A/N: See? I said I was working on it. Sorry, again, for posting so little after so long. Hopefully, part 8 will be ready fairly quickly. Thank you to everyone who's been reading along and putting up with my erratic posting schedule. I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy. 
The Story So Far... Part 7----------
“This is pointless,” Smith grumbled as they poked around in an unoccupied administrative office. “What are you looking for, anyway? A big, red button marked 'elevator'?”
Lois paused. “No,” she replied at last, although truthfully, she actually had *no* idea what she was supposed to be looking for. She just hoped she'd know it when she found it.
Smith rolled his eyes, obviously not gaining any confidence in her grand plan to get them to the fourth floor. He glanced out the partially-open door and froze.
“Wha--” Lois began, but Smith suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth and moved so that they were behind the door, pressed against the wall.
“Any sign of him?” The voice outside the room was muffled, but Lois could just make out the words.
“No,” came the equally-muffled reply. “You're sure he came down to the cafeteria?”
“Positive,” said the first voice. “Maybe he's just in the men's room or something. I'll check there; you make sure the emergency teleporters are still down. We can't afford to screw this up.”
Silence followed. After a while, Mr. Smith finally let go of Lois. He crept to the door, peeked outside, and breathed a sigh of relief before closing it.
“They were looking for *you*, weren't they?” Lois whispered when the coast was clear.
Mr. Smith met her gaze, then sighed. “Yes,” he answered.
“Why?” asked Lois.
He sighed again. “I suppose I may as well tell you the truth,” he said, then slowly reached up to remove his glasses. Once they were off, he looked her straight in the eye. “I am Zor-Xu.”
Lois stared at him, blankly.
Zor-Xu frowned. “You have no idea who I am, do you,” he grumbled.
“Well, you're obviously someone important if someone's going to all this trouble to find you,” Lois decided. “Are you the first lord of New Krypton, or something?”
“I'm actually the head chairman of the citizens' council,” Zor-Xu replied. “While it is a position of less power and opulence than first lordship, the responsibility is no less great.”
“I'm sure,” Lois amiably agreed, though Zor-Xu frowned at her patronizing tone. “So, do you know who these guys—?”
Without warning, and nearly without sound, the door began to open. Lois felt her heart stop. In less than a second, Zor-Xu pulled her into the space behind the door, again. A man stepped into the room, his back to them.
Lois caught Zor-Xu's eye and nodded towards the ceiling. He got the hint and silently floated them upward, even as the newcomer strode towards the terminal at the far end of the room. Like Jordan, he tapped something on it that Lois couldn't see; then, he began speaking in a language she didn't recognize. She felt Zor-Xu become tense.
Suddenly, the man broke off whatever he was in the process of saying. He froze, his head tilting, and stepped away from the terminal, pulling some kind of gun from his coat. He looked around...and up.
To Be Continued...
