Here's some more... my muse is awake and writing, so more coming soon. Thank you to those of you still reading!
From part 27:
“And those bombs – well, they’ve learned that bombs don’t hurt you, so…” She sat up straight. “And from what you say, whoever they are might have video to prove it!” She frowned darkly. “I don’t like the way this is looking at all, Clark. I think today’s mugging was definitely a test to see if anything *else* can hurt you.” She looked up at him, worried. “So what’s next?”
He shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know, Lois. That’s why we need to figure out what’s going on – who’s doing this – as soon as possible.”
“That airplane is definitely looking like an awfully suspicious coincidence, isn’t it?” A sudden thought occurred to her. “What about that fire, Clark? You don’t think that was a setup, too, do you?”
He shook his head. “No. I really think that was just as it seemed – an accident. I think this thing started with that airplane.”---
The Girl Next Door, part 28:
“We need to figure this out.” She leaned back in the chair again, tapping the pen she’d taken from Clark against her bottom lip in thought. “Hmmm… Jimmy hasn’t found anything that stands out about any of the passengers on that plane. Yet.”
She straightened up. “Okay,” she started briskly. “We’ve got work to do, Clark.” She glanced around. The conference room’s computer had a printer attached; she stood up and grabbed a blank piece of paper from the paper tray. Uncapping the pen, she began to make a list. “We need to find out who owns those buildings, ask about their security setups. Rule out a legitimate reason for those cameras. We need to really dig into the information Jimmy found us about the airplane passengers. We need to go talk to those mechanics. Find out what they’ve found out.”
She looked up to see him smiling at her admiringly.
“What?” she said again.
“I knew the best thing to do was tell you about my suspicions,” he said.
She smiled back. “That’s right, buster.” She sobered. “Actually, Clark, that’s exactly right. You *should* tell me what’s going on whenever you can – and that includes your suspicions, no matter how farfetched they may seem. What affects you affects me, Clark. You can’t keep secrets from me.”
He nodded, seriously. “I realize that, Lois. You’re right. I’m glad I told you.”
“You weren’t going to, though, were you?” she asked. “You had your suspicions after the window washing platform fell. And you only told me today because I asked what was wrong.”
He raised his hands off the table slightly in mock surrender. “Guilty as charged, ma’am – about yesterday. I really was going to tell you about it today, but I was going to wait until tonight.” He caught her hand gently when she shook a mock finger at him. “But I see the error of my ways, now, and I promise I’ll try to tell you things instead of holding back.”
“Good,” she said with a smile. “You’re trainable.”
He laughed. “Yep. And besides, I love to watch you in action, Lois. If anyone can get to the bottom of this, you can.”
She smiled back at him, reaching for his hand. “It’s not just me, Clark. It’s *us*. Together.” Her smile broadened as she added, “I’ll never admit it to him, of course, but Perry sure knew what he was doing when he made us partners.”
Clark laughed. <I love you, Lois.>
Her smile softened. <And I love you.>
He leaned over, slipping one hand into the hair below her ear and gently caressing her jaw with his thumb, and kissed her. She sighed into the kiss, enjoying the unhurried, gentle intensity of it. After a few moments, he lifted his head.
“I could go on doing that for a long time,” he said softly, “but I suppose we should get back to work.”
“Slave driver,” she said affectionately. She handed him the pen and the list. “Here. I’m not sure I can remember how to write after that kiss.”
He laughed, and read quickly over what she’d written.
“We also need to check into the backgrounds of both muggers,” he said, and added it to the list. “And we need to see if we can identify either of the victims, and check into *their* backgrounds, too.”
“You said you already talked to somebody at both the Washington police station and the Metropolis station, Clark. Didn’t they record the calls?”
He grimaced. “Yes, but both were too short to trace.”
“Well, we can at least get copies of the calls, right? We probably won’t get much from the caller’s voice, but maybe we could get an idea of where the person was calling from… You know, by concentrating on the background noise in each call.”
She trailed off as she realized he was staring at her in surprise. “What?”
He shook his head, but he was smiling. “That never even occurred to me, Lois. I figured we’d be unlikely to identify the caller’s voice on either tape, and that since the calls were untraceable, we were out of luck.”
She grinned at him. “So then… you aren’t going to laugh at my other idea, huh? I think we should see if the phone company can give us call information for the phone lines in both of the bombed buildings. Especially any outbound calls right at the time of the bombing.”
“Laugh? Absolutely not,” he declared, smiling. “Because I never thought about the phone company’s records, either. But I think it’s a great idea. I’ll add it – and copies of the voice tapes from both police stations – to the list.” He wrote them down, then handed her the pen. She tucked it absently behind her ear and turned the list around so she could read it again.
“Okay. Good. So we can start by having Jimmy –“ She broke off as something else occurred to her. “Clark, were there any extra cameras at the very first building? The one yesterday, before the plane?”
He frowned, staring unseeingly at the wall as he thought back. “No…” He refocused on her. “No. But there were plenty of cameras *outside*, because it was caught on LNN…”
She stared at him. “So… Maybe whoever is behind this was there, at the scene…?”
“…Or maybe just relying on the same information as the rest of the viewers, and only later set up the cameras…” he said slowly.
She nodded. “That’s certainly possible. Were there… There were no extra cameras at the airport, were there? I remember looking around pretty thoroughly, because I didn’t want to be seen. There were cameras inside the terminal and just outside it, but no other ones that I saw.”
But she hadn’t thought of hidden cameras. What if… What if someone had seen her? Flying, that day at the airport. Without a disguise. She hesitated, then said in a rush, “Of course, I wasn’t really looking for hidden cameras… I didn’t really think of it...” She could feel her heart rate increasing. “Clark – what if someone saw me? I never thought about hidden cameras!”
He reached out and took both her hands in his, squeezing gently. “No, Lois. I don’t think there were any. In public places like that, part of my standard scan as I go in is for cameras. It’s an old habit, from the days before Superman.” He repeated reassuringly, “I don’t think there were any hidden cameras, honey.” As he spoke, she *felt* the wave of warmth and reassurance settle over her like a blanket, and her fear receded as wonder took its place.
<Clark?> She stared at him.
<It’s okay, love.>
<You’re… *thinking* to me.> She saw his slow smile. “How are you doing that?” she whispered. “Neither one of us is laughing… <But I can… hear you. Feel you.>
He looked back at her, mirroring her wonder. <I don’t know, but it’s - >
A sudden, loud knock on the conference room door shattered the connection. They both turned as Jimmy stuck his head inside.
“Hey, guys – CK, there’s a Detective Bill Henderson parked at 271 for you.”
“Thank you, Jimmy,” Clark said, rising to his feet.
Lois stood, too. <Clark?>
Jimmy was standing in the doorway, looking back and forth between them. “Um, guys… Are you… Is there…” He trailed off as Lois turned her best bland, give-nothing-away look on him.
“Yes, Jimmy?” she asked mildly, but he must have seen enough Mad Dog Lane in her expression to decide that he was safer not finishing his question.
“Nothing,” he said hurriedly, raising his hands slightly and stepping out of their way. “Uh… I think Perry needs me…” He retreated rapidly.
Clark laughed softly.
Lois smiled, but she was more concerned with other things. <Clark?> “Clark, why do you think Bill’s calling?” she asked. Rats. He wasn’t picking up her thoughts.
“Superman told him to call me if he found out anything about those two bullets,” Clark told her very softly as they headed toward their desks.
<Clark?> She sat down at her desk as Clark perched on the edge of it and picked up her phone.
“Is this okay?” he asked, finger poised over the ‘park’ button.
That moment in the conference room must have been a fluke, because he wasn’t picking her up at all. “Of course it’s okay, silly,” she said, adding for the benefit of anyone nosy enough to be listening, “How else am I supposed to eavesdrop?”
With a laugh, Clark keyed the correct extension and spoke into the phone. “Bill? This is Clark Kent.”
<<Kent? Superman told me I could leave a message with you.>>
“Yes, that’s correct.”
<<He brought me two bullets earlier today. You know about that?>>
“Yes.” Clark slanted a look at Lois as he added, “Lois and I were talking to Superman earlier.”
She grinned at him. “I was, anyway,” she whispered. Clark covered the mouthpiece of the phone with one hand as he smothered a laugh.
<<I’ve sent them to a place called S.T.A.R. Labs for analysis. It’ll be a few days, at least, but the fellow I left them with, a Doctor Klein, ventured a guess on the second one.>>
Lois sat up straighter, listening.
“What did he say?” Clark asked curiously.
<<He said he thinks it might be a meteorite. Apparently, it’s metallic enough that it’s magnetic; he called it an iron meteorite. That’s all I’ve got for the moment.>>
“Thank you, Bill.” Clark hung up the phone and looked at Lois.
“A meteorite, huh? Weirder and weirder,” she said softly.
---
The rest of the afternoon was quiet, Superman-wise. Both Lois and Clark kept expecting another manufactured emergency to crop up, but there was nothing. Lois wasn’t sure if that meant that whoever was testing Superman had learned all that he – or she – needed to know, or if it meant that there was something bigger headed their way.
And she and Clark were supposed to be headed out to Smallville for the weekend. She knew Clark was worried about the city’s safety in his absence, but should they cancel their plans for fear of what might happen?
She looked across at him. His head was bent over one of the documents Jimmy had found them; Lois had just finished going over another of them. It was slow and tedious work, especially as neither of them could read through the information at super speed while they were in the newsroom.
Not when there were so many people around, anyway. Even when they were in one of the conference rooms, of course, they needed to be careful. The blinds were rarely shut all the way, and during most of their investigations, Jimmy would be in and out with information they’d requested.
They weren’t using either conference room right now, though. They needed access to more than one phone, for one thing. Clark had taken on contacting the building owners and their security companies, and Lois was putting out feelers to all of her sources – and there were many – for information. For that, she needed her rolodex. Not the general-purpose one she kept on her desk; all of her sources were in a second rolodex she kept locked in her desk drawer.
“There must be *someone* who’s heard *something*,” she’d told Clark.
Whether Clark felt the weight of her gaze or whether it was sheer coincidence, he looked up, and catching her eye, smiled. She hooked an ankle around the bottom of her chair just in case, and smiled back.
“Ready to call it a day?” he asked. “Or do you want to keep reading this…” he waved a hand at the papers spread across both their desks. “…absolutely *fascinating* subject matter?”
She laughed. “I’m ready to call it a day, partner.” She began gathering the papers on her desk into a neat stack.
Clark gathered his own stack, then stood, came around the end of his desk, and added it to hers. “Seriously,” he said, “Shall we check with the airplane mechanics on Monday? We’ve been through most of the passengers’ backgrounds by now; nothing stands out, does it?”
“No, there’s nothing. And yes, I think it’s time we checked in with the mechanics.” She hesitated. “Clark,” she said softly, “Are you okay with…” She dropped her voice to nearly a whisper. “…with leaving the city?”
Clark tidied the stack of papers and tucked it into the slim portfolio he often carried. “Yes.” He looked up at her. “Yes,” he repeated in a low voice. “Because if I start worrying about what *might* happen…” He straightened up and tucked the portfolio under one arm.
She nodded sympathetically. “Yeah. Besides, the pattern seems to be during the day.” She glanced around quickly. This wasn’t really the best time or place to be having this discussion. Very, very softly, she added, “And I guess you could still…” She sketched a brief version of the motion they both used to describe flight. “…later tonight.”
He smiled at her and leaned in close. “Nope. Superman’s going to be hanging out with his girl…” he whispered. As she giggled, he added in his normal voice, “Ready?”
Lois got her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk. “Yes.”
They headed up the ramp together.
“Stairs?” Lois asked, and added for the benefit of the staff members waiting for the elevator, “That was a pretty filling lunch.”
“Sure,” Clark said cheerfully, and they turned toward the stairwell door. As they went through it, they heard someone – Ralph? – say sourly, “Who’s got enough energy at the end of the day to take the stairs? Me? I’ll take the elevator any day.”
Clark looked at Lois and grinned. Lois shook her head and rolled her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. No sense in wasting even a few sentences on Ralph.
---
On the roof, Lois paused. “Clark, what should I pack?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“No, I mean… What sort of luggage should I use?” she hastened to clarify. “I know *what* to pack - clothes and toiletries and so on… But I don’t think I have a duffle or something I can carry easily. I was thinking maybe my old college backpack would work, because then I could wear it. You know, while we’re flying? Except… it might not be big enough, and besides, I don’t remember for sure where it is…”
“Lois…”
She sighed. “I guess I’m a little nervous, Clark.”
He framed her face in his hands and kissed her sweetly and way too briefly. “You don’t need to be, you know,” he said gently. “Mom and Dad are looking forward to seeing you again. Dinner with my folks won’t be a big, fancy party. It will be a lot like last time – just visiting, talking… We just won’t fly back tonight.”
He kissed her again. “It doesn’t matter what kind of luggage you use. I thought I’d fly out there with it and then come back; then we can go out there together. Or we can both go, and then I’ll come back for the luggage.”
“That doesn’t make sense, Clark. Why not just make one trip?”
He grinned at her. “Because if I take our bags separately, then I can hold your hand while we fly out there,” he explained matter-of-factly.
She laughed.
“So - meet you at your place in… what? About thirty minutes?” he asked.
“Clark, no! I can’t pack, and choose an outfit and… all that in thirty minutes! Give me an hour, okay?”
Clark laughed. “Lois, you’re super powered,” he teased. “You could do all that in two or three minutes if you wanted.”
She folded her arms and gave him a mock glare. “Clark, these things can’t be rushed,” she informed him loftily.
“Okay, okay,” he chuckled, “I stand corrected.” He offered her his arm, exactly as if they were getting ready to take a leisurely stroll.
She tucked her hand in his arm and they rose together into the night sky.
---
Halfway through packing her toiletries, it suddenly occurred to Lois that she was going to be the Kents’ houseguest, and therefore should really take a gift to her hostess.
“Okay, panic time,” she muttered. What could she get in – she glanced at the clock – in fifty minutes? It couldn’t be just anything. Martha was a special lady, and Lois wanted to give her something nice.
After another few minutes of pacing, she came to a decision. “Time to seek expert advice,” she announced to the empty room. She strode to the phone and dialed.
<<Hello?>>
“Hello, Ellen,” she began. “It’s Lois. Are you… Do you have a moment? I need your advice.”
Ellen sounded pleased. <<Lois! How nice to hear from you. Certainly, my dear – what do you need?>>
“I’ve been invited to dinner, and I need a hostess gift,” Lois began. Ellen had what might actually be a genetic talent for all things etiquette. If she couldn’t advise Lois, no one could.
<<For whom?>> Ellen inquired.
Lois hesitated.
<<It does help to know what sort of gift is appropriate,>> Ellen added.
“My… A friend’s parents.”
<<A man?>> Ellen’s voice sharpened with interest.
“Yes…” Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. She didn’t have time to play twenty questions, and Ellen had been saying for years that Lois needed to meet ‘some nice young man.’ She was bound to start firing all kinds of questions at Lois, and -
Ellen surprised her. <<Oh, Lois. I’m so pleased to hear that, my dear.>> she said simply. <<Someone whom you’ve known for some time?>>
“Um… Sort of. He’s… someone I work with.”
<<And… more than a friend.>> Ellen sounded pretty sure about that. <<Is that wise, Lois?>>
Lois squirmed inside. She really didn’t want to answer a lot of questions right now. “Um… He’s… Ellen, I only have a minute…”
But she *was* asking for Ellen’s help, and Ellen was being remarkably restrained with her questions. “Can I… I can give you a call sometime in the next week or two; you could join us for lunch and meet him… I think you’ll like him, Ellen,” she added in a rush. “He’s got a college degree; he’s smart, and polite, and –“
<<Handsome?>> Lois could hear the amusement in Ellen’s voice.
“Uh… Yes. Yes, he is.”
Ellen laughed. <<I’d like that. Now - have you met her, Lois? This young man’s mother?>>
“Yes.”
<<Do they live here in the city?>>
“No.” She certainly couldn’t tell Ellen that the Kents lived in Kansas. “Uh, no, Ellen. It’s more rural…” It didn’t get much more rural than a farm in Kansas, actually, but – “…it’s outside the city…” She trailed off.
<<Hmmm. How about… a tin of gourmet cookies?>>
Martha was a fabulous cookie maker… baker? …in her own right. “No –she’s got a couple of really good cookie recipes of her own…”
<<A plant? Maybe a basket of herbs?>>
Martha had all the herbs and plants she needed; they lived on a farm, and Lois had seen the bundles of dill and garlic and other herbs hanging from the chains Jonathan had hung from the ceiling in the barn’s cold room.
“Well, they live… um, she’s a gardener, Ellen.” A farm was kind of like a large garden, wasn’t it?
<<Wine is usually good,>> Ellen continued. <<Of course, if you don’t know their tastes, sometimes that makes it more difficult to choose the correct one.>>
And besides, wouldn’t there be some kind of pressure on the Kents to immediately serve it? And what if they had their own wine choice already?
“What else?” she asked, beginning to feel somewhat desperate.
<<Chocolate?>>
Martha could get gourmet chocolate any time she wanted; all she had to do was ask Clark…
<<Or… Maybe some gourmet *hot* chocolate?>>
Lois had never, *ever* had hot chocolate as good as Martha’s recipe. There were probably very few gourmet versions that were any better, in fact. “Well… I’m not sure… Can you think of anything else?”
<<What are these people like?>>
“They’re nice.” Lois smiled at the thought of the Kents, and even she could hear the sound of the smile in her voice. “Warm. Friendly. I… I really like them.”
<<Hmmmm…>> Ellen murmured. There was a brief silence; Lois heard the tap of her fingers and could picture her sitting at the little desk off the dining room, starting at nothing and idly tapping her fingers as she thought. <<Ah! I know just the thing, Lois. Downtown, at Union Station - >>
The old train station, long in disrepair, had been restored to its former glory during the revitalization of the downtown area several years ago. It now housed a shopping mall that was attached to the Lexor, a five-star hotel that was one of the downtown area’s jewels.
<<…I don’t know if you know it, but there’s a shop in the mall called The Red Envelope…>>>
“No…”
<<It’s a very nice shop. It belongs to one of my patients - she sells stationery, candles, jewelry, and house wares, as well as various gourmet baskets. She also sells online, I believe. I was in there just the other day. She has an exclusive line called Circle of Friends - very elegant but understated. The nicest piece is a votive candleholder – a circlet of silver figures standing arm in arm, in a brushed finish. They’re facing inward, and each has a heart on its chest. What do you think?>>
It sounded perfect. “Thank you, Ellen,” she said gratefully. “It sounds perfect.”
<<You’re welcome, my dear. …And Lois? Please do call; I would like to meet this young man of yours.>>
“I will, Ellen. Thank you again.” After listening to Ellen’s goodbye, Lois hung up the phone.
She looked at the clock. Did she have time to get to this shop and back in forty minutes?
Of course she did. The only limiting factor, really, would be how many other people were shopping at Ellen’s patient’s shop when Lois got there. At top speed, she changed into her black flying clothes, opened the window, and zipped out.
---
To be continued
