Serious information in this bit. And a warning... evil Lex gets worse!
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It was all Clark could do to concentrate today. He'd covered an accident this morning and needed to finish the story on it, but his mind kept going back to the baby he left in Kansas. She was adorable. Cute dimples filled her chubby cheeks and her bright eyes constantly searched her surroundings. In the two days he'd stayed to help his folks get her set up, she'd begun to recognize his voice. She'd turn her head toward him when he spoke and smile. God, he loved her smile. And when she cried, his heart felt like breaking. She'd wrap her tiny hand around one of his fingers and he'd melt. He'd taken the time to show her the farm, talking to her softly. She liked the animals- cooing and squealing loudly when she saw one. He'd cradled her tenderly to rock her to sleep, cleaned baby food from her face at meal time, and learned how to change dirty diapers at super speed. It didn't matter how she'd gotten to them. All that mattered now was that she was taken care of. He liked Perry- liked her smile, liked her big beautiful eyes, her round, full cheeks. When she laughed, he felt warm all over. Clark had fallen completely in love with a seven month old baby girl.
"Kent, you done with that piece on the accident?" Perry yelled out into the bullpen.
"Just a minute," he answered as he shook the cobwebs from his head. He'd just have to force himself to concentrate.
"Perry wants us to stay late tonight," Jimmy told him as he dropped a couple of photos on Clark's desk. "Says he wants to discuss which direction to go in."
"Not a problem." He finished up his article as Jimmy went back to his desk. With any luck, somebody would have better ideas than he did. He was lost. Luthor had covered his tracks well. If something didn't give soon, they might never be able to bring down the 'Boss'.
****
Nigel walked up beside Lex just outside the balcony doors. They had to stand close to the building under the awning because it was raining.
"Have they found her?"
"Not so much as a trace. It's as if she disappeared from the face of the planet."
"And the bodyguard?"
"Floating down the river as we speak."
Lex lit the cigar he'd been holding, taking several long draws before he spoke again. "I spoke to Lang. He disobeyed a direct order."
"Again?"
"This one might bite us." He blew out another puff of smoke. "He didn't put the implants in place."
"It might be for the best, sir. If they'd been activated and the baby died, her true biology would have been discovered much more quickly."
"Better to be agonizingly slow with the eventuality," he practically spat at his right hand man. "If I know White, he'll have her examined to see if I've poisoned her or molested her or..." He stopped and threw the cigar on the cement, stomping it out. "He has her."
"We've traced his steps, retraced, and even plundered through his trash. We've even combed through everyone connected with White. Not one trace of a baby."
"What about the Kent fellow?"
"He's only been working for White a short time. A man like Perry White would never put that kind of trust in a man so easily or quickly."
"Yes, you're right. We can't get a single mole in that place. They all fear the man. How about bugging devices?"
"He sweeps the Planet daily. They'd be found and those *can* be traced."
"Damn that man," Luthor said in disgust. "He's been a thorn in my side for years." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and gazed out across the city. "What now, Nigel? What do we do now?"
"I say cut your losses. Forget the brat. Claim your empire and fade into the background."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you have much worse trouble than Perry White." Lex faced Nigel with raised brows. "Delconto has put you on his hit list."
"What?!" True fear washed over Lex. If he'd been placed on Juan Delconto's hit list... "We have to act fast," he said with desperation in his voice. "When did you find out?"
"Today. A friend of a friend who owed me a favor wanted to warn me. Otherwise, we would not have known until it was too late."
"How much time do we have?"
"Days. Hopefully." Nigel's voice was just as unemotional as it always was.
"Then we need to get busy." Lex turned and went inside. Nigel followed and carefully closed the doors.
****
Jimmy tapped his pencil as he scanned through another article. They were back to searching for crumbs again. Clark was doing much the same thing while they waited for Jack and Perry. The younger man entered the conference room first.
"I'm pretty sure I know the reason there was no official investigation into the disappearance of Lois' baby," Jack said as he dropped to a chair.
"Because she doesn't legally exist," Perry remarked as he stepped in and closed the door.
"What?" Clark asked as he lifted his eyes from his computer screen.
"According to sources in Vital Records, the only child born to Lex and Lois Luthor was a baby boy. Xavier Franklin Luthor is listed as a single birth." He tossed one of the papers he held across the table.
Jack shook his head in disbelief. "How do you do it? I hardly ever see you leave that office."
"Now, son, I wouldn't be a man in my position if I didn't know things."
Jack chuckled as he leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the table. "At least we know the only one we have to worry about looking for her is Lex himself."
"And being as his arm seems to reach across the country, that might be worse than having the cops looking for her," Jimmy added gravely.
"Yeah, well, I hope this will throw him off the trail for a while." Perry handed Clark some more papers. "Birth certificate, social security number application, immunization... Of course, we should get her to the doctor for thorough exam because if my hunch is right, the poor thing hasn't had a single shot yet."
Clark had been reading the papers and after the first section on the top page, he hadn't heard much else of what Perry had said. His eyes shot up to his boss and he thrust himself to his feet. "What the hell is this?"
Perry's expression was a bit apologetic. "Now, calm down, son."
"Calm down? Perry, this is..." He glanced down again before his eyes went back up to the older man's. "We can't..."
"Think about it, Clark."
Jimmy snatched the papers and read a second. "Well, it's certainly one way to keep questions at bay."
"Jimmy, there'll be tons of questions," Clark argued.
"Read on. The last paper says you were engaged to the mother, but she perished in a car accident before you two left Brazil. And it's true. The death part. Maria died a month before you came back to the states."
"Yeah, I know." Clark knew the woman named on this paper. She had indeed been pregnant and she had died in a car accident. But her baby was living with her father in Chile now.
"I covered my tracks well. Favors were traded to make sure Luis and his daughter cannot be found. They are happily enjoying their new home as we speak." Perry grinned widely.
"Wait, wait, wait," Jack said as he dropped his feet back to the floor and sat up in his chair. "You've fixed it so that Clark is that baby's father?" he asked his boss.
"Yes," Perry answered as he sat down. "You said yourself the baby looks like him. Another positive in our corner to keep the questions at bay. I even got her a passport and according to flight records, she and Kent flew QueenAir into the states."
"And don't tell me," Jack said. "Oliver himself provided you with the manifest."
"As a matter of fact," the older man said.
Jack could only laugh and shake his head. Perry knew everybody and they all owed him a favor. Except for the ones that knew anything about Lex Luthor that could help them.
Clark slowly sat back down, flipping through the papers in his hands. With a little ink and a few repaid debts, he'd become the legal father of a baby girl named Perry Ella Kent.
"Don't worry, son. When all of this is over, I have the proof to get you out of this, too."
The younger man looked up at his editor. "Perry, it's not the fact that I'm essentially this child's father. It's just..." He sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. "What happens if this turns into months or worse, years? What about that little girl then?"
"We have to think about now, Clark. Right now we have to do this. And the only way I knew to protect her is like this. If Luthor starts looking, it'll be as if she was always there and he just didn't know it. Besides, you're new man on the totem pole. Luthor won't look at you too hard."
"But..." Clark just stared at the papers. How in hell did he do this? It wasn't that he was exactly averse to being Perry's father. On the contrary. He'd found himself thinking more than once over the last two days about her really being his. But that was insane and so was this. This would never work. This would never keep her safe. And right now that was the most important thing. If Lex *did* look deeper...
"Clark, this will work," Perry told him softly. "It has to."
Clark looked up at his boss. He'd seen that look so many times in Perry's eyes. It was the love he had for Lois. She must be something incredibly special for Perry to be banking so much on helping her. As the large, soulful eyes of baby Perry flashed through his mind, he decided that *she* was definitely something special. This might be insane, but...
"I hope so." He flipped the papers again, then carefully placed them into an empty manila folder lying on the table. "I'll get these out to Mom." He couldn't believe he was doing this. There was no going back now.
"Hey, genius," Jack spoke up. "Have you thought about what you're gonna say if folks ask why little Perry's out in Kansas instead of here with her daddy?"
Perry arched a brow at the boy's bravado. "We'll cross that bridge if and when it comes. Hopefully this will all be over soon."
"Hey, what about her name?" Everyone turned to look at Jimmy. "Won't it be obvious who she is by her name?"
"I have a feeling nobody knows what she called that little girl," Jack spoke up. "They never brought her to the park. Never even talked about her. My source says the baby was rarely out of Lois' bedroom. It seems Lex didn't want anybody to know she was alive."
Clark couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of himself. He'd been worried about being labeled that little girl's father while she'd never even had a life at all.
There was a long silence while each man was lost in his own thoughts. Perry clapped his hands together to signal it was time to get to work. "Let's get the goods on this bastard and put him behind bars where he belongs."
****
Lex looked out over the city that he claimed as his own. No one could touch him from this position. No one could topple him from his perch atop the throne he'd built.
No one but himself.
"Sir?"
Lex turned to face the English gentleman he'd hired many years ago to handle his affairs. Nigel had come highly recommended and so far he'd proven himself to be worth every dime he paid the man. "Yes, Nigel? What is it?"
"The girl's body was found this morning."
Lex heaved a heavy breath and slumped into the chair at his desk. "Then it's time."
"Yes, sir."
An evil grin spread across the billionaire's lips. "Ironic isn't it, Nigel? The one place I fought to get away from will become my shelter from the storm."
"It's just temporary, sir."
"Yes, indeed. Now..." Lex sat up with a renewed confidence. "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, sir."
"Does everyone know their jobs?"
"To the letter. Eleven o'clock marks the time."
"Eleven." Lex lit a cigar and twirled his chair to face the window. "She's beautiful; she's seductive; she's mine. Soon the world will know the power of a great leader." With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Nigel. He smoked his cigar with all the arrogance of a man without a care in the world.
****
Clark and Jimmy had gone down to Suicide Slum at daybreak when a body of a young woman was found. A young white girl being found in the Slums was cause for concern. She might be a runaway or a missing person. And if she was, they would make sure her family got her body for proper burial.
It turned out she was just a junkie who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The guys decided to head on to the Planet and get the article written up so they might get a little extra time to work on the Luthor investigation.
It was an hour later before Jack made it in. He was on his way to give Jimmy some research he'd done for the other man when the picture lying on Clark's desk caught his eye. He stopped and lifted the image to be sure he was seeing what he thought he was.
"Sara!"
"What?" Clark looked up from his screen.
"This is Sara, Lois' nanny." He thrust the picture back into Clark's line of vision.
"Are you sure?" Jimmy wanted to know. He'd heard the other guy's exclamation and came to listen in.
"I saw her three times a week for months. I am positive."
Jimmy and Clark exchanged a glance before they both headed for the elevator. They needed to talk to Bill Henderson and see if he could get the autopsy pushed forward as quickly as possible. And to see if this girl had a life outside her employer.
Jack was left holding the picture and sighing sadly. He'd really liked that girl. She had no idea she'd been in bed with the devil.
****
Lex grinned as he lit a cigar. He might as well have one last stogy. A glance at his watch informed him it was nearly eleven o'clock. Just about show time.
"Tell my wife I'd like to see her," he barked his order without turning toward the servant he knew was behind him.
"Yes, sir," came the answer.
When Lex had found himself in need of a woman for certain... scientific purposes, he'd thought of Lois. He'd been entertaining her at the time, so it was natural she would be his choice.
He laughed aloud. Who was he kidding? He'd set out to gain the young reporter's trust and had eventually attained and conquered the formidable Lois Lane. From the time she'd gone to work as an intern at the Planet, she'd caused him nothing but utter distress. At every turn she was waiting with pen in hand to document his shortcomings. And on more than one occasion, she had. Too bad she didn't even know it.
He'd thought it would be fun to tame that beauty. But she was much too brash for his tastes. He preferred women who submitted the moment he spoke and she'd never do so without the help of some form of persuasion. Lex had never been one to need an outside influence to get a woman into his bed. He wasn't about to start with Lois. He had enjoyed watching her suffer though. Soon he would also put her in her proper place. He blew a large smoke ring into the air and squinted so that he could more clearly see the street below.
Inside her room, the servant informed Lois that Luthor would like a word with her. What could he possibly want?
Lois cringed to know he wanted her at all, in any way. She sure as hell didn't want him.
Lex was peering over the balcony wall when Lois stepped outside. She made her way to him and crossed her arms over her chest.
"You beckoned?" she said sarcastically.
Lex turned with an evil smile. "Ah, Lois. You always did know how to talk to a man." He took a slow sip from the brandy bottle on the wall between his propped up arms, then promptly slapped her to the floor. "I hope you enjoyed your time as my wife."
Lois wiped the blood from her mouth as she glared at him. "I would have rather died than be made into your wife."
"We can accommodate you." He lifted the bottle for a hearty gulp. "How's my boy this morning?"
Lois had enough of his threats. "Leave Zay out of this. This is between me and you."
"Zay? You're calling him Zay?" He laughed aloud for a moment.
"I refuse to call him *Xavier*. That's the name *you* gave him," she spat in return.
He eyed her closely for a moment, and she held her breath, expecting another resounding slap. Instead, the customary spark of evil flashed in his eyes. "Don't you see that he's part of this. Hell, he *is* this!"
"This what?" she wanted to know. She knew Lex had married her and conceived a child with her to claim a fortune. But why her? He couldn't stand her and hadn't failed to remind her of that fact over the last few days he'd known she was lucid. And what was all the crap about tests and viability of tissue and Dr. Lang- whoever he was?
Lex seethed in anger and grabbed Lois around the neck. "This!" His grip tightened as he flung curses and obscenities at her. He'd wanted to do this months ago. If it weren't for the demands of a deranged, old fool...
The world began to swirl around her. Grasping desperately at Lex's fingers around her neck, Lois' world faded to black.
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And I shall RUN, not walk away!
