Previously:
There were so many reasons not to date a co-worker. So many reasons not to date anyone at all. There were so many ways to hurt and be hurt that it boggled her mind just to consider them. And yet - standing there as he hugged her good night - it had felt so natural. So right, even. Any other man would have pushed to go further on the sofa. But not Clark. He had chastely kissed her forehead at the door and left it at that.
What was up with that? Why hadn't he tried to take things further? God knows, she was perfectly willing to go along with a little bit more. Lois frowned at that realization. He had addled her brain. Two glasses of champagne and a little necking and she was a goner.
"Oh my god," she whispered to herself, "what have you done to me, Clark? I'm falling in love with you."
For a moment she trembled at the sheer rightness of those words. Then she rolled over, clutching the pillow closer to her so she could groan his name at the futility of it all. Please, she thought, let Bobby be right. Let him be mooning over her right now.
In the next room Clark laid wide-eyed on the sofa, staring at the nighttime shadows on the ceiling.
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Author's note: I've tweaked with the timeline of the episode for when Rollie Vale was transferred. I've also, obviously, messed around with what happens after they see Bender bribe the judge. See how many things one little pizza changes? It's like the butterfly effect, only with oregano. <g>
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Risorgimento 2/3
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"Clark?" Lois came out of the bedroom the next morning to find him in front of the window.
"Something's happening on Bender's boat." He held out the binoculars and she took them, listening to the wiretap equipment as she zoomed in on the yacht.
"Nothing's going to go wrong, believe me," Bender was saying. "I just wanted to thank you in person for getting a new hearing for Rollie Vale. When is he being transferred to the courthouse?"
"Nine o'clock this morning." The silver-haired man turned slightly and Lois gasped as she recognized his profile.
She quickly glanced over at Clark. "That's Judge Winkler."
"Good," Bender said. "On behalf of my client, I'd like you to accept this little token of our appreciation." He held out a briefcase to Winkler.
"It's just like I wanted?" Winkler asked as he took the briefcase.
"Small bills," Bender answered. "No sequential numbers."
Winkler shook his hand. "Always a pleasure doing justice with you counselor."
As Winkler left the boat, Lois lowered the binoculars again and looked at Clark. He tipped his head towards the door and she nodded her agreement. It was time to go talk to Bender.
They had only made it few steps out of the condo before they spotted Bender hurrying along the pier towards a waiting SUV.
"Clark!" Lois grabbed the sleeve of his shirt as she got a look at the driver. "That's Gretchen Kelly!" She quickly changed course, heading towards where her Jeep was parked. "Let's follow them - maybe they're going to meet Lex."
Clark gave her a tight nod and followed her to her car. She threw the keys to him. "You drive, I'll call Jimmy and see what he can dig up on Judge Winkler."
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Lois hit 'end' on her cell phone and turned to Clark. "Jimmy said he'll look into any connections between Rollie Vale, Lex and Judge Winkler and then he'll call us back."
Clark nodded his understanding but kept his attention focused on the SUV they were following.
"You should get a little closer," Lois chided. "If they make a sudden turn we might lose them."
He didn't answer. There was no way he could lose the SUV, not really. But telling her that was the last conversation he wanted to have right now.
"So have you ever been to Paris?" Lois asked when the hum of the road began to feel endless.
"France?"
"No, Texas. Of course, France." She glared at the distance between them and the SUV. Would it kill him to speed up, just a little?
"I've been to Paris in France, in Texas and in Idaho."
Lois gave him a sidelong look of disbelief. "Why would you go to Paris, Idaho? Assuming that really is a place and you're not pulling my leg."
Clark shook his head at her sarcastic tone. "It's a real place. I was there to, uh, help out a friend. It's just a little farming community. Kind of like Smallville, but with mountains."
Her forehead furrowed, but she couldn't come up with a good insult for either Smallville or Idaho so she let it go in favor of needling him personally. "You're quite the world traveler, aren't you?"
He shrugged. "I've seen a fair bit of it."
Lois looked out the window. There were only two subjects her mind had seemed able to focus on for the past twenty-four hours. One was the squishy heated feeling that being around Clark now gave her. The other was Lex - back from the dead and stalking her. "Lex said he would give me the world," she mused quietly and then shook her head. "I can't believe he's really back."
Clark didn't answer. He wasn't certain she wanted him to say anything anyway.
Lois sighed and kept talking. "I never told you this, but I went to visit Mrs. Cox in prison. I told her I was interviewing her for a follow-up story on Lex, but she knew why I was really there. I just wanted the truth. I wanted... answers."
"And did you find them?"
She was silent for a few seconds and then she softly said, "No. I only found more questions." Lois squinted at the side view mirror's warning that objects were closer than they appeared as she argued with herself over whether or not to share her thoughts with Clark. She had wanted to talk to him about this for so long - it was impossible not to share. "Do you remember the first story we wrote together? About the space station Prometheus? Remember Dr. Baines?"
Clark remembered Antoinette Baines very well. He also remembered watching the helicopter she was in blow up. "Yes."
"Lex killed her. She thought he was in love with her and he killed her. They'd even talked about marriage. When it came right down to it, though, she was just a means to an end for him. Do you know what Mrs. Cox said was behind Lex's love for me?"
Clark shook his head - he didn't even want to guess.
"Superman," Lois said softly. "He thought that Superman was in love with me. That I was his weakness and he could use me to control Superman."
Clark flinched.
"I didn't know what to say to Lex, when I saw him again. I was so... shocked to see him, you know?"
"Sure," he said softly.
"I never loved him," she added quietly, turning her head to watch the landscape speeding by outside. "I liked him a lot, and I was really flattered that he wanted to be with me, but I never really loved him. I was just--" Her voice trailed off and she furrowed her forehead as she searched for the right word. "I was seduced by him, I guess. Suddenly everything was possible. I really could have the world, if I wanted it. Which I didn't. Honest, I never would have asked him for anything. At least, I don't think I would have." She glanced back over at Clark. "What would you have done? What if you had power? True power? What would you do with it?"
"Help people," he answered without hesitation. "I would use all that money and power to help others."
His earnest words brought a smile to her face. "I bet you would," she said, giving him an affectionate look. "It's one of your better qualities."
"What is?" He glanced over, wondering if she was mocking him again.
"You're just..." She struggled for a moment to find the right word. "...nice. You're a very nice guy."
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "But?" he prompted.
"But nothing. That's it. You're nice. You're courteous and respectful and... decent. Heck, I bet you even return carts at the grocery store and don't abandon them in the parking lot."
"You make being nice sound so bland," he groused.
"Nice isn't bland. Especially not when you're nice like you were nice last night." No sooner had she spoken the words than she wished she could withdraw them. Her cheeks became hot and she went back to staring out the window.
"Last night?" he asked. His mind raced, remembering the sleepless hours he had spent reliving the words 'I'm falling in love with you' and the way she had repeatedly whispered his name in such a soft and sultry tone.
"Never mind," she muttered. "Just be nice now and forget I said anything."
Lois glanced at him just in time to see him give her a knowing grin. "Fine," he told her. "I'll be nice and we won't talk about it. But don't think I'm ever going to forget what you said."
She looked back out the window and squirmed in her seat. His words seemed laden with hidden meaning but she didn't want to think about what he must be thinking. Nice? She thought again about how he had kissed her and then carried her to the door last night. She should have picked a different word.
Perfect, she amended silently. Clark wasn't just nice. He was damn near perfect.
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They had been following the SUV for over half an hour when it took the exit for Lake Wedington. Clark had to back off a little further to avoid being seen. After a few miles the SUV turned, going through a large iron gate set in a high brick wall. Clark continued past the gate, which had already swung shut, and pulled off the side of the road about fifty feet away from the gate.
They both left the Jeep and stood looking up at the high wall. "I'll go first," Clark offered, "and help you over." He took a couple of running steps towards the wall and jumped, easily catching the top with his outstretched hands. He made a show of struggling up the wall and sat on top of it, leaning down with one hand extended to help Lois.
She took his hand and he pulled her up. They both jumped down on the other side. The woods around them were quiet. Clark could hear the distant voices of Bender and Gretchen. Apparently Luthor wasn't there yet, but they were expecting him shortly. Lois doggedly continued in the direction of the house and he marveled at her tenacity. She had no idea what they were heading into, but she was going all-out to get there.
Soon they were able to see a house through the trees. It was an architectural experiment, all right angles and multi-story windows that overlooked the lake. They crept a little closer, then hunkered down about twenty yards from the house.
"There's only the one car," Lois whispered, leaning closer to Clark to make sure he could hear her. "What do you think?"
"I think we wait," Clark answered in the same hushed tone. "I bet they're going to meet Luthor here."
Lois nodded. Her thoughts exactly. She couldn't think of another reason for Lex's attorney and his physician to have come to such a secluded location. Or, at least, nothing that didn't make her want to squirm and gag.
A few minutes of silence passed with only an occasional bird song to break it. The house was absolutely quiet and Lois wondered whose it was. She couldn't remember Lex owning anything like this - not that she'd ever asked for or been given a full accounting of all his real estate holdings.
The cold damp of the ground was soaking through the sweat pants she was wearing and Lois shifted uncomfortably. She let out a soft little sigh of aggravation.
"So, Lois, what would happen to a zombie in a room full of lawyers?" Clark whispered.
She turned her head to look at him, wanting to chide him for endangering their cover. But his smile was so charming that the words died on her lips. "What?" she asked softly. He was right. They were outside the house - there was no way Gretchen or Bender could hear them.
"He'd starve." Clark's eyes sparkled and his shoulder nudged hers.
"Yeah?" She shifted onto her hip and elbow to face him. "How many lawyer jokes are there?"
"How many..." he started to reply when the quiet of the woods was shattered by two things. The first was the slam of the door to the house. And the second was the unmistakable opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
Lois froze for a moment in horror and then began patting her hips, sitting up in her attempt to stop the phone from continuing to blare its ring tone. By the time it was silenced it was too late. Bender was standing only a few feet away from them with a gun drawn.
"Stand up," he snapped at them, the gun shaking a little in his hand. "Right now."
They both stood up and raised their hands in surrender, even though Bender had not asked.
"What am I supposed to do with you two?" Bender looked as horrified to have found them as they were to be discovered.
Lois watched the gun wavering in Bender's hand. It was entirely possible she could talk them out of this. "I'm Lois Lane," she said confidently. "Tell Lex his fiancee is here to see him." Beside her she heard Clark let out the faintest sigh of disapproval. A flicker of irritation went through her - was he trying to imply that he could have come up with a better plan?
Bender was hesitating so she kept talking. "Go on, tell him. We can wait here or we can come with you, but I'm here for Lex and I'm not leaving until he talks to me."
Behind her she heard the sound of a new vehicle coming towards the house. "Go," Bender gestured with the gun for them to join him on the macadam as a white service van pulled up beside them.
"Lois!" Lex stepped out of the van and opened his arms wide. He strode towards her with a smile, looking for all the world as if he had expected to find her there. "When will you ever learn that I always get my way?" There was a definite threat beneath the words that sent a shiver of fear through her. He took hold of her shoulders and gave her a firm kiss on the lips that brought the taste of bile to her throat.
When he released her, Lois took an unconscious step back and bumped into Clark. Her hand found his and she took hold of it. His fingers gently squeezed hers back and she felt able to breathe again.
Lex strode over to Nigel and held his hand out. Nigel produced a gun from beneath his jacket and handed it to Lex. "The first thing we do," Lex said with dramatic flourish as he pointed the gun at Bender, "let's kill all the lawyers."
A shot rang out and Bender slumped to the ground with a soft moan. Gretchen Kelly let out a small laugh of delight as she sidled closer to Lex. "Nice shot, Lex," she gushed.
Lex toed Bender over onto his back and then gave a grim nod at the sightless stare on Bender's face. "This was the unkindest cut of all," he muttered and then shrugged. Lex handed the gun back to Nigel. "Now, Mr. Vale, I've been a very patient man. Where is the Kryptonite?"
Rollie rolled up his left sleeve to reveal his mechanical arm. "It was here all along." He opened a hinged panel on the arm and extracted a small glowing chunk of green rock and held it up with evident glee.
Lex moved to take the Kryptonite from Rollie. "My Excalibur," he sang out, holding the stone up to the light for a moment before he pocketed it.
Clark shifted uneasily. He wasn't feeling any effects - yet. But it was only a matter of time before Luthor stood near enough that he would. The thought that Luthor, of all people, would find out his secret was causing a cold sweat to break out on his forehead. Luthor had been right about one thing - he could use Lois to control Superman.
"So now what?" Rollie asked.
"Now we wait. I'm sure Superman will come looking for them." Lex nodded at Lois and Clark. "But maybe we need to give him a little incentive first." He gave Nigel a meaningful look.
"Let's go, Mr. Kent." Nigel gestured for Clark to follow him into the house.
"Go?" Lois felt a chill sense of dread. "Go where? Where are you taking him?"
"Let's go," Nigel repeated.
"I'm coming too," Lois insisted.
"No, my dear." Lex held his hand out to Lois, taking a step closer to them. Clark shifted to the side, trying to keep some distance between himself and Luthor. "I'd prefer it if you didn't follow where Mr. Kent is going."
"Where is Clark going?" Panic began to bubble inside her.
"Really, Lois," Lex said condescendingly. "You're a writer. I thought you had a better imagination than this."
Her breath caught painfully in her throat. "No! Lex, please. You can't..."
"Lois, it's okay. I'll go." Clark touched her elbow and desperately wished he could tell her the truth. He was pretty sure Nigel meant to shoot him someplace where Lois wouldn't have to watch. They were doing him a favor in getting him away from the Kryptonite. He could only trust that Luthor wouldn't do anything to hurt Lois before he could come up with a plan to get them both away from here. Clark released her arm and pulled his flannel shirt off before holding it out to her. "It'll be cold later, you might need this."
"No," she whispered. She took the shirt anyway, her fingers instinctively closing around the fabric. It was still warm from his body and that sent a chill through her. "This isn't happening."
He bent and kissed her cheek, then whispered near her ear. "Will you promise me something, Lois?"
"Clark..." Her entire body seemed to have gone stiff and cold with dread.
"Promise me you'll remember that I wanted to tell you - right now - only I couldn't?"
"Tell me what?" she asked in a voice thick with fear.
He pulled her against him, his arms wrapping around her in a tight hug. She was still clutching his shirt between them in her numb fingers even as her mind screamed that this was her last chance ever to hold him and she was squandering it.
"I can't say right now." His words were like a caress against her ear. "Just promise me, please."
"I promise." She wasn't even sure what she was promising him. Her head was swimming. Hold him! Her mind screamed the words over and over. Hold him while you still can. Tell him the truth. Tell him how much he means to you. Her arms moved mechanically to embrace him and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. It was a bad dream. It had to all be just a bad dream.
"I love you, Lois. I always have."
"No," she whispered fiercely into the soft cotton of his t-shirt. "No. This isn't how it ends."
"It's not the end," he whispered back and tipped her chin up to meet his eyes. "I promise."
He looked so confident and unafraid and she marveled at his composure. His thumb swept lightly across her cheek and wiped a tear away. "Please don't cry," he murmured. Then he bent down and brushed a light kiss on her lips. "I'll see you again soon, I promise."
"Enough," Lex snapped, coming over to pull Clark away from her. For a moment Clark's face seemed to go pale, then he moved out of Lex's reach and walked ahead of Nigel into the house.
Feeling frantic, Lois tried to follow them. Lex caught her arm but she struggled free of him. She made it inside just in time to see Clark and Nigel walk out a set of sliding glass doors at the back of the house.
An elevated patio ran the length of the house. It was a spacious balcony with a stunning view of the lake. The hill sloped steeply below them and Clark saw that there was at least a fifty foot drop to the ground below. This might work out perfectly, provided he could keep away from Lex for just a few minutes more. Clark walked to the rail of the balcony and turned to face Nigel. He could hear Lois following closely behind them and he wished that Nigel would shoot him before either she or Luthor got there.
Lois came through the door, his name on her lips, just as Nigel pulled the trigger. Clark caught a glimpse of the horrified expression on her face as he spun around. He tipped over the railing and dropped into the ravine below.
Lois rushed forward, the sickening 'thud' as his body hit the ground reverberating in her mind. "No!" she wailed as she looked over the rail. Clark was lying, unmoving, on the slope far below them. "Clark? Oh god, please, no." Her vision blurred and her knees gave out beneath her. She slumped to the deck, staring blindly at his unmoving body far below her. Sorrow filled her, so deep and overwhelming that she couldn't even cry. She could only stare at Clark's body in mute disbelief.
"My dear, unless you'd like to meet the same fate, I suggest you come inside now," Lex said as he looked over the rail with satisfaction at Kent's body. He deserved this end. As far as Lex was concerned Kent had it coming. Especially after the sickening display he had seen in the lobby of the Daily Planet two days earlier. He gave Lois a soothing pat on the shoulder, knowing that, in time, she would understand this was for the best. "Although I would certainly appreciate a little 'Help, Superman!' or something along those lines."
Lois shook her head in disbelieving shock. Clark wasn't moving and Lex must be even more insane than she thought if he believed she was going to call Superman here to see the same thing happen to him. "Oh, Clark," she whispered, resting her forehead against the post of the railing. He still hadn't moved - not even a twitch that she could see. Hopefully he had been dead before he hit the ground. She flinched at the remembrance of the sound. Please, don't let him have hurt for long. Let it have been quick. The thought that he might have suffered, even for a second, made her eyes close in grief. She whispered his name again, barely able to get it past the lump in her throat.
Clark was gone. Her mind swarmed with memories of him. He had been so brave. He had tried to make her believe that everything was going to be all right even when he knew they were going to kill him. She'd had a taste of the grief of losing Clark only a few months earlier. But that had been before he had kissed her; before he had told her that he loved her. And this time there was no Dr. Hamilton to bring him back. Superman had not come to save him.
If only she could have last night back. She would have stayed in his arms all night. She would have slept next to him on the couch and told him out loud the words she had only whispered to herself. She loved him. She had really, truly loved him. The gentlest, kindest person she had ever known had just been callously murdered right in front of her and she had never told him that she loved him.
Lois opened her eyes and looked down. Clark was absolutely still.
She should have hugged him back. She should have kissed him one last time. She should have stayed in his arms for as long as possible. It was unthinkable that those arms were now slack and lifeless.
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End 2/3
