"If you think it's so easy, why don't you get the sample? You know just as well as I do where to get it and don't pretend you..." There was a noise in the hallway and the younger woman dropped her voice to a whisper. There were some things the Doc just couldn't be in on. "He's there. She is, too. They haven't left even after what I did... Never you mind what I did. It didn't work, anyway. They haven't left. We'll be out of there completely just after she confirms our last... No. Do not do this. Do not get squeamish now. I can't work with our existing patients anymore. They've been depleted of all nutrients. We've had four failures so far. Adam 5 is growing weaker and you don't seem as concerned as you should be... I don't think you understand how difficult this is with only a small amount of the sample... Fine. I'll get it. You obviously won't... Yes. I'll put her on."
************************
Clark frowned as he sped into his suit. He looked once at the wall, through it, to the woman sleeping beyond. It was four in the morning. He was tired and still angry, but he had to go now.
No. You can pursue your own angles... I wonder what those would be...
Well, he had them. If he was right, if the chemical concoction was related to both Met Vista and to Grady's work, then he had an angle. Finding Grady was finding a lead. And he hoped it would lead him straight to whoever was behind this.
************************
Lois was standing in a field of corn and laptops. It didn't matter, at the moment, that laptops didn't grow in fields. Their glow was just so beautiful. One flashed pictures. A girl in a pink dress. She couldn't make out the face, nor that of the boy arm in arm with her. They seemed happy. Another seemed covered with green... no. The green was just a haze, as if someone was looking through nigh-vision goggles at a snowy vista, but speeding, stopping...
"Scenic Ruby Ridge. Home to snow and more snow and probably fucking wolves and..." It was a voice, a vaguely familiar voice, and it came from the computer.
"Just browsing?" She jumped and turned. There was a girl. She seemed like... her -- only so impossibly young, so impossibly blonde, with hair that flipped out at the ends and a tight top over a flowing skirt and... "Or do you plan on buying something for keeps?"
"Excuse me?"
"You can have them, you know. It's a bargain." The girl smiled.
"Have them?"
"Yes. Just take one. Any one of them. Take it from a girl who spent an inordinate amount of time staring at a monitor. It's crowded here. And I really would like to..." She stopped, staring at one screen, the one with the green snow. She laughed slightly. "I miss him. I hope you were nice to him."
Lois stared at the screen as well. "I'm in," the voice said, hushed and excited.
"Nice to who?"
The girl turned and shrugged. "I don't think I'm allowed to tell... not about any of this." She turned, her skirt flaring up slightly before settling around her ankles.
"Wait." Lois moved to go after her, but her own body seemed to betray her, seizing up, not allowing any movement. "Don't go."
"I don't think I can help you," she called over her shoulder. "Not unless you..."
"What? Unless I..." Lois sat up in bed, "what," she finished, her voice suddenly hushed in the sunlit room. The blankets were tangled around her feet and her head was pounding. "What the hell was that?" she whispered to no one. Her inner... teen? She hadn't been blonde as a teenager, had she? She'd been... What had she been? Her head was pounding a little too much to remember. And the clock was flashing at 9;45 and... "Sh*t." She shot out of bed and towards the door. "Thanks for waking me, Clar..." He wasn't there. His air mattress was even absent. "He ditched me," she muttered, breathing deep and moving toward the kitchen. Maybe they'd had the tiniest of disagreements as to how to go about this story, but that was no excuse to ditch her when she had no car and he could just fly around without a care in the world. "Big, stupid alien," she muttered over the pounding in her head. "Focus..."
She wasn't going to be stuck here all day, no matter what.
She grasped her cell phone from the kitchen counter, detaching it from the charger the thoughtless man had so thoughtfully plugged it into, and sifted through the numbers dialed. She'd hardly used it these last two days. One of them was the shop where her car was stashed. "245," she muttered, searching for the area code she knew from Luthor's calls. "Aha!" She pressed talk and waited. "Yes. This is Lois Lane. I believe you have my car there and... Lois Lane..." She groaned. "Clark Kent had you tow it." She rolled her eyes. "Yes. Good old Clark... Well, I'll be sure to tell him... Anyway, is it ready? Great. I'll be there in..." And there was the problem. How was she supposed to get her car without her damned car? "You know what? I'll call you back." She hung up quickly, resisting the urge to toss the phone at the nearest hard surface and watch it shatter into tiny pieces.
She placed it carefully on the counter and moved toward her room. She took her shower time to brainstorm. Cab? Possibly. Might cost a few hundred dollars for a three hour ride to Smallville, but it was possible. Superman? That ship had obviously sailed off without her. Luthor...
She quickly rinsed her hair. That was a thought. He'd been bugging her to look at these caves. Kawasaki? No. That was a motorcycle. It really didn't matter. She just had to get to Smallville. If she needed a cave detour, then what of it?
******************************
Clark hunched slightly over Jimmy, trying to see what exactly he was doing. It had been the same with Chloe. As many things as he could do, he could hardly wrap his mind around earth technology. Even his training hadn't prepared him for something that changed every day. "What's happening now?" he asked, hopping from one foot to the other. He missed Chloe here, too. She'd always given him that handy blow-by-blow of exactly what her fingers were so furiously doing on the keyboard. He missed her. He saw her daily and yet...
"CK, Dude..." Jimmy sighed and turned to him. "I can't concentrate with you hovering. Space, okay?"
Clark tried to smile apologetically as he moved back. He should have come as Superman. Jimmy might have been a little more eager... too eager. Not to mention that he'd be unable to concentrate with half the news room staring at him. No. Clark was the right call.
"Kent!" Clark jumped slightly as Perry came striding towards him. There weren't many physical threats to him in this world, yet Perry White's voice, when raised, sent a frisson of near-terror down his spine.
"Yes, Mr. White?" He adjusted his glasses quickly. Even his nose was sweating. He glanced at the screen again. The series of numbers. God, he was close...
"What are you doing here?"
"Just having Jimmy triangulate a cell phone signal that's... completely related to the story," he lied. Only slightly, though. He suspected it was related. He didn't know for sure.
"Where's Lane?" Perry barked.
"She's... pursuing her own angle," he said smoothly. It was true. "We agreed to work different angles to speed up progress." Now, that was a lie. There had been no real agreement, just a stony silene that fell into a fitful sleep. But White didn't need to know that.
"So... you're making headway?" Perry's eyes nearly glowed. "Because with Lex Luthor holed up in his mansion and Superman scaring the criminal element into hiding, well... I'm thinking of running Boffo, the adding chimp, as next Sunday's headline."
Clark forced a laugh. "Don't worry, Chief. By next week, you'll have something way better."
"Good, good," White said, his eyes distracted as he wandered back to his office.
Such as "Superman outed in a desperate bid for a usable headline," Clark thought, pursing his lips as he watched Perry close the door. He didn't think Lois would stoop to that, just over being stranded at the house. But what would she do to him?
****************************
"...and, well, I think today really should be the day."
"Miss Lane..."
"Please," she said, as sweetly as she could. "Call me Lois." Come on Luthor. Just get me a damned ride.
"I normally would, but today is not really..."
"I'd be willing to look by myself, of course," she said hurriedly. "You'd hardly have to do a thing. I just need a way to get there. See, my car is in Smallville and..."
"I want to be there," Luthor said firmly. "I need to see if you see it as I..." His voice trailed off before ending on a sharp inhale. "I think I'm up to it. It's just this damned..." He sighed. "I'll send a car to take you to Luthercorp. We have a helipad there."
She nearly laughed with relief. "Perfect!" She cleared her throat. "I mean, I'm really intrigued by these caves and..."
"Yes. I'll see you there." There was a click and then silence.
She might have wondered what his problem was. usually, Luthor seemed so eager, too eager, for her help. But today... Well, she was just too glad to get a lift to her car.
"Caves," she muttered, gathering her purse. She wondered how long it would take for one of Luthor's cars to fetch her. She didn't care. She'd be in it before it was stopped. Once she had her car, she could stop feeling so powerless. She stepped out of the house, humming lightly. Caves, car, confront that ditsy blonde about the brakes, set up surveillance on Pammie... Marcy, too, actually. You can never be too...
"Lanie?"
She turned. Speak of the... "Pammie." She smiled. "I don't think Kent and I ever said how lovely it was last night."
Pammie laughed. "Yes. You lied very prettily, but... Oh, Dorothy, don't pull. You can see the doggie later."
Lois looked down, suddenly noticing the tiny girl grasping one finger.
"Fox!" The girl squeaked.
"Marcy will let you play with Foxy later," Pammie said, pulling the kid up with one arm around her waist. Lois absently wondered how much upper body strength that took and if she'd ever be able to achieve it. The kid was chunky. Dorothy giggled, pointing across the street. Lois spotted a dimple. Chunky, but cute, she amended, letting her gaze follow the girl's.
And there was Marcy, walking her Pomeranian, only... She seemed to be walking alone. The pomeranian just followed with hesitant steps and no leash. She made a mental note to get surveillance on Marcy sooner rather than later. Something was definitely...
"Off somewhere?"
Lois turned to Pammie. "Hmm?"
"Going somewhere?" Pammie asked, tilting her head to the side. Her daughter seemed to like this action and mimicked it.
"Just to work," Lois said, forcing a smile. "Late, though. Car's in the shop. Just waiting for my ride."
Pammie shrugged. "We'll wait with you." She lowered her daughter to the grass, then sat down next to her. "We're just trying to get enough sun to get us nice and tired for our N-A-P."
Lois glanced down at them. Sitting on grass was not something she was about to do in a pencil skirt, so she perched slightly on a clay pot of zinneas. "I'm jealous. Do you get an N-A-P when she does?"
"You bet." Pammie grinned.
Lois watched the street, waiting for something black and nondescript, the kind of car Luthor would send if he...
"So... Lois, huh?"
She jumped and turned to Pammie. "What?" Lois tilted her head. "I mean, who... Where did you..."
"Kent called you Lois last night and a few days ago, too."
"Well... that's just... weird." She forced a laugh. "See, Lois is like the strangest pet name ever, I know, but..."
"He said it was your middle name."
"It is," she said quickly. "But I just totally hate it. He only calls me that when he wants to annoy me, which it does. It really does," she added, her teeth clenched. God, she could kill him. Here he was accusing her of compromising the investigation and he'd now done it twice... no. Three times, if she was counting the time in the Sharps' living room.
"Ah, so you guys are in that phase." Pammie laughed and pulled Dorothy onto her lap.
"Phase?"
"You know, the teasing phase. All newlyweds go through their teasing phase. Mike used to call me Sticks."
"Sticks?"
"On account of how skinny I was. He used to goad me that way. It made me so mad, I'd... Well, usually I'd drag him to the bedroom just to shut him up. Probably why he did it." She glanced at Lois. "Is it that way with you two?"
"Well, we..." She thought of Clark and the bedroom. It had been only days since since their first trip in, but she could see herself dragging him there... on nearly any pretense. Even if he'd ditched her... "Yes," she said. It was nearly honest.
"Wow," Pammie breathed from next to her. "Who died?"
Lois glanced in the direction Pammie was. A limo. She huffed slightly. Trust Luthor to send something more... descript than she needed? Still, it wasn't as if he knew the circumstances of her stay in Met Vista. "That's my ride," she sighed.
Pammie turned to her. "Don't you manage a bank?"
"Well, I'm picking up someone. A... a client. Big account, really. A girl's gotta schmooze sometimes."
Pammie giggled. "Long as you do it in style. I've only been in a limo once -- on my wedding day. Mikey thinks it's a waste of tax dollars to splurge."
"Good for him," Lois said, distracted. "Listen, I gotta..."
"Of course." Pammie nodded and stood, pulling her daughter to her feet with a grunt. "Say bye, Dodo."
"Bye," the girl chirped, her eyes wide on the long car stopped at the curb. A man exited the driver's side and moved to the door nearest Lois.
"We're still on for lunch?" Pammie asked. "Because I should be done by noon at the doctor's."
"I wouldn't miss it," Lois said, suddenly feeling guilty for her distraction. Pammie did seem so... genuine. It was hard to see her as an angle sometimes. "We never said where, though."
"How about La Salette?" Pammie smiled brightly. "I've never been and I heard it's very... Oh, no. Well, it's probably too extravagant and..."
"Of course it isn't." Lois moved toward the open door the man stood so stoically by. "I said it was on me and I'm dying for some fancy, French food. La Salette, it is." A hand moved to her head suddenly. Had she been there? She hardly knew, but something about it...
"Miss?"
She turned to the rather straight-backed man at the door. "Oh, sorry. See you then," she called out. She got in, listening to the mild thump of the door closing. She turned to the rear window. She did feel guilty about her plan to spy on Pammie, but... Well, Pammie would thank her later, when she realized she slept soundly in her own bed, rather than dragged off to some lab somewhere. She watched Pammie move down the street with her daughter, stopping once to wave at a woman moving toward her. The car started away as the woman brushed past them without a word, her very long, very curly hair swaying slightly in the breeze.
"Rude," Lois muttered as she turned to face the front. "Probably a friend of Dodie's."
*******************************
"She's not here... I don't know... Well, I'd think you would. She left just after talking to you. I'm amazed she left at all, as paranoid as she is... She said we'd have the sample soon and in pure form... Well, I can certainly tell her to call you, but I don't see why you're so upset. We'll make real progress once we have it... No. There's no need for that... We can handle things just fine on our own, as you well know. Well, if you think we're hiding anything, then I wonder that you keep us around. I'd be glad to stop this moment and... Glad you're seeing reason."
************************
Lois walked through the high-ceilinged lobby of Luthorcorp on the heels of the burly man who'd met her outside the limo, trying to shake the feeling. She didn't know what it was, just a general feeling of foreboding. It was as if she was somewhere she shouldn't be. Somewhere she wasn't allowed. Sill, of course. She was allowed, however tentatively, to be here.
She moved toward the bank of elevators with the man and got in next to him. "So... Do you like your job?"
"It's fine," the man said sharply.
"Good day for flying?"
"I wouldn't know, Ma'am. I'm only escorting you." She couldn't tell behind the mirrored sunglasses, but she was positive he was rolling his eyes.
"Just making conversation," she said, tamping down any further urges for small talk. And my name is "Miss." "How long until we're on the roof, then?"
He sighed. "Twenty more floors... Damn it." He glanced down toward the rows of buttons.
"What?" Were they stuck? Because she couldn't handle being stuck with Guard Chatty unless she knew there was an end in sight.
"Just someone calling the car on the seventh floor."
Her stomach suddenly dropped. "What's on the seventh floor."
"Executive offices and a million people that will probably hold us up for a damned..."
Lois couldn't hear the rest of Chatty's sudden flood of words. She didn't want the elevator to open on the seventh floor. She wanted to pass it. The seventh floor was... nothing. She shook herself. It was just offices. What the hell was wrong with her? Still, she backed toward the corner and cringed slightly when the elevator doors opened. Her cringing, however, didn't last long. In fact, she nearly smiled when the blonde, curly head came into her line of vision.
Eve Tessmacher gasped and turned to the left, dropping a pile of folders.
Lois leapt forward.
"Hey, wait a sec..."
"Right back," she said hurriedly to the guard before booking after the woman. "Tessmacher," she growled.
Eve squealed and ducked through a red door. Lois rolled her eyes. Bathrooms were public. Did the idiot honestly think she could hide in there? Lois stepped in, her heels echoing on the tiled floor. She looked around, then leaned over, checking under the stalls. She smirked. "No windows," she called out. "No supply closet." She stepped toward the first stall. "I just wonder where you're hiding."
There was a slight squeak as she opened the first door.
"Nope, not here." She moved to the second. "Not here, either."
Another squeal. This one seemed closer. When she got near the fourth, the words came pouring out. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry and I'll never do it again."
She sneered as she opened the fifth stall. "You're sorry?"
The crying woman perched on the top of the toilet nodded furiously and stepped down. "It was just a little prank. Just to get you to back off my Lex."
Lois wasn't sure she was hearing this correctly. "You call that a little prank? You nearly killed me."
Eve snorted, then cried some more, pulling a length of toilet paper from the roll. "Like that would kill someone," she sobbed. "You're nuts."
"Back at you, apparently." Lois stepped back as Eve blew her nose loudly. "I should call the police... or at least Belle Reve."
Eve's eyes widened. "But it wasn't even that big a deal."
"I beg to differ. I almost drove my car into the creek."
"Over that little thing?" Eve suddenly gasped and moved past Lois to the wall of sinks and mirrors. "Do you think I haven't suffered, too? Lex just totally banished me to Luthorcorp and... like, working." She dabbed at the running mascara under her eyes.
"He knows what you did?"
"Well, no." She delicately twisted the wad of toilet paper in her hands. "But he's all... different. Edgy. He says he wants to be alone."
"Why does he..." Lois shook her head. "Don't change the subject. We were talking about what you did."
"Oh, can't we just call it even? You're the one who beat up Lex."
Lois snorted. "And I thought this conversation couldn't get crazier."
Eve tossed the balled up paper into the sink. "Oh, what do I care what you do? You can't prove anything anyway."
"Can't I?" Lois stepped up behind her, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "I like your lipstick, Eve, but isn't Bubble Dream more your shade?"
Eve let out a shaky breath and turned, grasping Lois' shoulders. "Please don't send me to jail. I'll do anything. I'll... give you the name of my stylist. He could help you with your split ends and..."
"Oh, brother." Lois stepped away.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I'll... I'll pay to have your car cleaned and shampooed. That'll make it go away. Right?"
"Are you kidding me?"
Eve pursed her lips. "There has to be something."
Lois stared at the silly girl, wondering if it was safe to leave someone this stupid to their own devices. She really didn't have time to ponder it. There was a helicopter on the roof and, probably, a pissed off guard just outside the door. "I haven't decided what to do," Lois sighed. "I guess you'll just have to wait." She turned on her heel, still hearing small sobs behind her.
"About time," Chatty said as she exited the restroom.
Lois smiled. "Bet you got hired for your people skills."
********************************
Clark was in Metairie, Louisiana. What he was doing there, he couldn't tell anymore. After a night with nearly no sleep, in a bad mood, he was grasping at straws. He'd been to various places in Metropolis first. He'd flown to four apartments that did not contain Kevin Grady, but did contain curious tenants who were amazed that Superman took such a personal interest in their safety. One was flattered enough to proposition him. He'd given the man a polite "thanks, but no thanks." He'd had to check, no matter how ridiculous it seemed. They happened to have called during the right time frame. Besides that, Jimmy had helped him with the cell phones, fixing it so they would let out a small whine. "Are you sure Superman will hear this?"
"Positive," Clark had said. And he had, he followed the sounds straight to a mohawked man walking his dog, a woman who happened to be a man, and another woman who happened to be an exotic dancer. As colorful as Dan's friends were, they weren't leading him anywhere. Except ever closer to that last number, the one he hoped would be it. A land line in Metairie.
And now, here he was. In what claimed to be an apartment, but was just a glorified room with a bath in a run-down building.
"So... You interested?" The haggard woman in the doorway asked, a cigarette dangling from her lips.
And he wasn't. He wasn't interested in an empty apartment where he only knew Grady had been. Unless... He picked up a small figurine of an elephant off the windowsill. It probably wasn't Grady's, but... "Did the previous owner leave a forwarding address?" He turned to the woman and smiled. "Wouldn't want him to lose this. It's probably a collectible."
She smiled back. "Aren't you sweet?" She shook her head. "That's not his. Part of the furnishing. I do collect elephants, you know and that particular one is from Cape May, New Jersey. I have ones from..."
He tried to hold the smile. "But what about mail? I'd hate for anything to get lost in the shuffle and I'd be..."
"Oh, don't bother, Honey. That guy didn't get even a coupon book here. All he did was sit up here drinking for two weeks, then high-tailed it out without even a by your leave." She shrugged. "Paid cash, though, so I can't really complain."
Clark turned away, pretending to look at the view. Since it was of the brick wall of the building just next door, it didn't take up much time. "You know, I do like your building, but I have two others to look over first."
She sighed. "Well, keep in mind, we got paid utilities here."
He nodded. "Well... I'll definitely think about it."
And he did. He thought of all the work it had taken to get to this point.
And how it still led nowhere.
*******************************
"Do I know you?" The older man with the crew-cut asked, squinting at Lois.
"Doubt it." Lois signed the credit card slip.
"You sure you want to pay this? I mean, Clark said he'd pay. Said the damage was his fault and I just don't feel right if..."
"Well, good old Clark will just have to owe me one," she said, handing him the top copy.
"I'm sure he won't mind," the man said with a wink. "Pretty thing like you. So the two of you are..."
"Working together," she said, cutting the guy off. "At The Daily Planet." She didn't need rumors circulating Clark's home town. What if Martha Kent heard? It would probably give her more evidence that Lois was a hussy of some sort. Like she needed more after the idiotic things she said at Thanksgiving.
"The Daily Planet," the guy sighed, shaking his head. "Shame, really. Guy was supposed to play college ball, you know. Turned the scholarship down flat."
Lois took her keys from the counter, wondering that anyone would consider The Planet a step down from... well, anything, let alone sports. But it was interesting to know a little something extra about Clark. "That's Clark for you," she said, not really knowing if it was true. Why would he turn down a scholarship?
"Sure is," the man said, nodding. "Always was a little off. Nice kid, though."
Lois smiled slightly. He was nice. That was probably why he'd turned down the scholarship. Probably didn't think it was fair. She nixed the smile quickly. She was supposed to be mad at him. "Well, I'd better..." She trailed off. the man was still staring. "Something wrong?"
"It's the darnedest thing, but I swear I know you. Aren't you Gabriel Sullivan's girl? What did you do to your hair?"
She felt a sudden tightening of the throat. She slipped her sunglasses on and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I really do think you have the wrong girl."
"Well, I didn't see much of her, anyway. Just played cards with him. He passed away over a year ago and..." He stopped, looking down quickly. "No. I guess you couldn't be. I remember she passed as well. Sad story, there..."
"Thanks for all your work," she said quickly, wanting nothing more than to get out of there. She had the horrifying feeling that she was going to cry and she really didn't want to do it in front of a stranger.
"All right, then. And make sure you get that car detailed."
She stopped at the door. It was the second time her car and washing it had been brought up today. "Why?" she asked, turning back.
"You must have spilled something in there. Smells just awful."
She nodded and made her exit, taking quick steps toward her car. Once in, she pulled out of the parking lot quickly. "Don't," she hissed. "There is no reason to cry. Why the hell are you crying?" But she was. She couldn't stop it. What the hell was it to her if... She pulled over near a field, hoping no one would happen by and see the crazy, crying woman. "Gabriel," she breathed. And she could almost see... Nothing. It was gone, replaced by the pain. She breathed in deep and suddenly choked, a sudden laugh bubbling out of her mouth. "God, it does smell." It was nearly nauseating.
She reached for the glove box. She was sure she had one of those pine tree air fresheners in there somewh...
"Oh, God!" She pulled back, horrified as a mass of feathers and stench fell to her carpet. It looked like a pigeon. A fairly ripe, dead pigeon. She opened her door and stumbled out of the car, leaning against it for a moment.
She really didn't have time to lose it. She was due at the caves five minutes ago. Lex had gotten her here. She could at least show up, maybe find out what had him holed up like Howard Hughes. She breathed the clean air and braced herself, walking around to the passenger door. She spied a stick at the side of the road and swiped it. She wasn't about to touch the thing, after all. She stared in the window at it. "So you're why Tessmacher thought a shampoo would make it all go away." She shrugged. "Sorry about that, Eve." She wouldn't be telling her sorry in person, however. It was best that Eve thought Lois was still angry and kept her distance. She didn't need silly women dropping dead birds in her glove box whenever the fancy struck them.
She stopped, her hand on the door handle. There was a new question now.
If not Eve, just who had drained her brake fluid?
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