Chapter 10
Months went by with the team working diligently, gathering evidence of Intergang’s and its leadership’s crimes, documenting everything for eventual prosecution. Weeks before they were ready to call in the FBI and present their evidence there was a hit on Seamus Deckard’s account. Jim immediately began crosschecking his travel plans with high value targets and his efforts turned up a likely match, the president of Nicaragua, Jose Daniel Ortega. Mr. Ortega was to travel around the country stumping for his reelection and his itinerary and Deckard’s intersected at numerous cities. Jim took this information to his boss who called Clark in as well.
“Jim, tell Clark what you found,” Perry said, once Clark had sat down.
“Deckard and the president of Nicaragua, Ortega, have multiple cities in common when Ortega goes on his reelection tour. I’m sorry I can’t narrow it down better than that,” Jim said frustrated.
“You did the best you could, Jim. At least we have a very likely target and an itinerary. Superman can use that to work with the Nicaraguan government to form a plan. Give me everything you’ve got so I can give it to Superman, okay?” Clark said.
“Sure thing, CK, you’ll have it before noon,” Jim left the office, closing the door behind him.
“Do you want to take some ‘vacation’ time so you can go with Superman and follow this story?” Perry asked knowingly.
“Yeah, Chief, bringing down an international assassin like Deckard will be front page news for sure!” Clark replied, a determined look on his face.
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Superman took the evidence Jim had collected to the Nicaraguan equivalent of the Secret Service, explaining everything to them and forming a plan to capture Deckard in the act. Superman had suggested he join the president’s protection detail in disguise, ready to intercept any assassination attempt. They agreed, finalizing plans for the president’s trip and informing him of the assassination plan and Superman’s role in preventing it. All was in place in a few hours, now all they had to do was wait.
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The day before Clark’s ‘vacation’ he and Erica were having dinner at her apartment. While neither would call them dates, exactly, they had been enjoying meals at each other’s homes quite often. Erica especially enjoyed eating at Clark’s place, seeing his parents and Jon was a real joy for her and the feeling was mutual. Jon had even gone as far as asking her to read him a story periodically, something the boy and Erica enjoyed immensely.
“Please be careful, Clark. Deckard is a dangerous man.”
“Believe me, I know,” he replied angrily. “I’m going to catch him and he’s going to jail for the rest of his life but before that he’s going to tell me that he killed Lois. I owe her that!”
“I know, Clark, but you still need to be careful. It wouldn’t surprise me if the man had Kryptonite, just in case!” Erica pleaded.
“I’ll be careful. It’s been a long time since I’ve run into a situation blindly and been surprised by Kryptonite. Since I know his itinerary I plan to thoroughly scan his rooms and his person. If I find anything resembling a lead box I’ll have it removed by security long before it can get near me, I promise,” Clark said, grasping her hands to convey his understanding of her concern.
“That’s all I ask, that you be as careful as possible, I… I want you to come home to me,” she said softly, her eyes tearing up, gazing into his.
“I will, I promise.”
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The presidential party began their journey in the capital, Managua. The security service chief didn’t think the attempt would be made there, but security was tight nonetheless. Superman was assigned to the president’s immediate detail, taking a position at his side at all times. He wore the same black suit, white shirt, black tie and dark glasses as every other person on the detail, so he’d blend in perfectly. The first three stops in Managua passed without incident so it was on to the next stop, the city of Leon. Superman was on high alert, scanning constantly for anything out of the ordinary, during the trip between cities. It wouldn’t be beyond possibility that a roadside bomb could take out the presidential convoy. As had been the case before, there were no attempts on the president’s life while in Leon, so it was on to Chinandega.
In between events Superman had been checking out Deckard’s person and lodgings, looking for anything that would signal the presence of Kryptonite. He found nothing in his luggage, on his body or in his room any time he looked but he did find a sniper rifle secreted amongst his luggage in false bottoms. Seeing this he was reasonably sure that the attempt would be made at a distance during an outside event. Passing along this information to security, plans were made to stake out every potential sniper site, ready to descend upon receiving the prearranged signal.
The last event of the day was a huge outside rally in the main square of Chinandega. Superman scanned the area constantly, every sense on high alert, looking for Deckard but not seeing him. What did catch his attention however was a faint sound, the click of a rifle being cocked. His eyes immediately focused on the spot the sound had emanated from, finding a man who was similar in stature to Deckard but looked nothing like him. Superman inched closer to President Ortega as Deckard lined him up through the scope on his rifle. When he pulled the trigger Superman sprang into action, stepping in front of the president, catching the bullet in midair. Handing it to another guard he spun into his suit and a second later he landed behind Deckard after having scanned one more time for Kryptonite.
“Put the rifle down, Deckard. Your days of being a paid assassin are over. I have the bullet you shot and we’re going to match it to your rifle. Security is on its way here right now, but before they get here you and I are going to have a little chat.” Superman grabbed Deckard by the collar and immediately shot into the sky. He flew just below the speed where a human would suffer injury, hovering about 8,000 feet above the ground.
“I want to know, did you kill Lois Lane?” Superman ground out in anger.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Superman,” Deckard said, unfazed.
“Oh you do, Deckard, I know you do. I just want you to admit it,” Superman said, his eyes beginning to glow red.
“You don’t scare me, Superman, everyone knows you don’t kill,” he said cockily. The smile on Superman’s face would have scared anyone who saw it, but Deckard didn’t react.
“You’re right, I don’t kill, usually. However in this case I just might make an exception. I’m sure you know Clark Kent is a very good friend of mine, as was his wife. I promised him I’d find her killer, so I’m going to ask again, did… you… kill… Lois… Lane!” Superman roared, shaking him violently. Superman brought Deckard close, nose to nose. “I’m waiting!”
“I don’t know what you mean, Superman,” he replied, disheveled from the shaking.
“Wrong answer!” Superman released his grip watching as Deckard, screaming, fell towards the ground. Superman hovered, watching as Deckard got closer and closer to the ground. When he was at about 500 feet Superman dived down, plucking him out of the air, shooting straight up to 10,000 feet this time.
“Did you kill Lois Lane!” Deckard hesitated a second too long, so Superman let go once more. Deckard screamed over and over as he fell, the ground getting closer and closer. When he was at about 250 feet Superman dived down, grabbing him by his leg, shooting to a height of 15,000 feet, coming to a stop he flipped Deckard around, catching him by the front of his jacket.
“I can do this all day you know. Each time you don’t tell me what I want to know we’re going to go higher and higher, at 30,000 feet it will feel like you’re at the top of Mount Everest. Breathing will be difficult if not impossible, so, are you going to tell me what I want to know or are we going to continue?”
“No…”
“Wrong answer!!” Superman let go again watching as Deckard fell. At 150 feet Superman caught him again, shooting up to 20,000 feet.
“I’ll tell you what, since we don’t seem to be getting anywhere this way, though I’m having fun, I’ll make you a deal. You’re going to prison for attempted assassination. The Nicaraguan government is not nearly as generous as I am, they will try you, rather quickly I suspect, and once you are found guilty, and you will be, you will be executed at sunrise the very next day. If you tell me what I want to know I’ll put in a good word, so they won’t execute you. Granted Nicaraguan prisons are no cakewalk, but it beats a bullet at sunrise. So, how about it? Did you kill Lois Lane!” Deckard knew when he was beaten.
“Yes, I killed her. I was paid to do it,” he said, defeated. “But I don’t know who hired me, you have to believe me!”
“I know who hired you, I just needed to be sure it was you. Everything I’ve been able to gather pointed to you, but I needed a confession from you.” Superman flew down, handing Deckard off to the security service where he was immediately handcuffed and put in the back of a black armored car.
“Thank you, Superman,” President Ortega said, shaking Superman’s hand. “If there is anything I or my country can do for you, you only have to ask.”
“You’re very welcome, Mr. President. It was my honor to serve you.” Superman lifted off the ground and, with a wave, shot into the sky.
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The next day the Daily Planet ran the story of Deckard’s capture with a 40-point headline.
‘The Ghost, International Assassin Captured!’
By Clark Kent with contributions by E. Atkins and J. Olsen
Seamus Deckard, the international financier, exposed as the infamous assassin “The Ghost”, was captured yesterday during a failed attempt on the life of Nicaraguan President Ortega by Superman. Mr. Deckard has been linked to over fifty assassinations over a ten-year period including the murder of Lois Lane, star reporter for this newspaper. Ms. Atkins and Mr. Olsen provided invaluable information that enabled authorities to link Mr. Deckard to his crimes and helped predict where he would be when he was captured.
Continued on Page A-4
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Clark Kent entered the silent cemetery, making his way to a particular grave, decorated with flowers and plants.
“We got him, Lois,” he said softly, tears choking him. “It took a team to do it, I couldn’t do it by myself, but we got him!” Gazing up to the sky he sighed, his shoulders sagging.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to protect you, that’s something I’ll always regret. Jonny is doing well, he misses you terribly. I make sure to tell him about you every chance I get. He’ll never forget you, darling, I won’t let him, and I won’t forget you either.” Clark vowed, kissing his fingertips then touching the cold granite. “I love you.” Clark sighed, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. “Remember that letter you left for me? The one where you asked me to be open to love again? It’s time… I’ve found someone who I want to be with. She’s part of the team who helped capture your murderer. You know, I think you’d like her. She’s intelligent and hardworking, and she loves Jon, I can tell. He’s asked her to read him a bedtime story many times and her eyes light up every time he asks. And before you ask, yes, she’s pretty.” Clark smiled through his tears. “I’ll always love you, Lois, and I’ll never forget you.” He turned reluctantly, heading home to his family.
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A week after the capture of Seamus Deckard everything fell into place. Superman set up a meeting with the FBI, the Metropolis PD, and the security services of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. Perry, Jim, Clark and Erica laid out their evidence, taking a full day to explain it in painstaking detail. A plan was made to simultaneously raid every member of Intergang’s leadership in every country, so as not to allow anyone to tip off the other leaders. It was determined to keep the number of people in the know to strictly trusted people, again to avoid word of the raids getting back to those involved.
Superman assisted the FBI and Metropolis police with the raid on Melissa Navé’s organization, capturing them all in an underground bunker six stories below a CostMart store on the outskirts of the city.
“Melissa Navé you are under arrest for crimes too numerous to mention, though specifically for the murder of Lois Lane,” Inspector Henderson said, slapping the cuffs on her.
“You have nothing on me!” she cried, struggling against her bonds. “I’ll have your badge, I’ll have all your badges!”
“Don’t worry, Ms. Navé we have more than enough evidence against you and your men. Just so you know, we’ve conducted raids on all of your ‘associates’. Intergang is done for.”
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A week later:
Inspector William Henderson got off the elevator at the newsroom of the Daily Planet. Walking up to Perry White’s office he knocked on the open door.
“Bill! Come in, what can I do for you?” Perry asked. Henderson entered, sitting down in a chair in front of Perry’s desk.
“I’m here to do something for you. Could you call Clark, Jim and Erica in here?”
Getting up from his desk he walked to the door and holler; “Kent! Olsen! Come in here!” Sitting back down Perry picked up the phone. “Erica, come to my office please?”
Moments later Clark, Jim and Erica were seated on the plaid couch waiting for someone to enlighten them as to why they’d been summoned.
“Okay, Bill, it’s your show,” Perry said, gesturing for Henderson to proceed.
“I’ve got good news, we’ve found your mole,” Henderson said in his usual laconic style. Four voices were raised immediately requesting how this wonderful result had been reached.
“Going over the mountain of evidence we got from the Intergang raid we came across some audio tapes. The tapes were conversations between Melissa Navé and Joan Ingraham. Turns out Joan was very angry that Clark here had rejected her advances,” Henderson grinned knowingly. “Anyway, it wasn’t too hard for Navé to turn her into their spy. We’ve charged her with being an accessory to the attacks on Erica, and we’re still working on more charges. At the very least she’ll get five years.”
Clark looked at Perry, Jim and Erica with a confused look on his face.
“Joan Ingraham? Doesn’t she work in Classifieds?” Clark said.
“Yeah, she’s been here about a year I guess,” Perry replied.
“And she sold us out because Clark wouldn’t date her?” Jim said thoroughly confused.
“It would seem so,” Henderson said, “Well I’ve got to get back to the precinct. I’ll see you all later.”
“Great Shades of Elvis!” Perry said once Henderson had left. “I’d have never even suspected her. Clark, did you sense anything ‘off’ about her?”
“No, Chief. I remember her asking me out and I know I told her as gently as I could that I was not interested in dating anyone at that time. She didn’t seem upset, at least not to me,” Clark said, baffled.
“I remember overhearing her and another woman talking about Clark. Joan was told that Clark didn’t date by the other woman, Sally, if I remember correctly. Joan seemed awfully sure of herself that she could bring Clark out of mourning for his wife. It’s a pretty lousy excuse to spy on your coworkers for an evil organization like Intergang, but that’s the only thing I can think of.” Erica said, as confused as anyone.
“Well, at least we know who the spy is and that they are getting what they deserve,” Perry said clapping his hands together. “Back to work everyone, we still have a paper to put out!”
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TBC in part 11
Last edited by Ray; 08/28/19 11:56 AM.
