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 –
After he finished they both had very pensive expressions. Charlie was in deep thought, thinking of how apropos this song was to his situation. He was thinking, <I’ve been looking and looking for her and it took help from Herb to actually find her and now I have the answer to the question of where she was. She’s here with me now. Now it’s up to me to see to it that I keep her near to me. I never want to lose her again now that I’ve found her.>
Linda was thinking, <Such a sad song and it has affected Charlie so. I wonder why. Actually, I can see why. I too can identify with it. I’ve been looking for one special man, but, I’m afraid I’ll never find him. ‘Where are you?’ Yes, I could ask that question myself. Where are you?>
After a minute or so Charlie spoke up, “Perhaps we should go now. Would you like to take zee walk along zee river bank?” <I need to get her out of here, somewhere quiet.>
“Sure.” She picked up her glass and drained it. ”That would be nice.” <A walk along the beach. What does he have in mind? Especially after that song.>
They walked and they talked. The drinks had affected her more than she would like to admit. Her conversation became very animated. She almost danced as they walked along remembering that French song that she had chair-danced to back in the club.
Clark admired her doing bouncing dance steps and spins which showed off her very nicely shaped legs through the slit of her skirt. Eventually Charlie took her hand in his.
Every time his skin touched hers she felt that tingling sensation. She had never in her life felt anything like it before. She continued her dance swinging their joined hands as she spun right and left with the swing of their arms in very uninhibited fashion. It was the perfect end to a nearly perfect day, a day that Lois would remember for a *long* time to come.
And now –
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Chapter 10 – Starting the Investigation
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Clark and Lois, both in their alter egos, spent the rest of the time together until the shipment was due. It was like one long wonderful date.
This was really unexpected. Although Lois had always thought of herself as an independent woman, somehow she was happy when Charlie offered to pay for her meals and souvenirs because it was stretching out her funds. When she had decided to follow up on this investigation she had had to use savings. She hoped that if this investigation turned out and she brought in the story that Perry would authorize a reimbursement for her. Until then she was on her own hook for all of her expenses. She wasn’t even thinking about the hotel bill. She usually paid something like that at check out and she wasn’t ready to do that just yet. She hoped that when she did they would take a credit card. That way the bill wouldn’t come due until she was back and hopefully the reimbursement would have been authorized by then.
They went out to see the sights and have meals together. They went shopping and sometimes went out just walking and talking. Lois hadn’t really dated since college. She had decided that her career was going to take priority and that was it, but she was enjoying this and the time she was spending with Charlie. They were getting to know and like each other. The more time she spent with Charlie, the more time she *wanted* to spend with Charlie. The more they touched and she got that tingle the more she enjoyed it. She was still curious about the source of this tingle and wondered why she only felt it with Charlie. In some way she knew that it contributed to some extent in her enjoyment of their time together. It felt like it was forming some kind of connection between them. She didn’t have the words to express it, but it was there.
On the third day as Charlie was dropping her off at her room he somewhat shyly said, “We ‘ave beeeen zeeeeing each o’zair now for a few days and I would like to ask eef I could, eef I could geeeve you a, good, a goodnight keess?”
“Charlie, I have never been one to kiss on the first date. I appreciate the fact that you waited. We’ve been together for three days now and I’ve really been enjoying our time together. Yes, you may give me a goodnight kiss.”
She tilted her head back slightly. He leaned in and placed one hand on her waist and the other hand behind her back and kissed her. At the instant of contact the tingle she felt when their skin came into contact manifested itself with a wham! Since the lips are more sensitive than hands she could feel the tingle from this contact all the way to her toes. It was something more than a brotherly kiss but less than a seduction. Somewhat chaste, but with lots of promise. Lois was very pleased with the outcome.
When he pulled away, she said goodnight and with a somewhat dreamy expression turned to enter her room. As she did so she suddenly stopped, whirled around and throwing her arms around his neck gave him another kiss, this time it was her kiss that held the promise. She finally broke the kiss and somewhat shyly, because she was surprised at herself hastily said, “Goodnight Charlie.” and fled into her room.
As she closed the door, she relived those kisses. <Wow! That was a *nice* kiss, I mean, really nice. He didn’t try to push, he kept it simple. His hands didn’t roam all over me and he was a gentleman the entire time. I really like that. It’s like he really cares about me and isn’t just after a fling. A girl could get used to that kind of treatment. I think I’d like a chance to anyhow. I can’t believe I kissed him back! I did enjoy it though. I can’t wait for tomorrow night!>
Charlie was frozen in place for several minutes staring at her closed door. His lips were still tingling! He couldn’t believe what had just happened. She had given him permission for a goodnight kiss and he had been ecstatic. He had really enjoyed kissing her and then all of a sudden she was back and she was kissing him. Boy, what a kiss that was! He was stunned. He was happy! He hoped that she would do it again. He was looking forward to tomorrow night.
From that time on they did kiss, regularly at the end of a date. As the time drew nearer for her to proceed with the investigation she found herself regretting that she would be leaving soon and thought to herself <I *really* like Charlie. I’d like to give this relationship a chance. This isn’t going the way all my others have, it just feels right somehow. Once this investigation is done I’ll have made a name for myself and I could get a job on any paper I chose to, but, do I want to leave the Planet? Well, the Planet has a local office so if I really want to stay with Charlie I could transfer here or maybe Charlie could come to Metropolis. After all it isn’t like he has a job here that he would have to give up. I guess I’ll have to wait and see how this investigation turns out.>
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Friday March 27, 1992
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Lois had been having such a wonderful time with Charlie that when the time arrived for the ship with the cargo to dock she almost missed it.
At the last minute Lois called the concierge. “This is room 503. I’d like a car with a driver for a trip to Pointe Noir. … Yes, today. … I can be ready I about fifteen minutes. … I'll need an English speaking driver. ... Out front in twenty minutes? Okay.”
It was going to be a drive of about 6 hours. She felt bad about standing Charlie up, since they had had plans for a picnic lunch at the picnic area of the Brazzaville Golf Club grounds and she would miss that opportunity to be with him. She hoped that she could make it up to him in some way when she got back to Brazzaville. Knowing that she would probably be up most of the night, she intended to sleep most of the way.
That idea was put to rest as soon as they hit the outskirts of Brazzaville and encountered a well rutted dirt road. She had wondered why the concierge had arranged for a four-wheel drive vehicle, a Land Rover no less! About an hour out they were stopped by armed gun men. The driver dickered with them for a while before passing over some bills and then they were allowed to go on.
“What was that all about?” Lois had asked for an English speaking driver when she had talked to the concierge and he was, just barely. He shrugged and said over his shoulder, “They wan’ the jus.”
“Jus, what jus?”
“Mooney for zee use of zee road tru’ zair area. Zay control eet and promise zat we weel not be robbed while we are on eet.”
“We won’t be robbed while we are on it, but we are robbed to use it?” Lois asked disbelievingly. Under her breath she muttered, “This sure isn’t the states.”
The driver gave her a semi-toothless grin in the mirror. “Zis ees what zare is.”
Lois had honed her taxi driver debate skills on the stark battlefield of Metropolis, but this was something else! Sighing deeply, she flopped back in her seat and tried to sleep, the seat belt fastened tightly around her, ruefully reflecting that she had asked the concierge earlier about taking the train from Brazzaville to Pointe Noire and he had discourage her, saying it was very dangerous and robberies and stops were frequent. Besides it could take three days to get there and she didn’t have that amount of time
When she was not asleep or bouncing sharply she did a lot of thinking. She thought about how she had walked out on Perry when she decided that no one was going to stop her from doing this investigation. She was really starting to feel bad about it and had just about determined that she was going to contact him and at least let him know that she was okay. At least now it would be too late for him to talk her out of doing this.
She also thought about Charlie. She thought a *lot* about Charlie. She thought back to the third day that they had been together. That had been their first trip to the Golf Club grounds for a picnic lunch. Charlie had suggested it and she hadn’t been too enthusiastic about it.
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Flashback
First Picnic, Third day
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Charlie said, “I pro-mise zat you weel ‘ave a good time. Zee food from zee ‘otel dining room ees excellent and zee zeenery ‘as to be zeen to be believ-ed.”
Linda replied, “You don’t understand, I don’t do picnics. You want to know what a picnic is to me? I’ll tell you what a picnic is, it’s getting a hot dog with the works and a soda from Mike’s Dog Waggin’ and sitting on a bench in Centennial Park in the sun to eat it. That’s my idea of a picnic.”
“Ah, I zee, but I t’ink I can shan-ge you mind. Please to allow me to try. Eef you do not en-joy eet, I weel no suggest eet a-gain. But, eef you do, zen per’aps we weel do eet a-gain. Weel you at least geeve eet a try?”
“I guess one time won’t hurt. Okay, but, don’t get your hopes up.”
“Zery well, I ‘ave order-ed zee peekneek lunch from zee ‘otel dining room already. Let us go and peek eet up and zen we can ‘ead out to zee Golf Club grounds.”
They went to the Golf Club grounds and found a shady spot under a tree and spread out the blanket. Lois was pleasantly surprised; the grandeur of the view was breathtaking. They were beside the river and were at a place where they overlooked the rapids. The sight and sound of the rushing tumbling water was awe inspiring. For a time she simply stood and watched the play of the water in the rapids. The water turning white and foaming as it swept over the rocks. It was almost mesmerizing.
After Charlie had everything out he came over and stood behind her, not saying anything, just enjoying being close to her, his Lois, and enjoying her reaction to the scenery and the rapids.
He was standing close enough that Linda could feel his breath on the back of her neck, but was so thoroughly mesmerized by the play of the water as it tumbled over the rocks that she didn’t turn from the view, waiting to see what he would do.
Softly he said, “Eet ees beauty-ful ees eet not?” Slowly, oh so slowly, he put his hands gently on her waist.
His breath continued to tickle her bare neck and Linda replied in a somewhat distracted tone, “Yes, yes it is. So much power. The force of the water moving that way. It’s awe inspiring. I could just stand here and watch it all day.” As she was speaking he slid his hands around so that she was within the circle of his arms.
Charlie hoped that the distraction wasn’t just because of the falls. He dared to pull her gently back against his chest and whispered in her ear, “Ah, but eef you deed zat, zen we would not ‘ave zee lunch!”
The contrast of the mundane words and his actions shot heat through her body. She slowly turned within his arms and nodded her head. Noting his intense gaze she smiled. He opened his arms and she started to move over to where the blanket was spread out but looked back over her shoulder a couple of times as if reluctant to lose the view.
Was the view of him or of the water? Or perhaps both, Clark wondered.
Reaching the blanket she sat down on one side and he sat down on the other with the picnic basket in between. The noise if the rapids still pervaded the atmosphere as a background to their talk. As if by mutual agreement, their talk reverted to impersonal topics.
Linda casually remarked, “I seem attracted to things of power, like those rapids.” Then she looked over at Charlie and was startled by the penetrating look he gave her as if trying to see into her soul. Shaking the strange feeling off, she openly admired the lovely layout of food that the hotel had provided.
They chatted and munched on boneless chicken breast and cut up vegetables with a bottle of wine. As they had consumed the wine Linda had started to relax. Her negative attitude toward the activity had been mollified by the view of the rapids which she had been so taken with. She had to admit to herself that she was having a pleasant time. The scenery was spectacular, both the river and her companion and she had enjoyed the conversation and relaxation. A thermos of coffee and a container of melon balls with toothpicks as skewers were there for desert. When they were finished and had cleaned up she said to Charlie, “I must admit that I’ve had a good time. Charlie, you’ve changed my mind about picnics. Let’s do this again.”
“I knew zat eef you would yust give eet a shance, you would eenjoy eet. We weel do eet a-gain een a few days, depending on zee wezer. We don’t want to picnic in zee rain.”
That night they had gone to a dance club. Lois was amazed at what an excellent dancer Charlie was.
When she had asked him about it he had said, “Een my travels I ‘ave bean all around zee world. One of zee places I have bean was Nigeria. Of course Nigeria is a neighbor country so zat was no such a long treeep. While zere I was engage-ed as a tutor to a young prin-cess. She was about twelve years of age. We got along fameously and she o’faired to teach me to dance. Zat ees where I learn-ed zee ballroom dance.”
While they were dancing though he seemed so stiff and formal. It wasn’t too bad for the more formal waltz, but when a slow number had started Lois had taken her hand out of his hand and guided his hand to her waist and then placed her hand on his shoulder. He had acted like a scared rabbit and had still kept her at something like arm’s length for much of the number. Finally, he had started to relax and pulled her in somewhat closer. She couldn’t understand what had happened to make him so ‘gun shy’ about holding her close on the dance floor. She still remembered the feel of his breath in her neck.
From that point on they had had a good time. It was when he had taken her back to her room that night that he had asked permission to give her a goodnight kiss. Lois had been surprised that he had waited that long but was happy that he had and also had been pleased at the nature of the kiss.
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They had returned to Golf Club grounds several times since and as their relationship had grown the nature of the outings had changed. It had actually become one of her favorite places. She remembered the last time they had gone.
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Last picnic, two days ago
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They had spread the blanket under ‘their’ tree. Charlie had been casually leaning back against the tree trunk. His left leg was bent and his left foot placed next to his right knee. His left arm was extended and his hand was on his left knee.
<Mmmmm, he looks delicious relaxing there like that. I want to get close to him, how do I do it?> Inspiration struck. <I know!>
Linda had decided that this looked like a comfortable chair so she reclined back against his chest and arm, practically sitting in his lap to do so. Then she opened the basket and begun tearing off strips of chicken and feeding them to Charlie and herself. As they talked she could feel the deep rumble of his voice echoing in his chest. When he wasn’t talking she thought she could feel his heart beating as she asked, “Remember our first picnic?”
“’Ow could I for-get? You deed not want to come.”
“Yeah, I guess I’ve been too much of a city girl. You’ve managed to chip off some of my sharp edges. I feel so much more relaxed when I’m with you than I have felt with anyone else. Why is that do you think?”
“Per’aps eet ees because I am a person oo likes to tak t’ings easy. Per’aps because I like you and you, maybe, you are beginning to like moi? Could zat be possible?”
She thought for a few seconds before answering, “Yes, that is possible. That is *very* possible.”
When she was feeding him some of the cut vegetables some of the dip dripped onto his chin.
Charlie started to reach up with a napkin to wipe it off, but she stopped him.
“No, that was my fault. I’ll take care of it.”
She turned around and licked it off. When she did this she did it very slowly and sensually. Then her lips found his and they were involved in a very long, nice, satisfying kiss. While the kiss had been deepening a soft moan of pleasure had started emanating from the back of her throat. When the kiss ended she said, “Mmmm, that was nice. I enjoyed that.”
He replied with feeling, “Zo did I.”
When it was time for desert Lois found a container of seedless grapes. When she started feeding these to Charlie she would use her index finger to poke the grape into his mouth. He would purse his lips and she would push the grape in. After a few of these he opened his lips unexpectedly and the grape and her finger both went into his mouth. He clamped his lips down on her finger and sucked on it and licked it with his tongue. At first she had a startled expression on her face but then desire took over.
She let out an “Oooooo” sound and her eyes started to cloud over with desire. This act had sent goose bumps up and down her spine and little shivers all the way to her toes and a very warm feeling into her loins. After he released her finger she brought her hand up to caress the side of his face as she looked into his eyes. He in turn brought his free hand up and caressed the side of her face. They had simply sat there for several minutes communicating without words what each was feeling.
Linda finally broke the silence, “Charlie, I don’t know how, but you do something to me that no one else has ever done before. I really like you Charlie. I like the time we’re together and I find that I’m missing you when we’re apart.”
“I find myself count-ing zee ‘ours unteel we are toge-zair again.”
They had lapsed into silence both of them mulling over these revelations. Eventually they had finished the picnic and returned the basket to the hotel. They had finished the day with more sightseeing and dinner followed by dancing.
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End Flashback
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Lois was wrestling with her conscience as she tried to rest on the long drive. <I was really looking forward to today’s outing but the ship is due and I have to be there. I really should have been up front with Charlie and told him that I had another commitment but, how would I have explained it? He doesn’t know that I’m over here on a job. It has never come up in our conversations. He appears to be some kind of playboy; at least he appeared to be very wealthy. He doesn’t have any kind of job that he has to go to and I guess he simply thinks that I’m here on some kind of vacation what with the amount of time we’re spending together.>
When she had called the concierge that morning to arrange a car immediately for a trip to Pointe Noir, she hated to do it, realizing it would hurt Charlie’s feelings to be stood up like that with no warning from her. Suddenly she sat up in alarm as she realized he might think she had gone missing or been kidnapped. She knew he knew nothing about her investigation or that she was a reporter at all.
She liked Charlie a lot, but, *this* was her *investigation*. To her, in some respects, this was her reason for living. <I hope I can make it up to Charlie. I hope I haven’t damaged the relationship that has been developing, but this is more important.>
Finally, oh finally, after 3 more stops to pay ‘jus’ on the National Road, they arrived in Pointe Noir. As they reached a miraculously paved road, she was able to roll down her window, which had been up against the dust, and inhaled the air. It was hot and humid, but it smelled wonderfully of the sea.
“Where to here, mam’sell?”
Having studied her map of Pointe Noire, in French of course, she said, “Drop me at the Gare de Pointe Noire.”
The driver looked at her in the mirror and raised an eyebrow, “You go to train station? Mebbe you should take train back.”
Giving her best gimlet eye look back in the mirror, she replied, “Maybe I will. Or maybe I’ll fly.”
The driver shrugged. This seemed to be a universal signal in taxi driver land. “See if I care.”
“How much do I owe you?”
The driver smiled again. “Two t’ousan’ franc’. I pay jus.”
Being prepared, Lois handed him twenty 100 CF notes and got out of the car with her back pack when he pulled up to the train station. It was about $220, or slightly over $15 an hour plus tolls. It was expensive but still less than buying a car for the drive. She had a sudden thought, <Charlie has a Land Rover. I wonder if he might have considered driving me if I had asked sweetly. Oh well, it’s too late now. I’m here. I wonder if he’d be willing to pick me up. Nah, not after standing him up this way. But, he might be relieved enough that I wasn’t kidnapped that he’d do it. I’ll think about it later.>
After the car dropped her off she used a ladies room to change into dark clothes and walked 2 minutes along Avenue Marien Ngouabi to the port. As she walked, she took time to watch the sun sink into the ocean.
Linda’s informant had told her the name of the ship the cargo would be on and by checking the newspaper she knew what pier it would be docked to and the time of arrival. Too bad he hadn’t included any details about the road between Brazzaville and Pointe Noire, but then he wasn’t from the Congo he was from Metropolis.
The ship had docked at 7:30 PM and it was now 8:30 PM. She didn’t know just how soon they would unload but she was hoping that this wouldn’t be a long stakeout. In her back pack she had some snacks and bottled water, but before this was over she thought she might be in need of a cup of coffee. <That’s one of the drawbacks to working alone all of the time. You have to get your own coffee. Sometimes I almost think that it would be good to have a partner. At least they could go for the coffee. I would just need to find one that wasn’t an incompetent. Someone I could train, two artificial sweeteners and non-dairy creamer. Someone I could trust to not stab me in the back and steal a story.>
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Charlie had heard when she called the concierge to arrange for a car to pick her up. While she was packing her back pack he had quickly done the same thing and ducked out to get his car and watch for her in front of the hotel. When he saw her enter the car he started following. With his enhanced vision he was able to follow at a greater distance than someone following normally would. That kept her driver from knowing that they were being followed all the way to Pointe Noir. Surprised when he hit the unpaved highway, he determinedly followed Lois. There were times he was tempted to just pick up his Land Rover and fly ahead of her. He too paid the jus (juice).
Charlie kept an eye or more accurately an ear on Lois aka Linda when they reached the dock area. He made sure that once there he was in front of her at all times. It was now extremely dark in this part of the port; most of the light in the immediate area was being supplied by the lights of the ship. Once he found a concealed position where he could observe the transshipment of the crates to the dock, he hid himself. With his superhearing he knew that she was right behind him and was sneaking up toward his position. <There she is. I’d better let her know I’m here.>
Just as she was about to move up basically right next to him he made a slight noise to alert her to the fact that there was someone else there and then moved slightly so that she would see the motion and know exactly where he was. He was tracking her position by listening to her heartbeat and it was somewhat accelerated in excitement. When he made the noise and shifted his position so that she would spot him he heard her gasp and again her heart rate kicked up even higher.
The port officials came down the gangway at about 10:30 PM after giving the ship its clearance. They had to wait until about 11:30 PM before the crates started being moved to the dock. It stood to reason that they wouldn’t wait for daylight. It always seemed that nefarious activities were conducted in the dark.
Clark thought, <This could be my only opportunity to team up with her. I can’t afford to let her leave Pointe Noir without me. I can’t be sure that I’ll ever see her again. She did stand me up for our planned outing today. Yeah, I knew that the ship was due, but I made the plans with her anyway. I wanted to see how she would handle it. I wasn’t too pleased with the fact that she made the commitment and then snuck out on me. She should have been up front and told me that she had another commitment.>
So, here they were. He could have confronted her very easily but instead of that he wanted her to take the initiative. He wanted her to ‘catch’ him but was still unsure how to go about it. While mulling this over he continued to watch as the crates were unloaded and stacked on the dock and pretended not to know that she was there.
When all of the crates had been off loaded, trucks came in and a crew of longshoremen loaded the crates onto them. When the trucks moved out they did so at a walking pace which Charlie was able to keep up with easily even with the need to remain concealed. He tracked Lois as she followed both him and the trucks. She was keeping both of them in sight. The trucks only moved a short distance to the warehouse area adjacent to the docks. Charlie noted that the warehouse in question was one of the ones he had identified as belonging to L&M Enterprises. There was a crew there to unload the trucks. When all of the crates had been moved into the warehouse the crew was paid off and dismissed. The boss closed up, locked the warehouse and left.
Lois had been watching this interloper’s actions this whole time. In the dark she couldn’t tell who it was. The dark clothes and the dark knit hat effectively disguised him. Of course the same could probably be said of her. She decided that it was time to *confront* this *person*. <This is *my* investigation. Who is this horning in on *me* this way? I *have* to find out. Okay, but how do I do that little thing?> How to go about it, that was the question. She didn’t have very much with her in the way of weapons. That really wasn’t her ‘thing’ anyhow. She reached into her pocket and found that she had a tube of lipstick. <How did that get there? Oh well, if that’s all I’ve got that’s what I have to use. Let’s see … >
Charlie sensed that Lois’ heartbeat had slowed when the activity around the warehouse had stopped and the crew had left. As soon as the boss left he heard it kicking up again. <Okay, here she comes.> He could hear her moving up behind him, but he didn’t let on that he heard her.
Suddenly Charlie felt a round object, which could very well have been the barrel of a gun, thrust into his back and he heard her whisper, “Don’t move. No funny business. I’ve got you covered. Put your hands in the air and stand up, slowly.”
comments go here To be continued in Chapter 11 – Partners?
