Hate Myself For Loving You
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 12
Clark fiddled with the pen in his hand nonchalantly moving it between one finger and then another as he sat hunched over the edge of the conference room table as Perry went through the usual Monday morning spiel for the staff meeting. It was mostly the same thing Perry always went over every Monday. Circulation of the paper and whatever tidbit the executives wanted to pass along for the week.
This week’s monologue however was lost on him as he scanned the newsroom for any sign of Lois. His mind kept drifting back to lunch the previous day and
<<“I’ve gone over and over it in my head, trying to rationalize how I could have missed something so huge and why someone I thought I knew better than anyone would spend the better part of almost two years lying to me and making me believe he was two different people. Cl…I mean, what do I even call you?”>> The confession played through his mind most of yesterday afternoon and this morning as he attempted to come to terms with the rollercoaster of emotions he had put himself through after his confession to Lois.
<<“I just need some time…to sort through all this.”>>She had asked for time to work through things and he was willing to give it to her, but what he didn’t know was where this left their relationship. She had agreed to have lunch with him yesterday but he had left afterward feeling even more confused on where things stood. That coupled with her noticeable absence this morning left him second-guessing every move.
He had contemplated flying over to her apartment but then quickly squashed the idea for fear it would come across as overbearing. He had promised to give her the space she needed to process everything. At the same time, he knew Lois’ knack for getting into trouble and given the threats from the stalker it probably wasn’t a bad idea to do a fly-by. Just as he had convinced himself of his decision he found himself second-guessing himself again.
‘And what if she’s not in trouble? Then you look like you’re snooping and not giving her space. What then?’Why oh why had he chosen now of all times for this revelation? Why couldn’t he have planned it better? Wait until after the stalker had been caught? Then at least he could take comfort in the fact that she didn’t have some creep lurking in the shadows while she shut him out.
<<“This secret—It’s not something I could share with just anyone.”
“But, you shared it with me?” >>He quickly dismissed the thought, frowning at himself. Lois hadn’t exactly shut him out, but she hadn’t opened the door either. After lunch she had hit him with the painful blow, reminding him just how deeply he had hurt her.
<<“I feel like I hardly know you.
“Lois, I’m still me.”
“Are you?”>>He knew it would take time for her to come to terms with the revelation but the patience he had clinging to for the last year and a half seemed to be dwindling into ashes as he contemplated his next move. The heartfelt confession and anguish over his revelation cut him to the core.
<<"I get why you lied at first, and I understand why you probably felt like you had to keep the secret last year what with Lex and Trask but … for almost two years? Everything I thought was one way is…”
“….different.”>>He glanced at the clock, spotting the late hour once more. He looked out to the newsroom and sighed when he saw the empty desk once more. Try as he might to give Lois the distance she had asked for he couldn’t just sit there – especially not when he knew there was someone lurking in the shadows with his or her sights on Lois.
If he was wrong then so be it but if she was in danger he’d never forgive himself for not being there. He took a quick glance in Perry’s direction and noticed he was just about done and his presence wouldn’t be missed if he ducked out of the meeting a few minutes early anyway.
________________________________________
Two.
Two stalkers.
One – sociopathic killer.
One –
unknown.Lois Lane tapped her hand on the table she was seated at, trying to find anyone in the list of convicts that could possibly be behind the threats she had received. Not exactly how she had planned to spend her morning but then again what choice did she have?
Henderson had assured her that the Metropolis P.D. was making it a top priority to find McCarthy and bring him to justice but in the back of her mind she wondered just how much effort would be put forward on the second stalker if everyone was after McCarthy.
She let out a sigh, looking around the police department and spying Henderson speaking with Detective Ryan in the corner. She had skimmed through a dozen copies of mugshots from convicts and only a handful had the means and motive to pull something like this off.
Unfortunately, just about everyone had the motive.
It was the same with every convict she’d helped put behind bars.
Revenge for ruining their plans.
Revenge for putting them behind bars.
Revenge.
“You stalkin’ me, Lane?” A voice came from behind her and she jumped when she heard the DEA Agent’s sarcastic tone as he added, “Cuz a police station isn’t exactly the best place.”
Lois looked over her shoulder and groaned at the pompous DEA Agent’s lame attempt at a joke. “What are you doing here, Scardino? Run out of doughnuts already?”
“I’m more of a bagels guy myself,” Scardino answered with a thumb pointing toward Henderson from a few feet away. “I don’t guess these clowns drug you down here for a fourth in bridge.” He pointed to the book in front of her. “Anything interesting?”
“Just a walk down memory lane,” Lois said with a roll of her eyes. She still wasn’t sure what to make of Scardino, but his information had panned out and having access to federal information on Sean McCarthy could only help. “Trying to come up with a list of potential stalkers.”
He nodded, holding up a file in his hand, “I might have something that could help narrow the list down.”
________________________________________
Mayson twiddled with a strand of her hair on her index finger and hummed to herself as she looked over the report the police had furnished her with after the second inspection of her car. She glared at the form with the newly discovered evidence circled in red.
A scowl crossed her face as she wondered just what she had done to end up in the cross-hairs of a known sociopath like Sean McCarthy. Her eyes drifted to the other name on the report with a grimace, tapping her fingertips against the table with a steady hum.
She could find no plausible explanation for why Mary would have had her fingerprints on the undercarriage of her car.
‘Along with Sean McCarthy’s.’ she thought to herself bitterly.
She looked over at the empty desk from her office windows, feeling anger course through her as she realized how deeply she had been betrayed. She felt her hand clench and unclench and felt a tremor run through her wrist as she reached out for the cup of coffee in front of her. Unfortunately, balance and grip were not strengths she held at the moment as her coffee splattered across the desk, pouring hot liquid over the report she had been examining.
‘Great.’ ________________________________________
Clark soared through the morning sky, zeroing in on the Metropolis P.D. where he had been told to check after finding Lois’ apartment empty. He let out a sigh of relief when he spotted her in one of the conference rooms with Dan Scardino and Bill Henderson. The officer standing guard outside the door was the same one that had been there the night he’d brought pizza over and stepped into this royal mess.
He steadied himself, pushing the memories from the last few days out of his mind, preparing to focus on whatever it was that had Lois not even bothering to show up at the Planet. He ducked into a nearby alley to change and hopefully get some answers.
________________________________________
Lois sifted through the file in front of her. “Who is this Marie Claire Williams?” She scrunched up her nose, looking at the name. “I’ve never heard of her.”
“She’s Mayson Drakes’ assistant,” Bill Henderson supplied and pointed a finger toward the precinct behind him. “Detective Ryder brought her in about an hour ago for questioning. Mayson’s real tore up about it.”
A knock came from the door and she jumped out of reflex, feeling her adrenaline pulse through her as she turned to the door and saw Clark standing in the doorway. She felt herself physically relax – realizing there was no boogeyman or potential stalker lurking outside the door. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to calm down from the rush of adrenaline before responding.
“Uh, come in,” she motioned to him through the glass door.
He nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind him. “Sorry to drop by like this. I didn’t see you at the Planet and got worried.”
Lois nodded, recalling she had forgotten to call Perry this morning. “Yeah, I’m going to have to explain that one to the Chief later. Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he nodded, still standing in the doorway. “I just wanted to make sure you were all right after what happened Saturday.”
“I’m okay,” she reassured with a weak smile, pointing to the vacant seat across from her. “I could actually use your help.”
“We’ve got a unit on her 24/7, Kent,” Henderson piped up to reassure him. “She’s in good hands.” He glanced at his watch, “I’m going to go run these names and see what we have on them. Lois, keep going through these and let me know if anything stands out. We still have that anonymous stalker to identify since this Marie isn’t it.”
“Marie?” Clark asked, taking the seat across from Lois.
“Mayson’s assistant is apparently one of the three people that had their fingerprints on the undercarriage of Mayson’s car.” Lois explained with a groan.
“And the other?” Clark ventured uncertainly.
“Sean McCarthy.” Scardino added smugly. “Apparently he’s been getting his kicks off on sending threats to your partner while trying to kill ADA Drake.”
“Wait, he’s the one behind all those threats?” Clark asked.
“One of them,” Scardino answered before Lois could respond.
Lois thought she almost saw a glimmer of red in Clark’s eyes and had to double check to make sure he had not burned a hole in the wall behind Scardino’s head with how hard of a glare he directed in the DEA Agent’s direction. She blanched slightly recalling the tidbit of information she hadn’t shared with Clark yet – given the preoccupation of his revelation taking over all conversations they had had over the last twenty-four hours.
“Apparently we’re not dealing with just one stalker, but two.” Lois explained carefully, noting the expression on Clark’s face shifting between surprise, concern and then annoyance as he stared down Scardino in silence.
“Two?” Clark practically choked out through his gritted teeth.
Lois squashed down the momentary guilt that rose up within her for not sharing that bit of news earlier and pressed forward as she explained, “Henderson has me going through some of the mugshots to see if anyone stands out as a potential suspect.”
“It could also be an accomplice of McCarthy’s that’s behind the threats too,” Scardino added. “It’s definitely his style.”
“Great,” Clark tapped his hand on the file in the middle of the table. “And what exactly does that do to help keep said potential accomplice from oh, I don’t know – including a third or fourth participant to this sick game they’re playing while you’re over here bragging about knowing Sean McCarthy sooo well?”
“Hey, the guy is an unpredictable animal but I know the way he thinks. I can’t produce miracles.” Scardino scoffed back at Clark. “What have you got?”
“Okay, that’s enough from both of you.” Henderson growled at the two of them. He looked at Scardino, “We’ve got every officer looking out for sightings of McCarthy but if he’s working with someone – anyone we need to find out who and fast.” He looked around the room prompting them for leads, “Any ideas?”
“McCarthy doesn’t have anyone he’d turn to outside the prison walls.” Scardino puffed out his chest. “Jenna and I made sure of that.”
“What about family?” Clark ventured, seeming to hold in his frustration as he spoke.
“He’s got a mother up north but I doubt he’s going to be that cliché and run to his mom’s for cover.” Scardino retorted, taking a bite from the muffin in front of him.
“Well, it’s a start at least,” Lois said with a sigh, reaching for her cup of coffee.
“Unless you have something better,” Clark challenged.
Scardino smiled, “I guess we’re going on a road trip.” He let out a sigh, “I’ll give Mayson a call and let her know what’s up.”
________________________________________
Panic.
That was the only way to describe how Mary Williams felt as she sat in the middle of the interrogation room at Metropolis P.D. She looked around the room, hoping to find some inspiration on how to get herself out of the mess she had landed in. Albie had promised nothing would come back on her. He swore she would be safe.
Now it appeared she was on her own.
Her eyes narrowed as she looked toward the door.
She was not going down for this alone.
________________________________________
The sound of horns blaring on the highway reached Clark Kent’s eardrums as he cast a glance toward Lois who was tapping her hand on the steering wheel impatiently. They could have already been on their way by now if not for Mayson’s insistence on tagging along. Now here they were nearly an hour behind.
“How long has she been in there?” a voice came from the backseat where an equally annoyed Dan Scardino was seated in the backseat of Lois’ Jeep.
“Almost half an hour,” Clark said, glancing at the time on the dashboard.
Scardino let out a sigh, “I’m going to go see what’s taking her so long.” Scardino then poked his head through the space between himself and Lois and added. “You two want anything while I’m in there?” He pointed to the convenience store Mayson had disappeared into half an hour ago citing the need to ‘grab a drink real quick’ never to return.
“Just get Mayson out here in the next five minutes or I’m leaving both of you,” Lois threatened in a growl that made the hair on the back of Clark’s neck stand up.
Clark watched Dan Scardino disappear inside the convenience store and shook his head before turning to Lois. “How exactly did we get roped into bringing Mayson and Scardino on this interview?”
Lois shrugged her shoulders, “He has the history with McCarthy, and he is the one that pointed us in Colleen McCarthy’s direction in the first place.”
“We could have flown there and back and had time to write up our notes in the time we’ve wasted sitting here waiting.” Clark gestured to the time on the dashboard in frustration. He noticed an amused expression cross Lois’ face and felt a bit self-conscious under her gaze before asking, “What?”
“Nothing,” she shrugged with a half-smile. “It’s just funny I guess to hear you talk about flying over to do an interview so casually.”
“Well, yeah,” he smiled back at her. “I do fly.”
“I know,” she smiled back at him. “I just mean…I didn’t realize you talked about it so casually.”
He shrugged his shoulders, caught off guard by the comment. He pondered for a moment what she meant by that remark but chose not to think too hard on it. It was progress at least.
“Well, I don’t talk openly about using my powers or Superman unless I’m sure no one is around.” Clark explained, reaching his hand up to tap his ear.
“I guess super-hearing comes in handy with that,” Lois observed with a contemplative expression.
“You could say that,” he nodded.
His gaze shifted to the dashboard and then back to Lois as he pondered what could be going through her mind. She was talking about it. The ginormous elephant in the room that had taken over every conversation between them and yet stifled each word as well. No more secrets. No more hiding who he was. No more lying. It was refreshing and exhilarating yet terrifying all at the same time.
He frowned as he tried to bring up the subject of her two stalkers. He had picked up on the uncomfortable tension in the air as Lois quickly tried to push through the discussion of not one but two stalkers in play. Information he appeared to be the last to know.
"Did Henderson have any idea which threats came from McCarthy?"
There he had put it out there. The question that had been on his mind for the last hour. Had McCarthy been behind the threatening notes or shredding Lois' eveningwear to expensive rags?
Lois drew out a long breath and then responded, "He was the one that sent the threatening note on Friday night."
"You think there’s any truth to Scardino's theory about it being an accomplice of McCarthy's?" Clark asked.
"I don’t know." Lois responded with a frown. "I mean, it'd make things a lot easier if it was, but the other notes and the whole going into my apartment and targeting my eveningwear? It just feels different."
The door opened, startling Lois as Scardino and then Mayson climbed in the backseat. " Alright, everyone’s here. Let's get moving."
________________________________________
Lois tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she took the turn off the freeway, leading into Bakerline, Metropolis where Colleen McCarthy’s residence was. She stole a glance in the rearview mirror where Mayson kept glaring at her with a tight-lipped expression. Mayson had barely said two words to anyone since she had returned to the Jeep. Even before the stop at the gas station and Mayson’s impromptu run into the accompanying convenience store the ADA had been short with her, rarely offering more than one word answers.
Lois blew a short breath out, pushing a stray hair out of her face as she took a right turn and pulled out onto the main highway. She could feel Mayson’s eyes on her as she jerked the steering wheel, hoping to throw the ADA off balance and just say something – whatever it was that was fueling that snarky glare in her direction.
Why had Mayson insisted on tagging along in the first place?
Sharing the lead had just been a courtesy, not an invitation to tag along.
Yet here she was, silently staring Lois down as she went out of her way to hinder any ground they were attempting to make in their investigation of McCarthy.
Lois met Mayson’s glare in the rearview mirror with an equally threatening stare of her own before clearing her throat and asking, “So, Mayson, what exactly is the District Attorney’s position if we find Colleen McCarthy is helping her son?”
Mayson appeared to be caught off guard at the question, narrowing her eyes at Lois before then looking over her shoulder at Dan Scardino, “I haven’t updated the District Attorney on the case yet.”
“So, you’re here on an unofficial capacity?” Lois ventured, jerking the wheel again causing Mayson to slide across the backseat and throw her off her game.
“Why does it matter?” Mayson snarled back at her.
“It matters if you decide to start making an official arrest as an officer of the court,” Clark interrupted, reaching his hand over to squeeze Lois’ shoulder. She caught an expression cross his face that looked almost like apprehension as they reached the neighborhood she had been looking for.
“How about I save everyone the trouble?” Dan piped in, raising his hand. “I’ll make any arrests needed just stop knocking us around like scrambled eggs. I’m getting sea sick here, Lane.”
“Sorry,” Lois smiled sweetly, allowing a fake smile to cross her face as she stared back at Mayson in her rearview mirror. “I guess I’m just not used to having passengers.”
Clark gave her a warning stare but didn’t say anything as they reached the driveway they had been looking for.
“We’re here.”
________________________________________
Clark sat next to Lois, leaning over her shoulder on the front porch swing of the McCarthy residence where the hospitable Colleen McCarthy was pouring over the photo albums of Sean McCarthy’s younger – yet still deviant days in lieu of answering Lois’ questions.
“... and that's a picture of Sean when he was ten. We took that the day before he blew up the garage. Look at those dimples. He was such a cute baby.” The elderly Colleen McCarthy pointed to the photo album, intent on walking through each and every deviant milestone of Sean McCarthy’s troublesome past.
He caught Lois’ uncomfortable expression as she looked from him and then back to Colleen McCarthy before adding a weak, “Adorable,” in response.
“And really a wonderful son. Actually Sean is responsible for my taking up needle point. After he went to prison I had to find some way to support myself.” Colleen gestured to the needles in her hand as she worked on knitting the tapestry as they spoke.
At this rate they would never find out who might be working with Sean McCarthy or who could be behind his sudden rise from the dead. “Um, Mrs. McCarthy, did Sean have any close friends.”
Colleen frowned, looking distressed for a moment before pasting on a grin as she responded, “I’m afraid little Sean didn’t make friends easily.” She pointed to a mugshot in the album of Sean McCarthy with this year’s date on it. “Oh, that was the last picture taken of Sean. Two weeks before he died. Isn't he adorable?”
There was that smile again.
Clark couldn’t help but wonder how a woman that should be grieving her son’s death could be so carefree and happy as she spoke of her son. He knew first hand with many of the grieving parents he encountered as Superman and often the visits to them after a rescue that it was never as easy as brushing yourself off and pasting on a good face for the world when it came to grief – especially a parent’s child. No matter what mistakes that child may or may not have made in their life. His gut told him Mrs. McCarthy knew something. He just wasn’t sure how to pass that bit to Lois without raising Colleen’s suspicions.
“So, Sean was a loner?” Clark asked, tapping Lois on the elbow as he spoke. She looked back at him in surprise. He gestured with his neck to the back where Mayson and Dan were supposed to be searching the house while they kept Colleen busy. So far all he could pick up on was bickering.
“Well, I wouldn’t say that exactly,” Colleen ventured thoughtfully. “He was a special boy my Sean. He was selective on those he kept company with.”
“And who exactly did he keep company with?” Lois asked, catching the glint in Clark’s eyes.
“Well, they were pen pals.”
“They wrote to each other?” Clark asked.
Mrs. McCarthy shook her head, “No, no. They met in the pen.” She let out a light chuckle. “I think Sean might have mentioned him in one of the letters he wrote me from prison.” Clark watched her reach behind her for the large box of letters tied together with a blue ribbon.
Just as she pulled them out Clark heard an argument from inside the house.
“Are you crazy? You’re going to get us caught!”
“If that sociopath is behind my car bombing then he deserves to know I’m the one that got him!”
“Mayson you don’t have anything to prove it was McCarthy yet. You can’t go around advertising your plans for revenge with the psycho’s mom right outside!”Clark tapped Lois’ elbow once more as he heard Colleen McCarthy get up from her seat, “Oh, sounds like the tea’s ready. I’ll be right back.”
Clark stood up, trying to not alert the potentially deadly woman in front of him. “You know, how about I go with you?”
Her face flashed between surprise, confusion and then quickly was replaced with genuine joy as she held her arm out for him to take. “You know, Sean used to help me with tea time all the time. He was such a smart little boy…”
Clark mouthed to Lois as he was leaving, “Get the letters.”
________________________________________
Lois watched Colleen and Clark disappear off the front porch of the McCarthy residence and disappear inside with the sound of the whistling tea kettle ringing in her ears. She flipped through the letters, grabbing a handful of what seemed to be the most recent stack when she heard a shriek come from inside.
A second later she looked up and saw a red and blue streak of pigments rush past her before she heard a muffled blast coming from below her, shaking the porch and the solid structure of the house it was attached to. She reached out to hold the wood poster, helping hold the porch together. She let out a yelp in surprise as the rumbling below her stopped. She looked up and saw Clark dressed in his Superman uniform holding an incendiary device.
“Cl…Superman?” Lois corrected herself as she looked back at him, catching sight of Colleen McCarthy a few feet away.
She gripped the frame of the porch swing, taking a moment to get her bearings as she stood to her feet. It was strange to see Clark like this. She had seen Superman before – timeless times before. Flown with him and talked to him but it felt different somehow. Knowing that beneath the spandex and red cape was also her friend and partner. She could feel his gaze on her as she found her bearings. Her gaze shifted to the basket of letters that had been tossled around the porch and she leaned down to pick them up.
“Oh, my…” Colleen responded in awe as she looked around the porch.
“I heard what sounded like a detonator timer and decided to investigate.” Clark explained, holding up the device. “Insurance should take care of the damage.” He looked at Colleen, “Are you okay, Ma’am?”
“Why yes, Mr. Superman…” Colleen responded, waving herself. “I…I think I’m going to go lie down. Too much excitement for an old woman.”
“Mrs. McCarthy would you mind if we took these letters for a while?” Lois asked, holding the letters in her hand up for Mrs. McCarthy to see.
“Of course,” she waved Lois off. “Probably safer with you anyway.”
Lois watched Colleen McCarthy disappear then looked back at Clark, unsure what to say. There were still so many questions she had – questions she hadn’t quite gotten up the nerve to ask him but now was not the time for that. Clark said he found an incendiary device below the house. Someone had tried to level the place with McCarthy’s mom and these letters in it.
Could it be McCarthy?
A voice came from around the side of the house and he heard Dan Scardino call out, “Superman, you sure do have some impeccable timing.”
“Agent Scardino,” Clark crossed his arms over his chest and nodded to the DEA Agent.
“You’ve heard of me?” Dan asked in surprise.
“Here and there,” Clark supplied, with a nod and Lois spotted the crease in between his eyebrows that told her he realized his slip up. “You certainly do have a way of attracting danger.” He waved the incendiary device in the air.
Scardino hobbled up the hill to where Clark stood to inspect the device and frowned. “This isn’t McCarthy’s handiwork.”
“Then whose is it?” Mayson called out, holding her hand to her head, nursing a cut on her forehead as she approached.
“Mayson, are you all right?” Lois asked, seeing the cut on her head.
“I’m fine,” Mayson waved her off, dismissing the concern as if it was an annoying fly she was swatting away. She then gestured to the incendiary device in Clark’s hands. “If it wasn’t McCarthy then who was it?”
“I don’t know,” Dan shrugged his shoulders. “We’ll have to bag it up and take it to the lab for the guys to tell us whose handiwork it is.” He pointed to the cut on Mayson’s head. “Maybe you can see a doc about that cut on your head while they’re analyzing it.”
“I don’t need a doctor, Scardino.” Mayson gritted her teeth as she growled back at Dan.
“You sure about that?” Dan shot back pointing to the house they were just in. “You were the one trying to plaster your name all over the place like some sort of lunatic.”
“I wanted him to know I had him in my sights. Make him run scared for once.”
“Put a target on your back, you mean.” Lois interjected, shaking her head. “Look, Mayson, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to side with Dan here. “You need to get that checked out.” She tapped on her forehead to illustrate her point.
“I think I’ll find my own way back to New Troy,” Mayson huffed, stomping off in defiance.
Lois looked at Clark with an uneasy gaze and he shook his head, unsure what to do. “I’m going to go find Clark.”
Dan nodded, holding up the incendiary device. “I’m going to hitch a ride to get this over to the lab across the bay. See if they can rush this. I’ll let you guys know what I find out.”
“Okay,” Lois nodded, holding the letters she’d confiscated from Colleen McCarthy close to her chest as she wondered just who or what had been the target of the bomb placed under Sean McCarthy’s mother’s home. She turned back to Clark and shrugged her shoulders, “I guess it’s just you and me, partner.”
________________________________________
Clark straightened his tie as he approached the Jeep, having changed back into his suit and glasses. His head was swimming with confusion over Mayson's bizarre behavior and he pondered momentarily if he should patrol the skies and look for her.
'And do what when you find her?' He scoffed to himself. He didn’t have any answers and though she’d been banged up by the explosion at the McCarthy’s. The argument he’d overheard between Mayson and Scardino hadn’t been a little spat either. Her behavior seemed to be rubbing just about everyone the wrong way as of lately. What was causing it he couldn’t quite pinpoint. It seemed Mayson had run into just about every bad situation one could come across in the last week. Car bombing. Shooting. Then another bomb.
He was sure the near-death experiences had something to do with her out of character behavior but he was at a loss as to how to handle it or what he could do. She wasn’t a danger to herself or anyone around her. She wasn’t in imminent harm. There was nothing he could do as Clark or Superman to force her to get checked out by a doctor or intervene on what he interpreted as PTSD from the combination of traumatic events that had loomed over Mayson these past few days. He was no more capable of making Mayson seek medical attention than any other concerned citizen. That was a hard truth he had to accept for the moment.
He let out a long breath and looking over to Lois who was cleaning the remnants of Dan Scardino's road trip snacks out of her car.
"Hey, " he said, setting a hand on the hood of her Jeep.
"Hey, " Lois gave him a quick glance before handing him a small grocery bag of plastic wrappers she had fished out of her floorboards.
"You want some help?" Clark asked, pointing to the mess she was fishing through.
She shook her head, "It's keeping me from finding Mayson and strangling her for the stunt she tried to pull." Before he could respond, she added, "I mean what in the hell was she thinking? Why not point a neon sign at all of us and give the potential third-party bomber that tried to level McCarthy's whack job of a mother's house directions on where to find us?"
"Lois, breathe, " Clark placed another hand on her other shoulder pulling her to him. "I don't understand it any more than you do but there's not a whole lot we can do other than continue the investigation and hope Colleen McCarthy hasn't tipped off her son."
Lois bit her lower lip and looked back at him with a solemn expression, “There’s something wrong with Mayson.” She let out a huff and blew the hair out of her face, “You have to admit that much, right? I mean I didn’t imagine….”
“I know,” Clark sighed, running a hand through his hair. “There is something going on with her, but unfortunately there’s nothing we can do about that until she’s ready to listen.”
“How is she expecting to get back to New Troy?” Lois muttered in disbelief pointing around the quiet street they were on. “It’s not like there’s cabs driving around looking to give people a lift.”
“I don’t know.” Clark admitted shaking his head. “I’d try and find her and give her a lift home if I thought it’d do any good.” Clark shrugged his shoulders unsure what else to say. Lois raised an eyebrow, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I guess there’s limits to what even Superman can do, huh?”
“Yeah.” he admitted. “I can do a lot but I can’t break the law or force my will on someone. I’m worried about Mayson, yes, but I can’t just drop her off at a hospital and make her see a doctor if she doesn’t want to.” He gave her a half-smile, “Anymore than I can convince a certain reporter to quit jumping in head first to dangerous situations.”
He then pointed to her car where she had tucked the letters they found at Colleen McCarthy’s. “Anything stand out to you?”
Lois shook her head, “Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to go through them. That bomb went off before I could read anything.”
“If you want, I can drive back and you can go through them.” Clark offered. He then smiled, “Or we could fly back.”
“And how exactly am I supposed to get my Jeep home?” Lois asked with a chuckle.
A smile crossed his face and she felt a cool breeze brush across her face before the wind bristled through her hair as she flew through the air, tucked safely in Clark’s arms. She looked up in surprise when she saw Clark’s other arm lifted above his head as he held her Jeep in his hand with barely any effort.
She let out a gasp in surprise, “I guess that answers that question.”
“Hold on,” Clark instructed. “We’ll be there in just a few.”
________________________________________
TBC....
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