The Foundling - Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously
As Lois was attempting to comfort Clark, suddenly they both ‘heard'
"This is the second of the five times I will appear," but that was a far as the message went before it was suddenly cut off.
Lois and Clark exchanged a look and both muttered, "The globe."
Clark had a worried expression as he said, "I wonder if whoever has it now can see and hear the messages."
Lois replied, "We can only hope not. We don't want too many people knowing too much about Superman. They might be able to fit the puzzle pieces together and that could be dangerous, especially in the wrong hands ..."
With chagrin, Clark replied, "Yeah, like Luthor."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The sleeper called from the bed, "Jack?"
Turning from looking at the globe and said, "Yeah, Denny. I'm here. Thirsty?"
Denny was sitting on the edge of the cot, rubbing sleep from his eyes when he nodded in reply to Jack's question and accepted the canteen from his older brother.
After taking a deep draught he asked, "How'd you do?"
Jack had an odd expression on his face as he replied, "I did good."
Denny got up from the cot and moved to Jack's bed. Seeing the pile of stuff he started rifling through it. He saw and instant camera and picking it up, pointed it at Jack and said, "Smile," as he clicked the shutter triggering the flash. The camera spit out the picture as Jack grabbed the camera from his brother.
Chiding him, Jack said, "Cut it out!"
Spotting the globe Denny started to reach for it. As he did, he asked, "What's that thing?"
With a crooked grin, Jack answered, "That's our ticket out of here." He looked significantly around the room indicating their surroundings.
Denny started to reach for the globe, but Jack stopped him, saying, "Careful! Don't touch it!"
Denny had been about to make contact when Jack said that and jerked his hand back as if from a hot stove. Once he had retreated some, he asked, "What'll happen?"
With a conspiratorial air, Jack said, "Never mind."
Denny picked up on Jack's mood and looked at the globe, suspicion in his eyes, "Think it's worth something?"
Jack considered for a few seconds before he answered, "Yeah. A lot. But we've got to find the right buyer."
Denny was quizzical, "How do we do that?"
Suddenly realizing that he was still holding the camera and an idea forming with that knowledge, he said, "We advertise."
Jack removed the picture Danny had taken of him and prepared the camera for more pictures. Once it was ready, he picked up the globe …
And Now
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 4
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois almost had to drag Clark from the apartment because he was still intent on filling out the paperwork that Henderson had given to him. "Come on, Clark. We want the stuff back, right? Thanks to Henderson we know that we can't count on the police. Let's go get it back."
"How do you plan to find it, Lois?"
"Not me, but I know someone who can."
"Do I really want to know who this is?"
"Come on, Clark. Go with me on this. Trust me. We'll get the stuff back."
The longer Lois drove, the more Clark became concerned. They were in a rather disreputable area, even for Suicide Slum when Lois parked. Clark looked around uneasily as they exited the Jeep.
Lois spotted a loiterer and stepped up to him. She fished in her bag and pulled out a few bills. She whispered something to him and the bills exchanged hands. He nodded, stepped over and leaned against a pole next to the Jeep.
Lois hooked Clark's arm and pulled him along.
Clark's worry was evident, as he said, "But the Jeep. It won't be safe there."
Lois looked back over her shoulder and said, "Don't worry. Willy is watching it."
Clark stopped her and asked, "Willy?"
Lois resumed her trek and said, "Yeah, Willy. Don't worry. Unlike what happened to the apartment, nothing's going to happen to the Jeep."
Not sure how Lois could be so confident, Clark gave one last backward glance as she pulled him down a short flight of steps and through a doorway
The room that they entered was smoky. There was a bar at one side and pool tables spread out through the room a few of which actually had players standing around. The players were dressed in working clothes, not a tie or jacket among them. As they entered the players universally stopped what they were doing and turned to look at this well dressed, obviously far out of place couple that had invaded their domain with undisguised curiosity.
Clark was uneasy, not for himself; after all, there wasn't much that could happen to him. He was worried about Lois, her welfare. Lois, for her part, was completely at ease. She walked up to one of the players and said, "I'm looking for Louie."
Unfazed the player ignored her and turned back to the game. As he bent down to line up his next shot, Clark in a nervous voice said, "He's not here. Let's go."
Not willing to be ignored and determined that she would have her way, Lois leaned over and picked up the cue ball and tossed it to Clark.
As she was tossing the ball away the player let out a complaining exclamation, "Hey, whadda think you're doin'?"
Lois pinned him with a piercing gaze and repeated, "Louie. Tell him it's Lois Lane."
The stubborn look on his face faded in response to Lois's equally stubborn expression. Finally he put his cue stick down and crossed the room.
As he exited through the door, Clark ran his hand through his hair and said, "This is a mistake."
Clark walked over and placed the cue ball back on the table and picked up the cue stick.
Lois stopped him and asked, "What are you so nervous about?"
Clark's worry was evident in his voice, but with a show of nonchalance he started to line up a shot as he asked, "Where do you know this guy from?"
Flippantly, Lois replied, "Around. I'm a reporter, Clark. This is
my city. I grew up here. It's my business to know the people who know what's going on in this city."
As she finished Clark took his shot and sent the three-ball into the corner pocket.
Knowing that Lois is trying to be secretive and mysterious, Clark knew that there was more to the story than Lois was letting on and not letting her off the hook easily he asked, "And?"
Lois shrugged and in a small voice said, "And, his daughter was my tennis doubles partner in college."
Behind them the pool player and Louie entered through the door. Louie was a short and balding, jovial middle-aged man. He was wearing a dress shirt, open at the collar, lots of bling and large rings on his fingers.
Clark smiled as she admitted this and was about to say something when he was interrupted, "Hey, kid. Over here."
Lois and Clark both looked to see who had spoken. As Lois started to move in Louie's direction, Clark took another shot. There was a cluster of six balls which the cue ball threaded, hitting each one and sending each one toward a pocket. Clark gave five of them little puffs of super-breath to assist them to fall in. The final one he gave the cue ball a puff of breath which caused it to reverse course like it had back spin and it hit the final ball sending it into the pocket.
Nodding to himself, Clark shrugged, put down the cue stick and followed Lois over to Louie's table in the corner. When they sat down, Louie was indulging in an Italian sub. He asked, "What can I do for youse?"
Lois explained their errand.
Louie shrugged and asked, "Kicked in the door?"
Clark nodded in response.
Louie shook his head and in a scornful tone, said, "Amateurs."
Lois asked, "What do you think?"
Louie took a bite of his sandwich and chewed before he replied, "I can maybe find ‘em."
Skeptically, Clark asked, "How?"
Louie shrugged and said, "They gotta try and sell the loot. I know guys who know guys." He shrugged, took another bite of his sandwich, chewed and swallowed. Took a swig of a beer to wash it down and then finished, "I'll need a list. Anything special I should watch for?"
Clark and Lois had discussed this on the way over. The concern over expressing an inadvertent interest in the globe could cause questions to be asked that they couldn't afford to answer, so Clark, in a defeated tone said, "No. Look, the police have all the information. Maybe we should just leave it to them."
This didn't fit in with Lois's plan and she expressed her disapproval by slugging him in the arm. "Come on, Clark. We talked about this. Look, we need to get the stuff back … and … it'll be great for the article."
When Lois said that, Louie started to look apprehensive, "Uh, Lois, these guys I know don't exactly like to read their name in the papers."
Lois gave him a look and said, "Louie, this is Lois."
Still unsure, Clark asked, "So, if you do this, what are we supposed to do for you?"
Louie smiled, used his sandwich as if it were a pointer and said, "For the kid? It's a freebie. What a backhand she had."
Lois smiled and said, "Still do. What do you think?"
Louie set his sandwich down and wiped his hands, "I'll call ya." He turned to Clark and asked, "You need help on the insurance claim? I know guys who know guys."
Clark was concerned about the legality of all this ad replied, "Uh, no thanks."
Louie turned to Lois and pointed at Clark, "Straight arrow, huh?"
Lois quirked an eyebrow at him and said, "Tell me about it, but it's part of his charm. One of the many reasons I love him so much."
Louie was surprised. He pointed back and forth, "You and him?"
Lois held up her left hand to display her wedding rings and said, "For a while now."
Louie broke out in a smile and said, "Congratulations. You need to give Constance a call and let her know."
Lois was shamefaced thinking that she had forgotten to call her old friend, "I'll do that Louie. It's just … we've been so busy … and it was only a few months … I'll call."
"You do that little thing. I'm sure she'll be happy for you."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That afternoon, Jack had put his plan into operation. Using the instant camera, he had taken pictures of the globe with the unearthly continents and had even managed to snap a picture of the holographic image of the man with the Superman symbol on his chest. He still had no idea what it was. Jack was streetwise and had seen a lot of science fiction so holographic images, especially if they were in some way associated with Superman were just something to accept. He was surprised that all the mysterious globe did was float and project the image of the man in white. Even so, he was hopeful that he would be able to make a big score with it. His only concern was - what if Superman found out it was him that stole this gizmo from that apartment. He really didn't want Superman on his case. The more he thought about it the more he was inclined to just return it and scoot, but the lure of the money it could bring in was too much. He finally decided to show the pictures around and see if he got a bite. If something didn't materialize quickly, enabling him to unload the merchandise and take off, he'd have to return it.
Jack took the pictures to a pawn dealer that everyone knew was a fence and told him that he'd check back later.
The fence, for his part, recognized the Superman logo on the man and knew that it must have something to do with the superhero. Word on the street was that ‘The Boss' was interested in anything to do with Superman and that he was willing to pay, big bucks, for information.
As soon as Jack was out of the door, he picked up the phone and called a number that he had been given.
On the second ring, the phone was answered by a cultured, British English voice, "What do you have for me?"
The fact that no name was mentioned was to be expected. He said, "Word on the street has it that ‘The Boss' is interested in anything dealing with Superman."
"That is quite correct."
"Well, I just had a kid in here that showed me some pictures that prove he has somethin'. I ain't sure exactly what, but I think ‘The Boss' will be interested."
"I will have a representative there within the hour to pick up this evidence." The phone line went dead.
The fence wasn't surprised when he wasn't asked his name or the name of his shop. That just seemed to be par for the course as far as ‘The Boss' was concerned. He knew everything.
Thirty-five minutes later a non-descript individual entered the shop and approached the counter in the back. Without preamble he said, "Hand it over."
The fence reached below the counter and pulled out the photos, put them in an envelope and placed it on the counter.
The pick-up man placed a ‘C' note on the counter picked up the envelope and left.
The fence pocketed the bill and turned back to his work.
The pick-up man dropped the envelope in a post office box that he had a key to. He picked up two one hundred dollar bills from box as he deposited the envelope. He closed and locked the box.
One of the workers opened the box from the rear, picked up the envelope and put it into a messenger packet. It was addressed to a downtown office and he called a bike messenger to deliver it.
The messenger picked it up and rode his bike to the building, took the elevator to the fifteenth floor and dropped the envelope through a mail slot in the door. If he had looked into the office behind the door he would have found it to be deserted. If he had tried to open the door, he wouldn't have lived to regret it.
Five minutes after the messenger left a tall distinguished looking gentleman approached the door. He checked the markers to make sure that the door hadn't been opened since the last time he had been here, pressed a hidden switch to disconnect the booby traps, produced a key and opened the door. Bending down he picked up the envelope, pocketed it and reversed the opening process, resetting the booby traps and markers.
Once this was finished, he turned on his heel and headed for the elevator. Taking it down to street level he exited the building and entered a limo. Directions were not needed and the limo immediately entered the traffic flow.
Ten minutes later, Nigel St. John walked into Lex Luthor's office, pulled the messenger packet from his inside pocket and placed it on Luthor's desk in front of him.
Luthor, as if to savor the moment picked up the packet and simply looked at it for several seconds, then reaching down he picked up an ornate silver letter opener and used it to slit open the packet. Reaching in he pulled out the envelope. This was not sealed so he placed the letter opener back on the desk, asked the rhetorical question, "What have we here?" and pulled out the pictures. He laid them out on the desk and leaned down to look closely at them. Nigel looked over his shoulder. After several second’s perusal, Luthor looked up into Nigel's face, smiled and said, "Make the call."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Evening had come and gone. Now it was nighttime, dark as pitch especially in the alley that Jack had specified as the meeting place for the sale of the gizmo.
Jack was nervous. He knew that what he had was pure dynamite. It had to be to get a response this quickly. He kept looking around and up, afraid that Superman would somehow find him and …
His musings were interrupted by the noise of people approaching. He couldn't see them clearly in the dark, but that meant that they couldn't see him too well either and he liked it that way.
Slowly, as they neared, he could make out the outlines of two men in long overcoats. They were walking Indian file, one behind the other. The one in the rear had a hat pulled low and he kept his head bowed so that the brim concealed his face.
The one in the lead, Nigel St. John stepped forward and pulled the picture of Jor-El from his pocket and held it up for Jack to see. He said, "You have something for me?"
Jack took a step closer, warily. He nodded to Luthor and asked, "Who's he?"
Nigel ignored the question and asked, "Where is the item?"
Jack was scared, but the lure of the money was too strong, he stammered out, "It's … It's a thou … thousand."
In response, Nigel reached into an inside pocket.
Seeing the movement, Jack ducked thinking that Nigel could be reaching for a firearm. When he saw the corner of a white envelope appear from the coat instead of a gun, his confidence was restored and his bravado with it. "Let's see it."
Nigel extracted ten one hundred dollar bills from the envelope and fanned them out.
Jack reached for the money, but Nigel withdrew it. "The item, then the money."
Jack reached behind the dumpster that he had been standing next to and picked up his canvas bag. Delving into it he pulled out the sphere, wrapped in a kerchief. As he started to unwrap it the glow was evident.
Luthor spoke with a voice horse with excitement, "We were led to believe that there was a display."
"Yeah. Some dude in a white outfit."
As he finished speaking the globe started to float and the light beams formed the hologram. Jor-El was visible and they could see that he was speaking, but they didn't hear anything."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Across town at 344 Clinton, Lois and Clark were having a late dinner and talking about the situation of the break-in when suddenly they both ‘heard',
"This is the second of the five times ..."They were both startled and Clark bolted upright.
They exchanged a look and Lois asked, "Do you think you can zero in on its location?"
"I'm not sure." Standing up he started to turn around, trying to sense where it was coming from, but before he could get more than a general impression the signal was cut off.
Lois felt the signal cut off the same time Clark did and said, "Rats! It cut off. Were you able to get a direction?"
"Just a general direction - Suicide Slum."
Grumpily, Lois replied, "Figures."
"Either it was working for someone else or else it started itself again the way it did last time."
"Let's hope it's the latter."
"Yeah. I'd hate to think it would work for someone else."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jack threw the kerchief over the globe, the projection stopped and it settled back in his hand.
In a horse voice, Luthor said, "Pay him."
Nigel held out both hands in one was one thousand dollars and the other was empty, palm up.
As Jack snatched the money he dropped the globe in Nigel's open hand.
Trying to make it sound like idle conversation, Luthor spoke up again, "You found this, you say?"
While Jack was counting the money, he said, "In a dumpster on Third. People throw away strange stuff sometimes." He was hoping that his fabrication was being accepted and continued in an attempt to deflect, "I guess it has something to do with Superman."
Luthor wasn't put off and asked, "If you find any more 'strange stuff,' you'll let us know?"
Jack had started to turn away, but said, back over his shoulder, "I'll do that. How do I get in touch?"
Luthor replied, "Just leave word. We'll find you."
As Jack's form retreated back down the alley, Luthor held out his gloved hand and Nigel handed it over. Luthor's head came up and Jack got a bare glimpse of his features when he looked back. He heard Luthor say, "Something to do with Superman."
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