It was Tuesday morning of the second week of Lex Luthor’s trial, and Lois sat in what she’d mentally termed the “penalty box” until her name was called. Each of the four witnesses in the room with her was guarded by at least one armed bailiff, and there were two more, all carrying pistols on their hips and semi-automatic shotguns with high-capacity drum magazines in their hands, stationed at each of the three entrances to the room. As long as the federal bailiffs were honest, they were as safe as the court system could make them.
She’d been briefed by the prosecutor over most of two days the previous week. He’d ask her about the documents she would give to the judge as evidence, talk about how she learned about each incident listed, and anything else she’d learned that hadn’t made it into the spreadsheets. Then they’d reviewed the questions the defense might present to discredit her.
Atop that list sat the big one – why she was voluntarily testifying against her husband. The judge had already ruled that the prosecution couldn’t introduce Detective Lucy Lane’s murder as evidence while Lois was on the stand because Lois hadn’t witnessed it, but if the defense attorney pressed her hard enough during his cross-examination, Lois could make it part of her answer. And the defense had just learned – through the legally required discovery process – about the plea deal that Francisco Ybarra, the man who’d been paid to kill Lucy and had helped ambush Lois and Clark in Colorado, would testify that Nigel St. John had given him the assignment. He’d also tell the jury that he’d been called to the Luthor penthouse the next day to tell Lois – under direct orders from Lex Luthor – that he’d murdered Metro police detective Lucy Lane and had been paid handsomely for his act.
Ybarra would avoid the death penalty and have a chance at parole after twenty-five years if he testified. It was his only chance to avoid dying as a guest of the federal government and he knew it.
She went over her answers in her head once more, not knowing when she’d be called to the witness stand, and hoped against hope that she’d see a friendly face in the courtroom when she went in. Maybe one – or even both – of her parents would come, although Lois knew that wasn’t likely to happen. Maybe her maid Consuela would be there, assuming she wasn’t already caught up by Immigration or back home in Costa Rica. Maybe Clark—
No. There was no real reason for him to show up. He’d been her escort, her protector, and her bodyguard on the trip to Denver, but neither of them had made any promises to the other. He’d said he’d be there for her, but he had other responsibilities in New Troy and Kansas to keep him away. There were no real expectations between them, no vows of eternal loyalty, no handcuffs keeping them connected, nothing. She’d be alone, just as she had been for years.
And she’d face Lex with the truth.
The bench was uncomfortable. Fortunately she wasn’t in need of a bathroom break. There were no newspapers or current magazines or live TV broadcasts in the penalty box, so she had no idea what was happening in the outside world. The policewomen who watched over her at the safe house at night wouldn’t turn on the television or radio, so Lois was stuck with watching classic films on the VCR or reading old novels to pass the time. She counted herself fortunate that the younger woman had persuaded the older one to let Lois exercise every night. It passed the time and helped tire her out, but nothing put her in the mindset to sleep without worry that Clark had let her achieve after only a couple of nights.
It was hard not to think of him. She remembered his eyes, his smile that lit up the room, the muscles that strained against his T-shirt—
“Lois Lane-Luthor? You here?”
She jumped to her feet. “Yes! Yes, I’m here.”
The bailiff looked at her as if she were a gallon of spoiled milk. “They’ve called you to the stand. This way, please.”
“Already?”
“Yes, ma’am. You’re the first witness for the prosecution.”
Lois nodded, then followed him out of the door.
Once inside, she looked around for any familiar faces. She didn’t see either of her parents, which didn’t surprise her. She also didn’t see Consuela, which also didn’t surprise her. None of her alleged friends from Lex’ circle were in the spectator’s benches, nor any of the people she’d known while working at the Daily Planet. The faces which stared back at her were either media or thrill-seeking gawkers.
Then she saw Clark.
Her feet tried to guide her toward him, but the bailiff put his hand on her elbow and straightened her path. The witness stand, she reminded herself, was her destination right now. And even though the moment was charged with tension, she felt her lips pulling up just a tad at the corners and her eyes crinkling just a little bit.
As she turned to stand beside the chair, she found Clark again. He looked to be glad to see her, too. It felt nice.
Then she was asked to put her left hand on the Bible in the clerk’s hand, raise her right hand, and take an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
She intended no less.
The clerk asked her to state her name for the record as she sat. “Lois Joanne Lane-Luthor, the last two names hyphenated.”
The defense attorney leaped to his feet. “Your honor, I renew my objection to this witness. She is the legal spouse of the defendant and cannot be compelled to testify in the matter before the court.”
The judge turned to her. “Ms. Lane-Luthor, are you being compelled to testify against the defendant?”
Lois shook her head. “No, your honor. I’m testifying of my own free will.”
“Very well,” the judge said. “Objection overruled. The prosecution may proceed.”
The prosecutor said, “Ms. Lane-Luthor, is your husband in this court today?”
“My husband for the time being, yes, he’s here.”
The judge frowned and tilted his head. “Please explain your answer.”
“Of course. I’ve instituted divorce proceedings against my husband. And it’s totally my idea. The prosecutor had no influence on that decision.”
The prosecuting attorney put his hands in his pockets and stepped away from the witness box. “Very well, Ms. Lane-Luthor. Let me repeat my question. Is your husband in this court today?”
For the first time, Lois looked directly at the man she’d married. “Yes, he is.”
“Please point him out.”
She did. “That’s him sitting between two of his lawyers.”
“Thank you. Please let the record indicate that the witness has identified the defendant.”
The court reporter nodded to the judge and returned to his machine.
The prosecutor stepped forward. “How long have you been married to your husband, Ms. Lane-Luthor?”
“Far too long.”
The spectators chuckled or laughed softly, except for one man in the back who let out a loud “Ha!”
Clark gave her a half-smile, then winked so fast she almost missed it.
The judge whacked her gavel twice. “Quiet down, people. The witness will answer the questions put to her without any attempts to be facetious. Understand?”
Lois nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry.” She turned to face the prosecutor again. “I have been married to the defendant for five years, two months, and about three weeks.”
“Has your marriage been a happy one?”
“No, it has not.”
“Can you tell us why?”
“Because my husband is a criminal and leader of a large criminal organization. And any time I attempted to thwart him in any way, or tried to leave him, he beat me and imprisoned me in his home.”
The defense attorney jumped up again. “Objection! This allegation of violence belongs in family court, your honor, not in a criminal trial! And it’s uncorroborated hearsay!”
The prosecutor shook his head. “This goes to Ms. Lane-Luthor’s degree of involvement in the charges being brought against her husband. And some of the prosecution’s exhibits will support this witness’ testimony.”
The judge nodded. “I’ll allow it, pending corroboration. Proceed, Mr. Lee.”
“Thank you, your honor. Ms. Lane-Luthor, were you involved in the planning or execution of any of your husband’s criminal schemes?”
“Objection, your honor! Assumes facts not in evidence.”
Lois almost smiled at the thought that defense attorneys had to have strong legs to keep leaping up to object like that. The man’s reaction time was worthy of a major-league shortstop jumping for a line drive over his head.
Lee almost bowed. “I will rephrase the question. Was the witness involved in the planning or execution of any of the schemes your husband is alleged to have committed?”
Lois waited a moment for the defense to leap up again, but when he didn’t, she replied, “No, I was not.”
“Yet there are several charges pending against you for criminal activity.”
“That’s true.”
“Can you tell us why?”
Lois sighed. “I was indirectly involved with covering them up. I’m facing several counts of accessory after the fact.”
“I see. Have you been promised anything in return for your testimony in this trial concerning these charges?”
“Only that my cooperation would be taken into account. I was not promised a plea deal or reduced sentence.”
“Thank you.” Lee turned to the prosecution’s table and picked up a thick binder. “Do you recognize this document, Ms. Lane-Luthor?”
Lois took it from him and leafed through the first few pages. “Yes. It’s the documentation I assembled to give to whoever prosecuted Lex Luthor for his crimes.”
The man had to be getting tired of jumping up. “Objection, your honor! The defendant has not been convicted of anything! This testimony is harming his right to a presumption of innocence!”
The judge nodded. “The objection is sustained as far as the allegation of criminal behavior is concerned. But please remember that those words did not come from the prosecution, but from a witness.”
“Then your honor should instruct the jury that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty!”
“You covered that point quite thoroughly during voir dire at jury selection, Mr. Abernathy. The members of the jury already understand that point, and if they’ve forgotten it you’ve just reminded them.”
Abernathy didn’t look happy, but he did sit down with no further objection. Lee faced Lois once again and said, “Is there supporting documentation or corroborating testimony for the items in this document?”
“Yes, there is.”
“Good. Your honor, may I have some latitude in questioning this witness?”
“What kind of latitude, Mr. Lee?”
“In order to go through the items in this document, we need to present them without support for the moment. To prevent delays caused by repeated objections from the defense, could the prosecution stipulate that the incidents related to the court are allegations, for which we will present corroboration at a later time?”
“Your honor!” growled Abernathy. “This is most unusual and would be prejudicial against my client!”
The judge picked up her gavel but didn’t strike it. “You may take notes, Mr. Abernathy – copious ones, judging by the thickness of that binder – and present your objections when the prosecution rests.”
“What? Your honor—”
“Wait. Any item listed which is not sufficiently supported by other testimony or documentation will not be considered by the jury.”
“Your honor, that’s hardly fair to the defense!”
“If life were fair, Mr. Abernathy, horses would ride half the time. It’s my decision and you’ll have to deal with it. Mr. Lee, please begin.”
Lee waited until Abernathy had stalked back to his chair and plunked himself down, then said, “Thank you, your honor. Now, Ms. Lane-Luthor, let’s take these in chronological order. The first item you have listed is some three months after your wedding, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Please give us some detail on this entry.”
Lois paused and took a deep breath, then glanced at Lex. His smile never dimmed, but his eyes flashed with a warning meant only for her. She’d seen it often enough that the fear in her heart spiked, even though there was no way for him to get to her in the crowded courtroom. She almost – almost – lost her nerve at that moment.
Then she looked at Clark, saw his soft smile, his powerful shoulders, his gentle eyes, and knew that she could do this with him there to protect her heart.
“Ms. Lane-Luthor? Are you ready to continue?”
She looked at the prosecutor and nodded. “Yes. I had gathered some information about a high-stakes gambling parlor – one that was rigged to cheat the players – that I thought was being operated by one of my husband’s associates without his knowledge. I was wrong. Not only did Lex authorize the operation, he was personally profiting from it. And when I threatened to go to the police about it, he – he beat me up.”
“What, if anything, happened next?”
Her answers were clear and concise, and the questions kept coming. By the time Lois finished destroying Lex from the stand, it was time to recess until the next morning.
*****
Abernathy’s cross-examination, beginning on Wednesday morning, had been exhausting, but Lois hadn’t faltered. Clark had watched with pride as she calmly and coolly defended every assault the attorney made on her testimony. She’d fielded every veiled hint, every salacious wink or nudge, every outright accusation he’d made against her, and she hadn’t budged an inch. The closest she’d come to losing her cool was when she’d revealed, under Abernathy’s sarcastic and acidic attack, that Lex had ordered his own sister-in-law’s murder. Even then, though, she’d remained under control, and Clark could see the jury was totally on her side.
Whether or not they remained there would be revealed later. But for now, Lois had carried the day.
Her testimony for the prosecution had lasted one day. Abernathy’s cross had lasted two. She’d been called back to the stand on Friday morning to clarify two or three relatively minor points in the evidence she’d presented, but had been dismissed shortly before the judge called for a lunch recess.
Clark hadn’t wasted his time, either. He’d struck up a tentative friendship with one of Lois’ police guards and wangled a promise of five minutes with her after she finished testifying. So he slipped out of the courtroom and into the hall as soon as Lois was dismissed from the stand.
His new friend Megan hadn’t led him astray. The three women were in the hall, waiting for him, when he stepped through the door.
The other woman, whom Clark hadn’t met, held up her hand when he was about five feet away. With her hand on her weapon, she said, “You’re Kent?”
“Yes.”
She looked at Lois. “That’s him?”
Lois – who was not expecting this meeting – nodded once.
“Show me your badge, mister.”
Clark slowly pulled back his suit coat and revealed it clipped to his belt. “Now your weapon.”
He shook his head. “I’m unarmed and on administrative leave. I had to shoot a guy in the leg.”
“I hope it was a bad guy.”
He was startled by the gruff comment, then saw the woman’s eyes glisten. “It was. He’s wrapped up in this trial too. If he’s lucky, he’ll only get thirty without parole.”
“Sounds like you did us all a public service.” She glanced at her comrade, who took a few steps down the hall behind Clark. “We can give you five minutes without getting our butts in a sling. That enough time?”
He lifted his eyebrows. “I guess it’ll have to be.”
“Good. We’ll be watching over you.”
“Thanks.”
He waited until the woman stepped in the opposite direction from Megan, then he smiled at Lois. “You did great.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t look like you’re happy to see me.”
Her eyes misted over. “Oh, I’m happy. But this is wrong, Clark. It would never work between us.”
His smile faded. “Not even as friends?”
She shook her head. “If you’re going to be an honest cop – and that’s the only kind you could ever be – you can’t be hanging around with a convicted felon.”
“You haven’t been convicted—”
“Or the ex-wife of a crime boss,” she broke in. “I’m so very glad to see you, but you have to go back to your life. And I can’t be a part of it.”
“You could be. I don’t have to be a cop.”
“But you have to help people. You have to fight for truth and justice. It’s in your nature, in your blood. You can’t deny that.”
He lowered his voice. “Have you heard about that new hero in Metropolis?”
She frowned. “No. I haven’t seen a newspaper or heard a news report since the marshals took custody of me.”
“Ah. I see.” He took a breath, then let it out. “First of all, Mayson is doing very well with her recovery. She should be back to work full-time in another week or so.”
“That’s good that—”
“Hang on, let me finish. She also set us up as bait to draw out Luthor’s men all over the country, which I didn’t know about until just last week. She was counting on me to keep the two of you safe on the trip to Denver, except we got ambushed before she expected any danger. They plugged the leak in the DA’s office – it was Dennis Franklin’s girlfriend. She’s been arrested and is facing some serious time unless she cooperates. Dennis is on probationary status with the office and is working traffic court for now.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice even more. “And that hero I mentioned – well, he’s me.”
She nodded. “I see. And how are you and Mayson getting along now?”
“We’re not. We broke up permanently.”
“I’m sorry, Clark. I know that was hard for you.”
He glanced over Lois’ shoulder and saw the officer fidgeting. “Look, we’re almost out of time. If you do end up in prison, I promise to come visit you as often—”
“No.”
The flat statement startled him. “Lois, I care about you. And you’ll need a friend on the outside who—”
“No. And I mean it!” She lifted her index finger and pointed up at his face. “Do not come to see me in prison! Not once! I refuse to be an albatross around your neck and I won’t have you jeopardize your career for me! I’m not worth it!”
He gently captured her hand in his. “Yes, you are worth it. You’ve proven that this week by testifying, by telling the truth, no matter how difficult it was. I want to see you, Lois. I want to be part of your life.”
Her voice faltered and she shook her head. “No! I want your word that you won’t come to visit me!”
“But—”
“If you do I won’t see you! I’ll send you away and tell them not to let you in again!”
“Lois, please—”
“No! No visits, no phone calls, no letters, no contact at all! Don’t come to the prison to see me!” His lips parted but he didn’t speak. “Now!” she barked. “Your word, Kent!”
He closed his eyes and shook his head.
“I won’t have you giving me false hope! And you know I can’t promise you anything! Now give me your word you won’t try to contact me!”
Of all the scenarios he’d imagined for this moment, he’d never envisioned this. She really didn’t want him to be there for her. She didn’t want him around. She couldn’t take the thought of seeing him and not being able to be with him.
Yet he knew she was saying all this to protect not just herself but to protect him, to shield him from danger, to keep his reputation squeaky clean with both the Metro police department and the criminals he’d vowed to bring to justice. Her unselfishness warred with his deep desire to be with her, to support her, to watch over her in any and every way. But there was only one answer she’d accept – so there was only one answer he could give.
“All right, Lois. I promise that I won’t come visit you as long as you’re behind bars.”
“Good!” She put her hands on his chest as if she was about to kiss him, then roughly thrust him away. “Have a good life, Clark.”
Clark stepped back and sighed. The lead officer assigned to protect Lois chose that moment to reappear. “Sorry, but time’s up. We need to get going.”
Lois lifted her head and didn’t touch her damp cheeks. “Good timing. We’re done here.”
Megan tapped Clark on the elbow and said, “I’m sorry it worked out this way. I was rooting for you.” Then she fell into the trail position behind Lois and the lead officer.
Clark knew that Lois was protecting him. He also knew that she was protecting herself just as intensely. All he could do was accede to her wishes and let her go.
It was by far the hardest thing he’d ever done.
