PREVIOUSLY IN THE PORTRAIT:
Lois has told Henderson everything she knows, so she can proceed with her plan to get evidence against Lex who has insisted that she stay at his penthouse until her would-be murderer is caught. Clark has discovered that the murder weapon is probably a gun missing from Luthor’s collection. He has gone to the penthouse to keep Lois from being hurt. While working together they get to know each other and become closer. They attempt to break into Lex’s computer but are foiled when Lex returns. Lois points out the missing gun, and Lex explains its absence, but he plans to trick the pair by pretending to leave them alone. They discover Lex’s involvement in the Hobbs Bay deaths, but before they can go to the police. Nigel locks them in Lex’s study.
AND NOW
Lois had sat as long as she could, and then she was up pacing back and forth across the study. Finally she said, “Come on Clark, let’s get some air,” and opened the door to the terrace. It was cold but invigorating and waked both of them from the lethargy that had overtaken them while they were sitting on the floor. Lois proceeded to pace from one end of the terrace to the other while Clark watched in admiration.
The cold air brought color to her cheeks and a snap to her eyes. She walked with determination, her head up and hands gesturing as she said rapidly, “You can't tell what a gorgeous view this is because of the overcast, but you can see all of Metropolis from Hobbs Bay to the University. On a clear sunny day you can see the snowcaps on the Poweechin Mountains. How could somebody look at this every day and not love Metropolis and the people in it? ? Do you think that some people are just intrinsically evil and misanthropic, incapable of any kind of decency or humanity? Do you think Lex is one of them? And if he is, how could I not have seen it before?”
Clark could see that her agitation was beginning to cloud her thinking, making her doubt her abilities. If she continued on that path, she would mistrust her instincts and judgment. He had no intention of letting that happen. She needed complete self-confidence for what was coming.
“Is that a trick question? Because you, better than anyone I’ve ever met, can sense right and wrong in other people.”
“But not in Lex,” she wailed. “Why?”
“Sometimes all of us get blind spots about people we’re close too. We want to think the best of them. He’s a pretty dazzling guy, and I can imagine it’s very flattering to have the third richest man in the world tell you he loves you and wants to marry you.”
“But I’m supposed to be a reporter, and I always expect the worst from people. I’m supposed to look at things objectively and not be fooled by smoke and mirrors. I’m supposed to sniff out the criminal and go for the jugular; that’s why they call me Mad Dog Lane. Why couldn’t I see the truth about Lex?”
“You’re being too hard on yourself. You did begin to suspect him eventually, and you followed through in spite of his attentions to you. You should be proud of yourself. I know I am.”
They were standing by the stone railing and she looked up at him, her eyes pleading like a little girl’s. “You are? Really? You don’t think I’m losing my edge, then?”
“Not in a million years,” he said softly, bending his forehead to touch hers.
They stood together for a long moment, and then, unexpectedly, she shivered.
“It’s freezing out here,” he said. “What was I thinking? Here.” He took off his jacket and draped it around her. “Come on, let’s go back inside and get you warm.”
As he led her back to their cushions, she said, “Right. I wouldn’t want to catch cold just before I was murdered.”
Sitting next to her, he put his hands on her arms and gazed directly at her. “Lois, I would not let that happen. Trust me. I will not let anyone hurt you, ever.”
She returned his gaze, believing that he meant what he said and knowing, on some primitive level, that come human mischief or cosmic catastrophe, he would do just that.
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then pulled her against his shoulder and held her in his arms. She nestled against him, feeling warm and comfortable and absolutely safe.
++++++++++
Inspector William Henderson was waiting for a phone call from Interpol, and his bland exterior was beginning to show signs of irritation. The detectives in his squad busied themselves as far away from him as possible and prayed the call would come soon.
When it came, they heard the Inspector speaking tersely to the person on the other end.
“Henderson, here.” Pause. "Yes." Another pause. "Yes.... “Yes.... Yes....” “Would you fax that verification to me right away? Thank you, and thanks for your help.” He slammed down the phone and shouted. “Tibbs, call Judge Hawthorne’s clerk. Tell him we need a search warrant for Lex Luthor’s penthouse, and that you’ll be over to show cause, but for him to get it started. Sergeant Velie, take some uniforms and get on over to the Lexor and wait for us to show up with the warrant. If you see anything suspicious that could be considered probable cause, go in without us.”
“Have we got him, Bill?”
Yes, George, I think we’ve got him.”
++++++++++
When they heard the sound of the door being unlocked, Lois and Clark jumped up from their cushions to face whoever crossed the threshold. To their disappointment it was Lex not Inspector Henderson.
“Lois, my dear. Mr. Kent. So sorry for the inconvenience.” He saw the cushions where they had been sitting and spread his hands in apology. “How uncomfortable this must have been for you. Come; let us go into the sitting room. Perhaps you’d like a cool drink or to visit the powder room before we talk?” He herded them out of the study and down the hallway to the other room as Nigel, a laptop computer in one hand, slipped, unseen into the space they had just vacated.
Lois, declining the offers of hospitality, sat defiantly on a sofa facing Lex. Clark stood behind her, one hand touching her shoulder.
“What now, Lex?” Lois asked abrasively.
“That doesn’t sound like my sweet and loving fiancée. I fear you have misjudged one of my projects, and I feel compelled to explain the true circumstances to you.”
“Maybe you’re right, Luthor,” said Clark agreeably. “We wouldn’t want to accuse you of anything unjustly. Why don’t you tell us about Project Dragon’s Teeth?”
When she heard Clark’s words, Lois gasped and jerked forward, but he pinned her to the back of the couch with the hand resting on her shoulder. He continued to speak softly, obsequiously. “After all, you are the world’s third richest man. I’m sure you wouldn’t knowingly be involved in anything criminal.”
Lois turned to glare at Clark, anger building as she tried to elude his grip. Why was he saying these things? What happened to the guy she’d come to know while they were locked in that study, the one who vowed he would not let anyone hurt her? He had disappeared, and the wimp was back. She twisted and squirmed, but his hand remained firm. The fingers on the hand squeezed gently, persistently, imperceptibly conveying reassurance. Then she remembered the strategy he had posed. Resist and stall. This must be the stall part. She relaxed against the sofa back, and the pressure from his hand disappeared.
“Very wise of you, Mr. Kent. Lois, does not, however, seem to share your view. Did you wish to voice a different opinion, my dear?”
“No, Lex. Whatever Clark said. I’m with him, all the way.”
Lex’s eyes narrowed and he re-assessed the couple before him. “That is not the reaction I’ve come to expect from you, Lois. You don’t want to contradict him?”
“No, Clark and I agree on almost everything. I really should thank you for locking us in this afternoon. It gave us an opportunity to...share...that we haven’t had time for before. I learned what a real man he is.
“Clark isn’t an ordinary person. He has wonderful qualities that no amount of money can buy. He gives and expects nothing in return. That’s why I’m all his.” She smiled sultrily at the man behind her.
Clark was spellbound as Lois plunged a figurative gaff into Lex’s chest and set the hook. Even he, who knew it was only a ploy, could believe she meant what she was saying. <Be careful,> he thought. <Don’t go too far. We don’t want him to kill us yet.> But he was watching a wily angler at work. Lex had taken the bait and she had played him perfectly.
“So,” said Lex, furious and fuming. “I take it our engagement is over. I knew your little charade concerning our wedding night was fiction. Fortunately, possessing you was not that important to me.”
“No hard feelings then,” said Clark cheerfully. “You were going to tell us about Dragon’s Teeth?”
Nigel slipped into the room behind Clark and nodded to Lex who said, “Yes, of course,” and assumed control of the conversation. “Operation Dragon’s Teeth was an innocent attempt to create a drug that would enable stroke victims to regain their full physical capacities. Some in my employ saw an evil opportunity beyond what I had envisioned and attempted to create a powerful and dangerous narcotic that could be sold for billions. Without my knowledge, they took advantage of poor derelicts and used them for guinea pigs. As soon as I became aware of what was happening, I shut down the project and destroyed all the data.”
“Isn’t Dragon’s Teeth a rather bellicose title for such a noble project?” Clark asked.
“It was the beginning of my war on the great levelers - stroke, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, cancer - that are the scourges of mankind.”
At that pronouncement the doorbell rang, and Henderson and his squad took over the room. “Lex Luthor, I have a warrant to search these premises for any evidence concerning the death of Diane Goodman.”
“Welcome, Inspector. I don't know why you think I might have been involved in Ms. Goodman's death, but you may certainly search anywhere you like. Nigel will give you access to whatever you require.”
Clark said, “Inspector, I’ll show you the weapons wall, and something else very interesting.” They went off toward the study.
“Wait for me,” said Lois who hurried behind them.
Clark showed Henderson the empty space on the wall as he explained, “This is where the Lupara should be. Since you’re here, I assume it’s not in Italy being repaired either.”
“That’s right. Corleone said Nigel called and told him he was sending it, but it never arrived. My boys will turn this apartment upside down. If it’s here, we’ll find it.”
“We found something even more interesting in Lex’s computer,” said Lois. “We found a file called Project Dragon’s Teeth that connects the deaths of Clayton Kimball, Robert Nolan and the missing drug addicts from Hobbs Bay. Show him, Clark.”
Once again, Clark raised the computer to desk level, accessed the directory and prepared to open the file in question. It wasn’t there.
“Lois, I can’t find the file. Wasn’t it in the middle of all the Projects?”
“What do you mean you can’t find it? It was right there.” She pushed him aside so she could see better. “Where is it? It couldn’t just disappear.” She began to scroll frantically up and down the screen. “What could have happened?” Abruptly she stopped scrolling and straightened.
“I get it. Nigel must have erased the file while we were talking to Lex. Clark, how could we have fallen for that? Our evidence is gone!”
“We’ll send the computer to the lab,” said Henderson. “Our computer forensics people tell us that nothing is ever completely erased. I’m sure they’ll be able to find something.”
“They’d better because Lex was already putting a completely innocent spin on his involvement, and I’m sure he’s got a patsy to pin the whole thing on.”
“There’s a locked file drawer here in the desk, Inspector." Clark pointed. "There might be something in there. The key is in the false bottom of the cigar lighter.”
Lois gasped. “How did you know that?”
“Uh, I, uh, I saw a lighter just like that one in a shop in London when I was traveling.” He smiled disarmingly.
“Then why did you let me waste my time looking for the key?”
“Lois, if you remember, we started with the computer when I got here. I guess you forgot about the key.”
She looked doubtful but dropped the subject as Henderson retrieved the key and opened the drawer. He directed an officer to load the contents into a file box and take it outside.
“Hey, wait a minute,” said Lois. Don’t we get a chance to see what’s in there?”
“Have you ever heard of ‘chain of evidence’, Lois? We preserve the integrity of what we find and don’t let nosy reporters paw through things.”
“All right! I might as well not be here.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
Lois stamped off in the direction of the sitting room; Clark followed grinning.
The Lupara was not anywhere in the penthouse. The phone call to Corleone and Lex’s revelation that it was Nigel who had reported the damage to the weapon made St. John a prime suspect, and when the police left, they took him along for questioning.
As Lois and Clark started to leave, Lois said, to Henderson, “What about Project Dragon’s Teeth?”
Overhearing her question, Lex volunteered to go down to the precinct and make a statement about what he knew concerning that affair.
Taking the Inspector aside, Clark said, “Let us know, as soon as you find out what’s on that computer. We want to see Lex go down, but we’re sitting on the biggest story of the year.”
“Okay, Kent. I’ll keep you in the loop. But if I find out you’re holding out on me again, you’re gonna be poison down at my station house. Don’t let Lane’s bad habits rub off on you.”
“Ill keep that in mind, Bill.”
++++++++++
As soon as she walked into her apartment, Lois shouted triumphantly, “MY PLAN WORKED! I love it when that happens.” She turned to face Clark and spread her arms wide. “We did it, Partner. We got the goods on Lex Luthor. Clark, we’re terrific together!” She elatedly threw her arms around him and, to his amazement, kissed him, lightly, on the lips.
He reacted without thinking, clasping her closer to him and returning the kiss fervently. He held her firmly but lightly; she could back away whenever she chose, but to his delight, she lingered, testing and tasting this new and hitherto untried curiosity.
When she finally drew her head away, she still did not step back, but stood looking up at him, wonder in her gaze. She murmured, “Careful, Farm boy. I warned you. I don’t have time for it.” But she continued to stand in his embrace, looking at him, her eyes querying.
“Then you’ll have to make time,” he said softly. “It’s too late to warn me.” He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her with short, sweet kisses, gentle, loving, undemanding.
At first, unsure, her lips tense, she held her breath waiting for whatever developed. Slowly her mouth relaxed and she began to kiss back softly. She breathed steadily between kisses, but her heartbeat accelerated slightly and then more, as their mouths melded together, extending time, seeking to learn what lay just beyond conscious thought. One kiss at a time, they began encroaching into that unknown abyss of hunger and desire, into the place where there is no control, no consequence, no responsibility.
Her breathing was shallow and fast now, and she parted her lips at the pressure of his tongue, lightly persistent, still allowing for her to refuse if she chose. But she welcomed this part of him that probed so carefully, tasting her as she tasted him, mingling their juices in a blend so erotic that she felt faint, and she fantasized exchanging an even greater intimacy.
Fighting himself through the roaring in his ears, Clark resisted a craving so tempting that, if he succumbed, would take them both over the brink into short-lived ecstasy and ensuing disaster. He wanted her too much to let it happen. When it did happen it would be because they decided together that it was right, not because they got carried away. His brain told him this, but his body told him something very different, and he was sure Lois was more than aware of how he was reacting to her. Even as he ordered himself to stop, his hands were roaming, caressing the yielding flesh forbidden to sight and touch but so accessible at this moment in the emotional tempest that possessed them.
She knew what he was doing, but she wanted it, wanted him in every way, wanted to yield to him and dominate him, push him to the farthest extension of his resistance and pull him into the dark, warm world where no one was allowed, had been allowed for so long. He was driving her beyond her past into unexplored territory, an emotional maelstrom she had never known but had longed for, searched for, despaired of finding. Without volition, her body expressed her wishes sending him teetering on the edge of the irredeemable fall.
And then the phone rang.
Slowly, through the hot, red mist, she made her way back to reality, to the time, the place, the day it was...now. Her phone was ringing; she had to answer it. She moved toward the sound, confused, dazed, mechanically answering as she was programmed to do.
“Lois Lane.”
Was that her voice, so faint, so unsteady?
“Lois, is that you? It’s Henderson. Are you all right?”
Clark stood motionless where she had left him, eyes closed, willing his body to re-adjust, to return to normal, to forget. They had been rescued from the worst mistake of their lives, but not because of anything he did. No, he had let his hormones and the sheer physical magnetism of Lois lane entice him to the point of disaster. All of his powers were useless when pitted against her slight, well-endowed frame. If she chose she could skewer him, as she had done Lex Luthor, then, roast him on a spit, and he’d smile happily because it was her hand operating the rotor.
“Clark?” He opened his eyes, and she looked away, a slight flush rising on her cheeks. “That was Henderson. They didn’t find anything on the computer. They had to let Lex go.”
“Oh. I guess he’s outsmarted us for the moment.” He was trying to make eye contact with her, but she turned away, her back to him. She was brushing her fingers over her mouth trying to rub something away.
“Lex told Henderson that he suspected Nigel was involved with Dragon’s Teeth and tried to kill me when I started nosing around into the deaths and disappearances down in the Hobbs Bay area. Lex said Nigel thought I was too lucky at finding out secrets and that made me dangerous. Lex said Nigel objected vigorously when he proposed to me and wanted to get me out of the way.” Her low voice held sarcasm...and a slight touch of embarrassment.
“Lex is good at saying things, Lois, but we’ll get him. You said we’re terrific together, and we’ll uncover the truth about him sooner or later. But right now we have to talk about what just happened.”
To Be Continued
