The Rival - Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously:
They exited the ladies room together. Linda looked in the direction of the table she had occupied with Carpenter and saw that he was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief. She had been gone long enough that he'd been called away. She felt that she needed to talk to somebody and decided that rather than Lois, she'd like to talk to Clark so she followed Lois back to her table. When they got there, Linda was at a loss as to what to say, so she approached Clark and said, "Clark, can I ask you a favor?"
Lois was still annoyed about the confrontation in the ladies room and Linda's comments about their relationship. She said the first thing that came to mind, "He's working. ]b]We're[/b] working."
Linda said, "You look like you're about to have dinner." She turned to Clark and said, "I'd like you to walk me to the subway. I'm still learning my way around Metropolis. It'd really help me out."
Lois quipped, "By all means, Clark. Help her out. Then lock the door behind her."
Linda gave Lois a scathing look and replied, "Such wit, Lois. I hope it'll help pass the hours at the unemployment office."
Trying to prevent World War III from happening there in the Press Club, Clark spoke up, "Do you mind if I butt in?"
Lois looked at him and said, "Tell her ‘no' and let's eat."
Clark looked at Lois and said, "Lois, you heard her. She's still learning her way around."
Unconvinced, Lois said, "She knows her way around enough to beat us twice since she got here."
Clark leaned down and whispered in Lois's ear, "Trust me. Keep in mind, we're doing an investigation." Straightening up he said to Linda, "There's a subway entrance a couple of blocks from here." He turned back to Lois and said, "I'll be right back."
Once they were outside, Linda started chatting Clark up. As they neared the subway entrance, Linda said, "Clark, the real reason I asked for you to come with me was to ask for some help. I think that Carpenter is coming on to me and I don't know how to handle it. He could fire me on the spot if I'm not careful. He has also said some things that make me suspicious of his motives … and methods. He said that his idol is Charles Foster Kane. I'm no dummy. I don't need a building to fall on me to see that there's something not right. Two page one stories in two days, how often does something like that happen?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Clark returned to the Press Club he found Lois waiting for him. She was half way through her pasta and his order was sitting at his place, cooling.
A judicious blast of heat vision and his food was re-warmed and he started eating. After a couple of bites, Lois asked, "Okay. Investigation. What did you investigate? Her apartment?"
"Oh, come on, Lois. You know me better than that. She wanted to talk. I guess she didn't feel comfortable around you and no wonder the way you've been sniping at one another."
Lois looked reluctant and then relented. "All right. I'll try to do better. What did she want to talk about?"
"She said that Carpenter was coming on to her and she didn't know how to handle it."
"That's a laugh. She didn't have any problems like that when we were in college."
Clark gave her a stern look and said, "There you go again."
"Okay. Sorry."
"Anyhow, she is also a little suspicious. She thinks that two headlines in two days
is a bit much the same as we do. She apparently doesn't know what's behind it, but it is making her uncomfortable. She could be an ally in this investigation. Our contact on the inside." Clark thought for a second and then said, "She gave me some food for thought. She said that Carpenter's idol is Charles Foster Kane."
Lois was blown away, "That guy would stop at nothing."
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 05
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Following diner Lois and Clark returned to the apartment and after they were comfortable, Lois snuggled back into Clark's embrace, cuddling on the sofa, Clark asked, "All right. Don't you think it's about time that you told me why Linda gets to you?"
Lois sat up and looked back at him. Startled she blurted out, "Get to me?" She considered for a second and then settled back in his arms before she said, "You were right. All I can say in my defense is that this is all still so new to me."
"This? What is the this of which you speak?"
She gestured with her hands indicating both of them and said, "This. Us. Our relationship. Our marriage." She twined the fingers of one of her hands with the fingers of one of his. "I guess I still forget … sometimes. Okay, here it is, but keep it to yourself, please."
Clark nodded and kissed the top of her head. "My lips are sealed."
"Okay. Linda and I were
best friends. But it was very competitive. You may not believe this, but there was a time when I had to be the best at everything."
Clark smiled and gave a soft chuckle.
Lois heard and smiled in reply before she continued, "Anyway, there was this editor I was trying to impress, a guy named Paul Bender. He was a Senior, and I had a very big crush on him. My first. So when I found out some of the school's football players weren't taking their own exams, I thought, this is it. This is the story that's going to get Paul to really notice me."
When Lois paused, Clark prompted her, "Did it?"
Lois spat out, "No. Somehow Linda stole my story and wrote it under her name. Of course, he fell for her and she continued to impress him, in ways I won't go into. Needless to say, that was the end of our friendship." Lois craned around to look at Clark as she asked, "So now you know everything. Happy?"
Clark pulled her in to a tighter embrace as he said, "So, she stole a story and she stole a guy and now you're afraid she's going to try to do it again, huh?"
"Irrational, huh?"
"You have nothing to worry about."
"But you have this weakness for blonds."
"Lois, I only have two weaknesses. Kryptonite and a particular very special brunette."
In response, Lois craned around and gave him a kiss before she said, "Okay, so where do we stand?"
"I've been thinking. I checked back and guess what I found."
Lois sat up and looked at him, expectantly. "What did you find?"
"Remember the hotel fire she scooped you on?"
"Don't remind me."
"Interesting thing about that. When I checked there was an editorial about hotel fire safety. Now, how could he have an editorial prepared for that so that it could be printed in the same edition as the headline?"
Lois offered, "Maybe he has a stable of editorials and when the time is right he pulls it out and prints it?"
"Highly unlikely. Just as unlikely as it is for a particular journalist to be on scene at two incidents, two days in a row."
"And he had that editorial on elevator safety in the same edition as the elevator story."
"Remember - the fire chief believes that fire was arson."
"And you found that cable that looks like it was cut."
"And Carpenter called Linda, checking on her location just before the elevator incident occurred."
"As if he was making sure she was there to get the story. A set up!"
"That's why we need somebody on the inside."
"Does it have to be Linda?"
"Who else do we know?"
"I guess you're right. What do we do?"
"Here's my idea …"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day, Lois and Clark received the call that they had been expecting from Secretary Wallace for the interview.
After the formal interview was finished, Clark said, "Secretary Wallace, we were at the Press Club the other night. I couldn't help but overhear part of your conversation with Preston Carpenter. Off the record, what was he advocating?"
"Off the record, of course, he was advocating that instead of an arms treaty with the Omiri we should treat them as adversaries and as he puts it, ‘neutralize' them. That would only precipitate a war. He obviously doesn't believe in the old axiom; keep your friends close and your enemies closer. By signing this arms treaty we will be able to keep a close eye on them and their arms development."
"Treating them as terrorists as Carpenter suggests does sound like a risky proposition."
"Yes, as it is, the premiere will be giving us a gift of the Orani Jewels. They are to be presented at an event this afternoon. I would like it if you attended."
"Thank you, Mr. Secretary. We'll be there."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That afternoon, Lois and Clark along with other representatives of the media were in attendance for the presentation ceremony.
Lois and Clark were sitting on the right side as they faced the podium.
Suddenly, Lois jabbed Clark in the side with her elbow, "Linda just walked in."
"Let's just see if our theory pans out."
Seconds before the start of the ceremony, Linda's cell phone rang and she answered it.
Clark listened in with his super-hearing. "King."
Clark recognized the voice on the other end as that of Carpenter, "Where are you, my dear?"
"At the presentation ceremony."
"Good." The connection was cut and Linda put her cell phone away.
Lois said, "So far so good. She got a call."
"It was Carpenter, checking to make sure she was here."
"Look around. See if you can spot what's going to happen."
Clark used his super-hearing and x-ray vision to scan the room and the immediate vicinity. He was rewarded by seeing ski-mask clothed, heavily armed men hidden behind the door of a closet near where he and Lois were sitting. As he watched he saw them preparing to burst out and attack. He couldn't be sure if the Omiri Premiere or the jewels were their object, but he knew that he had to stop them and do it in such a way that wouldn't be obvious.
Spotting the decorative pillars located at intervals along the walls he directed a blast of super-breath against the one nearest the door. When it toppled over it effectively blocked the door, preventing it from opening.
Secretary Wallace stepped up to the podium and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Premier and I will be happy to answer a few questions before the unveiling."
Linda called out, "Mister Secretary, Linda King, Metropolis Star. What do you think …"
She was interrupted by Lois as she shouted, "Mister Secretary, Lois Lane, Daily Planet. Is it true …"
Linda became indignant and retorted, "Excuse me! But I believe I was asking a question."
Lois retorted, “Well, so was I." Lois was trying to provide a distraction so that Clark could come up with a way to foil whatever was supposed to be happening and felt satisfied that she was succeeding and getting back at Linda at the same time. It was always nice to be able to kill two birds with one stone. She added one final jab, "Hypocrite."
Linda was stung by this comment, "Me? You sure can dish it out but you can't take it.
Lois snorted and spat out, "Oh, get off your high horse!"
Linda sneered as she said, "And get down in the gutter with you?!"
Secretary Wallace was bewildered at this behavior and looked back and forth between the two women in perplexity.
Annoyed by this disturbance, Secretary Wallace finally said, "Ladies, please! Please! No questions. That's it."
Lois and Linda stopped speaking and simply glared at one another while the other members of the press corps jeered and said, "Thanks a lot Lane!" or "Way to go, King!"
Secretary Wallace tried to get the ceremony back on track, "Let's get to the real reason we're here, the ceremonial exchange from the Kingdom of Omir to the United States. Ladies and gentlemen, the gift from the Premier of Omir -- the Orani Jewels."
With that statement, Secretary Wallace whipped aside the cloth and displayed the jewels to the hushed exclamations of the appreciative public.
While Lois had provided the distraction, as casually as he could manage Clark had stood and moved over to the fallen statuary and feigned moving it. In reality he was making sure that the door was effectively blocked. He was bracing the door so that it didn't so much as rattle, no matter what the thugs trapped inside did. He knelt there until the ceremony was complete. Lois came over to him and whispered, "What do you want me to do, now?"
He replied, quietly, "Get the police. Tell them to send SWAT."
Lois hurried off to complete her errand.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When the SWAT team arrived, Lois led them up to the conference center.
Clark said, "Gentlemen, behind this door are four very heavily armed crooks. They were either going to assassinate the Premier or steal the jewels."
The Lieutenant in charge said, "We'll take it from here."
Clark stepped back.
"This is Lieutenant Nesbit of Metropolis SWAT. We have the room surrounded. Put down your weapons and come out, with your hands up."
There was an explosion from inside and a bullet came through the door. Fortunately, per protocol, Nesbit was standing off to the side.
He signaled one of his men. He came forward, at a crouch, inserted a small tube under the door and triggered the pressurized canister that was attached to it.
Nesbit explained to Lois and Clark, "A form of Pepper spray. It will act like tear gas. It's a kind that you don't have to hit them in the face with. They'll be begging us to take them into custody in about two minutes."
Sure enough, in less than two minutes the screams from inside told them how effective the spray was. There were shouts of, "We surrender," and "We quit," were heard along with the thud of weapons being dropped.
Nesbit said, "Okay, come out, one at a time. Hands behind your necks!"
When the door opened, Lois started snapping pictures. After the operation, Lois and Clark interviewed Nesbit and tried to get a statement from the crooks, but they stonewalled them.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next morning the Planet had a banner headline:
"Assassination Attempt and Jewel Theft Foiled."By Lois Lane and Clark Kent
"The Omiri Premier and the Orani Jewels were saved by the accidental toppling of a piece of statuary as the Jewels were being presented to Secretary Wallace. After the ceremony, MPD SWAT was summoned and the perpetrators were subdued by the use of a form of pepper spray. Story continues pg A2"
Needless to say, Perry was ecstatic and called Lois and Clark into his office.
"Great job. How did you do it?"
Clark replied, "We were just in the right place at the right time."
Lois smirked at his reply.
Perry noticed Lois's smirk. He challenged, "All right. What do the two of you have going on?"
Lois looked around and stepping to Perry's door, closed it.
That action piqued Perry's interest and he started to smile.
Once the door was closed, Lois and Clark moved closer to Perry's desk. Clark said, "We suspect …"
Lois interrupted, "Believe. We believe that we really haven't been being scooped. It's all been a set-up by the Star to boost their circulation."
Clark continued, "The same edition that had the story about the hotel fire there was an editorial demanding changes in the fire department."
When he paused for a breath, Lois picked up the tale, "In the same edition that had the story about the elevator ‘accident'." She used finger quotes, "there was an editorial demanding stronger building codes in view of the accident. How could he have had the editorials in the same edition? He'd have to be either a very fast writer or … have previous knowledge of what was to happen."
Clark added, "The fire chief has declared the hotel fire to be arson."
Lois gave Clark an adoring look as she said, "We have a piece of the elevator cable being analyzed. It looks like it was cut."
Clark pointed out, "And in both cases, Linda King was on scene and received a call from Preston Carpenter, confirming her location just prior to the incident."
Lois said, "Today, Linda received a call just before the Orani jewels were to be presented by the Omiri Premier. It was purely accidental that the perpetrators got themselves trapped in that closet."
"I think that proves that Linda is in the clear on these, though. When the incident failed to materialize she at least acted as if she didn't expect anything. I think we can get her to work with us to prove what's happening."
Perry dropped into his chair and looked back and forth at them. He quipped, "Listening to the two of you go back and forth like that is like watching a ping-pong match." He shook his head, "I wish the rest of my staff worked as well together as the two of you. Okay, so how do we go about proving all of this?"
Clark replied, "I think we need to approach Linda and ask her to help. The other day she asked me to walk her to the subway entrance. On the way she confided to me that Carpenter was hitting on her and she is uneasy about getting so many headlines in such a short time. I think she is suspicious."
Lois quipped, "I'm suspicious of her motives."
Clark ignored her and said, "She also confided in me that Carpenter's idol is Charles Foster Kane. Remember the movie starring Orson Wells."
At the name Wells, Lois gasped and then relaxed. He wasn't speaking of Herb.
Clark continued as if he hadn't heard her, "Linda said that Carpenter said that Kane not only reported the news, he made it. He set out an agenda for the country. Did you get that - he made the news. That's what is happening here. We think that Carpenter is manufacturing these emergencies to generate headlines."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Carpenter called Stark into his office.
Once he entered, Carpenter challenged, "What happened? Where was the team of thieves? Why didn't they steal those jewels? Why didn't they kill the Premier?"
"I don't know. I don't know. I don't know and I don't know. I wasn't there. They were only allowing so many of the press and dignitaries. At the last second those two reporters from the Planet were added to the list by Wallace and I got bumped off."
"King was there. I called and checked. If the job had gone down she would have reported it. According to the story in the Planet the team was trapped in a storeroom and captured by SWAT. That wasn't supposed to happen. This is going to make it that much harder to put the Planet out of business. Let's move ahead with the next job."
comments go here TBC
