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Live Another Day

Part 8:



Clark shouldered his bags and hurried toward the last charge. He needed to finish the job before Ray and Joe found either him or Lois. Closing down his hearing, Clark focused his energy on using his x-ray vision to see what was going on. His head started to throb with the effort, but he saw Ray and Joe go down the corridor that according to the description Clark had heard earlier, was leading toward the break room. Joe carried a weapon. Clark’s heart skipped a beat. He was running out of time and he still was in no shape to take on the two of them for long.

Clark checked his watch again. He needed to act now if he still wanted to stick to the original plan. Once more, Clark used his x-ray vision to check the printing plant for emergency exits. His vision swam a little, but he found what he was looking for before it failed him. Focusing his attention on the last charge in front of him, Clark pressed a few buttons and reset the timer so that the explosive would go off in several minutes instead of the originally intended time. With the last button, he transmitted the information to the other charges.

Checking the next corridor for prying eyes and finding none, Clark hastened to the other side of the printing plant where the break room was located. On his way, he found a fire alarm box. He broke the glass and activated the alarm. Hopefully that would warn Henderson, Scardino, and everyone else in the building. The fire alarm began to blare and suddenly every worker in the printing plant was in a hurry. Clark gave up trying to stay invisible and just headed for Ray and Joe. He reached their corridor a couple of yards behind them.

None of the workers at the printing plant seemed to be paying attention to the three outsiders. They were too busy reaching one of the staircases that led outside.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Clark yelled.

Ray and Joe turned around as they heard his voice. As usually, Ray was the first one to speak. “Ah, there you are. Where’s the chick?”

“Close enough,” Clark stated angrily. “Shouldn’t you be waiting for me?”

Joe pointed his revolver at Clark. It was the same they had used to intimidate Lois the evening before. That stirred some unwanted memories in Clark.

“And let you get all the money from Luthor?” Joe snarled. “I don’t think so. I’ve heard her tell you that she’s going to marry him. I’m not a fool, you know”

Clark laughed at them. “You think that Luthor would pay for her life? That’s nonsense. That he’s laid her doesn’t mean he’s going to hand us the cash. I’d rather do my job than bet my life on the word of the chick. She dies and that’s my final word.”

Much to Clark’s dismay, Lois chose right that moment to come out of the break room. His thoughts raced. If Ray or Joe turned around now, everything would be over.

Ray wasn’t backing down. “If you don’t have the balls to-”

He was cut off as Clark flung himself at the two guys, using the momentum of his heavy body and the benefit of surprise to tackle them down. Joe was the easy part, because his bad leg readily gave in to Clark’s attack. His revolver clattered to the floor and Clark kicked it out of their reach. Knocking down the large frame of Ray took more of an effort. With a well-aimed blow to his jaw, Clark managed to send him down as well.

He hurried past them before either Ray or Joe had gotten up again. Clark was barely able to dodge Joe’s attempt to pull at his leg and make him stumble. On his way, he drew his own weapon and pointed it at Lois. Clark was grateful that he’d opted to load the weapon with the magazine of blanks.

“Where do you think you’re going, bitch?” he shouted and then addressed Olsen. “Trying to save her was a mistake, pal.”

Lois eyes had widened and she paled as he grabbed her by the collar and pressed the weapon to her temple. She whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut. Next to her, Olsen had gone white as a sheet.

Clark bent forward, smiling cruelly and hoping that Joe and Ray would think he wanted to whisper a last obscenity in her ear. He chose the ear that was closer to Olsen so that only the two of them could hear him.

“The pistol’s loaded with blanks. Play along,” he pleaded quietly. “I promise I won’t harm you.”

He let go of Lois and gave her a slight push back toward the break room. Then he carefully aimed his pistol slightly to her side before he fired a shot that missed her chest by several inches. Lois’ eyes went wide and she staggered back, looking down her body and realizing that she wasn’t injured.

Understanding dawned on her face and she collapsed so convincingly that Clark felt slightly sick to his stomach. But he didn’t have the time to ponder that feeling. All he could do was hope that he’d convinced Ray and Joe. He turned to Olsen and fired a second shot in the air next to him. The young man, too, had understood what was required of him and sank down next to Lois. Now both were lying half inside the breakroom, only their feet sticking out.

Clark turned back to Joe and Ray, pointing his pistol at them. Ray’s face was contorted with white hot rage while Joe looked appalled. He had completely forgotten to pick up his revolver that was still lying on the floor feet from them.

“You killed her, you sick bastard,” Ray shouted. “We could have used her. There was no need-”

“Get out of my sight,” Clark growled angrily.

He made a few steps and picked up the revolver, his eyes never leaving Joe and Ray. Then he straightened his stance and squared his jaw, staring the two goons down. He desperately hoped that his demeanor was intimidating enough to keep them from launching another attack. Slowly, he moved in on them. Clark’s heart was pounding wildly in his chest as Joe and Ray stood their ground. A single twitch of the four feet lying behind him might rat him out. Step by step, Clark felt his unease grow and he wondered what he was supposed to do if Ray and Joe wouldn’t budge. But when he could almost touch the muzzle of his pistol to their chests, they finally backed off.

Ray’s jaw was working. “You’re going to regret this.”

“We’ll see about that.” Clark grinned diabolically.

In one smooth movement he flicked the chamber open and with a slight shake of the gun removed the bullets, which clattered to the floor. Clark tossed the empty revolver to Ray.

“We wouldn’t want to leave your fingerprints here, now would we?” he said.

With a slight twitch of his own pistol, he ushered the two goons toward the staircase. But they still seemed quite reluctant to go.

“Oh, I forgot to mention – I reset the timer of the explosives.” Clark stated coldly. “The building is going to explode in a couple of minutes. Are you sure you still want to challenge my decision?”

Both Joe’s and Ray’s eyes went wide. “You’re bluffing!”

Clark shook his head. “If I were you, I wouldn’t test that theory. Get out of here now!”

It was all the encouragement they needed. Hastily, they opened the fire door and rushed up the stairs to save their sorry lives. Clark watched them with grim satisfaction. Then he focused his attention back on Lois and Olsen, who were still lying on the floor. His gut clenched painfully until his special hearing picked up their reassuringly steady heart-beats.

Clark hurried toward the break room. “They’re gone. Are you two all right?”

Lois pushed herself to a sitting position. “Of all the sick, lunatic whackos I’ve met, you must be the worst one,” she cried. “We’re you trying to give me a heart attack? I thought you were going to kill me after all.”

Clark tried to help her up, but she pushed him away. Then she flung herself at him and started beating her fists against his chest. He caught them easily and before he knew what he was doing, pulled her into an embrace. In his arms, her rage quickly subsided and turned into sobs.

“I’m so sorry, Lois,” he muttered into her hair.

For the briefest of moments, he enjoyed having her so close to him. He inhaled the scent of her shampoo and wished that he wouldn’t have to break the contact. But time was ticking down mercilessly.

Behind Lois, Olsen stood up. He looked awfully pale. “That’s the guy who saved you?” he squealed. His eyes were darting around nervously as if he half expected that Clark would draw his weapon again.

Clark let go of Lois. “Why are you still here?”

Tears were still dampening her cheeks, but she looked at him defiantly and folded her arms in front of her chest. “I thought we're supposed to die here! Wouldn't help your case if someone saw us outside now, would it?” Lois said sourly. “What was the Shamrock of Horrors doing here?”

“Trying to make some money,” Clark growled. He checked his watch again. His stomach lurched. One minute to go. “We need to get out of here.”

Lois wasn’t ready to comply. “But-”

“Now!” Clark cut her off.

There was a fire exit on the other end of the printing plant that would take them to a relatively quiet side of the Planet building. He grabbed both Lois’ and Olsen’s arms and dragged them with him. But Clark knew they were running out of time. The charge that he hadn’t been able to exchange against the pyrotechnics was just on their side of the building. They were below street level, which meant that a jump through one of the windows wasn’t an option. Their only chance was to get through the fire exit to escape the blast.

Clark tried to tap into his last reserves, gathering what little was left of his superpowers after his fight with Ray and Joe. He grabbed Lois and Olsen by their shoulders, urging them on. They ran past the large printing machines and had almost reached the fire exit that thankfully wasn’t closed yet. Someone must have left the building shortly before them. Suddenly a high pitched bleeping sound informed Clark that the timer had ticked down.

A massive explosion rocked the building and Clark intensified his grip on Lois and Olsen. He focused all his energy on his ability to fly and with a grunt he managed to lift the three of them off the ground as the shockwave hit them from behind. Speeding on, he managed to stay before the wave until they passed the door. He gave it a shove with his foot as he passed it. The door closed with a resounding thud just as Clark’s reserves ran out. They landed in a heap somewhere in the middle of the staircase that was leading to the street level.

Clark rolled onto his back to relieve Lois of his weight. His limbs were numb with weakness and the world spun around him. Next to him, Olsen struggled to get up and examined himself for injuries. Clark could spot just a few scrapes and bruises. Otherwise he seemed fine. Lois was getting up as well and it looked like she too had only suffered some scrapes.

“I thought you’d switched the explosives!” she complained. “That didn’t feel like pyrotechnics.”

“Sorry, Lois. I managed to exchange most of them,” Clark said quietly. “Joe and Ray showed up before I could work on the last one. The damage to the building shouldn’t be too bad.”

“Man, that was close,” Olsen said.

His gaze wandered back to the fire exit of printing plant. Thick black smoke was seeping out between the door and its frame, gradually filling the air. Clark realized that they weren’t safe yet. He clumsily got to his feet which weren’t willing to support his weight any longer. The short flight had really done a number on him. But he couldn’t afford to show weakness right now.

Clark straightened. “Come one. We need to get to safety.”

“Where are Henderson and Scardino?” Lois asked.

Clark didn’t manage to keep the worry he felt from seeping into his words. “In a safe place, I hope.”

Together they climbed up the flight of stairs and reached the street behind the Daily Planet. Several people were running around. Shock was written on their faces as they stared at the thick black smoke that was emanating from the building. Sirens announced the arrival of fire fighters and ambulances.

In the midst of the commotion Clark spotted Dan was standing a couple of yards away from them. He was pacing back and forth and anxiously searching the area with his eyes. As he noticed them climbing the stairs, he stopped his tracks and a grin spread across his face. He ran a hand through his hair, then turned around and made a sign to somebody who had to be waiting in some distance.

“You gave us quite a scare,” Scardino greeted Clark. “That was some explosion. Are you sure you used just pyrotechnics?”

Clark nodded glumly. “For the most part, anyway. We had some unwanted company.” Before Scardino had a chance to ask, he added. “Ray and Joe.”

Scardino chuckled lightly. “That explains a lot. Let me guess, they didn’t know what hit them.” He slapped Clark’s shoulder, which almost made Clark’s knees buckle. It took all of his self-control to remain upright. “I told Henderson that he needn’t worry. After all, you’re not that easy to kill.”

“We were very lucky to get out in one piece,” Lois muttered uneasily.

“The force of the blast sent us flying through the air,” Olsen added. “I always thought that was something that only happened in the movies.” Judging by his expression he was hovering between excitement and shock.

Clark noticed that Scardino was watching him very closely. He also saw the smug expression on his face. Clark was almost certain that there was another tattletale comment on his lips concerning his powers.

“Don’t even think about saying another word, Dan,” he warned him quietly. He shoved the black bag with the remaining explosive in Scardino’s arms. “We need to get these two away from the Daily Planet building before anyone recognizes them out here.”

Scardino flinched somewhat and his expression sobered. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Clark wanted to ask where Henderson was, but then he spotted his sedan on the other side of the street. He checked the street for prying eyes and Scardino did the same. But the people around were more concerned with the burning building than with them. The four of them hurried over to the car. Henderson climbed out and opened the back door for them.

“Kent,” he growled. “What took you so long? You gave me a heart attack! And didn’t you say that the explosives were supposed to go off at eleven o’clock?”

“I’m sorry, Inspector. Joe and Ray paid a visit and forced me to reschedule.” Clark explained. “One real explosive went off, but I’m fairly sure that the damage to the building will be minor.”

Henderson’s jaw worked, but he nodded his consent. “Fair enough. I’m already looking forward to the report I’ll have to write.” A wry smile played on his lips as Henderson turned around and climbed back into his car. “And now we should get going before anyone else feels a sudden urge to change our plans.”

While Olsen went around the car to get in on the other side, Scardino put the bag with the explosives in the trunk. Then he slipped into the passenger’s seat next to Henderson. Lois remained standing before the open back door.

She furrowed her brows as she looked at Clark. “Did he just call you Kent? I thought your last name was Fox?”

“Get into the car,” Clark said gruffly. He gently prodded her to get inside, and with a pout she complied. Before he closed the door he hesitated a moment. Though his brain was screaming at him not to do this, his heart took over. “Kent’s my real name. Clark Kent.”

Lois looked surprised as she stared at him. Henderson started the engine and Clark shut the door. His heart was still beating wildly in his chest. Then the black sedan sped off. Clark wasn’t sure, but he thought that Lois was turning her head to look at him. Before the sedan turned the corner, Clark’s knees finally buckled underneath him and he sagged against the wall.

Once again the world spun around him. He steadied himself against the wall and clutched at the shoulder bag that contained his personal belongings to keep it from slipping off his shoulders. Clark knew that he couldn’t give into his fatigue out here in the open. He needed to get as far away from the Daily Planet as he could manage. Tapping into his last reserves, Clark urged himself on. His progress was slow, but steady. He figured that he probably looked like a homeless person with his filthy and torn clothes. That just served him well, because nobody would have a closer look at him.

That way he stumbled on for several hundred yards. Moving became easier as he stepped out of the shadows of the buildings around him and into the sunlight. But the relief was short lived, because as he moved further he found himself in the shadows again. As his tired body and aching leg wouldn’t make it any further, he found a deserted alley. Clark staggered toward a couple of dumpsters and collapsed behind them, happy that he could finally rest for a while. He closed his eyes and leaned his back against the smudgy wall of the building behind him.

***
“Kent’s my real name.” Chuck had said quietly. “Clark Kent.”

His face had lit up as he said that name. And in the very moment it was as if something about him changed fundamentally. He’d smiled at her – not the timid, subdued smile that she had seen earlier. It was a full blown smile that had the power to sweep her off her feet and make her knees weak.

Then he’d shut the door and the magic of the moment was gone so abruptly that it left Lois confused. She turned to Jimmy, who was sitting next to her and seemed rather dazed. Her first impulse was to ask him if he too had noticed that change. But she stopped herself just in time as she realized that he wouldn’t know and that saying such a thing would only serve to embarrass herself.

Henderson’s voice seemed to come from far away and it took Lois a moment to register that he was looking over his shoulder and talking to her.

“Hey, Lane, you okay?” By his standards, he sounded quite gentle.

“I will be,” Lois said quietly. “The past hours have been a real roller-coaster ride.”

Henderson nodded. “Kent didn’t hurt you, did he?” Concern was written all over his face. “You know, I don’t like this, having to resort to…” His voice trailed off.

“No, Chuck…I mean Clark didn’t hurt me,” Lois reassured him.

Henderson let out a breath that he had been holding. “Happy to hear that.”

He looked at the street again and started the car. Lois felt the sudden urge to look over her shoulder. Clark was still standing there and looking at them. His shoulders were slumped and he seemed tired. Then he tumbled and just barely managed to steady himself against the wall to keep himself from falling. Right in that moment, Henderson turned the corner and reached the main street.

“We have to get back. Clark is hurt.” Lois exclaimed.

This time it was Scardino turning to watch her. A smile was playing around his lips. “I’m certain he’s fine.”

Lois shook her head. “But-“

“I know Clark,” Scardino said firmly. “Whatever you’ve seen was probably an act. He… he does that a lot.” There was nothing goofy about Scardino, which gave Lois pause.

She furrowed her brows. “Why would he do that? And Henderson, what did you mean with having to resort to… what? Why isn’t the police handling this and who exactly is Chuck – er, I mean Clark? And is he right about Lex Luthor?”

Scardino shook his head. “So many questions, Ms. Lane.”

Henderson grinned. “Always the reporter, aren’t you? Scardino and Clark came to me with a pile of evidence showing that Lex Luthor has his fingers in literally every sinister business that’s taking place in Metropolis.” He glanced at her through the rearview mirror. As he saw that Lois still furrowed her brows, he continued. “I know, I know. He’s doing business with at least half the city and it’s natural that the name of one of his companies will sooner or later show up somewhere. But Clark also managed to come across some tapes in which Luthor orders people to commit crimes.”

“How?” Lois asked.

Henderson shrugged. “Beats me. According to Scardino he has a history with the secret services.”

Lois couldn’t believe her ears. “Clark’s a spy?”

That word seemed to shake Jimmy from his stupor. He shifted on his seat excitedly. “What? Which agency was he working for? CIA? NSA?”

Scardino chimed in. “I don’t know for sure. When I first met him, he was involved with the military. Look, there’s not much I can tell you about him. He’d probably say that I’ve already told you too much. He’s the most tight-lipped person I’ve ever met.”

Lois couldn’t honestly say that she was seeing any clearer. “What does a military secret service have to do with Lex Luthor?”

Scardino chuckled. “Nothing. Whoever Clark might have been working for in the past, he’s now working for me.” As Henderson uttered a low growl, he hastily corrected himself. “For us, I meant to say.”

Henderson growled again.

Scardino admitted defeat. “Okay, we’re working for you.”

“Better,” Henderson muttered.

Lois felt her confusion grow by the minute. “But this should be a police operation, shouldn’t it? Clark said that you were with the DEA, Scardino. Is that true?”

“The name is Dan. And yes, it’s true. I-”

Henderson interrupted him. “Unfortunately, it seems like Luthor has a lot of police officers on his payroll. And we couldn’t risk alerting Luthor to the nature of our investigation. That’s why I agreed to let these two guys do this job. Clark had found a group of criminals who were doing the dirty work for the boss and had just lost their leader due to a prison sentence.”

Scardino leaned his head back and laughed. “I do believe Clark had his hand in facilitating that prison sentence.”

Henderson pulled a face that told Lois he was slightly unnerved by the goofy man at his side. “I wish I knew how he happens upon all that evidence. That would certainly make my life a whole lot easier.”

It was impossible to tell if Henderson was envious of Clark’s apparent investigative skills or if whatever he did was giving him a hard time. But Lois knew better than to ask the grumpy Inspector for clarification on the subject. He wasn’t going to divulge what was going on inside his head. Thinking of what else she might want to ask, Lois fell silent.

“We’re almost at my place,” Henderson said after a while. “I’m going to return to the precinct and see what I can do about convincing Luthor that the two of you are dead. I don’t know how putting the two of you on the list of missing persons is going to help in that respect.” He heaved a sigh and pulled into a parking lot at the side of the street. Henderson stopped the car in front of an apartment building that resembled the one Lois was living in. Once again, he looked over his shoulder. “You don’t happen to have something on you I could use to identify you, do you?”

Lois involuntarily touched the necklace that Lex had given her and that she was wearing right now. After a brief moment of hesitation, she undid the necklace and gave it to Henderson. Next to Lois, Jimmy searched his pockets and turned up with a pocketknife that had his name engraved. Wordlessly, he held it out.

“Perhaps you won’t have to actually fake our deaths. Clark shot us in front of Joe and Ray,” Lois said.

Henderson gasped. “He did what?”

“He’d obviously loaded his gun with blanks,” Lois explained. “Why ever he would do that?”

Scardino shook his head. “Don’t even try to understand him. I’ve given up on that long ago.”

Henderson scratched his chin. “So, if we just set you on our list of missing persons, there’s a good chance that Luthor will learn of your supposed death via his goons?”

Lois nodded. “I think so. Clark left his phone at their lair to give them the means to contact the Boss. We could wait what happens before you go out of your way to stage our deaths.”

A small smile spread across Henderson’s face. “Finally some good news.” Then he reached for Jimmy’s pocket knife.

Before Henderson could take it, Jimmy withdrew his hand. “Can we let my Mom know that I’m alright?”

“Sorry, Jimmy,” Henderson said. “But that’s too risky. If we’re lucky, we’ll manage to arrest Luthor in the next 48 hours. If it takes longer than that, I’m going to figure something out.”

Jimmy didn’t look entirely happy with that answer, but he handed Henderson his knife. “Okay. Let’s hope that we’ll get Luthor soon.”

Henderson nodded grimly. “Amen to that. Now get out, I need to hurry. Scardino will take care of you. And stay out of sight.”

Scardino, Jimmy and Lois climbed out of the car and Henderson sped off. Lois briefly took in her surroundings. Henderson was living in one of the better parts of town, though the area wasn’t exactly posh. A few trees lined the street and the buildings were tidy. They followed Scardino as he led them to Henderson’s place.

If someone had asked Lois about Henderson's private life, she'd have assumed that he was married with kids. Despite his often gruff behavior she knew that deep down he was a kind man. His apartment however was testament to the fact that he was single. The apartment was sparsely furnished, but neat. It was obvious he had chosen his things for functionality rather than design. The sofa looked rather worn, but comfortable. A book shelf, a TV and a table completed the living room.

“Anyone hungry?” Scardino asked.

He headed for the kitchenette that was hidden in a corner of the living room. It was so small that Lois had completely overlooked it. Now that Scardino mentioned food, Lois realized she was starving. She had hardly eaten anything since lunch the day before. Not to mention she was also dead tired.

Since Jimmy could always eat something, the three of them enjoyed a hearty breakfast. For a while Lois even forgot to ask more questions. She just dug into her scrambled eggs and fried potatoes and listened as Scardino filled her in on what had transpired in the newsroom. Apparently, Henderson had spoken to Perry claiming that he needed his help on some case. Since Perry was already fed up with Luthor’s new management of the Daily Planet and his supervising editor-in-chief Chip Peterson, he’d been more than willing to believe Henderson and had readily offered his help. He’d come by in the afternoon, once the dust had settled, and they would discuss the plan to bring down Luthor more in detail.

Until then, Lois was more than ready to get some sleep. She decided to take a nap on the sofa while Scardino and Jimmy went through some new folders.

***

Clark was starting to feel better when the sun climbed up and warm rays of light were shining down into the small alley where he was hiding behind a dumpster. The sunlight was gradually restoring his energy to a steady flow of power, though it was still far from the torrent it usually was. His body felt still a little sore and his leg was ablaze with pain. Briefly he pondered letting his wound heal completely, but thought better of it.

He couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t meet Hank, Ray and Joe again – the Shamrock of Horrors as Lois had called them. That brought a smile to his lips. And what if he ran into Lois again? As he thought about her, her image appeared right before his mind’s eye. He could see her smile and the gleam in her eyes, could almost hear her wry remarks. He dreamed of her gorgeous lips and wondered what they might taste like. He bet they were sweet and creamy and… The smile tugging at Clark’s lips threatened to turn into a silly grin. A strange flutter settled in his belly and for a moment the pain in his leg subsided.

Clark shifted his position and the renewed pain in his leg dispelled the daydream. He shook his head to get rid of these strange thoughts. He had other things to worry about than a pair of lips. And even if he didn’t, it was impossible anyway. Who’d want to kiss an alien? It was better to get these ideas out of his head. He couldn’t even tell her who – or better what – he was. Even if she wouldn’t be put off by his freakishness, he could never risk telling her about his abilities. He needed to keep his secret safe at all cost.

Clark looked down at his blood soaked leg. Obviously the wound had started bleeding again during his fight with Ray and Joe. Or sometime later. He decided that he should at least stop the bleeding. Sooner or later, he needed to come out of this alley and if he did, he needed to act as low-key as he possibly could. Leaving a trail of blood would most certainly look suspicious. It was a good thing that the fabric was so dark that the blood was hardly visible.

Clark just started to focus on healing, when his ears picked up a familiar voice.

“Do you really think he’s still around somewhere?” Ray asked.

“Didn’t you see his limp after you injured him? He can’t be moving very fast. I’m betting the blood we found was his,” Joe said.

“I can’t believe he just killed her.” Ray muttered. “We could have made good money with the chick.”

“We gonna make him pay.” Joe swore.

Clark’s eyes flew open. He tentatively looked around the dumpster but couldn’t see the two men. His head started to throb as he used his x-ray vision. Clark spotted Joe and Ray just a few yards from the entrance of the alley, just before his powers failed him. He scanned the immediate area around him for a place to hide. There was a dumpster next to him, but climbing inside would make too much noise. He permitted himself to wait another moment and stop the bleeding so that he would leave no further trail behind. Then Clark got up and ran down the alley as quietly as he could.

The two men heard him anyway. “There he is,” Ray yelled.

Clark heard the heavy stamping of Ray and the uneven steps of Joe behind him.

“Stop!” Joe shouted.

A shot rang through the narrow alley that missed Clark. He ducked behind another dumpster and spotted a doorway. Panting for breath he jumped toward the door. With a sigh of relief, he found that the door was open. Clark slipped inside.

The corridor was dark and Clark almost stumbled down a flight of stairs that led to the basement. He caught himself just in time and felt his way around the staircase and toward the hall to the front door of the building. He kept his ears trained on the voices of Joe and Ray. They were getting closer to the door, but hadn’t reached him yet. Clark moved on as fast as he could. Sweat was running down his forehead and nose. The hallway was too dark to see much of anything.

He ran into another flight of stairs and hurriedly climbed them. A few steps later he arrived at the front door. Clark reached for the handle and left the building as quickly as he managed without running.

Thankfully, the adjoining street was busy. A flood of pedestrians was on their way to the lunch break crowded the sidewalk. Clark joined the steady stream of people and tried to blend in despite his outer appearance. He needed to find a place to spend the next few hours where he didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. His current position - Metropolis’ financial district - most definitely wasn’t it. Now and again he looked over his shoulder and tried to use his hearing abilities to find out if Ray and Joe were still following him. But the noise on the street made that rather difficult.

He changed his course a few times in order to dodge them. The sky that had been so intensely blue just half an hour ago was gradually clouding over and it looked like it would soon start to rain. While that wasn’t all that great for restoring his powers, it would certainly help him to disappear among the crowds.

Luck finally seemed to be on his side. Just as Clark had reached a subway station, rain started to fall in a dense curtain. Clark used the general commotion of running pedestrians and opening umbrellas to rush down the stairs and into the subway. He fumbled a few coins out of his jacket to take the train and get out of here. Clark desperately longed to get some rest. He needed to find some food as well. Without his powers, his body needed this kind of nourishment.

To be continued…