Superman and The Shadow Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 0.5 24/26
Rated PG-13
/ “text”/ indicates telepathic communication
*text* indicates bold
<text> indicates thoughts
{text} indicates over the telephone
Universal Locator designation Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Prime
Universal Locator designation Alpha 025 x Gamma - 086 x Tau 142 Alt 25 Shadow
Preeviously
Back in the newsroom the broadcast had cut off and almost as soon as it did, everyone felt a tremor pass through the building.
Jimmy was the first to find his voice, “Did I feel what I just think I just felt?”
Faux Lois answered, “It felt like an earthquake.”
Perry answered her, “There hasn't been an earthquake in Metropolis in forty years. Lois – “
Jimmy was the first to see the TV screens come back to life. “Hey, look.” He pointed towards the monitors. There was a moment of static on every channel and then suddenly all the screens displayed the same image: a large American flag completely filling the screen.
Awestruck, faux Lois said, “That's amazing. It's on every channel.”
Perry barked out an order, “Jimmy, get me any one of those stations on the phone, pronto! “
Jimmy darted away. Suddenly, a figure rises from the bottom of the frame, bobbing higher and higher, much like George C. Scott did in front of the American Flag in Patton. It was Steve in casual denim shirt and khakis. His smile was friendly, warm, personable. He was flanked by six or eight adorable kids between six and twelve.
Faux Lois announced, “That’s Steve Law!”
On the screen, Steve began to speak, “Hi, howya doin'? For those of you who don't know me, I'm Steve Law, quarterback for the Metropolis Tigers.” He chuckled and then continued, “Now, this is
not a plug for football; I'm here to talk about something much more important: the future of our country.”
Jimmy ran up to report, “Chief, they don't know where it's coming from, but they can't stop it!”
Perry gestured for silence as he said, “Okay! Shhh! Shhh! Shhh! “
Steve Law started speaking again, “You know, I love this country. But like you, in the past couple of years I've become increasingly worried. Everything seems to be gettin' worse. The crime rate is growing, and so are taxes ... but for every dollar we pay, we seem to get less and less from our government. The homeless, our school systems ...” He lovingly tousled the hair of a couple of kids before he continued, “Why just about anything you name, has suffered growing neglect. But like my good friend Hank West says in one of his songs, "We can work it out and last forever." It won't be easy, it'll take a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but together we can make it happen. That's why I invite you to join me, and the National Society for a Better America.” Through television trickery, behind Steve, a huge Nazi flag dissolved through and replaced the image of the American flag. It's a Nazi eagle, clasping a swastika, with the letters NSBA just along the curve of the circle around the swastika.
Faux Lois blurted out, “This is some kind of sick joke.”
Almost as if Steve had heard her, he said, “Sure, I know you're saying, is this some kind of joke? I assure you it's not. I'm only one of millions across this country who have already dedicated their lives to the NSBA. Now you know I mentioned sacrifice, and right now is when the hard work begins: we're asking the government to turn over its authority to the NSBA. If it doesn't, well, it's like when you're in school, sometimes you have to be taught a lesson. Nuclear warheads have been hidden in Metropolis, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles and they will be detonated in twelve hours, which is 9 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, should the President and Congress fail to comply. All major corporations will also be expected to turn over their authority to authorized NSBA representatives. The choice is yours.” Looking straight at the camera he smiled broadly and continued, “Remember, together we can work it out and last forever.” He hugged and kissed some kids.
Faux Lois, who had not lived through World War 2 and knew nothing of the Nazis, asked, “Just who does he think he is?”
Jimmy chortled, “Man, Superman is going to kick some Nazi butt from here to Pluto!”
Again, Steve had anticipated this reaction and spoke again, “And for those of you wondering about Superman, I'm afraid he's been eliminated.”
Faux Lois was stricken, “NO!”
On the screen, Steve gave the Nazi salute and said, “Here's to the National Society.” The screen instantly changes to a full shot of the swastika and Wagnerian-style martial music filled the air. Everyone looked at each other, dumbstruck.
Faux Lois muttered, “Oh, my God.”
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 24 – -
1995
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Prime
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Faux Lois was at her desk, phone in hand, near tears as she urgently spoke into her phone, “Clark, it's
me. Call me as soon as you get this message.” Desolate, she hung the phone up. As she did, she spotted Jimmy nearby and called over, “Jimmy, has Clark called yet?!”
Jimmy’s reply was less than satisfying, “I've beeped him a million times, but he hasn't called back.”
Faux Lois was near panic. How was she ever to get back where she belonged if Clark disappeared? She grabbed her purse and started to bolt, but was stopped by a shout from Perry. “Lois! Where are you going?”
“I’ve gotta go check on Superman!”
Perry tried to talk some sense into her, “Lois, don't go out there! I just spoke to my buddy Jim Mooney in the White House. The President's meeting with his advisers right now. He's planning to make an announcement five minutes before the 9 PM deadline. It doesn't look good. People are already fleeing Metropolis.”
Faux Lois was almost frantic, “I have to go!”
Just then, Jimmy called, “Lois, S.T.A.R. Labs on line three. Said it's urgent.”
Knowing the close ties between Superman and S.T.A.R Labs, she whirled and grabbed a phone. When she did, she said, “Ma … Lois Lane here.” She listened and then replied, “Uh-huh, uh-huh I'll be right over.” Without hesitation, she broke for the elevator with Jimmy and Perry following.
Perry shouted, “Lois?”
Over her shoulder, faux Lois shouted, “Tell the President to stall!”
Perry, unsure of what he had heard, questioned, “What!!?”
As she entered the elevator car, she shouted, “Tell him to say whatever he has to, just don't give up!”
The elevator doors closed. Perry whirled on Jimmy and demanded, “Where the Hell is Clark?”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
At breakneck speed, faux Lois drove to S.T.A.R Labs. She felt a certain amount of self-satisfaction, getting there on her own, but that didn’t override her concern for the reason that she was there. She had become familiar with the layout when they had been there for the DNA test for Jesse so she was able to find Dr. Klein’s lab without any help. As she rushed in, Dr. Klein indicated a lead chamber in a corner. It looked like a large grey cube with a door. Set into the door was an apparent pane of glass; however, this was a foot thick piece of led glass. Through the window, faux Lois could see Superman pacing the width of the isolation chamber, because that was what it was.
She rushed up to the window and shouted, “Superman!”
Hearing her voice, Superman turned toward the window and exclaimed, “Lois!” His voice came to her through a small speaker grill set next to the door.
Seeing a microphone set next to the speaker, she directed her voice to that as she asked, “What happened? Why are you in there?”
“That coal mine disaster was a trap; there was a nuclear bomb, actually, it was a non-nuclear ‘dirty bomb’, down there. They set it off as soon as I arrived.”
“But you’re all right, aren’t you?”
“I'm fine, it's just ... I'm radioactive. That’s what a dirty bomb is.”
Lois turned to Dr. Klein in confusion and he explained, “Superman has been exposed to a particularly 'dirty' bomb. Tiny radioactive particles are lodged in the pores of his skin. And ... there's no way to get them out.”
Superman spoke up, “Without this shielding, anyone who got near me would be killed, not instantly, but painfully.”
Lois asked, “How long will you stay that way?”
Superman looked at Dr. Klein. Neither of them wanted to say the words. Finally, Superman asked, “Dr. Klein, would you go get those estimates you were running?”
Doctor Klein nodded in understanding, turned away and walked out the door.
Faux Lois repeated her question, even more forcefully, “
How long?With a downcast expression and despair in his tone, he replied, “Thirty-thousand years.”
Faux Lois was crying as she pressed close to the glass and said, “This can't be happening to us! I’m never going to get home. I’m never going to see Lamont again. I can’t even marry you.“
Trying to infuse her with some of his indomitable spirit, he said, “Don't worry, Lois, we'll get through this, just like every other problem we've gotten through.” Trying to lighten the mood somewhat, he said, “Just think of it as another one of those annoying wedding details we have to figure out.”
Faux Lois was annoyed at his attempt at levity and said, “It’s not funny.”
Superman was deadly serious in his reply, “Lois, nothing will stop me from marrying Lois. I will move heaven and earth if I have to. We will get this straightened out. We will get you back to Lamont and Lois back here. I love Lois.”
“I’m sure she loves you, but so do I.” They pressed themselves as close to the glass as they could.
A moment later, Dr. Klein returned and Lois sprang back from the glass and surreptitiously wiped her tears away
Doctor Klein felt bad about breaking such bad news and said, “Yes. Well. It seems, um.”
“It’s okay, Dr. Klein, Superman already told me.”
Doctor Klein was obviously relieved at that news, said, “We’re doing everything we can.
“I know.”
Still concerned about the overall situation, Superman said, “Lois, the NSBA. We've got to find out where their base is before this becomes the Fourth Reich.”
“This is a
nightmare.”
With determination, Superman said, “And remember, I'm going to get out of this.”
Faux Lois gave him a brave smile, even though she didn’t feel that way and walked out.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
As she walked back into the bullpen, faux Lois, realizing that her computer skills were not up to the necessary level, grabbed Jimmy and said, “Jimmy, I need your help.”
“What do you need?”
“I need you to cross referencing the location of all known coal mines in the greater Metropolis area with everything we know or suspect about the NSBA.”
“Why coal mines? That was just a one shot deal to get rid of Superman, wasn't it?”
“Superman also found some coal dust in the basement of the Metropolis Trade Tower. Two instances of coal are too much to be a coincidence.”
Jimmy typed in the search algorithm and hit enter. A few seconds later, there was a beep. They looked at the screen and a graphic display of coal mine locations was displayed.
Jimmy added another piece of information and a few seconds later, it displayed an address in the upper right corner, “1430 Shepperton Street.”
Lois read it out, “Fourteen thirty Shepperton Street.”
The computer added one final piece of information which Jimmy read out, “Speedy Ambulance Service.”
Lois read, “Speedy Ambulance Service is right over the entrance to mine number twenty-six, Greater Amalgamated Mines, closed in nineteen twenty three.” Grabbing her bag, she bolted for the elevator, shouting to Jimmy, “Tell Perry I'm –“
Perry intercepted her on the way and asked, “Tell Perry what?! Where're you going now?”
In a rush, she spewed out what she knew, “I think I've found where the NSBA headquarters is.”
Just then an elevator door opened and Skip, dressed in the Nazi uniform of a full lieutenant stepped out along with six others in Nazi uniforms.
Arrogantly, Skip challenged, “Going somewhere, Lois?”
Startled, Lois blurted out, “Skip?”
Indignantly, chary of his new found status, he corrected, “Oberleutnant Wallace, if you please. He turned and addressed Perry, “I'm here to inform you that from now on,
you will be reporting to
me.”
The transformation of Perry from stunned amazement to rage was instantaneous. With no warning, Perry swung his fist and connected with Skip’s face, knocking him off his feet.
Two of the six with him, grabbed Perry and restrained him while the other four pulled firearms and pointed them at him.
Getting back to his feet, Skip shouted, “No!”
Perry shouted, “Go ahead and shoot, you little weasel!”
Regaining some of his swagger, Skip addressed Perry, “I don't think you appreciate the gravity of the situation, Perry.
We are in control, now, and despite your great personal magnetism...” He rubbed his jaw where Perry had hit him, “… we will struggle on without you, if we have to.”
Listening to Skip’s tirade brought an incident she had been through with Lamont to mind and she couldn’t wait to get to Superman and explain it to him. She stepped into the open elevator car and stood facing the back, her back to Skip.
Skip ordered, “Lois, get out of the elevator!”
Some of the brashness of Lois must have rubbed off on faux Lois, because she said, “I don't think so. You'll have to shoot me in the back, Skip.”
As the doors started to close, Skip ordered his followers, “Get her!”
The Nazis started to move after her, but shouting, “Lois, run!” Jimmy charged them and bowled them over like bowling pins, preventing them from intercepting her, just long enough for the doors to close. He didn’t stop moving until a gun was jammed into his ribs.
Skip pointed at two and said, “You and you, go get her!”
They headed for the stairs.
Turning his attention back to Perry, he said, “Oh, by the way, from now on the paper will be called the Daily Reich. Catchy, huh?”
Perry and Jimmy were both almost purple with fury.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
As faux Lois burst from the building, she could see that in the time that they had been in the bullpen, a lot had changed. She had to duck as a pair of Nazis unfurled a banner that was suspended in such a way as to obscure the Daily Planet globe. As she hit the street on the way to her Jeep, she saw similar banners on storefronts. She saw one irate store owner come out and tear down the banner. As she watched, he was grabbed roughly by a couple of Nazis and shoved back inside his story while others replaced the banner.
There were Nazi uniforms all over and people were clustered in fear as they swaggered around. The cop on the beat stood by, helplessly outgunned by the armed, uniformed Nazis.
Finding her car, faux Lois tore a NSBA flyer from her windshield, contemptuously threw it aside, jumped into the driver’s seat started the car and sped away.
Unseen by her, on a TV in a store window, Steve Law, this time wearing a Nazi uniform was speaking again, “Come friends and join me, and millions of your friends and neighbors, in the National Society for a Better America. There's a new tomorrow with the new Reich.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
This time when Lois burst in on Dr. Klein and Superman they were both watching a TV that Dr. Klein had positioned so that Superman could see it.
Spotting her when she entered, with anxiety in his voice, Superman asked, “Lois, did you find them?”
“Maybe. But there're a bunch of goons at the Planet right now and a couple tried to tail me. I think I lost them, but I had better be quick. I've got an idea on how to deradiate you.”
Dr. Klein tried to interrupt, “Technically, the term is – “
Faux Lois rushed on, “Excuse me, okay? I'm in kind of a rush.”
Dr. Klein, apologized, “Sorry.”
Lois turned in him and said, “Dr. Klein, I need to speak with Superman … privately.”
“Oh, okay … I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
Once the door was closed, faux Lois approached the isolation capsule and in a torrent of words told her story, “Skip and some Nazi goons have taken over the Planet and something he said triggered a memory. Those little pieces of radioactivity that are in your pores and on your suit, it's like you've been shot with shotgun pellets. That happened to Lamont once, only it was grenade shrapnel so it was steel. It all happened at the gang’s hideout in a junk yard. He needed the metal removed quickly so he staggered over to a large crane and operated the controls to lower this large disk. Once he had it low enough, he handed me his guns, pointed to a control and said, ‘When I tell you to, operate that control.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ And climbed into the seat. He crawled under the disk and then I heard him shout, ‘Okay, now.’ I operated the control. Now I know what it was, it was an electro-magnet. It pulled the shrapnel out of his back. He crawled out from under the disk and I shut off the power. I usually carried some sulfa in my bag along with gauze and tape. I patched up his wounds and we took off after the fleeing gang. Now if you had a big enough magnet, you could suck those particles out of you the way that magnet pulled out the shrapnel.”
Lois let Doctor Klein back in and explained her idea.
He immediately picked up on the flaw, “But these particles are non-magnetic.”
Faux Lois asked, “That’s where what Skip said comes in. He was talking about Perry and his personal
magnetism and the
gravity of the situation. Isn’t gravity like magnetism?”
Suddenly, Superman was grasping her concept and as his expression brightened, he said, “Right.”
“So what we need is a bigger gravity magnet than the Earth to suck the radioactivity out of you. So we use the Sun.”
“It’ll take me hours to get there and back.”
Dr. Klein asked, “And once you’re within the Sun's gravitational pull, do you think you'll be able to escape?”
Superman looked at faux Lois and said, “There's only one way to find out. In the meantime, Lois, don't do anything 'til I get back.”
Dr. Klein, shouted, “Wait! I still have the spare support pack from the Nightfall mission. You’ll need that.” He ran and grabbed the pack, checked it to insure that the cylinders were fully charged and passed it in through the controlled access portal to the inner chamber. Superman donned the equipment and then he pressed a large button inside his chamber. There was a deep rumbling which vibrated through them as they looked up. A bright square of light cut and expanded across their faces as the ceiling opened. Then the chamber started to lift as Superman exerted his flight power. Then there was a rush of air and a whoosh as the chamber blurred out of sight. Superman had flown off inside it.
Dr. Klein breathed out, “Amazing,” as faux Lois headed for the door.
Confident that her plan would work, she headed for the door and said over her shoulder, “Tell him I've gone to check out Speedy Ambulance. I think the New Reich is underneath it.”
Dr. Klein tried to stop her, “But he told you to wait for him.”
As she slipped out the door, she said, “I know he did.”
As the door was closing behind her, Dr. Klein stroked his balding pate and muttered, “Hmph. It's almost like they were married.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
If anyone had been able to track Superman they would have seen that once he was out of the Earth’s atmosphere, he had donned his support pack and then with a single punch removed the ceiling of the isolation chamber. As soon as he flew out of it the chamber lost its motive power and started to fall back because of Earth’s gravity. He had calculated the orbital decay and thought that the chamber would fall harmlessly.
Superman started flying as fast as he could toward the sun, taking a breath only every fifteen minutes or so. Behind him, the isolation chamber partially burned up on re-entry with the residue falling into the ocean.
It took some time to pass the orbit of Venus and even longer to move inside the orbit of Mercury.
He found that the closer he got to the sun, the fewer breaths he had to take and the stronger he became. His aura became almost a visible thing and the closer he got to the sun, the farther it extended from his body.
Once he was inside the orbit of Mercury, he applied his flight power in the opposite direction and quickly slowed to a stop. He could feel the pull of the Sun’s gravity, but he couldn’t feel or see the particles leaving so he decided to help them along. He started to spin like a top, hoping that the centrifugal force exerted would help to throw them away from his body.
As he did, he could see a second aura, only this one didn’t stay close to his body, he streamed toward the Sun in response to its gravity. He repeated the process several times and finally there was no more second aura. Satisfied that he had gotten at least most of the contamination off, he did a quick dive toward the Sun on a sharp hyperbolic course. He stayed far enough away to avoid harming his support pack. The proximity to the gravity well and the sharp maneuver had the effect of removing the last of the contamination and gave him his start back to Earth.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After faux Lois left S.T.A.R. Labs, she drove to 1430 Shepperton Street. She parked around the corner and eased up to the address. She wished that she had Lamont’s power of invisibility as she approached. She had expected the area to be busy since this was the apparent headquarters of the NSBA, but the area seemed almost deserted. Being from 1937 it never occurred to her that they could have set up video monitoring.
Underground, Steve, still in his Nazi uniform was sitting at the console looking at the various monitors. He had been observing as Lois had moved from one video pick-up to another. When she was near the doors, he depressed a switch and said, “Lois Lane is outside the garage. Bring her to me.”
He continued to watch as she approached the garage door and rubbed a circle in the smudged glass so that she could see in. He also saw the car that screeched to a halt behind her. She heard the car’s breaks and started to turn, but not before three occupants jumped out and grabbed her. The used a key to open a door and all four disappeared inside.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
It had been some hours since the NSBA Nazis had taken over the
Daily Planet and it was nearing the deadline that the NSBA had set for the U.S. government to capitulate to their demands. In the newsroom all eyes were on the clock as the minute hand approached 9 PM.
Seeing the hand move from 8:57 to 8:58 made Skip gulp.
Perry, deciding that he had nothing to lose, said, “Looks like your tenure may be a little short.”
Irritated and scared, Skip shouted, “Shut up!”
Perry decided to dig a little deeper, “You know, I only hired you because your mother went to college with Alice.”
Becoming more scared by the second, Skip almost lost control as he shouted back, “Shut up
shut up SHUT UP!
Seeing how Perry was getting to him, Jimmy decided to stick a needle in, “And you know what else, you belong in Classifieds.”
Shocked, Skip shouted, “I do not!” Then he got angry at that slight and shouted, “I'll make you pay for that”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ever since faux Lois had been captured, several hours ago, she had been kept under close guard in the bunker. She had hoped that their vigilance would slacken at some point and she could use her newly acquired fighting skills to disarm a guard and capture the whole lot underground, but her hopes had been disappointed.
Now it appeared as though it was too late to do anything even if the guards did fail in their duty because all eyes, including faux Lois’s were on the clock as it ticked down from 8:58 to 8:59.
When it did Steve slammed his fist down on the desk and everyone jumped at the sudden sound. Steve ranted, “What is your President waiting for?!” Turning to the erstwhile ‘Carter’ (Voss) he said, “Arm the bombs.”
Voss flipped some switches on a console. Faux Lois was an interested observer. If she could break free and disable that console, the jig would be up. Once again she really wished that she had The Shadow’s power of invisibility. How easy it would be to do it, but here she sat, under a couple of guns, impotent.
Voss stepped aside as Steve approached the firing button.
Faux Lois shouted, “What about your people above ground?”
Absently, his eyes on the sweep second hand of the clock, Steve answered her, “They will become martyrs to the cause.” The second hand swept towards 9 o'clock and Steve prepared to push the button.”
As Steve’s hand moved toward the button that would unleash nuclear destruction on three of the most populous cities on the continent, Lois gasped.
Before Steve was able to depress the button, Superman burst into the underground bunker in a shower of concrete and dust.
Instinctively, Steve jumped back and faux Lois shouted, “That console! Destroy it!”
Heeding her directions, Superman sent a blast of heat vision into the console and it exploded in a shower of sparks.
Steve’s only thought was of escape, unfortunately for him, the path he chose took him close to faux Lois.
Ignoring the guards, she jumped up and performed a round kick that took Steve in the stomach, knocking all of the air out of him and bending him over. She followed that up with a karate chop to the back of the neck. Fortunately for Steve she pulled her strike and avoided breaking his neck. Standing over her fallen foe, she said, “I guess you aren’t going to be cleaning anybody’s socks except those in the prison laundry for a very long time.”
With their leader fallen and Superman dominating the space, the remaining NSBA Nazis dropped their weapons and put their hands up in surrender.
Superman started to move and Voss said, “Don’t…” But that was as far as he got before Superman had used wire from various devices to secure them together. Steve he trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey and left him lying where faux Lois had put him.
Faux Lois said, “Welcome back.”
He smiled and said, “It’s good to be back. Come on, there’s more cleaning up to be done.” He scooped her up in his arms and with a whoosh, they disappear from the underground bunker.
No announcement came from the president, but there was no explosion either. Instinctively knowing that something had gone terribly wrong, Skip and those with him panicked and fled the Planet building. Skip shouted to his followers, “Faster! We’ve gotta get out of here before –“
His statement was cut off as was his escape by a blue clad arm that jerked him to a stop.
Faux Lois was standing there as Superman lifted Skip by his shirt front. Superman said, “Say goodbye
Skip!”
Facing an angry Superman , fearing that in the next instant he was going to fry him with his heat vision, Skip’s bowels let go as he shouted, “No!”
Twin beams of heat vision flashed out, but they bypassed Skip’s head and ignited the Nazi banner, bearing a swastika, that had been draped over the Daily Planet globe.
As the flames consumed the swastika, both faux Lois and Superman smiled.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day almost everything was back to normal and Lois, Clark and Jimmy entered Perry’s office. Perry was standing, looking out the window with his back to them. Jimmy was finishing up on his story, “Then, as soon as they heard Superman was back, they bolted. Man, you should've seen Skip. He was out of here so fast he left half his uniform behind.”
Everyone laughed and then faux Lois said, “I imagine most of his Nazi buddies will be in custody soon, thanks to Superman and those computer files he got from the Reich's headquarters.”
Faux Lois smiled Clark said, “Superman had a little help.”
Picking up on Perry’s somber mood, faux Lois asked, “Perry? Are you all right?”
Perry replied to her sally without even turning around, “'Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.' Do you know who said that?” Without waiting for an answer, he answered his own question, “Thomas Jefferson said that.” He finally turned around to face them as he continued, “You all are too young to remember World War II. I mean, for you, it's all books and movies, but for me, it's a different story. The
entire world was at war. And it was a war about many things. But mainly...” he paused for emphasis and then continued, “…it was a war about Evil.” Clark started to say something, but Perry held up a hand to stop him and continued, “They say that Lucifer was the brightest angel in Heaven. That's why Evil's so seductive. At first it seems beautiful, or logical, or reasonable; but it's not. And make no mistake, Evil
does exist. The Nazis were evil. Their
ideas were evil. And you know, ideas never go away. They can sort of 'disappear' for a while, but they can come back in an instant. Anytime. Anywhere. That's why ol' Jefferson was right. The price of liberty
is eternal vigilance.” He paused a second and then finished, “They picked up Truman Black a few minutes ago.”
Jimmy blurted out, “Senator Black?! He's a Nazi?!”
Nodding in resignation, Perry replied, “Apparently one of their high mucky-mucks. I've known him since I was Jimmy's age. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll take the rest of the day off.”
They stood aside and watched him exit, struggling to keep his dignity and hide the deep, deep pain of a friend's betrayal.
Faux Lois asked, “How many more are there out there?”
Clark replied, “I really don’t know.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Back at Lois’s apartment later that night, faux Lois asked, “Is that what I have to look forward to when I go back?”
“I’m afraid it is. The Second World War will be starting in just a few years from when Tempus plucked you.”
Thoughtfully, she said, “Much as I’d like to stay here, with you, I think I need to get back.”
Thinking about the advances that she had made toward him, he gave her a surprised expression and asked, “Aren’t I good enough for you?”
She replied, “Oh, well, yes you are, but … there are a number of reasons. Number one, I don’t like having a target pasted to my back. With Lamont, no one knows that I’m involved and I like it that way so I don’t have someone trying to kill me on a weekly basis. Second, It looks like Lamont and I are going to be busy fighting these Nazis. Now that I’ve been through this I have a special insight. Oh, I don’t mean as part of the army or anything, but his special talents would help in breaking up spy rings and foiling sabotage efforts.”
“I guess we each have to do what we do best.”
“I guess so, but I
will miss you. If we manage to straighten this out, that is.”
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