Fly Hard- Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously
Just as Jimmy disappeared into the storeroom the elevator chime sounded once again. When the doors opened an old man in a guard's uniform locked out the elevator and then stepped out. Seeing a number of people in the bullpen he asked, suspiciously, "What's going on here?" Nervously he pulled out a pocket watch and checked it.
Clark spoke up, "Hey, Willie. It's just us."
Obviously disturbed by their presence, Willie looked around and said, "You're not supposed to be here now."
Seeing that Willie was obviously nervous and supposing that it was simply related to the break in his routine, Perry tried to calm him, "Everything's fine, Willie, don't you worry about a thing. Keep up the good work."
Shrugging it off, Willie replied, "Yes, sir, Mr. White." The exchange had happened quickly and turning, Willie shambled back on board, unlocked it and pushed a button.
As the doors closed behind Willie, Jack suddenly shouted, "Hello? Hello? Anybody there?" He looked around to try to find the culprit. "All right, who cut me off?"
Suddenly, Cat let out a grunt of frustration and shouted, "The system just went down! I lost my story!"
Concerned, George moved to her side and said, "I know something about computers. Let me check."
As George arrived at Cat's desk to check workstation the lights flickered and the elevator chime sounded.
Everybody was startled by the simultaneous occurrences and was looking around in confusion. The confusion ended abruptly when a group of five strangers stepped out of the elevator. There was a woman in the lead and as she stepped out onto the platform she unleashed a burst of automatic fire into the ceiling.
That got everyone's attention. Reacting instinctively, Clark pushed Lois behind him so that he was between her and the gunmen. Out of the corner of his eye he saw George do the same thing with Cat and smiled.
Within seconds, Clark had decided on a course of action that had a chance of working while still preserving The Secret and was in the act of sliding his glasses down his nose so that he could use his heat vision on the firearms to jam up their works when Perry stepped in between him and the invaders.
Perry challenged, "What in the Sam Hill is -"
He was silenced by one of the invaders when he grabbed him and jabbed the barrel of the weapon at his face, almost touching his nose.
An individual dressed in black leather, the apparent leader in an icy tone said, "The Daily Planet building is now ours. I suggest you cooperate and everything will go smoothly." He directed the next command at his associate, "Let him go."
The man released him and Perry staggered over to stand with the others.
Jimmy had heard the gunfire and cautiously opened the door to the storage room. When he did he saw the tableau of the gunman holding his gun in Perry’s face and the rest standing in a couple of clusters. Cat and George were still at Cat's desk while the rest were clustered near Perry's office door. He muttered, "Holy -" He cut himself off, afraid that the invaders would hear him. As silently as he could he reclosed the door and slunk back into a corner to think.
The woman in the group shouted, "Hey, Fuentes!"
When the leather clad leader turned, he replied, "Yeah, Remy." She threw a nylon bag to him. He caught it and unzipped it. Delving into the bag he brought out a black device with several buttons that resembled a cell phone.
Holding the device aloft he finished his earlier statement, "And in case any of you feel the need to contact the authorities or your friend Superman ..." He punched a button on the device and when a light on it lit up he said, "... you can tell him I'm holding the trigger for a small but dirty nuclear device and if I catch so much as a glimpse of a red cape, this building and the gene pool of Metropolis will pay the price."
Seeing that there was nothing that he could do immediately Clark decided to play a waiting game and turning his back on the gang pulled Lois into a protective embrace. They were able to whisper to each other.
Lois whispered, "Can you use your heat vision on that controller?"
"I'd have to know how it was wired and if it has a dead man switch. Better to just go along and play for time."
"Okay. I just wish there was something you could do."
Fuentes tried to ease their worries, "Relax. By morning this will all be over, one way or another."
And Now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 2
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As soon as Fuentes finished his address he turned to one of his comrades and said, "Schumak, herd them all into that conference room."
Hearing the order they all turned to comply. The last through the doorway were Cat and George, who had an arm protectively around Cat.
As soon as they were all inside, Schumak took up his post outside the door holding his weapon across his chest like a military guard on duty.
Seeing all of their tax records on the table, Clark and Lois immediately set about boxing them up. Once that was done, they set the box in a corner, out of the way.
After that they all settled into the chairs around the table. By mutual assent they all leaned in close so that they could stage whisper to each other, keeping Schumak from overhearing.
Lois whispered, "No telephones, we're too high up to signal for help. It could be morning before anyone even realizes something's wrong."
Perry whispered in reply, "That's what they're counting on. But what do they want with the Daily Planet? If they wanted a story printed they should have waited for the staff to be here."
After what he had experienced at the hands of Luthor, Jack was wary and voiced his concerns, "And what are they going to do with us when they're finished?"
Cat whispered, "Yeah, Jack's right. We know some of their names, Remy, the girl with no fashion sense, Fuentes, the biker wanna be and Schumak, the strong silent type."
Lois noticed that Clark wasn't really paying attention to the conversation and looked at what he was staring at. She saw what he was watching. Fuentes and Remy were at Jimmy's desk and they were looking intently at a portable computer that they had brought with them. Remy was doing most of the typing because Fuentes maintained a hold on the device.
She whispered, so low that only he could hear, "Can you get us out of here?"
He brought his lips close to her ear as he whispered, "There are too many of us trapped. I could get you out and make no mistake, you would be the first one, but before I got back for the rest he'd be able to trigger that device."
As a scientist, George was more than a little out of his element. A scientist out of his lab was like a fish out of water and that made him nervous. That nervousness was evident in his tone as he offered, "What would the police do in this situation?" He thought for a second before he answered his own question, "They'd have a hostage negotiator on the phone with them. Why don't we ask them what they want? Maybe there's something we could do or give them that would satisfy them and they'd leave us alone."
Lois looked at Clark and saw that he had pushed his glasses down his nose.
"What do you see?"
"He keeps moving his hand. There's a mass of wires. I can't tell which one does what."
Jack was starting to revert to his street kid mentality when he said, "It's five against five. I say we take 'em. I bet that bomb's not even real."
Clark placed a restraining hand on Jack's shoulder and said, "That thing in his hand is just the detonator, a radio controller. There's no telling where or how big the actual bomb is and if we try to tackle them he'd be able to trigger it before we could stop him. We can't take that kind of chance even if the bomb itself isn't nuclear. He said it was a dirty bomb. That means that there is radioactive material in the bomb and it would be sprayed all over by the force of the detonation. It could contaminate city blocks. No one would be able to come back into this building for centuries."
Cat buried her auburn tresses in George's chest as she wailed, "George, they're going to
kill us, aren't they?"
George stroked her back, almost like she was a real cat, as he pulled her into his strong arms and said, "We don't know that."
"But, like I said, we can identify them."
Overhearing, Clark replied, "The safest thing to do is to wait."
For the first time, looking around, Lois noticed that Jimmy was missing. She asked, "Where's Jimmy?"
Perry looked around, realizing just as Lois had that he was missing. "I don't know. That last I saw him; he was heading for the storage room."
Cat brightened up, "Maybe he can save us."
Perry snorted and replied, dismissively, "Jimmy couldn't save baseball cards."
George was becoming more and more concerned about Cat. She was close to losing it and he could sense that. He finally voiced his opinion, "I think I agree with the kid …"
"The name's Jack."
"I think I agree with Jack here. I think we need to act. If one of us made directly for Fuentes to prevent him from triggering the bomb -"
Cat was worried and said, "George, I really don't think that's wise. He may be holding the lives of thousands of people in his hand. We shouldn't do anything to provoke him."
George asked, "Who among us can actually make the decision? Who's in charge?"
Perry had just about enough. He said, "Now, just a dog gone minute. This is my ship and I'm still the captain."
Hearing this, Jack quipped, "Yeah, the Exxon Valdes," which elicited a snicker from Lois.
Cat saw Fuentes and Remy leave Jimmy's desk and move to the elevator. Once they were aboard and the doors closed, she gave her opinion, "I think George and Jack are right. We need a plan." She looked at the back of Schumak through the window. He didn't appear to have moved a muscle since assuming his post.
Lois was confident that Clark knew what was best, but had been unable to convey that confidence to the others.
Cat said, "We're wasting time." She turned to George and said, "Look, Schumak is the only one here. The others just left. I'll create a diversion; you hit him with a chair."
Clark overheard and tried to stop her, but she was already at Perry's side. She said to Perry, "Chief, sit down, you're having a heart attack." When he didn't move fast enough for her she started to push him down.
Perry blurted out, "What the …"
Before anyone could stop her, Cat was pounding on the window, next to Schumak's head.
As he turned in surprise, she shouted, "Help! Help us! He's having a heart attack. Quickly! He needs a doctor." She turned her head and looked over her shoulder at Perry who seeing that he had no choice, was clutching his left arm, grimacing in pain and breathing hard.
Seeing that Cat's ploy might just work and that it might be a chance for Clark to slip out to become Superman, Lois joined in. "Do something. He's going to die and
then where will you be? On trial for
murder that's where."
As he entered, Schumak's gun had swung around as he had trained it on Lois as the nearest target.
Clark was just about to jump Schumak when the elevator chime sounded and he knew that they were out of time. Glancing over his shoulder he saw Fuentes and Remy exit the elevator and backed, down taking Lois's arm and pulling her along.
Fuentes spotted what was happening in the conference room and he and Remy moved in to investigate. He saw the posture that Perry was in and smiled in understanding. Lifting his weapon he aimed it towards Perry and pulled the trigger. At the last second he deflected the barrel and a semi-circle of bullet holes appeared around Perry's feet. Perry jerked upright, a look of fear took over his features and he went deathly pale.
Fuentes was satisfied. He said, "Nine millimeter automatic. Better than a triple by-pass."
Thinking that Lois had been the instigator of this activity, Fuentes approached her. As he did, Clark tensed, preparing to act. Fuentes threatened, "There will be no more tests of my patience … is that understood?"
Mad Dog Lane started to assert herself and she was about to retort when Clark stepped in front of her and said, "She understands."
Stepping between them, Clark had invaded Fuentes's space and he took a half step back. He challenged, "Who are you?"
"Her husband."
"Okay, husband. Keep her in line -"
If he was going to say more it was lost because there was a sudden noise by the elevators and everyone turned in that direction. When they did they all saw the final pair of thugs struggling with a piece of heavy equipment, trying to get it off the elevator.
Frustration was evident in Fuentes's voice as he said, "It's Newberry and Blackman. They're on the wrong floor. Schumak, go tell them it's down one."
After Schumak left to convey his message, Fuentes and Remy followed him out. Before they got too far they were involved in an animated conversation.
As soon as they walked out everyone else grouped around Perry.
Since Lois had joined in on Cat's hare-brained scheme he addressed the both of them, "Lois, I swear, if you ever rope me into anything like that again, you'll be writing recipes for the food section and Cat, you'll be doing the obits until there's one for you."
Lois smirked and said, "Six months ago, that might have been a threat, but not now. Clark has been teaching me how to cook, so there. Realistically, there won't be a food section if we don't stop them."
George was starting to show some leadership ability as he said, "Division among the ranks is a sure sign of weakness. I suggest we put this incident behind us and concentrate on learning their next move."
As he was saying this, Lois looked over at Clark who nodded and she understood that he was already listening in with his super-hearing although, belatedly. What he heard disturbed him. Remy was saying, "What do you mean? They've
seen our
faces. We
can't just let them go."
Clark got some insight into the situation as he continued to listen as Fuentes replied, "You know what our instructions are." This statement told Clark that Fuentes wasn't really the boss, but if he wasn't then who was?
He heard Remy say, "I say kill them now." Clark was shocked at her bloodlust.
Fuentes's reply cemented Clark's earlier impression, "You don't have any say. None of us do until the boss comes."
Clark started to wonder. Was their boss, ‘The Boss', Luthor? Would they finally have definitive proof of his nefarious activities?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, Jimmy had finally decided that the invaders were not looking for him and he stopped cowering in a dark corner. His nerve was returning and he started pacing and talking to himself, in subdued tones, "Stay calm, I'm calm. I'm in the storage room and out there are a million terrorists with
guns! I can handle this, no problem." Organizing his thoughts, he decided on his first step, "I gotta get out of here." Looking around he immediately discounted the door, that way led to capture. Continuing his search his eyes finally lighted on the air conditioning duct overhead.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Clark was concentrating on listening to what was being said by their captors and didn't hear Jack coming up to him. Suddenly his concentration was broken by Jack when he asked, "Clark? Hey, Kent."
Startled, Clark replied, "What? Oh. Jack, is everything okay?"
Jack smirked and said, "That's what I was just about to ask you. You look kind of out of it."
Clark looked at Jack and then back at their captors as he said, "I'm trying to read their lips. It's a handy skill, one you should try to learn."
Jack was surprised, "Wow, you can really do that?"
Clark nodded and said, "Sometimes. If I'm not distracted."
Jack didn't take the hint. "Do you really believe that there's a nuclear bomb?"
"He never said it was a nuclear bomb, just a ‘dirty' bomb. It has radioactive material contained in it. It won't be a nuclear detonation, just a lot of contamination. No matter what it is, we can't take any chances. Look, things are going to work out. We'll be fine."
Still thinking about a nuclear detonation, Jack replied, "Yeah, they say you don't feel anything at ground zero."
George asked what could be a critical question, "Who are they? Are they terrorists or criminals. If they are terrorists, what were they doing with excavation machinery?"
Cat asked, "You don't think that they'd blow themselves up, do you?"
Lois said, "I've covered terrorists. Terrorists know that the value of one life, even if it's their own, doesn't equal the importance of their cause. These guys don't strike me as being terrorists."
Clark replied, "I don't think we need worst case scenarios right now."
George, trying to be a team player said, "The point is, it's up to us to stop them."
Clark tried to calm him down, "On the contrary, it's up to us to stay alive, any way we can."
George's concern for Cat's welfare was starting to override his good sense, "Then what do you suggest, Mister Kent? That we just sit here, let them do whatever they want, then wait for them to kill us? That's your wife and Red that they were threatening."
Clark almost let the cat out of the bag when he said, "No, I have no choice! If I try to get to the bomb, one of the others might kill any one of you and if that's a hair trigger under his finger, it could go off faster than I could stop it. I can't take that risk. As you so rightly pointed out, one of the women is my wife. I'll not risk her life."
Clark's vehemence surprised everyone, but Lois. She knew just how worried and frustrated he was. He was prevented from acting as Superman to save everyone and it was grating on him.
Cat said, "Clark, take it easy. You're not Superman."
In reply, Clark shook his head and said, "I know, but even if I was, I couldn't …"
Cat said, "Superman would find a way to save us, I know he would. I know he
will. He always comes through, especially for you guys."
comments go here TBC
