Barbarians at the Planet – Matchmaker Style
Rated – PG - 13
Previously:
The rest of what she was saying was lost on the pair as Lois greeted Cat, "Cat, thanks for coming."
Looking around, Cat asked, "What's going on?"
Lois tried to be enthusiastic as she replied, "Plenty. I've been here all afternoon."
Curious, Cat asked, "Lois, what am
I doing here, exactly?"
Lois threw her arms out to encompass the facility and said, "I'm going to work here. I want you to come work here, too. We can still work together."
Cat looked at her with disbelief as she replied, "Lois, I'm a
newspaper reporter, a gossip monger. I don't think they have a scandal hour on LNN."
Lois tried again, "Cat, this would be your chance to get away from Cat's Corner and start writing hard news. You'd be writing the news copy for our reporters. Or, you could be a correspondent. Look around you: it's so …
modern."
Cat looked around, sniffed and said, "Sterile."
Lois argued, "Efficient."
Cat challenged, "Soulless."
Lois tried being enthusiastic, "Fast-paced."
Cat countered, "Superficial."
Lois was becoming exasperated and challenged, "Cat, where's your open mind?"
Cat looked at Lois in disbelief as she said, "I can't believe you've given up so soon ... on the Planet. Did it mean that little to you?"
Lois was shocked by this accusation and replied, "The Planet meant as much or more to me as it did to you. But it's gone. Even Lex can't put it back together again." Sounding as if she was still trying to convince herself, Lois finished, "This is good, exciting work."
Cat still wasn't buying Lois's change in attitude. She thought that she knew Lois better than that, but felt that she needed to state her case and close the issue, "There is one little thing that you apparently are forgetting. George and I are going to get married and move to Seattle."
Suddenly, Cat noticed something and in a shocked tone, asked, "Lois, is there somewhere we can go? We need to talk … in private."
Lois was surprised at this request, but accepted it for what it was. She said, "Sure. Let's go for a walk."
They exited the building and started walking. Before long they were in Centennial Park. Lois spotted an empty bench sitting at a distance from all of the others which would afford the privacy that they wanted.
Cat broke the silence, "Lois, why aren't you wearing your rings?"
Lois looked down at her left hand in surprise. She rubbed her ring finger with the fingers of her right hand. Then she looked up and said, "Clark is gone. I've decided that it's time I moved on."
"But he's just missing and presumed dead. You can't believe that he's actually dead."
Lois paused before replying and when she did, she placed a hand on Cat's arm and said, "Cat, trust me, I know what I'm doing. I can never forget Clark, but this is something that I have to do."
Cat stood and the indignation was written all over her face. "You could at least wait a decent length of time. It has only been a matter of months. What are you going to do, take Luthor up on his offer? Not only a job at LNN, but his bed as well?"
"Cat, There are things you do not understand. Things I can't talk about. I will ask only one thing, come dance at my wedding."
"What? You're not seriously considering … Luthor?"
"Cat, I know we haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but over these last few months, I like to think that we have formed a friendship. I am asking you, as my friend,
come dance at my wedding."
Cat just shook her head in disbelief and said, "I'll think about it."
Lois said, "You know, Clark and I never had a real wedding. We were married by an old law on the books in Kentucky. We went to a Justice of the Peace to confirm it, but we never had a formal wedding."
In an increasingly hostile tone, Cat scoffed, "So now you're going to make up for it by having a fancy wedding with Lex Luthor. Well, count me out."
Lois persisted, "Cat, things aren't always what they appear to be. Please! As my friend, I want you there. I also want you to bring George. I want you both there."
Cat was surprised at Lois's persistence and sincerity and her resolve started to waver.
In a pleading tone, Lois said, "Please, Cat, I will
need you there."
The tone in Lois's voice finally won Cat over.
She was still shaking her head in bewilderment as she said, "I don't know why I'm saying this, but yeah, okay, we'll be there."
Lois threw her arms around Cat and hugged her. She sobbed, "Thank you, Cat. You won't regret it, I promise you."
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 9
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The night was a very dark one with the gloom only broken only by the moon overhead and the headlights of the limousine that pulled off the street and into a construction area. The sign over the entrance read, "Future Site of Lex Tower XVI." At this time of the night there were only a couple of safety lights and they were placed high enough among the girders that virtually none of the light reached the ground. When the limo pulled to a stop it doused its lights and the darkness became that much more profound.
Off to one side was an office trailer. When the limo had pulled in the lights inside had been doused. When the limo stopped and put out its lights the door of the trailer cautiously opened. Several individuals exited the confines of the trailer. Two took up positions flanking the third individual and behind at least partial cover.
The single individual was Devane and he approached an oil drum sitting in the open near where the limo was parked.
A few seconds after he reached position the rear door of the limo opened and Lex Luthor stepped out carrying an oversized briefcase made of polished aluminum. Taking a step away from the car, he negligently pushed the door closed and then turned to Devane.
Devane demanded, "You have the money?"
Luthor said, "Yes, five million dollars."
"The deal was for six."
"It can be six. The stone?"
Devane tapped the case that he was carrying as he said, "Right here."
Luthor, in a conversational tone asked, "My information suggested the stone had been tested extensively by a University laboratory. Who else knows about its properties?"
Although it was really too dark to see it, Devane sneered as he said, "There were some loose ends ... but they've been trimmed. Bureau 39 was thorough that way."
Luthor challenged, "And the research?"
Devane's reply was succinct, "Destroyed."
Luthor seemed to be considering something before he replied, "Then I'll have to take your word for what it's capable of."
Devane was starting to get irritated at all of the questions, "Look, Luthor, quit beating around the bush. What do you want, a money back guarantee? Do you have the money or don't you?"
Luthor surprised him with his response, "Yes, I do." Devane didn't know if he was replying that he had the money or the money back guarantee. While he was still puzzling this, Luthor stepped over and flicked open the latches on his case. Hearing this, Devane lost all thought of his quandary as greed took over. If he hadn't been gripping the handle of the case he would have been rubbing his hands together with thoughts of the money in that case.
He was expecting Luthor to pull out a bound stack of greenbacks, but instead he pulled out a chrome plated Desert Eagle, .45 cal automatic. Devane's eyes popped, not at the betrayal, he had expected that, but at the audacity. He had his men covering him. If anything happened to him, Luthor would pay and he didn't think that Luthor was so stupid as to try anything. He knew Luthor's reputation. He was a hard-nosed businessman, but he didn't think he personally got his hands dirty this way.
As he watched, Luthor gestured with the gun and said, "Put the case down and back away. If it works I'll pay you your money, with a bonus."
Devane sneered, "You double-crossing …"
Luthor chided, "uh, uh … careful."
Apparently bowing to the inevitable, Devane placed the case on the ground and backed away as he had been directed.
Luthor kept an eye on Devane until he was far enough away that he wouldn't be a threat then he reached down with one hand and hefted the case. It felt heavy enough so he lifted it and placed it on the drum. When he opened it he found a normal Earth rock, not Kryptonite.
As he looked up from this discovery, Devane ducked around the corner of the trailer before Luthor could take effective aim. At the same time, Luthor heard Devane shout, "Now!"
At Devane's signal, his two associates stepped from their concealment and opened up on Luthor with handguns of their own.
As Luthor backed toward the limo he fired in the direction of the muzzle flashes he could see on each side. As Luthor moved back the driver, Mrs. Cox, jumped out holding an M-16 set to full auto. She started pumping off three round bursts at Devane's men. One of her bursts caught one of Devane's men. Seeing his associate go down the other broke from his cover and tried to escape only to be cut down by her next burst. Devane had worked his way to the far end of the trailer and seeing both of his men down attempted to flee hoping that the dark and the jumble of construction equipment would enable him to do so.
Unfortunately for him, Mrs. Cox's night vision was excellent and she had been anticipating just such a move on his part. She knew that he wouldn't be stupid enough to charge directly at her, that only left the far side of the trailer which she immediately lined up on. As soon as he broke cover she gunned him down.
As she fired her final burst, out of the corner of her eye she saw Luthor collapse against the limo. In what looked like slow motion he slid to the ground and lay still. Apparently one of Devane's associated had scored a direct hit before Mrs. Cox took him out.
The rear door of the limo opened and out stepped … Lex Luthor. He stepped over his fallen doppelganger and after lighting a flashlight and shining it on the fallen figure he reached down and ripped off a latex mask revealing the fact that it wasn't Luthor on the ground nor was it a twin or a clone. It was someone else made up to resemble him.
Mrs. Cox stepped over next to him and Luthor, in a dispassionate tone commented, "The voice wasn't bad, but I never felt he got the mannerisms down."
Mrs. Cox commented, "It's not easy playing you."
With a smirk, Luthor replied, "Nonsense, I do it all the time."
They moved over to Devane's body by the trailer. As they approach, they could see Devane trying to crawl away.
Luthor roughly grabbed him by the shoulder, pushed him onto his back and started to frisk him. Seeing a large bulge in a jacket pocket, Luthor quipped, "Is that Kryptonite in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?"
Luthor worked the leather pouch containing the stone from his pocket. As he opened the pouch a sickly green glow suffused the area. Smiling in satisfaction, Luthor turned away and started back to the limo. Almost as an afterthought he said to Mrs. Cox, "Pay him his bonus."
Luthor smiled even broader as he heard a final three round burst.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
What Luthor and Mrs. Cox were not aware of was the fact that the entire confrontation had been captured on tape by Jimmy Olsen. He had been following the limo and snuck in close enough to use a telephoto lens. As soon as the Kryptonite was revealed he shut down and hightailed it. There had been sufficient moonlight to film and the muzzle flashes produced enough light to make out the features of those involved. It had also been very accommodating of Luthor to use that flashlight.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day, Lois showed up at the LNN building carrying a box of personal items she had been able to retrieve from the Daily Planet building. She hated this. It felt like she was giving up on the Planet, but she consoled herself that the only way to bring the Planet back was to take Luthor down and this was a necessary step in that process. By appearing to give in to Luthor and accepting his offer of a job at LNN she could move one step closer to getting on the inside. That was what she was after. Access to his personal space so that she could snoop as only she could to find the final bits of evidence they needed to put Luthor away, hopefully permanently.
This charade was becoming harder and harder to maintain. She was afraid that something would happen and she would blow the whole gig. The one thing she dreaded was Luthor making assumptions and trying to get up close and too personal. She knew that she had been able to fight him off before, but that time his mind had been muddled by the pheromone spray. Without that edge she wasn't sure how she would make out. She thought to herself, <If he ever tries to kiss me on the mouth, I'll kill him myself. This mouth belongs to Clark and Clark alone.>
She entered the office she had been assigned the day before and placed the box on the desk. Looking around she heaved a deep sigh and pulled the box open. There wasn't much inside. Reaching in she pulled out a spindly, dead looking plant. Her most recent victim from her desk. She looked at it from various angles, but no matter what angle she looked at it, it still looked dead. Shrugging her shoulders, she placed it on the corner of the desk. If nothing else it gave her some camouflage. There was a framed photo of her and Clark and another of them with his parents. They hadn't even been able to get together with hers as yet. Her father was on the west coast doing some kind of research and her mother was in rehab again. She considered herself lucky to have Lucy nearby. She looked longingly at the picture of her and Clark and whispered, "I hope it's not too much longer."
She reached into the box again and this time came up with a scrapbook. She moved the box aside enough to have room to open it and placed it on the desktop. Opening the scrapbook she was greeted with one of her early articles. Shaking her head she thought, <Boy, have I come a long way.> Looking at it with the eye that the last few years experience had given her, she almost cringed at the stilted phrasing, repeated word use, misplaced commas … She flipped the pages rapidly until she came to the one trumpeting the rescue of the Prometheus shuttle and announcing the arrival of, Superman. A smile crossed her lips as she remembered. A couple of pages later there was actually an article accompanied by a photo of Superman with Lois by his side. Facing that was one where Jimmy had actually caught Superman in the act of rescuing Lois. They were in mid-air and he had her cradled in his strong arms, those arms that had become so familiar and comforting, the arms of her husband. Looking at that picture only increased her longing to be in those arms again.
Closing the book, she put it away in a bottom drawer of ‘her' desk. Standing she removed the final items from her box and cast it aside. Looking around she could only hope that this was extremely temporary. This office was large, larger than Perry's old office, but without the ambiance. Perry's office held an old world charm, well, not really that old, just the twenties or thirties as they had found out when Fuentes and his crew had invaded. This place was so … modern and … sterile. It had no life of its own, no history. She could see that she wouldn't be spending a lot of time in it. She leaned back in her chair hoping that perhaps the change of perspective would help. It didn't. She noted a problem with her pencil cup and leaned forward to deal with it, but her attention was distracted by a commotion outside of the office. Getting up she moved into the hallway to see what was happening.
As she moved into a common area, she saw a group of news staffers gathered around a desk. In the center of the group was Sandra Ellis, the news anchor. Lois asked, "What's going on?"
Sandra turned to Lois and answered her question, "Sources inside the courthouse tell us the Grand Jury may be about to come back with indictments against two City Councilmen."
Lois was familiar with all of the major stories and was on top of this one as well, "The Redevelopment Fund scandal?"
Impressed that Lois knew what she was talking about, Sandra opened up, "Yep. We have a camera crew there, but they've been denied access." She paused and looked around for the reporter that was following the story. Failing she said, "We don't know which two were named, or even if our information is accurate."
Lois nodded sagely and said, "Until you know that, there's no story."
Sandra nodded in agreement and added, "But we also hear CNN's about to go with it. So ..."
Lois picked up on the implication and said, "So they know something we don't know." She thought for a second and then smiled and said, "Let me make a few calls. I know some of the bailiffs." Turning away she looked for a phone.
As Lois was moving away, Sandra called after her, "I'm on the air in four minutes."
Over her shoulder, Lois replied, "Not unless you've got something to report."
Seeing a phone on a desk not in use, she picked it up and dialed.
All of the news crew had their eyes glued to her as she made her calls.
A few minutes later, Sandra was sitting in her chair before the cameras and the makeup person was applying a last second touch-up of powder to kill the shine from her nose.
The director shouted, "Ten seconds to air."
The make-up person ducked away, just in time as the director signaled the start of the broadcast.
Sandra picked up the notes that Lois had scrawled as she was on the phone and handed to her just as she was headed for her chair. "And in local news, the Grand Jury today handed down indictments calling for the arrests of Metropolis City Councilmen Ferdig and Montang."
Behind her on an inset screen was a live feed showing the two councilmen, attempting to conceal their identities by covering their faces while the smiling bailiffs escorted them up the steps.
Sandra continued, "As you can see from this exclusive feed outside the courthouse, the councilmen have already been remanded into custody and we'll be covering their arraignment later this afternoon. For now, this is Sandra Ellis for LNN News."
The director shouted "Cut." And the lights faded.
As the lights faded a cheer went up from all of the staffers and they all turned and applauded Lois acknowledging her contribution.
Lois was embarrassed by the adulation, but accepted the applause graciously.
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