Previously, on Part 11:


"Kent! Where have you been?" asked angrily the old editor in Chief, coming towards him. "Tell me you were at the police station."

"Err... No, Chief. Why? What's happening?"

"Superman's wife was abducted one hour and half ago. Her police car was attacked while they were finishing their patrol. She was taken and two other policemen were seriously injured. They're at the hospital. The doctors are operating them, right now. The police refuse to comment but apparently the criminals let a message at the scene for Superman. Apparently, someone's trying to blackmail him. Clark, I want to know exactly what they want, and who the police suspect to have done this, understood? I've already called Lois and sent her at the police station. You join her and you bring me an exclusive, ya hear?"

"Yes, Chief," responded briefly Clark

He went out immediately, changing back into his Superman persona as he ran into the stairwell towards the roof.

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And now, Part 12:


PART 12: BLACKMAIL


He landed in the parking of the police station, just besides the entry door. The parking was full of reporters. They became completely overexcited when Superman came into view.

He hadn't landed yet that they were already shooting questions at him, all at once. He couldn't have understood one of them without the ability to concentrate on only one sound with his super-hearing. But he wasn't in the mood to respond to any question, so he didn't even bother trying to made sense in all that hubbub.

He didn't feel anything more for Andrea that for any stranger. They hadn't become closer in the week that they pretended to be married that they were before that night when they meet at Henderson's office. But all the same, he really was worried for her more than for a simple stranger. He'd feel a lot of guilt if something happened to her. He couldn't forgive himself to have accepted the old inspector's plan if Intergang did her any harm.

So, as soon as he landed, he entered the police station without a word or a glance for the reporter's crowd. He had higher priorities than give them an interview. He didn't even bother to respond by a "no comment". He just entered the building and headed straight to Henderson's office.

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Superman reach for the letter that Henderson showed him, and read it. The message was quite simple. He was ordered to respond to the phone that the kidnappers had left with the letter on the police car they attacked, he and nobody else, when the phone would ring at 8PM.

"It's 6PM. that let us two hours to wait until they call you," said Henderson.

"Why?" asked Superman.

Henderson didn't understand what Superman was asking.

"Sorry?"

"Why do we wait? I thought you told me that Andrea would have a tracer," insisted Superman, a little irritated by the whole situation.

"Yes, she does. We grafted her a little tracer under the skin behind her ear to know exactly where she is at every moment," explained Henderson.

"So, I repeat. Why do we wait?"

Superman was losing patience quickly. A woman was abducted because he told the world she was his wife. He did it to save Lois, but now, another woman's life was in jeopardy. He felt very guilty and Henderson wanted to wait two hours more, before helping her. He didn't understand why, and that was making him angry.

Henderson sensed the superhero's mood. That wasn't difficult. During the first year he knew Superman, he never saw him anything else than mild mannered, but over the past week, he rarely saw him in control of his emotions. He never thought Superman to be a fiery type of man, but during the past few days, he learned that even the superhero could be bad tempered or have bad days.

He knew that the whole situation was really difficult to bear for the superhero, and it worsened everyday. That was only the previous day when he came to the police station wanting to stop everything. That didn't go well. He never saw Superman that angry before. He never ever thought that Superman had it in him to be that furious.

So he was well aware that now, with the kidnapping that happened, Superman probably was completely nerves wrecked. And Henderson didn't want that discussion evolve to the same kind of furious argument they had the previous day. He began to explain his decision by making soothing gestures with his hands towards the angry superhero.

"Look, Superman. Yes, we know exactly where Andrea is. And right now, policemen are all around the place, watching it the more discreetly possible. But I can't order the assault until I'm sure the Intergang leaders are there too. If we can't have them, the whole operation would have been for nothing. That phone call will hopefully permit us to locate them at the same place. That could be our only way to stop them."

Superman sighed, resigned. He did it for a whole week; he could bear it two hours more. He breathed deeply trying to calm down. He needed to be in full possession of his mind when Intergang will call.

"You know, Superman," keep Henderson more softly, "Andrea isn't just a police officer. She's my friend too. I don't like that more than you do, but she knows how we work. Everything will be fine, Superman."

"How can you be so sure everything will be fine, Henderson?" asked Superman a little more harshly that he intended to.

"I can't," responded Henderson the more honestly he could, "but I need to believe it. And you need to believe it too."

Superman sighed one more time, but he finally nodded his consent and sat. After a while, he raised the head and looked at Henderson again. He was a lot calmer now.

"And the two other policemen, are they... Are they fine?"

"They've been shot many times, and they lost a lot of blood. But the doctors said that they'll probably survive their injuries."

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Lois was standing in the reporter's crowd for almost an hour now, and still no new information. She was thinking about going back home. It was obvious that the police wouldn't release any information soon. No point in staying.

Clark said he'd join her at her apartment after he was done with whatever it was he was doing. And she wanted to be with him more than she wanted to write an article about the kidnapping of Superman's wife. She wasn't even sure she could handle it, if Superman showed one more time his love for his wife.

Sure, she had Clark now, but she still felt something for Superman. She couldn't deny it. Maybe she shouldn't have agreed to come at the police station when Perry called her to ask her to take the story. She should have said no and stayed in her apartment, waiting for Clark to show up. He said he had something important to tell her, and she wanted to hear it.

But no. The reporter in her jumped at the story as soon as Perry talked to her about it. Sure, she left a note in her apartment for Clark, in case he showed up while she was gone. But still, she hadn't waited for him. And she was beginning to regret it. She felt less and less confident about her ability to handle the story.

She turned to go back home when she heard the crowd screaming questions. Her heart began to race; Superman just showed up at the police station. She knew that she should have keep on her way and left, but she couldn't help herself. She turned her head and looked at him landing in front of the police station.

She thought she'd be overwhelmed by her feelings at the sight of him. That was the first time she saw him in flesh and blood since the press conference a week ago. But she wasn't. She saw his expression. He was tense and obviously worried for his wife. She dreaded that. She thought that seeing him worry for her would have made her cry all over again. Heck, it was just yesterday when she cried just because she heard at the radio that he went to see his wife at work. But that didn't happen. So much changed since the previous evening. In that second, she understood that Clark was even more important for her than she realised the night before. She loved him much more than Superman.

She felt very relieved by that knowledge. Sure, she had been very honest with Clark the previous evening when she told him that she was in love with him, but that she loved Superman too. And he had accepted that. That hadn't seemed to bother him to have to share her heart with Superman, as long as he had a place in her heart.

That was she who hadn't been comfortable with that. Clark deserved better than that, and she felt guilty to not being able to feel the kind of love he deserved. That was over, now. She knew that she could completely commit to him. She was aware that she'd always feel something for Superman, but she was truly in love with Clark. And that realisation felt great.

But now that Superman showed up, even if he hadn't spoken to the crowd, the story could break at any moment. She couldn't go back home now, as much as she wanted to see Clark at the very moment and tell him that she loved him, without the shadow of anyone else in her mind. She longed to tell him, but that would have to wait.

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It was finally approaching 8PM. The atmosphere was tense in the room as Superman, Henderson and some other policemen were silently waiting for the phone to ring.

In the last two hours, devices had been put on the phone to record the call and trace it down. Henderson gave him orders too for the way he'd have to act when they'd call him, the way to handle the conversation.

He had to ask them to talk with his wife to be sure she was still alive - and god, how he hoped that was the case! He'd never be able to assuage his guilt if she wasn't okay - and to know for certain if the callers were at the same place as the one indicated by the tracer. If not, trace down the phone call would give them another location to look at. Twice more chances to stop Intergang. But in order to trace down the phone call, he needed to keep them talking a long time.

Now that it was almost time, everybody was very tense. There was just so much at stake. Andrea's life, and the chance to stop Intergang, one of the most dangerous criminal organizations worldwide. And everybody was well aware of the high stakes of what was about to happen.

8PM. The phone rang. Superman breathed deeply and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" asked nervously the superhero.

"You shut up and you listen, Superman. You don't say a word. We know the police is recording that phone call, and trying to trace it down. Not a chance, don't place your hopes on it. We have your wife, you know it, and we are serious, so listen carefully. She'll die otherwise," explained the voice before ordering: "Say okay."

"Okay," responded obediently Superman.

"Here's the rule. From now on, you work for us. You keep the phone with you, always, at all times. Every time we need you to do something, we'll phone you. And you will comply right away. You do, and you'd receive at home a video of your wife to see she's safe and sound. You don't and you'd receive at home a video of her execution. Say okay."

"I want to speak to her."

"Wrong answer. That was your first try, we give you a second chance. That would be the last. We just gave you an order by the phone. You obey, or you don't? Choose your video."

Superman felt the primal need to send him to hell, but his good sense prevailed.

"Okay," responded he angrily.

Immediately, the line went down. Superman turned towards Henderson.

"Tell me you had time enough to have their location."

"No," responded the old policeman after consulting his men. "They keep the conversation too short, and they had protection on the line phone to prevent us to locate them. We don't have anything."

That wasn't the response Superman hoped for, and that wasn't what he needed to hear in order to calm down. If Henderson wanted more proofs against them, he'd need to keep the pretence much longer, and that was completely out of the question! He agreed to tell everybody he married Andrea in order to stop Intergang when they'll attack her. She had been abducted. End of the plan. He never agreed for more, and he won't play along. It was time to save Andrea, even if that blew their chances to stop Intergang.

"I tell you right now, Henderson. I won't play anymore. You rescue Andrea right away, or I'll do it myself. The game is over, period," announced categorically Superman.

"Don't worry, Superman," responded Henderson. "I actually agree with you. We'll never have a better chance to stop Intergang. I'll give the order to assault the place right away."

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As soon as the order was given, the police stormed on the Costmart Supermarket warehouse they were surrounding. That was the place indicated by Andrea's tracer as the one where she was held hostage.

They've been thoroughly briefed before the attack. They all knew how important it was to find as much proofs as possible of the illegal activities of the kidnappers, and so, they were instructed to be more careful than usual.

They spent the last three hours, since the abduction, being briefed about the map of the Costmart building. They all knew exactly where they needed to go to cover as much room as possible quickly enough to prevent the criminals to destroy some needed proofs or going away.

The order came just a little after 8PM, and immediately, they went into action. They entered the building, arresting everybody who they encountered on the way, and dispersed themselves into the corridors. Some ran into the offices and began searching for proof of criminal activities, while some others went into the basement, from which came Andrea's signal.

When they turned into a corridor of the basement, approaching the room where she was held hostage, they came face to face with a gang of armed guards. They've immediately been shot at.

The fusillade was long, and a lot of policemen were seriously hurt. They asked for reinforcements in the radio, just to be told that nobody could come since everybody was already there.

In Henderson's office, from where Superman was following the action on the radio on the company of the old inspector, the superhero heard the need of help of the policemen in the basement, and went to help.

He quickly put an end at the fusillade, taking away the weapons of the criminal guards and arresting them. And then, he began to fly at the hospital the more seriously injured men, while the other policemen kept their search for Andrea.

Sure enough, they found her on the room that the armed men were guarding. She was tied up, wearing a gag. Her cheek was swollen, and she had a large dark trace where Ricky hit her.

She had been unconscious a long time. The loud noise of the fusillade in the corridor on the other side of the door woke her up. She was still a little groggy when her colleagues entered the room and freed her.

She was stiff. She ached everywhere. There was no part of her body that wasn't painful. She could see marks on her wrists because of the rope too tight that tied her up. And the pain on her cheek was shooting. But she knew that she was mostly fine.

Her colleagues helped her to stand with solicitude.

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Later that night, at the hospital, Andrea was finishing to complete the papers that the hospital needed before she could go back home.

After having been rescued by her colleagues, Superman flew her to the hospital to be examined as he did with the other policemen who were hurt while the attack.

She spent the next two-three hours being examined thoroughly to be sure she hadn't suffered anything serious. The blow at the head specially was worrying the doctors.

Finally, when everybody had been reassured that she was fine, they gave her painkillers. They wanted her to stay the night at the hospital, just in case, but she refused. She never liked hospital, and she felt okay. No point in staying.

Reluctantly, they gave her the forms that she needed to complete and sign, in order to be allowed to go home.

Superman was standing in front of her. When his help hadn't been needed anymore at the Costmart warehouse, he went back at the hospital to ask how were doing all the policemen injured that day. Luckily, only one died. He took news of Andrea, too. He felt so responsible for what happened to her that he stayed in the corridors while she was being examined.

He didn't need to play the husband part anymore, but he felt so guilty that he felt the need to make sure she was taken care of. When he heard her ask at the doctors to be granted permission to go back home, he naturally offered her a lift.

So he was now waiting for her to be ready to go. In the meantime, he could hear the pack of reporters surrounding the hospital. They heard about the police attack on Costmart, where Andrea was found, and they now wanted to know everything about Mrs Superman state of health.

They needed to reveal to the world that it was all pretence, that they never ever were married, but he wasn't feeling up to the task right at the moment. It was almost midnight. That had been a very long day, which had followed a very long and distressing week. Talk to the press could wait the next day.

Right now, he just wanted to go back to Lois. He left her hours ago, as Clark, telling her he forgot something and that he'd come back to her apartment as soon as possible. That was almost eight hours ago. That was the longest he stayed away from her since the beginning of all that.

<Geez! She's more than likely worrying to death! I am so dead!>

He created his Superman persona to make his life easier, but in the last few days, that really had complicated it!

"Done! We can go," said Andrea tiredly.

Her voice broke into his musing. He looked at her.

"Okay. Let's go," responded Superman.

At that moment, Henderson entered the hospital room with another young blond haired woman.

"Andrea. Superman. I'd like you to meet Mayson Drake, assistant DA. She's the one in charge of the investigation on Intergang," said Henderson.

They all shook hands.

"We just came to let you know what we found so far," explained the assistant DA. "We thought you'd want to know. There was an office in the basement with a lot of papers and computer's files about many of the Intergang criminal activities. We have more details and more names that we'd ever believed possible. The operation was a complete success. We'd need time to sort always out, but it seems obvious at this early stage that Intergang was lead by the Church family. We put them under arrest, and the police came just in time to prevent them to execute a man, Ricky Ramirez. He has a long record, but he agreed to testify against Intergang. We can nail them!"

"Great!" exclaimed Andrea as enthusiastically as she could manage in her state of tiredness.

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