Chapter Two
Metropolis 1989
Aykira awoke as slender shafts of sunlight gradually filtered through the windows and brightened the living room. The neutral background wall color of light cream gave the space a bright, inviting feel, while intriguing tones on the sofas and the curtains help to make the room feel intimate, and with the absence of a television, Lex could read Shakespeare or study business reports with equal ease. She was on a deeply cushioned couch, draped over her was a cashmere blanket the color of gold and ivory. Lex must have placed it down while she slept, how thoughtful! Nearby he was reclining in a large, comfortable cognac colored leather chair. The tuxedo jacket and black silk tie had long been discarded, into a rumpled heap on chair.
She allowed herself for one minute to study this complex man, for the first time in their brief acquaintance, his lean, athletic body was relaxed, not in a state of persistent control. His head, the dark curly hair now tousled, lulled to the side, sleeping and incredibly loud snorts of breath escapes his mouth. Her lips stretched into a mischievous, expressive grin, Lex Luthor snores! So there are some things – like not snoring – that money can’t buy. As she stood and slipped into her shoes, he did not stir. For not only did the billionaire snore, he was also a sound sleeper ignorant of silent movement as she prepared to leave.
Last night had been an unexpected dream, Lex Luthor had played the part of the perfect gentleman and congenial host. They had come inside from the terrace and since the kitchen staff had gone home, made cups of rich dark expresso, and then sat down in the living room to talk, just talk. As Lex had stated earlier, he craved having good, intelligent conversation with a woman who did not expect anything in return.
He wanted to know more about her life. They discussed art of course, literature and favorite activities on quiet evenings. With patience that did him credit, gradually, they worked their way around to how and why she had come to be in that particular part of town late at night in the year 1963. The explanation was fairly simple. She had been looking for an apartment building where an acquaintance lived who owed her money, when she had heard him cry out from the beating his former friends were giving him.
Acting on pure – and foolish - instinct, she ran down the block, then turned into the dark and foul smelling alley where they were. Seeing how uneven the sides were, fought them with her considerable karate skills. The men – boys really - did not last long, after a few well-placed karate moves to swiftly incapacitate them. If Nico had been armed with more than knife she would have thought twice about taking him on.
Once Lex’s attackers were gone, she quickly got him out of there and into a rundown hotel only a few blocks away. It was amusing that he wanted to thank her by sharing the night together. He was attractive, in a bad boy sort of way, but this was Lex Luthor as he once was and she a specter of the what will be, her life was in Metropolis fifteen years in the future.
But then he asked her another question, one she had hoped not to give an answer to until later in their acquaintance. But as was her habit with anything regarding this intelligent man, she was prepared for an explanation.
“How have you learned so much about my business dealing Ms. Milan … Aykira?”
I came across your picture in CorporateWeek and was shocked to see the young man whose life I saved become a new force in the business world. Your career became of keen interest to me. At first, it was merely surface information. But as I became more involved with other movers and shakers on the West coast, stories about your boardroom and back room dealings were beginning to take on near legendary status. People are people and in unguarded moments they will talk. As I moved up Bill Fences company, Nanite, as its Events Director, I am able to hear and collect information on several companies he has dealings with. But chiefly LexCorp.”
She thought of how he contemplated what she had revealed, no doubt wondering if there was a plan to use this knowledge for his shady business dealings against him.
“Lex, please don’t be concerned, my knowledge of you is private. But we can talk of this later. Would I be so foolish as to enter the Lion’s den if I wanted to cause you or the corporation which bears your name harm?”
“It makes sense, as an Event planner you would be in position to see and hear things that most outside of a company would not. Am I the only captain of industry you have observed and cataloged so closely?”
Without hesitation she answered. “Yes. After all, you are the only one I ever rescued in a back alley.”
Thankfully Lex believed her, which she was grateful for since it was most of the truth. She sighed, someday the whole truth might have to be revealed to him. That truth was so fantastic, so utterly outside the realms of normalcy he might never accept it. Aykira hoped with all her heart that it never became a necessity. There were other more compelling reasons, reasons Lex most never know about under any circumstances. Now that might be the truly sticky part about revealing herself to him. But she didn’t have a choice. They didn’t save him from one menace, only to have him annihilated by another simply because he wanted to rule Metropolis' underworld. It was time for Lex Luthor to be turned to a brighter, more fulfilling path and this was the right time in history to do so, before Clark Kent arrived on the scene.
Besides, she had promised a dear friend to remain silent. A friend who had literately changed her life in the blink of an eye.
She glanced once more at the sleeping man. The past ten years had also been something of a dream … although truth be told, it had started out as more of a dreadful nightmare.
Last edited by Morgana; 11/03/19 01:43 PM. Reason: edits
