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Chapter 9: Foreboding
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Eduardo waved to Perry as he passed the editor's office on the way to the elevators, his coat slung over his shoulders. Perry managed a return wave and leaned back in his chair to survey the emptying newsroom. The night crew and janitorial staff weren't due in for another two hours, but most of the reporters were wrapping up for the night. The only one still industriously working was Jimmy.
Despite himself, Perry felt a proud smile reshape his features. The kid sure had thrown himself wholesale into the investigation of Orville Dorian, and he and Lois had discovered quite a bit to connect him to Intergang. In fact, Perry was planning on running the story on the next day's front page. It was past time Jimmy got his own byline.
"Jimmy!" he called.
"Yeah, Chief?" Jimmy asked, sticking his head into the office.
"Come in, Jimmy. I know you've been working hard on that Dorian story--"
"We're not quite there yet," Jimmy interjected defensively. "Don't worry, Chief. I should have the final piece of evidence tomorrow. I've traced the small business to the warehouse of a--"
"Now, wait a minute." Perry held up a restraining hand and moved to the front of his desk. "I'm not here to ask you for the story--or at least not that one." He swallowed his laugh at Jimmy's bewildered expression. "The thing of it is...you know Lois is going to have half the byline of the main story on Dorian. But I want you to have your own story--your name alone on the byline."
"What?" Jimmy almost staggered with shock. "My own story? On...on wh--"
"I want a sidebar on sham companies and how crime organizations use them. You've run into enough of them that you shouldn't need to do a lot of research for it. I'll run it alongside the Dorian story, all right?"
"That sounds great! Thanks, Chief!"
"Ah, you're long past due for it." Perry shrugged and moved back toward his chair.
"Chief?"
At Jimmy's suddenly hesitant tone, Perry turned back to the kid. "Yeah?"
"You're not just doing this because you think my name should have been on the red Kryptonite story, are you? Because I don't want any favors or--"
"I'm doin' this because you deserve it, Jimmy. You're the one who thought to look into Dorian's background--that makes it your story."
"It's just..." Jimmy paused and stuck his hands into his pockets. "I know you said you were happy I investigated Jerry, but I...I'm not sure you really meant it."
Taking a deep breath, Perry clasped a hand to Jimmy's shoulder and led him to a seat on the couch. "Listen, son, I know I was...a bit ragged around the edges earlier. But it wasn't your fault, believe me. I guess what has my face in the dirt is the fact that my son deceived me and made me near enough to an accomplice in his scam. I mean...I'm an old newshound and I didn't catch the stink of what he was doin'."
"Chief, it's not your fault." Jimmy's eyes shone with the earnestness so characteristic of him. "Jerry's a con artist, a scam man; it's what he does. The truth is...I only thought to doubt what he said because I was...well, I was jealous."
"Jealous?" Perry repeated cautiously. He knew instantly what Jimmy was talking about, of course--he had felt the same irrational jealousy when Jack Olsen had shown up the year before--but he wasn't so sure he wanted to address it so blatantly. His relationship with Jimmy was what it was; no need to analyze it.
"Chief, I wasn't looking for a story when Jerry was around."
"Yeah, well, you think Lois and Clark are looking for all the stories they find?" Perry forced a chuckle. "A good reporter is smart enough to see what he has and exploit it a bit. And you've got all the makings of a good reporter. I know you're a bit more attracted to the photography aspect, but writing is something I have faith you can do. Remember that you're the one who wrote the 'Superman's Alive' story during Nightfall. Now, what say we wrap things up for the night?"
"Sure, Chief." There was a disappointed slant to Jimmy's features as he left the office. Once more, just as he had felt when leaving Jerry, Perry felt as if he were missing something, as if both Jimmy and Jerry were looking for something more from him. But for the life of him, he couldn't bring himself yet to address what that something was.
When the phone rang, Perry answered it distractedly and almost didn't recognize Dr. Klein's voice until the man had babbled a good two or three paragraphs. "Dr. Klein," he interrupted decisively. "What is it? What's the hurry?"
"I'm trying to find Lois or Clark--I have important news for them. Please, could you tell me where they are?"
"Well, Lois finished her stories and headed for home about half an hour ago, so she should be there. And Clark--" Perry paused. He had seen Clark duck out just before lunch and hadn't seen him return yet, though usually he came back at the end of the day to quickly make up for whatever work the Superman emergencies had made him miss. "Well, he'll probably be showin' up here pretty soon. Is there a message I can give them?"
"Uh, well...no, not really. I guess I'll try their house again."
"Again?" Perry's voice sharpened. "You've already tried it?"
"Yes!" Klein exclaimed. "I've been calling nonstop for the past ten minutes. Before that, I called their desks, but Jimmy told me neither one of them were in. Please, it's imperative that I tell them something."
"I'll see if I can't find them," the editor promised. "Meanwhile, you keep trying their house. I'm sure Clark will show up in about ten or twenty minutes, so try back here then."
"All right," Klein agreed grudgingly. "Thanks, Mr. White."
As soon as Perry had hung up the phone, he strode out of his office. "Jimmy, do you know where Lois or Clark are?"
"Lois went home. Didn't you get her story on the inquiry?"
"Yeah." Pursing his lips, Perry shook his head. "Hmm. Have you seen Clark come back yet?"
"No. Usually, he gets here--"
"I know." Perry hesitated, then abruptly made his decision. "Look, son, I promised Jerry I'd come and visit him tonight. Would you mind goin' with me? That way, after I'm done, we can look for Lois and Clark."
"Look for them?" Jimmy frowned. "You mean they're missing?"
"Well, maybe not. It wouldn't be the first time those two dropped below the radar." In fact, the editor thought, maybe Clark had run into Lois and decided to take her for a moonlight flight before finishing up his work. Or maybe Superman had needed Lois's help on a situation--or, more likely, Lois had needed Superman. Either way, Perry wasn't sure why he suddenly had such a foreboding feeling. It wasn't as if Clark couldn't take care of himself--and Lois.
Maybe, Perry admitted silently, he just wanted someone to be with him when he met with his son.
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"Thanks for coming by, Dad." Jerry ventured a smile, smaller and more genuine than the ones he usually flashed around.
"Oh, not a problem, son." Perry shifted, wishing Jimmy had come into the prison with him. The kid had wanted to wait outside, and though Perry would have loved the company--not support, he told himself firmly--he knew it was probably wisest not to endanger his already-perilous relationship with his son. "How you holdin' up?"
Jerry shrugged. "It's not so bad now that my court date's been set. Look, I kind of thought Clark might come with you. I have that information he wanted."
"Do you?" Perry had to think for a minute to recall his last visit. He was more worried about Lois than he cared to admit, and it was hard to pull his mind from theories about where she might be, each one more improbable--and dangerous--than the last. "Well, give it here and I'll see that Clark gets it."
"All right." Jerry leaned forward conspiratorially. "There was an inmate that got killed--just like Barry claimed, right down to the twisted cell door. It turns out his throat was completely crushed, but there weren't any fingerprints. His name was Emmett Vale."
"Vale?" Perry suddenly felt wide awake, his thoughts jolted from concern for Lois. "As in the Vale brothers? As in the cyborg creators?"
"Afraid so. And there's more. One of the guards told me yesterday that Rollie Vale has disappeared--they're trying to keep it hushed up so the Feds don't have to stumble over every false alarm, and probably so the press doesn't crucify them. The guard said Rollie broke out of his cell the same night Emmett turned up dead."
"You think he killed his own brother?"
Jerry let out a sigh and raised his hands in an extravagant shrug. "I don't really know how there could be any other explanation. Rollie is the one who had the metal arm, remember?"
"Yeah, which would explain how the cell doors were busted open and Emmett was killed."
The world stopped, froze in one breathless moment as a collage of information and tidbits of knowledge coalesced into one foreboding conclusion.
The twisted metal of cell doors.
The crushed throat of a brother who wouldn't listen.
The metallic, inordinately strong arm of a too-smart criminal.
And the break-in at S.T.A.R. Labs with a twisted-open vault door, knowledge of their security systems, and a failure to show up on the surveillance footage.
Dr. Klein's frantic call.
Lois and Clark's disappearance.
"I have to go." Perry stood, ignoring the way the room seemed to spin around him, all gray and stone and startled expressions. "I have to see Dr. Klein."
"Uh...okay." A trace of hurt was instantly hidden beneath Jerry's careless grin. "Guess I should have waited till the end of the visit to tell you my news, huh?"
"Jerry, I appreciate you passin' me this information--but I think Lois and Clark are in trouble. Rollie Vale has kidnapped Clark before and been involved in a kidnapping of Lois. And no one's seen either of them since earlier this afternoon."
"Well, go, then!" Jerry shooed him away with his hands. "Oh, Dad! I...I did good, huh?"
Perry's steps checked. He wanted to snap that Jerry didn't need to *earn* his approval, didn't need to *work* to win his father's love, didn't need to *buy* his way into Perry's heart. But perhaps it would take another lifetime to convince him, a lifetime without the intervention of the Planet's greedy needs and Perry's own inexperience with matters of the heart.
Perhaps it would take so much more than Perry felt he had to give.
Regardless, there was no time now. If he was right about what Klein had to tell him, Clark might even now be dying. And Lois? Was she dead too? Or was she being forced to watch Clark's pain?
They might still be all right, Perry tried to convince himself.
It was a useless attempt. The twisting in his stomach that had started the minute he had hung up with Dr. Klein had grown a thousand times worse. And he didn't have time for straightening out either Jerry or himself.
"Yeah, you did great," he said instead. "Thanks. I'll come by later to see you, son, all right?"
"All right."
Perry turned his back on the sight of his son sitting solitary and small at a metal table, guards approaching him from behind to take him deeper into the prison. He strode quickly out of the prison, chafing impatiently at the check-out procedures. It seemed to take an eternity for him to be freed from the prison walls and allowed back out into the rainy night.
"Jimmy!"
"Yeah, Chief?" Jimmy straightened from the bench under the entrance's overhang, hitching his jacket closer as he stepped to Perry's side.
"We need to drop by Lois and Clark's--see if they're home. If they're not...we need to go see Dr. Klein. You haven't happened to see Superman lately, have you?"
"No. Why?" Jimmy's face paled in alarm. "Are Lois and Clark in some kind of danger?"
"Aren't they always?" Perry retorted wryly. "Come on, let's go. I'll fill you in on the way."
The house on Hyperion Avenue looked disturbingly dark; no sign of movement was evident in the windows and no ray of light emerged from behind the curtains. Perry and Jimmy knocked nonetheless, neither one willing to give up so easily.
When, after five minutes, there was still no answer, Perry grudgingly accepted the fact that Lois--who should have been home a good two hours ago--wasn't there.
"Maybe Clark found something and called her back to the Planet," Jimmy suggested, the note of hope in his voice patently false.
"Yeah, maybe," Perry agreed neutrally. "Let's get to S.T.A.R. Labs."
Dr. Klein met them at the door to allow them entrance, his entire body almost vibrating with his urgency. "I've tried the Daily Planet over a hundred times and their house almost as often," he said by way of greeting. His strides were long, almost panicked, as he led them toward his lab and the vault that had been invaded.
"Still nothing?" Perry double-checked, as if Lois and Clark might miraculously appear out of nowhere. It had happened before, after all--quite often, as a matter of fact.
"No!" Klein exclaimed. "And I really need to tell them what I discovered."
"It's the Kryptonite, isn't it?" Perry asked bluntly, tired of stalling. "It was stolen during the break-in."
Both Klein and Jimmy stared at him for a moment before the doctor nodded reluctantly. "I checked it, I swear--it was the *first* thing I checked. Both the green and the red Kryptonite were still there, and they were both emitting low signs of the radiation. But..." He grimaced. "I was running some tests on them today, and...well, they're fakes. Even the signs of emitted radiation is nothing more than a smokescreen--ingenious, really, using the--well, never mind. Look, I'm sorry about this. We *really* need to get word to Superman to be on the lookout. If Intergang somehow has the Kryptonite--"
"It's not Intergang," Jimmy told him.
"Not yet," Perry said grimly. "But Rollie Vale and his brother always sold to the highest bidder--they did it with their weapons technology and also with whatever it was Luthor wanted from him. And Intergang pays big, particularly when they're desperate--and Dorian's proof of just how desperate they are. Maybe they decided that if bad publicity can't get rid of Superman, they'll use deadly force."
"And Lois? Clark?" Jimmy asked worriedly. "Why would they be taken?"
"Bait." Perry allowed himself to close his eyes for a brief moment, memories of Lois and Clark together and happy flashing through his mind. Then he opened his eyes and turned to Jimmy and Dr. Klein. "We're going to need to figure out where Rollie Vale would have taken them. Superman's saved us; now he needs us to save him."
Jimmy flashed a sudden grin. "I have an idea."
