Degrees of Separation: 12/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
"Mom!" Marta shouted. "Billy broke the Kerth case!"
"Oh, wonderful," his mother said, sounding resigned. "Is he all right?"
"He's fine but there's glass all over the rug!"
"Bring the kids in here so nobody gets cut," Lois said. "I'll take care of it in a minute."
"I'll get it," CJ said. "I can sweep up the worst of it and use the Dust Buster to get the little pieces." He pushed open the swinging door for his aunt, followed her through, set the flashlight on the table and went to the hall closet for the cleaning tools. Lucy went to pick up Rachel, while Wyatt and Marta shepherded the two other children away from the broken glass and into the kitchen.
It was while he was sucking up the tiny fragments of glass with the battery-powered vacuum and checking with his super vision to be sure he'd gotten it all that he heard Ally's voice in his head. 'CJ? Marta? Linda? Can anyone hear me?'
**********
And now, Part 12
When Linda and CJ finally left, Ally closed the apartment door and fastened the lock. She started toward the kitchen and paused. Linda and CJ were certainly worrying too much, but a fragment of doubt remained. After a moment, she went back to the door, slid the chain lock into place and pushed the sliding bolt closed as well. That should do it, she thought. Unless someone rammed his shoulder against the door, no one was coming through it.
CJ had said to lock the windows as well. Well, he was the senior superkid, she guessed; sort of his dad's second in command, if you didn't count Mrs. Kent, so she probably should do what he said about the windows. The situation out there wasn't ordinary, and CJ was right. If the bad guys suspected that Ben might be one of the superkids, then they knew she might be, too, and if they were looking for their own Superman, they wouldn't leave her alone just because she was a girl.
Ally grinned a little to herself. She'd reasoned CJ was second in command if you didn't count Mrs. Kent, but there was no way you couldn't count her. Somehow Ally had the feeling that Lois Lane Kent was probably tougher than her husband. She gave you that impression just by walking into the room. Marta, too. Her new friend from school was a lot like her mom. Ally had developed a liking and healthy respect for both of them pretty quickly.
She went through the apartment, carefully locking every window, and pulled the shades as well. Only one of them opened on a fire escape, but that meant that somebody who was really determined could make it to her window, and get in. Glass wasn't going to stop someone who didn't care what kind of damage he did.
Finished, she walked slowly back into the living room and picked her backpack up from the floor. At least all her homework was done. She couldn't watch TV with the blackout, and it was dark inside with all the shades pulled. Besides, the sun was close to setting, and it was going to get dark outside pretty quickly. Still, she didn't have much trouble seeing in the dark, unless it was pitch black. She wondered if that was part of her burgeoning super powers -- the ability to see so well in near blackness. Most other people couldn't see anywhere near as well at night as she could, so it probably was.
Well, she should probably get herself something to eat. She couldn't cook anything, since the electricity for the stove was out, too, but she could make sandwiches, and if she ate something, maybe the slightly nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach would go away. Usually, she didn't get nervous over nothing, but CJ and Linda had been worried about her, and now that she was alone, and had had time to think, some of their misgivings seemed to be playing around in her mind as well.
Slowly and deliberately, Ally found bread in the breadbox and hunted around in the refrigerator for the mayo and sliced turkey, tomatoes and lettuce, and proceeded to assemble two sandwiches. She poured herself a glass of milk and sat down at the counter, trying to reason herself out of the completely baseless nervousness that seemed to have taken possession of her.
If Mom's PI, Graham Jersey, really was working for Intergang.... The thought seemed to pop up suddenly as she chewed and swallowed. That meant he had known for two years exactly where she was. Maybe, she considered, he had been using his position to keep an eye on her, too. What if Intergang was watching her to see if she developed Superman's powers? Could that be why he had introduced himself to Tanya Myers that afternoon, not long after Ally had been returned to her?
Mom hadn't found him. He had contacted her, and suggested that he might be able to find Ben. Why hadn't she thought of that before? With what Superman, CJ, Lois and James Olsen had found, it now seemed awfully suspicious.
Suddenly, the back of her neck was prickling. There was danger in the air, and this time she knew it wasn't her imagination. What was it that Superman had said? Sometimes the noble families of Krypton produced someone with mental talents that were better than the regular ones. Linda Lennox, whose father was probably also Lord Nor, was one such person, and she, Ally, was another. Linda had been worried, and the sense of threat in the air was making Ally's hair want to rise on her head. What if this strange telepathic ability was somehow warning her that she was in real danger? What if Intergang had decided that, since they couldn't find Ben, now was the time to grab her, when the city was practically paralyzed, everyone was distracted and the chances of reaching the police for help was close to zero?
She set the second sandwich carefully back on its plate and went to the door. Carefully, she activated her x-ray vision, sweeping the area beyond the door, looking for anything or anyone that might be a danger to her. Nothing.
But the sense of danger was growing every second. Quickly, she turned and x-rayed the fire escape.
There wasn't anyone there, either, but something was definitely wrong. She went to the window that opened out on the main part of the apartment complex, peeked around the shade and scanned the area below her.
There was someone down there, all right, moving quietly across the compound. It could, of course, be simply a resident of the apartment complex, but something in her seemed to zero in on him as the source of the danger.
Her new knowledge of her super powers made her clumsy, but after some mental fumbling, she managed to focus in on his face with her telescopic vision.
Graham Jersey. She had seen him several times over the last couple of years, and she would know him anywhere. Quickly, she scanned his person with her x-ray vision. He was carrying a handgun, and in his pocket was a pair of handcuffs.
Did private investigators carry handcuffs? They didn't make arrests, did they? Still, they might carry them, and it was possible that he was carrying them for a legitimate purpose, but she didn't like it.
Ally made up her mind. 'CJ?" she called mentally, praying that she was doing this right. 'Marta? Linda? Can anyone hear me?'
The acknowledgement was instantaneous, and from three different minds at once. 'Ally?' 'What's wrong?' 'What's the matter?'
'Graham Jersey is climbing the steps to my apartment. He's got a pair of handcuffs in his pocket, and --'
'I'll be right there,' CJ's voice said. 'Open the fire escape window. Quick.'
'Who's there?' CJ's voice sounded like a younger version of his father's, but the young male voice that almost overlapped CJ's startled Ally. It was familiar, although she had never heard it quite this way before. It was the voice of her brother, Ben. And she hadn't heard it with her ears.
'Ben?' she whispered, aiming her thoughts directly at the "voice," just as CJ had told her to do earlier during the practice session.
'Ally?'
The scuff of footsteps on the steps outside brought her abruptly back to the present. 'Yeah. Someone's coming. I'll call you back. Listen for me!' The faintest of thumps on the fire escape outside her bedroom window sent her hurrying into the room to unlock the window and push the pane of glass upward. With a faint gust of air, CJ whisked through the opening and turned to shut and lock it behind him.
**********
CJ thrust the Dust Buster unceremoniously back into the hall closet and went up the stairs in a rush. He'd been thinking about this kind of scenario for some time. What would he do if he had to actually make an appearance before he was ready? What if he had to *be* Superboy, and what if someone saw him in spite of his attempt to remain unseen? -- and he had come to some conclusions.
Marta's voice echoed in his head as he went through the door into his room and yanked out his "preparations" -- a pair of blue jeans and a Superman T-shirt.
'What are you going to *do*?'
Quickly, he ran a comb through his hair, forcing it into the same style worn by his father with a dab of hair gel, and dropped his glasses onto his dresser.
He was out the window ten seconds after he had run up the stairs and streaking as fast as he could fly toward Ally's apartment. In three terse sentences, he told Marta what to say to their mother.
'CJ!' It was his mom's voice. Evidently Marta didn't need to relay the message. 'Be careful; you hear me?'
'I will,' he told her. 'I promise!'
It took less than a minute to reach the apartment complex where Ally lived, and his mind was whirling with speculation and conjecture as he landed on the fire escape platform outside her window. Someone else, another half-Kryptonian, had picked up on their long distance conversation. Who had that voice belonged to? Could it possibly be Ally's missing brother? But the question would have to wait. Ally slid the window open and he whisked through it, to land silently on the cheap shag carpet of the bedroom.
Ally's eyes were wide as he touched down. CJ looked quickly through the bedroom wall and the door, in time to see the PI raise his hand to knock.
"Is that him?" he whispered.
Ally nodded silently.
CJ scanned the man from head to toe, just as his dad had taught him to, making sure that the only weapon he carried was the handgun. No glowing green rocks could be seen, and he nodded to her. "Go ask him who it is," he said softly. "Remember, you're just a regular girl. Nothing special, except for your Tae Kwon Do training. He's going to want to come in, but since your mom isn't here, you don't want to let him in. Let's see what he does. I'll be right here, okay?"
"Okay," Ally whispered. She left the room and crossed to the front door. CJ watched through the wall.
She stopped at the door. "Who is it?"
"It's me -- your mom's PI. Graham Jersey."
"What do you want?"
"Can you open the door, Allynda?"
"I'm not allowed to let people in when my mom isn't here."
"This is important," the man said. "I need to talk to you."
"We are talking," Ally said. "What do you want to tell me?"
"I've found your brother. I know where he is. Now open the door!"
"I can't," Ally said. "I'll get in trouble."
"I need to hurry, before your dad moves him again."
"Then call the police and tell them!" Ally said. "What do you expect me to do?"
Silence. Then the man turned and ran down the steps. CJ followed him with his enhanced vision, until it became obvious that the PI was rounding the building and heading for the fire escape.
"Where is he?" Ally spoke behind him and he almost jumped.
"He's climbing the fire escape," CJ said. "Come on."
Together, they moved to the living room, and CJ unlocked the door. "Go out there and lock the door. Let's watch what he does when he finds out you aren't here."
"Where's your dad?" Ally asked.
"I don't know. I can sort of feel his mind, but it's just a sort of 'ghost' feeling. I think he's somewhere south of us, a long way off, and doing something important. There must be a lot of accidents tonight."
"Yeah." Ally opened the outer door and stepped out, CJ beside her, and she turned to lock it behind them. From the bedroom, CJ heard the unmistakable sound of breaking glass.
"He's breaking in!" Ally said.
"Well," CJ said, "I guess that settles it."
"It sure does!" Ally clenched her jaw. "What now?"
CJ bit his lip. "I'm not sure." 'Mom!' he said, mentally, 'that Jersey guy is breaking into Ally's apartment. What should we do?'
'Bring Ally here,' his mother's voice directed at once. 'Then you go back and watch him. He'll probably search the apartment and that will take a few minutes. When he leaves, follow him and see where he goes.'
"Did you hear that?" CJ asked.
Ally nodded.
"Okay, remember how I showed you. We're going to float straight up and then we're going to fly. Just do what I do." CJ reached out a hand and grasped Ally's. Together, they rose silently into the dark night sky.
CJ set a quick pace toward the townhouse, and Ally kept up with him. During the short flight, he asked, "Did you hear that other voice when you called me?"
"That was Ben," Ally said.
"Ben? Your brother?"
"Yes," Ally said. "He's here, in Metropolis. He's somewhere that way." She pointed north and east with her free hand. "I need to find him!"
CJ thought that over. He couldn't do two things at once, but they had to deal with that, too. "Tell my mom," he said. "She'll know what to do, but be careful. My Aunt Lucy is there, and she doesn't know about Dad and us kids."
Ally nodded. They began to drop, and CJ brought them down to a gentle landing in the small back yard of the Kent townhouse. "You're getting better all the time," he said. "Go on in. Mom's waiting for you at the back door. I need to get back and see where Mr. Jersey goes."
**********
"Lois, are you coming in to eat?" Lucy asked, pushing open the swinging door to the kitchen. "I'm not sure, but I think the casserole is about room temperature."
"Just a minute," Lois said. "I'll be right there. Call Jonny and Jimmy, would you, please?" She waited until Lucy closed the door and opened the back door to allow Ally into the house. "Are you all right, Ally?"
The black girl nodded. "CJ's on his way back to my place."
"I know," Lois said. "He'll find out where the guy goes. Come on in. We're having dinner in a few minutes."
"I already had a sandwich," Ally told her. "Are you sure you don't mind if I stay here?"
"Of course not!" Lois was slightly outraged at the idea. "Your safety is a lot more important than anything else! Come on into the other room. We've got a bit more light in there." She turned her head. 'Linda, as soon as Lucy isn't looking, warm up the casserole, would you? Not too much, but at least so it isn't cold!'
'I just did,' Linda's mental voice said. 'Is Ally all right?'
'I think so. Try to keep track of CJ, would you? I'm getting a headache with all this telepathic stuff!'
Ally giggled, sounding a little nervous. "I know what you mean. It's like exercising a muscle I've never used before."
"You know, I think you're right," Lois said. She pushed open the swinging door and gestured Ally through. "Come on in, honey. You can stay here as long as you need to."
"CJ told me to tell you," Ally said, "when I called him for help a little while ago, Ben overheard. He's somewhere not very far away." She pointed. "That way, I'm pretty sure."
"He's here? In Metropolis? You're sure?"
Ally nodded.
Lois bit her lip. "How far away do you think he is?"
Ally shrugged nervously. "I'm not sure. Not very far, I think. Maybe a few miles."
"Can you talk to him?"
"I can try," Ally said. She swallowed. "I can hardly believe all this."
"Me, either," Lois said. "Try to talk to him a little. See if he knows where he is." She glanced around as Lucy, accompanied by Jonny and Jimmy, came down the stairs. "Go on in the living room where you won't be disturbed; all right?"
Ally nodded and obeyed. Lois turned to her sister. "Ally's a neighbor. Her mom is working tonight, and she came over here because she was nervous, all by herself with the power out."
"I don't blame her a bit," Lucy said. "Should we offer her some dinner?"
"She says she already ate." Lois sat down in her usual spot. The triplets were spaced out with Rachel between Lois and Linda, baby Lucy between Linda and Marta, and Billy between Marta and Lois's sister. Fortunately, at three, the trio were fairly adept at handling their own food, albeit a little messy.
"Wow," Lucy said, "you've really turned this stuff into a science."
"You learn," Lois said. "It's a good thing Clark babysat a lot when he was a teenager, though. At least in the beginning."
Her sister laughed.
Lois concentrated on serving the meal to everyone. The casserole was warm, and she saw Lucy raise her eyebrows when she took her first bite. "I need to get some of these casserole dishes if they keep food warm this well. Where did you get them?"
"I think we picked them up at a garage sale," Lois said mendaciously. Faintly, in the back of her mind, she could feel a barely discernible tickle, which she thought might be Ally's voice, but she couldn't hear the words.
"That's too bad," Lucy said. "This is a pretty good casserole. I'd like the recipe."
"I'll ask Clark for it," Lois said. "I sure hope the power comes back pretty soon. This is a real mess."
"So do I," Lucy said. "I'd like to call Jay, but we got rid of the land line phones a couple of months ago. We just use our cell phones, and they're not working."
"I guess that's one advantage the old fashioned phones have," Lois said. "But how often do you get a power outage this widespread?"
"True," Lucy said. She glanced around as if just noticing. "Where's CJ?"
"He's supposed to watch the Watson family's house while they're on vacation," Marta said. "He went to check on it and feed their dogs. He'll be back after while."
"He should have done it before dinner," Lucy said.
"He forgot 'til a few minutes ago," Marta said. "They've got two dogs and a cat, and two birds. He promised to take care of them."
Lois reflected that Marta's excuse was a lot better than Clark's excuses used to be, back in the beginning. She supposed that was probably a good thing, although teaching her kids to fib wasn't high on her priorities. Still, it was in a good cause. She took her seat without commenting and began to work on the salad. It was a pretty good salad, she thought. Lucy somehow had managed to learn the art of cooking, and she briefly envied her sister. Still, if it came down to a choice of cooking or hot-wiring a car, she would choose the latter. There was more use for that particular skill in her profession, and her husband could cook better than just about anyone else she knew, with the possible exception of his mother.
She resisted the urge to peek into the living room. There was nothing to see, after all. If Ally was talking to her brother, she wouldn't be able to tell by looking, and trying to eavesdrop would be rude.
Jimmy looked over his shoulder, toward the living room. "Who's Ally talking to?" he inquired.
"Never mind," Lois said, hastily. "Finish your dinner. I want to serve the ice cream in the freezer before it melts."
**********
tbc
