Previously - Chapter 9 ***
Part 3 – “Our greatest glory is not in never falling…” Confucius ***
Chapter 10***
January 20, 1996
She was lying flat on her back on the sofa in the spacious living room, one arm draped over her eyes and the other resting across her abdomen, bare feet propped up on the armrest. She still felt as though the room spun around her, though slower now than it had been. The evening started out so wonderful - Lois had been filled with nostalgia and tenderness celebrating an anniversary with her beloved husband.
Another wave of nausea attempted to overtake her senses and she rolled to her side and pulled her knees up to her chest as she remembered instead the memories that had assailed her at the sound of a few lines from a song.
Memories of Clark Kent.
Her mind was cluttered with contradictions. She couldn’t be sure what was real and what wasn’t. But she was sure Lex must have done
something to put her in this position.
“Will you be alright?” a concerned voice interrupted her thoughts. Scott sat in a chair at the end of the coffee table with his elbows on the armrests, wringing his hands and looking at her with a deep frown. He hadn’t said much in the car on the way to this house that she couldn’t quite refer to as home at the moment. He had said he was trying to help, but she was so focused on maintaining what little composure she had remaining to participate in any conversation and he’d eventually stopped trying.
“I don’t know,” she managed to say. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be alright again. Not after ...
She felt tears welling in her eyes.
“The memories will continue to come back over time,” he explained. “I don’t fully understand the process, but the physical symptoms you have are normal, I believe. I don’t know how long they’ll last.”
“How did this happen?” she asked quietly, hoping for an explanation that would make any of this make more sense. But she would be denied one for now. She was startled by the sound of a door closing. Scott, startled as well, quickly stood up and walked toward the sound.
“Where is she?” she heard Lex’s voice and was filled with a sense of dismay.
She remembered Scott telling her that she would need to keep up the charade until … She didn’t know how long. They hadn’t discussed that yet. She would have to put a mask on over everything running through her mind and pretend as best she could. How fortunate that she was legitimately sick at the moment.
Scott stepped back into the room and was immediately passed by Lex with a … caring … and
compassionate expression on his face. Who
was this man? He rushed to her side and knelt in front of her gently massaging her shoulder with one hand and taking one of her hands in the other. She resisted the urge to yank her hand away and instead angled her face away from him and toward the couch cushion, closing her eyes.
“Lois, my darling,” Lex soothed, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Are you alright? What has happened?”
“She was complaining of a headache while we danced,” Scott answered for her, a godsend. “From the looks of it, I’d say it is a migraine.” She kept her eyes closed but heard what sounded like Scott walking closer and leaning against something.
“Oh, Lois,” Lex said sympathetically, he moved his hand from her shoulder to brush her hair from her face with such intimacy. She felt a tear slide from the corner of her eye down to the end of her nose. She felt it wiped away and swallowed to suppress the rest of them.
“She …uh…” Scott trailed off, “tossed her cookies…right before we left the Lexor.”
Lois groaned at the memory. “I’m sorry,” she finally managed to say. “I didn’t mean to ruin the evening. Maybe it was something I ate.” Her stomach was still doing flips in her abdomen, especially when thoughts of what she’d realized this evening popped into her head. She would have to figure out how to stop that from happening if she was going to keep playing the role.
“Not at all, darling,” he said, waving away her worry. His hands came together to gently hold hers. “I feel terrible that this has happened. Shall I get Dr. Hightower to come and take a look at you?”
“No!” she exclaimed. She still had very little understanding of what was going on, but a doctor could see through her and report everything to Lex. She couldn’t risk that. “No,” she said more calmly, “I’m sure it will pass on its own.”
“If it’s a migraine,” Scott cut in, “there will be little to be done. And if it were something she ate, it’s already gone. I’m sure she’ll be fine in a day or two. She heard him stand up and move about the room. “I’ll just be heading out now.”
She refused to open her eyes until she sensed Lex stand up and watched him move toward Scott.
“Scott,” Lex called to him, extending his hand to shake Scott’s. Scott turned and took the hand. “Thank you for seeing her safely home.” Lex released Scott’s hand and patted him on the shoulder. “I appreciate it greatly. I will take care of things from here.”
“Certainly, Lex,” Scott said with a nod. Scott caught Lois’s eye and read assurance in his expression. “She’s in your capable hands now. I’ll see you Monday, Lois. Give me a call if you need anything.” He nodded to Lois with a small wave and left the room. He must not believe she was in any immediate danger to have left her alone with him and that gave her some peace of mind.
Lex turned back to Lois and suggested gently, “My darling, let me help you to the bedroom. You’ll be much more comfortable there.”
“No!” she cried “No, the
idea of moving makes me feel worse. I-I don’t think I could make it there…” she closed her eyes and gently shook her head. When she opened her eyes, Lex was again kneeling in front of her his face filled with concern. She couldn’t reconcile this man with the one she knew he must be. Maybe something had happened to him, too. “Can you … just cover me up with a blanket?” she implored.
“What if I carry you?” he suggested, reaching his arm around her waist.
“Please, no,” she said quickly, holding up a hand to stop him. He leaned down to touch his forehead to hers in a very affectionate gesture that only confused her more.
“Of course, darling,” he conceded. “I’ll bring one right away.” He kissed her cheek before going to fulfill her request.
She breathed a sigh of relief as he left the room. She rolled once again onto her back and felt a pounding in her temples. A few tears leaked from her eyes. The sick feeling in her stomach was still there and she grabbed a nearby throw pillow to press to her abdomen.
Lex returned just then with several pillows and blankets. He tossed one of each onto the love seat across the coffee table from the sofa where Lois reclined. He then came to her side and gently lifted her head as he placed one of the pillows where her head had rested. “Here you are,” he whispered as he lowered her head back down. He stood and began shaking the blanket he brought to unfold it. “I will sleep on the loveseat,” he informed her.
She turned her head to look up at him then, a surprised frown on her face. “Lex, you don’t have to do that.”
“Oh, but I want to,” he responded. She rolled back onto her side again as he spread the blanket over her. He knelt again in front of her and began running his fingers through her hair in a way she didn’t want to admit was soothing.
She closed her eyes at the strange mix of emotions that assaulted her. “There’s no reason for us to both be uncomfortable,” she said as she shook her head to clear it and willed him to understand.
“Nonsense,” Lex countered. “I wouldn’t be comfortable at all knowing you were out here like this.” She felt him kiss her forehead. “You lay here and relax.” He pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and gently rested his hand on her hip. “I’ve got some reading to keep me company. And if you need anything I’ll be right here.” He patted her hip and moved away.
She was disappointed that he had chosen to stay but immensely relieved she had found a way to avoid sleeping in the same bed with him. Her exhaustion from the intensely emotional evening was catching up with her and she considered how she would avoid the bedroom in the coming nights as she drifted into a fitful sleep.
***
Perry would not risk the newspaper on false accusations directed at the most loved and powerful man in Metropolis. Jimmy would eventually have to see that, and Perry would put him off until he did. At the moment, though, it seemed that Jimmy wasn’t going to let it go. Not yet.
“Jimmy, it’s getting late, you should head home.” Which was true. Only the editor in chief needed to stay this late and that was even questionable.
“No, Chief,” Jimmy came back. “I think we have something here.” Jimmy stepped closer and perched himself on the edge of Perry’s desk thrusting the folder full of his notes in Perry’s direction. “This could be the biggest thing since Superman left.”
Perry closed his eyes and huffed. Jimmy had really grown up lately, insisting when he thought something was important. Funny, Perry taught him that but now he wished he’d just let something go. When he opened his eyes again, Jimmy sat there still holding out the folder with a look of determination in his eyes. With a deep breath, Perry conceded. “Fine. Let me see the picture.”
Perry jerked the folder from his hands and opened it up. A quarter inch of papers was topped with a short stack of 8x10 prints. The first was the grainy image he’d seen before with two individuals facing each other, their arms both extended between them holding something. He set that one aside and looked at the next image. It was just the head of the person on the left, zoomed in from the previous picture. This clearly showed Dr. Gregory Paulson, his face scrunched as if angry about something. This person they already knew in that Jack had been trailing behind Paulson to catch this shot.
The third picture brought Perry’s thoughts to a halt. Clear as day, Lex Luthor’s face was the one just below the brim of the hat. It was his outstretched hand giving or receiving whatever was contained in the package the two held between them. Perry didn’t like the look he saw in Luthor’s eyes at all. It was completely unlike the philanthropist he knew and respected. This face was cold and calculating, a determined slant to his brow, a slight pursing of his lips.
Maybe Jimmy was right. Maybe there was something here. But he wasn’t yet ready to admit that to Jimmy. He shook his head to clear it.
“Maybe it’s just muffins that Lois baked for the doctor,” he mused, handing the pictures and folder back to Jimmy. He went back to looking over his storyboards, hoping that was it.
“Ha,” Jimmy burst out. “Lois doesn’t bake!” He slapped the folder down on the desk as he stood and started pacing back and forth. “And why have that exchange take place in
that parking garage?”
Perry looked up at Jimmy, silently granting him permission to continue, before busying himself with his editing.
“So,” Jimmy started, “You know these allegations started up about two months ago, but no one has any evidence. And the first seven didn’t make it to trial because of that. You also know that eleven more claims have been filed and the medical board is under pressure to do something.” Jimmy ticked off his points on his fingers.
“Right,” Perry acknowledged, expecting something profound to come next. He kept his head down, listening without acknowledging. Jimmy would have to prove his point just like any other reporter. More so in this case, given the person in question.
“What you don’t know yet,” Jimmy said as he stopped to face Perry, clearly pleased with himself, “Because I only just found out about it this afternoon, is that
eighteen more cases are in the process of being filed. That is,
eighteen,” Jimmy emphasized the word with his tone and his arms, “more patients and families have come forward with the same set of claims.”
That caught Perry’s attention. “Say what now?”
“And they’re collecting evidence.”
Evidence, Perry loved the sound of that word. Almost as much as
hard facts. “They claim that the patients in question are occasionally unable to remember things that happened to them.
And they are remembering things that they don’t fully understand.”
Perry set down his pen to give Jimmy his full attention. “What kind of things?” he asked as he steepled his hands over his work.
“Not sure yet. But get this,” Jimmy expanded, “some of the patients have physical copies of their health records … and they don’t match the digital copies.” A grin took over Jimmy’s face like he’d just solved a mystery. Only the mystery was just beginning. “Something is wrong there.”
An enlivening sense of anticipation coursed through Perry’s veins. It had been a while since any truly noteworthy stories had come their way. “How many of them didn’t match?” he asked unable to keep his excitement from his voice.
“Thirteen,” Jimmy answered. “Some of the new claimants pointed this out and others from the previous group are looking into it.” He sat forward in the chair, leaning on his knees. “I’ve contacted as many of them as I could already and set up interviews with two families.” With this he stood, collected his folder from Perry’s desk and nodded with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
Perry gave a half smile and picked his pen back up to continue his work. “Alright. Keep me posted.”
Jimmy’s a good kid, Perry thought once more.
***
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