Vatman - Matchmaker Style 1/08 - 04/07/15 02:43 PM
Vatman - Matchmaker Style 1/08
When Virginia proposed the challenge of taking a first season story and having it result in Lois and Clark being married I took up the challenge and "The Green, Green Glow of Home - Matchmaker Style" was the result.
That was all well and good, but then I started thinking - What about future episodes? How would the fact that they are now married affect the dynamic? For instance, how would "Pheromone My Lovely" have been changed by the marriage? How would it affect "Honeymoon in Metropolis" and "All Shook Up", "Witness", "Illusions of Grandeur", "Ides of Metropolis", "The Foundling" and "The Rival"?
In the previous stories, you've seen my take on the answer. So, now, to answer the question - ‘What if Lois and Clark were already married when Vatman happened?' I offer the following.
As with the series as originally aired the episodes build on one another making a contiguous story. It is recommended that if you are reading this story out of sequence you will miss some references. Please go back and start with the first episode of the set "The Green Green Glow of Home - Matchmaker Style and take the episodes in broadcast order from that point.
Vatman - Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
Disclaimers:The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros.No Copyright infringement is intended.I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
In this, the sequel to The Rival - Matchmaker Style. Lois and Clark have been back from the assignment in Smallville for a few months. The events of PML were delightful; however, Lois really has no recollection of what happened. Clark finally had a chance to give Lois a real honeymoon. Then her life had been threatened because she had witnessed a murder. Next they investigated the kidnappings of the children of wealthy families. They have dealt with a murder and a threat to the internet and the messages regarding Clark's origin. Now they have to deal with a rival paper.
Lois and Clark now have returned to Clark's ‘old' apartment.
In this particular story a lot of the dialogue is taken from the script text. I wish to express my thanks to my Beta readers Artemis and Ray Reynolds for their invaluable help. This was a VERY rough draft when it first landed in their hands. This story is also a cross-over to a Morgana story. She graciously loaned me a location - Chez Morel and her character - Amandine Morel from her Café Americana story for this one.
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 1
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha -34 x Gamma 255 x Tau -225
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Two months prior to the events in this story - during The Rival - Matchmaker Style.
Lex Luthor was looking at the sales numbers for the Star and comparing them to those for the Planet. The Star was outselling the Planet two to one. He wondered how Preston Carpenter was doing it. The Star was actually a second rate paper, but somehow he was challenging the Planet for supremacy. As he put down the paper he received a call on his direct line, "Lex Luthor … Ah, Dr. Leek. How is our patient, today? … Oh, that soon. … I'll be in to see you, shortly."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois shifted her position in her sleep. As she did she felt her leg fall off the edge? The movement woke her up and she looked around thinking that she had scooted to the edge of the bed during the night. As she started to come to full wakefulness she remembered that she and Clark had engaged in a long drawn out lovemaking session before falling asleep and she had actually been lying on him when they both fell asleep. That had become one of her favorite positions in bed maybe even more than lying next to him with her head pillowed on his chest or spooning. Peeking around him she saw that they were in fact hovering five feet above the bed. She smiled and pulled her leg back up over his. Remembering what had happened the last time, when the alarm had gone off and it had startled Clark to wakefulness she was careful not to startle him. When he had been startled, they had crashed to the bed almost breaking it. She had been happy for his aura protecting her so she hadn't been injured in the fall. She scrunched up and managed to reach his lips with hers. The kiss was soft and sweet and Clark awoke slowly, with a smile on his face.
"Good morning, wife."
"Good morning to you, husband. I'm glad I didn't startle you. All that practice has paid off."
"Why?"
"Look at where we are."
Opening his eyes and glancing around he saw where they were and slowly lowered them back to the bed. "I'm glad it was you and not the alarm. If it had been the alarm we might have fallen like the last time."
She smiled and said, "That's why I decided to awaken sleeping beauty with a kiss," and chuckled as she finished.
As she slid off of him and onto the bed, her mind drifted back over the last few months. She had gotten married literally to the man of her dreams, totally unexpectedly. She had had to save him from Trask and his green Kryptonite. She had been exposed, twice, to the pheromone spray that Miranda had invented. Their weekend honeymoon had been interrupted by an investigation. Then she had almost lost her beloved when he went to battle a seventeen mile wide asteroid. When as a result of that battle he had lost his memory, she had managed to bring it back by using her special ‘therapy'. It was a good thing that she had managed to bring it back because she had needed him to protect her when an assassin came after her because she had witnessed him perform a hit. She had been hypnotized, harbored a suspected murderer, found out that Clark's biological parents hadn't abandoned him, they had sacrificed their lives so that he could be hers and most recently they had investigated a later day Citizen Kane.
She asked, "Life is never boring around you, is it?"
Raising one eyebrow, Clark reposted with a smile, "I would be tempted to say the same thing about you. Wherever you are, trouble seems to follow."
"I'm just glad that things have gotten back to normal since we busted Carpenter. Newsstand and subscription numbers are up higher than they were before the Star debacle. People just don't trust the Star anymore. Perry is as happy as … how would he put it? Oh, yeah, ‘As happy as a pig in a mud wallow.'" Glancing at the clock, she saw that the alarm was about to go off so she reached over and turned it off, "Oh, well. Time to get up."
Clark scooted over and gave her a kiss before heading to the bathroom.
By the time she had gotten up, put on her slippers and a robe he was coming out dressed and ready for work. "How do you want your eggs this morning?"
She had a thoughtful look as she said, "Hmmmmm, why don't you surprise me."
He had a mischievous glint in his eyes as he said, "Okay, surprise eggs, coming up."
She knew that he was up to something, but she smiled and headed to the bathroom knowing that whatever it was, she would like it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jimmy was at his desk running a search for Eduardo when the elevator chimed its arrival. Jimmy looked up when it did and as the doors opened he caught a glimpse of Lois and Clark breaking from an embrace and smiled. He had always liked Lois. She had taught him so much about reporting and Clark, ever since he had joined the staff, he'd been like a big brother to him. Seeing the two of them together and so happy made him feel that all was right with the world. It also gave him hope that maybe, someday he'd find someone as special to him as Lois was to Clark. Maybe Lois would allow him to date her sister now that she had returned to Metropolis. He'd have to ask her, sometime. He'd asked her before, but she had been so protective of her sister that she had hit him with all of these … requirements. He hoped that now that she was married, she had mellowed … somewhat.
His eyes followed them down the ramp and to their desks. Clark's hand was at the small of Lois's back the entire time, just a gentle touch, but that touch obviously meant something. Not possessiveness, nobody could really possess Lois Lane. It obviously meant something more … intimate … to both of them. They seemed to touch … a lot. Maybe even more than most couples he knew.
What Jimmy didn't know was that Lois and Clark had been told was that the more that Lois was within Clark's aura the sooner her metabolism would be changed. Once it was sufficiently modified then she could become pregnant.
Jimmy noted that as they parted and Clark moved to his own desk, Lois followed him with her eyes. It was like she was still touching him.
She dropped her bag next to her desk and once they were both seated, she took a swig from her travel mug, sighed in blissful pleasure at the flavor, put it down, reached out to turn on her computer so that she could check her e-mail and punch up the stories she was working on.
A few minutes later, the elevator dinged again and Jimmy looked up to see who was on board. He was surprised to see Inspector Bill Henderson step out. Jimmy watched as he scanned the bull pen, finally spotting Lois and Clark. Jimmy watched as he made his way down the ramp to their desks. Standing next to Clark he cleared his throat.
Jimmy saw Clark's startled expression as he looked up and for the first time was aware that Bill was there. Jimmy heard him ask, "Bill, what brings you here?"
"Can we talk? Privately?"
When Henderson spoke, Jimmy saw Lois's head come up and look in Clark's direction, spotting Henderson. Apparently, her curiosity was piqued because she stood up and approached, but as she did, Clark stood and the three of them moved to the conference room. As Jimmy watched Bill first closed the door and then the blinds blocking them from his view. He wondered why he was there and why the need for privacy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois had been curious about Henderson's reason for visiting. Seeing him close the door Lois's curiosity meter was pegged out. When Bill closed the blinds her curiosity went on overdrive. This had to be Big with a capital ‘B'.
Bill finally walked over, perched on the side of the conference table and said, "We've been doing an internal investigation into the death of the truck driver." (see Foundling - Matchmaker Style, chapter 10)
Clark started to smile.
In his normal, flat, tone, he said, "No, it wasn't a result of our conversation. It is standard procedure whenever a prisoner dies while in custody. We have found some interesting things. You were right. The MPD has been infiltrated. I have identified a number of individuals that I suspect.
Lois asked, "Are you going to fire them?"
"No, if we did that then their boss, I suspect - 'The Boss', would know that we were on to them and then just corrupt some more. I think we can learn more by keeping an eye on them. We might be able to feed them false leads. It is a chance to control the flow of information.
Clark said, "That sounds like a good idea."
"I have also acted on your other suggestion. Outside of center city is a precinct house that has virtually been abandoned. It's in a low crime area so a strong MPD presence wasn't needed. It's in the Brightview section. It's a section of older homes, mostly brownstones dating back to the twenties. The area used to be rank with racketeers and bootleggers, bathtub gin and speakeasies, but that went out with the end of the Proabition era. Over the last few weeks, I have been able to transfer trustworthy people into the facility. Men and women I am sure of and that I trust to keep secrets. I think we are ready for operation ‘Downfall'."
Clark smiled and said, "That sounds great, Bill. We'll drive through Brightview and get a feel for the area. I don’t think we’ve had to go through there on a story. It isn’t that familiar."
Lois was getting a little irritated at being left out, "I’ve heard of Brightview. It’s in the North-east section, isn’t it?”
Bill nodded his agreement.
Still curious, Lois asked, “Okay! What is this … Operation ‘Downfall'?"
Clark filled Lois in, "Remember I had Jack identify those voices on the tape?" (see The Rival - Matchmaker Style, chapter 8)
Lois nodded her head.
"I took the affidavit and the tape to Bill. I told him that we were investigating Luthor as possibly being ‘The Boss' and Bill is helping." He turned back to Bill and said, "Now we need to start collecting our other witnesses."
"I think I have that worked out."
"Great! We now have evidence of invasion of privacy, illegal wire tap and, thanks to Jack recognizing the voices, purchasing stolen property. Through Luthor’s possession of Superman's globe which Superman found in the hidden underground art gallery we now can link him to the stolen art. We still need some more things."
"We are going to start moving on that, but we can't move too fast. We don't want to make him suspicious."
"Right, we don't want to move too fast and blow it."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois and Clark had been out of the office the previous day. They'd had an appointment with the agency that was preparing a new ad campaign. This had been a photo shoot and they had been asked to bring a couple of changes of clothes with them.
A while after Bill left Perry received a packet of pictures from the agency so that he could pick the shots to be used. When he opened the packet and pulled out the pictures he gasped and dropped them on his desk. He roared, "LOIS AND CLARK - GET IN HERE!!"
Lois and Clark were both startled when they heard Perry bellow. They both jumped up and hurried to his office.
When they entered the office they could see that Perry was visibly upset, Clark worriedly asked, "What is it, Chief? What's wrong?"
Perry gave him a look of disbelief as he exclaimed, "What's wrong? Look at these!" He pushed the pile of photos across his desk.
Seeing the picture on top Lois started to smile. It was of her and Clark in an embrace, his shirt open, his tie askew and she had her hands under the shirt on his chest while Clark had his right hand on her left thigh, pulling her short skirt even higher.
Seeing that smile only infuriated Perry. They had gone on a photo shoot to get pictures for an ad campaign and what he got back were some photos that verged on an ‘R' rating.
Lois picked up the pile and started to go through it. In the next one she had moved behind Clark, he was holding her leg with her arms over his shoulders and her hands pulling his shirt open and on his bare chest. She smiled or chuckled at most of the pictures and made side comments to Clark as she thumbed through them.
The more Lois smiled and giggled the madder Perry became. What was going on here?
Perry watched and once they had gone through them, Clark sorted them into two piles.
Picking up one pile, he handed it to Perry. That pile consisted of only six pictures. "Here you go, Chief. I think some of these will be suitable."
Perry started to calm down as he was going through them and then laid out three for a closer look. This was more like it. One was of Lois standing by Clark. Clark was in a charcoal suit and Lois was wearing a brown pantsuit with a jacket. Both were also wearing serious expressions and holding notepads and pencils as if they were making notes. The second one was somewhat more relaxed. Clark had his hands in his pants pockets with his jacket open. Lois was wearing a short skirt with a cream colored blouse, open at the neck. She was leaning back against him with her right shoulder against his left. They were looking at each other and smiling. In the third one, Lois was up on Clark's shoulder. Perry didn't even bother to look at the others.
Tapping the one pile, Perry said, "These are the ones to be used for the new ad campaign." He went on to explain the reason for the assignment, "After blowing the lid off of Preston Carpenter's little shenanigan Marketing decided that we could boost sales even more by advertising the team that broke the story. They came up with your new slogan, you know like ‘The Dynamic Duo'. They want to call you ‘The Hottest Team in Town'.” Indicating the pile of photos that Clark had in his hand, he asked, "What were those others?"
A little embarrassed at their excess, Lois spoke up, "Well, Perry, you see, it's this way. We haven't had that many pictures, of us, as a couple, so we, sort of, had some extra shots taken."
"One that I saw almost looked like you were having sex, with your clothes on. What about that one where Clark is bent over and you are lying on his back with your arms and legs outstretched. What was that all about?"
In that one, Lois had been pretending to fly using Clark as her support, but she couldn't say that to Perry, "Oh, we were just … kidding around."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A few days later, Lois and Clark showed up at the Metropolis Women's Prison with a request to interview Toni Taylor. They were shown to an interview room and asked to wait.
They sat at a table and a short time later, Toni was brought in. She sat across from them and looked at them skeptically. She zeroed in on Clark and said, “Good to see you again, Charlie or should I call you Clark?”
Clark replied sheepishly, “It’s Clark. I’m sorry that we had to deceive you, but that’s our job. Go in and get the story.”
“Well, you sure fooled me. I thought there was something special between us, but it all turned out to be a sham. I still remember that kiss in your apartment,” she said with a hopeful, wistful tone.
Lois had had just about enough of this and decided that it was time for Toni to know that Clark was off the market. “A lot has happened since then.” She brought her hands up and laid them on the table so that Toni could not help, but see her rings, “Clark and I are married now.”
Toni looked back and forth and Clark nodded his agreement.
Toni sighed and shook her head in resignation, “You’ll never know what you’re going to miss.”
He replied, “I know what I have.”
As Clark started talking small talk, Lois opened a notebook and passed it to Toni. She placed her finger on the page of the notebook emphatically and another finger to her lips indicating silence. While Clark kept up some chatter which Lois added to, Toni was busy reading.
As she read, her eyebrows climbed almost into her hairline. Various emotions crossed her features, fear, disbelief and finally relief. When she finished reading she closed the notebook and passed it back to Lois. Once this was done she participated in the conversation. They talked a bit about her time with the Metros. When Lois asked how she liked prison life, she responded with the code words, "It could be better, but it's better than being dead." The use of that phrase indicated that she agreed to the proposal.
After another ten minutes of more or less meaningless conversation, Lois and Clark thanked Toni for her time and took their leave.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The following week, Lex Luthor called Nigel St. John to his office. Luthor asked, "Status?"
"Operations are at a low key right now per your instructions. Oh, we just got a report from our contact in Metropolis Women's Prison. Last week, Lois Lane and Clark Kent went to see Toni Taylor. The tape made during the interview didn't disclose anything. She was not giving them any information.”
“A few days later the inmate that was keeping an eye on Toni reported that she started complaining of abdominal pain. The staff didn't think anything of it and did nothing. Eventually she apparently passed out.”
“They found her unconscious and rushed her to the hospital. It would appear that her appendix had ruptured. She failed to receive the necessary care in time and died on the operating table." Nigel finished his report calmly.
Luthor sat back in his chair and took a deep drag on his cigar savoring the taste before blowing a smoke ring. "Such a pity. I'd had high hopes for her. She was keeping her mouth shut. If she had opened up to Lane and Kent, we would have had to shut it permanently. This just saves us the trouble and future worry. I really hate loose ends, don't you?"
"Yes, sir."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The day after Toni Taylor's death, Clark received an e-mail from Bill Henderson telling him that if Lois didn't pay her parking fines she would have her license suspended.
As soon as Clark had opened it, he had called Lois over to read it. As soon as she did they high fived.
Jimmy was doing some research for Cat and watching Lois and Clark from his desk as he ran a search program. When he saw the high five he began to wonder just what the source of the celebration was. Lois and Clark were both pleased with whatever news they had just gotten. He tried to think of what kind of thing would make them both happy at the same time.
As he was mulling over the possibilities his computer beeped as it completed its search. The search was related to the recent kidnappings of the children of wealthy families in Metropolis. A list of children names started to scroll across his screen. That gave him and idea.
He tried to get a good look at Lois's abdomen, but she was sitting at her desk again.
Just then she stood up and went to the supply closet. As she stood, Jimmy noticed how she was dressed, sexy, but demure. An odd combination, low cut and short, but somewhat loose around the middle.
Jimmy thought, <Could she be? They do talk an awful lot about having a baby. I wonder.>
A little later, Jimmy was in Perry's office and he asked, "Chief, have Lois and Clark said anything to you?"
"About what?"
"Oh, I don't know. What they're doing? They were out the other day."
"Oh, that. They went for a photo shoot. Marketing is planning a new ad campaign featuring them as ‘The Hottest Team in Town'. I have to say, some of those shots I saw were hot. Some of them looked like they were having sex with their clothes on."
"Uh, huh. That's what I thought. You know how they can't keep their hands off of one another. I just saw them celebrating like they had gotten some good news. Do you think, Lois could be …"
"What? They have been married for over six months. No, well, they haven't said anything to me."
"Look at the way she's dressed today, loose fitting clothes."
Perry looked out his window and saw Clark hovering over Lois at her desk. It looked like he was giving her a back rub. He thought, <I used to give Alice back rubs when she was pregnant.> Aloud he said, "I see what you mean. We'll have to keep a close eye on them."
comments go here
TBC
When Virginia proposed the challenge of taking a first season story and having it result in Lois and Clark being married I took up the challenge and "The Green, Green Glow of Home - Matchmaker Style" was the result.
That was all well and good, but then I started thinking - What about future episodes? How would the fact that they are now married affect the dynamic? For instance, how would "Pheromone My Lovely" have been changed by the marriage? How would it affect "Honeymoon in Metropolis" and "All Shook Up", "Witness", "Illusions of Grandeur", "Ides of Metropolis", "The Foundling" and "The Rival"?
In the previous stories, you've seen my take on the answer. So, now, to answer the question - ‘What if Lois and Clark were already married when Vatman happened?' I offer the following.
As with the series as originally aired the episodes build on one another making a contiguous story. It is recommended that if you are reading this story out of sequence you will miss some references. Please go back and start with the first episode of the set "The Green Green Glow of Home - Matchmaker Style and take the episodes in broadcast order from that point.
Vatman - Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
Disclaimers:The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros.No Copyright infringement is intended.I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
In this, the sequel to The Rival - Matchmaker Style. Lois and Clark have been back from the assignment in Smallville for a few months. The events of PML were delightful; however, Lois really has no recollection of what happened. Clark finally had a chance to give Lois a real honeymoon. Then her life had been threatened because she had witnessed a murder. Next they investigated the kidnappings of the children of wealthy families. They have dealt with a murder and a threat to the internet and the messages regarding Clark's origin. Now they have to deal with a rival paper.
Lois and Clark now have returned to Clark's ‘old' apartment.
In this particular story a lot of the dialogue is taken from the script text. I wish to express my thanks to my Beta readers Artemis and Ray Reynolds for their invaluable help. This was a VERY rough draft when it first landed in their hands. This story is also a cross-over to a Morgana story. She graciously loaned me a location - Chez Morel and her character - Amandine Morel from her Café Americana story for this one.
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 1
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha -34 x Gamma 255 x Tau -225
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Two months prior to the events in this story - during The Rival - Matchmaker Style.
Lex Luthor was looking at the sales numbers for the Star and comparing them to those for the Planet. The Star was outselling the Planet two to one. He wondered how Preston Carpenter was doing it. The Star was actually a second rate paper, but somehow he was challenging the Planet for supremacy. As he put down the paper he received a call on his direct line, "Lex Luthor … Ah, Dr. Leek. How is our patient, today? … Oh, that soon. … I'll be in to see you, shortly."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois shifted her position in her sleep. As she did she felt her leg fall off the edge? The movement woke her up and she looked around thinking that she had scooted to the edge of the bed during the night. As she started to come to full wakefulness she remembered that she and Clark had engaged in a long drawn out lovemaking session before falling asleep and she had actually been lying on him when they both fell asleep. That had become one of her favorite positions in bed maybe even more than lying next to him with her head pillowed on his chest or spooning. Peeking around him she saw that they were in fact hovering five feet above the bed. She smiled and pulled her leg back up over his. Remembering what had happened the last time, when the alarm had gone off and it had startled Clark to wakefulness she was careful not to startle him. When he had been startled, they had crashed to the bed almost breaking it. She had been happy for his aura protecting her so she hadn't been injured in the fall. She scrunched up and managed to reach his lips with hers. The kiss was soft and sweet and Clark awoke slowly, with a smile on his face.
"Good morning, wife."
"Good morning to you, husband. I'm glad I didn't startle you. All that practice has paid off."
"Why?"
"Look at where we are."
Opening his eyes and glancing around he saw where they were and slowly lowered them back to the bed. "I'm glad it was you and not the alarm. If it had been the alarm we might have fallen like the last time."
She smiled and said, "That's why I decided to awaken sleeping beauty with a kiss," and chuckled as she finished.
As she slid off of him and onto the bed, her mind drifted back over the last few months. She had gotten married literally to the man of her dreams, totally unexpectedly. She had had to save him from Trask and his green Kryptonite. She had been exposed, twice, to the pheromone spray that Miranda had invented. Their weekend honeymoon had been interrupted by an investigation. Then she had almost lost her beloved when he went to battle a seventeen mile wide asteroid. When as a result of that battle he had lost his memory, she had managed to bring it back by using her special ‘therapy'. It was a good thing that she had managed to bring it back because she had needed him to protect her when an assassin came after her because she had witnessed him perform a hit. She had been hypnotized, harbored a suspected murderer, found out that Clark's biological parents hadn't abandoned him, they had sacrificed their lives so that he could be hers and most recently they had investigated a later day Citizen Kane.
She asked, "Life is never boring around you, is it?"
Raising one eyebrow, Clark reposted with a smile, "I would be tempted to say the same thing about you. Wherever you are, trouble seems to follow."
"I'm just glad that things have gotten back to normal since we busted Carpenter. Newsstand and subscription numbers are up higher than they were before the Star debacle. People just don't trust the Star anymore. Perry is as happy as … how would he put it? Oh, yeah, ‘As happy as a pig in a mud wallow.'" Glancing at the clock, she saw that the alarm was about to go off so she reached over and turned it off, "Oh, well. Time to get up."
Clark scooted over and gave her a kiss before heading to the bathroom.
By the time she had gotten up, put on her slippers and a robe he was coming out dressed and ready for work. "How do you want your eggs this morning?"
She had a thoughtful look as she said, "Hmmmmm, why don't you surprise me."
He had a mischievous glint in his eyes as he said, "Okay, surprise eggs, coming up."
She knew that he was up to something, but she smiled and headed to the bathroom knowing that whatever it was, she would like it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jimmy was at his desk running a search for Eduardo when the elevator chimed its arrival. Jimmy looked up when it did and as the doors opened he caught a glimpse of Lois and Clark breaking from an embrace and smiled. He had always liked Lois. She had taught him so much about reporting and Clark, ever since he had joined the staff, he'd been like a big brother to him. Seeing the two of them together and so happy made him feel that all was right with the world. It also gave him hope that maybe, someday he'd find someone as special to him as Lois was to Clark. Maybe Lois would allow him to date her sister now that she had returned to Metropolis. He'd have to ask her, sometime. He'd asked her before, but she had been so protective of her sister that she had hit him with all of these … requirements. He hoped that now that she was married, she had mellowed … somewhat.
His eyes followed them down the ramp and to their desks. Clark's hand was at the small of Lois's back the entire time, just a gentle touch, but that touch obviously meant something. Not possessiveness, nobody could really possess Lois Lane. It obviously meant something more … intimate … to both of them. They seemed to touch … a lot. Maybe even more than most couples he knew.
What Jimmy didn't know was that Lois and Clark had been told was that the more that Lois was within Clark's aura the sooner her metabolism would be changed. Once it was sufficiently modified then she could become pregnant.
Jimmy noted that as they parted and Clark moved to his own desk, Lois followed him with her eyes. It was like she was still touching him.
She dropped her bag next to her desk and once they were both seated, she took a swig from her travel mug, sighed in blissful pleasure at the flavor, put it down, reached out to turn on her computer so that she could check her e-mail and punch up the stories she was working on.
A few minutes later, the elevator dinged again and Jimmy looked up to see who was on board. He was surprised to see Inspector Bill Henderson step out. Jimmy watched as he scanned the bull pen, finally spotting Lois and Clark. Jimmy watched as he made his way down the ramp to their desks. Standing next to Clark he cleared his throat.
Jimmy saw Clark's startled expression as he looked up and for the first time was aware that Bill was there. Jimmy heard him ask, "Bill, what brings you here?"
"Can we talk? Privately?"
When Henderson spoke, Jimmy saw Lois's head come up and look in Clark's direction, spotting Henderson. Apparently, her curiosity was piqued because she stood up and approached, but as she did, Clark stood and the three of them moved to the conference room. As Jimmy watched Bill first closed the door and then the blinds blocking them from his view. He wondered why he was there and why the need for privacy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois had been curious about Henderson's reason for visiting. Seeing him close the door Lois's curiosity meter was pegged out. When Bill closed the blinds her curiosity went on overdrive. This had to be Big with a capital ‘B'.
Bill finally walked over, perched on the side of the conference table and said, "We've been doing an internal investigation into the death of the truck driver." (see Foundling - Matchmaker Style, chapter 10)
Clark started to smile.
In his normal, flat, tone, he said, "No, it wasn't a result of our conversation. It is standard procedure whenever a prisoner dies while in custody. We have found some interesting things. You were right. The MPD has been infiltrated. I have identified a number of individuals that I suspect.
Lois asked, "Are you going to fire them?"
"No, if we did that then their boss, I suspect - 'The Boss', would know that we were on to them and then just corrupt some more. I think we can learn more by keeping an eye on them. We might be able to feed them false leads. It is a chance to control the flow of information.
Clark said, "That sounds like a good idea."
"I have also acted on your other suggestion. Outside of center city is a precinct house that has virtually been abandoned. It's in a low crime area so a strong MPD presence wasn't needed. It's in the Brightview section. It's a section of older homes, mostly brownstones dating back to the twenties. The area used to be rank with racketeers and bootleggers, bathtub gin and speakeasies, but that went out with the end of the Proabition era. Over the last few weeks, I have been able to transfer trustworthy people into the facility. Men and women I am sure of and that I trust to keep secrets. I think we are ready for operation ‘Downfall'."
Clark smiled and said, "That sounds great, Bill. We'll drive through Brightview and get a feel for the area. I don’t think we’ve had to go through there on a story. It isn’t that familiar."
Lois was getting a little irritated at being left out, "I’ve heard of Brightview. It’s in the North-east section, isn’t it?”
Bill nodded his agreement.
Still curious, Lois asked, “Okay! What is this … Operation ‘Downfall'?"
Clark filled Lois in, "Remember I had Jack identify those voices on the tape?" (see The Rival - Matchmaker Style, chapter 8)
Lois nodded her head.
"I took the affidavit and the tape to Bill. I told him that we were investigating Luthor as possibly being ‘The Boss' and Bill is helping." He turned back to Bill and said, "Now we need to start collecting our other witnesses."
"I think I have that worked out."
"Great! We now have evidence of invasion of privacy, illegal wire tap and, thanks to Jack recognizing the voices, purchasing stolen property. Through Luthor’s possession of Superman's globe which Superman found in the hidden underground art gallery we now can link him to the stolen art. We still need some more things."
"We are going to start moving on that, but we can't move too fast. We don't want to make him suspicious."
"Right, we don't want to move too fast and blow it."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois and Clark had been out of the office the previous day. They'd had an appointment with the agency that was preparing a new ad campaign. This had been a photo shoot and they had been asked to bring a couple of changes of clothes with them.
A while after Bill left Perry received a packet of pictures from the agency so that he could pick the shots to be used. When he opened the packet and pulled out the pictures he gasped and dropped them on his desk. He roared, "LOIS AND CLARK - GET IN HERE!!"
Lois and Clark were both startled when they heard Perry bellow. They both jumped up and hurried to his office.
When they entered the office they could see that Perry was visibly upset, Clark worriedly asked, "What is it, Chief? What's wrong?"
Perry gave him a look of disbelief as he exclaimed, "What's wrong? Look at these!" He pushed the pile of photos across his desk.
Seeing the picture on top Lois started to smile. It was of her and Clark in an embrace, his shirt open, his tie askew and she had her hands under the shirt on his chest while Clark had his right hand on her left thigh, pulling her short skirt even higher.
Seeing that smile only infuriated Perry. They had gone on a photo shoot to get pictures for an ad campaign and what he got back were some photos that verged on an ‘R' rating.
Lois picked up the pile and started to go through it. In the next one she had moved behind Clark, he was holding her leg with her arms over his shoulders and her hands pulling his shirt open and on his bare chest. She smiled or chuckled at most of the pictures and made side comments to Clark as she thumbed through them.
The more Lois smiled and giggled the madder Perry became. What was going on here?
Perry watched and once they had gone through them, Clark sorted them into two piles.
Picking up one pile, he handed it to Perry. That pile consisted of only six pictures. "Here you go, Chief. I think some of these will be suitable."
Perry started to calm down as he was going through them and then laid out three for a closer look. This was more like it. One was of Lois standing by Clark. Clark was in a charcoal suit and Lois was wearing a brown pantsuit with a jacket. Both were also wearing serious expressions and holding notepads and pencils as if they were making notes. The second one was somewhat more relaxed. Clark had his hands in his pants pockets with his jacket open. Lois was wearing a short skirt with a cream colored blouse, open at the neck. She was leaning back against him with her right shoulder against his left. They were looking at each other and smiling. In the third one, Lois was up on Clark's shoulder. Perry didn't even bother to look at the others.
Tapping the one pile, Perry said, "These are the ones to be used for the new ad campaign." He went on to explain the reason for the assignment, "After blowing the lid off of Preston Carpenter's little shenanigan Marketing decided that we could boost sales even more by advertising the team that broke the story. They came up with your new slogan, you know like ‘The Dynamic Duo'. They want to call you ‘The Hottest Team in Town'.” Indicating the pile of photos that Clark had in his hand, he asked, "What were those others?"
A little embarrassed at their excess, Lois spoke up, "Well, Perry, you see, it's this way. We haven't had that many pictures, of us, as a couple, so we, sort of, had some extra shots taken."
"One that I saw almost looked like you were having sex, with your clothes on. What about that one where Clark is bent over and you are lying on his back with your arms and legs outstretched. What was that all about?"
In that one, Lois had been pretending to fly using Clark as her support, but she couldn't say that to Perry, "Oh, we were just … kidding around."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A few days later, Lois and Clark showed up at the Metropolis Women's Prison with a request to interview Toni Taylor. They were shown to an interview room and asked to wait.
They sat at a table and a short time later, Toni was brought in. She sat across from them and looked at them skeptically. She zeroed in on Clark and said, “Good to see you again, Charlie or should I call you Clark?”
Clark replied sheepishly, “It’s Clark. I’m sorry that we had to deceive you, but that’s our job. Go in and get the story.”
“Well, you sure fooled me. I thought there was something special between us, but it all turned out to be a sham. I still remember that kiss in your apartment,” she said with a hopeful, wistful tone.
Lois had had just about enough of this and decided that it was time for Toni to know that Clark was off the market. “A lot has happened since then.” She brought her hands up and laid them on the table so that Toni could not help, but see her rings, “Clark and I are married now.”
Toni looked back and forth and Clark nodded his agreement.
Toni sighed and shook her head in resignation, “You’ll never know what you’re going to miss.”
He replied, “I know what I have.”
As Clark started talking small talk, Lois opened a notebook and passed it to Toni. She placed her finger on the page of the notebook emphatically and another finger to her lips indicating silence. While Clark kept up some chatter which Lois added to, Toni was busy reading.
As she read, her eyebrows climbed almost into her hairline. Various emotions crossed her features, fear, disbelief and finally relief. When she finished reading she closed the notebook and passed it back to Lois. Once this was done she participated in the conversation. They talked a bit about her time with the Metros. When Lois asked how she liked prison life, she responded with the code words, "It could be better, but it's better than being dead." The use of that phrase indicated that she agreed to the proposal.
After another ten minutes of more or less meaningless conversation, Lois and Clark thanked Toni for her time and took their leave.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The following week, Lex Luthor called Nigel St. John to his office. Luthor asked, "Status?"
"Operations are at a low key right now per your instructions. Oh, we just got a report from our contact in Metropolis Women's Prison. Last week, Lois Lane and Clark Kent went to see Toni Taylor. The tape made during the interview didn't disclose anything. She was not giving them any information.”
“A few days later the inmate that was keeping an eye on Toni reported that she started complaining of abdominal pain. The staff didn't think anything of it and did nothing. Eventually she apparently passed out.”
“They found her unconscious and rushed her to the hospital. It would appear that her appendix had ruptured. She failed to receive the necessary care in time and died on the operating table." Nigel finished his report calmly.
Luthor sat back in his chair and took a deep drag on his cigar savoring the taste before blowing a smoke ring. "Such a pity. I'd had high hopes for her. She was keeping her mouth shut. If she had opened up to Lane and Kent, we would have had to shut it permanently. This just saves us the trouble and future worry. I really hate loose ends, don't you?"
"Yes, sir."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The day after Toni Taylor's death, Clark received an e-mail from Bill Henderson telling him that if Lois didn't pay her parking fines she would have her license suspended.
As soon as Clark had opened it, he had called Lois over to read it. As soon as she did they high fived.
Jimmy was doing some research for Cat and watching Lois and Clark from his desk as he ran a search program. When he saw the high five he began to wonder just what the source of the celebration was. Lois and Clark were both pleased with whatever news they had just gotten. He tried to think of what kind of thing would make them both happy at the same time.
As he was mulling over the possibilities his computer beeped as it completed its search. The search was related to the recent kidnappings of the children of wealthy families in Metropolis. A list of children names started to scroll across his screen. That gave him and idea.
He tried to get a good look at Lois's abdomen, but she was sitting at her desk again.
Just then she stood up and went to the supply closet. As she stood, Jimmy noticed how she was dressed, sexy, but demure. An odd combination, low cut and short, but somewhat loose around the middle.
Jimmy thought, <Could she be? They do talk an awful lot about having a baby. I wonder.>
A little later, Jimmy was in Perry's office and he asked, "Chief, have Lois and Clark said anything to you?"
"About what?"
"Oh, I don't know. What they're doing? They were out the other day."
"Oh, that. They went for a photo shoot. Marketing is planning a new ad campaign featuring them as ‘The Hottest Team in Town'. I have to say, some of those shots I saw were hot. Some of them looked like they were having sex with their clothes on."
"Uh, huh. That's what I thought. You know how they can't keep their hands off of one another. I just saw them celebrating like they had gotten some good news. Do you think, Lois could be …"
"What? They have been married for over six months. No, well, they haven't said anything to me."
"Look at the way she's dressed today, loose fitting clothes."
Perry looked out his window and saw Clark hovering over Lois at her desk. It looked like he was giving her a back rub. He thought, <I used to give Alice back rubs when she was pregnant.> Aloud he said, "I see what you mean. We'll have to keep a close eye on them."
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TBC