PREVIOUSLY...
“You smell like gunpowder,” she said on sudden inspiration, brought on by the fact that he actually did smell of gunpowder.
He laughed. “Well then,” he said releasing her, “what if I go get freshened up? Maybe you’d like to do the same. After all, living in that primitive cabin, you’ve picked up something of a camp smell. Does that sound good?”
She turned to face him, planting a firm smile on her lips. “Sounds perfect.”
AND NOW - PART 13
Lois very carefully cracked open the door to the small bathroom. She hoped the sound of the shower running would keep him from hearing any noise the door might make. It occurred to her briefly that she’d done much the same thing only days before with Clark, trying to sneak past him out of the cabin. She rolled her eyes at the thought now. He must have heard her and had simply allowed her to escape.
But there was a difference this time. With Clark, she had somehow instinctively known she wasn’t in any danger. The worst that was going to happen was that she would fail to get away. The same could not be said for this situation. If she was caught now, she knew she was most definitely in danger.
Still, she had to take the risk. When she’d mentioned that he smelled like gunpowder, she’d hoped to convince him to shower - not because she couldn’t stomach the smell, although it wasn’t exactly pleasant, but in hopes that he would remove the kryptonite ring while showering.
And so she now found herself trying to search the bathroom while he showered in a stall only inches away. Given the size of the bathroom, it only took her a matter of seconds to realize that it was not there. His watch was lying on the vanity so surely if he took the ring off, it would be there, too.
Damn.
She stepped backwards, out of the bathroom and again grabbed the doorhandle, intent on closing the door.
“Lois, is that you?”
Double damn.
“Yeah.”
“What are you doing? Come to join me?” The water switched off and the frosted door on the shower opened a crack so that Max could look out at her.
“No, I was just... looking for a brush for my hair.”
“Oh, try the drawers under the bed.”
She didn’t have to fake the embarrassment in her smile as she nodded.
“Why don’t you join me?” he suddenly asked.
She felt the smile freeze on her face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in response.
“Nothing. Nothing.” She shook her head in support of her denial.
“Lois, it’s unhealthy to bottle up your feelings. Tell me what’s bothering you.”
He sounded so concerned, so caring, so... doctor-like. But there was no denying the order in his words.
“I just want our first time to be... special,” she said.
“It will be special. Because it’s our first time. So why don’t you join me?”
Heat rose in Lois’ cheeks. “Max...”
“Come on,” he coaxed.
Lois felt a panic rising in her belly. He wasn’t letting this go so how... A flash of inspiration struck. “Max, you know I don’t have my memory back. I don’t remember ever...” She gestured towards the shower stall with one hand while the other pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I know it’s probably not my first time - but it sort of feels as if it is. Can’t we just... take this slow? I mean, you showed up so unexpectedly and I just want...”
“...to be seduced,” Max completed when she didn’t continue.
No. But he didn’t need to know that. “Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”
Without warning, Max suddenly pulled the shower door open and stepped out.
Lois quickly diverted her gaze. For a brief moment, she contemplated giving him a kick to the groin and pulling the ring off his hand while he was rolling around on the floor in agony. But she knew from experience that getting a ring off a hand was not always a simple task. And if she tried and failed... No. She’d have to be more creative.
It suddenly occurred to her that even when she’d believed herself to be in love with Max, she wouldn’t have been nearly as quick to look away if the man in the shower had been Clark. Max’s nakedness left her feeling vaguely disgusted whereas just seeing Clark’s bare feet had the power to send heat coiling through her belly.
For a moment, she was lost in thoughts of Clark, of spending the night exploring much more than just his feet. She quickly brought her thoughts back to the present, feeling the blush in her cheeks deepen.
He picked up a towel and, given that his one hand was encumbered, awkwardly wrapped it around his waist. He gave her a knowing smile, as if he thought her current blush was in response to his nakedness. “I think it sounds like Lois,” he said, leaning close to give her a kiss on the cheek.
It took her a moment to remember what he was answering to, and determine no response was required on her part. “Well, I guess...” She backed out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her, and leaned against it, letting out a frustrated breath.
Damn it. He didn’t take that damn ring off even when he showered. She’d clearly seen it on his hand when she’d been contemplating kneeing him in the groin. So how did she get it? She needed a new plan.
* * * * * * * * *
In spite of the pain, Clark panted, relieved, when he was finally able to wrap his hands around the heavy chain which secured the ship to its anchor. He never would have believed that swimming could be so difficult. Between the exertion in his weakened state and the pain of the salt water on his injured hands and burned arm and shoulder, he was completely exhausted.
Still, there wasn’t much time to rest. He needed to get around to the far side of the yacht and hope that the boat’s ladder was still down. He looked back towards the shore. The men there were piling into the boat. That meant, there wasn’t much more time. Otherwise, his only choice would be to climb up this chain with his damaged hands. And he’d really rather avoid that if possible.
Taking one last moment to prepare for the task ahead, he plunged back into the water, swimming for all he was worth, conscious with each passing second of the progress of the men in the boat.
He was panting hard as he slipped over the side of the boat, landing in a heap on the deck. Before he even had a chance to recover, he heard voices from below. The men from shore had arrived.
Quickly, he scrambled to his feet and began searching for a place to hide, to give himself some time to recover.
Although what exactly the plan was now, Clark didn’t have the foggiest idea. Deter had kryptonite, after all. That would certainly complicate any plan he might try to implement. He only wished that he knew whether Lois was on his side - or Deter’s. The Lois he knew would never willingly stay be with a psychopath like Deter. But without her memories...
He pushed the thought aside. No. Regardless of her memories, the Lois he’d gotten to know on the island was decent. The guilt she felt about what she believed she’d done in the past was more than enough evidence of that.
Still, it was time to quit worrying about what came next and to start looking for that hiding place. Otherwise, there’d be no need to worry about what came next.
He spotted the boat which Lois and Deter must have brought out here earlier, now back in its spot on the deck and covered with a tarp. He dove for it, slipped beneath the cover on the boat and froze. Surely this would be safe. After all, he could think of no reason Deter would be returning to the island.
There was the sound of movement as at least two men worked together on the deck, interspersed with brief snippets of conversation or instructions. They were soon joined by others as the men from the island joined those on the yacht. These newcomers appeared to be working to get the other boat from the island safely on board and secured.
The smell of gas grew stronger. The other boat must have some sort of leak in its gas line. After all, secured, as it was, close to the one Clark was hiding out in, the smell was hard to ignore.
Sometime after that, he didn’t know how long, he heard the command given to raise anchor and then the sound of a machine purring as it did just that.
Things finally fell silent. Clark let out a breath of relief as he finally allowed himself to move into a more comfortable position, one where his burned shoulder wasn’t pressed against the bottom of the boat and his hands were free. Once that was done, he cautiously removed the dirty, blood and water soaked rags from his hands, cringing when he had to remove the cloth from where the blood had caked it into his hand, to appraise the damage.
* * * * * * * * *
Lois shivered as a cool breeze hit her when she and Max stepped out onto the front deck of the boat just as the sun was beginning to set across the ocean.
She’d managed to rid herself of Max shortly after they’d showered by claiming that the whole ordeal on the island had made her tired and that she’d be much more refreshed if she had a nap. In truth, she’d wanted to avoid any advances he might make until she came up with a new plan to get rid of the kryptonite.
Because that was the first step - getting rid of the kryptonite. Then she’d find a way to swipe one of the landing boats and hightail it back to the island.
The temptation to simply swipe one of the boats and head back immediately was almost overwhelming. After all, what if Clark was injured and required help? Still, it wouldn’t do much good if she were to get back there and help Clark only to have Max show up and expose him to kryptonite again. And if she were to do that, they’d be in a worse position than they had been when Max had first appeared on this island. He’d still have six men with guns and a kryptonite ring, but this time he’d know that she was not on his side.
It had actually surprised her when, after she’d finished her shower, she’d noticed the time. It had already been mid-afternoon. She and Clark must have gotten up much later than she’d thought.
Still, she’d not been prepared for Max to stay away for the rest of the afternoon. And since she’d come up with a new plan quite quickly to get the kryptonite - one that was counting on the fact that Max didn’t know her nearly as well as Clark did - it had been sheer torture waiting out the remainder of the afternoon. At one point, she’d decided to go find him, planning to claim that she’d woken up without him and missed him, but the door to their cabin had been locked.
So she’d waited... through the return of the men from the island as she’d looked out the cabin window, wondering if their return meant Clark was dead... through the hoisting of the anchor, and the knowledge that she was about to be leaving Clark behind. Was he in pain? Was he calling her name? ...and through the moments where the yacht had begun to move. After that, each minute had been pure torture as the yacht took her farther and farther away from the man she loved. She kept watching the sun though, noting in her mind that they were going south. If this took too long, would she be able to find her way back? Either way, she knew she had to try.
The sun had started to set before Max returned, with instructions for her to ‘dress for dinner.’
Instructions, ha! Demand was more like it. A quick search of the closet had revealed a single dinner dress. A black dress that was just a little too short and plunged just a little too low. It almost reminded her of a neglige, leaving little to the imagination. And a pair of matching shoes that were just a little too high. She’d briefly considered simply wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt in response. But, no, for this plan to work, Max had to trust her - at least a little bit.
With that in mind, she reached up and slipped her arm through Max’s, snuggling closer, even as in her mind she tried to pretend he was Clark.
“Cold?” he asked.
“A little. Where are we going?”
He stopped, shrugging out of his jacket to slip it courteously around her shoulders. She gave him what she hoped was a shy smile in return, even as she slipped her arms into the jacket.
“I’ve got a little surprise for you,” he said, offering her his arm once again.
They rounded the corner of the cabin and Lois gave what she hoped sounded like a gasp of delight.
“I hope you like it,” he said, leading her over to where a table had been set up, lit only by candles, on the forward deck. “I thought it might be more romantic than the main dining room.”
“It is. Thank you, Max,” she said, stretching up to give him a kiss on the cheek, ignoring how that simple action made her skin crawl.
“I want tonight to be perfect,” Max responded. He stopped their forward action, pulling her around to take her into his arms. His lips lightly touched hers. “And you’re going to love dessert,” he said as he pulled back.
She didn’t need to ask to know what he was saying. Apparently, this was her seduction. And afterwards... she suspected they had very different ideas as to how this date would end.
It was funny in a way. When she’d been trying to escape Clark, her first impulse had been to sleep with him - yet he’d never even suspected her motives. She’d even gone out of her way to move things in that direction. With Max, he simply assumed her compliance. And yet, she didn’t even have to think about it to know that she’d find another way to deal with Max. It wasn’t even a question. Clark had been right. Even without her memories, her heart and body had known, at an instinctive level, that it belonged to Clark - just as his heart and body belonged to her. And that right was reserved only for each other.
And so Lois knew, without a doubt, that this ‘date’ was not about to end the way Max was anticipating.
* * * * * * * * *
She’d hung on his every word, laughed at his jokes and reached over to touch him as often as possible. She wondered if he even noticed that he had spent the whole evening talking about himself. Probably not.
“That ring is really pretty,” she said during a lull in conversation. “I’ve never seen a crystal like that. It almost seems to have its own power source. It’s hard to imagine something that small could really hurt Superman.”
“It doesn’t bring back any memories? You’re the one who first wrote about it.”
Lois’ eyebrows rose. “Really?”
Max nodded. “Although, if I recall correctly, you thought it was fictional.”
“Huh. Unless...”
“What?”
“Are you sure it isn’t fictional? I mean, from what I’ve learned about Superman, he’s invulnerable. Do you really think a rock that small can hurt him? Are you sure that you haven’t been sold a bill of goods, so to speak?”
He smiled indulgently at her. “I’m sure. Lex Luthor almost managed to kill him in a cage coated with this stuff.”
It took a great deal of effort for her not to flinch as she remembered her horror when Clark had told her about that incident. “Really?” Suddenly, she pushed her chair back away from him. “If it’s that dangerous to Superman, what’s to say it isn’t dangerous to us?”
He laughed, as if amused by a precocious child. “What an imagination you have. It’s perfectly harmless to us.”
She looked at him skeptically. “I don’t know, Max. What if it just takes longer to hurt us? What is it about it that hurts Superman?”
“It’s radioactive.”
She instantly pushed her chair even further away, trying to imagine how she would act if she really was afraid of the substance.
“Lois, come back here,” Max said, sounding a little annoyed now.
“No, Max. I mean, you’re probably right, but I just can’t...” She bit down on the inside of her lip, bringing tears to her eyes.
He got up from the table and began walking towards her.
She scrambled from her chair, eyes wide and began scampering away from him. “Please, no, Max.” She hoped her voice was trembling as if she was truly afraid. And in a way she was. If he figured out what she was doing, she had no doubt he would kill her, probably following... dessert. But this had to work. It simply had to.
She only just managed to prevent her relief from showing when he finally stopped. “I’m sorry. I just...” She pulled in a ragged breath.
“It’s okay, Lois,” he said softly, taking one final step towards her before stopping when she stumbled back again.
He stood there for a moment more and she could almost see his thought processes, as if he were suddenly realizing that his chances of getting lucky tonight were decreasing more with every second he continued to frighten her. A decision suddenly made, he turned away from her, walking back over to the table and...
She breathed a very heartfelt sigh of relief when he took the ring off and placed it on the table before returning to take her in his arms. She clung to him for a moment, as if accepting his comfort, relieved that he didn’t know her as well as Clark did, didn’t know that there was very little that could truly frighten Lois Lane - and fear over whether a rock could hurt her was simply not one of the things she would ever worry about.
She waited for her moment, waited until he pulled her closer, changing his hold from one of comfort to what was obviously a prelude to something else and then...
Max cried out in pain, stumbling backwards and collapsing onto the deck when she brought her knee up hard and fast and buried it in his groin.
Without taking time to enjoy her victory, she rushed to the table, grabbing the ring and throwing it as hard as she could, allowing herself a very small moment of satisfaction when the ring disappeared over the side of the ship.
Taking one last glance at the man still wreathing on the deck, she tossed off her shoes and began running, grateful for all the time she’d spent barefoot on the island. As she disappeared around the corner, she heard Max begin yelling for help.
* * * * * * * * *
Clark stepped back into the shadows when he heard the sound of running feet approaching. His powers had not yet returned, but there had been some signs in the last couple of hours that they were coming back. His hearing had improved, as had his vision. If only he’d been able to get some sun during the day. But he hadn’t dared risk it.
Still, it wasn’t his powers that informed him of the identity of the person now rounding the corner towards him.
Lois. He’d know her anywhere.
He stepped out, grabbing her around the waste in an effort to pull her back into the shadows. She instantly lashed back, striking at him even as she attempted to drop to the deck, out of the circle of his arms.
“Lois,” he whispered.
And instantly the struggle stopped.
“Clark,” she gasped, turning and throwing her arms around him instantly.
“What’s going...”
He never got time to complete the question.
“We’ve got to go. They’re after me,” she gasped even as she squirmed out of his arms and continued running towards the boats secured to the deck.
Clark knew better than to question her. The time for questions would come later. Besides, if she was wanting to leave this yacht, he was all for it.
“Come on,” he said, rushing over to help her as she struggled to get the tarp off the boat that had previously been his hiding place. “They’re coming,” he added when he heard the sounds of the others closing in on them.
They threw the tarp off the boat, before working quickly, and in near perfect silent unity, to get the ropes undone so that they could get the boat into the water, each having almost a sixth sense of what the other was doing and moving to help. His heart warmed. It almost felt like old times.
The sound of an automatic weapon spewing bullets all over the deck around them shattered the peace that had settled over Clark while working in harmony with Lois. These were not old times. And he did not have his powers.
“Look, out!” he yelled, grabbing Lois around the waist and yanking her back so that he could put his body between her and the gunfire. He heard a bullet wiz past his ear and felt the bite of another in his shoulder. However, with the adrenalin pumping through his system, he didn’t feel the pain of his wound. Besides, there wasn’t time.
The bullets continued for a moment, hitting the deck, the railing, the boat they were trying to free. The flying shrapnel that was spewed up by the bullets made the number of shots fired seem greater than they were. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a small fire start where one of the bullets hit a small puddle of gas, lighting the area up in an eery glow.
“Stop shooting, you idiot! I want her alive!”
The instant the bullets stopped, both Lois and Clark frantically returned to their task of freeing the boat, ignoring the men converging on their position. Each knot that came undone was a small victory. Each rope that was unleashed was a step closer to freedom.
The men had stopped now, forming a semi circle around them. Clark glanced desperately at the ocean behind them, contemplating grabbing Lois and jumping overboard. But then what? The ocean was only a few degrees above freezing. And without a boat, and without his powers, they had no chance of swimming back to the island. Even if he could survive, Lois would suffer from hypothermia long before they reached the shore.
It seemed Lois realized the problem at the same time because both came to an unexpected halt in activity. They turned towards the men encircling them even as the fire continued to race across the deck.
“Well, well, well,” Deter said, stepping between his men. “I see you have a visitor, Lois. Mr. Kent, I didn’t expect to be seeing you again. Now...” He glanced over at Erik. “...how exactly is it that you are not dead?”
“Look, Dr. Deter...” Erik began, only to be cut off by Deter.
“I’ll deal with you later,” Deter snapped.
“The fire...” one of the men on the outside of the group said.
“Quiet!” Deter snapped, stepping up closer to Lois. “You disappoint me, my dear. All the work we’ve done together. All I asked was that you honor it. And what do you do? Do you have any idea how much that ring cost me? But no matter. We’ll put you on an intensive drug therapy program and you’ll be better in no time. I had the foresight to bring the necessary drugs in case something like this occurred. But I have to say I am disappointed. And you...”
However, by this point, no one was listening to Deter wax eloquent. All eyes except Deter’s were watching the fire, jump and rush its way across the deck and towards the large gas tanks secured to the deck.
“Get down!” Clark yelled, grabbing Lois and throwing the two of them behind the landing boat. Deter’s men also scrambled for cover.
Only Deter seemed oblivious to the danger. The resulting explosion rocked the boat, sending fire howling up into the sky. Deter’s screams as the fire consumed him seemed to echo eerily through the night sky.
“We’ve got to...” Lois began, trying to scramble out of Clark’s arms.
For a moment, he helped her but then a secondary explosion, coming from the gas tank in the other boat made that impossible.
“It’s too late, Lois,” Clark said, pulling Lois back once again.
“But...” Lois’ voice trailed off when she realized Clark was right. Deter was a ball of flame and nothing they could do would save him now.
Clark immediately turned his attention to the boat they were still crouched behind as the fire began racing towards it. If the fire reached its gas tank, a third explosion would follow - one that, given their position, would most certainly kill both him and Lois. Using every ounce of strength he possessed, Clark pushed the boat over the side of the yacht and into the water below.
Deter’s men were moving now, more concerned with fighting the fire than with their prisoners. By the light from the fire, Clark grabbed Lois. Her eyes were still on Deter as Clark threw himself and Lois over the edge of the yacht and into the dark water below.
“They’re escaping,” he heard one of the men yell just before they hit the water.
“Forget about them!” Erik yelled. “Fight the fire. We have to save the yacht!”
“But Dr. Deter...”
“He’s dead, you fool. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is saving this yacht.”
* * * * * * * * *
Lois was shivering badly by the time she pulled her body over the edge and into the relative safety of the landing boat. A moment later, Clark collapsed into the boat, next to her. She shivered again.
“Come here,” Clark said, holding out his arms.
She quickly scooted into the protection of his arms, finding warmth there. She closed her eyes momentarily. That had been close. She opened her eyes when another explosion came from the direction of the yacht. She wasn’t entirely certain what had caused this explosion. Not that it particularly mattered.
Still, from the safety of Clark’s arms, she could do nothing but watch as the men on the yacht continued to fight the fire. As the two boats continued to drift further apart, it was obvious that the men were finally getting the fire under control.
Finally, Clark released her. She looked at him in confusion until she realized what he was doing - trying to get the boat’s engine started. It took a few tries, but it seemed the boat was made of stern stuff because the engine eventually purred into existence. Lois watched as Clark looked up at the sky for a moment before turning the boat around.
“What are you doing?” she asked quietly.
He pointed up at the sky. “The northern star,” he said. “We were sailing due south all day so if we follow the northern star...”
“...it should take us right back to the island.”
Clark nodded.
For a time the quiet purr of the motor was almost hypnotizing as the sounds from the yacht grew increasingly distant.
“I’m still not entirely sure why Deter would have been heading south,” Clark finally said.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I would have expected him to be taking you to France - west... northwest from here.”
“France has an extradition treaty with the States,” Lois responded, shivering again.
“So you think he was taking you somewhere without an extradition treaty.”
“Makes sense,” Lois answered. “Going to France might have been fine when I was going willingly. But after he locked me in the cabin earlier today, I realized he had to be having some doubts about my loyalty.”
“He locked you in the cabin? How did he explain that?”
“That it was the only way he could be assured that none of the men might harass me. Door had a deadbolt so he couldn’t lock them out without locking me in.”
They fell silent again, both simply too exhausted to speak. For a time, Lois watched the approaching horizon, praying for any sign of the island. An unidentified noise from behind caused her to look over her shoulder just as Clark collapsed over the boat’s steering wheel.
“Clark!” she yelled, scrambling back towards him.
Only then did she notice his blood soaked shoulder. “You were hit,” she gasped.
“It’s not bad, Lois. The bullet went straight through.”
“Not bad, my eye!” She glanced desperately around, spotting the large wooden box secured to the floor of the boat. She scrambled over, her fingers fumbling as she struggled to get it open. She fished around in it for a moment before finding the first-aid kit. She grabbed the kit and a couple of blankets she located inside before shuffling back over to Clark. “We’ve got to stop the bleeding,” she said as she shucked off Max’s jacket before pulling her little black dress over her head.
“It’s too cold. You’ll freeze to death,” Clark mumbled before breaking off with a fit of coughing.
“Great! I take off my dress and the only thing he can think about is the weather,” Lois returned, trying to get both their minds off the seriousness of the situation. “I must be losing my touch.”
“Lois, you know that’s not what...”
“I know that, Clark,” she interrupted, realizing that Clark was obviously not in the mood to joke back. But who could blame him? By the look of him, he’d lost a lot of blood.
The first aid kit contained a pair of scissors which she used to cut her dress into bandages. Once she’d wrapped Clark’s shoulder as best she could, and got him settled comfortably in the bottom of the boat, she wrapped in one of the blankets around him and pulled the second blanket around herself, ignoring the dinner jacket lying on the bottom of the boat. She wanted nothing more to do with anything connected with Max.
Clark was looking groggy, as if hardly able to keep his eyes open. “Lois, I’ve got to...”
“The only thing you’ve got to do is stay alive,” Lois said, leaning over and gently touching her lips to his. “I’ll take care of the rest, okay?”
He gave her a weak smile that faded almost at once as his eyes drifted closed.
‘Stay with me, Clark,’ she silently begged, even as she looked up into the night sky. The north star, hey? Yes. There it was. She could do this. Taking over Clark’s position at the controls, Lois turned the boat again towards the north star and prayed for land.
TO BE CONTINUED...
ML
