Chapter Forty
As soon as Clark, Lex, Rebecca, and Lois were all in the room, Nigel drew a large caliber semi-automatic pistol from beneath his jacket and fired into the radio three times. All four passengers were as surprised at the lack of noise made by the explosions from the weapon as the radio equipment shattered under the impact of the bullets as they were by the action itself. Lex stared open-mouthed at the wrecked radio and shook his head slowly.
Nigel waved his pistol at the quartet of hostages. “Two famous investigative reporters from the Daily Planet, the CEO of LexCorp Industries, and the receptionist from LexCorp’s main office. Are you aware, Miss Connors, that you are referred to as the ‘poster girl for personal improvement’ by others among the administrative staff? No?” He chuckled lightly. “No matter. As you Yanks might say, this is not a bad haul.”
Lois’s eyes crackled at Nigel. “You sure you have enough ammunition for all of us, you slimy Limey?”
Nigel’s eyes flickered, but he gave no other indication that her insult had struck its intended target. “Oh, yes, Miss Lane, I made certain to bring the high-capacity magazine.” He tilted the pistol slightly. “Sixteen rounds should do the job, I would think.”
Lex opened his hands to either side. “Nigel, would you please explain to me what you’re doing?”
Nigel inclined his head slightly. “Of course, Lex. Oh, you don’t mind if I call you Lex, do you?”
“Not as long as you’re pointing that gun at me, no.”
“I thought as much. Oh, by the by, please take that pistol out of your trouser pocket and hand it to me.”
Lex’s face fell. “I was hoping I wouldn’t need it.”
“You do not. It would only complicate matters.” Nigel lifted his own weapon and said, “Now give me the pistol.”
Lex slowly drew the small gun and allowed Nigel to reach out and remove it from his hand. “A thirty-two caliber semiautomatic. Such a small weapon, Lex. Were you planning to frighten me to death with the report or use it to strike me?”
Lex snorted. “You’re taunting us, Nigel. I would have thought that was beneath you.”
Nigel smiled lopsidedly. “I suppose it is. To return to my own train of thought, then, the investigation into certain activities of mine has come too close to the truth for my comfort. In order to insure that comfort, I must make certain that investigation does not uncover any more evidence. Therefore, the fates of the four of you are the next link in the chain of events.”
“What chain of events?”
“Oh, come now, Lex, you have never before been dense! Or has your close association with the lovely Miss Lane so dulled your cognitive abilities?”
Lex frowned in thought. “If somebody’s getting too close to you – and if we’re the next link – uh-oh.”
Nigel smiled thinly. “That would be an appropriate sentiment, I would think, if not particularly eloquent.”
Clark sighed and looked at Lex out of the corner of his eye. “I think I owe you a sincere and heartfelt apology.”
Lex granted him a quick smirk. “Consider it accepted, especially under the circumstances. Your confusion was quite understandable.”
Lois slowly reached out and touched Lex’s shoulder. “My confusion isn’t cleared up yet. Would you mind filling me in on this?”
Rebecca squeezed Clark’s hand. “Me too. You know, guys, I’m usually not stupid, but I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
Lex straightened his shirt. “It’s fairly complicated, ladies. Don’t blame yourself for not understanding. Neither did I grasp the whole of the matter until just a moment ago. You see, Nigel is either the criminal mastermind called ‘the Boss’ or is acting for that person. I suspect the latter, although I wouldn’t want Nigel to interpret that as a slight against him.”
“I do not. Although I am curious as to why you do not believe I might be the ‘top dog,’ as you Yanks also say.”
“You could be, but that isn’t your usual style. You don’t take full responsibility, nor do you take the maximum risk, but you do contribute valuable ideas and carry out instructions with precision and efficiency. The hallmark of the ideal butler.”
Nigel grinned and tilted his head slightly. “Thank you.”
Clark frowned. “If you’re not working for Lex, why does Alex Winfield show up in so many of those questionable transactions?”
Lex started. “What? Alex Winfield?”
Nigel sniffed aristocratically. “Because of my own vanity, I suppose. I found it amusing to entangle my legitimate employer in those illegitimate dealings. It was also useful to deflect certain investigative inquiries.”
Clark shook his head. “You sure did that. I thought for sure that Lex was connected to those criminal dealings, but it was you all the time.”
“It was indeed, Mr. Kent. I am gratified that my efforts in ‘muddying the waters,’ so to speak, were at least partially successful.”
Lois stepped up beside Lex. “Now that we know this much, why not tell us who you’re really working for?”
Nigel took a small step back and smiled again. “I suppose there is no harm in revealing that information at this point. I report directly to Dr. Arianna Carlin.”
Lois gaped at him. “What! You’re joking!”
Clark nodded and said, “I should have thought of her.”
Rebecca frowned. “Who is Arianna Carlin?”
Lex grimaced and answered, “My ex-wife. The woman with so many fingers in so many pies.” He nodded. “As much as I hate to admit it, a great many things make sense now.”
“Such as?”
“Your erratic behavior, Nigel, for one thing. The times you’d disappear for no valid reason – using the flimsiest of excuses – the odd occurrences in the factories and the labs, the irregularities in the books – “
“I see that I have not completely fooled you, Lex.”
Lex frowned and pointed at the pistol. “I think you’ve done pretty well, considering.”
“I supposed I have at that.” Nigel waved his pistol again. “Now that your curiosity has been satisfied, however, you all must accept the fate of the cat.”
Rebecca shook her head. “What does that – oh. Oh!” Her eyes grew huge and her face paled. “No! You can’t mean that! You can’t just kill us in cold blood!”
Nigel lifted an eyebrow. “I daresay that phrase has always puzzled me. Human blood within a living person is always the same temperature, within a slight but acceptable variation, aside from illness or external factors. I cannot imagine what difference – “
Rebecca’s hands shook and she shouted, “No! You can’t kill us! You can’t! I – we have so much to live for!”
Clark held her elbows. “Becca, it’s okay. We’ll be all right. Just wait.” He turned to Nigel. “Aren’t you concerned that Superman might show up and stop you?”
“He does have an inconvenient habit of interfering in my affairs, but I doubt he will do so today.”
Clark took a step forward. “And what makes you think that?”
“Be careful, Mr. Kent.” Nigel lifted his pistol and Clark stopped. “First of all, we are in a sound-proof compartment inside a yacht over sixty miles from the mainland and almost a hundred miles from Metropolis. No one outside can hear what happens inside this room, even if someone were actually outside the cabin. And the likelihood of Superman simply ‘dropping by’ to visit a small boat on the ocean is vanishingly remote.”
He wiggled his weapon again. “Second, this pistol is a large-caliber weapon firing special low-velocity ammunition, so there is but a slight report. There will be no loud ‘bang’ to be heard by anyone, super-powered or not, as you have already learned.”
He retrieved a small box from the pocket of his slacks with his left hand. “Third, should the aforementioned cape-clad hero – or even his bumbling paramour, Ultra Woman – appear despite our remote location and my other precautions, I think either of them would find it difficult to come to your aid.”
Clark stepped in front of Rebecca to shield her from Nigel’s pistol. “Why is that?”
Nigel pressed the release and the lead box popped open. “Because of this, Mr. Kent.”
Clark reacted to the glowing green rock immediately. He groaned and stepped back, pushing Rebecca out of his way. Everyone stared at him as he bit out, “What – is that stuff?”
“Fascinating.” He smiled and stepped closer to Clark. “No wonder you survived the bomb at Dr. Platt’s laboratory.”
“You killed Platt too?” blurted Lois. “And Toni Baines?”
“Platt was but a pawn, sacrificed to destroy three other more important pieces. Baines had outlived her usefulness, and you two were poking your reporter’s noses into places where they were not welcome. I was most perplexed when I learned that the two of you survived that incident, but I am gratified to learn that your survival was not due to my negligence.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Lois growled. “What is that little rock, anyway?”
He tossed the glowing green stone into the air and caught it with the same hand, then tucked the box into his pants pocket as he spoke. “This is a small fragment of Superman’s home planet. Our scientists have dubbed it ‘Kryptonite,’ after the late planet Krypton. The planet destroyed itself quite spectacularly some decades ago, and a few of the remaining pieces made their way to Earth. It’s entirely possible that the same process which brought Superman here as an infant also brought these crystals.” He smiled at Lois. “We never would have thought to look for such a thing, Miss Lane, save for your story about Superman which revealed him to be an extra-terrestrial being.”
Lois’s eyes bulged and her face paled. “You mean you – that I – “
“Yes, my dear. You are ultimately responsible for your associate’s current predicament. Ironic, is it not?” He shrugged. “These pieces of green rock emit an ultra-high-frequency radiation, presumably endowed to it by the forces which destroyed the planet, which is transparent to humans but quite harmful to Superman.” Nigel paused as Clark grimaced and fell to one knee. “And to the intrepid young reporter also, I see.” His eyebrows posed high on his forehead. “Most instructive, Mr. Kent. Or should I address you by your heroic designation?”
Nigel stepped closer to Clark and gave him a vicious backhand punch to the head with his free hand. “Perhaps not. You might consider it an insult to be taunted with what you obviously no longer have, especially under the circumstances.” Nigel’s face took on a fierce aspect for a moment, but then he seemed to regain control and stepped away from his victim. “But that would not be appropriate, would it? After all, you are all at my mercy at this moment.”
Rebecca knelt down beside Clark, who by this time was on both knees and leaning on one elbow, and tried to cushion his fall with her arms. “Clark! Clark, are you okay?”
He only panted and turned his pain-twisted face towards her. “I – I’m sorry, Becca.” Then he groaned and fell to the floor on his side.
“No! Clark!” She turned to Nigel with a feral snarl. “You – you blood-sucking lamprey! Thermocline scum!”
“At least your insults are intelligent, Miss Connors. Now please move away from Mr. Kent so that – “
“You’re hurting him! Please! Don’t do this!”
“You needn’t be so naïve, Miss Connors. I’m going to kill all of you.”
Rebecca knelt beside Clark and made a sound like a frightened kitten. Lois stepped towards Nigel and lifted her hand in front of her face. “That’s enough! You can’t – “
The report of the pistol would have been startling to her had Lois heard it. All she felt, however, was the slap of the bullet against the palm of her hand and the impact against her head. The blood gushed from her face as she fell backwards onto the floor.
Her arm flopped to the side and she didn’t move.
*****
“NO!”
Lex’s scream echoed in the small room. He took a step towards Lois’s prone body, then stopped and spun to face Nigel.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly through gritted teeth. “Nigel.”
“Yes, Lex?”
“I am going to kill you.”
Nigel chuckled. “I think not. I, on the other hand, am assuredly going to kill all of you. I advise you not to make this more difficult than – “
Quick as a tigress and quiet as a mouse, Rebecca sprang from her position beside Clark and launched herself at Nigel with her fingers extended as claws and ready to rake his face.
And she almost made it. Before Lex could react, the pistol in Nigel’s hands spat once more and she collapsed at Nigel’s feet, moaning pitifully and clutching her stomach.
Nigel spared a brief glance at the wounded girl. “Please don’t bleed on my shoes, young lady. They are hand-made from Italian leather.” He tossed the Kryptonite chunk on the floor beside Clark and turned again to his former employer. “Well, Lex, I believe it is your – “
The small pistol in Lex’s hand – twin to the one Nigel had taken from him – cracked four times in succession. All four bullets hit Nigel in the middle of the chest. The three of hearts would have covered all four wounds. “No, Nigel,” growled Lex. “It’s your turn.”
Nigel tried to inhale but his lungs refused to respond. The strength drained from his legs and arms, and his vision narrowed as he flopped backwards onto the floor. “How – “ he muttered.
“There were two pistols in the compartment, Nigel. I expected whoever was coming aboard to look for a single weapon and I gambled that you wouldn’t suspect the second was in back of my trousers, stuck in the waistband.”
Nigel tried to curse, but he only whispered, “Shot me – “
Lex’s lip curled in disdain. “Yes. I shot you. And just when things were going so well for you, too.” He stepped closer to the dying man and growled, “Enjoy being dead, Nigel. Because that’s how you’re going to be for a long, long time.”
Nigel looked up at Lex through the fading light and tried one last time to lift the pistol in his hand, not realizing that he’d dropped it moments before. Then, as Lex glowered over him, he slipped from this world and passed into the next.
*****
Lex turned towards Lois once again, but Rebecca chose that moment to moan. He slid the pistol into his pocket and knelt beside her to examine her wound.
It was bad. The blood had soaked her terrycloth robe and had stained the floor beneath her from her abdomen to her knees. He glanced at Clark and said, “Can you help her?”
Clark sucked in air between his teeth. “I – don’t know. Have to – get rid of that – green rock.”
Lex snatched it up and ran out of the room and up the stairs to the deck. From there he threw the rock into the water, as far from the boat as he could get it. He paused for a moment and bent forward. His eyes squeezed shut and he almost stifled an agonized moan.
Lois. Nigel had shot Lois. He’d shot Lois in the head. And there was blood everywhere.
She’d just walked into the shot! What could she have been thinking? She’d acted as if she’d expected to simply catch the bullet, not have it –
He didn’t want to think about it. But he couldn’t help it.
That kind of wound was not survivable, not without immediate surgery, especially with the large caliber round Nigel had used. She was –
He couldn’t say the word, couldn’t think it, not even to himself. It was too soon, too raw, too painful. And he couldn’t stop to grieve, not yet, not with two other wounded people under his responsibility. He’d cry later.
But for this instant, his grief gave way to volcanic fury. He wished with all his might that he could bring Nigel back from the dead so that he could kill him again and again and again. He’d toss the traitor from the penthouse balcony and watch him flutter to the concrete below. He’d drop a crushing load of concrete on his head. He’d slowly pull him limb from limb with a nylon rope on each wrist, each ankle, and around his throat. He’d eviscerate him with a razor-edged scalpel and laugh as Nigel’s insides became his outsides.
But no matter what vicious fantasies he might entertain, it wouldn’t bring Lois back to him.
He allowed himself one long, angry shout, screaming his anguish to the wind and the waves. Then he wiped his face with both hands and turned to descend the stairs. As he strode into the radio room, he saw Clark leaning over Rebecca, trying to staunch the bleeding, and he saw Lois sitting up and picking –
Lois?
Sitting up?
That wasn’t possible. She’d been shot. She was –
He still couldn’t say it. Even with the evidence before he eyes that she still lived, he couldn’t even think it.
But she wasn’t dead. She was sitting up and pulling on something in the palm of her left hand. She glanced up and saw him standing in the doorway and lurched unsteadily to her feet.
“Lex! I’m okay! Well, except for my hand where the bullet’s stuck, and my bloody nose where I punched myself when I tried to catch the bullet.” She paused to wipe the blood from her upper lip. “Look, I’ll explain everything later, but Clark isn’t the only one who has super-powers here.”
His mouth drooped open and he managed to utter a plaintive, “Hah?”
Lois put her hand to her mouth again and wrenched at it once more. She cried out in pain as she grabbed her injured hand with the other one, then she spat out the spent bullet and drew in a sharp breath.
Lex watched Lois cradle her injured hand against her chest. “Lois?”
“Ahh! That – that really hurts!”
She gritted her teeth for a long moment, then said, “I’m sorry! This isn’t the way I wanted you to find out. I know it doesn’t look like it right now, but – I’m Ultra Woman.”
Lex grabbed the door jamb to steady himself. “Lois – you – I thought – “
She stood up and wobbled to his side, then hugged him briefly with her uninjured arm. “I know, I know, but right now we have to figure out how to save Rebecca. And I don’t think I can do anything to help.”
Lex touched Lois’s face. “You’re – you’re alive.”
“Yes, I am, but – “
“You’re Ultra Woman?”
Clark said, “She is, Lex. But I guess that green rock – “
The comment came automatically from Lex’s competitive nature. “Nigel named it Kryptonite.”
“Yeah. I guess the – the Kryptonite suppressed Lois’s powers without causing her any pain. If that’s true, Lois, it’s a good thing Nigel didn’t pull it out a minute earlier. That bullet might have killed you if you’d been exposed much longer.”
She shuddered under Lex’s touch. “I don’t want to think about it right now.”
Lex’s strength was returning. “Then don’t. Think about helping Rebecca.”
Lois turned to look at the other woman as Clark secured a small towel against Rebecca’s wound with the belt from her robe. His face contorted with the effort not to appear frightened for her life. He leaned closer and spoke softly. “Becca, we’ll get you to a hospital as soon as we can. I promise. You just stay with us, okay? Stay with us.”
Rebecca’s eyes fluttered and she tried to lift a bloody hand to Clark’s face. “I – I’ll try. And I – I won’t tell anyone. Not ever. You know, about – ” She traced a halting ‘S’ on his shirt, outlined in liquid red.
He smiled softly. “I never thought you would.” He hesitated. “I don’t know what difference it makes now, but I was going to tell you.”
Her hand rested on his forearm. “I believe you. And it – ahh – it means a lot to me to hear that.” She pressed her palm against his chest, smearing the ‘S’ she’d drawn a moment before. “Don’t know if I’ll be able – to tell you this later. So – I’ll say it now.” She paused and drew in a deeper breath. “Clark Kent, I’m – I’m in love with you.”
Clark caught her hand and kissed it quickly. “Shh. You just get better. We’ll talk about that later, okay?”
She almost smiled. “Okay. But don’t – don’t forget – what I said.” She winced, then panted hard twice. “I know – aagghh! – I know I won’t.” She closed her eyes. “I’ve waited too long to say it to you.”
She sagged back against the floor and her eyes fluttered shut. Lex grabbed Lois’s arm and yanked it. “You’re Ultra Woman?”
She frowned at him in surprise. “Yes. I was, anyway. I guess that green rock did something to me, took away my powers.”
He shook her harder. “Which of you is going to fly her to the hospital? Will it be you or Clark?”
Lois and Lex both glanced at him, but Clark shook his head in the negative. “No way. My powers won’t be back for a few hours, at least.”
Lex leaned closer. “That leaves you, Lois. You have to fly her to safety. You are her only chance for survival.”
Her eyes misted over. “Lex, I can’t! My powers are – “
He snatched her injured hand up and turned her palm upwards so she could see it. “Look at this wound! Look at it!”
She did. And her eyes widened.
The hole in her hand was slowly but visibly closing of its own accord. She lifted her other hand to probe her facial wound, then said, “Hey! It doesn’t hurt!” She drew in a deep breath through her nose. “And the bleeding has stopped!”
Lex released her hand and grabbed her by the shoulders. “You can do this, Lois! You can take her back to the city. You can save her.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. As his eyes drilled into hers, he said, “You are the only one who can help her now. You must do this!”
She held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded. “Okay. I have to change first. My suit’s in my cabin.”
Lex released her and stepped aside to let her pass. He exhaled and closed his eyes for a moment, then he knelt beside the wounded Rebecca. “How is she?”
Clark looked at the young woman’s pale face. “I sure hope Lois can fly her back. I don’t think we could sail her back quickly enough, and we can’t call for the Coast Guard to help us. And even if we could, I don’t think they’d get here in time.”
“No.” Lex gently brushed the hair from her forehead. “I suppose not.”
Clark checked the dressing again. “This isn’t your fault, you know.”
“Come again?”
“This whole thing isn’t your fault. I knew that someone had something that could hurt me, but I didn’t think about Nigel having that rock on him until it was too late. And I never expected it to do anything to Lois, either. That was a total surprise.”
“Even if all that is true, I cannot put the blame for this disaster on you. Nigel was my employee. I hired him despite Asabi’s misgivings and my own suspicions. I am the one who gave him access to the inner workings of my empire. And, fool that I am, I failed to see who and what he really was.”
“He was a pro, Lex. He was with MI-6, high up in the British counter-intelligence unit. He was on our radar too, but we didn’t learn enough about him in time to make a difference.”
“You were not the one around him day in and day out. You were not the one who turned a blind eye to his questionable business tactics. You were not the one he labored successfully to deceive.”
“Lex.” Something in Clark’s voice drew Lex’s gaze. “Let’s focus on helping Rebecca. We can play the blame game later. There’s plenty to go around.”
Lex nodded shortly, then gently tightened the belt around the girl’s wound. Rebecca groaned and tried to lift her arm, but it fell back almost immediately. “I hope Lois’s powers return quickly. Rebecca needs immediate medical attention.”
Lois chose that moment to reenter the radio room wearing her new costume. “Okay. I think I’m ready.”
Clark sat back on his heels. “Can you float?”
She closed her eyes and slowly lifted off the floor. “Yes.”
Lex looked over his shoulder at her. “Can you fly and carry Rebecca?”
Lois blinked twice, but said, “I pretty much have to, don’t I?”
Lex moved aside as she knelt beside the wounded girl and gently lifted her. Rebecca groaned and rolled her head towards Lois. Her eyes fluttered but didn’t quite open. “I’ve got you, Becca,” Lois said softly. “You’re going to come flying with me.”
Rebecca managed a small grin. “Always – wanted to fly with – Ultra Woman. She’s – she’s so cool and – “
Clark helped her arrange Rebecca’s arms and head as the girl’s voice trailed away into silence. “Go slow until you’re sure your aura can protect her. No sense flying too fast and suffocating her.”
Lois nodded. “Lex, would you get the door, please? I have to get going.”
Clark followed Lex to the upper deck. They watched Lois – Ultra Woman, Lex reminded himself – shrink from sight as she headed towards Metropolis. “Will she make it, do you think?”
Clark leaned his hands against the railing. “Why ask me?”
“You are Superman, are you not?”
Clark lifted his eyes and tried to glare at Lex. “Superman is the muscular flying guy in the blue tights and red cape who has all the answers, and I just don’t feel very much like him right now.”
Lex nodded. “That is understandable, under the circumstances. May I take a look at your face?”
“My face? Why?”
He indicated Clark’s left cheekbone. “When Nigel struck you, he opened a fairly deep cut on your cheek. You, my friend, are going to need stitches. I don’t think I’m the one to put them in, but I do have some butterfly bandages which should close it long enough to get you to a doctor.”
Clark nodded. “You’re the captain.”
Lex led Clark to the kitchen and opened the first aid kit. As he examined the contents, he asked, “That was not Ultra Woman’s usual costume, was it?”
The uninjured side of Clark’s face almost smiled. “Midnight blue body suit with a hint of silver sparkles and a cowl over her face? No, that’s her new one. She told me she had it yesterday, but that was the first time I’d seen it.”
Lex pulled on a pair of sterile latex gloves. “No cape? I thought a cape was standard issue for superheroes.”
“Not for Lois, apparently. She wants to be visibly different from Superman, and that seems to be one way she’s going about being different. Almost from the start of her career, she’s acted like she was in competition with me.”
“But she’s quite skilled in the use of her powers, is she not?”
Clark flinched as Lex probed the cut. “Ow. She knows what she’s doing, if that’s what you mean.”
“Good. I believe an ice bag would benefit you. I will prepare one for you when I finish.”
“Sounds good to me. Thanks.”
Lex was silent for a long breath before he asked, “Do you think Lois can make that flight? She seemed to be laboring even as she lifted off.”
Clark sighed. “I really don’t know. I only know that I couldn’t do it right now.”
“I see.” Lex selected a tube of antibiotic ointment and gently rubbed a small amount of it on Clark’s open wound. “Then, if she were to run out of energy over the water – “
He stopped moving and locked eyes with Clark. Lex finally broke the stare and picked up a butterfly bandage. As he applied it to Clark’s face, he said briskly, “Of course. Best not to think about it.”
“No,” breathed Clark. “Best not to think at all right now.”
