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 –
Clark had never been required to participate in the military but, as he had ‘bounced around’ in the foster care system after the deaths of his parents he had wound up in homes of widely variant characters. In one of the homes he had stayed in the father had been a Viet Nam War vet and had a lot of military memorabilia and books. Clark had had an opportunity to read a lot of the books while he lived with them and had many talks with him about his experiences during the war and jungle warfare. Some of the books had described various battles and campaigns. Seeing this camp below him brought a lot of what he had read and heard to the forefront of his memory.
From his concealed spot in the foothills adjacent to the rebel camp, he observed their activities. He watched as they had rifle marksmanship training. He watched as they practiced moving techniques such as bounding overwatch. That was a technique where fire teams would ‘leapfrog’ forward. One team covered the other as they moved and then they traded responsibilities. This spoke of a sophisticated organization. He watched as they practiced with crew served weapons such as the Jeep mounted recoilless rifle. He watched them crawl under barbed wire while machine guns fired over their heads.
Charlie had noticed that there were some different uniforms mixed in among the trainers. Seeing this he looked more closely. There were Communist advisors acting as trainers to the rebels. Charlie had heard of the Communist sympathies of the rebels and this confirmed it.
He also watched the encampment itself. He saw that there was one tent, near the middle of the compound that was somewhat larger than the others. The amount of traffic in and out would lead one to believe that it was a Command Post (CP). All through the day the sides would be rolled up for air. In the evenings the sides came down. Most evenings large groups of what were probably officers gathered there and stayed for long periods of time. Presumably they were having meetings and these were what he was after. But he would need to get closer to be able to hear. Even he couldn’t filter out all the ambient noise generated in a camp of this size to zero in on the meeting from this distance.
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Monday February 3, 1992
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After over a week of observation during which he was monitoring the guard strength and routine he had a good idea as to how he could get in close enough to listen. <Time to get up close and personal.> he thought. He put his plan into effect the following night. He packed his camouflage fatigues and put on the black outfit while he flew to the vicinity of the camp. He checked on the positioning of the guards and selected a ‘dead zone’ in their coverage and descended. When he spun into the fatigues he retained the ski mask and then he flew at ground level to the vicinity of the CP tent. In the dark and in his camouflage fatigues he was able to lay right next to the CP and blend in. By using his x-ray vision he could see what was happening and listen in with his superhearing.
They were speaking a Bantu dialect but it was close enough to the Swahili that he knew that he understood at least most of what was being said. Most of the meeting dealt with incidentals, reports on training, ammunition expenditures, rations, numbers of recruits, etc. There was mention of an arms shipment due in soon, but no definite date mentioned. He decided that since the meetings were every other night he would need to be there to eavesdrop. <As it gets closer to the time of the shipments arrival they will probably mention a firm date.> Another flight at ground level took him to the sentry ‘dead zone’ so that he could change back into the black outfit and fly out of the camp.
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Monday February 17, 1992
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It wasn’t until two weeks later that he got a firm date on the arrival of the arms. The ship would be docking in Pointe Noire on March 27th. It was time to get ready for Lois and she was due in twenty three days. Things were progressing nicely.
And now –
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Chapter 8 – Enter Lois Lane
Wednesday March 11, 1992
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Lois had had to come in from England as there were only a few places that had flights into the Congo. When she had boarded the plane she had planned for the change in climate. She knew that she would be moving from late winter or early spring in Metropolis to an equatorial climate. She was wearing a pair of off-white slacks with a matching jacket over a turquoise blouse. She could then remove the jacket and be comfortable in the equatorial climate of Brazzaville.
Charlie was there when Lois exited the plane and watched as she moved into the terminal to retrieve her luggage. He noticed that she was dressed well for the climate. < Her hair is somewhat longer than the other Lois’. She’s wearing it in a shoulder length page boy type bob. I love it. I love her! I can’t wait to meet her.>
When he saw that she had picked up her bags and that she really had more than she could handle by herself he was elated. This was just what he needed. He watched her struggle with her luggage for a couple of minutes as she tried to move toward the taxi stand.
Lois was becoming increasingly frustrated. In Metropolis the Taxi drivers, in search of a larger tip, would offer to help with the luggage. At the airport there were carts, if you wanted to rent them to wheel your luggage to check in. Those things didn’t exist here. Brazzaville was a city of upwards of 500,000 residents but from the air she could see that this city was nothing like Metropolis. When she was on the ground she saw that she was not mistaken in her first impression. The conditions were definitely third world. This airport struck her as being little better than a small regional airport back home. When she deplaned she descended a set of steps that were wheeled out to the plane! The cabbies – they couldn’t have cared less if you had too much luggage. They didn’t budge out from behind the wheel. She realized that she was on her own on this one.
When Clark thought that the time was right he approached her and using a French accent offered to assist her with her bags. “Would zee Mademoiselle like zum ‘elp?” he asked.
She thought about his offer <Who does this guy think he is? Who does he think I am? Some helpless woman that *needs* a man to do things for her?> “I can handle them by myself, thank you!”
He backed off and allowed her to struggle with her luggage some more before he tried again to offer to help. “Please to allow me to ‘elp?”
She realized that she really did need some help so reluctantly she relented and allowed him to pick up her excess bags. He moved them to the taxi stand for her.
He casually asked her, “Does zee Mademoiselle ‘ave a place to stay?” With her so near he almost lost focus and his French accent as he thought <I want her near me, as near as I can get her. Just seeing her I ache to be with her. Lois was right. What I feel, being in my Lois’ presence, it’s stronger than what I felt for her. I just want to take her in my arms and never let her go. I want to kiss her senseless and carry her off. I need to be careful that I don’t show too much or I might scare her off. Keep it cool Kent.>
<A place to stay? Of course I have a place to stay. Why is he asking that?> She thought back to how she had made her arrangements for the trip. When Lois had gotten the tip about the guns she had gone to Perry about it.
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Flashback
Daily Planet
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Pacing back and forth in front of the desk in Perry White’s office with her arms crossed over her ample bosom Lois was trying to convince her editor. “Perry, this tip is the real McCoy. This gun running ring is real and we can nail them. I just need to get to the Congo and get the goods on them.”
Leaning back in his chair, Perry replied, “Look, Lois, you and I both know just how dangerous that could be. I admit you’re my best reporter, but it’s because of that that I don’t want to lose you. Even if you weren’t my best reporter, I care too much about you to see you walk into that kind of danger! Lois, you’re like the daughter I never had. Please hear me out, I don’t want you doin’ this.”
Planting her hands on the edge of his desk and leaning in to close the space and trying to be intimidating she replied, “But, Perry, this has Kerth award written all over it. I can almost taste it. I need to do this!”
Steepling his fingers Perry replied, “Lois, I can’t sanction this trip. In my opinion it’s far too dangerous.
Standing up and looking around and out into the bullpen through his window for inspiration she saw John the photographer and said, “What if I take someone with me? I could take a photographer!”
Perry picked up a pencil from his desk and started tapping it to emphasize each point as he said, “The presence of a photographer will not lessen the danger any, in fact it multiplies it because there would now be two people in the same danger. Look, these are desperate people. They’re in rebellion against their government. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if you were caught. I don’t want your blood on my hands. Please, I love you like a daughter, don’t do this to me.”
Starting to get desperate now, she continued, “Look, Perry, this story has my name on it. I’ve done dangerous investigations before. Look at the story I recently finished! I nailed that car heist ring. I went undercover on that and passed myself off as a male gang member. They didn’t catch on, not in the slightest. If they had, I might have been shot but that was a chance I was willing to take.”
Not backing down on his position and trying to show her the fallacy of her argument Perry said, “Look, Lois that was right here in Metropolis. This story is in the Congo for heaven’s sake. You won’t know your way around like you do here in Metropolis. At least on that carjacking story you knew your way around if things got dicey. That wouldn’t be the case in the Congo, too many things could happen.”
Lois was really starting to get desperate now. Perry wasn’t caving in to her wishes the way he usually did on this one. She tried another tactic. “Perry, I can take care of myself. You know that! I wouldn’t have achieved my brown belt in Tae Kwon Do if I couldn’t handle myself. I make it a habit to spar with the biggest and strongest men in my Tae Kwon Do class and most of the time I win. Yes, I’ve managed to get myself into some tight spots in the past, but, I’ve gotten myself out of them too. I can do this! I’m not going to just put myself out there. I’m going to hide in the background as much as I can. I really need to do this.” Watching his face as she was citing this she could see that this tactic was being ineffective. She tried to hit it from another angle. “Look at it this way, how would it look to be able to advertise ‘Kerth Award winning reporter’ as part of my byline. It would add a lot of prestige to the paper.”
This seemed to hit home. He seemed to weaken, although just for a moment before he came back with, “Yes, it would, *if* you survived to receive the award. I can’t risk that.” He threw down his pencil and was very firm as he said, “The answer is still *no*!”
Still unwilling to concede defeat Lois immediately decided what she would have to do. “Okay, have it your way. You don’t want me doing anything *dangerous*. Okay then, since you don’t want me doing this I’ll just take a vacation.”
Perry was taken aback by this totally atypical response. He blurted out, “That’s awfully sudden, isn’t it? One minute you’re begging me to send you on assignment and the next you’re taking off on a vacation. I smell a rat.”
With something of a sneer she replied, “I don’t care what you smell, I have the time accumulated. I’m taking a vacation … effective now.”
Totally flabbergasted by this response Perry sputtered, “Now you wait just a doggone minute … “
She spun on her heel and headed for the door interrupting him in a sarcastic tone, “I’ll call and let you know when I’ll be back from my ‘vacation’, that is *if* I decide *to* return. I just might have to find another paper that will back me up when I get a tip on a big story.” This last sentence was spoken as she was standing in his door with her hand on the doorknob. With her last word she closed the door a little bit harder than was necessary.
After closing his door, as she was rapidly walking away she heard him shouting “Lois, come back here!”
She ignored him and stormed over to her desk, stuffed a few items into her bag, grabbed her coat and almost ran up the ramp. Deciding to not wait for the elevator she hit the door to the stairwell and was out of sight before Perry was able to get himself together and try to intercept her.
Lois didn’t want to give Perry a chance to talk her out of it so she went directly home, packed for an extended stay, got a plane ticket, made a hotel reservation at the first on the list and headed out.
She had been saving for a new car since the one she had was a beat up wreck looking for a junk yard. She hoped that if she brought in the story that Perry would authorize a reimbursement so she could still get her car. At least it was a favorable exchange rate. The rooms were pretty cheap.
On her way from Metropolis to London, Lois was starting to feel some regrets about how exactly she had handled it and decided that she really did need to let Perry know what was going on, but, not just yet. He might still try to talk her into coming home.
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End flashback
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Noticing that she was lost in thought Charlie repeated his question. “Does zee Mademoiselle ‘ave a place to stay?”
<A place to stay?> His question finally registered as Charlie was loading her luggage into the boot of the cab. Big city girl that she was, Lois eyed this *helpful* stranger with suspicion. “Why do you ask?”In her experience someone trying to help was someone trying to take advantage.
“So zat I can tell zee driver where to tak you.”
She surprised herself when she quickly replied, “Oh, okay. Yes. I have a reservation at Bonne Nuit de Sommeil.” <I shouldn’t do this but there is just something about this guy that makes me want to accept his help. But I wonder what he really has in mind.>
“Tres bien. Zee Mademoiselle ‘as made an excellent choice. I ‘ighly recommend zat ‘otel. Eet leeves up to eets nam ‘Zee Good Night’s Rest’.”
Clark tried to contain his excitement. <Excellent! She doesn’t have a reservation somewhere else. Now I can get her close to me.> As she got in the back of the cab he said to the driver, “Chauffeur, Bonne Nuit de Sommeil, sil vous plait.”
The driver replied “Oui.”
Charlie entered the cab after giving these directions to the driver. Lois was already seated and he sat next to her <What does he think he’s doing? I didn’t invite him to go with me.>.
He then said to the driver “Aller, vite.”
The driver replied, “Oui.” and stepped on the gas.
Charlie turned to Lois turned on that megawatt smile of his and said, “Enchanté. My nam ees Charles. Your nam ees?”
Lois, caught up in the effect of that smile, thought about this request. <I don’t know this guy from Adam and he forces his way into the cab. But, wow, he has a *nice* smile and he is kinda cute and that French accent is adorable. He *is* being helpful or does he have some ulterior motive? Is he interested in me?>
Lois regarded this stranger as she considered her options. <I don’t have time for this sort of thing, do I? I’m here for a story, not a romantic involvement. Well, I *might* have the time for a *couple* of drinks, as long as it won’t interfere with the story. Hmmm, do I want to give him my right name? I think I’ll use my old girlfriend’s name.> Lois replied, “My name is Linda King.”
Clark smiled even *more* brightly as if that were possible and replied, “C’est tres magnifique! My nam ees Charles *King*. *Tres* bon. Perhaps we are related, no?”
Lois replied, “Very interesting.” and relapsed into silence for the rest of the short trip. She was fascinated by the rundown conditions of the city that she could see from the cab window. She could see signs of ongoing repairs and other construction which apparently the city administration was pushing forward but they had a long way to go to get up to Metropolis’ standards. After a very short time they arrived at the hotel.
Linda started to dig into her purse for some cash but Charlie stopped her. “It weel be my pleasure to pay for zee ride. Charlie paid the driver and helped ‘Linda’ move her suitcases into the lobby.
”Permitee moi to get zee key for zee room pour vous, sil vous plait <Now to get her settled where I can keep an eye on her.> He then went over to the desk clerk and said in a low tone, “Une chamber à coucher pour la Mademoiselle au cinquième étage côté moi. Ajouter les frais de ma facture.” As he said this he slipped the clerk two 100 CFA Franc bills. (Tr: A bedroom for the young lady on the fifth floor next to me. Add the charges to my bill.)
The clerk nodded his head and slipped the bills into his pocket as he replied, “Dacord. Chamber à coucher, numbre 503.” He handed Charlie the key.
More loudly Charlie said, “Merci beaucoup!”
Charlie said to Linda, “Your room eez on zee feefth floor. We can take zee eleevator.”
She thought <How did he do that? The reservation is in the name of Lane, not King. What’s going on here?>
Shooing away the bell boy he picked up Linda’s bags and headed for the elevator. When she was aboard she pushed the button for five. When they stepped off on five Charlie indicated that they move down the hall to the right just a few steps. He opened the door for her and took her bags in and placed them on the bed for unpacking and opened the windows to air out the room for her. He turned to her and said, “Eef you need anysang, anysang at all just come next door and knock. I am een 501.”
At this Lois got a knowing look on her face and thought <I thought so. He must have bribed the clerk to give me this room. He *must* be interested. Do I have time for this? I do have a little over two weeks till the shipment arrives. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’ll just have to wait and see.> She said, “How nice,” and thought <How convenient.>.
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Thursday March 12, 1992
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Having no intention of sharing this story with anyone, Lois was going to avoid the Daily Planet office like the plague, especially since this was unofficial. Perry had not given her permission to follow up on this lead, but she felt she just had to. She could almost smell a Kerth award for this and wasn’t going to pass it up. <I’m doing this on my own. Sure it’s going to be dangerous, but what investigation isn’t? That tip had the shipment coming in to Pointe Noire in about two weeks. That gives me some time to prowl around the city and see the sights.> It also gave her time to gear up for the upcoming activity.
Lois decided that she would do some sightseeing. When she dressed for the day she donned a pair of nicely tailored light weight beige slacks with a white long sleeved fitted blouse (both of which accentuated her figure) and a floppy brimmed hat. She was not accustomed to the equatorial sun and thought it best to cover up since she planned to be out in it most of the day. Even so, she still applied sunscreen to her face and neck. As she left the elevator, she ran into Charlie in the lobby.
Charlie had been waiting for her to appear for half an hour. He greeted her cordially. “Bonjour mademoiselle. I trust zat you rested comfortably.” Meanwhile he was thinking <Wow! She’s a knock out! I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do this. If she didn’t dress so sexily it might be easier. Nah, she would look sexy in a gunny sack. Keep it cool Kent!>
“Why yes. Thank you for recommending this hotel. I was very comfortable.” <It was a random choice when I made the reservation but his recommendation kept me here. This really was a good suggestion. I was very comfortable. I wonder if all of his suggestions will be as good.>
“Mademoiselle would like to see zee sights of zee city, would she not?” <Go slow. Don’t blow it Kent.>
“Yes, I was planning on doing some sightseeing today.” <What is he getting at?>
“Would mademoiselle like zee guide? I am at your zervice.”
“Well, I usually like to just take things as they come up. I don’t usually hire guides.” <Ah, Ha. Here it comes. He’s after my cash. He wants me to hire him, probably at an exorbitant fee.>
“Ah mademoiselle, you meesunderstand, I am not o’fair’ing my zeervices for ‘ire. I am o’fair’ing zem for free. It would be my *pleasure* to escort you around our fair city.”
<Well, can you beat that. I guess I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.> “Well, in that case. I guess the price is right. OK Charlie, you’re on. Where do we go first?” <If he suggests his room I’m outta here.>
“I would recommend a tour of la Basilique Sainte-Anne of the Congo then la Palais du Peuple then a look at zee open air markets for zee souvenirs and treenkets. Zen lunch at Le Jardin or Etoiles de Jade. In the afternoon if you are eentereested a visit to zee Tennees Club. Zair clay courts are tres magnifique. Zis evening I would like to take you to Boom Boom Afrique.” <I *could* have her with me all day. If I play my cards right I could have her with me every day.>
“Wow, that all sounds like fun!” She placed her arm through his offered arm and said, “Let’s go.” <Let’s see how this day turns out. If it’s as good as it sounds, maybe I’ll let him plan another day’s outings.>
Lois was amazed at the good time she had with Charlie. He was extremely pleasant, constantly concerned for her welfare and an excellent conversationalist and she simply adored his cute French accent. He was an all around nice guy and good companion. He also didn’t let her spend a cent on anything, paid for lunch and dinner as well as the souvenirs she wanted. <Wow, so far it has been a terrific day and he’s been a perfect gentleman. This wasn’t such a bad idea after all. I’m glad I took him up on his offer. Definitely, if he offers to plan tomorrow’s outing I’m going to let him.>
After dinner he took her back to the hotel so that she could rest up and change before he took her to the Boom Boom Afrique.
Lois contemplated the limited number of dresses in her small closet. <What should I wear? I want to impress him, but I don’t want to be too over the top. Let’s see what I have.> She pulled out dress after dress holding it up in front of herself while she checked her appearance in the mirror. Finally deciding on one she changed into a form fitting sleeveless red dress with a scoop neck and a hem that just brushed the tops of her knees and a slit up the left side to mid thigh. <I feel like a teenager getting ready for a date. It’s been so long since I’ve dated … I want to be attractive for him. I hope he likes what he sees.>
It was getting near the time that Charlie had said he would pick Linda up so he quickly checked to make sure she was dressed. When Charlie saw her all he could do was stare at her for several seconds. He shook himself to get it back together and headed for his closet. He had noted the color of her dress and quickly changed his tie. Exiting his room he went next door and knocked. He heard her as she approached her door and to his surprise he heard her heart rate increase. Was she excited that she was going to see him? He hoped so. When she opened the door she just stood there in the doorway. Charlie said “Ooo la la, vous êtes *très belle* ce soir, uh … You are *zery beauty-ful* zis evening.” <She looks incredible!!!! She is killing me! I can’t stand it! How am I going to continue to do this?? I’m dying the death by a thousand cuts here. Keep it cool Kent! I can get through this, I think.>
Linda replied, “Thank you.” and blushed prettily. <I’m glad he likes what he sees. It’s been a while since anyone has paid this kind of attention to me. It feels good.> Her heart rate was going a mile a minute. It was going so fast it almost made her light headed.
comments go here. To be continued in Chapter 9 – The First Date
