Grady strolled further into the room and leaned on the desk. "We've never officially met, but..."
"Sullivan is not my name," she said quickly, her eyes wide and fearful.
"No," he said quickly. "Don't be scared. You have me wrong."
"Do I? If you want to blackmail me, you better dig hard. Because I have more proof of Lois Lane than you do of..."
"You don't understand," he said tiredly. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm here to help."
"Like you helped Jimmy? What did you do? Take his money and his mind and..."
"I didn't take any money from Jimmy Olsen. I occasionally work pro-bono." He smiled lightly. "Please sit."
She glanced at him warily. "You could just wipe me clean right now."
"I could, but I haven't. Doesn't that count for anything?"
She moved to the couch and sat, placing her hand in her bag.
"No recorders," he said suddenly, taking the chair across from her. "This is off the record."
She took her hand from her bag and looked down. "What did you do to Jimmy?"
"I saw something in him. Something that was holding him back, bringing pain. I took it away. It's what I do." He spread his hands an leaned back.
"No wonder you're the hottest psychiatrist in town." She crossed her arms. "The wunderkind, they said. No older than I am, but I bet you do pretty well for yourself."
"I'm not doing what I do for money. If I was so mercenary, wouldn't I draw things out, bring people back for session after session? I've never kept a client for more than a month. Why do you think I'm so popular? Would you just listen before you judge me?"
She sat back and tried to convey openness. "I'll listen, but I can't promise not to judge."
He nodded. "Good enough. I became a psychologist to help. It gives me access to people's deepest fears and worst moments- the ones that keep them from being happy. With your friend, it was easy. He's a nice guy, a simple guy. The only thing holding him back was you. His misery was almost palpable that day. I wanted to ease it. All I had to do was take one thing away - the memories of a girl who broke his heart, died, then broke it again. It didn't take much. I've had to work weeks on people with events that you can't even imagine."
"And why?" she asked. "What's in it for you?"
"Nothing," he said thrugh clenched teeth. "Well... Maybe penance. I spent years stealing and wiping the memories. Also, for things my father did to me and others. I had the idea from him, really. But I thought it could be used better. And with my ability, it's not frightening or complicated. I don't need anything but one person near me... just long enough to take what they didn't need." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "As my power grew, I realized I couldn't only wipe their memories. I could share them. When I did, I started to... lose the urge to steal from them, cause any more pain. I wanted to help them lose the pain they had. That's when I got the idea. I took some classes, read up." He sighed. "Found a great forger. And now I pass myself off as a psychologist."
"But you aren't," Lois said, still unable to believe he didn't have a darker purpose. "You've perfected this kind and caring and grown-up act. But you're lying to every patient the minute you call yourself doctor."
"Does it matter if I help? What's a piece of paper? As their psychologist, they tell me things they've buried for years, let fester. And I see them clearly. Clear enough to change them, modify them or, sometimes, just wipe the slate clean. If they knew, I'd have even more clients, I guarantee you." He stood up and paced to his desk. "I was infected and it was for a reason. This is my purpose. You can't take it away from me.
"You can't take the truth away from people. The truth matters. It matters more than anything."
He smiled at her. "I can tell you believe that. I can tell it guides your life. But, even now, your own life is a lie."
"We're not talking about me. The purpose of psychology is to work through those events and help the person deal with them. Deal with what's true."
He shook his head. "We'll never agree on this. Psychology takes years, a lifetime, to work through these things. I can help people be happy now. They can live the rest of their lives free instead of wasting them trying to deal. I cured women who've been molested, raped... These are women who indulge in self-destructive behavior, repeating events. They were in therapy for years before seeing me. I sent them away clean and able to love themselves again."
She felt her resolve weakening. "But the truth is..."
"The truth can destroy people." He came towards her. "You think I can't see your pain? You live this lie of a life and it could make you happy. But you're clouded by heartbreak and..." He closed his eyes. "By things no one should see. I feel for you." He sat on the couch next to her. "Wouldn't you like this life to be your own? I could make it happen for you. Those things you tell people, they could be true for you."
She looked at her hands. "But they'd still be a lie. Even more of a lie than they are now."
"But you'd be happy and successful. You could be a great reporter without the needless baggage of your former life."
She stood quickly. "I don't need your help." She took her bag and strode to the door, but his voice stopped her short of opening it.
"I think you do... But not only for you."
She turned back slowly.
"Lex Luthor," was all he said.
She found herself moving back to the couch and sitting. "Have they contacted you to evaluate him?"
He nodded. "It would only be an hour. We have a mutual friend. I've seen him in your mind as well. We both know something about him, something Lex knows, too." He closed his eyes. "I see some things he's done. He must be a dark man."
"Couldn't you erase it all? Make him truly catatonic. He could never hurt anyone again."
His eyes snapped open. "No. I... I know he's not the greatest humanitarian, but... I promised long ago that I would never use my abilities to harm anyone. Turning him into a vegetable." He shook his head. "I can't do it. He deserves a chance."
"A chance he'll use to hurt me, my friends, anyone he can. He's..."
"I need to think," Grady said, standing. "I want to help you without hurting him. No matter what he's done, I just can't..." He turned to her. "Just let me think."
"But the police have nearly cleared him. Isn't he being evaluated for release in a week? There's no time..."
"I won't take much time," he suddenly snapped. "Please, just go. I'll think about this."
She watched in agony as he sat behind his desk and pressed the intercom. "Theresa, can you send in Mr. Hughes?" He looked up at her. "I promise. I'll think about it."
******************************
"What's to think about?" Linda asked, digging into her food. Linda had ordered in enough Chinese for five people. But Lois couldn't eat if she tried. "Why the heck won't the guy just play ball?"
"Ethics," Lois sighed, pulling cabbage from an egg roll. "He thinks turning Lex into an empty shell is wrong." They were sitting on the floor in the apartment, eating off the coffee table. She hadn't got around to a dining table yet. It was hard to think of decorating beyond basic functionality when you ate, slept, and breathed Lex Luthor.
Linda snorted. "It's fine by me. He could turn him into a cue ball for all I care. It'll match his looks."
Lois nearly laughed, but she didn't. She'd lost her ability to laugh nearly a year ago. Was the doctor right? Had the events changed her so fully that she could never be happy again? She had the job of her dreams and was actually on top with it. And she hardly cracked a smile that wasn't forced anymore. "Well, Grady said he would think."
Linda smiled. "Let's hope they're happy thoughts, like Lex's empty shell falling off the wall and all the kings horses and... Well, you know the rest." She smiled again.
Lois dropped her mutilated egg roll. "Why are you so happy?"
Linda shrugged. "Is it a crime?"
"It is when disaster's about to strike your cousin."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I know you're stressed. It's just... Well, Ollie and I talked."
Lois leaned back against the couch. "Go on. Tell me. We'll take a break from the weight of the world."
Linda giggled. "Okay. I called to inform him that a certain lasso-wielding lady was not welcome to use my stuff during her stay. He told me that she's been staying at headquarters with A.C." She sighed and looked off. "A.C. came back to town because they have this whole thing with this lady in town. Calls herself Dragonfly. Oliver said he only brought in Wonder Woman..." She snorted. "Lame name, by the way, because he has trouble hitting girls. Well anyway, A.C. and her seem to be a little hot and heavy. Bart hasn't come back yet." She laughed. "Wait'll he gets a load of her."
"So... You and Ollie are okay?"
"Yeah," she breathed, leaning back and grinning like a fool. "He called me a complete idiot."
"Mm-hmm. And you like this?"
"When he finishes it off by saying I'm a idiot for thinking he could even look at another woman, I do."
The doorbell rang and Lois stretched and stood up. "Well, it's nice to see you guys are as twisted as ever." She walked to the door and opened it.
A teenaged guy was holding flowers. "Flowers for..."
"Oh, Ollie," Lois squealed from behind her. Lois found herself nearly pushed out of the way as Linda rushed forward and grabbed the bouquet. She kissed the boy on the cheek and dug into her pocket, pulling out a twenty. "Thank you so much."
"No problem," he mumbled, his face red as he shuffled down the hall.
Lois smiled and moved to close the door, but stopped when she saw a white envelope on the floor. It was the card. Linda was already calling Ollie in the living room, so she decided to take a peek.
Her smile disappeared as she read.
Glad to know you still keep in touch with the Kents.
I can still taste you.
L.L.
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Chapter Six
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