>>> Friday, August 23rd
Clark had put away the dishes from Lois’s dishwasher, finished dusting the apartment for the second time, and vacuumed under her sofa and loveseat when he looked up and saw Lois standing in the doorway to her bedroom. She was wearing the striped pajamas Catharine had helped her put on the night before. Lois raked a hand through her disheveled hair and stared at him with eyes which refused to focus.
“Clark? That you?”
“Yep. It’s just little old me.”
She turned and looked at the window. “What time is it?”
“A little past ten.”
Her eyes widened and she took a quick step forward, but then grabbed her head with both hands and came to an abrupt stop. “Okay. Little steps. Slow steps.” She made it to the sofa and sank down slowly. “Mind telling me why you’re here?”
He sat down across from her. “I came back to apologize, but I was too – you were already asleep.”
“You came back to apologize?” He nodded. “I accept. You can go now.”
“Lois, please! Let me – “
“Shh!” She winced. “Not so loud!”
He lowered his voice almost to a whisper. “I’m sorry.”
She slowly opened her eyes and looked around cautiously. “The place looks great.” She blinked a couple of times. “I think.”
He looked at his shoes. “I, uh, got bored. I did some cleaning.”
“Wonderful. ‘Super-maid for hire.’ New sideline for you.”
He refused to respond. “Catharine was here when I got back last night. She said she’d cover for you at the office.”
Lois rubbed her temples. “Yeah, I read the note. I’ll have to let her know that a lipstick note on the mirror is not what I needed first thing this morning.”
“Really?”
She opened her eyes and tried to focus on his face again. This try was somewhat more successful. “Yes, really. For a couple of seconds I thought I was in that horror movie I saw last month, the one where the death warning appears to the next victim in the bathroom mirror.”
He shrugged. “I guess I missed that one.”
“Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much.” She leaned back and closed her eyes. “I don’t suppose you have a sure-fire hangover cure on you?”
“What about some food?”
She made a face, then waggled her hand. “Yeah, something light and simple. Chocolate? Why am I thinking about chocolate?”
Clark frowned. “Maybe later, but not right now. Anything else tickle your fancy?”
Lois rubbed her hand over her face. “I can’t remember what’s in the kitchen. Oatmeal, maybe?”
He stood. “Oatmeal it is. You have some here or should I go get it?”
She pointed in the general direction of the kitchen. “Assuming I have any, it’s on the top shelf of the cabinet to the left of the stove. Check the expiration date.”
He headed off on his mission. “And put lots of brown sugar on top. I need the energy today.”
*****
She put down the spoon and drained the last of the orange juice. Clark picked up the bowl and glass and headed for the kitchen. “Feel better now?”
She nodded. “A bit. I need to get to the office. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Actually, I called Catharine this morning around eight to touch base with her about that. She told me – loudly enough for anyone in the building to overhear – that you were feeling under the weather and had taken some pretty strong antihistamines that had knocked you for a loop, so you’d be late coming in today. Probably some time after noon.”
She sighed. “I was wondering what my cover story would be. Anything else come up?”
She heard him washing her breakfast dishes at breakneck speed. “Yes, actually. She said to tell you that the page six advertisers were thrilled to be on the same page as the story of Superman’s love child. She also said – “
“Superman’s WHAT?”
He walked out of the kitchen, grinning. “It’s okay. She was kidding.”
“Kidding! I’ll – oww!” She grabbed her temples. “Headache still there.”
“She also made me promise to tell her how high you jumped when you heard it.”
“Oh.” She lowered her hands and managed a very slight grin. “Maybe you could give me that exclusive, too.”
“Sorry, Lois, no story there.”
She reached out and lightly grasped his turtleneck sweater. “I wasn’t talking about a story.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Oh? What were you talking about?”
She pulled his face towards hers. “A different kind of exclusive.”
He put his hands on her waist and let her close the kiss. After a long moment, he pulled back gently. “I thought you were mad at me.”
“You apologized, remember? And I accepted.”
“Yes.” He held her back from a second kiss. “Wait. We need to get something straight before we go any farther.”
She pulled back but didn’t release his sweater. “Okay.”
He took a deep breath and let it out. “I don’t think I can work for you, Lois. I mean, I’d probably enjoy reporting again, I think you were right about that, but I don’t believe I’d enjoy having you as my editor.”
Her face smoothed and she let go of him. “Oh.” She slowly turned and sat down on the couch again. “I see.”
He sat across from her again. “No, I don’t think you do. I don’t think I could take direction from you very well. You’re a good editor, Lois, a very good editor, but I don’t think we’d agree very often on what my assignments would be. And it wouldn’t look good for the editor and one of the reporters to have a – a relationship together. The other reporters might feel that I’m either getting all the best stories or all the creampuff pieces. And as Superman I’d have an unfair advantage over the others. I could get leads no one else could get, I’d never be in real danger, I’d never miss a deadline – “
Her voice was flat and emotionless. “You did all that before and it didn’t seem to bother you.”
He sighed again. “That was then, this is now. This isn’t about you, Lois, it’s about me. It’s my problem, not yours. You’re not at fault here.”
“I see.” She sat back and looked at the wall. “Is that why you got so upset last night?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have reacted like I did. But I didn’t think you were going to listen to me just then.”
She nodded. “Probably not.” She stood and started for the bedroom. “I need a shower and a change of clothes. You want to wait and go in to the office with me?”
He hesitated. She slowed and stopped, then turned to face him. “Clark, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m not trying to put any pressure on you, honest.”
He crossed his arms loosely. “Thanks. I’d really prefer not to go back to the Planet, at least not yet. Being in your office the other day was tough enough.”
She nodded. “Will you wait here until I get cleaned up?”
“Sure. I’ll have to go and run some errands soon, though.”
“Okay. When will I see you again?”
He frowned in thought. “How about lunch tomorrow? My treat this time.”
She smiled slightly. “Sounds good. Pick me up here at twelve-thirty?”
“On the dot.”
*****
Superman scanned the attorney’s office with his X-ray vision. He saw Constance Hunter sitting at her desk writing, but no other people were in the office, not even her receptionist. She was probably out to lunch, like most of the building’s occupants. He landed on the roof and floated down the stairwell to the correct floor.
He’d forgotten to look through the wall to the hall. A young woman was standing outside another office smoking a cigarette when he entered the hallway. She glanced up when she heard the door open, then did a classic double-take at the sight of the blue-and-red-and-yellow-clad hero striding along the passageway. She gasped, dropped her smoke, and sprinted to the ladies’ room. The click of the lock echoed in the sparse hallway.
Superman shook his head and hoped she wasn’t afraid of him, that he’d merely startled her. Or maybe she thought he was some kind of kinky pervert.
That last thought made him smile. He knocked on the attorney’s door and waited.
Constance Hunter opened the door and smiled. “Thank you for coming, Superman. I’m sorry about putting you off yesterday, but I had a court appearance on a civil matter that I couldn’t postpone any longer.”
“I understand, Ms. Hunter. I hope you’ve had an opportunity to think about my request since then, too.”
“I have. And I still say that I’m not the person you want. I haven’t defended a criminal case for almost ten years and I’m more than a little out of practice. You probably need more aggressive counsel than I could provide, anyway.”
He struck a pose and crossed his arms. “No, I don’t think I do. The other attorneys I spoke to yesterday were more interested in winning the case than in finding the truth. I don’t want to be represented by someone like that.”
She matched his pose and stared up into his eyes. “You want to win, don’t you?”
“That’s the desired outcome, sure, but ultimately I want justice to be done.”
She canted her head to one side. “Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
She nodded and wandered behind her desk. “You surprise me, Superman.”
“How so?”
“I would have expected you to insist I get you off so you could fight crime and save lives.”
He dropped his arms and seemed to shrink in on himself slightly. “Ms. Hunter, I can’t get off on a technicality. I can’t be freed because of what I’ve done in the past or what I intend to do in the future. I can’t allow myself to use an unethical legal tactic to win. In order to keep being Superman, I’ve got to be found not guilty of these charges on the basis of the law, not the skill of my attorney. My reputation and my conscience both require this of me.” He leaned forward on the desk. “I still think my best chance to win this case for the right reasons lies with you. Please, please consider representing me.”
She sat down and motioned for him to do the same. “Let me get this straight. You’d rather go to jail than go free if that’s what the jury decides?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head and chuckled. “Are you crazy?”
“Some might think so.”
“But you don’t?”
“No.”
She leaned back and sighed. “Superman, our court system was originally designed to ferret out the truth on a case-by-case basis, but nowadays we run on legal precedent more than on actual common sense. I know you’re aware of defendants who get off on legal technicalities when everyone involved, if they’re honest, will admit the defendant is guilty and deserves to be punished.”
“I’ve seen a few cases that fall into that category.”
“I don’t work like that. I don’t cheat and I won’t lie just to get a client off. I couldn’t guarantee you anything, unlike some of my compatriots.”
He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees. “I don't want guarantees. I want justice.”
“Even if justice demands that you pay for a crime?”
“Yes.”
“I still don’t know – “
“Don’t you want to see justice done?”
“Of course I do.”
“Don’t you want the notoriety you’ll receive for representing me?”
Her face hardened. “I don’t give a fig about notoriety, Superman. I choose my cases for the people and the principle, not the publicity.”
“Good. That’s the kind of attorney I want. If you can’t or won’t defend me, tell me who I can call who’d do as thorough a job as you would.”
“In Metropolis? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Nope. This is why I came to you. How about it?”
She locked eyes with him. They held each other’s stare for about twenty seconds, then abruptly she nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it. I usually work solo, but for a case this important I want to call in someone else for help. This is going to be a tough nut to crack and I’m not comfortable doing all the work alone.”
“I’ll have Blair Collins from Legal Aid call you. She wanted to help with my defense if she could.”
Constance held up her hand. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me to work with this woman?”
“No, of course not. But you said you needed some help, and she said she wanted to help me, so I suggested that I have her call you. Whether or not you two work together is entirely up to the two of you.”
She lowered her hand and nodded. “I can live with that. Sure, have her call me, but make it soon if you can.”
He rose and extended his hand. “How about this afternoon?”
She stood and took his hand. “Soon enough, I guess.”
“I’ll have the Foundation contact you about your fee.”
She released her grip. “I promise I won’t rip you off.”
He smiled. “I wouldn’t have come to you if I thought you might. Thank you for your help, Ms. Hunter.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t heard my defense.”
“As long as it’s the truth, that’s all that matters.”
He gave her a jaunty salute and walked out.
*****
Connie leaned back and considered her new client. He looked more relaxed when he left than he had when he’d come in, she thought. Maybe he really meant it when he said he wanted truth and justice. It was a refreshing change from most of her clients, from the few with money to the ones who demanded pro bono services, but who all wanted to win, to crush their opponents, to walk away victors from some field of battle.
Superman didn’t want that, she thought again. He wants justice, no matter what happens to him.
It was more than refreshing, it was cool water to a parched and dry soul. She smiled a private smile. Maybe she could do some real good after all.
*****
>>> Saturday, August 24th
Clark picked up the pay phone outside the convenience store and dialed Constance Hunter’s office number, intending to leave a message. Instead, he heard a soft Southern voice say, “Constance Hunter, attorney at law, Blair Collins speaking. May I help you?”
“Ms. Collins? This is Superman.”
Her voice grew excited. “Oh, Superman! Thank you for givin’ me Ms. Hunter’s number! We’re workin’ together on your defense.”
“Wonderful. That’s good to hear. Is there any other news for me?”
“Hang on a second, okay?” He heard her lower the phone, then the other woman picked up the receiver. “Hello, Superman, this is Connie Hunter.”
“I was calling to find out if you needed me to do anything special any time soon.”
“No, not today. I’d like to meet with you Monday morning and start mapping out our strategy.”
“Oh? You need me for that?”
“If we’re doing this my way, then yes, we need you.”
He smiled. “We’re doing this your way. What time?”
“Nine-thirty, if that’s convenient for you.”
“If I can’t make it, I’ll get a message to you, but I’ll make every effort.”
“Good. You know, Blair is a wonder. We’ve really hit it off. She and I are going to work very well together.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’m sure you two will represent me to the best of your abilities.”
“We will. Oh, Superman, I wanted to ask you a question. It may help you understand where I’m coming from on matters of the law. Are you familiar with the Boston Massacre?”
He frowned. “Not especially. Did that happen recently?”
She laughed. “Sorry. I’m something of a history buff, especially where the law and lawyers are concerned. The Boston Massacre took place in March of 1770, before American independence. Eight British soldiers and an officer were tried in a Colonial court for shooting several colonists in Boston during a demonstration that almost became a riot. The prosecution asked for the death penalty for all of the British soldiers, the officer included. The American defense attorney – I guess I should say the Colonial defense attorney – got all but two of the soldiers off completely and got reduced sentences for those two. Do you know who that lawyer was?”
“No. I’m not that conversant with early American history.”
“It was one of my heroes, John Adams, who was also the second President of the United States. He took the case for the sake of truth and justice and mounted a spirited defense of those British soldiers, even though his personal desire was for American independence and a guilty verdict would have pushed both Britain and Massachusetts towards a break. That’s the kind of spirit I’m seeing in Blair. And that’s what you’re going to get for your defense.”
“Truth and justice, eh?” He grinned. “Well, since that’s what I asked for, I shouldn’t complain if that’s what I get. I’ll see you Monday morning. And thank you both. Good-bye.”
“Bye, Superman.”
He hung up and turned to walk to Lois’s apartment, smiling. Maybe this would be a good day after all.
*****
Lois answered her door after the first knock. “Oh. Clark. You’re a little early for a change, but come on in. I’ll have lunch on the table in a minute.”
He stepped in and closed the door behind him. “I thought we were going out.”
“I don’t want to have this conversation in public.”
His smile faded. “Oh.”
She looked up at him and shook her head. “Don’t be like that, Clark, I’m not going to attack you again.”
“I see.”
She poured soda into two plastic glasses from a soft drink bottle. “No, you don’t, but it’s not your fault. Just eat and enjoy yourself, okay?”
“Like a picnic?”
“Sort of, but with a table instead of a grassy knoll.”
He sat. She put a platter of fried chicken on the table between them. She answered the query in his glance. “It’s your mother’s recipe. I just used store-bought chicken parts.”
He smiled. “I’m sure it’s delicious.”
“Let me know if it needs anything and I’ll make it that way next time.” She strode towards the kitchen. “Coleslaw and mashed potatoes coming up.”
“Not mixed together, I hope.”
She paused at the kitchen door and smiled at him. “Not even I would do that to your palate, Clark.” She brought the bowls to the table and set them down. “I doubt it’s up to Martha’s standards, but it’s better than the Fried Fowl down the street.”
He made a face. “I certainly hope so. I understand that the Planet’s food critic got sick after eating there last month.”
She chuckled. “He did. Marcus was out for three days and I had to send Catharine out to sub for him at his next assignment. She turned in an article about how the customers and the employees were dressed, described the décor of the place, commented on the live music, but wrote not one word about the food.”
“And you printed that?”
“Not on your Liquid Paper. I yelled at her for not mentioning what she’d eaten, and she said that she preferred to focus on the total dining experience, not just the food. I was starting to get really irritated when she handed me the real review.”
Clark smiled. “So she was pulling your leg?”
She nodded as she picked out a thigh. “Expertly. Turns out Clay had put her up to it, so I owe both of them.” She sighed. “Although her coming over night before last went a long way towards evening things out in my book.”
He spooned mashed potatoes into his plate and tasted them. “Hey, these are really good. How’d you cook them?”
“Like your mom does. I got the potatoes at Mr. Stephanopolis’s Farmer’s Market this morning.”
He nodded. “They had fresh ones.”
“Yep. How’s the coleslaw?”
He tasted it. “Hmm. A little less spicy than Mom usually makes, but still very tasty. I’d say it’s a toss-up between hers and yours.”
She smiled warmly. “That’s high praise coming from a Kansas farm boy. Now eat your chicken, young man. You need to keep up your strength.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
They ate in companionable silence broken only by the noise of eating and refilling plates and cups. Clark finally sat back and patted his stomach. “Great taste and filling to contentment. That was excellent, Lois.”
“I have some chocolate cake for dessert, too. Would you like it now?”
He put his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “Actually, I’d like to get to the conversation you don’t want to have in public.”
She nodded and sipped her soda. “Okay. I spoke to my mother last night. As I suspected, she and the lawyer she’s been seeing are talking about getting married. She wanted to get my opinion on the question.”
“And that opinion is?”
She hesitated. “I’m not in favor of it, but I can’t find a rational reason to feel that way. Steve is a nice guy and I believe he really cares for her. Mom says she loves him and wants to spend the rest of her life with him. He’s not putting pressure on her, he’s not setting decision dates or demanding that she do something, he just tells her he loves her and is willing to wait until she’s ready to say ‘yes’ to him.”
“I assume you’ve checked him out.”
“Of course. Besides being a respected patent attorney, he also dabbles in brokering or arranging property deals, and while not everybody loves him, nobody says he’s the least bit crooked, either, just a tough negotiator. Like I said, I can’t find anything really wrong with him.”
“Except he’s not your dad.”
She sat back and stared at the chicken bones on her plate. “I guess that’s it. I’ve met him, and under other circumstances I’d probably like him. I’m just having trouble with this.”
He nodded but said nothing. She wiped her hands on her napkin and sat up. “Well, enough about my family struggles. I need to tell you the other thing.”
He sat up and put his hands in his lap. “I’m ready.”
She cocked her eyebrow at him. “You look like you’re about to take one for the team.”
“I plan to win this one for the Gipper.”
She smiled and nodded. “Okay, here goes. DA Reisman called me yesterday afternoon. I’m on the prosecution’s witness list.”
He braced himself, but when she didn’t continue, he relaxed and said, “That’s it?”
“What do you mean, ‘that’s it?’ This is not a good thing, Clark.”
“I don’t see that it’s a bad thing. You’ll get on the stand and tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – “
“And when I tell them that Clark Kent is Superman? What then?”
He stopped with his mouth open. “Oh. I see the problem.”
“Good. For a minute I thought you’d need a real prescription in those glasses of yours.”
He crossed his arms and frowned in thought. “You’ll have to tell the truth, Lois.”
She sat back and refused to meet his gaze. “I won’t tell them you’re Superman.”
“It’s unlikely the DA will ask you that specific question, but if he does, you’ll have to answer it truthfully.”
“Oh, sure I will, and then what kind of future could we have together? What kind of career will I have when the Planet’s board of directors finds out I’ve known Superman’s secret identity for almost four years and didn’t report that little tidbit of news?” She leaned forward and grabbed his hands. “I don’t mind telling you that I’m a little scared about this, Clark.”
He squeezed back. “There’s no reason for you to be scared. Just answer truthfully and everything will be fine.”
She released her grip and slowly slid her hands back. “Everything will be fine? I tell you I’m scared about this and you respond with clichés and platitudes?” She stood and clenched her fists at her sides. “Blast it, everything might not be fine! By the time this trial’s over I might not have a career! You might not have a secret identity any more! Either Clark Kent or Superman might not exist! Your parents might be targets for every nut job with a grudge against Superman! The people you’ve worked with might not understand why you’ve kept this from them for so long! Your friends as Clark or as Superman or as both almost certainly won’t understand!”
She took a step towards him and tears popped into her eyes. “And we might not be together at all!”
Clark sat there for a moment, stunned. Just before she reached the end of her patience, he stood and put his arms around her. “I’m sorry, Lois, I’m so sorry. You keep telling me how you feel and I keep refusing to really hear what you’re saying. I’m so sorry.”
She reached under his arms and pulled his shoulders tight against her. Her sobs were muffled against his shirt, and she stayed there until the tears stopped of their own accord.
She wiped her face on the back of her hand and Clark gave her a napkin. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose, then tried to dab some of the dampness from his chest. “I did it again, Clark,” she sniffed. “You’re going to have to bring a towel for me from now on.”
He kissed her forehead. “It’s the least I can do for you.”
She put her palms on his chest and rested her head against them. “Oh, Clark, why do we keep doing this? Why do we yell at each other so much? Why do I get so weepy every time we get together?”
He put his hands on her waist and gently held her tight. “I don't know. I think maybe it’s my fault, though, for not listening or paying attention as much as I should.”
She tried to laugh. “I’ll go with that. It’s your fault.”
“Mea culpa.” He lifted her chin and kissed her lightly. “Can we sit on the couch for a while?”
She nodded and followed him there, then turned and knelt on the couch facing him and beside him. Then she leaned over into his arms, pushed her legs towards the other end of the couch, and rested her head in the crook of his elbow.
He smiled at her as she fit herself into his embrace. “Better?”
She nodded. “Much better.”
“Good.”
She sighed easily and relaxed against him. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady thump-thump of his heart.
She was starting to drift away to dreamland when Clark said, “Are you really that scared?”
She opened her eyes and looked at his face, inches from hers. “Yes. What about you?”
“About me, not really. More like resigned, I guess. About the other people you mentioned, I’m a little worried now.” He looked away. “I’ve been selfish again.”
She touched his chin and guided his face to look at her again. “Yes, you have, but under the circumstances I’m willing to overlook it for now. But we still need to talk.”
“Okay. Where do you want to start?”
She sat up and held his hands loosely. “Let’s start with what I’m going to tell the DA.”
He nodded. “I can suggest a wording that’s not a lie but doesn’t say that I’m Superman.”
“That’s what I want to hear.”
He frowned in thought. “Tell exactly what happened up to the moment Laura Nyugen shot at me. Then say that Superman intercepted the bullets. That’s actually what happened, it just implies that Clark and Superman are different people without actually saying it. Superman flew to Mayson’s car to save her but didn’t make it in time. You tried to take the gun away from Laura and it went off during the struggle and the shot killed her. You ran over to try to help Mayson but you were too late. Superman screamed in anger – “
“Whoa. I can’t say what Superman’s state of mind was at the moment. If either counsel objects the judge will have to sustain it.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, Superman screamed and flew away with Clark and you tell it from there.”
She nodded. “That’s almost exactly what I told Clay that night.”
“Clay?”
“Clay Mooney. He was the first officer on the scene and he took down my statement.”
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”
“Well, now you do. And since we’ve answered that huge question that was hanging around like an elephant in the back seat of a Volkswagen, I only have one more thing to ask you.”
He braced himself, then looked in her eyes, his face as open as Lois had ever seen it. “I’m ready. What is it?”
She lifted his hands and kissed them gently, then lightly kissed his nose. “Clark?”
“Yes, Lois?”
“Would you like some cake?”
He smiled slowly, then nodded. “Actually, Lois, I think I would.”
