your sperm.”
Clark almost choked on his own spittle and his cheeks grew hot with what had to be a deep blush. “Of course not,” he ground out as soon as he could breathe again. “But I bet there are three guys just dying to feed him that piece of information in order to get me out of their way. All we need is to give them the means to contact The Boss.” He took the mobile phone back out of his pocket and presented it to her. “And now, we need to hurry to meet Dan at the Daily Planet.”
Lois still wasn’t ready to give in. “Please, Chuck. This plan of yours is insane. It’ll never work.”
Clark took a deep, calming breath. “All I want is to prove that Lex Luthor is the Boss. And my plan will accomplish that. What becomes of me is not important, but I’m not willing to risk your life as well.”
Lois stared at him in shock. “Do you really think so?”
Clark nodded firmly. “Really. And that’s my final word.” He stepped around her and grabbed a pair of fresh pants from his shelf. Before he put them on, he gave her a once over. “You should do something about your appearance. You don’t exactly look like you’ve been roughed up for the better part of the night. And if you really want to help me, make me lose that phone.”
Her shoulders dropped in defeat. “Okay. But I still think you’re making a mistake.”
“Duly noted,” Clark replied and started slipping into his pants.
He watched her as she vanished into the bathroom, taking her handbag and his old pants with her. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. The woman confused him and that was something he couldn’t afford right now. Forcing his attention on the task at hand, he let his gaze wander through the room to make a mental list of things that he needed to take with him.
The first thing he picked up was the lead case that contained the deadly green crystal. It was a good thing Lois’ natural curiosity hadn’t made her open the case again. Despite the fact that he couldn’t feel the poisonous radiation, he made sure that the case was firmly closed before he put it back on the shelf. Clark hesitated as he realized that he couldn’t leave the crystal here. He couldn’t risk someone rummaging through his things and accidentally finding it.
Clark pulled a shoulder bag from his shelf. He fetched the belt from his trousers that were lying on the floor and wrapped it around the lead case. Then he put the case inside the shoulder bag. His heart was pounding with dread, because he knew it was quite dangerous to have the crystal so close. Despite what he’d told Lois, he didn’t have a death wish. Of course, he could ask Dan to keep the case for him. But Clark didn’t know if he trusted him that much.
To be on the safe side, Clark also took his first-aid box and stuffed it into his bag. Then he reached for a third box that was sitting on his shelf. He opened it to reveal a Walther PPK, pistol – caliber 0.380- courtesy of Dan Scardino and his weird sense of humor. It felt cold to the touch as he picked up the weapon and weighed it in his hand. Though he had occasionally carried handguns in his time at Bureau 39, they still felt foreign. To him it was a contradiction that he should need a gun to appear more human. It was the one part of his disguise that he loathed more than having to use the green crystal to render himself vulnerable.
Clark set the empty box back on the shelf. Then he loaded one magazine with blanks and another one with real cartridges. Given his recent brush with the green crystal he wasn’t ready to press his luck and walk around with just blank ammunition. After a short moment of hesitation, Clark decided to load the pistol with the blanks. When he was done, he hid the pistol in his waistband and pulled his shirt above it. Now all that he needed was to pack a fresh set of clothing into his bag and he was good to go.
He knocked at the bathroom door. “Are you ready?”
“Give me another minute,” Lois replied.
Clark checked his watch. They had only twenty minutes left before they were supposed to meet Dan and Henderson at the Daily Planet, a little more than one hour before the bomb inside the Daily Planet building was going to explode. It wasn’t much time to pull off the small miracle that he needed to set his plan in motion. Clark was about to knock on the door again when Lois opened it and stepped out of the bathroom.
She gave him a small smile. “Do I look sufficiently roughed up?”
Clark swallowed against the lump that was building in his throat. “Indeed.”
It was an understatement. Her hair was badly tousled and both her blouse and her skirt were torn. Blood stains made it appear like she’d suffered a bleeding nose. She’d stuffed a tissue into her nose to support that impression. To top it all off, a bruise was covering her left cheek. She gave a rather pitiful sight. Clark felt slightly sick to his stomach as he saw her. His first impulse was to apologize, but then he realized that her appearance wasn’t his doing.
“I’m not certain about the bruise. Does it look real?” Lois asked self-consciously.
Clark nodded contritely. “Real enough,” he croaked.
“You think we can convince the Shamrock of Horrors?” Lois asked. She winked at him.
Clark couldn’t help but laugh. “The Shamrock of Horrors?”
“The three guys waiting out there,” she said with obviously false bravado. Her lower lip started to quiver slightly. “Will they try to attack me again?”
“I won’t let them,” Clark said firmly. “Okay, let’s get going. One last thing, though.” He went back to his shelf and fetched a cable tie and showed it to Lois. “May I?”
She nodded. Her body was trembling under his touch as she put her arms behind her back to let him tie her. His heart went out to her.
Clark hung his head and swallowed hard. "I'm really sorry about all of this. I wish I could have spared you being treated like that. Both by me and the others. "
“I just hope this isn’t some elaborate scheme to make me cooperate. You still owe me that evidence.”
Clark loosely bound her hands, leaving her enough room to slip out of the ties if need be. “Let’s get you out of here first. You’re going to see our evidence soon enough. And if we succeed in bringing down Luthor, you’re going to get the exclusive.” He grabbed her arm, preparing himself to assume his Chuck persona again. He felt that now that Lois was no longer a stranger to him it would be much more difficult to maintain the façade of the hardened guy.
She looked over her shoulder, wriggling her brows. “Is that a promise?”
***
Chuck hung his bag diagonally across his shoulders and opened the door. Though Lois was pretty sure she could trust him, her heart still skipped a beat as he grabbed her arms and pushed her out of the door. He no longer used the same force to manhandle her through the corridors of the old hotel that he had displayed the night before. Still, Lois couldn’t help but feel slightly intimidated by his presence. Did she really dare trust him already? Was she making a mistake?
The corridor was empty and Lois seriously hoped it would stay that way. She wasn’t keen on another encounter with the Shamrock of Horrors. She could feel the recurrent slight yank in her upper body caused by Chuck’s uneven steps. It was a disconcerting reminder of the fact that her sole protector in this place might not be able to win another fight against them.
They turned the same corner Lois had passed when she had tried to escape just a couple of hours ago. And like the night before, they ran into the fat guy. Only this time, Dark-Eyes was right by his side.
The fat guy planted himself before them. “Goin’ somewhere, Chuck?” He seemed more sober than before, but the stench of alcohol still surrounded him like a cloud.
“Get out of my way, Ray,” Chuck said icily. “I’m going to take care of the chick.”
“We should keep her. Maybe there are other ways she could be useful to us,” Dark-Eyes gave Lois a once over. Without his mask, she could clearly see him leer at her. The twitching of his facial muscles only served to make the acne scars on his cheeks all the more prominent. The sight sent an unpleasant shiver down Lois’ spine.
“Tell me, doll, did he please ya?” Ray winked at her and moved in so he could touch her.
“Enough!” Chuck shouted. “I don’t wanna risk that the chick talks to the heat. We’ve gotta get rid of her once and for all.”
Without releasing his firm grip on Lois, he shoved Ray out of his way. But then he hesitated for the briefest of moments, subtly squeezing Lois’ arm several times as if he wanted to tell her something. And suddenly, Lois remembered that she was supposed to make him lose the phone.
Thinking quickly, she began to struggle against his grip. “No, please, no. Don’t kill me,” she cried. “I promise you, I’m not going to tell anyone. I swear. I… Lex Luthor is a friend of mine. He will pay you. Please.”
Chuck pushed her forward. “Nonsense. Who guarantees me that you’re going to stick to your end of the bargain, once you’re free?”
Dark-Eyes stepped in Chuck’s way. “But the money?”
“You’ve got no use for the money when you’re in jail.” Chuck brushed his argument aside. “And now get ready to do your part of the job, Hank.”
“Noo!” Once more, Lois struggled in Chuck’s arms and kicked her right foot back against his shin.
Chuck staggered back, letting out a curse and releasing his grip on Lois for a moment. She turned around and kicked her leg towards his side in an elegant Taekwondo move that would have made her teacher proud. Chuck crashed into the wall and his phone clattered to the floor. But he quickly recovered and anticipated her next move – or so it looked. He caught her knee in mid-air before she could jam it into his rib-cage and quickly turned her around until he once again held her in a firm grip. Lois’s heart was pounding loudly in her ears.
“Don’t do that again, bitch.” Chuck hissed. “And you two better get ready before I go postal.”
With an angry growl, he pushed past the two goons and dragged Lois with him. They reached the door that really led to a staircase. As they moved downstairs, the door closed with a resounding thud. They were alone again. Lois felt Chuck relax his stance somewhat. He released his grip on her, holding her arm only lightly.
“Well done,” he muttered.
They continued in silence and after several flights of stairs reached the first floor. The door that led outside looked like it had once been the staff entrance. Mere moments later, they stepped into broad daylight. Chuck nudged her on and together they hurried towards a non-descript, dirty white delivery van that was parked in front of the hotel.
Chuck’s voice was barely above a whisper as he talked to her again. “I have a feeling they’re still watching us.” He opened the back door of the van and shoved Lois inside.
The inside of the van was dark and terrifying. Lois closed her eyes and desperately fought against the new wave of panic that was taking hold of her. Now that she was in much the same position as she had been the night before, her conviction that she could trust Chuck quickly crumbled. Her breathing quickened and she tested her bonds, realizing that she was actually able to slip out of them and rid herself off the ties.
“Get a grip girl,” she chastised herself. “This is all part of his bad guy act.”
Her heart was still pounding in her chest and Lois muttered a silent prayer that she wasn’t wrong about this strange guy up front. A dull roar announced that Chuck had started the van. Lois felt a slight jolt as he pulled out of the parking lot and steered the van through the maze of Hobb’s Bay toward downtown Metropolis. Nervously, she noted every turn he took and every slight movement of the van. She was hoping to get at least an idea where she was and how long it would be before they reached the Daily Planet. Each time they stopped, her heart rate spiked up a notch or two, only to relax somewhat when Chuck drove on, confirming that they had hit yet another red light. But eventually, they turned the last corner and the van stopped for good. They had to have arrived at the Daily Planet.
To be continued
