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From Part 12:And the voice murmuring to him abruptly stopped.
Clever Lois, Clark thought again. She had the quickest brain of anyone he knew. While he’d been growling inside at Luthor’s audacity, she’d been trying to figure out why - and working out the most effective means at their disposal of finding out. Which proved, of course, that despite her occasional slips she really hadn’t forgotten who he was and what he could do. She’d taken her knowledge of his abilities on board and built it into her calculations as a matter of routine. She’d realised that, if there was anything odd about the apartment, he’d be able to figure it out - and even more impressive was the way she’d gone about explaining her motive to him.
He gave her a mental two thumbs up, and just then he saw her approaching them, all faintly-embarrassed smiles for having detained the very important and extremely busy Lex Luthor while she went to the bathroom.
Nice one, partner! he silently told her, vowing to repeat it aloud to her later.
*********
Now read on...It should have occurred to her to ask Clark to give her some sort of sign that he’d heard her, Lois thought as she approached the two men waiting patiently by the elevator for her. There she’d been, inside a cubicle, mumbling to herself - probably making an enormous fool of herself, since she hadn’t taken the time to check whether there was anyone else in the restroom - and now she had no idea whatsoever whether he’d actually heard her and therefore knew what she expected of him.
But, as she came up to them, he gave her a smile. And, behind the glasses, a slow, steady wink.
He’d heard. And he would do as she asked. She touched his hand fleetingly, at the same time turning to smile dazzlingly again at Lex Luthor, musing to herself that she’d deserve an acting award, never mind a Kerth, when all this was over. “I’m so sorry I kept you waiting, Lex.”
“Not at all, Lois.” Lex gave her what even she had to admit was a charming smile. It made her skin crawl. “The car is downstairs. Shall we go?”
In the elevator, Lex manoeuvred so that she was against the wall, and he stood next to her. Clark then had no choice but to stand in front of the two of them. Lex Luthor was definitely a smooth operator, Lois thought, and was glad that it was a short descent.
The car was waiting: a gleaming black limousine, naturally, with tinted windscreens and a uniformed driver who got out as the little group emerged from the Planet building, standing to attention and pulling open the rear door. Lois found herself wondering just how it was that Lex could leave his car outside, on a busy city street, and not get ticketed or towed away. The advantages of being filthy rich, she assumed.
Lex ushered Lois in first and immediately climbed in after her, joining her on the comfortable rear seat of the car, thus again forcing Clark to get in last. Lex, Lois noticed, was sprawled casually on the seat, making it obvious by his behaviour that Clark wasn’t welcome to join them. Clark took the seat facing them, showing no apparent reaction to Luthor’s strategy.
No, Lex wasn’t at all pleased that she’d invited Clark to come along, Lois mused. Nor had she missed the flash of annoyance in the billionaire’s eyes when she’d slid her arm through Clark’s, sending the clear signal that the two of them were closer than mere work colleagues. Good, she thought.
But in the same moment, it occurred to her to wonder what Clark’s reaction had been. Had he minded? By her behaviour, and her announcement that Clark had invited her to stay with him - which, of course, was a lie - she had been suggesting that she and Clark were dating. That they might already be lovers. And, as far as she knew, Clark had no interest in her in that way. Oh, he was fond of her. He cared about her as a friend. And he was casually affectionate with her, in the same way she was with him - occasional fleeting touches, his hand on her shoulder as he read her computer screen, that sort of thing. But nothing any more intimate.
He would know, wouldn’t he, that she was just playing a game for Luthor’s benefit? That she wasn’t really expecting him to let her stay with him for longer than his original offer of one night? Oh, why hadn’t she told him that too while she was in the bathroom?
He wasn’t looking at her now, instead seeming to be staring out the window. With Clark, who knew what that meant. He could simply be watching passing traffic - or he could be listening to or seeing something no-one else could possibly be aware of. And it could be important - or it could be completely trivial.
“Lois? You seem distracted.”
Lex’s voice broke into her thoughts, and she started slightly before turning towards him. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
“Nothing of any importance.” He made a little gesture with his hand. “But, of course, you must be distraught. Have you lost everything you own?”
She shrugged. “Pretty much. I just have the small bag of stuff I took over to Clark’s place last night.”
Which contained... not a lot, exactly. Just some underwear, a couple of changes of clothes - one of which she was already wearing - a small amount of jewellery, because it was valuable and she hadn’t wanted to leave it in the apartment, and the sleepwear and robe she’d had last night. Oh, and she’d thrown in a couple of books - now, of course, she wished she’d used the space for more clothes. She was going to have to go shopping as soon as possible, and hope that she wouldn’t have to max out her credit card just to get enough outfits suitable for work to tide her over until the insurance company paid out.
If the insurance company paid out...
“That really is terrible,” Lex said sympathetically. “You do know that if I can help in any way at all, you only have to ask.”
“You’re being very kind, Lex.” Lois made herself give him a warm smile while refusing to give him any clue as to her real feelings. “I do appreciate it. But that’s what insurance is for. And it was only things, after all. It would have been far worse if anyone had been hurt.”
“Yes, that is something we must be thankful for,” Lex replied. “I will be forever grateful that you were not in the apartment at the time.”
He was making no effort to draw Clark into the conversation, Lois noticed; but then, Clark wasn’t making any effort to join in. Clearly her partner had read the situation just as she had: Lex saw him as an unwelcome interloper and was doing his best to exclude Clark as much as possible. That, of course, could have its advantages...
The car drew to a halt. Lex waited until the door was opened, and then stepped out, afterwards standing on the pavement and extending his hand to Lois. Clark was once again left to follow behind.
“This is it,” Lex said, indicating the very exclusive-looking building in front of them. Lois didn’t even want to begin to imagine what an apartment there would cost. Set back from the road, with well-tended shrubs and flowers at street level and on every balcony, it exuded status and wealth. A concierge stood at the entrance, and security cameras seemed to be everywhere. In the lobby, Lois felt her feet sink into expensive carpeting.
“You like it?” Lex asked. He clearly wasn’t conceiving of a negative response.
“It’s certainly luxurious,” she answered.
He strode across the lobby, indicating that the concierge, who had followed them inside, should summon the elevator. Lois took advantage of his momentary absence from her side to murmur, her head dipped, “If I stick to him like glue, that should leave you free to look around, right?”
Clark’s hand was at her elbow suddenly, but she could barely feel his grip. “Watch your step, Lois,” he said, sounding concerned, but then added in little more than a whisper, “No problem.”
“Are you all right, Lois?” Lex demanded, his eyes narrowing. No, he didn’t like Clark holding her arm. Even though it could scarcely be called holding!
“Her heel caught on the carpet,” Clark said, before she could respond. And she’d thought her partner was a terrible liar? Still, it was a good excuse. And, judging by the tone in which Clark had spoken, he didn’t approve of what he’d seen so far - and he was letting his feelings be known.
“Allow me.” Suddenly, Lex’s hand was under her other elbow, his grip firm and his manner apparently solicitous - but Lois was reminded of nothing more than a jealous lion chasing away a rival.
Lex steered her over to the elevator, barely waiting for Clark to enter before instructing the concierge to send them to the penthouse floor. The ride up was swift and soundless, this elevator clearly the latest technology and very well-maintained, unlike the creaky, slow machinery at the Planet. In no time at all, to Lois’s relief, the doors were opening again.
She wouldn’t have believed it possible, but the carpeting was even more rich and decadent on the top floor. The walls were decorated in a marble effect, and large, beautifully-framed paintings hung here and there; Lois could almost have believed that she was in an ambassador’s residence or the most expensive suite at the Lexor Hotel. It certainly didn’t look like a home, but someone had spent an indecent amount of money on the place. She again wondered just how much one of these apartments cost, and just what Lex wanted from her in exchange for setting her up here.
It would have been hard not to be impressed as soon as the door to the apartment was opened, she told herself in the same moment as a gasp of admiration escaped her. The entrance hall was large, airy and bright; a skylight almost created the impression that they could have been in an outdoor courtyard. The lush carpeting had been replaced by marble tiling, which extended into at least some of the rooms.
There were two very large living rooms, one clearly set up as a study; the equipment there made Lois almost drool in envy. An enormous mahogany desk, with leather executive chair, was placed in front of a large window offering a view right across the river.
“If I worked here, I’d never get anything done!” she exclaimed, making sure that she smiled up at Lex, who had remained by her side as if glued. Clark, she noticed, had dropped behind and was looking around at his own pace. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed him pull down the frames of his glasses just a fraction as he swept part of the room with his gaze.
Lex smiled, obviously pleased. “But these blinds can be closed at the push of a button,” he told her, and demonstrated. Silently, vertical blinds glided across the window, shutting out the light; immediately, spotlights in the ceiling flickered to life. “You can control the light-setting from your desk as well,” Lex explained, showing Lois the panel. “All of the rooms are divided into sections, so that you can have as much or as little light as you wish anywhere in the room.”
Impressive indeed. And then there were all the labour-saving devices for the home
office: a dedicated Internet connection, as Lex had assured her, and discreet networking so that she could plug in her laptop in any room in the apartment and still be connected. There was a combination fax-printer hidden away in a closet beside the desk, and the closet also contained more filing and shelf-space than Lois would know what to do with.
The other rooms were every bit as impressive: an expensively-furnished sitting room, a bright, spacious kitchen with every labour-saving device known to humankind - as if she would even know what to do with any of them, Lois reflected sardonically as Lex did a perfect impression of a real-estate agent. There were two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom; the master bedroom alone was about as big as Clark’s whole apartment.
Opulent. That was about the only way Lois could describe it, she thought as the tour came to an end.
“So, what do you think?” Lex asked as he escorted her back into the hall. Clark, Lois noted, was nowhere in sight - and Lex either had not noticed or didn’t care.
“Oh, Lex, it's simply beautiful,” she told him, completely truthfully.
“Good. I knew you’d like it.” He smiled, and there was something triumphant in his expression. “As you can see, it’s fully furnished, and so there’s nothing to stop you moving in immediately - this minute. We can sort out the formalities later.”
“Lex, wait.” She laid a hand on his arm to attract his attention; he seemed intent only on detaching the key from his own ring to hand to her.
“Yes?” He favoured her with a surprised expression, clearly having noted her tone.
“It’s beautiful, yes, but I can’t live here.”
He frowned. “But why ever not? It’s perfect for you, Lois.” Slipping his hand under her arm again, he guided her back into the study. “You know that you’d love working here. There’s so much more space than working in that cramped newsroom, where you don’t even have a desk right now. And you have every facility you could possibly need.”
“Oh, I know, Lex. But it’s just not... me,” she told him, making deliberate eye contact and doing her best to convey a regret that she didn’t feel - or not entirely. As she’d told him, the apartment was beautiful. But neither was it her. It was a showcase, the type of place that a billionaire like Lex or a Hollywood star might live. Not a home for an ordinary reporter whose entire annual salary probably wouldn’t cover even a month’s rent on this place.
“Lois.” Lex dropped her arm, but immediately took possession of both of her hands instead. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Clark, who had re-entered the room silently behind them, watching them; her partner’s jaw was tense, she noticed. Worried about her? Or... could he possibly be jealous? But she doubted that. Clark just didn’t like Lex; he’d already made that very clear, and that was obviously why he’d been so challenging in his attitude to the older man earlier. He was being protective of her.
Lex hadn’t noticed a thing. He smiled at Lois, patronisingly in her opinion, and continued. “I understand. You’re worried that you might not be able to afford the rent. As I told you, I own this building. I make a very handsome profit on it already. Every other apartment is rented. So if I decide, as the owner, that I am prepared to let one apartment out at marginal cost rather than full cost, that is my choice.” He smiled again. “So, you see, you really have nothing to worry about.”
“But I do,” Lois insisted, still smiling. She pulled her hands from his. “Lex, you have to see that there’s a very obvious reason why I can’t accept your offer. Yes, the apartment is lovely, and you’re right: there’s no way that I could possibly afford it on my salary. But I can’t accept any kind of financial favour from you - you have to see that.”
“I’m afraid I don’t.” Lex was clearly not pleased.
“I’m a reporter, Lex. You know that means that I have to be very careful about everything I do, in my private life as well as my job. I can’t accept favours from people or organisations the paper might write about - that would compromise my position and, as a result, it would compromise the Planet. And, remember, I’m going to be interviewing you for the Planet next week.”
He shook his head, obviously unwilling to accept her argument. “Give the interview to someone else. I’m sure that Mr Kent would be grateful for the opportunity - wouldn’t you?”
Clark, Lois realised, had come up to join them. “I wouldn’t dream of taking Lois’s story. I don’t think I’d live to tell the tale!” he observed dryly.
“That’s true,” Lois agreed, mentally high-fiving her partner. “But, Lex, it isn’t just a matter of that story. It’s my job. If I were to accept this from you, I really would be compromising my position as a reporter. You must understand that. It would mean that the paper could never write anything about you, and I don’t think you’d want that. Would you?”
Lex wasn’t a fool; he could see when he’d been outmanoeuvred. And he was gracious in defeat; Lois had to give him that. “Of course, Lois. I would never wish to place you in a difficult professional or personal position. I’m just sorry that I couldn’t help you in your time of need.”
“I appreciate the thought very much, Lex.” She smiled at him again, then gestured towards the door. “Do you have time to take us back to the Planet?”
**********
“Bugs.”
“What?”
“Surveillance devices. Everywhere - in the phones, the nightstand, the kitchen, you name it. Even the fax is wired to send a copy of every document to another number. And that’s not all.”
“It isn’t?” Lois was looking shocked enough already.
“Hidden cameras,” Clark said quietly, unable to hide the disgust he’d felt at the discovery. “Again, everywhere - but especially in the bedroom and the bathroom.”
“Even in the *bathroom*?”
“There were two in the shower alone.”
“He was going to spy on me in the
shower?” Lois’s voice was shaky, and she subsided into a chair.
They were in Clark’s apartment. On returning to the Planet, they’d discovered that their notes and work had been moved out of the conference-room so that one of the directors could use it for a meeting of his own; Lois had grumbled that she hoped the paper was charging him for the use of the room, since the meeting wasn’t newspaper business. Clark had just gone straight to Perry’s office to tell the editor that they were working at his place for the rest of the day.
Lois had barely been able to restrain herself on the drive over. Even though they’d been in her Jeep, he’d refused to talk about what he’d found at Luthor’s apartment - she was driving, and he’d been too worried about her reaction to what he had to say. The last thing he wanted was her having an accident as a result.
“So?” she’d demanded once they’d made it inside. “I know there’s something. I saw your face on the way back to the Planet. Luthor wouldn’t have noticed a thing, but I know you too well. You were furious.”
Now, Clark took the seat across the kitchen table from Lois and regarded her with concern. She’d had several shocks in the last couple of days and, while he would never underestimate his partner’s resilience, even Lois had to be struggling to cope with everything she’d been through.
Heck, he was struggling to cope with it himself. He was furious - had been from the moment, less than a minute after entering the apartment, when he’d seen the first bug. He’d wanted to seize Lex Luthor by the man’s ridiculously expensive lapels and hold him several feet off the ground - preferably dangling from one of the apartment’s balconies - until he’d pleaded for mercy. And then, he would have wanted to drop the man. Just let him fall, unfettered, plummeting freely... and then he
might have considered catching him, say about four feet from the ground.
Lois had lost everything she owned. Her home, the one place where she had a right to feel safe, to feel at ease, had been razed to the ground. She was reduced to depending on the kindness of friends - and no matter how willing he was to help, she would still feel dependent and awkward about it. Even her own desk had been taken from her. And then Lex Luthor had turned up and, in the guise of a friend trying to help her, had planned to spy on her.
Walking around that apartment had been sheer hell for Clark. It had been bad enough discovering bugs and cameras everywhere he’d turned - and the cameras in the bedroom and bathroom had been worst of all. He’d literally seen red at that point, and had been within an inch of doing Lex Luthor physical damage. But even harder to bear had been watching Luthor with Lois - standing too close to her, touching her, guiding her, acting solicitous, pretending to be such a concerned friend - while all the time the man had planned to get her into the apartment so he could spy on her. And so that he could invade her privacy still more by playing the voyeur.
“Why did he want to spy on me?” Lois asked, her eyes huge.
Yes, she was very shaken. Not for the first time that day, he longed to take her into his arms and hug her. Tightly. He wanted to hold her close to him and reassure her that she wasn’t alone, that he was there and that he’d take care of her. He wanted to give her the comfort of another human being’s physical presence; the comfort she deserved to have from the man who called himself her best friend.
The comfort that he could never give her, because he would hurt her.
He pushed his need aside and concentrated on the matter at hand.
“Apart from the obvious?” Clark said bitterly.
“He knows we’re onto him,” she said instantly. “Or that I am - I don’t think he thinks you’re a threat at all. Well, other than that he didn’t like thinking that we’re close.”
“Oh, you noticed that too?” Clark gave her a crooked grin. “I thought he was going to rip my throat out when you told him you were staying with me. Well, not that he could have, but he wanted to try -”
“Yeah, and that reminds me.” Lois’s voice was shaky again, and this time Clark reached across the table to take her hand in his. Heck, surely he couldn’t hurt her just by holding her hand. Not as long as he didn’t tighten his grip.
“Reminds you?”
“Yeah. I only said it to put Luthor off. I wasn’t taking anything for granted, Clark. You don’t have to worry that I expect you to offer to let me stay or anything -”
“Wait a minute.” He interrupted her, shaking his head. “I was going to offer anyway.”
“What? You don’t have to, Clark -”
“Lois.” This time, he took the risk of squeezing her hand, just a little. She looked down at their joined hands and her expression seemed to lighten fractionally.
”Yes?”
“Lois, when I came back to the Planet I had every intention of telling you that you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. Until you find another place. Or... not even then, if you like.” He caught her gaze, hoping that his intent expression would convince her.
“Really?” For a moment, she looked relieved, as if a major worry had been lifted from her mind. But then her face fell again. “Clark, I can’t let you do that. You only have one bedroom - and, sure, I’m happy to sleep on the couch, but that won’t do other than as a very temporary measure.”
“I know,” he told her. “As if I’d let you sleep there anyway.” He released her hand, adding, “But that’s not what I had in mind.” Getting to his feet, he walked towards the cast-iron spiral staircase in the corner where the kitchen met his living-room. “See this?”
Her gaze followed him. “Yeah. I never noticed that before... what’s up there?”
He shrugged. “Right now? Nothing much. Just some boxes I haven’t got around to unpacking yet. But there’s quite a lot of space up there. Plenty of room for a bed, a closet, a nightstand... even a desk, if you wanted. And, okay, it’s not the most private space in the world, but I can put up a curtain-rail to give you privacy. So... what do you think?”
He waited anxiously for her answer. Even though she’d turned down Luthor’s luxury apartment, with or without surveillance equipment, he was well aware that the gallery area of his apartment wasn’t exactly the kind of accommodation Lois was used to.
And suddenly Clark realised just how much he wanted Lois to move in with him. Despite his earlier worries about losing his own privacy, even despite his concerns about what would happen if he had more nightmares, he wanted her there. Anyway, if she was up in the gallery, she’d never hear him.
“It sounds... nice.” Her tone was wistful. “But, Clark, all my furniture’s gone...”
He turned back to her. “I know that. But I know where I can get all we’d need. My folks cleared out their spare bedroom a few years ago so my mom could use it as a studio. They kept the furniture - it’s in the attic. You know I could fly it all here in no time at all.” He shrugged. “It’s up to you. I’d understand if you don’t think it's - well, private enough or nice enough for more than a few nights, but as far as I’m concerned you’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”
As long as she wanted... He’d thought about this very carefully - in fact, he’d thought of little else, apart from Lex Luthor and the bugs, since he’d seen the devastation of the Carter Avenue building earlier that day, and Lois’s pale, shocked expression as she’d watched it burn. Why shouldn’t they share his apartment? It was big enough for two - well, just about. And they got along well - very well. He enjoyed her company.
Well, it was up to her. And anyway, she didn’t have to make any immediate decision about how long she stayed, did she?
Lois got up and walked across to him, looking up at the gallery area as she did so. Then she turned to him, and for an instant he thought she was going to hug him. And in that instant he recognised just how much he wanted her to do that, regardless of how risky it was. She’d be safe enough just for one brief hug, wouldn’t she? he asked himself.
But she didn’t hug him. Instead, she laid her hand against his upper arm. “Thank you, Clark. I’d like that very much.”
Like what? She hadn’t said whether she was responding in terms of the couple of days or a week which was probably all she would need to find somewhere else - or in terms of longer. But still... they could talk about that later. For now, it looked as if he had a housemate. And he liked that idea.
*********
...tbc
