Another part with a lot happening. Of course, most of this story has a lot happening. Thanks to everyone keeping up and posting feedback. I sorry about not keeping up with the feedback folders. It seems something's always demanding me somewhere else. It's a wonder I'm able to get this up. Anyway...
Enjoy!
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Three days later Clark was back in the city, knee deep in a story about mistreatment of patients at an assisted living center. He was also eager to get back to his research of Luthor and LexCorp. He'd stayed with his folks to get Collin settled and make sure the little guy had all that was needed before he came home. To his amazement, the toddler seemed to be completely at ease on the farm. And by the time dinner was cleaned up that first night, the twins appeared to be friends. The day he left, they watched from the porch, holding hands. He couldn't be more thrilled.
He'd come back to find notes on this story waiting on him. Perry said it was top priority because his ninety year old mother-in-law lived at this particular center.
"Hey, CK, how does Collin like the farm?" Jack wanted to know as he pulled over a chair next to Clark and sat down.
"He loves it. And he's crazy about my dad."
"What does he think about Perry?"
"They seem to be the best of friends. He'll take her hand and lead her around the yard. It's so cute." Clark grinned as he thought about them together. "She's always trying to kiss him."
"I'm glad they like each other so much."
"Me, too."
"But I'll tell you again. You're one of a kind." He clapped the other man's shoulder. "Now, how about I talked to the medical examiner and he told me a few interesting things? Do you remember the girl found in Suicide Slum I said was Sara?" Clark nodded. "She was the daughter of Judge Carl Beckham. He's the circuit court judge from Rolland County. Well, he and his wife have filed a lawsuit against Luthor's estate. They contend that because she was working for Luthor when she died, he was responsible for her safety."
"What was the cause of death?"
"Head trauma."
Clark leaned back in his chair. "Really?"
"Yep. It gets better. Luthor's body was so badly traumatized, the assistant examiner signed off without an autopsy."
"What?" He sat up straighter, placing his forearms on the desk.
"But..." Jack grinned widely. "The head ME had already ordered tissue and blood samples be taken. I called Mayson and she's getting a court order for the samples to be turned over to Bernie at Star Labs for analysis."
"What's she hoping to find?"
"Anything to help Lois." Jack stood up, shoving his chair in the general direction it had come from. "I'm off to see what other mysteries I can uncover."
"Okay. I'll see you later."
"Later."
As interesting as that information had been, Clark needed to make some headway on his story. He made a couple of calls and left to talk to the director of the center. Luthor and his secrets would just have to wait.
****
Jonathan made a wide turn with the tractor and dropped the blades for the final cut. He'd been mowing all afternoon and he was more than ready to be done. He and his grandkids had plans tonight and he was anxious to get home. As he pulled alongside the edge of the field next to the road he noticed the black SUV sitting in the driveway of the Irigs' place. He'd seen the truck several times today and wondered if the people inside were lost. Glancing over he noticed that the windows were dark, too dark to see inside. Even the front glass was black. Just as he reached the back side of the field, it hit him what they were doing there.
He reached down and picked up his phone. At this angle, they couldn't tell what he was doing. He was glad Martha and the kids had gone into to town today to spend time with Maisey and her grandkids. That was probably why the truck was still there.
"Hello?" Martha answered his call.
"Don't come home," he said casually. "Stay with Maisey. I'll have Clark pick you up."
"What's wrong?" she wanted to know.
"There's a strange vehicle here. They've been watching the house all afternoon. I just figured out who they could be."
"They want Collin," Martha deduced.
"Sit tight."
"Be careful, Jonathan."
"I will. I'll drive over to Wayne's barn. They didn't show up until after I'd been plowing a bit. They might not know who I am."
"Okay. We'll be here."
"Okay." He ended the call, then dialed his son.
"Dad? What's wrong?" Jonathan hardly ever called him from his cell.
"There's an SUV watching the farm."
"Be there in three."
By the time Jonathan pulled up in Wayne Irig's barn, Superman landed beside the mysterious truck. They were taken by surprise and before they could pull away, both men were bound and cursing loudly for the interference. Ten minutes later, Sheriff Rachael Harris found the men lying on top of the hood of their truck. Jonathan walked across the road as she pushed one of the men into the back of her police cruiser.
"What's going on, Jonathan? I got a call from Superman saying these men were trespassing." Rachael smiled at the older man. "I wish he'd stuck around. I'd love to meet him."
"I wonder why he was all the way out here," Jonathan speculated.
"Me, too."
"Those two have been watching the place all afternoon. Reminded me of thieves casing a target."
Rachael glanced at the angry men in back of her car. "Yeah, well, we'll find out what's going on. I'll see how many charges we can stick 'em with so they'll want to rethink watching anybody again."
"We appreciate it, Rachael."
"No problem, Jonathan. That's what neighbors are for. I'll send a truck out for their vehicle in a bit."
Jonathan nodded and watched her pull away. Clark was waiting on the back porch when he made it to the house. "They're off to county lock-up."
"Good. I'll call Rachael tomorrow and see what's going on. And I'll call Henderson to see about getting you an agent out here to keep an eye on things."
"I normally wouldn't want something like that, but I might not be able to stop anybody from taking Collin by myself."
"Should I take them back to the city with me?"
"No." Jonathan reached over to squeeze Clark's shoulder. "The alarm system is working and Betsy is dead on." Betsy was Jonathan's shotgun.
"Just call if you need anything."
"I will, and I did." He smiled at his son. "I'll let Martha know she and the kids can come home. Want to stay for supper?"
"I wish I could, but I'm close to cracking a case Perry has me on. I'll check on you tomorrow if I'm able to get away."
"We know you will.
"Give the kids a hug for me." Clark floated up off the porch.
"I will." Jonathan watched as Clark disappeared in a flash. He hated to have to have a guard on the place, although he felt it was best to have someone help keep Collin safe. Worst case scenario, they'd take the kids to the city and stay with Clark. None of them could do this alone and he'd be darned if anyone was going take his grandson away.
****
Clark had just finished his piece on the assisted living community when the elevator dinged and Henderson came down the ramp. He stood and waited for the man to reach him.
"Let's go to the conference room, Clark," Bill said immediately.
"Should I grab Perry?"
"Yeah." Bill headed to the other room while Clark pecked on Perry's window and motioned for him to follow him. They went in with the inspector to see what kind of news he had for them. Clark had contacted him the day before about the visitors to his parents' farm. "The two goons are known associates of the Delconto organization."
"Delconto?" Clark asked in surprise. He hadn't expected that.
"Apparently the group put a hit out on Luthor right before he died. We're told the order came straight from the top."
"Luckaby?"
Bill looked at Clark and shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you, Kent, but Luckaby's a puppet. He truly is oblivious to everything that's going on. He does what he's told to do, draws a fat paycheck, and sips fruity drinks on the beach during his down time. If brains were dynamite, I don't think the kid would have enough to blow his nose."
Perry let out a snort of laughter. He had a staff member like that. Ralph was still around for the comic relief offered. "If Luckaby's just a puppet, who in hell is the head of that monster shop?"
"We have no idea. Honestly, before we learned of the hit on Luthor, we thought maybe he was."
"We suspect he was the syndicate head known as the 'Boss'," Clark told him.
"Yeah, we've thought that for some time. We just never could get anybody to flip on him."
"Never could? Does that mean somebody's talking now?" Perry asked him.
"A small time drug pusher says he was running coke in the District on order from Nigel himself."
"I'll be an Elvis record collector."
Clark chuckled at Perry's latest Elvis analogy. He could sure come up with some good ones. "That's not nearly enough to do anything serious, is it?"
"Unfortunately, no. We need to find out who all the players are. The what, why, how, and anything else that can stick. We need to bury Luthor so deep in his own muck, that Lois will look like an angel for pushing him off that balcony."
Perry made a face at that. "You believe she pushed him?"
"Well..." Bill pulled out a chair and sat down. "I'm not really sure if I believe it or not. At first I thought maybe she was just ripped from whatever Luthor was force feeding her. I know she said she'd stopped ingesting his tonic, but I thought he'd managed to get something else in her another way. Her blood tests when she was locked up came back clean. She insisted that Luthor choked her until she passed out."
"Didn't I read a report that supported that claim?" Clark asked, pulling another chair out.
"The county physician said it was a distinct possibility that she was choked. Small vessels around her eyes were broken, which suggests that she was deprived of oxygen."
"It still wasn't enough to counter the eye-witness testimony of St. John," Perry spoke up.
"No. St. John was one of Her Majesty's top agents, and since he's been in the US he's clean as a whistle, so..."
"His testimony would have held clout." Perry leaned back in the chair he'd taken so he could study the other man.
"I hate to say it, but yeah."
"Okay, so let's get back to why Delconto had men at the farm," Clark said. He'd been thinking about that for a moment and it was suddenly a very scary thought. That organization was a heck of a lot more dangerous than anything Luthor could have created.
"We asked if they were there for the kid. They assure us they have no interest in the boy. They were waiting on Luthor's group to make their move."
"So the bad guys were going to snatch the other bad guys?" Perry wanted to know.
"Yep. If Luthor couldn't be taken down, they were going to rip into his estate to see what they could use."
"And you believe them?" Clark asked.
"Yes and no. I do believe they wouldn't harm Collin. The thing about that group is that if you're the target, *you* are the target. They have never made it a practice to... break your son's legs because you couldn't live up to your end of a bargain. They'd... wipe out the kids' inheritance, but wouldn't touch him."
"Strange group," Perry said.
"And as deadly as they come," Bill put in. "I've called in a few favors and two guys should be all set up on the farm with your folks and the kids, Clark."
"Good."
"But we've got to kick this investigation into high gear. I'll only be able to keep them there for three or four months, tops."
The men looked up when Jack knocked on the glass. "Clark, you've got a call from Bernie Klein on line two," he said as he stuck his head inside.
"Take it in here," Perry told him.
Clark went over to the phone in the corner. "Clark Kent."
"Mr. Kent, this is Bernie Klein. I was asked by Ms. Drake to compare a few samples."
"I'm not sure I understand," Clark replied with a quirked brow. Mayson hadn't said anything about work Bernie was doing for her or that it had anything to do with him. And if this was about the samples from the body that fell from Lex Towers, Bernie would have contacted Mayson directly.
"One of the samples was blood taken from your custodial son."
"Collin? Mayson wanted you to analyze Collin's blood?"
"Yes," Bernie answered. "She wanted to make sure there were no drugs in his system. You know, like the ones I identified from that sample Jack brought me."
Clark had wondered if they'd been feeding Collin drugs, but he just seemed to be as normal as the next kid. Now his heart sank. If Bernie was involved... "Collin?"
"No, no. His blood was clean. No drugs of any kind."
Clark let go a huge sigh of relief.
"There's just something else, something I hadn't expected."
"What? Is there something wrong with him?"
"No, he's healthy and growing normally. But, Mr. Kent, I think you and Ms. Drake should come hear this in person."
A million things ran through his mind. What could possibly be wrong? Why did Bernie feel it warranted a personal visit?
"Mr. Kent, can you come today?"
"Ah, yes, Dr. Klein. I'll contact Mayson and we'll be there as soon as we can."
"Good. I'll see you then."
Staring at the handset once he'd replaced it, Clark couldn't begin to imagine what else could be wrong? Well, Bernie did say Collin was healthy. So what could he have found?
"CK? What's wrong?" Jack asked him.
"Dr. Klein did a little analysis for Mayson and he's found something."
"What?" Perry wanted to know.
"He didn't say. He wants to see me and Mayson in person. Are we done here, Bill?"
"Yeah. Perry and I can talk a bit of strategy without you."
He nodded and left the room, stopping at his desk long enough to call Mayson. By the time he reached Star Labs, he was nervous. What if there really was something wrong with Collin? He'd flown to the lab in his suit and landed in an alley a block over to change. When he reached the front entrance, Mayson was waiting.
"You're getting as quick as I am," he told her as he reached her side.
"I was in the area when you called me." She didn't break stride on their way toward the building. "Bernie didn't say what this was about?"
"Just that he found something he hadn't expected." Clark held the door for her. They were given passes and beeped right in when they gave their names to the lady at the desk.
Bernie looked up when they entered his lab. "Oh, I'm glad you two could make it so quickly." He motioned them closer as he picked up a paper lying in front of him. "I've studied Collin's sample over and over. No drugs, as I said on the phone. In fact, his immune system is one of the healthiest I've ever seen. His DNA is quite remarkable. The..."
"Dr. Klein," Clark interrupted him. He'd worked with Bernie on a couple of cases and knew the man's tendency to go off on tangents.
"Yes, yes. Well, I compared his DNA to Ms. Lane's, just like you wanted me to do, Ms. Drake."
Clark glanced at her, but didn't say anything.
"He's definitely Lois Lane's son." He walked over to an x-ray reader and poked two slides from a nearby table onto the board. He clicked the light on and pointed to short lines. "This is Collin's profile. You can see here..." He indicated an area with his finger. "...this part of the profile is a perfect match to his mother." He pointed toward an almost identical area on the other film.
"Excuse me for asking, but why would you check to make sure he was really Lois' son?" Clark didn't understand that reasoning.
"Ms. Drake wanted to be absolutely certain we had the right child."
"I don't trust Luthor's cronies," she told him.
Clark could understand that. "So what did you find that you didn't expect?"
Bernie scratched his head, an unreadable expression on his face. "Are you sure that file you sent me was on Lex Luthor?" he asked Mayson.
"I'm positive. Lex was accidentally stabbed during a fencing exhibition. I know the physician who treated him at Mercy. He took the blood samples personally."
"Then we have a couple of serious situations." Bernie put another slide up on the light board. "This is Luthor's profile."
Clark looked at it a moment before he stepped closer. "They don't match," he finally said softly.
"No, Mr. Kent, they don't. This is the sample that should be shared between father and child." He pointed to an area with his finger. "As you can clearly see..." He pulled the film of Collin's profile down and overlapped it on top of Luthor's. "They don't match."
"I'll be damned," Mayson said aloud.
Bernie turned and smiled. "I'm not done." He walked over to the table and opened another file. "According to the only samples taken by Rich Laughlin, the known Luthor sample does not match those of the man who's buried under that tombstone in the Gardens."
Both Clark and Mayson gasped aloud. "What?" they said in unison.
"The sample Rich took from Luthor's body does not match the one taken at the hospital when Luthor was injured. Either one of the samples is the wrong one or..."
"Luthor's not dead," Clark said as he looked at Mayson.
"That son of a..."
"But we have to find him. We can't prove a thing without him."
Mayson nodded at Clark. "Unfortunately. The prosecutor would argue that the samples were mixed up. Blah, blah. But this is great work, Bernie."
"Can I get a copy of the report?" Clark asked the doctor.
"Oh sure. I have one for each of you." He dug them out of a file and handed them over.
"Thanks again, Bernie," Mayson said just before they headed out the door. "Poor Lois," she said as she handed over her badge at the front desk.
"Yeah. She might actually be thrilled to know she didn't have that monster's children."
"I just wonder who's children she did have," Mayson said as they made their way toward her car. "Let me give you a lift back to the Planet."
"Sure." He climbed in and read over the file as they made their way across town. "I wonder who the mysterious father is. And how did she get pregnant and think it was Luthor's?" He shivered involuntarily at that thought.
"Makes you wonder what all that maniac did to her."
"Hey, Bernie's report says that the longer she's off the drugs, the more she'll remember while under their influence. If that's true, she might be able to tell you herself one day."
"If she will, Clark, you forget that she's a tough nut to crack. She'd closed in on herself and acts like she doesn't want to help herself at all."
Clark held up the file. "Maybe this will change her mind."
"Let's hope so. I'll see if we can get in to see her tomorrow. Do you want to go with me?"
"Yes. Maybe she'll open up if I bribe her a bit." He waggled his brows and grinned.
"You're so full of it." Mayson smacked his leg as she maneuvered her car into the garage below the Planet.
"Perry's gonna have a stroke when he finds this out." Clark climbed from the car after they'd parked and waited for Mayson to come around. They made their way upstairs and promptly stunned the other men with their news.
****
Stepping down off the plane onto the tarmac, Lex took a deep breath. "There's nothing like the smell of Metropolis," he commented as he looked around. It was so good to be back.
"Welcome to Metropolis, Mr. Harris," a man told him as he reached out to take the bags an airport crew member had set on the concrete.
"Yes." Lex, or David Harris as he was known as now, climbed into the back of the waiting limo. He'd come to reclaim everything that was rightfully his. To hell with everything else.
The car was in motion and out on to the main road before David tore his eyes from the passing scenery to look at the tall, dark haired man across from him. Nigel had nearly died when he'd had to die his gray hair black. Shaving his goatee had been another battle as well. But it was all things that couldn't be helped. David had to wear a blonde wig of all things. And grow a mustache. How hideous!
No matter. If it got him what he wanted, he'd wear a paper sack over his head.
"Any news on the doctor?"
Nigel looked up at him. "We should be hearing something any time now," he replied with an evil leer.
"And the boy?"
"Guarded twenty-four hours a day by two of Henderson's men. We have to be careful how we tread, too. Delconto had men in Kansas."
"What?"
"Apparently he still wants a piece of the pie."
"Is he planning to take the boy?"
"I'm told he just wants his money."
David took a cigar out and lit it. "Send him a peace offering from Harris International. See if he'd be interested in forming an alliance against LexCorp."
Nigel smiled evilly. "How... twisted."
"Well, it's mine. I should have it. I formed that company and I can tear it apart." He drew from his cigar again. "What do you say we have a bit of fun?"
"I'll set something up at once." Nigel pulled out his phone and dialed.
David took another satisfying draw from his stogy. Yes, fun was what he needed. He'd been shut away much too long.
****
Jack and Jimmy were both set up in the conference room sifting through the mounds of files they had on the Luthor investigation. Clark was off to make copies of something or other while Perry had gone home early to take his wife to dinner. The team had been working nonstop for the last few days to find anything they could, but so far had been unsuccessful.
"Hey, CK, are you having the birthday party for the twins at your place?" Jack asked when the other man entered the room again. Collin and Perry's second birthday was only a week away.
"Yep. My folks will be here Friday night. Believe or not, they're driving out. Thought it would be a *good* trip for the kids." Clark chuckled as he sat down.
"What about the guards Henderson sent out?" Jimmy wanted to know.
"Poor guys have to follow them all the way to the city." He shook his head. "I really hate they need protection at all."
"Better safe than sorry," Jack spoke up.
"Guess so." Clark went back to perusing some paperwork, but was interrupted just minutes later when Bill Henderson came in. "Hey, Bill, what brings you here this time of night?"
"Clark," he indicated with a nod of his head. "Guys," he said to the other two. "We found Marge Lang dead tonight. Her sister called from Cincinnati. Said she hadn't heard from Marge in three days and insisted we go check it out. She's been dead for at least a day."
"How?" Clark asked in stunned disbelief.
"Overdose. We won't know for a week or two exactly what."
"And Paul?"
"MIA. Seems he's been missing for a while. Marge told her sister he was working on a top secret project that was going to make them a fortune."
"No clue what it was?" Jimmy asked him.
"No. We did find something interesting. Apparently Paul had a private lab on his property. We're seeking a search warrant now."
"Why the warrant? Isn't it a crime scene?" Jack threw in.
"If the lab had been within the same building we wouldn't have to get a warrant." Bill turned toward the door. "You know, you need to consider a career with the force, Jack. You'd make one heck of a detective."
"Yeah, well, if I can't make a go of this journalism stuff, I'll think about it." Jack gave him a grin, one that told him there was no way he'd ever consider joining the police force, and Bill smiled back, knowing there was no way a former thief would ever see the legal side of a badge.
"I'll let you know if that warrant comes through." Bill waved and he was gone.
"This just gets more interesting by the day," Jimmy put in.
"I totally agree," Clark said as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. Lana would be devastated. She adored her mother. Lana was also on a space station and not due to get back for another year.
"You okay, CK?" Jack wanted to know.
"Yeah, I'm okay." He sat back up and shifted through a few papers. What were they missing? They'd been combing through countless information and weren't a bit closer to proving Luthor was still alive. It was as if the man had disappeared off the face of the planet.
****
Lois was angry again. This Drake woman just didn't give up. The guard had come and demanded she go meet with her lawyer... again. It looked like she'd have to blow her stack to get the woman off her back. She'd signed her life sentence. This prison is where she'd be for the next decade, minus a year.
When she stepped inside the interview room, Mayson was not alone. Clark was with her. Had she given permission for him to come here?
"Hi," he said and stood up.
"What do you want?" Lois asked them both and stood near the door.
"Some information has come to our attention that we think you should know," Mayson told her. "Please come sit down."
"Just spit it out." She intentionally kept her eyes on Drake. Clark's expression was just too raw for her taste. And he was still standing, staring at her.
"We have reason to believe Lex is still alive," Mayson told her. If Lois wanted blunt, that's what she'd get.
That made Lois blink. She relaxed her defensive stance just a bit and slowly moved toward the table. "What?"
"I asked Bernard Klein to run some blood tests for me and the man who fell from Lex Towers was not Lex Luthor."
Lois grasped the back of the chair and looked away. That... that... rat bastard! "He set me up."
"It looks that way." Mayson pulled out the report of the test results and pushed it across the table.
With a shaking hand, Lois picked up the sheet and read it carefully. Finally she sat down, noticing that Clark did, too. "Of course, you'll have to prove this beyond the shadow of a doubt."
"Yeah. I'm waiting for the court order now to exhume the body. If our examiner can prove it's not Luthor..."
"Won't I still be here for killing whoever it is?" Lois interrupted Mayson.
"Not if the exam can prove that the poor fellow died of something other than trauma from the fall."
"That would have to be one hell of an examiner. Wasn't the trauma pretty extensive?"
"Why don't you let us worry about that?" Mayson said and pulled another file from her briefcase. "We do have something else we need to tell you."
Lois cut her eyes at Clark, who had been watching her since she came in. "What?" she demanded, stabbing him with a fierce glare. "Do I have a growth or something on my head you find interesting?"
"I'm just trying to figure out how you do it," he answered, not the least bit affected by her outburst.
"Do what?"
"Sit there and not even ask. How you've been here this whole time and not once asked about them."
"Not asking keeps me sane," she shot at him.
He leaned forward, staring at her as intensely as she was him. "I get that. I really do, but at the same time the not knowing would drive me insane. You gave your son to a perfect stranger and you don't even want to know if I mistreat him. For all you know, I could have been some kind of pervert who gets his jollies from little boys. Or girls for that matter. You do know I've got her, too? I've had her from the beginning."
"I think this meeting is over," Lois said as she pushed herself to her feet and turned to leave.
"They're not Luthor's," Clark told her as he stood up again. That made Lois freeze half way to the door. "Bernie found out."
"Are they mine?" she asked without turning around.
"Yes."
"Why would you ask that?" Mayson spoke up.
"I remember things." She returned to her chair and stared at the top of the table. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Clark ease back to his seat. "I was inseminated."
"What?" Mayson was the one to lean closer now.
"The night I conceived, Lex drugged me. The next morning I just thought I'd drank too much champagne and well..." She waved her hand to indicate what she couldn't say.
"And now you remember you were inseminated?" Mayson jotted something on a piece of paper.
"Yeah. The same doctor that oversaw the delivery of the twins did it. He and Lex kept talking about the whole thing being an experiment. I guess I know now that it was." She glanced away, trying to stave the tears in her eyes. "Do you know who the donor was?"
"No," Mayson answered regretfully. "All things considered, I feel pretty sure the sample wasn't a donation."
Her eyes snapped back to Mayson's. "Oh, great! Lex snatched part of some other smuck's life away from him, too." She laughed dryly. "Won't we be a pair?"
"Lois, we might never find out who the father is," Mayson let her know.
"Yeah." Lois tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at a spot on the wall. Clark was glaring at her and it unnerved her to no end. He was right. She should ask, but she just couldn't.
"They'll be two next week," he offered.
"Yeah," was all she said.
He opened a file he'd brought with him and pulled out a picture, pushing it across the table in front of her. "They look good together."
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she continued to study the wall. She couldn't look.
"Why don't you want to help yourself?" he wanted to know. "Fight him. Don't give him the satisfaction."
"What will it get me?" she asked as her eyes snapped back to his.
"It might get you out of here. Don't you want that? Don't you want to get back to these guys?" He shook the picture at her. "Lois, they're wonderful people, being raised by a man who seems to love them more than their own mother does."
She shot to her feet, glaring at him. "I love me babies! Don't you ever assume I don't. But you're not in this place. You don't know what it does to your mind. To a mind, I might add, that was already sloshed by whatever that psycho did to me. Most days I wish I had been the one to fall off that balcony." She reached down and snatched up the picture. "Knowing I might see them again is the only thing that keeps me going."
Clark stared right back at her, almost smiling when she glanced down at the image.
"Oh, God!" she gasped as her eyes went back to the picture of her twins. "They're..." She sat back down, unable now to look away.
"They like riding on the tractor and watermelon. Watermelon is better than cake," he said with a half chuckle. "He's a little bigger and extremely protective of Perry. She calls him Baby. They're getting matching bicycles for their birthday. Mom's teaching them their alphabet. Collin's learning to milk the cow." He smiled and held his hands up. "His hands are barely big enough, but he won't stop trying. I'm told he gets his determination from you."
She finally lifted her eyes to his. "I just can't see them in here," she said softly.
"Yeah," he agreed reluctantly.
"They look... happy... healthy."
"They are. Perry's potty trained and Collin's just about there. He's caught up quickly since we got him."
"Lucy? Did she say anything?"
"She's not lucid enough to tell us much right now. All the drugs, all the stress... she just finally broke." Clark shifted in his seat. "Your father was the one to find them."
"He was working for Lex," Lois said as she let her eyes fall back to the picture.
"Unfortunately, he'll have to spend a bit of time in jail, too, for some of the unethical things he's done," Mayson told her. "He's agreed to help us as much as he can though."
She nodded, then looked back up. Her eyes swept across the file Clark had open in front of him and she saw another picture. She reached for it without asking. "This is the doctor," she said of the man in the photo.
"Paul Lang," Clark told her. "We believe Luthor's trying to find him because his wife was found dead." He leaned forward, placing his arms on the table. "Do you remember anything else that happened to you?"
"Mostly I was kept... nice and calm. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. The drugs drained the life out of me. I just didn't care. When they learned I'd conceived, I was kept locked away. The drugs changed, enough not to hurt the baby. Luthor didn't know I was having twins until they were born."
"Perry didn't have a birth certificate."
Lois looked at Clark. "I thought so. She was never allowed out of the penthouse. The doctor always saw her there."
"Lang?" Mayson wanted to know.
"Yes. He was the only one Lex let near them. They made reference to them living to see six months old. It was vital to them both. There was also something said about their fifth birthday." Her eyes met Clark's. "What's wrong with my babies?"
Clark's heart broke. She looked as if she was about to cry again. For some reason seeing her so distressed was awful. He couldn't explain what he felt, but knew he'd definitely never felt quite like this before. "There's nothing wrong with them," he assured her.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," he said with a half smile. "Bernie's run countless tests on Collin and Doc Brown back home says Perry is as healthy as a horse."
"No crazy blood disorders or funky, incurable diseases?"
"No."
Her eyes went back to the four on the paper. She missed them so much. Of course, she'd never really known them through her drug induced haze. How would she ever catch up if she got out of this place? Some days she felt it would be best if Lex had just killed her.
"Lois, Perry told me about something Jack found on your computer." Lois looked up at Mayson. "Your mother... she was a Delconto?"
"As in the daughter of the most notorious crime boss in the world," Lois told her. "I found that out by accident when I was investigating a gun smuggling ring in the Congo. I asked my father about it and he refused to tell me anything. I do know we spent summers in Spain until I was ten. I was told my grandfather had died and that was that. We didn't go to the service and mother never mentioned him again."
"I've tried to find out more information about her birth and why she changed her name, but I keep hitting a brick wall," Mayson said. "I plan on questioning Sam about it."
"Ask the bastard if he knows who fathered my children," Lois spat.
"We're doing all we can to get you out of here," Mayson wanted her to know.
"I know you want to help, and I know you'll do all you can, but if Lex Luthor wanted me here, here is where I'll stay." She looked over at Clark. "I have no idea why you agreed to do what you've done... Why would a man take on the care of two kids that belong to a woman he doesn't even know? I've asked myself over and over again if you're for real." She reached down to lift the photo. "All I know is you're keeping my babies away from whatever evils Lex had planned for them." Looking at the image again, tears filled her eyes. "What do they call you?"
If he thought he felt bad earlier, he really felt awful now. She must be so mixed up. He glanced away, unable to stand watching the despair in her features any longer. "Lois..."
"It's okay. I think you've earned that title." She smiled at him and an understanding seemed to pass between them. Her eyes drifted over to Mayson. "Does it bother you that he's caring for two toddlers that aren't his?"
"Why would it bother me?"
"I think I'd be a little ticked if my boyfriend was doing what he's doing."
Mayson grinned and glanced at Clark. "We stopped seeing each other like that a while ago."
Her eyes widened and she looked distressed. "Please don't tell me you two split up because of..."
"No, no, no," Clark assured her quickly. He looked over at Mayson. "I think we were always better suited to be friends."
Lois studied them both for a moment, until she was satisfied their break-up didn't have anything to do with her or her kids. "I'm gonna keep this," she told Clark and held up the photo.
"I brought it for you," he told her. "And when I send pictures of their birthday party, don't send them back."
She stood up and pushed her chair underneath the table. "See ya', Clark Kent." With a sad smile, she turned and left.
Mayson stuffed her files into her briefcase and rose from the table. "I can't imagine what she feels."
"Yeah," Clark agreed as he took up his file and followed Mayson from the room.
"What are you going to do when we get her out of here?"
Clark looked at Mayson with questioning eyes. "What?"
"Clark, I've seen you with those babies. How are you going to give them back to their mother?"
He stuffed his free hand into his pocket and walked in silence, his mind whirling. He'd thought a lot about what he'd do when Lois was able to come for her kids. Truth was he didn't know how he'd handle it. While Collin hadn't been with him as long as Perry had, he meant just as much to him. He loved those babies. Giving them up was unthinkable. "Maybe we should get her out first," he answered evasively.
Mayson understood completely. She would feel the same way he did. And knowing Clark and his big heart, he didn't want to have to think about parting with those little people. But he was right. They needed to get Lois out of prison first.
