Rules of Trust
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 6
***
MOB IMPOSTORS MOVE IN ON METROPOLIS
By Lois Lane and Clark KentLois took a long yawn as she stepped out of the elevator, scanning the newsroom. It looked like Clark still wasn’t in yet. They hadn’t left the Planet till a little after midnight. A small smile spread across her face as she recalled the evening she’d spent with Clark. The slow pace they’d promised to take with their relationship seemed to be gradually losing its appeal. Hiding how she felt about him was torturous.
She knew she loved Clark. Merging her feelings for him and the feelings she had for his alter-ego would still take time but trying to act like things hadn’t changed between them wasn’t doing anyone any favors either. She wanted to kiss him, hold him, touch him, and she hated spending the last twenty-four hours pretending like those feelings weren’t there just because they were in public. She glanced toward his empty desk across from hers, frowning at her partner’s absence.
“Lois?” Perry approached her from behind, “Nice of you to join us this morning. Where’s Kent?”
“Oh, he, um, had an errand to run this morning.” Lois finished weakly, turning to see Perry standing behind her.
“Uh-huh,” Perry’s gaze bore down on her for what felt like an eternity before turning to head back to his office. “When Clark gets in I want to see the both of you so we can go over everything you’ve got on this Hamilton character.”
“Sure thing, Chief.” Lois nodded, watching as Perry headed back for his office.
She and Clark had finished gathering information on Hamilton last night and had put out some feelers with a few of their sources to find out more about these criminal zombies that were popping up everywhere. Rumor had it that the police were working on a sting operation to take down Bonnie and Clyde, but no one knew when or where.
“Mr. White, I know you have a paper to run, but I have a reputation to uphold. Now I just need a decision!”
Lois looked up and saw the uppity caterer Perry had hired for the Planet’s 100th Anniversary Party tomorrow night, holding up several swatches of napkins for inspection. Lois suppressed her laughter when she heard the raised voices. Party planning obviously wasn’t the Chief’s forte and being forced to make all the decisions was obviously taking a toll on him.
Even from her desk, she could see Perry’s brow furrow and the familiar vein on his forehead pulse as he shot back, “Look, Jacques. I don't really care what kind of napkins you put out. So long as the guests aren't wipin' their mouths on their sleeves!”
Lois suppressed a chuckle as she watched Perry slam the door to his office. She had to admit, she was actually looking forward to the party tomorrow night. Now that she and Clark were dating she found herself looking forward to many of the functions and parties she used to roll her eyes at. Having someone to go with helped.
Given that Jimmy already knew about the two of them and the fact that she and Clark were finding it more and more difficult to act 'business as usual' in the office she was seriously contemplating just letting the cat out of the bag. Yes, there were still things she was coming to terms with regarding his dual identity. Clark’s need to try and protect her in and out of the suit for one. She'd been irritated at him when he'd been overreacting about her showing up to the bank after the robbery. It wasn't like she went inside while the robbers were still in there. She had some sense.
While she knew he was only acting that way because he was concerned it still annoyed her. Then there was his ability to hear and see things the normal human couldn't. Remembering that he was Superman when he was dressed in a suit and tie was proving hard. She was so used to having to break-in to hear or see things. Having Clark's super-hearing on standby was a perk to having her partner traipse around in tights. It was hard to remember when she was talking to Superman she was also talking to Clark. She was slowly starting to merge the two in her mind, but she still had her moments.
“What’s so funny?” a familiar voice breathed in her ear before leaning in to steal a peck on the cheek.
She grinned, turning to see Clark standing behind her with two cups of coffee in hand. “Hey, you.”
“Hey yourself,” He grinned back, setting the coffee mug down in front of her. “Sorry, I’m late. I wanted to do a quick check on the city to make sure there wasn’t any sign of our missing Bonnie and Clyde.”
“Any sign of them?” she asked, taking a sip of her coffee as he took a seat at her desk.
“No, but it was pretty quiet this morning. Not even a cat in a tree.” Clark commented as Jimmy approached with a paper in hand.
“Guys, this just came over on the fax.” Jimmy handed the paper to her, and he summarized as she read, “The cops got a definite make on the bank robbers. The fingerprints are exact matches with the real John Dillinger, Bonnie Parker, and Clyde Barrow.”
Lois handed the fax to Clark, “Exact fingerprints? How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know,” Jimmy shrugged before he pointed toward Perry’s office. “Uh, the Chief wants to see you.”
“Oh, right,” Lois nodded, heading toward Perry’s office with Clark right behind her.
***
Jimmy watched as Lois and Clark headed toward Perry’s office. To the outside observer, nothing seemed to be amiss with the duo. They still interacted as they always had, but to someone that knew them, it was obvious there was a change in their relationship. The hidden glances they shared with one another, the way they lingered in the other’s presence and the touches they shared with one another all hinted at the budding romance that had developed between the two.
How long they’d be able to keep it under wraps, he wasn’t sure. They worked in a building filled with reporters that spent every day digging into other people’s lives. Hiding a new relationship between the Planet’s top reporting team wasn’t going to be an easy task. Especially if they kept looking at each other like that. Perry for sure would figure it out.
The smell of cigar smoke caught his attention. Jimmy crinkled up his nose and turned to see a man in a striped suit with a matching grey bowler hat approached him, taking a long puff of his cigar. “Hey, kid. Where can I find Perry White?”
Jimmy looked at the man uncertainly. “He, uh, might be in his office.” Jimmy pointed toward Perry’s office. “Do you have an appointment?”
“
Al Capone doesn't need an appointment.” The man said, pushing past him as he headed toward Perry’s office.
***
“The DA and the police aren’t talking, but our sources say Dillinger made a deal and is willing to give up the entire operation,” Lois said, pacing in front of Perry. “I’m still waiting to hear from Bobby on the ‘where’ and ‘when’ this is sting operation is supposed to take place.”
“Sting operation?” Clark and Perry echoed in unison, looking at her with equally disapproving looks.
“No way,” Perry shook his head. “Talk to your source. Get the information, but you’re not going to interfere in the takedown of these characters.”
“I don’t even know if there’s anything to interfere with.” Lois snapped irritably.
“We’ll be careful, Chief,” Clark added, giving Lois a pointed look. “We still need to find this Hamilton and put a stop to whatever experiments he’s conducting, so we don’t have anyone else coming out of the woodwork…”
“Perry White?” a voice from behind them intruded. Lois turned to see a man in a pinstripe business suit that looked to be from the 1920’s and a matching bowler hat, puffing on a cigar as he stepped inside the office. “I’m Al Capone.”
Lois looked back at Clark who motioned for her not to react.
“Great shades of Elvis! Who’s next? Jimmy Hoffa?” Perry muttered under his breath.
“Who’s Elvis?” Capone asked.
“Don’t move. Don’t say a word.” Clark whispered in her ear.
“Who’s Elvis??” Perry echoed irritably, “Look, pal, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing…”
“Now is that any way to talk to a man who came by to do you a
favor?” Capone asked, reaching into his pocket to dangle a set of keys in his hand before tossing them on Perry’s desk. “The coupe’s out back….washed and waxed. Clyde sends his apologies for the inconvenience.” Capone set an envelope on Perry’s desk that looked to be filled with money. “This should make up for the trouble.”
“What is this?” Perry asked.
Lois recognized the expression on Perry’s face. He was about to lose it. If what they’d discovered was true then this was the real Al Capone….as in
‘sleeps with the fishes Al Capone.’ Clark pushed her toward the door while Capone moved toward Perry and whispered, “Call the police.”
“I found it under the front seat. I believe it belongs to you.” Capone said as Lois snuck out of the office with the help of Clark shielding her from Capone’s view.
She reached her desk and picked up the phone, glancing back at Perry’s office where she could see Clark had moved to the other side of the office where Perry was. What if Capone had a gun? What if he tried to shoot Clark or Perry? Clark’s secret would be out and…
“Lois! Did you see who just came in here? It was Al Capone!” Jimmy pointed excitedly toward Perry’s office.
“Yes, I know,” Lois said irritably as she listened to the phone ring.
“Metropolis P.D.,” the voice on the other end of the phone said.
“Yes, hello, this is Lois Lane at the Daily Planet. We need to have a patrol car come down here right now! We’ve got another of Dillinger’s friends that….” The line went dead. “Hello?” She glared at the phone and began to dial the direct line to one cop she knew wouldn’t hang up on her.
“Lois!” Jimmy interrupted her train of thought
“Wolf here.” The detective’s voice echoed through the phone line.
“Detective Wolf? This is Lois Lane.”
“Ms. Lane, to what do I owe the ….?”
“We’ve got some guy claiming to be Al Capone in our editor’s office. We need someone to get down here now!” Lois cut him off.
“I’m on my way.” He said. With that, the phone line went dead.
***
Back in Perry’s office, Clark had moved himself closer to Perry as the confrontation ensued. Hopefully, the police would get here soon and take Capone out of here before he tried anything. He’d x-rayed Capone and found a few knives and semi-automatics beneath Capone’s jacket. One wrong move and both he and Perry could be peppered with bullets, and he’d have a lot of explaining to do.
“C’mon now, Mr. White. You're an editor, and I'm a businessman. Let's just say we both know how to run an organization. And when it comes right down to it... it's the grease that makes the presses flow.”
“The presses flow just fine here at the Daily Planet,” Clark interjected, taking a protective step in front of Perry.
“Is that right?” Capone looked between Perry and Clark, “No union problems?” his tone emphasized ‘union problems’ as a glint sparked in Capone’s eyes. “I could use someone like you, to see that the right things are said about me in the paper, Mr. White.”
Clark looked back at Perry, uncertain how the proud editor would respond to the insinuation that he was for sale. Perry stared at the Capone uncertainly, rising to his feet as he handed the envelope back at Capone, “I've had just about enough 'Masterpiece Theatre' for one day. Take your filthy money and that phony scar and get out of my office.”
Capone’s face fell, and a cold expression washed over his face. Clark steadied himself, watching carefully to see if he needed to intervene. “Why don’t you take a few days?” Capone’s eyes narrowed at Perry, “Think it over.”
“I think he’s already made his decision,” Clark said, taking another protective step in front of Perry. “You need to leave.”
“Police! On the ground!”
Clark turned to see four officers and Detective Wolf in Perry’s doorway, pointing their weapons at Capone. Capone looked at Perry with a disapproving tone, “You just made the biggest mistake of what’s left of your life, Mr. White.”
“Oh, threatening a witness,” Wolf said, slapping handcuffs on Capone. “We’ll add that to the long list of charges you never were charged with.”
“You don’t have anything on me.” Capone shot back angrily. “I’m just a law-abiding citizen having a nice conversation with my local editor. No crime in that.” Capone smiled as he attempted a half-way shrug that was limited with his arms in handcuffs behind his back.
“Yeah, but see there’s been some development in science over the years.” Wolf retorted with a grin. “All those crimes you thought you got away with are going to come home to roost.”
“We’ll see…” Capone sneered.
“You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be provided for you…”
“Chief, are you all right?” Clark asked, looking at the older man in concern.
“Fine, son, just fine.” Perry retorted, taking a shaky breath. It was clear the encounter had more than rattled Perry, but he wasn’t about to admit that. “Are you?” He peered at Clark with a concerned look.
“I’m not the one that was being threatened, Chief,” Clark said good-naturedly, readjusting his glasses nervously as Perry stared him down.
“No? I just meant are you okay?” Perry looked to him in disbelief, “I mean, obviously you’re not thinking straight what with your getting into Capone wannabe’s face back there. I know you have gotten out of a few close calls over the past year but that’s no reason to act like you’re bullet-proof! You’re
not Superman, son and—”
Lois peered into the office as the police escorted Capone to the elevator with Detective Wolf. “Everyone okay?”
“Fine,” Perry said uneasily, taking a seat at his desk.
Lois looked at Clark for confirmation. He smiled, nodding that everything was okay. She sighed, taking a step toward him, resting her head on his shoulder as he placed an arm around her waist. “Capone thought he could buy Perry,” Clark explained.
“I’m sure that went over well.” Lois gave Perry a weak smile.
Perry stared at the two of them for a moment responding, seeming to size the two of them up. “Yeah, I told him where he could take his money and shove it before that Detective Wolf showed up.”
“I think we should try and find Bobby,” Lois said, looking up at Perry.
“Yeah,” Clark nodded, following her out of the office. He looked back at Perry to see the man watching him and Lois with a knowing look
***
Bobby opened the box of Swiss chocolates happily as he listed off the information to Lois and Clark happily, “This Capone character? Not a big fan of the no smoking laws. He’s been all over town trying to bribe everyone. The police chief. Mayor. Congressman. All of them got offers similar to what your editor had. All of them shut him down.”
“Well, at least he’s in jail now,” Lois commented, tapping her fingers on the table. “What were you able to find out about that address?”
“It’s an old laboratory. Hasn’t had a lease on it in months but it’s obvious someone’s been living there.” Bobby took a bite of the chocolate, “Mmm, the Swiss definitely know their chocolate.”
“So this address might be where Hamilton is hiding the rest of the gang. How many of these guys are there?” Clark asked.
“Not sure.” Bobby shrugged, “but from what I’ve been able to gather it’s not Hamilton that’s in charge anymore.”
“The DNA manipulations must not have worked,” Lois commented with a sigh. “So now we’ve got a gang of resurrected thugs trying to take over Metropolis.”
“And get back in the business,” Bobby said around another mouthful of chocolate. “Capone’s last move was to try and takeover Georgie Hairdo’s illegal gaming club downtown. Capone may be locked up, but his orders aren’t.”
Lois met Clark’s gaze, “That might be where the sting operation is.”
“Could be, but that’s way too dangerous.” Clark shook his head.
“Look, there's something goin' down tonight at the club. That's all I know.” Bobby said with a shrug, standing up to leave. “I’ll catch you later.”
Clark watched Bobby leave and looked at Lois, recognizing the expression on her face. “No way. Absolutely not.”
“Oh come on!” Lois retorted. “We don’t know how many of these guys there are out there. Our job is still to report the news, right?”
“Yes, but becoming part of the news isn’t exactly what I had in mind. We know something’s going on at the club tonight. Let’s call Detective Wolf and report it.”
“Or we could go down there and see for sure what’s going on and call Wolf if we see any suspect characters,” Lois suggested.
“No,” Clark repeated, shaking his head. “Not happening.”
***
Lois stared at the dark building in front of her. “I still don’t see why we couldn’t check out Georgie Hairdo’s club first.”
“It’s early,” Clark said, looking around the questionable surroundings, trying to find the entrance. “The club will be there when we’re done. Right now, I’d like to stop Hamilton before he brews anymore members to the
Walking Dead Gang.” He found the door, which was secured by a padlock. With the flick of the wrist, he knocked the lock loose. He looked behind him before opening the door and saw a homeless man staring at him in awe, “Must have been rusted through.” He lied. The man looked to him then the door then hurried down the corner to get away.
Lois rolled her eyes, “You’ve got to get better at those excuses.”
He followed her inside the building. The room was dimly lit. A large vat sat in one end of the room. A man with a disheveled appearance stood at the other end of the room, measuring liquid from one test tube to another.
“Professor Hamilton?” Lois asked, approaching him.
“Ah! No!” Hamilton jumped in surprise, dropping the vial in his hand. The glass shattered and the chemicals he was mixing dripped down the table. He turned to see Lois and Clark, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw them, “Who-Who are you? H-How did you get in here?”
“Lois Lane and Clark Kent.” Clark answered, “We’re with the Daily Planet.”
“The paper?” Hamilton looked around in dismay. “This is not what it looks like.”
“It looks like you’re doing what everyone told you not to do.” Clark frowned, fingering a blue notebook on Hamilton’s desk. “You’ve brought back some of the most notorious criminals.”
“You don’t understand!” Hamilton argued frantically, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I never meant for anyone to get hurt. I was just trying to find a cure!” Hamilton argued. “I wanted to help mankind.”
“A cure?” Clark asked, not sure what he was talking about.
“Hollywood’s made a dozen versions of Frankenstein, and you still didn’t get the point.” Lois said, looking toward the vat, “What’s in the vat?”
“Baby Face Nelson.” Hamilton cringed, “Or at least, it will be.”
“Baby Face Nelson? How many failed experiments is it going to take to –” Clark noticed the chains on Hamilton’s feet. “They’ve got you locked up here?” It seemed Hamilton wasn’t as willing a participant in all this as he originally assumed.
“I tried to escape a few times.” Hamilton pointed to the bruises on his arms.
Lois and Clark exchanged a look, “Come on, let’s get you out of here.” Clark said, fiddling with the locks.
“Professor Hamilton, when was the last time you ate something?” Lois asked, pulling Hamilton’s attention away from Clark while he snapped the cuffs off the professor’s ankles.
“I honestly don’t recall.” He shrugged.
“Done,” Clark announced, standing up. “We should get you to a hospital.” He looked toward the vat. “Is there any way to stop….whatever is going on here?”
“Yes, there is. There’s a way to stop all of this.” Hamilton said in an eerily calm voice. Before Lois or Clark could react, Hamilton turned the vial over on the counter and poured it into another test tube. “We have approximately three minutes and forty-six seconds to get out of here before that blows.” He said, running toward the door.
Clark muttered under his breath as he did his best to remain at a somewhat normal speed in rushing Lois out of the lab.
They looked back, and he saw flames ignite inside the building. “I’m going to go call the fire department.” He said, tugging at his tie.
“No, wait until it’s burned a little more. I don’t want anyone getting those notes.” Hamilton said, pointing at the building that was slowly becoming engulfed in flames.
“Just go.” Lois interjected, pointing to the building in flames. “Professor Hamilton that’s a chemical fire. If we don’t call for help it could spread and—”
He didn’t catch the last part of her argument as he disappeared down an abandoned alley tugging on his tie and returned in his Superman suit, flying inside the building and dousing the flames with his freezing breath. The flames had risen against the wall but not enough to do anything more than scorch the walls. He approached the journals Hamilton had tried to unsuccessfully destroy and flipped through them at super-speed. It detailed how Hamilton had been able to regenerate the cells of the criminals walking the streets of Metropolis. Hamilton wanted it destroyed, but it was still evidence. Evidence that would prove how these criminals had risen from the dead.
He exited the building as the fire truck pulled up. He looked at Lois who smiled at him with a knowing look. The firefighters approached, examining the scene cautiously, “The fire’s out. It looks like there was an accident with the chemicals in the lab.”
The first firefighter looked around the room behind him, examining the walls. “Doesn’t look to have done too much damage. Those chemical fires are usually brutal. Lucky you were nearby.”
“Yeah,” Clark frowned uncertainly if he wanted to tell the firefighter that luck had nothing to do with it.
Lois was hanging up the phone as he approached. He looked to Hamilton, trying to keep himself from reacting too openly with his concern for her. Acting like an overprotective boyfriend with six firefighters, three officers, and a well-meaning professor wouldn’t bode well for either of them.
“Was anyone hurt?” Hamilton asked in concern.
“No, no one was injured thankfully. The fire chief is examining the scene.” Clark explained.
“Thank you, Superman,” One of the firefighters approached. “This could have turned into a disaster if you hadn’t been nearby.”
“I’m just happy I was able to help.” He looked to Professor Hamilton, “You should be more careful with the chemicals you’re working with, sir. They can have dire consequences.”
“I’ll try to remember that. Thank you, Superman.” Hamilton said before stepping away to talk to the police that had just arrived on the scene.
Clark watched Hamilton leave and smiled, “He tried to do the right thing in the end. I guess he gets points for that.”
“Well, that’s one problem solved.” Lois smiled at him.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “I tried to get us out of there as fast as possible without raising any suspicions with Hamilton.”
“I’m fine.” She soothed, looking down at the doused hem of her skirt from where an unknown substance had spilled on her when they’d been trying to leave. “I definitely need to change, but I’m fine.”
“You think he’s going to be okay?” He asked, looking to the police car where Hamilton was sitting, writing his statement.
“I hope so.” Lois said softly. “Now, we’ve still got a pretty big problem to handle and a story to write.” Clark groaned, knowing full well where she was headed with this. Lois crossed her arms and continued, ignoring his groan. “I spoke with Louie. There’s been a lot of movement at Georgie Hairdo’s club. We need to get over there and find out what’s going on.”
“I still don’t think that’s a good idea.” He retorted, forgetting himself for a moment as he moved his hand to cup her cheek.
Lois looked at him in surprise but recovered quickly, “Where’s Clark, Superman?”
He frowned, noting the subtle reminder that he was in his Superman suit. He looked around, saying a silent prayer that the gesture had gone unnoticed by the emergency personnel.
“I’ll go find him.” He said, allowing his tone to return to the voice he used as Superman.
“You do that.” She smiled.
***
“I’ll just be a sec,” Lois called over her shoulder as she ran into her bedroom to change.
Clark watched her retreating figure and sighed. It had taken them about half an hour to be released after answering questions about Hamilton’s accident. He hated lying. He hated being dishonest. But given that Hamilton intended to destroy his journals and prevent someone from recreating his experiments he knew in the grand scheme of things it was the right thing to do.
He wasn’t going to actively participate in the destruction of evidence, but he wasn’t going to help put Hamilton away for trying to do the right thing in the end either. He still wasn’t sure about going to this club. He had a bad feeling that whatever was going down tonight would be dangerous. Lois was determined to go and find out what was going on. Given that he would still be following her into the undercover assignment if she didn’t know he was Superman he couldn’t argue with her reasoning. They still needed more information for their story. The DA’s office and the police weren’t talking. This was the only way they’d find out what was going on. At least, that’s what he told himself to justify what they were doing.
Lois exited her bedroom in long red dress with spaghetti straps. She looked stunning. “You ready?” she asked, grabbing her purse.
He allowed his eyes to wander up and down her body as a slow smile spread across his face. “Just about.” He took a step toward her, pulling her to him as he leaned in to kiss her.
She smiled against him, fingering the hair on the back of his neck, “I take it you like the dress?”
“You could say that,” he whispered, pulling away as he allowed his eyes to wander up and down her soft curves. “Such a waste to wear that on an undercover assignment though.” He commented, allowing his hands to rest on her waist.
“Maybe you can fly us to dinner after we get what we need from the club.” She suggested fingering the lapels to his jacket.
“I still don’t know why you can’t just let the police handle this.” He said with a long defeated breath.
“Because they’re not talking,” Lois said, stepping a little closer to him as she looped her other hand around his neck and pulling him to her as he walked them back toward the front door.
He stopped in front of the door to her apartment, running a hand through her hair as he spoke. “These guys are dangerous.”
“I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.” She reminded him, fingering the knot on his tie as she spoke.
“Your roundhouse kick isn’t going to be any match for a shotgun.” He reminded her.
“We don’t even know for sure that Bonnie and Clyde are going to be there.” Lois reminded him.
“And if they are?” he pressed. “What’s your plan if they show up?”
“Get out of there and call the police.” She shrugged. “Come on. You’ve got to admit it’s a good plan.”
“It’s a
dangerous plan.” He corrected.
“You can’t see through lead.” She reminded him. “Superman might be needed. It’s probably easier to help if you’re already there than try to fly in. Most of those places in Hobb’s Bay were built in the early 50’s…”
“…which means they’ve got lead-paint and I’d be going in blind.” He finished for her. “I know. I know, but I still don’t like it.”
“Come on,” she tugged him toward the door. “The sooner we get over there and get the scoop on what’s going on the sooner we can leave.”
“I’ll be counting the seconds.” He said with a pointed look.
She pulled him to her by the tie, capturing his lips with hers. He let out a soft moan against her lips before allowing her to pull away, “Everything’s going to be fine.” She reassured him, tugging his hand with her as she guided him through the doorway.
***
TBC…
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