Chapter 7
I hadn’t cried myself to sleep, but I’d certainly been wallowing in my memories, and had no idea what time it was when I’d drifted off. In my dream I had been reporting on the Planet’s bombing, doing an exclusive report with Clark. Somewhere in the dream, Pete Black’s name had come up and the memory of his drivers license from the bar had come to mind. Most importantly, his address.
I could now find John Black, and hopefully some evidence.
The sun isn’t up yet, too early to be wandering around to find him, so I organize and clean up my limited possessions and plan my day. I’ll head to the nightclub first to see if I’m working tonight, and then find Pete’s address.
As I get ready, I try not to think about the vivid dreams I’ve been having lately. I wake unsettled by them, as though they’re a memory and not a figment of my imagination, but I have no idea when these things have happened. Sometimes they’re snippets of dreams, almost like a moment of deja vu. I have images of Superman standing in front of me, grinning at me in a way he’s never done before, or participating in investigations with Clark as my partner well beyond the time he worked at the Planet. In these moments, everything feels so right, and then I wake up, unsettled.
Wells didn’t say how I would know, only that I would know that I was on the right path. I can only hope that these dreams are part of that and while there have been a few strange and terrifying ones, there are those that overwhelm me with contentment, and a joy I can’t explain. I’m holding onto these moments, allowing them to keep me going.
****
I arrive at a run down apartment, and check the mailboxes in the entrance but the name on the little cardboard identifier is almost worn off. I ring the buzzer, hoping it’s the correct one, almost vibrating with anticipation.
“Who is it?”
“A friend,” I stammer, unable to think of something better at the moment.
“I’ve got enough friends.”
“Pete was arrested,” I whisper.
“Who are you?”
I have to take a gamble. “I’ve worked for The Boss. I know what you’re up against.”
It’s not a lie, I reason with myself. I did work for Lex for a few weeks, and technically, the me of this time is still working for Lex. As the door buzzes and unlocks, I heave a sigh of relief. One hurdle down.
When I get to the apartment, a man is standing at his open door, and hastily ushers me inside. He closes the door and locks it. Normally this behaviour would have me very concerned but he is ashen and his hands are shaking. He’s clearly scared of something.
“What happened to Pete? Did The Boss send you?”
I relay what happened at the nightclub, omitting my part in all of this and making it sound as though I was a patron and a witness. I finish with assurances that The Boss isn’t aware that Pete was arrested yet, but it won’t be long before he finds out, ending the conversation by sticking out my hand and introducing myself.
“Sandra.”
“John,” he says, a little colour returning to his face, though his hands are still trembling.
He confirms who I hoped he would be.
“What’ll happen to him?” John asks as he sinks into a worn couch and fumbles around for a cigarette.
“He’s probably been transferred to juvenile detention by now unless there’s someone to take custody of him.”
“No, there’s just me and he won’t call. He better not.”
I step into the apartment a little further so I’m not standing in the doorway, trying to spot anything that could help Jack. The apartment isn’t tidy, but not filthy. There were dirty dishes in the sink, but not on the coffee tables, cups have coasters underneath them and there’s an overflowing ashtray on the arm of the couch. The kitchen table is piled high with papers and tools and I wonder if there is anything in all of that which could help exonerate Jack.
“We’ve got to get Pete out,” I suggest as I take a seat at the kitchen table, attempting to surreptitiously glance at the documents and papers scattered around.
“Like, break him out of juvie?”
“Yeah. This was his first big job right? Probably best we get him out of there before he says something stupid.”
John grumbles something incoherent in response.
“You’ve got to know someone there with your connections? A janitor? Guard?”
He stares at me, exhaling smoke. “What’s it to you?”
My mind is racing with the possibility of being able to break Jack free and I almost stumble over an answer.
“How long do you think Pete’s going to last in juvie before he opens his mouth and incriminates himself. If he goes down, he takes a lot of people with him.”
John mulled over my words, lighting another cigarette with the one he’s almost finished.
“I might know someone.”
****
I leave Black’s apartment feeling a little smug. He made a few calls at my urging, and managed to connect with someone working in that facility and willing to help get Pete out. Fortunately, the contact doesn’t know who Pete is and I convinced John to let me visit Pete to inform him of the plan, with every intention of being redirected to Jack. John’s worry over Pete’s arrest was clearly for his own sake and it hadn’t been easy to talk him into the final plan. His chief concerns were incriminating himself in the bombing plot, or being connected to the potential break-out. I had to remind him it’s been weeks since the bombing and as long as Pete said nothing, he was free and clear, but we had to get Pete out. He reluctantly agreed before suggesting he leave Metropolis for a while and let things settle. Hastily I cautioned him against fleeing, commenting that if the police were to find out that he’d taken off at the same time that Pete was out of juvie, it would look very suspicious. Eventually he was convinced to stay and hide in his apartment as much as he could.
John clearly wasn’t the mastermind behind the bombing of the Planet. Someone gave the Black brothers instructions as well as materials for the job. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see anything that would incriminate either of them in that apartment, but I don’t think it would take much for John Black to crack. Considering his career as a jack-of-all in the criminal trades, I would have expected someone a little more hardened to the life, but this last job, blowing up the Planet, seems to have pushed him to the brink of a breakdown.
Leaving the apartment building, I pause at the mailboxes and pull a pen out of my purse. Checking no one is watching, I write the name a little bolder on the faded cardboard in the hope that someone else will be looking for John Black soon.
****
“I thought you said you were going to get me out of here,” Jack hisses the moment he sits down.
“I am. You will,” I respond as I glare at him. “You know, manners will take you much further than rudeness.”
“You don’t understand. They brought a new kid in.”
“Did he recognize you?”
“You knew!”
Jack’s exclamation gets us a warning from the guard and I try to calm Jack down.
“I need to know if he recognized you.”
“No. But he’s chirping loudly to everyone about how he pulled some big job recently, planting incriminating evidence. It’s me he’s talking about.”
I sigh in frustration. “Why would he talk about it? That’s not even what he’s in for.”
“You don’t understand what it’s like in here. It’s all about respect and he’s not about to get that for possessing a fake ID and beating some guy up. Look, I need to get out. Is this happening, or not?”
“It will. And soon.” I hope. The wedding is this weekend.
“Then what? Do you have some master plan to clear my name?”
“I need you to find Jimmy. He’s working at the strip club on 53rd street. Just tell him what you’ve told me and both of you go to Clark’s.”
Jack raises his eyebrows at me. “Clark?”
“Yes. You need to trust me on this. Go to Clark, explain everything to him. You all need to find the weak link, whether that’s the Black brothers, or a member of the board. Do whatever it takes.”
“You’re serious about this, aren’t you.” Jack pauses and I can see him considering his next words. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He’s a smart kid, too smart. I can’t answer, and I shake my head.
“Ok,” he agrees. “I don’t know why, but I trust you, this you anyways.”
That comment hurts. “Jack, I’m sorry. I thought Clark was making a huge mistake when he let you go and then helped you out after you robbed his apartment. However this turns out, just remember that Clark trusted you and gave you an opportunity to change your life. Don’t repay that by returning to a life on the wrong side of the law.”
“I won’t see you again, will I?”
“Hopefully not. Take care, Jack.”
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