Smallville: Part 5
by Nan Smith
Previously:
She nodded. "I don't trust Lex," she said. "Do you think I'm overdoing it?"
Clark frowned a little and then shook his head. "No, I don't. The guy didn't get where he is by being careless. We should have thought of it last night, but I guess we can still cover our trail. But I don't think an email is a good idea."
"Then what is?"
Clark glanced around, as if to assure himself that there was no one close enough to overhear him. "Let's take a walk out by the barn," he said in a low voice.
**********
And now, Part 5:
Perry White glanced through the window of his office at the main newsroom and the people moving around in it.
The Christmas Eve staff had gussied the place up a little more than it had been yesterday, and on the table that held the coffee machine, a small tree, contributed via a collection from every member of the staff a couple of days before, supported a surprisingly varied load of ornaments. A brightly colored treasure trove of gifts was nestled around its base, including one that Perry could have sworn looked exactly like a wrapped fly swatter, and from the radio Christmas music played in the background.
Perry looked up at the clock. It was past noon. Anthony Daus had come for his interview hours ago and left, looking slightly stunned at Perry's offer of a provisional internship at the Planet beginning the day after his graduation. Perry had been very favorably impressed with him when he'd talked to Tony last night in the taxi. He hoped the kid would work out. He sure seemed promising enough.
Jimmy Olsen, seated at his desk, looked up abruptly and then jumped to his feet, staring at something to Perry's right, just out of his range of vision. Everyone else in view had also turned to look. Curious, Perry pushed back his desk chair and went to open his door.
And stopped stock still in his tracks.
Superman stood just inside the windows, his feet apart and planted firmly and his arms folded. Perry barely managed to maintain his dignity by keeping his jaw from dropping open. He cleared his throat and closed the office door behind him. Superman turned his head slightly and strode toward Perry, the scarlet cape waving behind him. "Mr. White?"
Perry had to clear his throat again. This was the first time he had actually seen Superman in person and the sheer physical presence of the hero was oddly intimidating. "Superman? Is there something I can do for you?"
The Man of Steel paused three feet away and an unexpectedly attractive smile curved his lips. "I need your help, sir. Could we speak privately somewhere?"
Perry blinked, mentally shifted gears and nodded. "Come into the conference room," he said, and opened the door. Superman nodded and waited for Perry to precede him.
When the door closed, Perry gestured to the nearest chair. "Have a seat. What can I do for you, Superman?"
"I understand," Superman said, "that you're aware that I'm working with Lois Lane and Clark Kent on their investigation of Lex Luthor."
Perry blinked. "I knew you'd given Lois some information. I didn't know you were actually involved," he said.
"Let's say, we're not advertising it," Superman said. "Anyhow, you probably know that Luthor is attempting to keep them under surveillance. I understand Kent found a listening device in your office." He glanced toward Perry's office as he spoke. "I see you haven't removed it yet."
"Uh -- no. I plan on doing it this afternoon."
Superman nodded. "It's very important that he not be able to trace Lois," he said quietly. "She isn't at her mother's home and she needs some kind of alibi to explain it. Just in case someone checks up on her. I think you'd agree that that wouldn't be good."
"Where is she?" Perry asked automatically.
Superman smiled slightly. "This mustn't go any further, Mr. White. She's in Smallville, Kansas, with Kent, staying at his parents' farm."
Perry felt his eyebrows rise involuntarily. The thought of Lois on a farm was nearly impossible to believe, and that thought was swiftly followed by another. Evidently his suspicion that the relationship between Lois and Clark Kent might be more serious than they had been willing to admit had been more accurate than he'd realized.
Superman was apparently watching his face, and seemed to see more than he'd wanted to reveal. He smiled slightly. "They're both worried that Luthor will check to be certain that she's at her mother's home, which, of course, she isn't. If he starts looking around to locate her, he could very well decide to check on Kent's parents' home," he said. "Unless, of course, he thinks she's on some kind of undercover assignment somewhere. You were the only person she trusts enough to help her. She didn't want to use the phone or email, or anything that might be traced, so I'm here to ask you in her place."
Perry regarded at the hero thoughtfully. "I see." Apparently, Lois's acquaintance with Superman was also considerably more than she'd let on. On the other hand, he figured that if she and Kent and Superman were investigating Lex Luthor, the less anyone knew, the better. Whatever she was up to currently, he would play along. "All right. After you leave, I'll come up with an excuse to call Olsen into my office and explain to him that Lois really isn't at her mother's, but on a covert assignment somewhere. That should cover it."
Superman nodded and got to his feet. "Thank you, sir. Now, you'll need an excuse for my visit to the Planet. Since your office is bugged, it's bound to leak out."
"Not a problem, if you don't mind posing for a few photos." Perry opened the door. "Olsen! Get your camera!"
"I see Lois's confidence wasn't misplaced." Superman said. "Thank you, sir."
Something in the hero's voice was tugging at Perry's memory, and he narrowed his eyes, surveying Superman's face. It seemed oddly familiar, and he studied it curiously. "Have we met before?" he asked suddenly. "I can almost swear I know you."
Superman looked suddenly uncomfortable, and Perry snapped his fingers. "I know who you look like," he said. "The guy Lois found in the crater in Centennial Park. She called him Charlie. It's your eyes, I think."
Superman hesitated and then nodded. "I'd rather that wasn't generally known, Mr. White," he said finally. "You're right. I was Charlie." Perry raised his eyebrows at the admission, and Superman added quickly, "I had tried to destroy Nightfall that night, by ramming it. It broke up, but I was injured in the attempt, and barely made it back to Earth in that fireball that hit in Centennial Park. We believe that was what caused my amnesia."
"I think I see," Perry said slowly. "I guess we owe you a lot more than we knew."
He saw a faint, one-sided smile quirk the other man's lips. "No. If anything, the person who deserves the credit is Lois. She helped me regain my memory and I was able to fly to the asteroid and push it, and the other larger chunks, onto other courses, so that they missed the Earth. As a matter of fact, it was Lois who gave me the idea of diverting the pieces instead of trying to smash them." His gaze met Perry's directly. "I asked her not to write about it because I was planning to go public within a short time, and it didn't seem wise to let the criminal element know that an asteroid was nearly too much for me. I know she gave me the credit for stopping Nightfall after I made my appearance, but it was Lois who actually deserved it. If not for her, I would have failed. I owe her a lot. Everybody on Earth does."
The light dawned. "That's why you gave her the first interview."
"That's right," Superman said, "but it would be best to keep that between the three of us. I don't want her to be a target because criminals think she's my friend."
Perry could see the logic of that. Lois was already too much of a target. There was no point in making it worse. "All right, but I'll expect a more thorough interview from you when you have time."
"I've told Lois all I know," Superman said quietly. "If I ever learn more, she'll have the interview. That's all I can promise."
Perry opened his mouth to ask the other man to elaborate, but at that instant the door opened and Jimmy Olsen entered with his camera. He looked expectantly at Perry. "You wanted me, Mr. White?"
"Yes," Perry told him. "I asked Lois to pass the word to Superman before she left that I'd really like a few good photos of him for our files, and Superman obliged by dropping by. I need you to take them. Five or six will do. Just don't take too long. Superman only has a few minutes." He got to his feet. "I'll get out of the way, now, but feel free to drop in any time, Superman. And I'll take care of that other thing when you're done."
"Thank you, sir," Superman said. He turned to smile at the young photographer. "What do you want me to do, Mr. Olsen?"
"Jimmy," Jimmy said. "First, could you just stand there with your arms folded and look stern?"
**********
When Jimmy finished the photos, Clark said goodbye and was out the window in a flash, headed back to Smallville. Perry White's discovery had startled him considerably, but after the initial shock had worn off he was aware of a faint feeling of relief. Perry had recognized him as Charlie, but not as Clark. His immediate impulse had been to deny being Charlie but he had realized almost instantly that if he did so, Perry would continue trying to place him and might make the connection of Superman to Clark. His editor was no fool, and was obviously very observant -- which figured, he thought. Perry hadn't been made managing editor of the Daily Planet because he could yodel, after all. He'd have to be very careful not to let his boss see him without his glasses, but now any feeling of familiarity Perry had when he saw Superman would be attributed to the fact that Perry had seen him as Charlie. He was that much safer as a result. When he had a chance, he would tell Lois what had occurred and the two of them could make sure their stories about the Charlie episode matched. Perry was bound to quiz Lois about what had really happened. It would be just as well to have the official story straight in advance.
**********
Jonathan Kent was just coming down the stairs when he arrived back at the farm. Clark strolled calmly into the house and gave Lois a tiny nod. He could see the tension drain out of her body, and her smile became more genuine. "How did it go?" she inquired softly.
"Not bad," he said, his voice also low. "I'll tell you later."
Since the only vehicle available to transport the whole group and the food to the Christmas Eve party was the pickup, Lois, Clark and Jack rode sitting in the back of the truck with the food, and a bag that held a change of clothing for the ladies, while Martha and Denny rode in the cab with Jonathan as he drove slowly toward Smallville.
"I don't see any sign of a snowstorm," Lois said, looking at the crisply blue sky above them. "There's not a cloud in sight."
Clark slipped an arm around her, bracing her against the jolting of the truck on the dirt road. He shrugged. "It's early," he said. "They said the clouds will move in this evening. I think we'll see a white Christmas."
"More snow," Jack said. "Y'know, I used to like snow days."
"It won't be so bad," Clark said. "The animals will stay in the barn mostly, until the snow stops."
"They still gotta be fed," Jack said. "Sides, there's a bunch of kittens up in the loft. Somebody's gotta take their mom some food. I been feeding her for a couple of days now."
Lois carefully did not stare at him. He'd been feeding a mother cat? "How many kittens?" she asked curiously.
"Six," Jack said. "Their momma looked like she could use a square meal, so I been bringing her scraps. I fed her this morning when Denny and me milked the cows. I didn't know cats would eat pancakes."
Clark laughed. "They will if they're hungry enough. Especially my mom's pancakes."
"Yeah. She probably liked the butter all over them," Jack conceded. "She ate it all, and the eggs and sausages. too. I guess she was really hungry."
"Mother cats with kittens to feed usually are," Clark said. "I'm sure she'll be all right until this evening."
"She will," Jack said. "She doesn't look as skinny as she did last week. It's gonna be fun feeding all the critters and closing up tonight if it snows, though." He shrugged. "I didn't figure there was so much work on a farm like your mom and dad's," he added. "Little one-horse operation -- but there's a lot." He stretched his legs out. "Better than dodging Luthor's goons, though." He gave Clark a sideways glance. "Do you think they might let me and Denny stay after the Boss's trial is over?"
Clark looked thoughtfully at him. "If you don't give them a lot of trouble, and if we can work things out with Child Protective Services, they might," he said. "Why?"
"That's what I'm talking about," Jack said. "A year from now I'll be nearly eighteen. I turn seventeen in January. In a year, I'm legally an adult and Child Protective Services can't touch me, and I can be responsible for Denny. 'Sides," he added, looking a little sheepish, "Martha and Jonathan look like they can use the help, and this ain't such a bad place to live -- at least for a while."
"Why don't you talk to them?" Lois suggested. "Maybe you could work something out."
"Me and Denny don't want charity," Jack said. "But we could work for our keep -- at least until we get ourselves fixed up right."
"Like Lois says," Clark said. "Talk to them."
"I guess so," Jack said. "Maybe tomorrow, after breakfast."
The truck turned off the dirt road onto the main highway that ran past the farm. It was about a ten-mile drive to town, Lois remembered from her previous visits to the Kent farm, and Jonathan took the drive slowly because of the three passengers in the back of the truck, but at last their destination came into view. Lois took in the scene in silence, understanding instantly why Clark had called Christmas Eve the biggest party in Smallville. Jonathan Kent drove cautiously down the main street of the town. He couldn't have driven fast if he'd tried, she thought.
The little town of Smallville looked like something out of a Christmas card under its coating of snow, and was decorated in glitter, tinsel, ornaments and twinkling lights, and from somewhere not far away a band was playing Christmas music. People, dressed warmly in deference to the weather, swarmed the sidewalks and streets, talking and laughing. A couple of blocks further on, a group dressed in the old-fashioned clothing of the 19th Century stood on a street corner, and Lois could hear the words to "Oh Come All Ye Faithful," as the Kent party passed. Finally, Jonathan turned onto a side street and a moment later pulled the pickup truck into a uneven, gravel-covered lot behind a store bearing the sign "Higgins Brothers Feed and Hardware Emporium."
Clark jumped out of the truck, followed at once by Jack, and turned to extend a hand to help Lois down, but she had already swung herself over the side and landed beside him. The nippy breeze fanned her cheeks and now that she was no longer in the truck she could smell the aroma of baking gingerbread and pumpkin pie floating enticingly on the early afternoon air.
Clark glanced at her and grinned, correctly interpreting the way she raised her head and inhaled the scent. "That's Aunt Amy's Bakery, a couple of buildings down," he said. "They always have a booth on Main Street on Christmas Eve. They're kind of a tradition."
"Aunt Amy?" Lois questioned. "You didn't say you had an aunt."
"I don't. That's just the name of the place," Clark said. "It's been here at least fifty years or so." He turned as his mother descended from the cab of the pickup and began to distribute the boxes of food that had come with them, intended for the Christmas Eve dinner that evening.
"I want to drop this stuff off right away," she informed them. "Then we can split up and have some fun."
**********
Martha led the group straight to the Smallville Community Center, where they dropped off their offerings with the Banquet Committee. Maisie, who was apparently in charge, greeted Clark with a hug and turned to smile at Lois. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon," she said.
"I was kind of at loose ends this Christmas," Lois said. "My sister is in Europe, my dad is off somewhere in South America and my mom has a new boyfriend, so Martha and Jonathan invited me to spend my Christmas in Smallville."
"Wonderful," Maisie said. "You can get your first taste of Christmas in the country. Clark, you should take her to the town square. They've got a dance band there. And don't forget to drop by the coffee shop. We've got enough coffee, punch and eggnog there to feed an army."
"We'll do that," Clark said. He held out his arm to Lois, who took it. "Ready?"
"Won't your mom and dad need us for something?" Lois asked.
Martha was shaking her head. "Jonathan and I are going to take Clark's cousins to see some of the sights," she said. "There's some events scheduled for the kids over at the high school gym. Maybe they'll like to try out their talents in the pig-wrestling contest. We'll call you in a while and we can get back together again."
"Pig-wrestling?" Lois said. "I thought Clark said you didn't have that at Christmas."
"The committee voted to add it this year," Martha said cheerfully. "They decided bobbing for apples in root beer was probably a little too messy, though. We'll save that for the Corn Festival." She laughed at Lois's expression. "It's only for the kids, Lois. If you come for the Corn Festival, you'll have a chance to dunk Clark. He always volunteers for the customers to throw baseballs at him so they can dunk him. It's for the charity that supplies turkey dinners for the homeless shelter over in Goodland on Thanksgiving."
"That kind of show might be worth it," Lois said, giving her partner a significant glance. Clark blushed.
**********
Tony Daus almost couldn't believe his good luck. Perry White had actually agreed to give him a try at the Daily Planet!
He actually hadn't expected anything when Lois Lane had said that she would mention his name to her boss, but apparently the famously brilliant and equally cranky investigative journalist for the city's top newspaper had been as good as her word. He made a mental note to thank her the next time he saw her.
He brought cab to a stop by the curb, and accepted the fare and a miserly tip from the little man in the business suit before unlocking the rear door for him to exit.
"Have a nice day," he said, automatically.
The passenger didn't reply, but got out, slamming the door behind him, and made his way directly toward the door of Lex Tower. Tony shrugged philosophically and pulled away from the curb.
It wouldn't be until some twenty minutes later that another passenger alerted him to the presence of the large manila envelope that lay on the floor of the cab.
**********
tbc
