Sorry for the late post. Work was super busy this week. Feedback fuels the muse, so let me know what you think.
Missing--Part III
Lois made sure she was at Clark’s apartment well ahead of Mayson’s arrival. Though she was anxious to hear what Mayson had to say, she was feeling territorial. Just a few days before, she witnessed Clark kissing Mayson in this very room, and she hadn’t liked it one bit. Clark was her best friend, and he deserved so much better than that obnoxious Assistant DA. The woman didn’t even like Superman!
Right now, though Clark’s safety was Lois’ top priority, and she would work with the devil himself if it meant that he would return home. In fact, given a choice, she would personally hand him over to Mayson rather than see him hurt. She…cared for him that much.
Clark, please come home.
Lost in thought, Lois was startled by the knock on the door. Regaining her composure, she rushed up the stairs to allow Mayson to enter.
“What did you find?” she asked without preamble.
Letting the lack of greeting slide, Mayson told her, “I’ve got the transcripts of the police interviews with Baby Rage. It may be nothing, but….”
“But what?” Lois asked impatiently.
“He’s a cocky guy, but he’s pretty smart. He was very evasive on virtually every question, but the interviewer was able to use his ego against him when he asked about the threats against you.”
“And?” Lois asked.
“He said ‘Caesar’ was going to get you.” At the look on Lois’ face, she added, “I take it that means something to you.”
“Maybe,” Lois replied. “One of my sources said that ‘Caesar’ was mentioned in connection with Intergang. Did he say why ‘Caesar’ was after me?”
“Baby Rage said that you had messed up some deal for him. Do you know what deal he was talking about?”
“Not offhand, but I can look through my recent records. Did he happen to mention Clark in those transcripts?”
“Just that Clark was a dead man,” Mayson related sadly.
Lois struggled to suppress the chill that ran through her. “Did he relate ‘Caesar’ to Clark in any way?”
“There was no mention of ‘Caesar’ anywhere else in the transcripts. I looked through the police database and there are no gang bangers using that nickname.”
Thinking aloud, Lois replied, “It seems that Clark didn’t end up on their radar until he planned to testify against Baby Rage. If ‘Caesar’ is after me, it must be for a story I covered alone.”
“You know who ‘Caesar’ is, don’t you?” Mayson asked presciently.
“I have an idea, yes, but I have absolutely no evidence. I just can’t figure out how Clark plays into this. My sources tell me that all the players are lying low in the wake of the bombing. Supposedly, they’ve even abandoned the plot against me. Why is Clark missing without a trace?”
“Can you trust your source?”
“Absolutely,” she began, but the rest of her reply was cut off by a knock on the door. “That’s probably Perry.”
She opened the door to reveal her furious editor. “Great shades of Elvis, woman, why won’t you do as you’re told?”
Ignoring the question, she responded, “Come in. You know Mayson Drake with the DA’s office.”
“Ms. Drake,” he nodded politely.
“We were just discussing some files Mayson found.”
Turning to Mayson, she added, “You’ve been very helpful, Mayson.”
“Oh, no! You aren’t cutting me out of this investigation, Lois. I want to find him just as much as you do.”
Lois’ first instinct was to cite her superior investigative skills and hustle that blonde interloper out of Clark’s apartment, hopefully for good. However, her need to find her partner took precedence over all else. If Mayson could help, then so be it.
Besides, what right did she have to keep her away? Mayson was the woman Clark had kissed only a few short days ago and the one he had danced with at the ball. She had no grounds to trample on his choices for the sake of her own desires.
“You’re right,” Lois conceded without further explanation. “Do you have any other leads?”
“You know I’m going to need more information. I can’t use my sources effectively if I don’t know what I’m looking for. Who is ‘Caesar’?”
“You aren’t going to like what I have to say, Mayson.”
“You think ‘Caesar’ is Bill Church,” Mayson said accusingly.
“There is strong circumstantial evidence linking ‘Caesar’s’ territorial expansion plans and the rise of Intergang to the building of Cost Mart stores.”
“You know that could simply be coincidence. Besides, Bill told me to my face that he had nothing to do with Intergang.”
“And you believed him?” Lois asked incredulously.
“Why wouldn’t I? He has been a friend and mentor to me.”
“So help me, Mayson, if anything happens to Clark because of your loyalty to Bill Church, I’ll…”
Mayson’s face turned red. “I can’t believe you would say something like that. I am duty-bound to uphold the law. If Bill is responsible for Clark’s disappearance, I will lock him in jail myself.”
Perry was shocked that Lois had allowed Mayson to join the investigation in any capacity. Her willingness to work with a rival spoke volumes about the depth of her feelings for Clark, but this discussion was quickly escalating out of control. “That’s enough!” he bellowed. “May I speak to you privately for a moment, Lois?”
Mayson and Lois turned in surprise, Perry’s presence having been completely forgotten.
“Yes, Chief,” Lois conceded, allowing Perry to lead her into the bedroom.
“Lois, what in the Sam Hill are you doing? You disobey a direct order from me, and then I find you here at Clark’s place antagonizing the assistant DA.”
“I need to find him, Perry,” she replied, offering no other explanation for her behavior.
“Of course you do, darlin’, but alienating potential allies and putting yourself in danger won’t help anyone.”
“I’m not in any danger. They’ve called off the hit on me. Clark’s the one in trouble, and I have to help him.” Her face crumbled a bit as she added, “I have to.”
Perry hugged her tightly, soothing her with his presence and his words. “It’s going to be alright, darlin’. You’ll see.”
After a few moments, she disengaged from his embrace, wiping small traces of moisture from her eyes. “Thanks, Perry.”
“You’re welcome. Now go out there and do what you do best—investigate.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s my girl,” Perry said, thrilled to see her fire returning.
“Where are you going?” she asked after noticing that he was preparing to leave.
“Some of us have to follow orders,” he replied sarcastically.
“Mr. Stern wouldn’t accept no for an answer, I take it.”
Perry chuckled. “Just like someone else I know. I’ll check in with you as soon as I can. Take it easy with the Mad Dog act, would ya’?”
“Aye, aye, Chief,” she responded, walking him out of the apartment.
When Perry was gone, she turned to address her other visitor. “Mayson, I’m sorry. I’m just worried about him.”
“I can see that,” Mayson replied, wondering, not for the first time, just how close Lois and Clark were.
“I know we’ve had our differences, but we both want the same thing here. Can we call a truce?” she asked, holding out her hand.
“Truce,” Mayson agreed, nodding her head and shaking Lois’ hand.
“Great. Let’s get to work. Clark’s files are on the table. Why don’t you get started while I make a quick phone call.”
“You’re trusting me with your files?” Mayson asked in surprise.
“Clark trusts you. That’s good enough for me. Besides, we worked pretty well together against Martin Snell.”
Mayson smiled. “I guess we did. Snell didn’t deserve to die like that, though. I wonder how Intergang engineered that bombing.”
Lois shrugged. “It’s a well-connected organization, which makes it all the more dangerous. Give me a second and let me call Jimmy.”
Picking up the phone, she dialed a familiar number. “Jimmy, it’s Lois. Can you find all of the articles I’ve worked on alone in the last year?”
“Sure, Lois. Do you want me to e-mail them to you?”
“No, Jimmy. Why don’t you bring them over? I could use an extra pair of eyes on this.”
His delight evident, he responded, “Great. I’ll get those files and be right there.”
“Thanks, Jimmy.”
“Did you get what you needed?” Mayson asked.
Lois nodded. “Jimmy will bring the files in just a few minutes. Have you found anything I might have missed?”
“Well, you’re right about the strong correlation between Intergang and Cost Mart stores. I just can’t believe that Bill Church is behind it.”
“Look, maybe it’s someone in his organization. I’m willing to be wrong as long as we find Clark. Anything else?”
“Well, I also noticed that his files were out of order. This paper was accidentally wedged between some earlier notes. Why is Clark asking who fired the shot?”
“Let me see that,” Lois ordered, snatching the printed file from Mayson’s hands and pacing around the room. “I can’t believe that I missed this. He must have written it after our conversation on Sunday. I wonder if he was searching for the shooter when he disappeared.”
“What shooter, Lois?” Mayson prompted.
“What? Oh…Superman stopped a bullet aimed at Perry. Apparently, Intergang has technology that allows them to use genetic tags to guide ‘smart’ bullets. They were trying to use this weapon to control Superman’s activities.”
“By targeting his friends?” she asked.
“Yes. Perry, Jimmy and I were all chosen as targets. Jimmy and I were attacked with paint pellets as a demonstration, but the bullet meant for Perry was real.”
“And how did Superman deal with the threats?”
“Just what are you implying, Mayson?” Lois asked indignantly.
Mayson held up her hands in a gesture of peace. “Nothing, Lois. It’s just that some of my colleagues mentioned that Superman’s presence had been noticeably absent from the Southside in recent days. I was wondering if the threats had something to do with it.”
“Superman kept a presence there, but he had to find more creative ways to help. I can assure you that he never gave in to the demands of that criminal organization. Once he eliminated the assassination threat, he resumed his normal activities.”
“Wait a minute,” Mayson said, making a sudden connection. “My office issued a warrant to search a facility after Superman reported an unusual shooting incident somewhere in the Southside.”
“Did the police find anything?”
“I don’t think so. I would have heard otherwise.”
“Can you check with your office to find out more?”
“No one’s there at this hour, so I’ll have to go get the files. You want to come?”
Lois shook her head. “I have to wait for Jimmy. Can I meet you there?”
“Alright, I’ll see you at my office in a few minutes,” she replied, collecting her belongings and letting herself out of the apartment.
After Mayson’s departure, Lois took a moment to re-examine Clark’s notes. She and Clark had discussed everything except for his final notation: Techs detained. Equipment destroyed. Who fired the shot?
Had Clark left his apartment soon after she ended their phone call? Why did he leave his wallet, cell phone and glasses behind? Did he try to keep his cover intact by only taking his keys with him?
That scenario didn’t seem right to her. Can he see without his glasses? It seemed more likely that someone had come to his apartment and taken him. Why weren’t there any signs of a struggle? Was it someone that he knew?
She began searching his apartment again for any evidence she might have missed earlier. After several minutes of fruitless searching, however, she heard the knock signaling Jimmy’s arrival.
Grabbing her bag, she met him at the door. “Let’s go, Jimmy,” she snapped.
“Go where?” he asked in confusion.
“We’re meeting Mayson at her office.”
“So I didn’t need to bring these files?” he queried, following her.
“I’ll look at them later, Jimmy. Get in the car.”
“Yes, ma’am. Can you tell me what you’ve learned or are you going to snap at me all night?”
“I’m sorry, Jimmy,” she told him as she pulled her car out into the street. “Clark’s disappearance just doesn’t make any sense, and I’m worried that time is running out.”
“We’ll find him, Lois,” he reassured her. “Why are we going to Mayson’s office?”
“She had a lead on the location of the gun that fired that ‘smart’ bullet at Perry. It was the last thing Clark mentioned in his notes.”
“You gotta admit that was a sweet technology. It reminds me of some of the work that ‘Rubicon’ used to do in getting computers to interact with the human body. I’m sure glad that Superman got that tag out of me….”
“Wait,” Lois interrupted. “Did you say his name was ‘Rubicon’?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Do you know him?”
“Not personally, but I know some of his work. He’s a premier hacker, but he started doing some freelance work for big companies. Since then, he’s kept a low profile.”
“Did he work for Cost Mart?”
“Not that I know of. Why?”
“I just find it odd that there’s both a ‘Caesar’ and a ‘Rubicon’ seemingly linked to this case.”
“Just like Roman history. Yeah, that is weird.”
Lois raised her eyebrows in surprise, and Jimmy replied to her unanswered question, “I liked studying history.”
“I’m impressed, Jimmy. What else do you know about ‘Rubicon’?”
“Not much. Someone asked ‘Rubicon’ in a chat why he picked the name, and he said that it reminded him not to be limited by other people’s boundaries.”
“Great, so we have ‘Caesar’ expanding his territory and ‘Rubicon’ possibly tagging people for assassination. Clearly neither one of them has any interest in following the law. Are they working together? How does Clark fit into all of this?”
Lois’ musings were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. After a brief conversation, she rerouted her Jeep to meet Mayson at the site Superman mentioned in his statement.
Upon their arrival, she and Jimmy quickly located Mayson.
“I can’t believe we have a bunker like this in Metropolis. It looks like Superman did a number on that wall,” Jimmy said.
“The bunker and pillbox are relics from World War II,” Mayson responded. “Records indicate that it was purchased by Idus Martias, Ltd. a year ago.”
“The Ides of March,” Lois translated. “Another connection to ‘Caesar’. Do we know who owns it?”
Mayson shook her head. “It’s a shell company.”
“Of course,” Lois said in disgust. “Can we go in and take a look?”
Mayson gave her a stern expression. “We can go in, but you can’t tamper with the evidence. Not that there’s much there. After Superman left to save your boss, the bad guys cleaned this place out. They were amazingly efficient.”
“The only evidence I’m interested in right now is a clue that will lead us to Clark. Did you learn anything that could help?”
“The officers responsible for patrolling this neighborhood said that they haven’t seen anyone matching his description in the area.”
“He learned his stakeout skills from me, so he could have escaped their notice. Let’s see if he went inside.”
Taking note of the bent gun barrel protruding from the pillbox on the hill, Lois followed Mayson into the destroyed building. The bunker was littered with debris from the collapsed wall and shards of plastic and glass that once housed sophisticated computer equipment. To her great disappointment, nothing seemed to indicate that Clark had ever been present at this location.
Refusing to give into despair, Lois realized that their best chance at finding him would be to learn more about ‘Caesar’ and his operation.
“Jimmy, what can you tell me about the computer setup?”
“Not much. The way they’ve rigged the wiring over here tells me that they could fire the gun from both the bunker and a remote location,” he said, indicating a metal box on the wall. “Does that help?”
“Can you identify the remote location?” Lois asked as she moved to inspect the box.
“I’m sorry, Lois. The gun could have been fired from anywhere.”
Noticing a small, shiny object on the floor, Lois decided to distract her companions. “What’s that over there?” she asked, pointing to far side of the room.
As Jimmy and Mayson moved to inspect the area, she bent down and snatched the computer chip from its resting place.
“It’s just some rubble,” Jimmy replied sadly, disappointed that they hadn’t found an important clue.
“This has been a waste of time. We are no closer to finding Clark than we were this morning,” Lois vented, her frustration evident.
“It’s late,” Mayson noted. “Why don’t we all go home and get some sleep? We can start looking again in the morning.”
Lois started to argue, but thought better of it. She still needed to sift through her past stories, and she wouldn’t have to report to Mayson if she found anything useful about ‘Caesar’.
“Fine,” she sighed. “I’ll drive you to your car, Jimmy.”
“Thanks for the help, Mayson,” Jimmy added.
“Sure. Let me know if you hear anything,” Mayson replied.
“Of course,” Lois responded, opening her car door. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
The ride back to Clark’s place was somber, with neither Lois nor Jimmy willing to mention the unthinkable. As Jimmy moved to get out of the car, Lois handed him the chip. “Find out what you can about this.”
Jimmy looked at her for a moment, noting the anguish in her expression. He gave her a quick hug and assured her, “I’ll do my best. See you in the morning.”
Lois sat in her Jeep and waited for Jimmy to safely make it back to his car. Once he started his engine, she pulled out of her parking space and headed for home. She usually worked well in the sanctuary of her private space, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed to be at Clark’s place tonight. Trusting her gut, she circled the block, parked, and headed inside.
Armed with the new reading material that Jimmy brought her, she was determined to find the lead that would bring Clark safely back to her. As she strode through the living room, however, she noticed the picture of the two of them at the recent Kerth awards dinner. The framed photo occupied a prominent place in the room, and she felt tears well up in her eyes as she allowed herself to recognize what she had denied all of these months—they were a breathtaking couple.
She clutched the picture with trembling hands and sank down on her partner’s couch. She could feel his spirit so tangibly in this space, but his physical absence threatened to overwhelm her. With tears coursing down her cheeks, she whispered, “Come home to me, Clark. I need you. I love you.”
