Reflections
Part 4
An explosion brought Clark back to the present. Zeroing in quickly on the source, he saw that something had exploded at the refinery by the docks. He took swiftly to the sky, heading straight towards the source. Arriving at the blast site, he saw a building quickly being consumed by fire. Expanding his senses, he detected five men trapped inside the building. Assessing the best way to get them out, he crashed through the strongest wall of the building that was closest to the men. As he passed through the building on his way to them, he cooled as much of the fire as possible with his breath.
When he got to them, he saw that they had had the good sense to stay down low and had managed to get some wet rags around their mouths. Not stopping to explain the situation to them, he scooped up the first two and flew them out through the hole he had created. He then made two more round trips to rescue the others. By the time he deposited the last man outside the building, he could hear the sounds of approaching emergency vehicles.
Seeing that the men were reasonably safe for now, he turned his attention to the fire itself. He had taken it upon himself to learn everything he could about how to put out large fires, so he was he was able to use his powers to the greatest advantage. He started at the hottest spots first, alternating between extinguishing the flames directly, and taking fuel out of the path of the fire. By the time he heard the spray of the fire hoses on the building, he had sixty-five percent of the blaze stopped or contained.
Seeing where the fire department was concentrating their sprays, he adjusted his assault on the fire to complement what the firemen were doing. Soon the fire was completely extinguished, and Clark moved away from the building to check on the men he had rescued.
He landed in the midst of the paramedics, once again receiving the looks of awe he had grown accustomed to over the last year. He spoke briefly with the paramedic in charge who confirmed that all five men were fine, though with minor cases of smoke inhalation. As soon as he had finished with the paramedics, the fire chief walked up to Clark and extended his hand to shake it. "I was wondering how we got that fire out so quickly. Thanks for your help. Not to mention the fact that those men would probably be dead if not for you."
Clark took the chief's hand and shook it, acknowledging his gratitude with a quick, "It was nothing, Chief. Anytime I can help."
Clark turned, and was about to launch himself into the air when a voice from behind shouted, "STOP!"
He looked behind him to see a woman in a rain parka, running up to him at a full sprint. Curious, he turned to face her, crossing his arms and assuming his best superhero pose. The woman reached him, almost completely out of breath, and bent over at the waist with her hands on her knees breathing hard.
"Don't you <huff huff> dare <huff huff> move <huff huff >." She punctuated her command by pointing an accusing finger at him between each gasping breath. Clark was just curious enough to wait and see what this woman wanted. After a minute of trying to get her breath back, she straightened up, and fixed her hair with her hands, trying to recover some modicum of dignity. Clark had to fight to suppress a smile watching her.
"O.K., buddy, I've been chasing you for three months now, and you're not going to get away this time. You're going to..."
"Is there some problem I can help you with, Miss?"
"That's *MS.* to you, and yes you can help me with something. You can answer a few questions."
Clark scowled in a combination of curiosity and confusion. "And why do I need to answer these... questions?" Clark was now genuinely interested at what this woman was after. Was there some problem she needed to be solved, or had he caused some problem that made her want to track him down so tenaciously? He always worried about doing something with his powers that would cause more harm than good. Now that he thought about it for a minute, she did seem familiar, but he couldn't immediately place her.
"Because the public has a right to know," she stated firmly.
Comprehension immediately dawned on him. "Ah, you're a reporter. TV, radio, or print?"
"Pa-lease, I not some TV hack. Lois Lane, Daily Planet." She stuck out her right hand toward Clark.
'Wow, she's all business,' Clark thought to himself. 'Sounds like she's a real fireball too... she must be hell on wheels at the Planet.' He took the proffered hand and shook it, acknowledging her introduction with a nod and a, "Miss Lane."
"*Ms. Lane.*"
"Oh, yes, sorry. Ms. Lane."
She reached into her purse and took out a steno pad and a pencil and started to jot down some notes. Without looking up, she started to rapid fire her questions at him.
"O.K., so, first where did you come from, and why are you here? How exactly is it you have these super-human abilities, and are there others like you? And no one seems to know what to call you. Do you have a name?"
"Ms. Lane -"
"Why do you play superhero for us? Do you have a goal? A purpose?"
"Ms. Lane -"
"Just what does that 'S' on your chest stand for? Some people believe you're from another planet, is that true?"
"Ms. Lane!"
"And where do you go when you're not rescuing someone or catching bad guys? Do you have a secret lair?"
"LOIS!"
She looked up in shock and froze, the next question still on her lips. She then smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry, guess I'm kind of anxious. Maybe we should take this one question at a time."
"No."
"No, what?"
"No, we're not going to take anything. I don't do interviews. Sorry."
"What do you mean, you don't do interviews! The whole world wants to know who you really are, and you say you don't do interviews. That's not fair."
"It's not fair?" Clark repeated back to her. He didn't know quite what to say. The reactions he usually got out of people ranged from appreciation to awe or to the contempt he got from the criminal element. This was the first time he had been scolded while in the suit (not counting his mom of course).
"Listen, people are starting to put an awful lot of trust in you, but no one really knows who you are. Many people don't know what to think of you, and they're worried because they don't know what your motives are, or even what to call you. Like it or not, what you do and how you do it, has made you a public figure... one who implicitly asks for the public's trust. Trust that you have often earned, from what I can see, but a trust that many hesitate to give you because you remain so mysterious. So, yes, it's not fair."
Clark had to admire her reasoning, and the certainty with which she delivered it. Truthfully, the same thoughts had crossed his mind just that morning. Maybe an interview would be in order, though he wasn't prepared to give all the answers right this second.
"You may have a point, Ms. Lane, but I don't have time right now for an interview. Maybe sometime very soon I can answer a few of your questions." He gave her a pleasant smile, and hoped that would placate her for the time being. He was struck again by the thought that he had met her somewhere before. There was something about her... Oh well, it would come to him sometime.
"Time for me to go, Ms. Lane." Clark prepared to take flight, but was stopped once again by the tenacious reporter.
"Wait! Can't you tell me anything? Who are you?"
"I'm... just a friend. Someone who has been granted these abilities, and wants to use them to help in any way that I can. Maybe the next time I see you, I'll have time for that interview." He started to rise into the air at the end of his last statement.
Watching him rise into the air, she shouted at him, "How will I find you?"
"I'll be around. I'll find you when I have the time." He then turned and soared straight up into the air. Clark finally allowed himself a smile as he broke through the clouds. 'Boy, she was a real spitfire,' he thought to himself. Interesting... she wasn't what he had expected. Once she introduced herself, he recognized her name from some of her articles in the Daily Planet. He had been very impressed with her recent expose of the car theft ring, but he hadn't expected someone so young. Usually he would expect someone with more years of experience being able to spend two months infiltrating a ring of car thieves undercover. And even though her rain slicker, and despite her demeanor, he could tell that she was a very nice-looking woman.
But what really got him, was the fact that he was strangely fascinated by her, but he couldn't say why. Beyond her obvious beauty, he'd actually found himself enjoying her little impromptu interview. It was refreshing to be treated as a... human being, while in the suit. Lois Lane must be an interesting person to know.
Suddenly he stopped short in mid-air, and began to scold himself. 'Wait a minute, Kent. You do not need to get distracted by another strong-willed woman. That's how you got in trouble last time. The last thing you need is to be attracted to anybody.' He shook his head in disgust. There was no way he was going to repeat that mistake. No way at all...
[** The south of France, three years ago. **]
They met the next morning, as promised. Clark brought some pastries and coffee, so they could talk privately in her room. He noted that the hotel had put a temporary cover on the window that had been broken. Lena told him that she had told the hotel that she broke it when she lost her balance carrying a heavy antique bust, which of course had shattered on the street below.
After setting up the table for breakfast, they sat down for a leisurely meal and conversation. Clark gave Lena more details of his childhood and of his travels since he left college. It felt strange talking about himself and including the parts about the development and use of his abilities.
He shared with her the joy he felt when flying, and the satisfaction when he could help or save someone's life.
"So you were the 'Angel of Tyrol' last year?" Lena asked him after he'd finished his last story.
"Yeah, that was me. Luckily I was in the area doing a story, when the bus skidded off the side of the mountain. When I heard what happened, I knew that the rescue teams would never find the bus in time. After an hour of searching from the air with my X-Ray vision, I was able to locate it. After that, it was easy enough to lift the bus out of the snow, and deposit it by the rescue teams. Of course I stayed out of sight the whole time, but someone must have seen my shadow under the bus."
"Amazing. Do you realize what you could do with these powers? Even something simple, like competing in tennis or golf. You could set yourself up for life."
"Maybe, but that would be cheating to me. I feel I need to do something... greater with these gifts rather than try to make money for myself."
Lena looked like she was about to say something, but then changed her mind and smiled sweetly at Clark. "Of course. I think that's very admirable of you. A lesser man would have taken every advantage he could with your powers. I think the way you have handled your abilities is very special."
Clark shrugged at the comment. "It's really not that big a deal. I haven't done anything different than most people would in my position."
Lena once again had one of those unreadable expressions, looked down at the coffee cup in her hand. She spoke without looking back up at Clark. "I think you're wrong about that." Looking up at him, she once more smiled at him. "I think you're special."
"Thanks, Lena, I think you're special too." He leaned over and gave her a short kiss. After their lips parted, Clark could see her smiling with just the right combination of sweetness and seduction. He swore she practiced that look just to drive him crazy.
After breakfast, they spent the rest of the day doing everything... and nothing. Just getting to know each other was their main purpose. Finding out their likes and dislikes, their commonalities and differences. They spent the next three weeks doing little else.
Clark's check eventually cleared, so he could afford to stay in France with Lena. She decided to move into a rental cottage, since she needed time to redo her business deal with a new client. Every morning he would show up at her door with breakfast, sometimes even with something from his mom back in Kansas. Then they would spend the rest of the day together. A few times he took Lena flying, and a few times they ended up in places like Italy or China for dinner.
The only time they seemed to be apart were when Lena announced that she had to conduct some business at the cottage, and she would chase Clark away so she could get her work done.
The issue of intimacy never came up again, and by silent agreement neither one of them crossed over that line just yet. Clark had even fallen asleep with Lena on the couch three or four times, but nothing beyond that ever happened. It was at the beginning of their fourth week together that Lena announced that she was once again making a deal for her shipment, and she wanted Clark along for company.
He was excited to go along, knowing that Lena usually like to work alone. The transaction was supposed to take place in the warehouse that stored her mysterious shipment. She asked him to wear a blazer, so he would look professional while accompanying her. Lena never told him what the shipment was comprised of and he hadn't really given it much thought, being more focused on getting to know her. He was really getting the feeling that she might be 'the one', despite the occasional hesitation he felt with her. It must be nerves, he’d concluded long ago.
After breakfast, Lena dressed in a professional-looking suit for her meeting. They took a cab to the warehouse district, and were dropped off in front of a nondescript white building. Lena pulled out a key and inserted it into the lock on the front door. As they entered the small warehouse, the smell of dust, metal, and oil assailed his nose. Lena turned on the lights overhead, to reveal a set of ten long boxes, each about the size of a rectangular coffin, lying in the center of the room. A single card table with two chairs was set up next to the stack of boxes. Clark was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. This didn't strike him as a usual type of business deal, though he didn't have any real experience with the buying and selling of wholesale merchandise.
She settled in one of the chairs then looked up at Clark. "Clark, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to stand behind me during the negotiations and look as intimidating as possible. These guys usually think they can take advantage of a woman, and will try to coerce me into taking a deal I don't want. Not that they can of course, but it slows down the negotiation process. So how would you like to be my tough looking partner?"
"Sure, I can do that." He beamed at her, a big smile on his face.
"Yeah, right. Well lose that smile, you wouldn't intimidate a butterfly looking like that."
"Right." He then tried to be his sternest, with a big scowling look.
She gave him a short chuckle. "Here, take off your glasses and put these on." She handed him a pair of stylish Italian sunglasses. "I assume you can see clearly in here, even with these on. And you may want to work on that scowl a little bit."
He pocketed his glasses and put on the sunglasses. He then folded his arms and set a grim look on his face. “How’s this?”
"Hmm. Not bad Kansas. Just let me do all the talking."
They waited there for a few minutes in silence. The door then opened, and three men walked into the room. The first one through was dressed in an expensive business suit, and the two men who followed him in were wearing casual, black suits. The two men in black didn't take off their sunglasses as they entered the room, making Clark wonder how they could possibly see in the dim warehouse without enhanced vision abilities. One of the men in black was carrying a metal briefcase.
As they got to the table, Lena extended her hand, inviting the businessman to sit opposite her. He opened his coat, and sat down silently, looking at Clark for a moment, then back at Lena. "I thought you worked alone."
"This is my new partner, Mr. K." Clark said nothing, but nodded at the three men. "Mr. K is here to ensure that our business will go smoothly. He hates when things don't go smoothly. Isn't that right, Mr. K?"
Remembering that he was supposed to say nothing, Clark merely nodded his head once in agreement. This was almost getting to be a little fun. He was starting to feel like a character out of a James Bond movie.
"I see. Very well Miss Manchester, let's get down to business. 250 working articles for $1,000,000, is that correct?"
"Very correct."
Clark was confused listening to the exchange. Who was Miss Manchester, and just what was Lena selling? Clark looked over the top of his glasses at the boxes to see what was inside them. He peered through the wood casing and saw rows of what looked like large hand-held weaponry. Just what was Lena involved in? Investigating further he saw U.S Army markings stamped on the side of the weapons. He knew what these were - they were hand held rocket launchers, the kind that could pierce the armor of a tank.
How stupid could he have been? He'd never questioned her on any of this, and just went along for the ride. Now he was helping her sell stolen U.S. arms to heaven knows who. There was no way he was going to let these guys cart these weapons away and sell them to the highest bidder. Not after he spent the last few months tracking down another arms dealer. Obviously he was here to be her “muscle” and insure her safety when dealing with these dangerous men. He was furious... angry at Lena, or whoever she was, for using him, and angry with himself for being so blind.
He focused back at the table and saw the businessman snap his fingers. The man with the briefcase placed it on the table and opened it, revealing a large number of twenty dollar bills bundled inside. The other man went over to the first box and pulled out a knife, which he used to pry open the top. He pulled a penlight from his jacket, and peered inside. After a minute's examination, he replaced the top, and nodded to his boss.
Before the businessman could do or say anything further, Lena reached into her jacket and pulled out a nickel-plated automatic pistol. She placed it nonchalantly on her lap, with the barrel pointed in the direction of the businessman. The other two men reached into their pockets and pulled out their own weapons. Clark was about to leap in Lena's defense, when she coolly said, "Gentlemen, calm down. I just wanted to emphasize that I will tolerate no monkey business on this deal. The last man who dealt for this shipment tried to steal from me. I want a clean deal this time, and I will not be taken advantage of. Are we clear on this point?"
The businessman smiled and waved his hand in silent command for his men to return their weapons to their holsters. "Don't worry Miss Manchester, I am, if anything, a professional. I have a reputation that I will not tarnish with idiot-like behavior." Then after a beat he said, "By the way, your Mr. K is a very cool character. I didn't even see him flinch."
Lena smiled again. "Mr. K. doesn't 'flinch' unless he absolutely has to, and then when he does, it would be over before you could voice your regrets." In truth, Clark had not 'flinched' because he had frozen in his place, unsure of what to do. Good thing he had been wearing sunglasses.
"I see. Then we have a deal. My truck is outside waiting to be loaded."
She reached over and closed the briefcase, then handed it to Clark, who took it, not knowing what else to do. She reached into her outside coat pocket and removed a small remote control. Pointing it in the direction of the door, she pressed the button, and the large loading door began to roll back, giving access for her client's truck. When the door was sufficiently opened, a panel truck backed into the warehouse, and parked by the crates. Two more men got out of the truck and started loading them into the back, with the two body guards pitching in to help. During the whole process, Lena never took her eyes off the businessman, and her hand never left the weapon in her lap.
After the truck was loaded, it pulled out of the warehouse. Clark memorized the look of the truck, the unique sound of its engine, and its license plate, so he could catch up with it and stop it after the men left.
The man got up and said, "It was a pleasure, Miss Manchester. I hope we can do business again sometime."
"I hope we can." Without any more pleasantries, he turned and left with his body guards. Clark looked through the warehouse wall, to see the model and license of the car they were driving. After they pulled away, he turned on Lena, pulling off the sunglasses and throwing them on the table.
"I can't believe you used me like that!"
"Like what, Clark?"
"You know perfectly well. Why didn't you tell me what you were involved in?"
"Because I needed you, and I knew that you wouldn't understand at first. I thought maybe you could -"
"I could what? Turn into a criminal for you? Sell stolen arms with you? To men who have no morals, and don't care who gets hurt along the way? Is that what you thought I could do?"
"Come on, Clark, don't be so naive. I didn't hurt anyone, I just sold some merchandise."
"Tell that to the people your 'merchandise' will kill someday."
She shrugged. "People are going to kill each other no matter what. Anything I do or don't do won't affect that."
Clark was speechless. He couldn't believe it. "Who are you?"
"Monique Manchester, dealer extraordinaire of questionable merchandise. Two months ago it was a hundred cases of vintage wine. This month is a load of rocket launchers. All the same to me." She punctuated her last statement with an airy wave of her hand.
"So it was all a lie. You... Me... You just wanted to use me and my abilities."
"It wasn't all a lie, Clark. I do like you, and I think we could be great partners together. Of course I still think we'll be great in bed together." She got up and moved next to him, placing her hand on his chest.
He pushed her away immediately. "You're insane if you think I would become your partner after this... for anything."
She shrugged. "It was worth a shot, though I may ask you to do a favor for me from time to time."
"Why would I do you any favors for you now?"
"Well you obviously don't want the world to know about you. So an occasional favor for my silence seems like a fair trade."
Clark walked right up to her and loomed over her, his fury barely contained. "You don't really know me at all, do you? Excuse me, I have a shipment of death to stop." He then whooshed out of the warehouse at super speed, taking to the sky as he left the building. In the air, he focused on the unique sound of the truck's engine and quickly found it, heading for the docks. They were on a rarely used route, which would be to his advantage. The businessman's car was leading the truck, and he could see nobody behind the truck for miles.
Focusing on one of the rear tires, he shot a pencil-thin beam of heat vision at it, causing a blowout. The truck immediately slowed down and pulled over to a stop. The car in front of it took a few seconds to react, but it too pulled over. The driver and his companion got out and examined the flat, cursing it. While they were both still looking at the tire, Clark swooped down, out of sight of the car, and lightly tapped both men in the base of the neck, knocking them unconscious.
As Clark set them gently down on the ground, he could hear a voice coming from a walkie-talkie in the pocket of the driver. The voice called for the driver several times before giving up. He then heard the door of the car opening and one of the bodyguards approaching. Clark hid around the corner of the truck, and waited for the bodyguard to appear. As the bodyguard got to the side of the truck, Clark sped behind him at super speed, and incapacitated him also. In the background, he could hear the other two men, getting out of the car. He employed his super speed to deal with them in the same way.
He was then able to find some rope in the back of the truck and tie them all up for the authorities. A quick search of the businessman yielded a cell phone, from which Clark called both the local police and the U.S. embassy. Just for good measure, he made a call to his contact in the French police, and told him about the location of the warehouse where the arms had been stored.
Ensuring that any place he touched was wiped of his fingerprints, he sat down on the ground and waited for the authorities to arrive. Five minutes later, he picked up the sound of distant sirens. Looking down the road, he saw a variety of official-looking vehicles headed his way, including one with U.S. Government markings on it. Satisfied that the authorities would retrieve the weapons, he took to the air, and headed back to the warehouse. He didn't really expect her to be there, but he had to look anyway. He needed to settle some things with the woman he had known as Lena.
-- End Part 4 --
