Chapter 8
Clark awoke stiff, sore, and cursing Luthor.
Was this what life was going to be like now? Unable even to meet a source without it possibly being a cover for one of Luthor’s attacks? Constantly waiting for Luthor to tire of his sick little game; constantly waiting for the axe to fall?
And what about Nicole Moore? She’d definitely been the one that had called him, he’d recognised the voice. Was she mixed up in one of Luthor’s many underground operations, or was she simply a convenient pawn? Clark knew with sick certainty what happened to one of Luthor’s pawns; as far as he was concerned, they were exactly like the chess piece- disposable.
Gingerly, he slid out of bed. One small mercy; at least the beating hadn’t been as bad this time. He was at least able to function. He showered and dressed, grimacing at the bruises that were starting to appear on his torso, and slowly went about getting ready for work.
***
Lois surveyed Clark’s desk. There were stacks of financial reports scattered all over the desktop, and an empty but used coffee mug sat somewhat precariously on one edge, but there was no sign of the man himself. It was unlike Clark to be late. It was even more unlike him to leave his desk in this state, let alone leave his empty mug dirty. It looked like he’d been called away abruptly… and then what? Just never came back? His behaviour was getting stranger by the day. She shook her head and went to her own desk, pushing the question of Clark’s weirdness to the back of her mind and quickly becoming absorbed in her work.
He was at his desk when she looked up again a short time later, looking a little pale under his olive skin tone. Was he sick? She wrinkled her nose. If he was, she hoped he wouldn’t give it to her.
She’d just put the finishing touches on the sidebar she’d been writing about Superman’s clean-up efforts and crossed to the network printer when the television screens caught her eye.
“Somebody turn that up!” she called.
“Two subway trains have collided in downtown Metropolis…”
The headline caught the attention of the bulk of the staff. The usually busy newsroom quietened to the point where the televisions were almost the only sound left audible. Video footage was shown of a dark plume of smoke billowing from the entrance to the City Hall subway station.
“This was the scene just minutes ago. It is unknown how many people have been injured, but the trains involved are estimated to have been carrying over 500 passengers…”
“Lois! Clark! Get down there right away!” Perry bellowed.
“On it, Chief!” Lois responded, quickly turning to her desk to grab her bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she looked around for her partner and saw him break away from the back of the pack gathered around the TVs, paler than she’d ever seen him. She followed him to the door of the men’s room and paused, torn between making sure he was okay and getting downtown.
“Lois!”
Perry’s angry roar decided things for her. She headed for the elevators at a run.
***
“…carrying over 500 passengers…”
Clark felt the blood drain from his face and his skin go clammy.
“Excuse me.”
Pushing through the crowd, Clark barely made it to the bathroom in time.
All those people. All that senseless loss of life.
For the first time he could remember, Clark threw up.
***
He rinsed his mouth out, hoping to get rid of the terrible taste, and splashed water on his face. Drying off, he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked horrible; grey and drawn. Well, that couldn’t be helped. The last thing he wanted to do was go downtown to that crash site and be stuck behind the safety barrier. He didn’t want to watch; he wanted to *help. Help rescue the people that were no doubt trapped in the wreckage. Help the emergency services personnel make the scene as safe as possible, without them having to risk their more fragile, human, lives.
But he couldn’t.
For the second time in a week, Lex Luthor had seen to that.
With a heavy sigh, he threw the paper towel he’d been using in the bin and left the men’s room. Lois would be waiting for him.
***
She wasn’t.
He’d only caught up with Lois when he’d finally managed to get downtown. She’d given an apologetic look, and he knew she’d seen his abrupt exit to the bathroom. But then she’d been all business; hiding her feelings behind a mask of professionalism was how she coped, Clark knew.
It had been extremely difficult, standing behind the barriers and trying to concentrate on just being a journalist. Trying to stuff his humanity into a box as the first bodies were brought out from underground. Trying not to choke on his impotent rage as the wounded were rushed to the waiting fleet of ambulances.
It had to stop. And the only way that could happen was to expose Luthor for what he really was- a twisted, malevolent sociopath. But he couldn't risk being seen poking into Luthor's business, at least not if he wanted his own secret to remain unexposed. He needed help, and Lois was the best investigator he knew. Surely it was worth revealing the true relationship between Clark Kent and Superman to one person to prevent the entire world from finding out?
Taking a deep breath, he stood and approached Lois’s desk.
“Lois?”
She looked up distractedly from stuffing things into her satchel.
“What is it, Clark?”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
“Can it wait? I've got a date.” She checked her watch. “That I am running really late for.”
“It's about- Luthor.”
Lois stopped and glared at him. “No, Clark. I am not listening to another one of your 'Lex Luthor is the root of all evil' speeches! Now, if that's all you want, I've gotta go.”
She finished cramming the last of her things into her bag, slung it over her shoulder and disappeared in the direction of the elevators, leaving him staring after her.
***
“Lois? Is something wrong?”
She looked up from where she’d been pushing the food around her plate, barely touching it although Lex’s chef had done his usual superb job.
“I’m sorry, Lex. I haven’t been very good company tonight.”
He reached across the table and covered her hand with his own. “Something is bothering you, then. What is it? You can tell me, Lois.”
She heaved a sigh. It felt strange, discussing her friendship with Clark with the man she was dating, but who else could she talk to? “It’s Clark.”
“I see. Another argument?”
“Something like that,” she admitted. “He doesn’t like you much.” It was an enormous understatement. Clark had never warmed to Lex. She’d gotten used to his low-level hostility towards the billionaire, but lately Clark’s attitude had gotten downright venomous.
“I am aware.” Amusement coloured Lex’s tone. “That much was obvious the night we were taken hostage.”
“It’s gotten worse lately,” Lois said quietly.
“Mm.” Lex took a sip of wine. “Perhaps he’s jealous.”
“Jealous?”
“Well, you and I have become much closer; Clark clearly has feelings for you. Unfortunately, jealousy is the natural outcome.”
“Clark doesn’t have feelings for me,” Lois stated flatly.
Lex raised one eyebrow disbelievingly. “Perhaps he disapproves of me for some other reason. He’s from the Midwest, you said?”
She nodded. “Kansas.”
“Well, there you have it.” He gave a small shrug. “It’s been my experience that my wealth tends to offend those Midwestern values.”
Lois made a non-committal noise in her throat and changed the subject, pasting on a smile.
***
Finally reaching the sanctuary of her apartment, she stripped out of her long black dress and got in the shower. Letting the hot water soothe the knots out of her shoulders and neck, she turned her attention back to Clark’s attitude.
Was Lex right? Was Clark jealous? While Lois knew that Clark was attracted to her, it had been her experience that that didn’t mean anything. Look at Claude- he’d been attracted to her, but that certainly hadn’t meant he’d had any sort of feelings for her. But there were other kinds of jealousy. While he never really spoke about it, she knew Clark wanted to settle down, get married and raise a family. Was it possible that he was jealous of the fact that she had somebody and he didn’t? It would explain his hostility towards Lex, and why his attitude towards him got worse the closer Lois and Lex got.
But why was he so insistent that Lex was sinister? Could it just be disapproval of Lex’s wealth colouring his judgement, as Lex had suggested? Could he just not conceive of someone amassing such a vast fortune in a relatively short time without resorting to criminal means? She shrugged. For someone that could be so transparent, sometimes Clark could be infuriatingly hard to read.
She dried off and got into her schlumpy robe, settling down on the couch to check on the latest update from the subway crash. She’d have to go into work early tomorrow. Any updates on the crane collapse would have to be done by someone else; she would be otherwise occupied.
