Table of Contents From Part 1:
I should wait for the cover of darkness before I attempt the flight up to Metropolis. No point taking chances.
I better go back to the office and find a replacement to cover for me while I’m gone and make that call to the Mayor’s office. I’m not looking forward to the phone conversation I’ll be having tonight with Lana.
**********
PART TWO:
I wait outside the entrance to the airport, watching for Chad. I would have just flown directly to his apartment, but when I called him to tell him I was coming, he insisted on coming to pick me up at the airport.
After a few more minutes of peering over the top of my glasses, watching for him, I see his rusted-out pick-up coming a few miles away. He’s had that pick-up since we were back in high school, and it was old even back then. I can’t believe it’s still running.
I smile and wave at him when he gets close enough to see me. He pulls over and I throw my duffle bag in the bed of his truck. I open the door and climb inside; I’m greeted by one arm thrown around my neck in a mighty one-armed bear hug.
“Clark! It’s so great to see you. I can’t believe it took a disaster like this to finally get you up here to see me.”
I smile at him sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry about that. You know how busy I’ve been lately.”
“Hey I’m just ribbin’ ya. So, you’re here. Are you tired?”
“No, not too bad.”
“No jet lag?”
“Nah. I never get jet lag,” I tell him. Chad has no idea how true that is. I hold back a smile.
“Well, I’ve got a proposition for you then.”
Proposition? I raise an eyebrow at him questioningly.
“See, through my connections at the Star, I was invited to this big event tonight called the ‘White Orchid Ball’. It’s hosted by Lex Luthor, the richest man in Metropolis and like in the top five in the world. Anybody who’s anybody is going to be there. According to the invite, I’m allowed to bring someone with me.”
“Chad, don’t take this the wrong way. I like you, but I don’t want to date you.”
I’m rewarded for my humor with a slug to the arm. “Geez, Clark. You’re still as solid as a rock,” Chad says, shaking his hand gingerly. “I figured as busy as you are nowadays you wouldn’t find the time to work out.”
“Who says I work out?”
Chad frowns at me. “Some guys get all the breaks. Born with muscles and gets all the best dates, uh... me included.”
I laugh at his joke. “No, seriously, don’t you have some cute girl you’d like to take with you to the ball?”
“Nada. Zippo. It’s just you and me pal, if you wanna go. I figured you’d be interested because it’s rumored Lex is going to make some sort of announcement about the space program at the ball.”
Hmm, that did sound promising. Well, why not, no sense in an invitation being wasted. Besides, these events usually held the promise of some great food... and Lana isn’t even around to chastise me for eating it. The night is looking very promising. “Okay, it’s a date then. But I expect you to act like a gentleman.”
“Always,” Chad says snickering. “Now, let’s go see if we can find you a rental place in town with a tuxedo left.”
**********
“So which one is Luthor?” I ask Chad, glancing around the room.
“I don’t know. I’ve never actually seen the guy; he rarely makes public appearances. I’m sure we’ll know him when we see him. There’s bound to be a big ‘to do’ when he arrives.”
As if on cue, a man begins to make a descent down the large staircase in the room. Everyone stops dancing, pauses in the conversations, and sets down that bite of food they were about to eat, in order to turn and watch the man, presumably Lex Luthor, walk down the stairs towards them.
He is an elegant, handsome looking man, with an air of definite power about him. He walks down the stairs with purpose, with an arrogant confidence. He stops briefly along the way to speak to one person or another, shaking hands and smiling.
Something in his manner or presence sends a cold chill down my spine. I’m not sure why I don’t like him, it’s just a weird feeling I have. Usually men with that kind of power and that kind of confidence aren’t my favorite people to be around. They think they’re better than the everyday man. That somehow their life, their needs, their opinions are worth more than anyone else’s.
Before I can study him any further a woman’s voice speaks loudly from bottom of the stairs, grabbing my attention.
“Lex Luthor, why haven’t you returned my calls?”
A hush falls over the crowd and everyone turns to look at the woman. I soon locate her as well. She’s stunning. She possesses an innate beauty with her hair swept up off her neck and wearing her off the shoulder gown just a little too well. She too seems to have an amazing confidence, but not arrogance. There’s just a certainty about her, as if she knows exactly who she is and what she wants. And she obviously wants Luthor’s attention, right at this particular moment.
I continue to watch the pair as Luthor resumes his descent and walks up to his accuser. He takes one of her hands in his and she introduces herself.
“Lois Lane. Daily Planet.” Daily Planet? How intriguing. I should ask Chad about her. Maybe she knows something about the man who came there to warn about the sabotage.
I let my hearing reach out to make out Luthor’s response. “I can assure you, I’ll never make that mistake again,” he tells her. Suave, very suave.
“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Chad asks me. I flinch a little bit at his unexpected voice. I was still attuned to the other conversation, so Chad’s speech accosts my enhanced hearing.
“Yes, lovely. Who is she?”
“Lois Lane. She’s one of the top, if not *the* top reporter at the Daily Planet. She’s the one who Samuel Platt contacted that day at the Planet.”
“Samuel Platt?” I ask.
“Yeah. He’s the one who reported the sabotage. I dug around and found out his name. I tried to interview him but apparently he’s not willing to talk to anyone but Lois. She’s already had one interview with him and he’s going to turn over a bunch of research notes and documents to her, according to my source.”
Interesting. So if I wanted to find anything out, I was obviously going to need to speak with Ms. Lane. “Your source? Chad you aren’t even a reporter yet, why do you have sources?”
“Hey, you never know when I might get my first break.” He grins at me. “I keep in touch with another gofer, Jimmy Olsen, he works for the Daily Planet. He feeds me interesting tidbits and I feed him some of our more ‘off-the-wall’ stories, not that we run very many of those; but he loves them. He’s been known to have been caught reading the National Whisper from time to time.”
I shake my head and laugh. “Those magazines are awful!”
“Yeah, I know, but they can be pretty entertaining,” Chad tells me, looking off, suddenly interested in something he spots across the room. “Hey Clark, don’t take this the wrong way, I mean you’re great company and all, but I just spotted Ms. Catherine Grant. She’s the gossip columnist at the Planet and has quite the reputation with the men-folk in journalism, if you know what I mean - at least according to Jimmy. I think I’ll go introduce myself.”
I nod my head at him and hide my smile. Ms. Grant wasn’t likely to give a gofer like Chad the time of day, but then again Chad could be pretty charming when he wanted to be. Who knows?
Once Chad is back out of sight again, I direct my hearing back to Luthor and Ms. Lane’s conversation. She is the one talking.
“I hope you’ll forgive me for being so bold, but...”
“Boldness is a trait I find very attractive in a woman, Ms. Lane,” Luthor interrupts her.
Oh good grief.
She smiles prettily at him. Please tell me you’re smarter than that Ms. Lane, I think to myself.
“Oh, thank you. Anyway, I was wondering, Mr. Luthor...”
“Lex.”
I roll my eyes. Quit interrupting her and let her talk, I silently berate him.
“Lex, I know you’re hesitant to give interviews...”
“I hope you can understand, a man in my position.” Aaah, there he goes again. “I wouldn’t want to be misinterpreted, and I have had one or two bad experiences with the media...”
“But not with me,” Ms. Lane interrupts him. Good for you.
I cautiously allow myself to float just a little bit above the floor in hopes of peeking in on them a little. Success. Luthor is smiling handsomely at her, an amused twinkle in his eye. She is just an diversion to him, obviously.
“Why don’t we make it dinner?” Luthor proposes.
I shake my head. Yep, I can’t quite pinpoint it, but something about this guy really gets under my skin. I decide to see if I can get an introduction to Ms. Lane by introducing myself – and maybe sucking up a little bit – to Luthor.
I head over to where the couple is dancing and stride boldly up to Luthor. “Mr. Luthor,” I say, extending my right hand. He gives me a look of slight annoyance, but probably not wanting to make a scene, he stops dancing with Ms. Lane and takes my proffered hand. “Clark Kent,” I continue. “I just wanted to express my gratitude at being able to attend this magnificent event. You really do know how to make a night an eventful one.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kent.”
I nod at him and turn to Ms. Lane. “Sorry to have interrupted your dance, Miss...” I throw a meaningful glance at Luthor and to my surprise he indulges me.
“Ms. Lois Lane of the Daily Planet.”
“Ah, Ms. Lane. I’m familiar with your work. Well pardon me for my interruption. Enjoy your evening,” I tell both of them, pouring on the charm. I wouldn’t have been nearly so good at this if Lana hadn’t dragged me to all those political functions and parties at the Mayor’s office. I was actually beginning to feel comfortable around celebrity types. They weren’t too hard to figure out. Just woo them and charm them and throw out lots of compliments and then they generally didn’t mind being gracious.
I walk off leaving them to dance, but I keep my hearing on them anyway. The conversation was sure to be more interesting than anything else going on at the party.
I find myself surprised to hear Luthor excuse himself from Ms. Lane. I turn to watch him head off in another direction, leaving her standing alone amongst the other dancing couples. I start to turn away... oh well, why not? Maybe I could get some information from her.
I walk up behind her and start talking, “I believe it takes two people to correctly execute this dance, Ms. Lane. May I?”
She turns around to face me and regards me with a calculating gaze. “Mr. Kent, right?” she asks me.
“That’s right,” I tell her as I boldly take her hand in mine and slip my other arm around her waist. She lifts her free hand and places it softly on my shoulder and we begin to move to the music.
“You know, I really should be mad at you for interrupting my dance earlier with Lex.”
“Why aren’t you?” I ask her, curious to what her answer will be.
She shrugs. “Maybe because I already got what I wanted from him.”
“And what is that?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but a confirmed interview. It’s taken me almost a year, but I finally got him cornered. He rarely gives interviews but he’s going to give me one, and I’m going to make the most of it.”
“You are ambitious for a woman your age.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks, pulling back, trying to halt our dance. I don’t let her. I pull her back in and resume the dance.
“Nothing at all. You have quite an impressive resume and are very accomplished for a woman as young as you are.”
“Oh... Thank you. It’s easy. I mean, it isn’t. It’s hard work, but it’s easy when you know what you want.”
“And you do?”
“Yes.”
“Exactly?”
“...Yes.” She hesitates just briefly this time, but I pick up on it.
“I see. And what do you want?”
“My first Pulitzer by the time I’m thirty.” Wow! She is ambitious. “Mr. Kent...”
“Please, call me Clark.”
“Okay, Clark. I don’t mean to be rude, but if I’m going to get that first Pulitzer, I’m going to have to get back to my job.”
“And that is?”
“Being an investigative reporter. And right now my story is Luthor. If you’ll excuse me, I think it’s time I do some looking around.”
“Not at all. Do you mind if I tag along?” I ask.
She looks at me, curiosity written plainly on her face, possibly mixed with a little annoyance. “Why?”
“I used to be a reporter myself. I’m currently the editor for a small paper in Kansas. It’s a good job, but I miss those days of gathering information, following up on leads, you know, the fun stuff. I might be a little rusty but maybe I can be of some assistance?”
She looks at me skeptically. “If you’re from Kansas, what are you doing all the way up here? And at the White Orchid Ball, no less?”
“Oh, actually I came up to visit a friend, Chad Wilson, he works for the Metropolis Star.”
“Ah, so you’re a spy for a rival paper.” I can’t read the expression on her face. Is she teasing me, or does she actually think I’m a spy?
“Uh, no. I’m not a big fan of the Star, Ms. Lane.”
“You can call me Lois.”
“Okay, Lois. Chad actually wanted to get on at the Daily Planet when he moved up here but there weren’t any openings. Anyway, he was telling me about the incident with Samuel Platt and the supposed sabotage.”
Her eyebrows go up slightly at the mention of Mr. Platt. I continue, “When the shuttle blew up, I decided to come up here and visit Chad and see if I could do a small story on it for our paper back home. But back to your original question, I’m at the Ball tonight because Chad had an invitation and brought me as his date.” I wink at her.
This time it’s her turn to look a little confused, and maybe slightly shocked. I almost chuckle. “I’m kidding. Well, I mean he did bring me, but only because he couldn’t find an actual date to bring.”
If I didn’t have enhanced-hearing I would have never heard her, but as it is, I hear her mumble under her breath, “Yeah, join the club.” I smile to myself. All work and no play make Lois Lane a very... *intriguing* woman. What makes her tick? There has to be something besides work.
“So, back to my original question,” I remind her. “Do you care if I tag along?”
“It’s a free country, you can come along - just don’t get in my way. But if we find anything interesting, I’d better not see it printed up in some small town paper before I can get my copy turned in.” No confusion with the look on her face this time. She’s dead serious.
I follow her down a hallway to a set of double doors that are closed. She brazenly opens them and waltzes inside as if she owns the place. I shake my head in wonder at this fascinating woman.
“Are you sure this is a good idea? Luthor might not be...”
“If he really didn’t want people in here, he would have locked the door. Right? I heard he was giving private tours earlier. I just missed mine and I’m catching up. Look, Kent, you don’t have to come. I didn’t ask you to.”
I sigh, conceding to her point. “What are we looking for in particular?” I ask.
“Anything of interest. Just poke around and see what you can find.”
I see something that catches my interest almost immediately, an ornate and exquisite display of ancient weaponry – swords, pistols, even a primitive looking crossbow.
I bend down to examine the collection more thoroughly feeling my heartstrings tug with slight regret at deciding not to take more of those trips I had planned after college, those trips to other continents, other countries, other cultures. I had taken a few, but not nearly as many as I had originally planned to. My plans had changed. I had chosen instead to be with Lana.
Lana! Yikes! I’m going to have to cut this party short so I can get back to Chad’s place and give her a call. She’s going to be steamed.
I turn around and almost run right into the tip of a sword that’s being pointed directly at me. The man holding the sword is Luthor, calm and cool as a cucumber. So that’s how he wants to play it huh? Two can play that game. “Macedonian,” I remark nonchalantly.
Luthor nods his head at me. “Yes. It belonged to Alexander the Great, a brilliant tactician.” He lowers the sword and turns it around to me, presenting it for my inspection.
I take the sword from him and look it over, admiring the beauty in the craftsmanship.
“Alexander’s strategy was simple; always control the high ground. It was with this sword that he...”
“...defeated Darius the third and was proclaimed King of Asia,” I say, interrupting him.
He raises his eyebrows in appraisal of me. “You surprise me Mr. Kent. I’m not often surprised.”
Before I can reply, Ms. Lane comes back into the room and regards the two of us cautiously. “I hope you don’t mind Mr. Kent and I looking around, we were just admiring your beautiful home.”
Of course he minds. I can sense it. But he isn’t going to tell Ms. Lane that. I get the feeling that he respects her and is possibly, no probably, attracted to her.
“Have you seen the view from up here?” Luthor asks, sidestepping the question. He holds out a hand to Ms. Lane inviting her to follow him out onto the balcony. My invitation was not expressly extended but I follow them anyway, out of curiosity.
“Tallest building in Metropolis. I must confess a certain pleasure in knowing that everyone has to look up in order to see me.”
Ms. Lane smiles indulgently at him while I roll my eyes. He’s not at all vain, is he?
“Let’s get back to the party. I think my announcement will interest you.” He holds out his hand to me directing me to step back inside.
“After you,” I tell him, again all charm. Ah yes, the announcement. I had almost forgotten Chad mentioning that. Well, maybe that phone call to Lana could wait just a little longer. I follow Ms. Lane and Luthor back into the main guest area. This should prove to be interesting.
***********
As soon as I can hear Chad’s soft breathing and confirm that he’s asleep, I slide comfortably down onto his couch and pick up the phone. Lana is going to be hacked at me for not calling sooner, but I didn’t know that Luthor’s little announcement was going to take so long. I had wanted to talk a little more with Ms. Lane about Samuel Platt, but she had gotten swept away by other members of the Daily Planet and I had left with Chad to come home.
I then had to spend a significant amount of time recounting the events of my evening to Chad, particularly to console him after the rejection he’d received from Ms. Grant. Poor guy.
But now, finally, I have peace and quiet and I could devote myself to Lana, even though I was dreading it. Charm. Remember charm.
I dial her number and wait. Kansas is a time zone behind Metropolis, so she shouldn’t be in bed yet. It was late, but at least I wouldn’t be waking her up.
“Hello?” came her voice.
“Lana, it’s Clark.”
“So you did call. I had finally decided you’d lost your nerve.”
I can’t help it; I clear my throat a little, nervously. “Ahem, ha ha, you’re funny. No, I just got caught late at a little function I attended with Chad. Sorry. I would have called you from there, but it was so loud and busy, I knew I wouldn’t be able to have a coherent conversation with you.”
“Well, you get points for at least *wanting* to have a coherent conversation with me. I figured you’d be trying to avoid me like the plague.”
“Now why would I do that?”
“You know why,” she reprimanded me and then she started in with a proper scolding. “Clark, how could you do this? We’re supposed to be a couple. A couple that is thinking seriously about getting married. How could you just run off like that without at least talking with me first?”
“I really didn’t have time to propose an Act of Congress,” I try for a little humor.
She’s not amused. “If we’re going to trust one another we have to be open, honest with one another. Willing to share everything.”
Her words cut me a little. If she’s upset about this, how is she going to react when I tell her about me, about the real me? I feel sweat breaking out on my palms. Not good. Definitely not good.
“I know, Lana. Believe me, I know, and I’m sorry. Chad had called me earlier this week to let me know that someone had reported to the Daily Planet that the space program was being sabotaged. Then the shuttle blew up this morning. I just wanted to come up and check things out. Dig around a little.”
“Chad? I should have known he was behind this. You know he really needs to find a girl and settle down.”
I chuckle a little to try and lighten the mood. She takes the bait and joins me.
“But seriously, Clark, what do you think you’re going to do up there? You aren’t a reporter anymore. You’re an editor and a good one. You’re needed at your own paper.”
“I know, and I won’t be gone long. But the paper has my cell phone if they need to get in touch with me. Smallville is usually pretty quiet; I think they’ll be fine without me for a couple of days. The space program is something that is very dear to my heart, and I just want to do my part, know what I mean?”
“Yeah, sure, I guess. Just don’t forget about something else that’s hopefully dear to your heart, okay?”
“Lana, how could I ever forget you?” I ask her sweetly.
“Hmm, I miss you horribly. Hurry home.”
“Love you, Lana. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Okay, bye.”
“Bye.”
I frown at the phone as I hang it up. Something dad said to me earlier in the day comes to my mind. ‘Is she really the *one*? ...She expects so much from you.’
How much more is she going to expect when she finds out about me? What is she going to do when I tell her? She already worries about me enough as it is and is way too protective. She’ll want me to hide away from the rest of the world... never use my powers. And that’s just not something I’m prepared to do.
I sigh heavily. If I know Lana there’s going to be a bigger fallout from this than a nuclear bomb. At least I get to hide from it for a little while longer, at least while I’m in Metropolis.
‘Is she really the one?’
Yes. Isn’t she?
**********
To Be Continued...
