Thank you, gentle readers, for your continued support. Please let me know what you think.

TOC is here .

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From part 9:

“How fast can you move? Can you get in and out of somewhere without being seen?”

“Yes,” he answers warily.

“And how fast can you fly us to Metropolis?” I ask, ignoring his suspicious look.

“About twenty minutes, more if we take our time. Why?”

A slow mischievous smile creases my face. “Trask is probably half way to Metropolis by now. How do you feel about a little breaking and entering before he gets there?”


~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~
Master of Disguise - Part 10
~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~


It takes some persuasion, but I finally convince Clark that it’s a good idea to break into Bureau 39’s warehouse on Bessolo Boulevard.

Before we can go, though, I need to secure my alibi for the next few days. Careful to avoid getting his fingerprints on the paper, Clark makes a super-quick stop into my hotel room to deliver the ‘kidnapper’s’ ransom note. It doesn’t take him long and soon, we’re heading across the country.

For the first few minutes, I struggle to keep my mind on the investigation, but ultimately give it up in favor of enjoying the flight. Flying in Clark’s arms is amazingly invigorating and I squirm trying to see everything. We’re flying just high enough that the ground speeding by below us doesn’t disorient me, but low enough that I can make out the details. I crane my neck around several times and Clark laughs, shifting me to hold me against his side, one arm around my waist.


We follow several large rivers across the state until we reach the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and then we’re up and over its towering peaks. Glistening blue water lakes surrounded by granite, pines and manzanita flow into arid deserts scarred by trails and back roads until we’re zipping across the blinding white nothingness of the salt flats.

We edge northward to skirt the snow-capped peaks of the lofty Tetons and Clark points out the steam and gush of a geyser. We pass quickly over the Rockies and then my stomach drops as he swoops down to meander over grazing cattle and open land. After that, it’s an endless patchwork of green, yellow and brown farms, intersected by the sparkling threads of rivers and small towns that finally give way to the ever-thickening forests of the east. It’s breathtaking.

A few minutes later, I sigh with regret when we approach Metropolis. At my direction, Clark takes us into cloud cover until we’re hovering high above the Hotel Apollo. We drop fast into the back alley and I ask him to wait for me there while I ditch my duffel bag and make a change of clothes. I dash into the hotel, change my clothes and stuff a few supplies into my backpack before hurrying back outside with a map clutched in my hand. After a few minutes of aerial backseat driving, Clark sets us down on the roof of the Bureau’s warehouse.

I’m scoping out the best way into the building when Clark speaks. “Maybe I should go by myself,” he suggests.

I turn toward him, the incredulity written plainly on my face. I distinctly remember warning him about trying to exclude me and his offer makes me wonder about his mental stability. “No way,” I protest. “I’m not sitting this one out. Two people can search faster than one, even if you can move super fast.”

“Lois, it’s not safe.”

I clamp my jaws shut against the reflexive tirade and cross my arms defensively. I remind myself that Clark isn’t used to working with me and to be patient. I can do patient…when I have to. I take a deep breath before responding and am proud of how calm I sound. “And that precludes me…how?”

“Well, I’m invulnerable and can move at near invisible speeds,” he prevaricates, wilting a little under my glare. “Come on, Lois. These guys are dangerous.”

Yep, that’s it; he’s definitely lost his mind. Doesn’t he realize that in this instance, he’s in more danger that I am? Not to mention that it’s obvious he’s never done this before. His squeaky-clean background and adherence to the rules leaves him particularly vulnerable to getting caught doing something illegal, whereas breaking and entering is my specialty.

I square up in front of him and poke him in the chest with my finger. “That’s right; Bureau 39 has a meteorite that can hurt you so I’m going, too. Besides, we’ve already established that you’re a chronic rule-keeper. I have a lot more experience with covert snooping than you do.”

“Maybe,” he pouts. “I just don’t like not knowing who or what we’ll find in there.”

“Haven’t you looked?”

“Well, um…no. Not yet.”

I give him an impatient look and gesture toward the rooftop. He sheepishly turns to look down, his eyes narrowing as he engages his super vision. I crowd next to him, wishing I could see through, too. “Check for the location of the guards, offices, filing cabinets and computers. Oh, don’t forget to find the security cameras. Well, come on.” I slap his shoulder. “Tell me what you see.”

He grins at me and tells me about the layout of the building. “The main area is filled with strange pieces of metal junk, a row of filing cabinets and there are…two guards in the front office playing cards.”

“What about alternate routes into and out of the building – any other doors and windows?” I ask.

Clark makes a sweeping motion and turns a full circle. “No windows and only one ground-level entrance. It appears to have some serious security safeguards, though. I’m afraid that only leaves the roof.”

“The roof it is, then. You may want to change into something a little less conspicuous,” I say as I shrug off my pack. “Superman has an image to uphold, but two nosy reporters are a little easier to explain.” I pull two sets of gloves and balaclavas from my pack and hand one to Clark. I giggle at his horrified look. “Of course, not having to explain is even better.”

He grudgingly accepts them and then winks at me before spinning. My mouth drops open when he stops, he’s dressed in a black button-down and charcoal slacks. I know I’m staring, but I can’t help it. The spin-change is just as cool this time as it was when he spun into the suit in San Francisco. He pulls on the gloves while I retrieve my jaw from the floor.

I shake myself and reach into my pack for my lock picks before I notice that the alarm is controlled by a keypad and a combination padlock guards the door. I glower at my lock picks like it’s their fault for being useless and then toss them back into my bag. I cross my arms and stare at the locks, trying to figure out what to do next when Clark moves to my side. He cracks his knuckles.

“Step aside and watch a pro at work.”

I roll my eyes at his swagger and Clark wiggles his eyebrows back at me. His hand becomes a blur until the light turns green, disengaging the alarm. A quick twist of his wrist and the padlock crumbles.

“Show off,” I mumble.

I reach for the door and Clark moves to my side, stopping me with a hand on my arm. “There are a couple of cameras between here and the main storage room,” he says, softly. “I’ll need to take us in quickly and along the ceiling.”

I reach up to wrap my arms around his neck and jump into his arms. I giggle at his surprised expression. “What are you waiting for, Clark? Let’s do some snooping.”

When he lifts us gently into the air, my breath catches and I smile at the feeling of weightlessness. I could really get used to this. Clark’s eyes crinkle from his answering smile and then everything blurs as he takes us in.

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Clark sets me down just outside the front office in the main storage area. I can hear the soft droning of a newscaster’s voice from a distant television, punctuated by an occasional word from the soldiers as they play cards. Clark stares through the wall for a second and then at the doorknob until a stream of smoke curls up from the keyhole. I smile in approval and he nods, accepting my praise. He turns his attention up to each corner of the room and gestures for me to wait. I stay long enough to see him zip up to realign the cameras, pointing them away from the area containing the computer and the filing cabinets. By the time he returns, I’m halfway to the desktop.

“Can’t you wait for even half a second, Lois?” His whisper in my ear makes me jump, but I cover my surprise by turning him around and shoving him in the direction of the files.

“No, now be a good boy and search the filing cabinets while I see what goodies Trask has on his hard drive.”

He snorts in amusement, but does what he’s told. He shifts into super speed and I gape at his blurry form. Wow. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that. I force myself back on task, tuning out the soft, whirring sound to search the Bureau’s computer files.

I boot up the computer using the General’s ID and password, which gets me quickly into the system. When I try to open the file marked ‘Bureau 39,’ I stall and make a face at the monitor when it demands another password. I think about calling Clark over, but discard the idea; it wouldn’t do to get too dependent on his abilities. Instead, I pull a piece of equipment Jimmy obtained from the spy shop from my bag and within two minutes, I’m rooting through the computer’s directory. Some of the files are pretty large, but not so much that I can’t copy everything. I plug in a disk and start transferring.

While the computer uploads the information, I get up and start wandering through the dusty shelves, rolling my eyes at the kind of junk they’ve collected. I pick up one that looks like a child’s Halloween costume and shake my head. I’m about to head back to check on the computer when a tarp-covered bulge catches my eye. It’s less dusty than the other objects and a bit of the dull metal surface shows from beneath the cover. I lift up the tarp to peek below it before throwing it off to display the whole thing.

I stare in awe at the tiny spaceship. Unlike the other pieces of trash and debris lying around, this one is sleek and otherworldly. From the feel of the metal hull, the strange markings along its edge to the red emblem on the front, I know instantly that this is the real deal. This is how Superman came to earth.

‘Clark was in there,’ my amazed mind whispers. For whatever distance and length of time, someone placed him inside and launched him into space. How terrifying that experience must have been, to be strapped into a metal craft and sent into the cold reaches of space? What kind of people would do such a thing to a helpless infant? The burning of righteous anger in my chest melts into a dull, fearful ache as I imagine what would have happened if his spacecraft hadn’t made it to Earth, or if someone other than the Kents had found him. Having seen their picture at Clark’s, I can vividly imagine his adoptive parent’s curiosity and surprise at seeing the craft crash and their joy at finding Clark inside.

My hand reaches out to touch the smooth surface and I startle when the hatch pops open to reveal the tiny compartment. At my gasp of surprise, Clark materializes at my side in an instant and I turn to look at him as he stares at his spaceship. My eyes get misty as I watch Clark reverently stroke his hand across the red S-shield on the tiny spaceship’s nose and can’t help but touch his shoulder at the look of absolute wonder in his eyes.

He bends down to reach into a small bag hanging at the ship’s side and pulls out a small globe. My eyes open wide as it starts to glow, the continents of Earth changing in color and shape.

“Krypton,” he murmurs.

Before I can ask him what he means, an alarm sounds from the front office, followed quickly by a rattle of the door and muttered curses.

“Come on,” he says, pocketing the globe. “Let’s get you out of here.”

“Take this out of here first,” I say, pointing at the ship. “And then come back for me.”

“No way am I leaving you here, Lois. A jammed door lock isn’t going to hold them long.”

“Clark, I’m not leaving without the computer files. Besides, how long do you think Trask will leave your ship here once they know we’re on to them? This might be your only chance.”

He hesitates and then nods. “Good point. I’ll be right back.”

Clark disappears with his ship while I run back to the computer and pop out the disk. I barely have time to get my equipment and the files into my bag before the door crashes open and a great rush of wind scoops me up, only to deposit me a second later in the smelly alley next to the hotel. Clark sets me on my feet and I hang on to his shoulders to keep my balance. My head spins as I try to get my bearings.

“Lois, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I wave off his concern with a flick of my wrist and turn to walk toward the street. I only make it two wobbly steps before my knees buckle and I lose my balance. Clark wraps his arms around my waist again, saving me from a potentially nasty fall into something that looks and smells disgusting.

“Whoa. Careful there,” he cautions.

I close my eyes against the vertigo and lean my head against his chest. “Maybe I should wait until the ground stops moving,” I joke.

He scoops me back into his arms and before I realize what’s happening, I’ve wrapped my arms around his neck as he’s carrying me into the hotel. Through slightly fuzzy vision, I notice that the attendant doesn’t even look up when we pass.

Huh, we’re dressed in black and have balaclavas over our faces and no one blinks an eye. I love this neighborhood.


Clark walks us through the dim corridor and sets me on my feet next to the door of the hotel room. My knees feel weak for an entirely different reason when he slips his arm around my waist and holds me close. He digs around in my pack for the key and once the door is open, he practically carries me inside. He helps me across the room and fluffs up the pillows before he sets me down on the bed. A moment later, he’s back with a glass of water from the kitchenette. I’m enjoying the attention so much and he’s being so sweet, that I don’t have the heart to tell him I don’t need it.

“Sip it,” he orders.

“Clark, stop fussing,” I say as I remove my gloves and hood. “I’m fine. A little dizziness isn’t going to kill me.”

He drops to his knees at the bedside and wraps his hands around mine, still holding the water glass. His eyes are full of anxiety. “I’m so sorry, Lois. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Clark, I’m okay.”

“But if I hadn’t …”

I place my fingers on his lips to stop his self-recriminations. “You did what you needed to do – what I asked you to do – to keep us safe. Thank you.”

“You’re really okay?”

“Yes. Now, did we really find what I think we found? Was that the spaceship you arrived in? What was that glowing ball-thing? Oh … Where is the ship now, did you take it someplace safe? You didn’t leave it at the Bureau’s warehouse did you? Clark! You need to go get it.”

“Lois, relax,” he laughs. “It’s all right. I put the ship on the hotel roof until I could get you.” He pauses, the light of wonderment shining in his eyes. “It’s amazing isn’t it? My dad said he buried it to keep my arrival a secret, but when I went to dig it up, the ship was gone. I felt devastated.”

“What did that word mean, the one you whispered in the warehouse?”

“Krypton. I don’t know how, but when I held the globe, I just knew. I’m from the planet Krypton.”

I almost laugh; I thought Clark was a little unusual because he was from *Kansas,* but from outer space? Although it’s easier to imagine Superman that way, Clark doesn’t seem alien enough to be from a far-distant planet. It certainly would explain his super abilities, but other than that, Clark is just so darn *normal.*

Actually, that’s not entirely accurate either; Clark is a lot more human than most earth guys I’ve known.


“Wow,” I marvel. “But who sent you and why?”

He shakes his head. “No idea. Maybe the globe or the ship will tell me more. Come on, I want to take my ship to my folks place in Kansas.”

His excitement is palpable as he takes my water glass and sets it aside. He moves quickly to help me to my feet, but not fast enough to preempt the sudden panic that blooms in my chest at the thought of going to Kansas. I tell myself that it’s because I want to get back to the research on Lex and that I’m antsy to move forward on the investigation; it has nothing to do with meeting his parents and absolutely is *not* a fear of their response to my figuring out their son’s deepest and most tightly held secret.

Not waiting for an answer, he takes me by the hand and pulls me toward the door and I let myself get dragged along. I take several faltering steps behind him before my hesitancy tugs his attention back to me. His excited smile fades into confusion, so I smile nervously and pat his hand.

“I think I’ll sit this one out. You should go ahead without me.”

“Are you feeling all right?” he asks.

He steps close and places one hand on my shoulder, the other against my cheek. My breath catches at his proximity and my heart pounds like mad as he looks into my eyes with concern. ‘Whoa, down girl. He’s just worried about that dizzy spell. Do *not* read more into the gesture than there is.’

“Yes, fine,” I say a little breathlessly.

He looks unconvinced for another minute and then seems to realize how close we are standing. He releases me and takes a step back, looking down in embarrassment. His shy response is so quaint that it bolsters my confidence. I clear my throat and smile reassuringly, brushing my fingertips along his arm.

“Really, I’m fine. You’ll fly faster without me. I … I just want to get back to our investigation of Lex,” I say, inclining my head toward the files we’d brought from San Francisco.

“I should stay to help you,” he wavers.

“Are you kidding? Safeguarding your ship is much more important. Besides, it’ll take me a while to get Jimmy up to speed. Why don’t you meet us back here this evening, will that give you enough time?”

I can see the indecision in his eyes, so I turn him around and give him a playful shove in the direction of the door. “Go on. Take your ship to a safe place and tell your parents the news.”

He smiles like I’ve just given him the best Christmas gift of all time and I can’t resist smiling at his enthusiasm. Before vanishing through the door, he leans over to kiss me on the cheek and I can’t help but feel like he’s given me the perfect gift right back.

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

I roll my head to work the kinks out of my neck. Jimmy and I have spent the past few hours going through the remaining files on Lex, a box of half-eaten pizza on the floor between us. The waning light coming through the window tells me it’s starting to get late and a glimpse at my watch informs me Jimmy has just enough time to get to the courthouse, so I grab a notepad from my bag.

I’m just about finished with a list of research items when I hear the heavy floorboards just outside our door squeak. I motion to Jimmy, but he’s already moving to throw a blanket over our papers. There’s a soft knock as Jimmy slips into the adjoining room. I pull on my wig and check the peephole, but the hallway is too dim. All I can see is a dark head of hair and an ear in silhouette.

“Who is it?” I ask softly.

“Lois, it’s me.”

“Password?”

Even through the door, I can hear his annoyed grumble followed by a resigned sigh. I grin.

“The fat lady sings.”

I slip off the chain and unbolt the door, planning to admonish Clark, but the words stick in my throat. I had expected him to be in his dark skulking clothes from earlier and the change to his appearance takes me by surprise. He’s dressed in a torn pair of tight jeans and a muscle shirt that showcases his arms and chest. His face now sports a goatee and mustache; he looks scruffy and slightly dangerous and it makes my mouth water. Disreputable is a *very* good look on him.

“May I come in or do I need a secret handshake, too?”

His cheeky question snaps me from my stupefied gawk and I move back to let him come into the room. I can feel that I’m blushing to my ears and my reaction causes his grin to stretch into a satisfied smile. It’s the third time that his appearance has left me speechless and he knows it. I fight the urge to fill the silence with meaningless babble and resort to rolling my eyes at him instead.

He steps past me and looks around the dingy room as I close the door. He shifts his grip on the army duffle slung over his shoulder before setting it down on the foot of the bed. I flick the airline tag attached to the handle with my finger and raise my eyebrows. He winks at me in response and I feel my insides tumble. The realization that I’m in on practically the world’s biggest secret makes me feel a little giddy.

“So, did you have a good flight?” I tease.

“Yep – quick and plenty of legroom. You?”

“Oh, yes. It was the best flight of my life – exhilarating and absolutely amazing.”

“Really,” he drawls, leaning toward me. “And what made your flight so …memorable?”

“I met the pilot,” I confide. “He gave me some … personal attention, pointed out the sites, made sure I was comfortable, that sort of thing.”

“It sounds like he made quite an impression on you.”

I giggle in response to Clark’s knowing grin, but any witty comeback dies on my tongue when Jimmy stammers my name behind me. I glance back to see a sort of morbid fascination on Jimmy’s face. Although he couldn’t have heard our softly spoken words, I’m sure our body language reads loud and clear.

My cheeks burn in mortification; I don’t know which is worse – that it’s so easy to flirt with Clark, or that Jimmy caught me doing it. I pull the wig off my head and step back, putting some distance between us. Clark does the same and I notice that he looks as embarrassed as I feel. Wanting desperately to regain control of my emotions and actions, I gesture quickly between Clark and Jimmy, making introductions.

“Clark Kent, meet Jimmy Olson. Jimmy, this is Clark.”

Clark regains his composure quickly and sticks out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Jimmy.”

“Smooth,” Jimmy murmurs. He takes Clark’s hand and looks at him in admiration. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Clark.”

“Same here. Lois tells me you’re a whiz with the computer.”

“She does?”

I grimace at the squeak of surprise in Jimmy’s voice. “What? It’s not *that* unusual for me to give you a compliment.”

Jimmy gapes at me for a minute before turning to glare at Clark, crossing his arms. “Okay, what have you done with the real Lois Lane?”

I slap at Jimmy’s arm and he grins. “Come on, Jimmy. I tell you all the time that you do good work. Well, some of the time. At least twice, all right?” I amend off his incredulous look. “Didn’t you have some research to do?” I ask, pointedly changing the subject.

Even though I’m not mad, teasing me is a dangerous proposition on the best of days and I figure he won’t tempt fate by joking further. True to form, he grabs his coat from the back of a chair and heads for the door, snatching the list from my hand on his way past.

“Right,” Jimmy says, reading from the list. “I’ll be at City Hall and the Courthouse digging up blueprints, building plans any other records I can find on Lex Towers. Anything else?”

“No, that should keep you busy for a while. Clark and I can take it from there.”

He nods at both of us before exiting. “Good to meet you, CK.”

Clark waves goodbye to Jimmy and plops down on the bed, his arms behind his head and his feet crossed at the ankles. He takes a quick look around the room and then grins up at me.

“Nice place,” he teases.

“Make yourself comfortable,” I retort. “You *do* realize that’s my bed, don’t you?”

“Is it? I don’t see any others.”

“There’s a small adjoining room,” I say pointing at the doorway to my left. “That one is yours.”

He cranes his neck to look through the open door and his forehead crinkles in doubt. “It looks kind of small…and dirtier, if possible,” he mumbles. He looks back up at me and grins again. “I think since you asked me to come, I deserve the larger bed.”

I cross my arms and glare at him. “What happened to those sickeningly sweet, old-fashioned manners of yours?”

He shrugs and winks at me, which causes my stomach to drop again. If that’s the game he wants to play… I let my eyes wander down his supine body and lick my lips lasciviously. “I suppose the other bed would be a little cramped for someone of your … stature. How about we alternate nights?

By the time I meet his eyes again, he’s turned three-shades of red, but he doesn’t back down. His eyes narrow a bit and his grin grows sly. “It’s a pretty big bed, we could always share.”

“Well,” I clear my throat and try to banish the completely inappropriate images his comment produces. Suddenly, I’m feeling very shy. My god, *Superman* is flirting with me. I start to panic before I remember that it’s also just my friend Clark and my heart rate slows back down. Realizing that he’s not going to back down about this, I finally relent.

“Well,” I admit grudgingly, “this room *does* have a more discrete window access. I guess you can have it.”

I look around the room for a distraction and spy the forgotten box next to our research. I sit down on the floor and gesture towards the pizza, eager to change the subject.

“Are you hungry? Sorry it’s a bit cold.”

Clark smiles and moves to sit down on the floor next to me. He picks up a piece of pizza and tilts his head to look over the top of his glasses. I see a haze of heat from his slice and my eyebrows climb in surprise. He smirks.

“No problem.”

It takes me a few seconds to recover from seeing him use another superpower, but then I hold up my own piece in front of him until he smiles in amusement and heats it up too.

“You were gone a little longer than I expected,” I say. “Did everything go all right?”

“Sorry about that,” he mumbles around a bite of pizza, “and, yes, everything is fine. I took the ship to my parent’s place and talked with them a while, told them what happened. They want to meet you by the way.”

I cringe at the warning tone in Clark’s voice. “You told them?” Of course he told them. “How did they take it?”

“They were a little worried that you figured me out, but once I explained everything to them, they calmed down. Don’t worry, Lois, they trust you.”

I find that hard to believe. Frankly, I’m somewhat amazed at Clark’s trust, too. Of course, given what Clark told me about his parents this morning, the Kents are polar opposites from my own parents, so it shouldn’t surprise me that they’re so generous and trusting. It makes me want meet them; it might actually be nice to see what a normal, loving family is really like … someday.

“If you say so,” I acquiesce. “So you just got in from Kansas?”

“No, I zipped back to San Francisco to check on things. I don’t want Superman’s absence linked with mine.”

“Good thinking. Maybe you should be seen as Clark, too. I don’t want you associated with my disappearance either.”

“Already done,” he says around another mouth full of pizza. “I stopped in at the paper to file the follow-up on Bureau 39. Sorry I couldn’t put your name on the byline, your kidnapping had just hit the wires.”

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of that. Jimmy and I had been working so intently on the papers we’d brought from San Francisco that I’d completely forgotten to listen for Lex’s reaction to my ‘kidnapping.’ I scramble to uncover the monitoring equipment I’d stored under the bed and I turn up the sound to hear Nigel’s placating voice.

“…should consider it’s a possibility. Only a fool would dare.”

“Amateurs?” Lex scoffs. “Be reasonable, Nigel. Only the most skillful could pull this off without leaving a trace. I wonder…”

I hold my breath as both Lex and Nigel fall into silence. Without being able to read their body language or see their expressions, I fear the worst. As the seconds tick by, I’m sure that one of them will see through my deception and my mind starts racing to think of a back-up plan. Lex’s voice startles me out of my scheming.

“What of the military group, Bureau 39?” Lex finally asks.

“They’ve gone to ground, sir, but I’ll keep looking.”

“And what of the eye-witness that saw three men in dark clothing near her room?”

“Unreliable,” Nigel answers. “Apparently the dotard wasn’t wearing his glasses. He couldn’t even swear to how many there were, let alone identify them and the only fingerprints in the room were of Mrs. Luthor, the staff and a few partial prints the police believe belong to former guests.”

“An inside job, perhaps?” Lex speculates.

“It’s possible, but unlikely given the timeframe and the broken door.”

“True. Double-check the list of my former business partners and ex-employees. No one steals from me and gets away with it. I want those responsible found and dealt with severely. Now, I have a press conference to attend. Do I look appropriately troubled?”

“Practically distraught, sir.”

I shudder at the utter lack of concern in Lex’s voice. He’s obviously more disturbed that someone went against him than he is with my safety. Although we’d already figured out why Lex married me, his obvious disinterest in my well being hurts.

We sit in silence for another minute until Lex and Nigel have gone. I turn down the volume again and turn my head to look at Clark. He’s got a peculiar look on his face, like he’s just stepped on something smelly. His expression hardens until he looks mad enough to chew nails – which he probably could, come to think of it. It only lasts a second, though. When Clark sees me watching him, the expression clears.

“Well,” he says genially. “Your plan seems to have worked. Your … um, Luthor doesn’t seem to suspect that you orchestrated the disappearance.”

I don’t know why, but Clark’s reference to Lex as ‘Luthor’ instead of my husband makes me feel less on edge. I flash him my best ‘how-could-you-doubt-me’ look and grab the TV remote. Turning the set on, I flip the channel to LNN, just as they start broadcasting a live interview with Lex under the headline of ‘Mrs. Lex Luthor Kidnapped.’ Clark and I listen in silence while the segment runs. I study Lex’s face, his body language and his tone of voice, but even knowing the truth, it’s difficult to see the deception. When the newscaster turns his attention to stock reports, I turn off the set.

Clark nudges me with his elbow. “For the reward money he’s offering, I might just turn you in myself.”

I smile at Clark’s joke and swat at his shoulder. His presence and attitude comforts me in a way that I never would have believed possible. I send a silent prayer of thanks skyward that he’s here to help me.

“If my plan works,” I say, crossing my fingers, “Lex will be so distracted with a search in San Francisco that he won’t think to look for me closer to home.” I settle back on the floor, tossing the blanket aside to reveal the files underneath. “Let’s get started.”

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

tbc...