It was midnight in Metropolis when Clark set his bride down on the roof of the Lexor and spun back into his civvies. They held hands all the way down the stairs, only letting go when Clark needed to fish the hotel key from his jacket pocket. He quickly opened the door and then surprised Lois by scooping her up into his arms.
"What are you doing?" she asked with a smile in her voice.
"Carrying my bride over the threshold, of course,' he grinned. "The first time didn't count. And no Phil this time,' he added, closing the door behind them. The moment he set her down again he drew her into a close embrace.
As much as she wanted to get her new husband into that big bed as soon as possible, Lois forced herself to pull away just long enough to check the surveillance equipment. She was relieved to find no indication of any activity while they were gone. Turning back to Clark, she caught the look of barely restrained desire in his eyes. Obviously she wasn’t the only one in no mood to deal with a corrupt politician. "Looks like the coast is still clear," she assured him, "which is a good thing, because I've got more important things to do tonight than spy on Ian Harrington."
Clark returned his wife's knowing smile and stepped toward her, his eyes never leaving hers until he was standing only inches in front of her. His arms went around her waist, her hands reached up to meander through his hair. Their lips melded together with an intensity that neither had allowed themselves before this night. This was no light necking or foretaste of pleasures to come. It wasn’t the heat of hormones getting carried away only to be reigned in at almost the last possible moment. This was kissing with intent—the intent being to lead from one level of intimacy to the next with no stops before that ultimate intimacy that would make them one in every possible way.
When it seemed that the next step would be more enjoyable in the bedroom, Clark pulled away just enough to take Lois by the hand and lead the way. They were almost at the doorway when a loud beeping noise made both of them jump.
"Oh, no. Don't tell me," Lois started, letting out an exasperated sigh. Simultaneously, the audio feed kicked in. Clark clenched one hand into a fist and let out a frustrated grunt, but he went to the window and looked out, his attention now completely focused on the office across the street. Lois saw lights come on in the windows. At the same time, the sounds of movement and voices coming from the audio equipment announced the arrival of their targets. With a resigned shrug, Lois double-checked the aim of the video camera and then reached for the binoculars. She was on the verge of offering a second pair to Clark when she caught herself. He didn’t need them.
In the Apocalypse Consulting office, the congressman handed a thick envelope to one of his companions. His voice came clearly from the recording equipment. "That's the last of the system specs. I'll have the information on the testing for you tomorrow. Dates, procedures, the whole thing."
"Good. What about a new vote?" the one Lois had dubbed Tough Guy replied.
Harrington's exasperated voice said, "I can't initiate a re-vote until after the test results are analyzed and the plan rejected. Hopefully...”
But Tough Guy was brooking no excuses. "'Hopefully' isn't good enough. That's why I bought insurance: *you*.”
The congressman's reply was quick. "You don't own me, Roarke." Well, that supplied a name to go with Tough Guy's face.
Roarke grabbed Harrington by the collar and pushed him hard against the wall. His voice was a deadly growl as he stated, "I own you lock, stock, and re-election fund, Mr. Chairman. Never forget that."
The third man dragged Roarke off the beleaguered politician. Harrington
straightened up and drew himself together. In a shaky voice, he tried again. "I only meant... are you sure you can pull this off?"
"I guarantee it."
"Because if you don't, what happens to me?" Harrington sounded as nervous as he looked.
Roarke's only answer was an ominous, "Pray you never find out."
Harrington beat a hasty retreat, not bothering to close the door behind him. The minute he was gone, Roarke and his companion burst into noisy laughter. Soon they also left, closing up the office as they went.
When it was clear that nothing else would be happening, Lois turned to Clark and said, "What would you say if I said that I don't have a clue what they're talking about, but that, whatever it is, it's even bigger than I originally thought?"
Clark's frown slowly morphed into a smile as he replied, "I'd say two things. One, you're absolutely right. And two, there's nothing to be done about it until morning. Whatever vote they're talking about, it isn't going to happen tonight. I think our best bet is to take these recordings to the Planet first thing in the morning and see if Perry can make more sense of that conversation than we can."
Lois thought for a moment before replying, "I think you're right. We'll leave the automatic equipment set up and take what we've got to Perry first thing tomorrow." A small frown creased her brow. "I'm sorry we can't sleep in. It doesn't seem right to set an alarm clock on our wedding night."
Clark just smiled and drew her close to him. "Say that again," he said.
"What? Setting an alarm ?" She let her eyes go wide with mock innocence.
"Nope." He drew her even closer and started trailing kisses down her neck. "Wedding night. I like the sound of that."
"Mmmmm. We've got a busy day tomorrow. I guess we'd better get to bed."
"I guess we'd better," he said, scooping her into his arms again, "but not to sleep just yet."
"Oh, no," she agreed, grasping him around the neck and placing her own kisses wherever she could reach, "definitely not to sleep."
***
Clark was the first one awake in the morning. As he slowly rose towards consciousness, he went from a vague feeling that something wonderful had happened to renewed wonder at the unbelievable truth--he was married to Lois Lane. To Lois Kent? They hadn't even discussed a possible name change for her, but that was only a fleeting thought. His attention was much better spent on gazing down at the sleeping form of his wife and turning that delightful word over and over again in his mind. Wife…wife…wife…he'd never get tired of that word.
Outside, the sun was not quite up yet. Inside, it wouldn't have mattered if it was because the heavy hotel drapes were drawn tight across the window. Still, there was enough light for Clark to make out the shape of one tussled dark head, a fan of hair spread across his own bare chest, a shapely bare shoulder leading to a slender arm, and a hand, curled in the relaxation of sleep, resting in the crook of his right elbow. It was her left hand. He noticed because of the rings. Just for the sheer joy of seeing it, he raised his own left hand and brought it into his field of vision.
The movement disturbed his sleeping beauty, and she raised her head to look at him. "Morning," she said, her smile mirroring his own earlier dawning realization. They'd really done it.
"Good morning to you, too," he returned. He knew he was staring at her, but he couldn't stop. Not that he really wanted to, anyway.
After a moment, a small frown flitted across her face. "What?" she said in the tone of a woman who wonders whether she has spinach stuck in her teeth.
"Nothing," he assured her. "It's just that…you're beautiful first thing in the morning." He couldn't stop smiling at her either.
"Yeah, well, you're not so bad yourself," she replied with a dazzling smile of her own. Grasping her gently with a hand on either side of her waist, he drew her higher up his body until he could easily reach her mouth for a good morning kiss. "Mmmm, I could get used to waking up this way," she mused.
"You and me, both," he agreed readily. "I've never woken up with a beautiful woman in my bed before."
"Oh?" she teased, "Who *have* you woken up with?"
"Only my cousin, Jake, when my dad took us camping the summer after sixth grade. Trust me, Jake can't hold a candle to you."
"High praise, indeed. I'll bet he never kissed you like this, either." She fitted action to words.
When she drew back, Clark replied, "Jake never kissed me at all, thank goodness. You, on the other hand, are quite a handful in the morning."
"Oh, I'm a handful any time of day, in more ways than one. Lucky for you, your hands know just what to do with me." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"So you liked what these hands did last night, did you?" His hands roamed over her body as if looking for something fun to do this morning.
"Do you even have to ask?" Her hands were giving his a run for their money. Then, faster than she could follow, he laid her down next to him and covered her to the chin with the sheet. He was staring intently at the bedroom door.
"Clark? What is it?"
After a moment, he shook his head and turned back to her. "Nothing. Just the maid with fresh towels. She tried to open the door, but the lock stopped her. I guess she finally noticed the 'Do Not Disturb' sign because she left the towels in the hall."
Lois scowled at the incompetence of the Lexor’s staff. "She should be more careful. Doesn't she know what people do in a honeymoon suite? And who does she expect to be awake at this hour anyway?"
Clark gave his wife an easy grin as he resumed his earlier explorations. "Well, I don't know about the maid, but I'm wide awake, and I certainly know what to do in a honeymoon suite."
"How long until the alarm goes off?" Lois asked in one final moment of lucidity.
"Long enough," was all he said.
***
They were wrapped around each other, both of them floating in and out of a very satisfied doze, when the alarm finally rang. "Mmmm…make it stop," Lois grunted.
Clark obliged , freeing one arm to reach for the offending machine, then brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her temple. Easing himself out from under her, he said, "I'll take the first shower. You roll over and catch another five minutes of sleep."
That brought Lois wide awake. "You expect me to sleep while you're in that shower? And miss the view?"
That earned a chuckle from Clark. "Honey, there isn't anything you haven't already seen."
"True, but there's more light in the bathroom," she countered.
"Have it your way," he grinned. When he was half-way across the room, he turned back with a saucy, 'You know, we can leave the lights on any time you like."
Fifteen minutes later, they were both showered and dressed in plush terrycloth robes. They were quickly discovering that, while the idea of sharing a bathroom might seem romantic at first blush, the reality was a little awkward. It was a large bathroom with two sinks, but that didn’t stop them from issuing a long string of 'excuse me's as they reached past each other for toothbrushes, combs, and various other accoutrements. Clark was especially nervous about shaving while Lois was in the room. One wrong move and she could end up with a serious burn.
"It's going to take some getting used to, isn't it?" he ventured with a sheepish half-smile. "You know, we don't have to get ready at the same time. I could wait and let you finish first."
Lois brushed a final stroke of mascara onto her lashes. "Don't worry about it, Clark. We'll work it out one way or the other. I used to share a bathroom with Lucy at home. Sometimes we took turns, sometimes we worked around each other, especially on cold school days when neither one wanted to be the first one out of bed. It all worked out. Like you said, it just takes a little getting used to."
Clark wrapped his arms around Lois from behind and looked over her head at their joint reflection. "I can hardly believe this is real--that we're not just undercover here and I don't have to go back to sleeping alone when this investigation is over. It seems too good to be true."
Lois placed her hands over his where they rested at her waist. The tender gesture belied her teasing words. "Oh, believe me, Kent, if you were only my undercover work partner, you would have slept alone last night. On that sofa in the living room."
Clark gave a playful shudder. "Ouch. I would have hated that."
"I'll just bet you would have.” She turned in his arms to face him, bringing one hand up to toy with that adorable curl that always fell over his forehead, the other hand resting lightly on his chest. “Lucky for you you're my husband and not my work partner."
"See, there's another word I'm going to love getting used to. Husband…husband…husband. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" He bent down to nuzzle her ear.
Lois leaned her head to one side to give him better access, but then she straightened up and freed herself from his embrace. "I'll tell you what I think--I think we're both going to be late if we don't get a move on. I haven't even had my coffee yet."
Clark laughed and followed Lois out of the bathroom. "Okay, but I'm calling my travel agent this morning--as soon as I get the number from Lana. We're getting away for a real honeymoon as soon as possible."
"Oh!" Lois had been reaching into a drawer for her underwear, but she stopped and turned back to face Clark. "I hadn't thought about calling people. We haven't told anyone that we're married. As much as I like Lana, I don't really think she should be the first to know."
"No. Nor Perry either. We'd better call both sets of parents right away." A thought struck Clark and he almost went pale. "Oh, oh. Lois, I've never even met your parents. What are they going to think when they find out you ran off and married a celebrity playboy?"
"Oh. I hadn't thought of that, either." Very quickly, Lois gave an easy shrug and said, "I'm not worried, though. I learned long ago not to pay much attention to what my parents think. And Lucy will be over the moon," she added with a smile.
They both continued dressing while they finished their conversation. "You know my folks will be thrilled," Clark said. "They loved you right from the start, just like I did."
"They won't be disappointed not to have been at the ceremony?"
"Maybe a little, at first, but mostly they'll be happy for us. What about your mom? Will she feel left out that she didn't get to help you plan a big wedding?"
"Maybe, but that's just too bad. I wouldn't have wanted to be part of any wedding she planned anyway. We can make it up to her with a reception after the holidays. If you don't mind, that is."
"I don't mind at all. We'll probably need to have one just to get the entertainment press off our backs anyway." Clark adjusted his tie and, seeing that Lois was almost ready as well, he held her suit coat for her to slip her arms into.
"The press," Lois frowned. "That's something else I hadn't thought about."
"Honey, I hate to break it to you, but you *are* the press,” he said in a conspiratorial whisper.
"Yes, but I'm not the entertainment press."
"Mud-slinging rumor-mongers, I've heard you call them."
"Precisely."
"Actually, they're not all that bad. You just have to know how to handle them. The trick is to get your story out first the way you want it told. It helps if you can find one or two reporters you trust in case you need to 'leak' something. How do you feel about Cat? Could we trust her to do a good job if we offered her an exclusive?"
Lois cocked her head in thought. "You know, I think we could. I've never really taken her seriously, but I have occasionally read her work. She's flamboyant, but I think she's fair. Should we talk to her today?"
"Maybe. I think we can probably wait a little bit, though. As far as everyone at the Planet is concerned, you've married Caleb Knight. That might be good for water cooler gossip, but it hardly rates a mention in Cat's Corner. We won't hit the papers until you show up somewhere with Clark Kent."
"Somewhere like Luthor's dinner this Friday?"
Clark frowned at that. "I guess that's the logical first public appearance…"
"But?" Lois prompted, straightening his tie.
"But I just hate the idea of us 'coming out' at any event associated with Lex Luthor. It may sound silly, but I'd like our first public appearance to be free of Luthor's taint."
"I guess I can understand that. Who else would you take to Luthor's dinner? Would you take Lana again?"
Clark shook his head. "No. Clark Kent is through showing up anywhere with any woman other than you. I'll go alone."
Lois's eyebrows shot up. "Clark Kent going stag to a public event? Won't that raise eyebrows?"
"Not as many as this ring will," he answered, holding up his left hand with a smile.
"You're going to wear it? You could take it off until Saturday. We *are* going to the Book Awards dinner together, aren't we?"
"Of course we are. And, no, I'm not taking this ring off. It means too much for that. I want to put off telling the world *who* I married, but only because I want us to choose our own time and place for that announcement. Even so, from now on everyone is going to know that Clark Kent is taken. Period."
"What about Superman?"
Clark paused for a minute. He hadn’t really thought about Superman. There hadn’t been anyone to see them on their way back from Honduras and he’d worn his wedding ring for the trip. As soon as he gave the matter a moment’s thought, however, the answer was obvious. "Superman is a special case. He's not really me. He's more like a character I play." Before Lois could argue, he preempted her. "I know he's part of me, but I'm not talking about my identity issues here. My point is that, as far as the public is concerned, Superman has no private life, and he certainly has no family. It would be far too risky for you, especially given how distinctive our rings are."
As much as she hated the idea of either of them taking their rings off, Lois knew that Clark was right. She might even have to do the same thing if she ever went undercover. It came with the territory for both of them, so she nodded her acceptance. "I agree. So the ring comes off for Superman, but not for anything else."
"Yep. That's about the size of it." A small frown crossed Clark's face. "If you agree, that is. You don't want to keep our marriage a secret, do you?"
"Are you kidding? You're not the only one who wants the world to know that Clark Kent is taken."
"And Lois Lane Kent," he pointed out.
"Just sort of slipped that name in there, didn't you?" she teased.
He grinned back at her. "It sounds nice, don't you think?"
She gave that a moment's thought. "Yeah, I guess it does. I'm still keeping Lane for professional purposes, though."
"You can keep it all the time if you really want to. I'd love to share my name with you, but it's your call."
"I know it is, but I like the idea of sharing a name. And since it would only confuse everyone if you changed your name to Lane," she teased, "I guess Kent will work for our private lives."
Any further logistical planning was forestalled by a loud rumble from Lois's stomach. It was one of those sounds that couldn't be ignored. They both looked at each other, and Clark grinned. "Come on, hungry lady. Let's get you some breakfast and get us both into the office."
"You mean get us some breakfast, call our parents, and *then* get us into the office."
"Yeah, that's what I meant." Clark gave a mock cringe to show how much he was looking forward to calling Lois's parents. Then he ushered her through the bedroom door into the living room. "How about room service? That will give us a chance to call our folks while we wait."
"Sounds like a plan, as long as they're fast with the coffee." Lois gazed idly out the window while Clark leafed through the menu. "You know, I'm pretty sure I saw some file cabinets in that office," she mused aloud.
"I wouldn't be surprised," he answered absently, "they're pretty standard office furniture. What would you like? Besides coffee, I mean?"
"Huh?" Lois was obviously distracted. "Oh, French toast sounds good if they've got it." Her eyes never left the window.
"Yep. It's served with fresh berries. Don't ask me where the Lexor gets fresh berries in December, but there you are." When his comment received no reply, Clark set the menu down and approached his wife. He didn't have to look hard to realize that she was planning something. Approaching her from behind and laying a kiss on her cheek, he said, "I know that look. That's your 'I've got an idea that Clark probably isn't going to like but I'm going to talk him into it' look."
That finally got her attention. "Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "You've seen that look before, have you? Is that how you recognize it so easily?"
"Yep. So let's have it. What are you cooking up?"
"For your information, oh all-seeing husband, I'm not 'cooking up' anything at all. I'm just wondering what's in those files."
"Ah. And you want your reporting partner to help you break in and copy them."
"I didn't say that. Breaking and entering is illegal. I wouldn't ask you to do that."
"Uh, huh." Clark waited for the other shoe to drop. He knew there was one.
"That's right,” she said in a very reasonable tone. “I only want you to take a peek and see if there's anything in there that's worth *me* breaking and entering for."
Clark rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth twitched. "Tell you what," he offered, "You order breakfast while I take a look from here. I'm not promising how much I'll be able to read--it's not easy to read small print through so many layers of walls and paper, even for me. But maybe I'll find something that will help us know where to start investigating."
Lois raised herself up on her toes to kiss him. "My hero," she smiled.
"I said investigating, not breaking and entering," he clarified.
"I heard you," she confirmed. She didn't seem very concerned about the distinction. "What do you want for breakfast?" she asked, the phone receiver already in her hand.
***
When Lois hung up the phone, she turned to ask whether Clark was able to read the files. The look on his face stopped her from speaking. Instead, she came to stand silently beside him, one hand on his shoulder for moral support. A hand placed over hers was his only acknowledgement. He continued to stare through the hotel window and the office wall, his frown growing deeper by the minute. Lois was really starting to worry when his countenance cleared and he turned to her with a sigh of relief.
"Well?" she prompted? "You obviously found something. What is it, and do I need to break in there and get a copy of it?"
"It's Luthor." To Lois's surprise, Clark's voice didn't carry the same tone of disdain that normally accompanied that name. Then he continued, and she understood why. "Only Luthor's not the bad guy this time--he's the victim."
"Come again?" Lois gestured to the sofa and they both sat down to talk this over and wait for breakfast. "Let's start at the beginning," she suggested. "What had you so concerned? You looked ready to faint."
The frown crossed Clark's face again, but only as a memory. "The vote that Harrington and Roarke were talking about involves a Defense Department contract for an early warning coastal defense system. Roarke is apparently an arms dealer. His company put in a bid for the contract, but they lost."
"And the winner's system is scheduled to be tested soon, which is why they were talking about a test failure and a revote. Roarke is going to sabotage the test of the winning system, isn't he?"
"Yeah, and that was what had me so upset. Roarke can't just gum up the works for his rival. He needs a catastrophic failure, one that leaves no room for readjustments. If his sabotage works as planned, Metropolis and most of the Eastern Seaboard will be hit with a tsunami. Thousands of people will be killed."
"Clark! That's terrible! I've got to get in there and get copies to give to the police, the Coast Guard, the Governor…someone has to put a stop to that test." Lois was already on her feet, but Clark stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, Lois. You don't need to go in there. That's why I was so relieved. I was worried that no one would believe us without hard evidence, but then I finally found the crucial piece of information."
"Luthor." Lois put the pieces together. "Luthor's company won the contract. He's the one Roarke is trying to sabotage."
"Exactly. If you call Luthor and tell him that an anonymous source--that would be me--told you about Roarke's planned sabotage, Luthor can have his entire system checked for tampering. Meanwhile, you can tell Bill Henderson that the same anonymous source tipped you off about the files. Between your tip, whatever tampering evidence Luthor finds, and the tapes from last night, the police have got probable cause to search that office. There's no need for us to go in there. Meanwhile, we can keep the surveillance operation going here in case anything else comes up before the police get there."
Lois opened her mouth to argue--it just couldn't be that simple, could it?--but she quickly thought better of it. Clark was right, and, given the longstanding arrangement she had with Bill, she'd get an exclusive in return for the tip. Problem solved. Which, she soon realized, made this working honeymoon a little less work and a little more honeymoon.
Her smile faded as another thought struck her.
They still had to call their parents.
Part 28 Tuesday or Wednesday 