Perry dejectedly walked up to the apartment door and paused, his hand on the door handle. He couldn’t believe that no one wanted to own The Daily Planet.
True, it had been a financial pit at the end, but that had been all Luthor’s doing. With Luthor dead, his empire running on autopilot until all the legal processes and criminal investigations ran their courses, that wasn’t a threat anymore.
The lawyer he’d asked to look into the resale had suggested on their last call that she believed a buyer could successfully sue Luthor’s estate for the insurance payouts to rebuild. That money was more than enough to repair the building and equipment. Hell, it was enough to buy all new equipment!
So why was no-one interested?
Perry sighed and opened the door, his stomach growling as he smelled what he hoped was dinner. Jack and Jimmy turned from their card game and looked at him hopefully. Perry shook his head.
“It’s ok, Chief,” remarked Jimmy. “Maybe tomorrow.”
“What’s for dinner?” Perry replied, changing the subject.
“Lasagna!”
Perry arched one eyebrow in surprise. “Really?”
“Well, it’s frozen, or was. I didn’t make it or anything. It’ll feed us for tomorrow too, it’s big enough.”
“My idea,” Jack interjected sullenly. “I was fed up of sandwiches too.”
Perry laughed. Today, he’d instructed Jack and Jimmy to pound pavement, try to find a place to live, employment until he could get the Planet up and running, and something better to eat then the loaves of bread, sandwich meat, and mustard Jimmy had purchased on Sunday.
“Alright, lets eat!”
Jimmy opened the oven and pulled out the lasagna, while Jack cleared the cards and placed the table settings back. When Perry returned form the bathroom, dinner was served. The top layer of cheese was a bit hard and Perry assumed it had sat in the oven for a while, but still tastier than sandwiches. He listened as Jimmy rambled on about their day, the apartments they’d looked at, the resumes they’d dropped off, and watched as Jack ate quickly, but barely joining in the conversation.
When dinner was finished, Perry began to clean up the dishes, while instructing Jimmy to take out the full garbage. The moment the door closed behind Jimmy, Perry turned to Jack. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s wrong, or do I get to guess?” Perry asked Jack pointedly.
Instead of answering, Jack tossed the dish towel on the counter, and retreated to the couch, turning the television on.
“Oh good, I do love to guess,” remarked Perry, sarcastically. “The lasagna was your suggestion, a great idea I’ll add, and considering you wolfed it down, and had seconds, I’ll deduce it wasn’t the cuisine that’s upset you.”
When Jack didn’t answer, Perry took the remote from the couch, and turned the television off. He knew Jack was prone to sulking, especially if things didn’t go his way, but he was also terrible at hiding his emotions. Sulking was the way Jack generally reacted to anything that bothered him, and with the three of them sharing a small space for a few more days, Perry wanted to get to the bottom of what was bothering him.
“You can tell me what’s wrong now, or I can wait until Jimmy returns and you can listen to his questions, but either way, you’re going to share what’s on your mind.”
“What does it matter? In a few days you’ll be back at the beach, Jimmy will have a job, and I’ll be stuck back where I was.”
Jack reached for the remote that Perry had set down on the coffee table, but Perry snatched it back, thinking quickly. Clark had begged Perry to hire Jack on, and Perry had, reluctantly. Clark hadn’t hidden any of Jack’s past, which had made Perry wary, but he trusted Clark’s judgment. In the last few months, a steady income, knowing his brother was well taken care of, and having a place to live, with regular meals, Jack had let down his defenses, and proved to be an intelligent and hard working young man.
Yet here sat a young man, still underage by a few weeks, hiding his fear of the future behind a tough guy smoke screen. In that surly reply, Perry understood Jack’s concerns.
“Now, Jack, I know it looks bleak right now, but it’s early days yet. I’ve still got a few more tricks up my sleeve, and at the end of the week, we’ll have something figured out for you and Jimmy, don’t you worry.”
“Yeah… well, some guy called for you earlier, wouldn’t leave a name. Just said to stop trying to sell The Daily Planet to every business owner in the state.”
“Oh?”
“He was real abrupt, just said to make sure you got the message. What do you think it is?”
Perry heard the genuine interest that was lurking in Jack’s question.
“I bet it’s someone from Lex Luthor’s company,” Jimmy stated, joining them in the living room after arriving in time to hear Jack’s question.
“Was there anything else to the message?” Asked Perry, giving Jimmy’s idea some thought.
“No. They asked for you, and when I said you weren’t back, they asked to make sure I gave you the message.” Jack reached for the remote again.
“We’re not done discussing,” said Perry has he held out the remote to Jack. “But that’s all for today.” As Jimmy noisily began to put the dishes away, Perry leaned towards Jack. “When Saturday morning arrives and we aren’t able to stay here anymore, we will have a plan. I’m not leaving either of you homeless and jobless, d’ya hear?”
Perry watched as Jack nodded, slowly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as Jack swallowed his worry and frustration. Perry clapped a hand gently on the kid’s shoulder as a comforting gesture, as Jack turned the television on. Perry headed into the kitchen to make sure Jimmy was putting the dishes away, not breaking them, trying to think of how he could help both of them find jobs and homes.
****
With trembling hands, Lois placed the receiver back in its cradle. Dave had done some digging and all he could tell her was the orders to terminate her position within LNN had come from much higher up than management. There had been nothing in her file to indicate any performance issues, or anything that would lead to such an abrupt ending of her job. The only thing he had found was a signature on the termination forms, a Mrs. Cox, dated the day she was supposed to be married.
She’d felt like throwing up. She’d suspected Lex had something to do with her sudden unemployment ever since the movers had shown up, but had been hoping that it wasn’t, as now there was no aspect of her life that he hadn’t infringed upon. Her family, friends, home and job, had all come under his scrutiny, and he had used aspects of each to further his own gains. By pushing the people in her life away, she’d had no one else to go to, only him. When she would have returned from her honeymoon, she would have had no apartment, and no job.
But for what purpose? That, she hadn’t figured out. He had claimed to love her, had acted like he loved her. He’d said all the right things, showered her with gifts, made her feel desired, but, a part of her mind whispered, he hadn’t shared his life with her. She had inquired about his businesses, his interests, but other than a generic media statement answer, Lex had never indulged, divulged, or shared in depth, any part of his professional, or personal, life with her. His answers, while at the time she hadn’t noticed, had been slippery, before he distracted her with something else.
Over the last few days she’d wondered what kind of wife Lex had been looking for. He had been surrounded by women who were infatuated with him, and Lois was sure he could have found a gorgeous trophy wife easily. Why had he chosen her? If he had wanted an obedient, characterless wife, she had not been the ideal candidate.
Only one person had seen through Lex’s suave façade, and she’d ignored him, pushed him away, and accused him of being jealous. Over the last few weeks she’d tried to busy herself with her new job, wedding plans and new home plans but she’d still missed her best friend. Now, even though she’d seen him more in the last few days than she had in a month, she still had no idea where their friendship was.
Wanting to know how he was, she dialed Clark’s number, and remembered when she got the answering machine, that he had gone to Kansas. Feeling utterly alone, she placed the phone back in the cradle, and wandered into the kitchen to make some coffee, thinking.
Lex had something to do with Clark’s injuries, but she doubted she’d ever get him to tell her how or why. Had Superman rescued him? Maybe she could get some information from him, but other than standing outside and screaming help, she had no idea how to contact him.
When the wedding had stopped, it had been Perry, Jimmy and Jack that had arrived with the police. Jimmy had let it slip that Clark had been missing since the night before, which would possibly explain Superman’s absence that morning. He must have been looking for, and rescuing Clark.
Her coffee ready, she sat on the couch, flipping the television on to the news. The anchor was giving an update on an accident on the interstate, and Lois stared at the screen wanting to see Superman in action. As the anchor ended the segment, switching to a conversation with a journalist who was reporting on a double homicide the night prior.
Where was Superman, Lois wondered. The day before her wedding, Superman had rescued a family from an apartment fire, which had been the last she had seen, or heard, of him. Albeit, she had refused to turn on the news, not wanting to see updates on Lex’s death or criminal investigation, or see images of the reporters camped out at the entrance to her apartment building. She had half expected him to fly by, stop in, ask how she was.
Lois snorted as she laughed at her daydreams. After their last encounter, she doubted Superman would ever feel comfortable enough to stop by like he once used to.
She’d stopped the wedding because she didn’t love Lex, she couldn’t see herself growing old with him, and he wasn’t the first person she wanted to be around. There was someone else that she cared about, who was the first person she thought about, whose brilliant smile directed at her, always brightened her day. Someone who made her feel like she was the most important person in the room, not another appointment to be scheduled.
She had been astonished to realize that person wasn’t Superman, that it was Clark, and was bewildered and puzzled as to how that had happened without her being aware of it. Until this moment, she had refused to think about it, and even at this moment, her feelings and thoughts were so chaotically entangled, she couldn’t think of where to begin untangling. The only thing she wanted to do, was talk to Clark.
She moved towards the phone, wiping away the few tears that had collected. It wouldn’t be hard to ask the operator to find the Kent’s number, and have her call connected.
As her hand closed around the receiver to pick it up, she jumped at the phone rang.
****
“I’m trying to get hold of Clark; have you seen him?” Henderson asked.
“No, he took a flight to Kansas on Sunday evening. He’s with his folks, though I’m hoping he’ll be back in Metropolis tomorrow. I can ask him to stop by the precinct?”
“No, just ask him to give me a call?”
“Sure.”
Henderson hung up the phone, unable to shake the uneasy feeling that had plagued him all week. He’d thrown himself into the Luthor investigation, trying to focus his mind and energy on anything but his conclusion that Clark Kent was Superman. Now, after putting it off for several days, he had to contact Clark. Another of the investigative team had offered to, but he needed to do this himself.
As the investigation progressed, the team had begun to untangle the web of Luthor’s interests. He knew it would be many months before they had the bigger picture with all the finer details, but enough was starting to emerge to put together the fragments, starting to discover how big the picture will be. He wanted to know what Clark had suspected about Luthor, find out how he had come to his suspicions, even though he’d claimed to have no evidence.
Henderson was relieved to hear that Clark had gone to his parents home, and was away from the city. The sensationalist headlines that were starting to emerge, along with the theories about Luthor’s death, Superman’s part in it, and Superman’s recent lack of appearances, weren’t something Clark should be dealing with. He’d wait until Clark chose to come back to Metropolis to talk to him, rather than contacting him at his parents home.
There was one other phone call he had to make before joining the investigative team at LexCorp Tower. He dialed Lois Lane’s number, and while listening to the ring tone, idly reached for this mornings paper. With the demise of the Planet there had been little options for a Metropolis based newspaper. Someone had decided to have the Star delivered, not his choice of reputable news sources as he thought the quality of the Star had begun a downward slide now they weren’t competing with the Planet for readership. The headline today proclaimed Superman had been helping Luthor in his crimes. Henderson tossed the paper in the bin as Lois answered.
“Lois, Bill Henderson here.”
“Bill!” Lois sounded surprised. “What can I help you with?”
He heard a twinge of something in her voice he hadn’t heard before. Was it sorrow, or loneliness? “Lois, it’s about the bags of personal belongings that were at Luthor’s…”
“I told you, I don’t need those back,” she interrupted.
Bill almost smiled as a bit of the famous Lane fire heated up her words. “That’s fine, we can donate those for you, but I still need you to come down to the precinct to sign for them.”
“Ok,” she acquiesced, the fire in her voice extinguished now. “When do you need me down there.”
“Whenever you can. You don’t need to see anyone, just let the officer at the desk know who you are, and they’ll have the paperwork for you to sign.”
He heard her sigh heavily. “Ok, Bill. I’ll stop by this week sometime.”
“Are those reporters still camped at your front door?” He’d already shooed them away once, and he’d been notified when the building super had called to request an officer to come and get them to move. He had hoped they’d give up.
“I don’t know; I haven’t been outside yet.”
Lois had refused to talk to the crisis counsellor on Friday, and again when the crisis counsellor had called to follow up. Bill had no idea if she was talking to anyone, friends or family. “Lois, are you sure you’re ok?”
There was a long pause before she answered. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“You need anything, just call.”
As he hung up the phone, he wondered if Lois suspected, or knew, about Clark Kent’s double life. He dismissed that thought immediately as it flashed through his mind. There was no chance Lois Lane would have married Luthor if she had known Superman’s true identity.
With Kent out of the state, Perry and company busy organizing their lives, and Lois not leaving her apartment, he made a note to the desk clerk to notify him when Lois stopped by. He wanted to have a conversation with her, make sure she was ok. If she wasn’t, well, he’d confront Clark, find out if Superman could stop by and check on her.
****
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