Clark and Lois – The Lost Years - Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 3
By Ken Janney
This version is rated PG-13
* denotes emphasis *
< denotes thoughts >
[ playback of a recording or TV Commentary] / telepathic communications /
(#) footnotes
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Reminder:
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 - Canon Lois and Clark universe also called – Prime
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 – Canon Alt Clark universe also called – Alt 1
Previously –
Now wishing to convey his good wishes on this endeavor Herb continued with a very upbeat tone in his voice, “I envy you, my boy, on the adventure you are undertaking. Just think, for the next five years you will have the opportunity to get to know the Lois Lane of this world. You will have the opportunity to be her friend, confidant and protector. Who knows but that by the end of that time you may even be married and return as husband and wife? Stranger things have happened.”
Clark was becoming more and more enthusiastic as Herb continued to talk. “This is really going to work! I’ll be able to be with her. I wonder how she will react to me. I know that with the other Lois I felt a connection. It’s hard to describe, you know, but when we touched I didn’t want to let go.”
As Clark thought about this a bemused expression came over his features, <It was like the connection formed a bond uniting our two bodies into one. Not like in sex, but still a physical joining. Lois said that she felt it too, but that what she had with her Clark was stronger. I don’t know how that could be. I was so *drawn* to her I didn’t want her to go back to him. I wanted her to stay with me. This last time with her was torture, but, seeing her with her Clark, how they reacted to each other, I can see that they were meant to be together. I can only hope that I’ll find the same thing with *my* Lois.>
Herb, noting the expression on Clark’s face wondered exactly what he was thinking but decided not to pry. He cleared his throat to get Clark’s attention and then said, “Clark, I need a new supply of gold for the time sled. While you’re mining that for me you should probably mine some for yourself. You will not have a source of income in 1992. You may wish to consider finding some precious gems as well. Pound for pound they are more valuable than gold and you can easily convert gems into currency“
Clark flew off and returned in about an hour with several bags full of gold nuggets and a smaller bag full of uncut gem stones. Herb said that a part of one bag would be adequate for his needs and that he should carry the remainder with him to deposit in a bank when they arrived in the proper time. Clark then started packing for the trip. He was thinking exclusively of tropical clothing and so packed suitable suits and casual clothes. He added a driver’s license and passport in the name of Charles King which he had commonly used when going undercover. He also had Daily Planet ID in that name so he could be a colleague if he chose to be. Once these preparations were completed they were ready to go.
Herb didn’t need to be a keen observer to see the level of excitement being manifested by Clark and he felt the need to caution him. “Clark, your dream is about to come true, your dream of being united with your Lois. I’m glad that I can do this for you. I just hope that it turns out all right. But I must caution you that we are in uncharted territory here. I have made some assumptions, but I cannot be sure how this will affect history. My assumptions may or may not be the case. Only time will tell. That has always seemed an odd aphorism to me but how true it is. Only *time* *will* tell how this will turn out and how it will affect history.” Herb set the time and space coordinates to a little more than two months prior to Lois’ arrival at Brazzaville and for the outskirts of that city and they set off.
One of the things about the time sled that Herb liked was the fact that you could see where you were and what was happening outside of the time bubble that was created by the flux facilitator. They were able to observe as the Atlantic Ocean was crossed and laughed at the aircraft and ships that they saw moving in reverse as they traveled backwards in time. When they reached the vicinity of Brazzaville Herb made a side trip. By keeping the flux facilitator active and manipulating the geo controls he was able to move them to Livingston Falls so that they could select a meeting spot for the future. “Remember, I will be here sometime between noon and 3 PM local time on February 28 each year.” They then returned to Brazzaville and ‘parked’ on the outskirts.
And Now –
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 2 – The Daily Planet - Brazzaville
Monday December 30, 1991
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As they stepped out of the time sled Herb said to Clark “Today is December 30, 1991. I believe you told me that Lois is due in on March 11, 1992. We used the time sled to come to Brazzaville so that you could not possibly be observed flying here yourself. I would recommend that you go to a local bank and have the gold you currently possess converted into the local currency. I would hold back at least some of the gems as a reserve. You may have need of them later.”
At times Herb reverted to old habits from his years at Henley House School and assumed a lecturing tone, “Always keep in mind that there currently are two of you in this time period and that you have not been exposed as Superman as yet. You must be very diligent in avoiding revealing your powers.”
Herb extended his hand to Clark and as they shook hands Herb, in a very sincere tone said, “My boy, I envy you this opportunity. You have the chance to not only be united with your soul mate but to possibly rescue her from whatever terrible end she could have suffered.”
Clark nearly moved to tears by gratitude and the thought that in a relatively short time he would be with *his* Lois Lane took Herb’s hand in his and shaking it replied, “I really don’t know how to thank you Herb for all that you’re doing for me.”
Herb was very moved at Clark’s obvious emotion and replied in a somewhat somber tone, “My boy, all the thanks I need is for you to succeed in this mission. To see you happily united with your Lois and to see this universe move to Utopia will be thanks enough. Good luck to you my boy.” With that Herb took his leave and the time sled disappeared from view.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Clark had studied the history of the Congo when he had first looked for Lois. One of the key items he had noticed was the French influence. It had been a French colony some years before and that influence remained to this day. French was still the primary language in the major cities. English was the second in usage. Dialects of the Bantu language dominated in the northern regions among the nationals.
The first thing that Clark did was to go to a jeweler and have some of the gems graded and valued. He didn’t realize it as he did so but he had stumbled on the shop where he had been greeted as Charlie while he was looking for Lois. When this realization hit him it did so like a ton of bricks. Here was confirmation that he was on the right track.
The owner of the shop, m. Jean-Luc Artois, a jeweler of some forty years experience worked with him. “I have a selection of various gemstones I would like to have valued. Could you help me?” Clark poured out the gems which he had selected onto a black velvet covered pad on the counter.
M. Artois, by observing his clothing, had known that this customer was an American even before he said anything, so he asked in his accented English, “Might I to ask where you came by zeese gemstones?”
In as sincere a tone as he could manage Clark explained, “I have been interested in mineralogy and gemology from my childhood. I have taken trips to numerous mine fields over the years. Thus I have accumulated them over a period of time. You may check the stolen gem international registry. I am sure that you will find no entries for any of these gems as being stolen. I mined them myself in various locations.”
“I am sure zat you will par-do me, but I am reequir-ed by zee law to check zee registry.” The jeweler first separated them by size and type and then pulled out a sheaf of papers and leafed through it. Once he was satisfied that none of the gems had been reported as stolen he heaved a sigh of relief. “What may I do pour you? What do you weesh to do wiss zeese gems?”
“M. Artois, I wish to sell the group I have presented. Could you value them? I’m aware that there will be waste in cutting but I believe you will find that all are of high quality.”
The jeweler weighed, measured and analyzed all of the stones. When he had finished he presented Clark with his valuation. Clark said, “If you would be in the market to purchase this group I will accept your offer minus ten percent as a commission. Would that be acceptable?”
“I would be will-ing to pay zee full val-ue.”
“No, I insist that you take a commission on the purchase.”
The jeweler held out his hand and said “Sank you. I can geeve you zee cashier’s check.”
Clark asked, “Do you deal with an international bank?”
“Mais oui, Yes, I do. Why?”
“I need to establish an account and would ask what bank you would recommend.”
“My bank eet ees just down zee strit. We could go zare and I could zimply transfer zee funds to any account zat you estableesh.”
“That would be very kind of you.”
M. Artois shouted through a door behind the counter, "Henri, venez à l'avant vous occuper du comptoir. Je serai de retour sous peu."
(tr: ”Henri, come out front and tend the counter. I will be back shortly.”)
They went down the street, Clark opened an account under the name of Charles King and the jeweler transferred the funds for his purchase. Clark thanked him and he returned to his shop.
Next Clark went to a local assayer who analyzed the gold for quality and quantity and offered Clark a sum which he found to be very reasonable. He completed that deal and then went to deposit these funds into his account.
After purchasing a used Land Rover at a local car dealership, Clark loaded his luggage in it and looked for a hotel. A hotel named the Bonne Nuit de Sommeil attracted his attention because of the name “The Good Night’s Rest”, so he took a suite on the 5th floor, number 501. He paid in advance for the suite for a three-month stay. After he moved his luggage up to his suite and made himself at home, he bought a copy of the local French edition of the Daily Planet and read through it to get a flavor for how things were being handled here.
Some of the headlines and stories were:
"Le maire D'arnet congédie le directeur général et porte des accusations de détournement de fonds."
"Le maire Jacques D'Arnet, récemment élu, donne suite à sa déclaration promettant de réduire la corruption présente au sein de l'administration municipale. Avec une initiative audacieuse, il a congédié son directeur municipal et l'a remplacé par son adjoint. Les rumeurs indiquent que le directeur général aurait siphonné plusieurs millions de Francs Congolais des caisses de la ville sous l'administration précédente. Il fait maintenant face à des accusations... "
(tr: “Mayor D’Arnet dismisses city manager and files charges of misappropriation of city funds.”
“The recently elected mayor m. Jacques D’Arnet is following through on his promises of dealing with corruption within the city administration. In a bold move he has fired the city manager and replaced him with his assistant. It is said that the city manager had siphoned off millions of Congo Francs from the city treasury under the previous administration. He now faces charges … “)
********
"Le maire nomme un nouveau chef de la police, invoquant la corruption au sein de du corps policier."
Poursuivant l'implémentation de ses promesse électorales, le maire D'Arnet a licencié le chef de police Robert Roteliet et promu le chef adjoint Phillipe Jordan pour combler le poste temporairement. Depuis le remaniement du personnel administratif de la police, le nombre d'arrestations a augmenté de vingt cinq pour cent..."
(tr: “Mayor appoints new Chief of Police, cites corruption within force.”
“Following through on more of his promises, the reformer, Mayor D’Arnet, had removed Chief of Police Robert Roteliet and promoted Assistant Chief Phillipe Jordan to fill the position temporarily. Since the change of police administration arrests have gone up by twenty five percent … “)
********
"Le maire redémarre les projets de travaux urbains."
"Certains projets qui avaient été arrêtés en raison de manque de fonds ont reprit en raison de l'afflux de liquidités récupérées des comptes bancaires des fonctionnaires corrompus ... "
(tr:“Mayor restarts city works projects.”
“A number of projects which had been stopped because of lack of funding have been restarted due to an influx of cash being recovered from the bank accounts of corrupt officials … “)
Clark knew that his French was good enough to pass as a native so he read with total comprehension. After reading these articles he felt that the reporting was adequate although he thought he could do better. He also thought that his phraseology might be just a little bit better than what he was reading. If the local office drafted him into reporting on any stories he knew that he could handle it. It might be a way to fill in some time if he had any time to spare. He had no idea at this point just how much of his time would be occupied with the investigation.
After the New Year’s celebrations he sought out the local branch of the Daily Planet which Clark found in a high rise office building. The main office was listed as number 1000 indicating that they had the entire floor. When he got off the elevator he saw a door marked main office and walked over and opening the door let himself in.
As he opened the door he saw that just to his left there was a pair of desks at right angles to each other with a pair of young women sitting at them.
As soon as he opened the door the one with her back to the wall with the door saw the door opening out of the corner of her eye and turned to see who was entering. When she got a good look she muttered, “Ooo la la.”
At this comment the other girl who had been working on a paste up of the society page for the Sunday edition looked up to see the cause of her sister’s excitement. She turned around and catching sight of Clark echoed her sister’s exclamation, “Ooo … la ... la!” with feeling.
Derek Price, the office manager, saw him enter and moved over to greet the visitor. “My name is Derek Price. How may I help you?”
“Mr. Price, My name is Charlie King. I work for the Daily Planet in Metropolis.” Charlie flashed his ID. “I’m over here on assignment. I’ll be here for a while so I thought I’d stop in and introduce myself.”
Derek said, “That’s odd, I wasn’t notified that you were coming.”
“That’s not too surprising; this is a very sensitive investigation. It is really on a ‘need to know’ basis. It was my option as to whether to come in to the office or not. I chose to because, frankly, I need access to some support services that will only be available here.”
Derek replied, “Okay, I can see that. Well, welcome to the Congo. How long will you be here?”
“That is yet to be determined, Mr. Price.”
Before he got any farther Derek interrupted, “Please call me Derek.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that. By the same token I’m Charlie.”
“OK, Charlie, please, let me take you around and introduce you to my staff. We don’t own the building the way the main office does in Metropolis. We lease these offices and because of that the staff are scattered around in several offices.”
Charlie asked “How does that work for you? In Metropolis we have a main ‘bullpen’ where most of the reporters have their desks and can interact freely. With your staff separated into different offices how do they collaborate?”
Derek replied, “We have the entire floor but our lease does not allow us to do the kind of remodeling that would be required to accommodate that floor plan. We’d have to knock out walls and such to accommodate that and it just isn’t allowed. To be perfectly honest we have less going on than you do in Metropolis. I have a smaller staff. A lot of what we print comes from the wire services anyhow. In this office we have Suzanne and Colette Black. They have an advice column and they also take care of the Society pages.” Suzanne and Colette were identical twins in their early twenties, raven haired beauties with knock out figures. It was obvious that Derek had an appreciative eye for the women.
Suzanne and Colette had both forgotten whatever they had been doing as soon as Clark had entered the office and were both watching with interest as this gorgeous hunk talked with Derek.
(Authors note: French being the native language of most of the staff they are actually thinking in French. For the sake of the reader their thoughts will be translated and simply written in English. However, when spoken, the French will be displayed and the translation will appear separately.)
As Derek called her over to introduce her Suzanne stood up and brought her hands up and starting beside her breasts she slowly, sensuously, ran her hands down her sides, emphasizing her curves, smoothing her dress down. It was a tight fitting little black number with a skirt that came to just about mid-thigh. With a very sexy sway to her hips she approached Charlie and presented her hand to him while saying warmly, “’ello. Please to call moi Suzanne.”
Charlie wondered how he should respond to these women. He thought <‘When in Rome or Congo…> Charlie took her hand and bending at the waist slightly, kissed the back of it and replied with all the charm he could muster, “*Hello*, Suzanne.”
Next it was Colette’s turn. Not to be outdone by her sister when she stood up she gave a little shimmy which wiggled her loose skirt back into place. She had on a form fitting knit top with a scoop neckline and a loose skirt that was even shorter than her sister’s. Her shimmy did more than shake her skirt back into place it also set her breasts quivering with earthquake like aftershocks. She walked over and presented her hand while saying with open admiration, “’ello, I am please to met you. Please to call moi Colette.”
Charlie took the proffered hand and bending over slightly, kissed the back of it while replying again, with charm, “I am pleased to make your acquaintance Colette.”
The girls each gave him a very appraising look as they each headed back to their desks.
Charlie could hear their private comments to each other as they continued glancing at him out of the corner of their eyes.
In a hushed tone Colette said, “Il est tellement beau!“ (tr: He’s so good looking! )
Suzanne whispered in return, “Il est vraiment grand.“ (tr: He’s so big)
With some awe in her tone Colette whispered her agreement, “Oui, très grand.“ (tr: Yes, very big.)
Still in a whisper Suzanne speculated, “Je me demande si c'est pareil pour le reste de son anatomie?“ (tr: : I wonder if he’s that big all over.)
Still in an awed tone Colette said, “Regardez son physique!“ (tr: Look at his physique!)
With some anticipation in her tone and conviction that everything she said would happen Suzanne said, “J'ai hâte de découvrir son corps!“ (tr: I can't wait to check out his body!)
Whispering back and taking the stakes up a notch Colette replied, “J'ai hâte de le voir nu!” (tr: I can’t wait to see him naked!)
Suzanne snapped, “Attendre ton tour.“ (Tr: Wait your turn.) The last comment was being made by Suzanne to exercising her privilege. She was the older twin by about 10 minutes and felt that she had first dibs on the men that came into their sphere of influence.
Any other man wouldn’t have been able to hear these comments. He had a smile on his face as he thought about what the girls were saying. For one thing they didn’t know that he spoke fluent French. For another they thought they were speaking softly enough that he wouldn’t hear them. <The twins are very pretty and they are *very* French. I have a feeling that they’re going to be after me and that could be a problem. They aren’t Lois and that’s who I’m here for.> Still, their comments were making him blush so he turned away from them so that they wouldn’t see it.
The only other reporter there was Claude Rocheret. At work Clark normally wore the GQ style suits whereas Claude had a dissipated somewhat slovenly look about him, almost as if he drank to excess. Claude had been watching the twins as they had made their overtures to Charlie and he didn’t like it. Claude took an active and immediate dislike to Charlie because he resented the fact that the twins had never made over him in that fashion. After all, Claude saw himself as quite the ladies man, suave and sophisticated yet every time he had approached either of the twins he had been rebuffed.
Derek introduced Charlie to Claude. With a disapproving look on his face Claude had refused to even shake hands with Charlie. Barely grunting an acknowledgement of the introduction by Derek, Claude sullenly turned away and went back to work.
Charlie was surprised at the obvious disrespect with which he had been treated by Claude and with a questioning look turned to Derek. Derek just gave a shrug and a shake of the head as if to say that he wasn’t going to excuse his behavior but didn’t like it either. Charlie decided to get down to business. In a lower, conspiratorial tone he said, “Derek, I have heard some rumors of illegal shipments of arms to the rebels. I’m over here to check it out.” <I wonder just how much detail I should reveal.> He answered himself, <Probably just enough to garner his cooperation.>
Claude was sitting with his back to them but he overheard and thought <That could have been *my* story. Why did *he* have to come *here*? *I* could have used a big story like that. It might have won an award. Then I could have moved from this dinky little office to a better position. I wonder if I could still get in on it?> He swung around in his chair to confront Charlie and spoke up with more than a little irritation in his voice, “You should ‘ave just notified us and let us ‘andle eet. Zare was no need for you to come ‘ere. Zis ees our region of responsibility.” Claude tried to add an ingratiating tone to his voice. “Zince you are ‘ere per’aps I could be of zum assistance. I do know zis region af-tair all.”
Charlie replied stiffly “This investigation started in Metropolis so *I’m* following through on it. I’m expecting to be joined later and I don’t think we’ll need any help.”
Claude saw that he probably wasn’t going to be able to worm his way in on the story so with a resentful look on his face he returned to what he had been doing before Charlie had entered the office, thinking as he turned that he needed to find out more about Mr. Charles King.
Derek considered for a minute. He knew some of the hazards Charlie would be facing. He thought that he might be doing him a favor by discouraging him. “Well, Charlie, most of the rebels are located up in the Bantu country. You would have to go there and find them in the jungle in order to get more information about those kinds of things. That would be a difficult trip to start with and could take some time. If the shipment you’re expecting to check on is due within, say, three months, you may not be able to get there, get the information and get back in time, if you can *get* the information *at all* *and* if you can get out *alive*. I don’t think that the rebels are going to be very cooperative in your investigation.”
Charlie chuckled and said, “I have some sources of information that may be adequate to the task. Can I use this office as a home base and do you have access to the internet or fax capability to the Metropolis office when I need it?” He said that knowing that he really was not going to need the fax, but the internet access could come in handy.
Derek replied, “Yes to both. Of course the internet access is done through a trans oceanic telephone line so there is some lag, but it gets the job done.”
Charlie smiled in acknowledgement at the information, and then asked,, “Is there a desk that isn’t currently in use where I can ‘hang my hat’?”
Derek, seeing that Charlie didn’t wear a hat but realizing that it was simply a figure of speech, pointed to a desk in the corner with a telephone and an old typewriter on it and said, “That desk is unoccupied at the moment. You can use it.”
Charlie said, “Thanks. I probably won’t be keeping a strict schedule. It’ll all depend on where the investigation leads. If I’m going to be gone for an extended period I’ll try to let you know in advance. I plan to start trying to establish a group of informants. I’ll keep you apprised of my progress.” He started toward the door and said “I’ll see you later.” And with that he departed.
After Charlie left Derek was called out on business. Claude used this opportunity to compose and send a FAX to the Metropolis office. He was going to find out about this Charlie King.
comments go here To be continued in Chapter 3 – The Mission Begins
