TOC can be found
here. Well, so much for promises regarding weekly postings. My excuse, dear readers, is that I freelance in real life and several deadlines creeping up on me have prevented me from playing in the LnC universe (well, that and after spending a day writing, going back to a keyboard at night is not always relaxing). Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me thus far - your comments have impacted some changes in this story (and brightened my days) more than you can imagine.
Cheers,
Elle
Also: A quick thankyouthankyouthankyou to Avia, a stellar beta-reader as always.
~
From Part 4:
Cat's grin that previously seemed designed to inform Clark she was humoring him, spread across her entire face. "I know she is, Clark. And what's better, I know that you know where she is." At Clark's attempt to explain, Cat held up a hand. "Don't try it, Clark. I've put CEOs from Fortune 500 companies who had entire groups of people lying for them in jail. Compared to people who get paid to lie professionally and don't have a moral code, you have no hope. Besides, bringing you in right now was just the icing on the cake. By my estimation, you figured out a major break in your story about, what, three weeks ago? What I can't figure out is how long it's been that you've known where she is. At least a three weeks, definitely at least a week and a half, but I'll let you explain."
~
Part 5:
"What do you mean 'Cat knows'?"
Three hours later, Clark Kent sat quietly on Lois Lane's couch while the latter paced in front of him, arms liable to move erratically at any given moment.
"She confronted me today about it. Asked me into her office and the next thing I knew, she was in on the secret."
Lois sighed, and if possible, seemed to begin to wear a deeper line into the industrial-brand carpet. "This is bad, Clark. This is very, very bad. This is why I've worked alone for the past four years. This is why I didn't come back to the Planet, why I didn't let anyone know where I was. As soon as you tell one person, the whole world knows. That's it, my entire investigation is going to go poof. Just like that, four years, my life in other words, is going to go up in smoke. All because I was stupid enough to trust someone."
Clark, hurt by Lois's last comment, pushed ahead anyway. "Lois, it's Cat. This is the same woman who got a mob boss to admit to the police a life of crime - all by raising her eyebrow the right way."
This stopped Lois. "Really?"
Clark nodded. "Three years ago, she, ah, had all the evidence against this guy, but none of it was court admissible. Apparently she connected with the police, agreed to work with them as long as she got the exclusive, and from what I understand, proceeded to look at the guy in such a way that he was admitting to things Cat's investigation hadn't even been able to uncover. I thought I was covering my tracks, but apparently she suspected something."
"Like what?"
Clark, deciding to leave Cat's joke about the wonders of intimate relations to the male mood out of the current discussion, gave a shrug. "She said I'd seemed different, and knowing what I've been working on, it wasn't that hard to put together." Clark shifted tacks. "Lois, she promised me she was the only one who knew, and she planned on keeping it that way. She doesn't want anyone to know this anymore than you do. If she could, I think she'd find some way of getting me off this story to cut down on individuals involved even more."
For some reason, this seemed to placate Lois. She nodded, finally sinking down to a chair diagonal to where Clark sat. "What else did she say?"
"She wants to know how she can help. She doesn't want to know where you are or why you've felt the need to cause your loved ones to spend several hundred dollars on psychiatry - " Seeing Lois's look, Clark quickly added, "Her words, not mine. She just wants to speed the story along. Her comment was that after four years, anything less than a Pulitzer is going to be unacceptable, and the Planet's due to win one."
A smile, though thin, finally played across Lois's features. "She's right."
"What can she do then?"
"Pretend she doesn't know and never bring it up again and let you keep using the Planet resources to do work for me. For all I know, her office is bugged."
"It's not."
"Why - right, superhearing." Lois shook her head. "Whoever invents a bug that you can't detect is going to become very, very rich."
Clark clasped his hands in front of him and gave Lois a look. "So, you're not mad?"
"I'm dealing with it. Don't push me, Kent," Lois replied as she started leafing through the notes he had brought her.
The two settled down into their normal routine of research peppered with the occasional bit of conversation for the night. At a little before 9, Lois glanced up at Clark.
"Shouldn't you go do a patrol or something?"
Not looking up, Clark replied, "Not for another two hours."
"What? You do it at the same time every night? Why? You do know that criminals go out at all times of day, right? Or did they not cover that in superhero training?" At Clark's expression, Lois sighed. "Sorry. It's just, you're spending a lot of time here, and while I enjoy the company, it seems like you should be trying to make it at least appear like you're still in Metropolis a fair amount in order to avoid raising suspicion."
Clark nodded. "I've been trying to, but it's hard. Even at superspeed, going back and forth between here and Metropolis gets pretty old."
Lois grinned. "You mean, you're just not used to the commute. It takes you, what? Probably half the time most people take to get to work in the morning, if that. You're just spoiled, being able to go anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes." Lois sighed. "Must be nice, to go wherever you want in the blink of an eye. I'd probably have this investigation done by now if I had your gifts."
Clark looked up at Lois and noticed her expression, the barest touch of wistfulness upon it. "What do you mean?"
Lois shrugged. "I’ve spent more time trying to get to where I’ve needed to go than on the investigation. It took me six months to find a way to get across the Atlantic. And even then, I ended up in Canada."
"I'm sorry."
Lois shrugged. "It was my own choice, Clark. It's what I had to do. And once this story is done, it'll all be worth it."
Clark made a face as his hearing kicked in, announcing a rockslide in Colorado. "Lois, I'm sorry. I need to go. Tomorrow?"
Lois shook her head. "I was serious, Clark. Spend tomorrow in Metropolis. I have enough information here."
Clark wanted to argue but decided to hold his tongue, leaving a minute later out her front door. After locking it for the night, Lois turned towards the piles of notes on her coffee table. "At least, I hope it's worth it," she said to thin air.
~
A commercial-free music set on the local jazz station and a hot bath were the items on Lois' to-do calendar for the evening. She was going to soak in the tub, not think about Cat knowing she was alive or CostMart or that she liked having Clark helping her with this investigation. Tonight was for Lois Lane, and no one else - not even work - was allowed.
Which is why, of course, a knock sounded on her door five minutes later. Seeing Clark on the other side, she opened the door.
"I thought you had a Superman thing to do in Metropolis tonight?"
Clark shrugged. "I do, I just wanted to stop by for a minute."
Lois smiled. "Come in. You know, Clark, if it was anyone but you, I'd be really impressed that they came hundreds of miles just to stop by for a minute."
"What? Those who can fly under their own power get no points?" Clark asked.
Lois realized how her comment must have sounded. "I didn't mean it like that. It's nice, you know, having you stop in with something other than reading material."
At that, Clark pulled his hand out from behind his back to reveal a bouquet of flowers.
Lois looked at the multi-colored flowers and then at Clark, who looked nervous. "What are these for?"
"Just because. I saw them when I was at the store and well, they reminded me of you. I'm not sure why, but I just thought I'd bring them by anyway," Clark explained, his entire manner similar to that of a schoolboy with his first crush.
"Do you say that to all the girls, Superman?" Lois teased. "They're beautiful, Clark. Thank you."
"You're welcome. I hate to leave so quickly, but I do need to get back up to Metropolis. The fundraiser starts in about half an hour but there are some bad storms in Pennsylvania tonight, so I need to allow extra time. But, I'll see you on Tuesday."
They exchanged good nights, and Lois closed the door behind him. It wasn't until she had cut the stems that she realized the closest thing she had to a vase was an extra large coffee mug left by the previous tenant. And so, Clark's multi-colored bouquet sat in a mug covered with Batman's logo.
~
"Go work."
"What?"
"Go get some work done."
Clark looked at Cat, trying to understand her logic. "Cat, I was working at my desk, and you called me into your office to tell me to go work?"
"Clark, there's a very good chance your brain doesn't always operate at superspeed. Not your current story but the other one."
"Cat, I only have one story."
"Clark, you explicitly told me last week that I was to never speak the name of your business partner again. And I'm abiding by that. But I want to see progress on that other story, and I somehow doubt you're doing that much on it after hours, especially given your love affair with tights."
"Cat - "
Cat leaned forward, a sure sign of frustration. "Good Lord Clark. Go to wherever it is you go, work during business hours, come back here later in the afternoon and then stay in Metropolis tonight so you don't have to try and always juggle Superman with your other thing."
"Why?"
"Clark, you can't tell me it wouldn't be slightly more convenient if you could work during normal business hours on occasion so you could vary your schedule so that Superman wouldn't all the sudden always be missing in Metropolis during prime time. Because you may not believe it, but no one is going to again buy your excuse of being so intent on watching Law and Order that you thought the sirens were on the TV show. Or did you think I missed that little gem in last week's Star?"
"Well, when you say it like that, then yes it would make sense. But Cat, don't you think people will notice my absences?"
"Clark, you leave the newsroom a minimum of twice a day to go be your alter ego. That's not counting your occasional absence for a story or that the majority of the newsroom is also chasing stories and are so used to your escapades by now that seeing Santa Claus in a department store at Christmas is more exciting than interacting with the one and only Superman. No one will notice and if they do, I'll have an excuse.
"I want this story, Clark. The nominating session for the Pulitzers close in two months and you better believe I want Lois Lane's name on that ballot."
~
Lois picked up the third and final stack of news clippings Clark had brought two days ago and began to flip through them. Between the two of them, Lois was fairly sure they had now managed to collect every tidbit of news about CostMart in the past five years. She wouldn't tell Clark that, of course. As far as Lois was concerned, he could just keep digging. Better to play it safe, and it was much easier to dig for every last scrap of news when someone else would do the grunt work - and at superspeed, no less.
Most of the pieces were the same wire stories every newspaper picked up, slapped a few original lines on and called their own. Yet every once in a great while, enough of those tidbits could fit together and give Lois another clue. So far this week, though, about the only thing Lois learned that she didn't know previous was that Church junior originally wanted to work in the computer industry but had found he found "The unique opportunity to work with the people who are part of the CostMart family preferable to the world of hard drives and software."
Lois groaned and continued skimming. '"I got to school and was up against people half my age who were a lot smarter than me and a lot more creative,' Church said. 'There was no place for someone who liked to tinker and couldn't stand being alone for more than a few minutes.'"
Lois snorted. The only problem junior had with the computer industry was that it was too moral. Nevertheless, she highlighted the new passage, put it in the stack to file later and kept working.
Charity Ball. Charity Ball. More charity ball. Charity softball game. Charity basketball game. Detailed charity piece. Charity softball game. Another charity softball game. Annual Church scholarship. Winner of annual Church scholarship. Previous year's winner of annual Church scholarship. Another piece on the same winner. A piece on this year's winner. Church donation to children's hospital. Another donation to another hospital.
Lois sighed. Had Clark found the Planet's archives for philanthropy? She flipped through the stack, getting through nearly twenty pages before any words having to do with the Church's PR-based good deeds did not appear in the headline. She snorted. It amazed her that all it took to distract the public were a few well-placed thousands. Do a few good deeds, invite the press and no one even asks what you do the other 90 percent of the time.
Clark wasn't like that.
Lois always assumed Superman would be one of those men - one face for the public, a different one for daily life. Despite the reports of his chaste existence, Lois thought he traded sex on the ceiling for silence.
He was so different than she expected. It was funny, in a way. Most reporters - especially those in the human-interest field - seemed to always play up a person's strengths, brushing over their shortcomings. Actors became saintly in those pieces, forcing people to idolize another character under false pretenses. Lois had always avoided that field of writing as a result: she was too fond of reality, of finding the truth.
Clark was the opposite. Reporters seemed to play down how charming he was, how honest and kind. Almost as if they thought the superhuman man did not need any more points to help people love him. They painted his story in colors as bright as his uniform. Oh sure, his parents' deaths when he was 10 were well known and tragic. But it was treated as a shut door, as if that event had shaped the man and then fallen away once he reached adulthood. There was such sadness in his eyes, though, such desperation for something missed, something beyond his grasp. Clark smiled so often, it was sometimes hard to bother looking beyond his cheerful disposition.
But the remnants of a sad little boy turned solitary man never quite left Clark, Lois noticed. And it was in that vulnerability that Lois found a connection, one that made her trust him with what she felt would be the defining work of her life.
TBC
