PREVIOUSLY FROM THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE...
Clark glanced back at the house when the volume of the music suddenly increased. The door had opened and three of the occupants spilled out into the street. By the look of their shadows, it appeared that one was drunk and the others were holding him up.
“Hey, I don’t wanta leave.” Or her. The drunk slur of a woman made it clear that one of those leaving the house was a woman. “I wanta dance some more. Com’ on. Let’ssss go back inside ‘n dance.”
Clark stopped and watched as the shadows of the men and woman got closer. The men appeared to be sober. The woman, however, was quite drunk.
“No, it’s time to get you home,” the one of the men responded.
“I don’ wanna go home,” the woman slurred. “Hey, whata ‘bout you?” She turned her attention to the other man. “You wanna dance?”
The new target just grunted as the men continued to half drag the woman down the sidewalk.
“Girlfriend got a little bit too drunk,” one of the men explained when he spotted Clark watching them.
Clark nodded. He’d carried enough of his friends home while in college to know what that was all about. They approached him on the sidewalk and he smiled in understanding.
As they got up beside him, the woman suddenly turned, grabbing onto his jacket. “What about you, handsome? You wanna dance?”
Clark reached up to pry the woman’s hands off his jacket when he caught his first sight of her face, staring up at him through blurry eyes. For a moment in time, the world around him seemed to stand still.
“Lois,” he whispered. AND NOW...
There was some sort of scuffle around him, some sort of urgent whispers. But Clark didn’t pay any attention - his eyes and heart focused completely on the disheveled woman standing, sort of, before him.
“So, handsome, where you been all my life?” Lois asked, running a hand provocatively down his chest, carefully tracing the well-defined muscles.
“I... I... I...” Clark said, suddenly wondering which of them were drunk. She slipped slightly and he quickly reached out, pulling him more tightly against him to keep her from falling. He had to get out of here. He had to go now. After all, he’d just come to get a glimpse of her not to... Well, not to do what he appeared to be doing now.
He turned to her friends, looking to turn her back over to them, but for some reason, they had vanished. What?
“Com’ inside and dance with me, handsome,” Lois slurred, seeming to find her feet again and squirming out of his arms. Grabbing onto the sleeve of his leather jacket, she began dragging him, as well as she was able, back towards the house.
Not that it was much of a struggle. Clark seemed unable to resist her slightest tug, steadying her automatically as she stumbled up the steps and rushing around to open the door when she fumbled on its execution.
* * * * * * * * *
Clark wasn’t entirely certain what to do. That Lois was extremely intoxicated was not in doubt. Nor was there any doubt that her dancing was blatantly sexual. And all of that sexual energy was currently directed at him. He wasn’t entirely certain he hadn’t died and gone to heaven... or hell, depending on how he looked at it. His current thoughts would dictate that the later was his most likely destination at the current time.
Problem was he knew she was drunk and there was no way he could take advantage of that. Still, her moves on the dance floor were taking him to heights of both ecstasy and frustration that he’d never known as she would rub against him, gyrate in front of him, run her hands over his body, nibble at his neck or look at him with those lust filled eyes.
He needed to get out of here. He needed to get out of here now! He should just vanish in a gust of wind. He could be gone so fast no one would even notice. And Lois wouldn’t likely remember, given her state of intoxication. He could head straight for the Arctic and...
But how could he leave her here like this? She was drunk. She was vulnerable. If he left now and then found out that someone with lower ethical standards had taken advantage of her... No. He couldn’t leave now.
Her hands began tugging at the front of his shirt.
He couldn’t stay either. Reaching down quickly, he grabbed her hands, removing them from where they seemed to be puzzling over how to get under his shirt as if it were some great mystery they were intent on solving. “Listen,” he said desperately, trying to get her attention back on his face instead of concentrating on how to free her hands as she seemed currently intent on doing, “why don’t you have a seat over here?” He escorted her over to a nearby couch.
“I wanna dance,” Lois objected.
“Just sit here,” Clark said, ignoring her incredibly cute pout. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He forced her, gently but determinedly onto the couch.
She continued to pout.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, taking a step back.
“Promise?” she asked.
“Cross my heart,” Clark responded, matching words to actions.
“I’ll hold you to that, handsome,” she responded.
Letting out a breath of relief, he turned and quickly surveyed the room. There must be someone around here who was in charge. He headed back across the dance floor, asking several people who was in charge. Mostly, he just got shrugs and brush-offs when people bothered to respond at all.
He spotted a young woman carrying a bowl of punch towards the bar. He quickly skirted around people to reach her, taking her burden.
“Thanks,” she said gratefully. “If you just want to bring that over here...”
He carried it to the counter and set it down before turning back to the woman. “Could you tell me who is in charge here?”
“I guess you could say I am. What’s the problem?”
His eyebrows rose when he took note of the annoyance in her voice.
“I’m sorry,” she said immediately. “I’ve just been hit with one problem after another and I... Well, that’s not important. So let’s try this again, shall we? My name’s Molly. What can I help you with?” She followed the words with an apologetic smile.
“There’s a young woman over there who is really drunk and I’m concerned that she’s going to get herself in trouble. I was wondering if someone could help me direct her towards her friends or...” He gestured with his hands, indicating his feeling of loss about exactly how to handle the situation.
Molly sighed. “Okay, well, why don’t you show me where she is and we’ll take it from there.”
After giving her a brief nod, he led her through the crowds across the dance floor. “She’s gone!” Clark exclaimed when he arrived back at the couch and discovered that Lois was no longer there. He turned quickly, scanning the room in desperation.
“Maybe her friends...” Molly began.
“There!” Clark exclaimed, spotting her on the dance floor with another man, someone who definitely appeared to be taking full advantage of the sexual movements of the woman dancing with him. Without waiting for Molly, he pushed his way through the crowd, his eyes never leaving Lois.
“Hey, handsome,” Lois said, her eyes lighting up when she spotted him. “I was just danc... dancing with... What’s your name again?”
“It’s time to go, Lois,” Clark said.
“I don’t wanna go. I wanna dance,” Lois said, twirling around to demonstrate her point, only keeping her balance when Clark quickly reached out a hand to steady her.
“Hey, if the lady wants to dance...” Lois’ current dance partner’s voice trailed off at a single look from Clark. A moment later, he was scuttling quickly away.
“Lois?” Molly asked in disbelief, coming up behind Clark.
“Hey, Mol!” Lois exclaimed, stumbling over to her friend and giving her a hug and a noisy kiss on the cheek. “I see you’ve met... met handsome here.” She released one arm from around Molly, to wrap it around Clark’s waist. “I can keep him, right? I mean, I found him, after all, so I should be able to keep him.” She giggled. “I’ll keep him in my footlocker. Just gotta get the lock fixed.”
“What happened to you? I know you had a glass of wine, but... I wasn’t gone that long, was I?” Molly reached over, doing up one of the buttons on Lois’ sweater to ensure she showed just a bit less cleavage - at least making her arrest for indecent exposure less likely.
“I’m having fun,” Lois explained. “You know what fun is, don’t you, Mol?” She turned her attention to Clark. “She’s such a stick-in-the-mud,” she confided to Clark.
“I’m a stick-in-the-mud!” Molly exclaimed, obviously overhearing Lois’ not-so-subtle comment.
“See! You admit it!” Lois said triumphantly, giggling as she buried her face against Clark’s chest.
“I take it you’re friends. Maybe you can get her home?” Clark asked hopefully.
“I don’t wanna go home,” Lois objected. “I wanna dance. Come on, let’s dance.” With that, she began to dance, although without releasing either Molly or Clark, Clark wasn’t entirely certain who she was attempting to dance with.
“I’m not sure I can handle this alone,” Molly said, her eyes silently pleading with him.
Clark glanced between Lois and Molly before giving in to the inevitable. He nodded.
“Then just give me a minute,” Molly said. “I need to grab our coats and let someone know I’ll be leaving.”
* * * * * * * * *
Getting Lois out of the house was easier than Clark had originally feared. The idea of taking Lois against her will did not sit well with Clark. But once Molly had managed to get Lois’ coat on her, she seemed to accept the idea that they were leaving.
“This is nice,” Lois said, tilting her head back and allowing the falling snow to hit her face.
“Woah, there!” Molly exclaimed, reaching over to steady her friend.
“Hey, Mol.” Lois wrapped her arm around Molly’s waist. “You’re a good friend, you know.”
“I know,” Molly said, rolling her eyes in Clark’s direction.
Clark couldn’t help but smile in response. Lois stumbled and Clark reached over to steady her.
“Yep,” Lois continued, wrapping an arm around Clark’s waist as well as they headed down the sidewalk. “You wouldn’t steal my story and the man of my dreams. Nope. Not you. You wouldn’t leave me to be threat... threatened for something you were taking the credit for. You’re nothing like Linda King.”
“You were threatened?” Molly asked, coming to an abrupt halt.
“Yep.” Lois turned to Clark. “You aren’t a football player, are you, handsome?” she asked, taking her arm from around Molly’s waist to pat Clark’s chest. “‘Cause football players don’t like me much right now and you’re sort of a big guy so...” Her hand left his chest to wrap around as much of his bicep as she could manage as if mapping out the size for herself. “You’re not are you? ‘Cause I’ve got to watch out for the football players. They even told me so.”
“I’ve never played football for the Devils,” Clark answered.
“Uhh... See how he did that?” Lois said, turning to Molly. “He never said he doesn’t play football. Just that he doesn’t... he doesn’t play for the Devils.”
“I see that,” Molly said tolerantly, tugging on Lois’ arm to get them moving again.
“Those are the things you pick... pick up on when you’re a reporter.”
“An investigative reporter,” Molly added.
“An investi... an investi... a reporter,” Lois confirmed. “Yep. The best investi... reporter ever. I’m so good I let my story get stolen by my friend. She said she was my friend, Mol!”
“I know.”
“You don’t do that to friends.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Oh god! I think I’m going to be sick,” Lois exclaimed suddenly, pushing away from Clark and Molly to rush over to the bushes at the edge of the sidewalk. Clark was beside her, keeping her from hurting herself when she fell to her knees and began retching. His hand rubbed slow, comforting circles on her back until she finally finished. “I don’t feel so good,” she said softly, taking the hanky that Clark handed to her to wipe her mouth. “I’m not sure I can go much further. Why don’t we just stay here?”
That comment was all it took to have Clark sweep her up in his arms. Her arms automatically wound their way around his neck as she buried her face against him. “Which way?” Clark asked Molly and a moment later the three of them were moving at a much brisker pace towards the dorms.
* * * * * * * * *
Clark paced the hall outside Lois’ dorm room. He hadn’t been told to leave, but when he’d set Lois down in her room and she’d begun stripping off her sweater, completely oblivious to his presence, he’d instantly bolted for the door. The amused grin Molly had given at his hasty departure had not been lost on Clark, either.
Still, he couldn’t leave. Not until he knew she was okay. He hadn’t dared look for himself - given what had caused him to flee the room in the first place. However, his hearing had told him that she had gotten sick again.
It had been a few minutes now since he’d last heard any noise coming inside the room, and he wrestled with the idea of knocking. It was possible, he supposed, that Molly didn’t know he was still here, hoping for an update. He raised his hand to knock and then immediately dropped it again and resumed pacing. What if Lois had just fallen asleep? What if his knocking woke her up again?
He turned suddenly when the door to Lois’ room opened. Rushing over, he stopped and waited expectantly as Molly stepped out of the room, softly closing the door behind her.
“She’s sleeping,” Molly announced.
“What did she mean about being threatened by the football players?” Clark asked.
Molly shrugged. “All I know is that she wrote a story about football players cheating on their exams and another girl stole it and submitted it to the paper as her own. I guess I also know that some of the Beta Beta guys were pretty angry at Lois when they found out she was the one who discovered or... oh, what’s the expression they use in journalism? Broke?” When Clark nodded, she continued. “...broke the story. There was a lot of talk around campus that we were going to the Sugar Bowl this year. Anyway, the first time I heard about any threats from the football team was at the same time as you did.
“By the way, we’ve never actually been introduced. You know that I’m Molly. Molly Flynn actually, but I don’t think you told me your name. Well, unless your name really is ‘handsome,’” she added with a grin.
“I’m...” Clark hesitated. Right now, he was just an anonymous individual who had helped Lois, and he guessed, Molly. But if he gave them his name... “I’m Charlie King.” Better safe than sorry.
“Nice to meet you, Charlie,” Molly said, reaching out and shaking his hand. “And thanks for all your help tonight.”
He was being dismissed. He glanced back at the door to the room, unsure. If she was being threatened...
“Don’t worry. I’ll sit with her for a while. Make sure she’s okay.”
“And lock the door when you leave... Before then, even. Keep the door locked when you’re in there with her. After all, if someone is threatening...” His voice trailed off and he felt a blush rise in his cheeks when he noticed the amused grin Molly was giving him.
“We’ll be fine,” Molly said, reaching out to touch his arm reassuringly. “Thank you, Charlie.”
Giving the door to Lois’ room one last look, he finally nodded. She was right. They’d be fine. And he still had a number of things he needed to do tonight.
* * * * * * * * *
Clark took a look around the room and nodded his approval. The Cozy Motel did not exactly live up to its name. The motel was almost falling apart. Peeling paint. Shutters that hung crooked on windows. Cracked concrete. Groaning floorboards. The rooms were grubby and the service left something to be desired. But what had he expected from a place where rooms could be rented by the hour, the day or the month?
However, there were three things this place had going for it. First, it was cheap. Second, the rooms were big. And third, it was located near the university - although why that should matter, he wasn’t entirely sure. After all, he wasn’t going to see her again. It would be stupid to tempt fate like that. Still, he had to admit he liked the idea of being close to her.
As for the condition of the room, he’d purchase a few cleaning supplies and whip it into shape in no time. Then, he’d make a trip to the ally behind the Daily Planet and bring the time machine back here.
He’d told the manager that he didn’t require maid service. From the look the manager had given him in response, Clark suspected maid service wasn’t something he would have gotten anyway. So he was certain he’d have the privacy he needed to fix the machine and head off to 1993 where he could persuade Lois not to go to the Congo.
And they had accepted a cash payment, with a deposit, not requiring ID. He was glad when he’d come on this trip that, not only had he thought to bring extra cash, but since the bank had just introduced a new series of bills in 1996, he’d taken the time to ensure all his bills predated the change. It really wouldn’t do for him to try to use one of the new bills, only to find himself arrested for using counterfeit money.
He had brought extra gold with him, however, since the time machine ran on gold, and he supposed if he did run out of money, he could take a trip up to some place like Dawson City in the northern Canada where one could still take gold dust into the local store and have it instantly converted to cash or use it to buy a sandwich, whichever.
Still, the Cozy Motel was absolutely perfect for his purposes.
* * * * * * * * *
The sun coming in through her window cut through Lois’ head like a knife. She squeezed her eyes closed and lay there a moment, trying to get her bearings. Finally, she cracked open her eyes, cautiously this time, allowing herself a moment to adjust to the light before attempting to move.
The room seemed to spin around her, but she persisted, swinging her feet over the side of the bed. Once she’d made it far enough to sit on the side, she dropped her head into her hands and groaned. Had she ever felt this much like death warmed over?
What had happened anyway? She was in her room, obviously. But how had she gotten here? And why couldn’t she remember?
She rubbed her temples, wishing the pain in her head would dull enough to allow her to think. Okay, so... How had she gotten home? She concentrated for a moment. Nothing. Okay then... What was the last thing she did remember? The party. Going to look for Molly and... Had she found her? She concentrated for a moment. Again nothing.
So what had happened? She could remember having a glass of wine. And she hadn’t had anything to eat all day. And she had drank the vast majority of it all at once. Maybe... But one glass? Could one glass have been enough to make her feel this bad the next morning? She felt as if she’d downed an entire brewery. Still, she wasn’t exactly an expert when it came to drinking. So maybe...
She shook her head, unable to make sense of it.
Well, she wasn’t going to get answers sitting here all day so... She forced herself to her feet. Instantly, her stomach turned over and she rushed for the bathroom, making it there just in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the bowl.
* * * * * * * * *
Clark stood for a long time staring at the phone in his hand. The loud beeping on the other end of the line informed him that he needed to hang up the phone before attempting his call. He quickly replaced it in the cradle. Since there was no phone in his room, he’d been forced to come out to use the pay phone outside the manager’s office. Not a lot of privacy, but then he wasn’t about to divulge national secrets or anything.
It wouldn’t hurt, he told himself. It was just a call. It wasn’t even a call to ‘her.’ He would just call Molly and find out how Lois was doing this morning. Nothing wrong with that. Just a simple phone call. What could it change?
Besides, if the fates hadn’t wanted him to make this call, surely he wouldn’t have found that quarter in his pocket. Nor would the page displaying Molly Flynn’s phone number been in the tattered phone book hanging by a chain next to the phone. After all, most of the other pages had been torn out.
No. There really was no reason not to call.
Satisfied that his reasoning was sound, he picked up the phone and dialed the number. He could feel his heart pounding in his throat as he waited for Molly to answer.
“He... hello,” came the sleep filled voice over the line.
“Oh! I’m sorry. I’m calling too early! I should have thought... I’ll call back later. I’m sorry to have...” He began bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet, suddenly anxious to hang up the phone and get away from there.
“Wait!”
Molly’s exclamation caused Clark to stop in his verbal tracks, even as his physical movement came to a halt.
“Uhh... Who is this?” Molly asked.
“It’s Cl... Charlie King.”
“Charlie?” Molly asked, obviously still trying to make the connection. “Oh, right. Mr. Handsome from last night.”
Clark felt himself blushing. He quickly redirected his mind to the reason for his call. “Listen, I’m obviously calling too early. I can call back later when you’re awake.”
“I’m awake now,” Molly responded, a touch of amusement in her voice. “Why don’t you just tell me why you’re calling?”
“Oh, right. Well, I was just wondering how Lois is doing. But if you’re just waking up, you obviously don’t know. So really... I should just call back later.”
“Well, she was fine when I left. Sleeping like a baby. And don’t worry, I made sure to lock the door,” she added, causing his blush to deepen. “I suspect she’ll be pretty hung over this morning. But I was planning to go over and see how she was. If she drank as much as she must have last night, she must be hurting quite a bit from what Linda did to her. I wish I’d realized that before... Anyway, I figure she might want to talk it out. Hey, why don’t you come with me when I go? You could see for yourself that she’s...”
“No, that’s okay. It’s not a good idea for me to... Well, anyway, how about I call back later?”
“That’s fine,” she said.
“Okay, well I’ll let you go back to whatever you were... Or well back to sleep I guess.”
“That’s okay. I’m awake now,” Molly said.
“Sorry,” Clark mumbled. He could hear Molly softly laugh on the other end of the line.
“That’s okay, Charlie. I’ll talk to you later.”
* * * * * * * * *
Molly had just finished showering and dressing and was on her way to the closet to get her coat when the door to the sorority house opened. Turning to look, Molly watched Lois enter the house and look around.
“Well, look who’s back in the land of the living,” Molly said. “You look horrible. Want a little hair of the dog that bit you?”
“No!” Lois exclaimed, groaning immediately as the pain of her own exclamation sliced through her head. “I’m never drinking anything ever again.”
Molly laughed. “That’s what happens when you don’t know your limit.”
“One glass of wine, Molly. I only had one glass. I guess... I drank it too fast or... maybe because I hadn’t slept much... or didn’t have any food in my stomach... or... I don’t know.”
Molly took Lois’ coat and hung it up in the closet. “Trust me on this, sweety. You had a hell of a lot more than one glass. Maybe you only clearly remember drinking one glass, but there is no way you only had one glass of wine last night.”
“How much of a fool did I make of myself?” Lois asked, cringing slightly as she waited for the answer.
“Do you remember ‘Handsome’?”
“Who? Or is that what?”
A knock on the door diverted the attention of the women. Molly stepped past Lois to open the door. “Rye, Sean, Craig?”
“Morning, Mol. We figured you girls might need some help cleaning up from last night’s party,” Ryan said. “Lois,” he added flatly when he saw who was standing next to Molly.
“Ryan,” Lois responded just as flatly.
Molly sighed, but didn’t comment. Instead she gestured the men into the sorority house. “Thanks for coming. Some of the girls have already started in the backroom. If you want to join them, I’m sure they’ll have jobs for you.”
They waited as the men removed their shoes and hung up their coats before walking towards the back.
“Why don’t we go to the kitchen?” Molly asked.
“Maybe we should...” Lois gestured towards the room the men had gone into.
Molly shook her head. “I’m sure they’ve got it covered. And I suspect you could use a cup of coffee. Strong coffee. We can talk in there.” She gestured towards the kitchen. “The girls made a fresh pot of coffee just a little while ago.”
“Yes. Please,” Lois said, following Molly into the kitchen.
The women were just settling into chairs at the table with their coffee when Molly spoke. “Please tell me that you at least remember ‘Handsome’.”
“You mentioned ‘Handsome’ before,” Lois said cautiously. “Why do I suddenly feel like I’m not going to like this story? So... tell me. I take it ‘Handsome’ must be a man.”
Molly nodded. “You really don’t remember?”
Lois shook her head.
“Too bad. At least you picked the right name for him ‘cause this guy was hot.”
“Hot,” Lois repeated.
Molly nodded. “You introduced him to me as ‘Handsome’ - which was quite appropriate I thought. He looked like he’d just stepped off the cover of GQ - wearing this leather jacket that was absolutely to die for. And you were all over him.”
“Oh, god,” Lois groaned, burying her head in her hands.
“I’ve got to admit, you’ve got pretty good taste in men when you’re drunk. Better than when you’re sober, actually.”
“Don’t tell me I... Molly, what did I do? Please tell me I didn’t... Oh, god. Molly, is he the one who took me home? What if he... we... I mean, I wasn’t wearing much when I woke up this morning. What if he... I mean, what about AIDS? Did we use protection? Oh, god, what if...”
“Would you relax? You two didn’t do anything you couldn’t tell your mother about, okay. Or... well, I’m not sure you’d want to tell your mother this story. But you don’t have to worry about AIDS or anything like that. He was a perfect gentleman.”
“Maybe he was when you saw him. But if he went back to my room with me...”
“We went back to your room with you,” Molly interrupted. “When he realized how drunk you were, he came to me, looking for some of your friends to take you home. I told him that you didn’t have any friends, but offered to help anyway.” Then, as if realizing that after what had just happened with Linda, that joke was probably in bad taste, she gave Lois an apologetic smile before continuing. “Given how drunk you were, I asked for his help, so he came with me. It’s a good thing he did, too. If he hadn’t, I don’t know what I would have done when you practically collapsed after throwing up in the bushes.”
“Oh, god,” Lois groaned, again burying her head in her hands. “So... what happened - exactly?”
“Well, let’s see. Before or after you asked if you could take him home and keep him in your footlocker?”
“Oh, god,” Lois responded.
Molly laughed. “Or maybe you’re wanting to know about when you ran your hands over his chest, or felt up his biceps or wrapped your arm around his waist or started to strip out of your sweater while he was still in your room or...”
“You’re enjoying this entirely too much,” Lois complained.
“Hey, I’m not the one who got drunk. So tell me something.” Her voice suddenly became much more serious. “You said something about the football players threatening you...”
Lois’ response was cut off when the door to the kitchen opened and a man entered who was wearing a leather jacket and could only be described as tall, dark and hand... Her eyes shot to Molly.
“Lois Lane,” Molly said with a grin, “meet Handsome.”
“Oh god,” Lois exclaimed, dropping her head back into her hands as Molly’s laughter filled the room.
* * * * * * * * *
He’d thought it made sense at the time. He really had. When he hadn’t been able to find a quarter to call Molly, taking a quick trip over here had seemed like the logical solution. What could possibly go wrong? Molly had been going over to Lois’ place to check on her. If she wasn’t back yet, he could just wait until she returned. No harm. No foul.
So what was Lois doing sitting at the kitchen table with Molly? His heart rate shot into overdrive. He had to leave. Get out of here. He’d been spotted by the enemy. Down periscope! Dive! Dive! Dive!
“I... uhh... knocked,” Clark said, gesturing in the direction of the front door.
Depth charges were being set to be deployed the instant they got a fix on him, explosions that would send ripples more powerful than any nuclear explosion tearing apart his world.
“Someone let me in,” he continued cautiously. “They told me just to come on in here. But if it’s not a good time...”
He heard the ping of the radar as they searched for him. Even the slightest mistake could give away his position. He began backing towards the door to the kitchen, anxious to make his escape. Set maximum down angle. Engines full. Give me everything you’ve got. Retreat. Retreat. Retreat.
“No, no,” Molly said, rising to her feet. “I don’t believe the two of you have actually been properly introduced. Lois Lane this is Charlie King.”
Lois raised her face to give him an embarrassed smile. It was her eyes that did him in. Stopped him in his tracks. Caused the engine to stall out his retreat. He was trapped.
“You wouldn’t happen to be any relation to Linda King, would you?” she asked warily.
“Relat... No. No. Not at all,” Clark said. Then, realizing that she wouldn’t know that he would have any reason to know who Linda King was, he continued. “Or at least, I don’t think I have any relations by that name. And, besides, I’m not related to anyone in Metropolis. Well, if she is from Metropolis, of course.” Why had he chosen the name Charlie King anyway? Maybe that was because it had been his usual undercover name before he’d even met Linda King. But why hadn’t he thought about the connection to Linda King? Maybe he could go back and change it. Tell her that Molly had misheard him. Tell her his last name was really Williams or Smith or...
“Listen,” she said, seeming satisfied with his denial of any relation to Linda King, bringing his internal attempts to find another name to an abrupt end. “I understand I need to thank you for your help yesterday.”
“It wasn’t a problem.”
“I’m just a little embarrassed because... I don’t usually get that drunk. I don’t even really know how I got so drunk. I would have sworn I only had one glass of wine, but I guess I must have had more - given Molly’s description how I was behaving.”
“Either that or someone spiked your drink,” Clark said.
“What?” both Lois and Molly asked in unison.
“Why would someone put alcohol in an alcoholic beverage?” Molly asked.
“No... not alcohol,” Clark said. “Date rape drugs. Maybe someone put a date rape drug in your wine.”
“What are you talking about? What’s a date rape drug?” Lois asked, suddenly sitting up straighter, her eyes more focused.
Clark suddenly heard the alarms again. They’d determined his depth and were preparing to fire. We have a solution light, sir. Fire! Number one fired electrically, sir. All fish running hot, straight and normal. Time to impact...
Still, how was it possible the thought of someone slipping a date rape drug into her drink hadn’t occurred to... Oh crap. This was 1987. Was it possible that he, given that he was from ten years in the future, knew about a danger to young women that hadn’t been well known, or maybe even a problem, back in 1987?
“I’m probably way off base here,” Clark immediately said, backtracking as quickly as he could. Evasive maneuvers. Fire decoys. “It might not even be a problem here. Just ignore me. I get these weird ideas sometimes. Anyway, I just stopped by to make sure you were okay. Glad to see that you are...”
“Please, Charlie,” Lois said, cutting him off.
His voice trailed off at her soft plea. She looked as if she really needed to know what he was talking about. And immediately, he knew he’d lost. Blow negative. Surface. Surface. Surface. Surrender was now the only option. He slowly nodded.
“Why don’t you have a seat?” Lois gestured to an empty chair.
He seemed powerless to resist as he found himself going where she wanted him to go - the vanquished, hoping for mercy from the victor.
“Coffee?” Molly asked, going over to the coffee machine. When he nodded, she handed him a mug and then proceeded to top off all their cups. “Oh, and it seems someone brought donuts. Anyone want one?”
Clark nodded again. After all, perhaps this was their version of a final meal before he was sent to his death.
* * * * * * * * *
Lois watched Charlie fiddle nervously as he put three spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee. It made no sense. What did he have to be nervous about?
“So what’s this date rape drug thing you were talking about?” Lois asked, pushing her questions about Charlie’s nerves to the back of her mind - for the moment.
“It’s just what it sounds like. Simply put, a guy might put one of these drugs in a woman’s drink to intoxicate her. Often it’s to make it more likely that she will...” His voice trailed off.
“Put out?”
Charlie nodded. “Willingly or otherwise. Of course, it could also be done by a woman, putting it in a man’s drink so that she can steal his wallet.”
“Why is it those two things don’t seem quite equal?” Molly asked.
Lois snorted. “So what types of drugs do this?”
“Well, I did some research on it for my job and there are three that are used most often. Rohypnol, GHB or gamma hydroxybutyric and ketamine.”
“Never heard of any of them,” Lois said. “So you think that someone gave me one of these date rape drugs?”
Charlie shrugged. “What exactly do you remember from last night? Was there a chance for someone to put a drug in your drink? That might tell you if it was even possible, ‘cause like I said, it might not even be a possibility here so...” He shrugged again before taking a bite of his donut, seeming to savor it as if it were his last meal.
“Well, I poured you a glass of wine from a previously unopened bottle, and I didn’t put anything in it, so what happened then?” Molly asked.
“Linda came over,” Lois said. “I suppose she might think doing something like that would be funny, but...”
“I don’t think I’d even poured the wine before she left,” Molly said. “So I don’t think it could have been her. I gave you the wine, poured myself a glass of punch, realized someone had put alcohol in it and... You were going to find us a seat while I dealt with the punch issue.”
Lois nodded. “Yeah. I found a table and a number of people came over. Joe and Debbie. They wanted to warn me to watch out because the football players had found out that even though Linda submitted the story, I was the one who had uncovered it.”
“Could one of them... Joe or Debbie...” Charlie began.
“They wouldn’t have any reason to. But even if they had wanted to, the glass was sitting in front of me on the table the whole time.”
“Did you look away, or maybe someone or something distracted you?” Charlie asked again.
“No. And they were only there for a couple of minutes.”
“Okay so... what happened then?”
Lois thought for a moment. “Teddy. Teddy came over.”
“Who’s Teddy?” Molly asked.
“A guy from my gymnastics class. Harmless as a fly. It couldn’t have been Teddy. Besides, I don’t think he would have had a chance because that’s when Donald Landover and his... No wait. Bob Stafford came over at some point. Not sure if it was before or after Landover.”
“What did that creep want?” Molly asked.
“To warn me to quit telling people that I was the one who got the story about the football players. He made some comment about me needing to get laid, too. Said something about it taking the pole out of my...” She shot Charlie an embarrassed look. “Well, anyway...”
“What about opportunity? Did he have a chance to put something in your drink?” Charlie asked.
Lois thought for a moment before letting out a breath of frustration. After a moment, she shrugged.
“What about Landover?” Molly asked. “What happened when he came over?”
“He and a few of his thugs... or whatever they were. They had no necks. They came over when I was talking to Teddy. Hey, I did jump up once when one of them started pushing Teddy around. Landover came up behind me... Still, there wasn’t a lot of time.”
“How long does it take to drop a pill... or what would it be?” Molly asked.
“A pill, powder, a liquid... It depends,” Charlie said, wiping his hands free of powdered sugar.
“I suppose there may have been time. Landover did make some sexual comments related to something Teddy said about how flexible I am in gymnastics.” She kept her eyes on Molly when she made the last comment. “Landover told me to watch my back. They were obviously really mad at me.”
“What happened then?” Molly asked. “Did they just leave?”
“No. Actually Ryan Wiley came over with some Beta Beta guys and told them to back off.”
“Really?” Molly said, sounding impressed.
“What happened then?” Charlie asked. “Did these guys just leave or did they stay and talk?”
“Well, I was sort of surprised,” Lois said. “I mean, Ryan and I had quite an argument earlier in the day. And I don’t think it’s any secret that we’ve never really liked each other. So I thanked him and well, he said something about not caring if Landover got his revenge. Sounded almost like he hoped he would.”
“Then why did he step in?” Charlie asked.
“Because he didn’t want them turning Molly’s party into a brawl.”
“Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand him?” Molly asked.
Lois looked over at her friend to see that all the color had drained out of Molly’s face.
“I’m sure, Mol,” Lois said softly, wondering once again what exactly her friend’s relationship was with Ryan. “He didn’t do it to save me. He did it to save your party.”
“But...” Molly couldn’t seem to bring herself to complete her question.
“Then what happened?” Charlie asked, breaking the awkward silence.
“Uhh...” Lois said, trying to get her mind back on track. “Linda’s brother.”
“Linda’s brother?” Molly asked. “Which one?”
“Her step-brother - Russell... I can’t think of his last name right now. He was drunk. I mean really drunk. Demanded to know why I’d broken my date with him last week. Then the idiot spilled his beer all over me. That’s when I decided I’d had enough. I finished my wine and set out to find you.”
“Go back to the part where he spilled his beer on you. What did you do then?” Charlie asked.
Lois’ eyes went wide. “I went over to a nearby table to grab some napkins and clean myself up. I wasn’t gone long, but I left my wine sitting back on my table. When I came back, Russell had left. So I finished my wine and... Charlie,” she said, suddenly reaching out and grabbing his forearm, “do these drugs have any sort of taste to them?”
“Not really... so far as I know. That’s one of the reasons they’re used.”
“Damn. I really thought I was on to something there.”
“What?” both Charlie and Molly said.
“Well, I thought my wine tasted salty. I remember thinking it was weird.”
“Salty?” Charlie asked.
Lois nodded.
“I remember reading that GHB tasted salty, depending on what type of drink it was added to.”
TO BE CONTINUED...
ML
