Ambivalence
Rated T
A/N: Thanks to KenJ and Morgana for beta-ing this chapter.
**********
Clark scanned the inside of the mausoleum. No hidden cameras. Apparently no security at all, other than the hidden entrance. Something about that set him on edge.
Lois moved around the room, feeling the walls for something out of place. As she did so she dislodged the candelabra and it swung sideways. “Ah ha!” she said, turning it as far as it could go. The casket once more slid to the side. “Well, I guess we know where she went,” Lois whispered.
Clark nodded.
Cautiously, they made their way down the stairs, Clark holding Lois back so he could take the lead. At the bottom, they halted to survey the room. It was little more than a concrete box, much like the old bomb shelters. The glass casket Bobby Bigmouth had mentioned was in one corner. Various machines beeped from nearby—as though they had entered Dracula’s ICU.
“Clark!” Lois squeaked, walking towards the casket.
“I know,” he agreed quietly. The body inside was almost certainly Lex Luthor’s, and the idea that he was alive and on life support in this very bunker left a sick feeling in the pit of Clark’s stomach.
“Well, well, well—Lois Lane. I’ve been wanting to run into you for quite some time,” said a female voice from behind them.
They turned as one to see Dr. Kelly standing at the top of the stairs, a gun in hand and a large man standing just behind her.
“Why?” Lois asked defiantly.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you following me?” she asked with a smirk.
Neither of them replied.
The woman remained focused on Lois. “I’ve heard so much about you,” she cooed, then added in a hard voice, “You ruined the only real man in Metropolis.”
“If you’re referring to Lex Luthor, I don’t know why you think I ruined his life,” Lois shot back. “I had nothing to do with the initial investigation.”
“Oh, but it was the Daily Planet bombing that started the whole thing.” She took several steps towards them, halting just out of reach. The man followed, also wielding a gun. “I think we can all agree that you were the catalyst for that.” She held up a hand to forestall any response from Lois. “Now, I’d say turnabout is fair play. You put Lex in a coffin. This is a cemetery. I’m sure we can find someone who’s willing to share their coffin with you. No one will ever find you, either of you,” she said silkily.
Clark glanced around the room. There was neither time nor space to change into his Suit without anyone noticing. He’d have to do whatever he did as Clark.
“Any last words?” Dr. Kelly purred.
Lois nudged Clark and subtly glanced at the man standing beside Dr. Kelly. He gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“Yes! What is it with Lex and psychopathic women?” Lois demanded, throwing herself at Dr. Kelly. The gun went off as it flew out of Dr. Kelly’s hand, but the bullet missed everyone.
Fortunately, after being powerless for so long, Clark had a very good idea of how hard a regular person would punch. So, he carefully tackled the man and punched him just hard enough to render him unconscious.
Dr. Kelly went flying backwards from Lois's tackle. They grappled, each trying to reach the gun. Eventually, Lois was able to get in a good kick—one that sent Dr. Kelly stumbling directly into the coffin. The machines immediately began beeping rapidly as the heartbeat skipped and eventually flatlined. Dr. Kelly ran over to where the long beep issued from the machines and frantically pushed buttons, her eyes skittering between the coffin and the machines. “Lex!! No!! No!!!” she screamed, running over and putting her hands on the coffin.
Clark turned to help Lois. Together they managed to subdue Dr. Kelly. Lois found some extra cords in a cabinet and used them to tie up Dr. Kelly, who continued to struggle and wail. They also tied up her associate, and Clark took the precaution of emptying both guns.
“I’ll go call the police,” Clark said.
Lois nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll keep an eye on them. I wanna go through these cabinets anyway.”
“All right.”
Clark maintained normal human speed until he was able to get under cover, then changed into the Suit and returned to Lois.
“Lois,” he called as he came down the stairs.
“Superman!” she responded, taking a half-step towards him before she remembered their last conversation. Distance, she reminded herself. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard a gunshot, but it looks like you have things under control. Need some help taking out the trash?”
Lois turned back to the file cabinet. “I don’t think so,” she said, forcing her voice to sound uninterested. “Clark went to call Henderson. I imagine he’ll be back any minute. I want to make sure Henderson sees all this anyway.”
“Very well.”
“Thanks for the offer though,” she added, looking up at him.
Superman nodded, then went outside, changed back into his Clark clothes and called Henderson, all the while feeling a little baffled. Lois had seemed so upset at the idea of distancing herself from Superman. Yet here she was, acting as though he were no one special. He hadn’t expected it to be so easy for her. Perhaps she hadn’t really loved Superman after all. It should have thrilled him; instead he was left with an ache in his chest and a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If Lois truly got over Superman, what was he left with? He already knew that she didn’t love Clark—would never want more than a friendship with him.
Mentally he shook himself as he headed back down the stairs into the bunker. Now was not the time to dwell on Lois.
Lois looked up from the file cabinet and smiled. “Clark! Look what’s in here! It’s too bad there’s not a copier.”
Clark walked over. “What’d you find?”
“Nothing much.” She smirked. “Just a whole other section of Lex’s empire—one that we hadn’t connected with him. And check it out: Sasho Corp records. There’s definitely something there.”
“Great! These two give you any trouble?”
“Nope. Dr. Kelly went off on another rant about Lex and how I’d killed him twice now, but I’ve been ignoring her.”
“Good.” Clark laid a tentative hand on her shoulder. “Luthor made his own choices and so did Dr. Kelly. You didn’t kill him—either time.”
She smiled up at him. “Thanks, Clark.”
Clark gave her a small smile, then began to read through the folders at super speed, flipping through each of them as though he were skimming.
**********
It had been four days since they’d discovered Dr. Kelly with Lex’s body. The time had passed in a flurry of investigation. The files in the bunker had resulted in a second wave of Luthor-related arrests, and Dr. Kelly was being held without bail, charged with attempted murder. Luthor’s body had been returned to the coroner.
Lois hadn’t even touched her personal investigation. Just maintaining her equilibrium in the face of finding Lex alive and then watching him die a second time—not to mention the emotional effort of pursuing Clark—had been all that she could handle. But now that things were starting to settle down a bit, she’d decided to call Lucy. It was the first time she could remember going to her sister for advice, but she was feeling stuck, and Lucy had actually seen a therapist about the same childhood that Lois had lived through. It was possible that Dr. Friskin had given her some good advice.
After work, Lois changed into comfy clothes and ensconced herself on the bed with ice cream, her lists, and the telephone.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
Lucy answered almost at once. “Hello?”
“Hey Luce. It’s me,” Lois said.
“Hey Lois! How’re you?”
Lois suppressed a sigh. “Um, okay? It’s been kind of a long week.”
“What’s up?”
“Not much—just found Lex Luthor’s body. Basically, he’d hired Dr. Frankenstein, and she was in the process of bringing him back to life,” she said quickly, then added, “Y’know, the usual.”
“Ugh! Really?”
“Yeah. Really.” Lois shuddered. Lex had been alive when they’d found him. Alive. If Dr. Kelly’s procedure had worked, he could have come back and come after her. Maybe before that might not have bothered her so much, but now, having spent the past four days yet again plumbing the depths of his depravity and re-realizing that Lex never gave up—she forced herself back to the present. “But that wasn’t actually why I was calling,” she said.
“Oh?”
“Um, I wanted to, uh—I know you said that you’ve been to see Dr. Friskin—”
“Did you go see her?” Lucy interrupted.
“No, not yet. I had a psychiatrist try to kill me last week, so I’m kinda not ready to see another one, at least not right now.”
Lucy chuckled. “I don’t know how you survive your life. I would hate your job.”
Lois frowned. “It’s not all like that.”
“Uh, Lois—” Lucy began.
“Anyway, I didn’t call about my job,” Lois said forcefully. She hesitated, then took the plunge. “I was wondering if we could talk about what Dr. Friskin told you.”
Silence reigned for a long moment, and then Lucy spoke. “See, this is why I didn’t tell you about Dr. Friskin before. You were supposed to go see her yourself, not pick my brain.”
“Please, Lucy.”
Lucy huffed. “Only if you don’t make fun of me.”
“Why would I make fun of you? When have I ever made fun of you?” Lois demanded.
“Or tell me what to do,” Lucy said severely. “I’m doing this my own way right now. I don’t want your advice. If we have this conversation, it’s sister to sister, not little sister to big sister. Got it?”
“Okay. I’ll—I’ll do my best,” Lois promised.
“What do you want to know?”
Lois swallowed hard. “After everything happened with Lex, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I’ve been trying to figure out why Lex, why I couldn’t see that he was evil, why I was attracted to someone like that in the first place, why I let him make all of ‘our’ decisions. I realized that part of it was because he made me feel special. I mean, he could have had any woman in the world, and yet, he wanted to marry me. When we were kids I overheard Dad telling Mom it’d be a miracle if we ever found anyone worthwhile who wanted us, and I realized that ever since then I’ve been trying to prove him wrong.”
“Ouch! Sounds like something Sam would say,” Lucy said in a hard voice that Lois couldn’t remember ever hearing.
“Yeah,” Lois said quietly, then added, “I just wondered if you think our childhood has affected your love life, and, if it has, how. Did Dr. Friskin say anything about all that?”
“Yes, it’s affected my love life—obviously,” Lucy said, and Lois could practically hear her eye-roll. “Do you think I really want to date losers? Or to break up with any nice guys that slip through the cracks?”
“Um—”
“Don’t answer that! It was rhetorical.”
Lois gave a forced chuckle. “My lips are sealed.”
“Good. I don’t know what to tell you, Lois.” Lucy paused, then continued, “Dr. Friskin helped me realize that I date jerks because I don’t think I deserve someone nice—part of that whole unloved child thing—and because I don’t want to be Ellen.”
Lois’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean you don’t want to be Mom? Mom was married to a jerk.”
“Ellen was married to a jerk, and her father was a jerk, but she let Sam destroy her. She didn’t become an alcoholic until after Sam started having affairs. She loved Sam, and it destroyed her,” Lucy said quietly.
Lois shook her head. “I’m confused.”
“Lois, it’s much easier not to love someone who’s a jerk. You can like them. You can even feel affectionate towards them. But the relationship just doesn’t go deep enough for love. I like to date. I like to have fun with guys. Dr. Friskin actually thinks that’s just me trying to get the attention I didn’t get as a child. She had just suggested that I take a break from dating right before I left Metropolis. But I’m not ready to make that big of a change right now—maybe when things are more stable.”
Lois almost bit her tongue to keep herself from pointing out that a big part of the instability in Lucy’s life was caused by the parade of men she went through. She’d agreed to keep her mouth shut—she just hadn’t realized how hard that would be. “Okay. So you specifically pick jerks to date so you won’t end up like Mom?”
Lucy was quiet for a moment. “Well, it’s not really a conscious choice. I only date guys I’m attracted to, and that bad boy image is attractive to me. So more often than not, I end up with jerks.”
“So Dr. Friskin’s advice was to stop dating altogether?”
“Well, that was the first part of her advice. She told me that my past is like a weighted vest—y’know, like that one I got for working out right before I moved here?”
“Um, yeah. What about it?”
“Dr. Friskin said that I can’t keep my childhood from affecting my love life. It’s impossible to throw away your past. All I can do is choose how it affects me. So, she said that I can pretend I’m not wearing it—I can avoid doing things because my past makes them difficult, or I can wallow in it—spend all my energy trying to get rid of something that can’t be gotten rid of, or I can use it to become stronger—I can acknowledge it’s there, but do hard things anyway.”
“Huh.”
“Yeah, that’s about what I said. Sorry I don’t have a better answer. I wish I could tell you that it’s easy to just move on. Obviously, I haven’t done it yet. But I figure I’m at least semi-aware of what I’m doing in my love life now, which is a step in the right direction, right? Can’t fix a problem you don’t know you have.”
“Yeah.”
“So, speaking of guys, how are things going with Clark?” Lucy asked.
Lois gave a small smile. “Better, I think.”
“Yeah?”
“He’s agreed to give our friendship a chance. That’s progress. And, uh, I realized that I wasn’t a good friend to him before. I didn’t listen to him. I didn’t really trust him. I didn’t value him the way I should have. So I’m trying to change.”
“Well, as Dr. Friskin would say, ‘that sounds like excellent progress,’” Lucy said with a smile. “I really am proud of you, Lois. It’s not easy to admit that you made a mistake.”
“Especially with our father,” Lois said wryly.
Lucy gave a bitter laugh. “Lois, that was only you. He criticized everything you did, but at least you got some attention. He didn’t even care enough about me to remember that I was there most of the time, and when he did remember, he brushed off any ‘failures’ because he said that I was just too air-headed to do any better.”
Lois searched for something to say. She’d never realized that their father had been so cruel to Lucy. “I’m sorry, Luce. I guess I was just so focused on my own problems that I never realized how awful he was to you.”
“It’s okay, Lois. I really appreciate all the stuff you did do for me when we were younger.”
“I love you, Luce,” Lois said, her throat clogged with tears. “I’ll always be around to help.”
“Thanks. I love you too, Lois.”
They were silent for a moment, before Lucy continued, “Well, I guess I should get going, otherwise I’m going to be late for work.”
“Okay. Call me back sometime when you can tell me how you’re doing. Thanks for talking, Luce. It helped.”
“You’re welcome, Lois. Bye!”
“Bye,” Lois said and hung up the phone. She opened her ice cream and took a bite. Talking to Lucy had been helpful. She hadn’t looked through her list of guys from a safety standpoint. It actually did explain a lot—like why she’d rejected Clark. She hadn’t been able to figure that out the last time she’d looked at her lists, but she was pretty sure it was for the same reason Lucy had said she dated jerks.
She’d been guarding her heart even more zealously after Claude had broken it. Love had been her ideal, but it was just too hard to be that vulnerable. Superman was the exception, but that was only because, silly her, she’d never thought he’d break her heart. He was safe, whether her subconscious figured he would never be in a relationship with her or that he would never hurt her. After all, Superman was pure good—or at least she’d thought he was pure good before he’d rejected her. Now . . . she was starting to see him as just another man—a powerful, honest, good man, but still a man.
Lex had made her feel wanted, but she’d never loved him. She’d known that even on the day he’d proposed. But that was part of what made him safe enough to marry.
Clark though, he had potential. Even from that first moment when she’d seen admiration in his eyes and had told him to keep it to himself, she’d felt it. She could fall for Clark. She’d admitted it on her wedding day: Lois Lane-Kent. None of the other guys she’d been involved with were forever types, but Clark was. And that was why she’d run as fast as she could from a romantic relationship with him. Loving him meant that her heart was incredibly vulnerable. It was no wonder she’d been so desperate to regain his friendship. She needed Clark—because she loved him.
Which left her where? What was it that Lucy had said Dr. Friskin told her? She couldn’t get rid of her past, but she could choose how to handle it. She could choose if she was going to continue rejecting love, rejecting Clark.
She sighed and collected her ice cream to put it away. It was no wonder people complained counseling was exhausting. It was 8 p.m., and she was ready for bed.
**********
The weather was practically perfect—clear blue skies, plenty of sunshine—and they were walking to work together for the third day in a row. Lois had asked, and, in keeping with his agreement to work on their friendship, Clark had acquiesced. Thus far conversation had still kept to work for the most part. But Clark felt almost hopeful; it felt like they were on the right path. Lois's apparent character adjustments had held for the past week. She still snapped at him occasionally, but she was making a concerted effort to listen to him, and he appreciated it. Maybe it was time to try moving things to a more personal nature.
He glanced sideways at her, then said with a smile, “Well, you must be excited.”
She returned his glance. “Oh, I don’t know Clark, we’ve walked to work the past three days.” She smirked. “Walking to work with you isn’t really the thrill it used to be.”
He chuckled. “No, no, no. The Kerth awards. They announce the nominees today.”
“Oh, is that today?” she said innocently.
Clark refrained from rolling his eyes. “C’mon, Lois, you get nominated every year.”
“Oh, not every year.” Lois grinned. “Just every year since I’ve been eligible.”
“I bet you’ll win it for the Bolivian drug cartel series.”
She shrugged. “Well, the dinner’s always fun. It’ll be a nice way for me to break in that new black dress I bought.” She had a sudden thought. It was rather soon, but she was allowed to bring a date to the Kerths. She could ask Clark. Even if he said no, asking would be an opportunity to be intentional about her past. And if he said yes, it’d be a chance for them to move things forward. Her heart sped up. Maybe she could even determine whether he was still romantically interested in her. She took a deep breath, pasted on a teasing smile, and turned towards him. “Did you get your tux yet?” she asked.
“The dinner’s just for nominees, Lois.”
She steadied herself. “And their dates. You want to go?”
Clark slowed. Go? Was Lois asking him as a friend or was this a date date? They had yet to address his ill-fated declaration of love. It wasn’t something he wanted to talk about with her, at least not yet. She’d apologized. She was working on changing. But some part of him was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Trust was something that took time to rebuild. He’d agreed to work on their friendship though, which meant spending time together outside of work. “Sure,” he said shortly.
Lois forced a smile. “Great! Why don’t you run in and get a tux,” Lois suggested, gesturing at the nearby tux shop. “I’m going to go to the bank. I’ll meet you back here in five.”
“All right.”
Clark walked into the tux shop and ordered a tux. This was something he wanted, he reminded himself as the saleswoman took down his measurements. Lois was almost certain to get the award, and this way they could ease into hanging out together again. In fact, this might be better than doing a movie night or something along those lines. There’d be lots of other people around and not much opportunity for private conversation. Plus, the night had an agenda. They wouldn’t be sitting around awkwardly. The thought made the weight in his chest lighten. He could do this. They could do this.
Lois wasn’t waiting for him when he got back outside, so he headed over to the bank. Looking in through the front window, he could see that the bank was full of people apparently collapsed where they’d been standing, as though the building had been gassed. Lois was laying on the floor in the middle of what had been the queue. He rushed in and crouched down by Lois. Thankfully, she seemed to be asleep, rather than injured. He shook her gently. “Lois! Lois!”
She stirred, then slowly sat up. “Clark?”
“You okay?”
She looked at him dazedly. “The last thing I remember I was standing here, and I felt really tired.”
“Well, apparently you weren’t the only one,” he said, giving her a hand up.
“What could have knocked us all out so fast?” she asked, noticing that everyone around her was still asleep, though starting to stir.
“I don’t know,” Clark said. As he turned to look with her, he saw the open bank vault. “But somebody made a big withdrawal,” he said, pointing to the vault.
A voice issued from speakers inside the vault: “Hello, Metropolis. I’m here to teach you a lesson: don’t get too attached to material things because you won’t have them for long—but you will catch up on your rest, and you’re gonna need it,” the voice said, finishing with a maniacal laugh.
Lois snorted. “What is it with psychopaths and their attempts at ‘witty repartee’?”
Clark shrugged. “Who knows?” He turned and began helping people up, making sure they were uninjured.
Lois followed suit.
**********
Lois had been on hold with the police for over forty-five minutes and transferred back and forth several times. She’d been on the phone for so long that Clark had finally left to go talk to the bank manager to find out if anything new had turned up while the police were investigating. She was reaching the end of her limited supply of patience. In the bank, she’d been able to be sanguine about the robbery—the bank had insurance after all—and she was more focused on figuring out who exactly had committed the robbery and how they’d done it. Waiting around on hold had given her time to realize that it was her bank that had been robbed. Her account. Her money. Her ability to pay her bills that was at stake. She’d been in the bank to make a withdrawal so that she could go get groceries. She knew that these things could stretch out, and she was starting to get stressed about her finances in the interim.
Finally the police captain she’d been on hold for came on the line. “Ms. Lane, you have to understand—”
“Look, I’ve talked to your sergeant, your detectives, and your lieutenant. Now, captain, how can the police have no leads?” she demanded.
“Ms. Lane, that’s not true,” the man replied.
“Oh, I see. You have leads. You’re just not willing to share.” She gritted her teeth. “Didn’t your mother teach you it’s rude not to share?”
The only response was the sound of a dial tone.
“Hello? Hello?” she said. Please don’t have hung up. Please don’t have hung up, she begged internally. She did not want to go through the rigmarole of trying to get a live human being on the phone again!
No one answered.
She slammed the phone handset onto its receiver. Today was not turning out to be her day. She grabbed a pen and her notepad and began trying to write down the names of everyone she’d talked to at the police station so far. There had to be someone she could persuade to share their information. Unfortunately, the pen was being less than cooperative.
Jimmy walked up, chuckling “‘Didn’t your mother teach you it’s rude not to share?’ Good one!”
“Didn’t your mother teach you it’s rude to eavesdrop?” she shot back, drawing circles on the pad and shaking the recalcitrant pen. “What is with this pen?”
“It’s not a pen,” Jimmy said, leaning on her desk.
She turned the force of her displeasure on him. “Jimmy, if this is some zen parable about pens not being pens and desks not being desks, I’m not in the mood.”
Jimmy stood up. “Hey, trust me. This’ll cheer you right up. It’s a bug. I stuck it on your desk.” He pulled a mini headset out of one ear and handed it to her. “Look, you listen on this. Cool, huh? I got it at Spies R US.”
She flipped the “pen” and headset over, reading the label. “Super-hearing for sale . . . .”
Jimmy shrugged. “Well, it’s not super, super. It’s only got a range of about 500 feet, but here’s the cool thing: see this switch?” He took the headset back and manipulated a tiny red switch. “AM/FM radio.”
Just then Clark came striding towards them, holding a VHS aloft, his expression triumphant. “I got it!” he proclaimed, walking past them towards the media center.
Lois’s gaze followed him. “What?” she asked.
“Video from the bank’s security cameras.” Clark moved to put the VHS in a VCR. “Now maybe we’ll find out why the police have such a tight lid on this thing.”
Lois and Jimmy both hurried to join him.
Clark smirked. “The bank manager was a fan—plus he appreciated us sticking around until the police got there this morning. Pays to help out, eh?” He pressed play.
As the video showed the bank’s door opening and everyone in the bank collapsing, Clark heard a buzzing hum coming from the speakers. He pointed at the television and turned to look at Lois and Jimmy. They were both staring at the screen, heavy-eyed and swaying where they stood.
Clark paused the video. “It’s the sound,” he said.
Jimmy’s eyes opened. “Sound?”
“What sound?” Lois asked, shifting to wake herself up.
“The sound in the bank, here.” He gestured to the TV. “The one that made you guys just—made us all just—get drowsy, just now.”
Jimmy peered at the TV screen. The tape was frozen on several men in black leather jackets and motorcycle helmets entering the bank. “Look! Check it out!”
Clark immediately turned to stare at the TV, trying to figure out what had sparked Jimmy’s interest. “What?”
Jimmy jabbed a finger at one of the men in the foreground. “That jacket! I wonder where he got it.”
Lois frowned. “Will you pay attention?”
Jimmy shrugged. “I’m looking for a new biker jacket. I thought that might have the label.”
Clark turned to stare at him, eyebrows raised. “A biker jacket?”
“I’m going for a new look,” Jimmy replied defensively. He looked back at the TV and shook his head. “Wow, the first sound that could put a whole room to sleep.”
“No, I think Yanni did it first,” Lois said, turning to walk back to her desk.
Clark ejected the tape, then followed. He briefly considered returning to his own desk, but they did need to decide where they were going to go from here, so he sat down in the chair next to Lois's desk.
Just then Perry strode out of his office. “All right everybody, let’s gather ‘round and listen up,” he yelled. “Nominations for the Kerth Investigative Journalism Prize are in, and I’m happy to announce that one of our very own has gotten the nod—”
Lois hugged herself internally. Finally! Something about this day was going well. Perry said the same thing every year, and it never failed to embarrass her slightly. But she loved being the best investigative journalist in Metropolis, and she loved that everyone knew it. God knew she needed it this year. After everything with Lex, it was good to be reminded that she was still number one. She tuned back in to Perry.
“so let’s have a big round of applause for—” Perry continued.
Lois stood, a huge smile on her face.
“—Mr. Clark Kent,” Perry finished, waving a hand towards Clark.
Lois sat down with a thump.
Everyone else clapped.
Clark stayed seated, not quite sure that he’d heard correctly.
Perry walked over to where Clark sat. “Well, c’mon, Clark, don’t be shy. Stand up!”
Clark stood, and Perry shook his hand.
“Y’know, I think you stand a real good chance of winnin’ this,” Perry said. “That retirement home scandal—”
Lois turned abruptly, looking up at Perry. “Wait! He got nominated for the retirement home piece?” she demanded.
Perry nodded. “He certainly did. It was first-class journalism. Emotional wallop.”
Lois turned back to her desk, cradling her head in her hands. Her lungs ached, as though no matter how deeply she breathed, she just couldn’t get enough air. So much for being the best in the business. How could they have nominated Clark? Especially considering that he’d been nominated for his story on a retirement home scandal. The Bolivian drug cartel series Clark had mentioned that morning had actually changed the world.
Jimmy walked up to them just then. “Good pictures too,” he added, “if I say so myself.” He looked at Perry. “They didn’t happen to mention?”
Perry frowned. “Olsen, that was your first photo assignment. Even Secretariat didn’t win the purse the first time out.”
“Who?”Jimmy asked.
Perry gave Jimmy a disgusted look. “Boy, I’m glad you’re not in sports.” He turned to Lois. “Now Lois, don’t you, uh, have anything to say to Clark?”
She grimaced. “Uh, right.” She swallowed hard and stood, pasting on a smile. “Clark, I, uh—I’m very, uh—”
Clark raised his eyebrows. “Surprised?”
“Stunned, shocked, in need of oxygen,” she replied breathlessly, her voice going up as she sank down into her chair.
Perry leaned down. “Lois, you’ve been nominated every year. You won three times. Don’t go gettin’ petty. The Planet is a team. One person’s success is everybody’s. You got it?”
She nodded. “Gotten,” she gasped, swallowing down tears.
“Good.” Perry turned back to the newsroom at large. “All right everybody, let’s get back to work.”
“Congratulations, CK,” Jimmy said, slapping Clark on the back and walking away.
Clark smiled at him, then sat back down in Lois's extra chair. “Look, Lois—”
Lois grabbed a notebook, and interrupted him. This was not a conversation she could pull off today. “Here’s what I think: I think we should do a ‘who’ and a ‘what.’ Who has the capability of making these sounds? And what would make them?”
Clark sighed. “Sure, Lois. Do you want the ‘who’ or the ‘what’?”
“I’ll take the who,” she said.
“Okay, let’s get started,” he said, standing up to return to his own desk.
