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From Part 1:“Look, I don’t want to talk about it, all right?” She walked back to her desk and sat down, suddenly fascinated by her computer screen. The more she said, the worse it became. Dave already knew way too much about her stay in Paris. If he talked... no, he wouldn’t, she reasoned in an attempt to calm down. He wouldn’t put her in an awkward situation. Right?
She felt his hand on hers and looked up at him reluctantly.
“Lois, be careful, okay? Whatever is happening in your life, be careful.”
Any smart put-down died on her lips at her editor’s genuinely concerned face.
“I will.”
*********Part 2:The large lobby at the bottom of the LexCorp building was even colder than Lois remembered. During the day it was crowded with staff members; right now, her high heels rang loudly through the marble hall. She’d postponed this moment until the very last minute; Tom Granger, the assistant editor, had practically had to throw her out of her office for her to call it a day. And now she had no choice but to go back to the apartment she shared with her husband.
Lex. Her husband. A man she should be happy to see after being away for four days. So much for her little girl’s dreams of meeting Prince Charming and living happily ever after with him. Well, she was living in a palace that looked grand enough to be that of a princess. Italian marble covered the floor and stairs of the hall. Expensive copies of old Masters adorned the walls - the originals were locked somewhere in a vault under the building. Lex had once mentioned it to Nigel in front of her, but he’d never taken her there or even shown any wish to.
She shook her head and hurried across the hall to the elevators.
A dark silhouette suddenly stepped out of the shadows, jolting her out of her musings. She yelped and took an instinctive step backwards.
“Mrs Luthor.” The man bowed submissively.
“Gary! Don’t scare me like that!”
“My apologies, Mrs Luthor.”
“Did you wait for me all night?”
“That’s my job, Mrs Luthor.”
Gary. A minimum of words, always followed by her marital name. Her lips twisted in a moue of frustration. Personal security was an issue on which she and Lex had never agreed. Lex considered it natural for his wife to benefit from one of his numerous bodyguards. Bodyguards were as necessary to him as his silk ties or his expensive watch. Lois, though, had been too used to looking out for herself to enjoy the so-called thrill of having somebody else do that for her. As far as she was concerned, Gary was a waste of money. She didn’t need him, and his creepy presence behind her annoyed more than reassured her. But it was something Lex was not prepared to make any concession on.
At least Gary was discreet enough as a bodyguard, and if he thought anything of her escape to Paris, he didn’t show it. He would probably resume his job as if nothing had happened. He pressed the button to call the elevator and gestured for her to step inside when the doors slid open.
She watched him type the code to the penthouse. Even if she hadn’t wanted to go home right now, Gary seemed to have his mind set on sending her to her apartments. Well, that was fine with her. It was getting close to midnight, and she couldn’t procrastinate any longer. Besides, she was exhausted and wanted to get to bed more than anything. If only her husband wasn’t home... She didn’t feel like talking to anyone tonight, especially not Lex. She was tired from a combination of the plane trip and her day’s work, and handling some stilted small-talk with her husband was the last thing she wanted.
Telling him she was filing for divorce was not the best of ideas either. She knew that breaking the news to him would be no piece of cake, and she was too weary for a fight.
They weren’t on particularly good terms at the moment, anyway. Their phone conversation on the first night she’d spent in France had not been exactly friendly; once again they had come back to their everlasting argument over her career, and once again Lex had refused to hear what she had to say on the matter. He was overprotective, treating her like a porcelain doll that could break at the tiniest of shocks. He’d been quick to forget how tough a reporter she’d been when she worked for the Daily Planet.
And then of course there had been guilt gnawing at her that night, as if she’d already done something wrong. Something forbidden. The truth was that she’d already come very close to temptation when Clark had taken her to the quiet and deserted park that night; her hand warmly clasped in his, her eyes roaming the beautiful lights of the city below, she’d felt drawn to her former partner in a way she’d never felt before. The foreign sensation had both astonished and scared her. They’d almost kissed. They’d been standing so close to each other that she’d felt his warm breath on her lips, and for the first time since they had met, she’d had to fight a very powerful attraction to him.
Her husband’s phone call a mere hour after that had made her feel ill-at-ease, a reminder that she had no right feeling the way she felt. She might not love Lex, but she’d hated having to lie or omit part of the truth.
And the feeling hadn’t eased up since. Now she hadn’t just flirted with temptation; she’d given in to it completely. She had slept with Clark and she was now involved with him in a serious relationship.
She was repeating what she had suffered from as a child.
She was becoming what she had always loathed.
She was turning into her father.
No. She quashed the appalling thought firmly. She wasn’t about to abandon a family for the sake of a brainless bimbo who had batted her eyelashes one time too many. What she was about to do was break off a marriage that hadn’t brought her the happiness she originally expected. What she was about to do was get into a relationship with a man she loved, and who loved her.
Lex loved her, too. He’d said so, repeatedly, over the past six months. She had replied in kind, though only because it seemed the right thing to do.
“You know how much I love you, darling,” he often said when he felt she was on the verge of arguing with him.
And it always worked. All she could reply was “I love you, too,” and the argument immediately stopped. They didn’t kiss and make up, as neither were of the cuddling type. Or... well, maybe she was, but with the right person. With Clark.
Lois made a quick tour of the penthouse and breathed out in relief. Lex wasn’t in.
Emptiness invaded her as she looked around the expensively furnished apartment. None of her belongings were here; after the wedding, Lex had insisted that she sold them along with her old place on Carter Avenue.
“What use would you get from tiny shelves and uncomfortable sofas?” he had explained at her disappointed reaction.
She shook the memory away and dropped her travel bag onto the floor in her bedroom. It didn’t feel any more homey than the rest of the penthouse, but it was the only part of the gigantic apartment that truly belonged to her.
As strange as it had sounded when Lex had first walked her around ‘their’ place, she was now very grateful that he preferred them to sleep in separate beds. She had puzzled at this strange choice for a married couple, but he had argued that sleeping wasn’t an activity that needed to be shared. He positively hated having someone cling to him, and he was convinced one didn’t truly get comfortable on a mattress when their spouse was taking up half the space. His tone had been light and cheerful, but there had been no doubt in her mind that he meant the words. Indeed, he had never actually *slept* with her the night through. And so the four poster bedstead that he had chosen to furnish her bedroom with was actually hers.
When she was a little girl, she had dreamt of the gossamer drapes of white muslin hanging from the canopy over her head. She had dreamt of mahogany dressers and ancient armchairs. She had dreamt of dinners at expensive restaurants and the purchase of fancy gowns that made her look like a princess.
She wasn’t a little girl any more, and reality was far from the dreams she had treasured in her child’s mind.
Walking up to the dresser, she reached for the single photograph framed in gold that had stood there for the past six months. The official wedding picture. Her white dress, her impeccable hair hidden by the muslin veil. His expensive suit, his hand possessively wrapped around her shoulder. Both looking at the photograph and smiling for their special day.
She had wanted to wait until their wedding night to consummate their relationship. She wasn’t particularly religious or traditional, but waiting had seemed like a nice thing to do. Amazingly, Lex had agreed that it would make it more special. But even on their first night together, he had left the bed shortly afterwards. Not that she’d tried to hold him back. She had been too busy fighting the doubts haunting her since the wedding ceremony; if anything, their first time together had reinforced her reservations about their marriage.
She sat on the bed with a sigh, her fingers absently playing with the silken spread. She couldn’t claim he had been rough. But she hadn’t felt the tenderness and care that she had hoped to shelter in on their first night. She had thought that it would be special; it had been nothing but a repeat performance of her previous lovers.
And now she couldn’t blame it on herself any more, she mused as memories of her night with Clark rushed back to her. She pushed them away, feeling too embarrassed to contemplate them in this less than private place. Lex could come in any moment, and she didn’t want to be thinking about Clark then.
She was lying in bed drowsing in front of a book when the sound of the main doors jolted her awake. Heavy footsteps walked to her room, and Lex’s face appeared in the doorway.
“Good evening, my dear,” he said as he made his way to the bed and bent to drop a kiss on her forehead.
Lois closed the book and laid it on the nightstand. Her muscles felt stiff, but she was determined not to show him how tense she was.
Lex sat on the edge of the bed and set a hand on her calf. “Did you have a nice trip?”
“I did, thank you.”
Long fingers spread over the skin of her shin. “How was Paris?”
“Busy. And very French. I wish I’d had time to sightsee a little.”
The feather-like caress of a finger slid up to her knee. “I’ll take you there. We’ll walk along the banks of the Seine, rent a private boat and sail under Pont Marie... We’ll go up the Eiffel Tower at night, when it’s closed to the public and we can have the magnificent view to ourselves.” His eyes were sparkling with excitement as he described what was, without doubt, the perfect trip.
Perfect to whom? Lex always thought that his money and what it could offer dazzled her. Maybe his previous conquests had enjoyed being covered in expensive jewellery and designer clothing, maybe they had been thrilled by trips to Venice and London in private jets, five-star hotels and worldwide famous restaurants.
A nudge on the side of her knee brought her back to the present. “Paris is not making you enthusiastic?”
“Sorry, Lex. I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.”
“Understandably. Do you want me to call Asabi?”
“I really don’t feel up for a massage right now.”
“All right. But do spend a bit of time relaxing tomorrow. You look very tired.”
She yawned and smiled her agreement, then frowned at the bandaged hand resting on Lex’s thigh. “What happened?”
Lex followed the direction of her gaze and shrugged. “Oh that? Nothing. Small accident with a glass of wine.” He flexed his fingers and grinned. “I don’t know my own strength.”
A shudder ran down her spine. She quickly pushed away the unfamiliar feeling of discomfort. She was not afraid of Lex. That would be ridiculous. Clark might be paranoid, but she was not about to get scared by something that could happen to just anyone. After all, those Laliques of Lex’s were just as fragile as they were expensive.
“Anyway, I’d better let you get your beauty sleep.” He rose from the bed, and she held back a sigh of relief. “I’m sure that trip to Paris was fun and exciting, and you’ll have lots of things to tell me, but you must be too tired for that tonight. We’ll have plenty of time for that tomorrow.”
“I’ve got three press conferences scheduled for tomorrow.”
He made a gesture of impatience. “Nothing that will take you all day, my dear. We can have a French dinner tomorrow night, in celebration for your French escapade and your French investigation with that French newspaper.”
Was there sarcasm in his words or was he genuinely enthusiastic? “Lex, about that paper...”
“Don’t worry about it, Lois. I’m sure they must have been very flattered to have a worldwide famous reporter freelance for them, even if it was just a one-time thing. They’re probably not used to having big names on their bylines.”
His patronising tone made her fist her hands in irritation, but she bit back the scathing words that would normally answer such an affront. She would not let him wind her up. “Probably,” she said simply.
Lex bent down to press his lips onto hers. His kiss was firm. Strong. Reminding her that she was his. She shivered.
He pulled away. “Goodnight, my love.”
**********
Clark hung up the phone and stared at his computer screen, thoughts tumbling in his mind as he took in what his source had just revealed. So much for thinking he had only a short follow-up to draft.
The ACL Corporation. Dr Miller's illegal research. Poison that imitated the effects of a heroin overdose. All of it. He and Lois had bagged and tagged the story, brushing ACL off as a shell company. How could they have overlooked that essential piece of information? Why hadn't it occurred to them to check what the initials stood for?
A.C. Luthor.
That name said it all.
They'd been blind.
It made sense. It made so much sense. How could he not have thought about it before? How could he not have made the connection? He should have known. Luthor was an expert in corrupt business practices, after all. He should have expected the man’s tentacles to spread all the way to Europe.
Except... How involved was Lex Luthor? All right, ACL belonged to him. Big deal. That didn’t make him guilty of actively supporting illegal activities. His lawyers would make a quick and easy job of pointing out that a man of Luthor’s importance couldn’t possibly be expected to control every single business conducted by the dozens of companies he owned. Heads would roll, but Luthor would come out stronger in the end.
He had no evidence against Luthor. His own jealousy aside, there was nothing he could say to prove Luthor’s involvement in ACL’s business. The numerous hunches he’d had in the past were making it hard to brush the link aside, though. If there was a chance to uncover Luthor’s true nature, he had to seize it.
His decision made, he straightened in his chair and jotted down a few words on his notepad. Check on ACL’s public record. Get a list of activities financed by the company. Look at any business conducted in or near Metropolis. Find out if Luthor was part of the board of directors. Call Lois and -
Lois.
He dropped his pencil and pushed the pad away. Lois. As with every investigation, his thoughts had gone to his former partner. Working with her last week had reminded him how much he missed her support and advice. This one was different, though. Lois was Luthor’s wife. She was at his mercy on a daily basis. She could be in danger.
Automatically, his hand went up to his tie. He dropped it back onto his lap. What would he do? Fly to Metropolis? March into Lex Tower in his Superman suit and kidnap her?
Lois was not in danger. She couldn’t be. After all, there was a chance that Luthor had known nothing about Miller’s research. But now the news had been reported by every single media organisation in Europe and North America. Unless Luthor was locked somewhere in a bunker, there was no way he’d have missed it.
Fear squeezed his gut in answer to his earlier hope. Temptation to zip out of the newsroom and make a quick trip to New Troy to check up on her grew stronger.
He wished he’d found the courage to talk to her about Luthor and his suspicions about him. The discussion had always led them to fight back when he was still in Metropolis. Lois had claimed that jealousy made him speak ill of a man who’d done so very much for the city and its inhabitants. She’d never wanted to understand that there was more going on than what the public knew. She, who was usually so perceptive about people and their true character, had completely missed who Lex Luthor really was.
Blinded by love?
Had she loved Lex? She’d told him that her marriage had never been the fairy-tale depicted by the press. She’d even confessed that she wasn’t in love with Lex. But had she ever felt something for him? Why had she married him? Why had she ignored his feelings?
Oh, Lois... His fists clenched as he imagined Luthor’s reaction to finding out that his wife had brushed an inch too close to figuring him out for who he really was. What had saved her until now, he supposed, was her blissful ignorance that her husband could be more than a business shark. If Lex thought her naive enough to keep believing he was as innocent as a child, then maybe he would leave her alone.
The possibility that Lois might start investigating her own husband filled him with dread. He couldn’t ask for her help. Not only would it infuriate her that he still didn’t trust Lex, but if she actually took his opinion of her husband seriously, she wouldn’t hesitate to put herself in danger.
He had to work by himself on this one. He had to find out more about ACL. He had to know who ran the company, who made the decisions, and whether anything filtered back to Lex Luthor.
He had to do what he should have done six months before: ensure that Luthor’s true self was finally revealed to the world, and that he rotted behind bars for the rest of his life.
**********
tbc...
