Thanks, again, to Alisha and Beth!
Story note: the Star editor who coordinates schedules etc. with the editor of the Metropolitan [Paul] is named Tony. His been mentioned in passing but never named - need to work his name in earlier - pretend I did already
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Thanks for the torture suggestions!
Carol
*****
Chapter 20
*****
Lois sat nervously outside the Vice President's office.
"Mrs. Kent, please go on in."
Lois had been lost in thought and had apparently missed the Vice President buzzing his secretary. She was lucky to have been able to get in at all, but somehow she doubted he was completely unaware of what had transpired the night before.
She walked into the opulent office and her eyes narrowed. So this was what her tuition dollars were paying for. Well, would be paying for if she didn't have a scholarship.
"Mrs. Kent, please take a seat." Vice President Snodgrass gestured to one of the wingback chairs across from his desk. "What can I do for you today?"
"Last night, I was assaulted and nearly raped by Professor Paul Smith," Lois said baldly.
He raised an eyebrow. "That's a very serious allegation. He's a respected member of this university faculty and of the journalistic community."
"Nonetheless, it's true. He told me if I didn't have sex with him, I would flunk the newspaper and wouldn’t graduate. When I still refused, he duct taped my hands and mouth, took most of my clothes off and was in the process of removing his pants when my husband broke into the conference room and stopped him. If Clark had been more than a minute or two later, he would have raped me." She held her hands in her lap, willing them not to shake as she spoke.
Vice President Snodgrass sat there, thoughtfully. "Do you have any proof of this? Did you call security or the police?"
Lois shook her head. "I just wanted out of there. I was badly shaken and Clark had to carry me home."
He thought for another minute. "Mrs. Kent, you should know that some very serious allegations have been made by Professor Paul Smith against you and your husband."
Lois' eyes narrowed as she looked at the Vice President of Student Affairs. She'd suspected something like this was going to happen. "What *exactly* is he saying?"
"That you attempted to seduce him. When he refused, you said you were going to accuse him of rape and that Mr. Kent then assaulted him."
"I guess the part about Clark assaulting him is technically correct, but that was only because Professor Smith was assaulting me. He *had* practically raped me by the time Clark got there."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Kent. That's not how Professor Smith describes the situation."
"So it's his word against mine?"
"I'm afraid so. However, as I said earlier, Professor Smith is a well respected member of this university's faculty and an award winning journalist. I'm afraid in a contest of your reputation against his, he wins hands down."
"What about Clark? He was there."
"Your husband? Who I'm told has been cheating on you with another student for two years now? I'm afraid his reputation leaves quite a bit to be desired."
"My husband has *not* been having an affair. Wherever you got your information, it's wrong." She was grateful she and Clark had straightened that out the night before. She could only imagine what this conversation would have been like if she hadn't known the truth.
"Then he's spent an awful lot of time alone in the company of a woman who isn't you."
"He has *never* been alone with her, always in public, and I know all about their friendship. I'm glad he has friends besides me because of how hard I've had to work to graduate in three years instead of four. Besides, more often than not, another friend or two has been with them. No, Dr. Snodgrass, you'll have to find something better than that." Yes, she was glad he had friends. Yes, she loathed Mayson regardless, but it wouldn't do to let him know that.
"The fact remains that he has been seen often in the presence of another woman with whom everyone believes is having an affair. The truth of the matter, if it really is as you say, will likely not make a difference in determining the reliability of his testimony."
Lois glared at him. "I'll go to Perry White, editor of the Daily Planet. He'll believe me."
"Journalistic Integrity, Mrs. Kent. He's biased and everyone will know it." The man leaned forward in his seat, his elbows resting on his desk, hands clasped in front of him. "Professor Smith has agreed not to press any charges on a couple of conditions. You and Mr. Kent will be given passing grades in journalism and allowed to graduate next month. However, neither one of you will be allowed to have any contact with him in the future and you will have to sign a confidentiality agreement."
Lois' eyes narrowed. "So you're bribing us with degrees to keep us quiet?"
He shrugged. "That's not how I would describe it."
"How would you describe it, Dr. Snodgrass?"
"A way for you and your husband to get your degrees and avoid criminal charges at the same time."
"Sounds like a bribe, or even blackmail, to me."
"You can take it however you wish, Mrs. Kent, but that is not the intent of the university."
"You should know my husband and I did go to the police later in the evening and reported the assault."
"The campus police would have called me as would the Metropolis PD substation, if they had received such a report."
"We didn't go to campus police or the police substation."
He frowned at that. "Where did you go?"
"To an officer we know and trust. One with an impeccable reputation for honesty."
"Who?"
"At the moment, sir, that is none of your business."
"You really should have reported it in the district where the alleged assault occurred, Mrs. Kent. That is the way things are done."
"So you would have received a copy of the report before I got here?"
He shrugged. "Perhaps. They would have called me if there was an allegation of this sort and I do receive copies of those things, but when it would have arrived, I can't say."
"I see." She contemplated saying more, but stopped herself. "I believe this conversation is over, Dr. Snodgrass." She stood and left the office.
By the time she emerged into the outer office, she was unable to control the shaking. She reached into her pocket and clicked off her pocket tape recorder and headed towards the elevator.
A hand on her arm turned her.
"Mrs. Kent, I need to tell you something completely off the record." The Vice President's secretary looked around nervously.
"Yes?"
She handed a slip of paper to Lois. "You didn't get that from me and I didn't tell you this."
"Okay." Lois put the paper into her pocket without looking at it.
"There have been other allegations of sexual misconduct by Professor Smith in the past. Because of his value to the university, they've been swept under the rug, but those women can corroborate your story," she whispered and walked towards the bathroom.
Lois watched until she disappeared behind the swinging door then turned to step into the elevator that was now waiting.
*****
Clark was livid. "They want us to sign confidentiality agreements?"
Lois nodded. "In exchange for Professor Smith not pressing charges, we get to graduate and sign confidentiality agreements."
"Gee – that's generous. He almost rapes my wife and we should feel grateful he doesn't want to press charges." He sighed. "Sure sounds like a bribe to me."
"Me too, but Dr. Snodgrass said it wasn’t."
"Did you get the tape?"
Lois nodded.
Clark sighed. "Let's hear it."
Lois pulled it out and pushed rewind.
"How long were you in there?" Clark asked as the tape continued to rewind.
Lois was puzzled. "Not that long. I didn't think there was anything else on this tape."
"Oh, guess who called while you were gone?"
"Who?"
"Tony."
Lois raised an eyebrow. "What did he want?"
"The Star is exercising their prerogative to cancel our contracts early."
A glint shown in Lois' eyes. "Good."
Clark raised a brow at her. "What?"
"Good. There's no reason for them to terminate our contracts unless Paul put them up to it. And if we don't work there, we can work with Perry."
Clark nodded. "Very good points."
The tape finally clicked to a stop and Lois pressed play.
Clark saw her face go white as Professor Smith's voice filled the air.
"Does he satisfy you, Lois? Does he treat you the way a beautiful woman should be treated? Does he make love to you like a man in love should?"Tears were already streaming down her face as she struggled to hit the stop key.
"Is that what he said to you, Lois?" Clark voice was quiet and it was only for Lois' sake that he was able to squelch the rage he felt building deep in the pit of his stomach.
She nodded.
"Come here."
He reached for her pulling her into his arms, letting her cry, her tears drenching his shirt. He held her and rocked her gently until the sobs subsided.
"I have to listen to it, Clark. I have to know what's on there."
"I'll listen to it." He had no idea how he'd make it through without throwing it into the sun, but it was the only evidence they had against the creep. He'd do it for her though, so she wouldn't have to relive it.
"No. I have to face it. He's mine. I have to take him down and I have to listen to the tape to do that."
He nodded, understanding that on some level.
"Will you stay with me?" Her voice sounded small.
"Of course."
He reached for the tape recorder, keeping one arm securely around her. "Are you ready?"
She nodded.
He pushed play.
"That's none of your business."
"I know. It's not, but I'm worried about you, Lois."
"Why?"
"Because the whole campus knows about him and that English major – something Drake."
"What about him and Mayson?"
"That they've had a thing going on for years now. They've made you the laughingstock of the university, Lois."The whole campus knew they were having an affair? Of course, he realized that Lois no longer believed it, but everyone else did? Just from a few lunches and study sessions? Okay, a lot of lunches, but there was never any contact or intimate gestures between the two of them that should have led anyone to believe they were a couple. And virtually all of the one-on-ones had ended over a year ago and there hadn't been that many of them to start with. Had she put the rumor out there hoping it would get back to Lois?
"They have?"
"They have, Lois. You're too beautiful to be treated like that. I love you, Lois. Let me show you how a man can really love you."
"No, Paul. I'm married. I don't care what you think about Clark and Mayson or anyone else, I'm not going to cheat on my husband."
"He never has to know, Lois. You're about to graduate. We can have a great couple of months together before you walk across that stage and then, when you're out in the world and your sister has moved out and Clark leaves you for Mayson or someone else, you'll remember that you know what a real relationship is like."This guy was good. He knew that Paul and Lois had gotten along well and that she'd helped him with editing and such. He must have picked up on Lois' fears and exploited them.
"Paul..."
"Shhhh, Lois."
"Paul, please get away from me. I am not going to cheat on my husband."
"You do want to graduate, don't you?"He could hear the tone of the man's voice change.
"What?"
"It would be a shame for you to fail your last semester on the paper, forcing you to wait until next spring to take this course again. Of course, since this is the only class you'll have left, you'll lose your scholarship. Flunking the class will do that too. By the time we get to spring, you still won't have a degree, no respectable paper will hire you, your sister will have moved out to go to college and Clark will have left you and the whole school will know that you tried to sleep with me to get an A. Everyone on the paper knows we work here alone at night sometimes. What do you think they think is going on?"No one who knew her would think Lois a fool. And Paul would be lucky if he lived to rue the day he'd crossed Lois Lane-Kent. He knew that Lois had worked late with him and it had never concerned him. He'd known Lois wouldn't cheat on him and the man was a well-respected professor. There was no reason to think there was anything going on.
Clark's eyes narrowed. Linda King had often made it a point to mention when she knew Paul and Lois had been working late. He'd thought it was to drive a wedge between the two of them- she'd been pretty flirty with him all along – but maybe... could she have been... jealous? Was she one of the women who went along willingly with Paul? She wasn't half the writer Lois was, but she got a lot of the best assignments. Was that why?
The tape had continued while he was deep in thought.
"It's not true."
"Truth doesn’t matter, Lois. Perception does. You should know that by now. Everyone already perceives you a fool for letting your husband cheat on you right under your nose."
"I'll go public before you have a chance."
"No, you won't. No one will believe you. I'm a well respected member of the journalistic and academic community. I've written dozens of articles for the school paper and freelance around the world on sexual harassment and how to deal with it."Oh, he was slick. Lois was right. She wasn’t the first one; he was too good for that. And he'd built up his own reputation so that anyone making accusations against him would have a hard time convincing anyone that they were true. And he picked someone he knew was vulnerable and who would be likely to keep quiet. That Dr. Snodgrass would be able to bribe with a degree and bully into a confidentiality agreement. There was probably another girl or two already in his pipeline. A freshman or sophomore, or junior or two. Or three.
"Clark will believe me. Perry White will believe me."
"It doesn't matter. Even if the venerable editor of the Daily Planet believes you, no one else will. And the cheating husband? No one will believe him either."
"You're not going anywhere, Lois. Not until I get what I want."
"Clark." It was barely more than a whisper, but Clark knew that's what he had heard. He'd had an uncomfortable feeling for some time, that something was wrong, but it was nothing he'd been able to put his finger on.
And then he'd heard her say his name. Very quietly, but clear as day. He'd already been heading for campus but that had sent him running along the streets of Metropolis at something approaching normal speed. He'd listened to see if he heard anything else, but nothing came.
"He'll never hear you, but just to be on the safe side..." The sound of ripping duct tape explained why.
"Don't worry, my dear. I'll take it off when we're done. I made sure to wrap it around your sleeves so there won't be any marks."He'd continued hurrying towards campus, wondering why Lois hadn't called for him if something was wrong. She knew how good his hearing was – they'd even tested it a few times in the early days of their marriage and he'd heard her scream from much farther than the distance from their apartment to campus. Surely if she was really in trouble, she would have screamed for him.
The paper. He'd realized that if she was still on campus, she'd most likely be working at the paper.
He heard her voice crying in his head – 'Clark, where are you?' or something to that effect. It was all the push he'd needed.
He flew up the stairs to the newsroom, knowing, but not particularly caring, that there were no cameras around. He'd heard the sounds of a struggle coming from the conference room, though the blinds were drawn. In an instant, he was looking through the closed blinds. He'd seen Paul fumbling with his belt and Lois nearly naked already.
Without thinking, he'd kicked the door in, the door jamb splintering as he did so.
"Get your hands off my wife." He heard his own voice on the tape for the first time and wondered why he was so shocked to hear the barely concealed rage.
"Didn't you know she likes it rough, Kent?"
"I'm not someone you want to make mad, Paul. Let her go."He heard a grunting sound that he guessed was Lois throwing herself away from Paul and then a thud as he tackled the professor. Clark could have squashed him like a bug if he wanted to and for the first time in his life, he had been tempted to see just how strong he really was.
There was a sound like a gush of wind that he thought was him doing his best to put Lois' clothes back on her as quickly as possible and then muffled crying and he'd pulled Lois to him.
"Shh. Lois. I'm here. He can't hurt you."The tape clicked to indicate that it had been turned off.
He pushed the stop button. "I'm sorry you had to listen to that, Lois," he whispered into her hair. "I'm sorry you had to live it. I'm sorry you had to hear those awful things. I'm sorry I didn't get there faster. I heard you call for me, but I didn't come as fast as I could have."
"You heard that?" The question was quiet.
"I did. And even before that I knew something was wrong but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Lucy even commented that I seemed restless before I left. And then... it wasn't like when I use my hearing and could hear you like we tried years ago, it was more in my head. But I didn't fly, I ran at human speed. I could have been there two seconds after you called for me. I could have..." His voice broke.
"It's not your fault."
"I could have been there, literally, in no time. It's my fault and I'm so sorry."
Lois sat up and swiped at the tears on her cheeks. "It's not your fault, Clark. It's his. And he's going to pay for it. I’m not the first one and I'm sure I won't be the last if we don't stop him." She stood and started pacing, from the living room to the kitchen and back again. "The vice president's secretary gave me a list of names of other women. He's done this before and he'll do it again. The other students have been willing to sweep it under the rug, but I'm not. Even if I didn't have that tape as evidence, I wouldn't let him get away with it."
"I'm with you, a thousand percent, but this won't be easy."
"I know, but I can't let that creep get away with it."
"I know, Lois. Neither can I."
He stood and moved until he was in front of her, his hands resting lightly on her arms. "I had no idea the whole campus thought... you know. Heck, I didn't know you did until last night. And I know we said we weren't going to apologize anymore, but I'm sorry. I tried to make sure that there was nothing that could be used to insinuate those kinds of things but obviously I didn't do a good enough job." He tilted her face towards him. "There's never been anyone for me but you, Lois." He took a deep breath. "It's a Kryptonian thing, but the second you bumped into me at journalism camp, I knew I'd met the woman I was going to marry and spend my life with. Remember the letter from my mom about the message Jor-El gave to them?"
Lois nodded.
"One thing I never told you was that Kryptonians are telepathic..."
"You told me that."
"I know, but apparently part of being telepathic means *knowing* when you meet your life mate, soul mate, whatever you want to call it. I think it's how I heard you call me even though, based on the tape, there's no reason I should have. And I heard you in my head, too. As I went into the building. I heard you scream in my head, asking where I was. I was in the newsroom in like two seconds after that."
"I screamed in my head," she said quietly.
"My mom said that Jor-El told them that Kryptonians are telepathic with each other and that I wouldn't be telepathic with humans, but that I would probably be able to sense strong emotions from the people I'm close to."
"I remember that."
He was silent for a moment. "I didn't tell you then about knowing when you met the person you'd spend your life with – well, Kryptonians anyway, because I was afraid it would freak you out and things were... oh, I'm not sure what the word I want is – awkward or tentative or uncertain or whatever for us then and I didn't want to make it worse."
Lois thought about that. "To be honest, I'd probably have thought that you'd leave me when you found whoever it was you were supposed to be with, no matter what you'd said about it being me."
"That doesn't surprise me." Clark sighed. "So we have no jobs..."
"We have jobs, just not *jobs*."
Clark rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because papers and pizza delivery is going to pay the bills. And who's to say I'll even have my job delivering the Star before long? We have no real jobs and a story to tell. So what do we do?"
"Call Perry, then call Henderson."
"That's a good plan." He stood up. "But let's go see Perry instead."
Lois nodded. "That sounds better. Let's go."
*****
TBC
