Nuclear Option: 3/4?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
Jimmy gulped. "We need to get this stuff to Henderson."
"Oh, I agree," Perry said. "I'd like to wait for Clark, but time's running out. The wedding is tomorrow. Henderson is gonna have to have some time to check out the tapes and the rest of the evidence." He found himself dithering, an activity he always detested when others did it. "Okay, I'm gonna call Henderson and tell him you're on your way. Can you go out the back window, kid?"
"Sure," Jack said. "No sweat."
"Don't get caught," Perry said.
"Not a chance," Jack said. "Come on, Jim. You can give me a boost."
"I'm coming with you," Jimmy said.
"Good idea." Perry hesitated, then slipped a hand in his pocket and produced his cell phone. "Take this. If you run into any trouble, call 911."
"Right," Jimmy said. He took the device and tucked it into a pocket. "Let's go, Jack. The sooner we get this to Henderson the quicker you're off the hook too."
"Gee, that never occurred to me," Jack said.
**********
And now, Part 3:
Clark sat cross-legged on the roof of LexTower. He wasn't wearing his Superman suit. Instead he was dressed in the drab, nondescript clothing of a maintenance man. It wasn't likely that anyone would see him sitting here, but on the off chance that a newscopter might cruise past, or that someone with a set of binoculars happened to be looking in the direction of LexTower, he didn't want anyone to notice Superman sitting here. Besides, technically, he was in his Clark Kent mode. Investigative reporter, very much on duty.
Going home to consult his mother and father had been more productive than even he could have predicted. They had listened to him vent his frustrations and his determination to stop Lois from marrying Luthor, no matter what it took, and when he had finished, Jonathan Kent said, "So, the four of you are in the process of finding evidence that Luthor was behind the bombing of the Planet, right?"
Clark nodded. "It's there, Dad. All we need to do is tie up the loose ends and we've got him. The trouble is that it may not be in time to stop the wedding."
"And Lois won't listen to you at all?" Martha asked.
He shook his head in frustration. "She thinks I'm accusing Luthor of all this stuff because I'm jealous."
"Well," his mother pointed out, "you *are* jealous."
"Of course I am. But I'd never say things like that about anyone unless they were true. I thought Lois knew that."
"Maybe she does, somewhere underneath," Martha said. "It sounds to me like she's in a state of denial."
"Please Mom, not more psychology," he said. "I need to figure out what to do."
"A little psychology in the right place is pretty helpful," she said. "I think Lois won't listen to you about Luthor because she doesn't want to."
"Why not?"
"I don't know," Martha said. "If she listened to you, what would she be admitting?"
"That her best friend was worth trusting?"
"No, honey, think of it in relation to her. She's not thinking about you. She's got some reason for refusing to listen. What would it say about her if you're right and she's wrong?"
He hadn't thought of it that way before. In spite of her abrasive, aggressive manner, the time they had been held prisoner by Antoinette Baines had been a revelation to him. Lois had told him about Claude. She'd thought she was in love with him, and it had apparently been pretty shattering to realize that he had used her crush and played on her emotions in order to steal her award-winning story. She'd also said something about how getting involved in her stories, jumping in without checking the water level was the only way she knew to get the story, and with it the respect she wanted and deserved.
"It would say," he said slowly, listening to his own careful words, "that she'd have to admit that her judgement in her choice of men was faulty. It would be humiliating to find out she was wrong again -- especially since Luthor is the image of the wealthy philanthropist, and he apparently wants her pretty badly."
"She'd be humiliated," Martha said. "Would that matter to her?"
He nodded. "Lois feels like she's always fighting for respect," he said slowly. "She puts on this attitude that she's better and smarter than anybody else, but I think that she's not really sure of it underneath. I think Luthor played on that to maneuver her into agreeing to marry him. And I didn't help by turning her down as Superman."
"So what you're fighting here isn't her reasoning ability," Martha said. "Lois is protecting herself as much as anything. I don't think she's likely to listen to anything you say if you just appeal to her emotions. What *would* she listen to?"
"Proof," Clark said bleakly.
"Anything else?"
"I don't know! She's good at rationalizing why something she wants to do is okay, even when we both know it isn't! I just don't know how to get through."
"But Lois is a smart woman," Jonathan said slowly. "If she has a good reason to listen to you, wouldn't she?"
"Maybe," Clark said. "If she can somehow get past the idea that I'm just jealous."
"Is there some way you could get her thinking about this from another angle?" Martha asked. "Maybe convince her to investigate him, even if it's just to prove to herself that you're wrong? Or maybe some way that she can save face?"
"Maybe."
"You know her better than anybody," his mother said. "If you were in her place, what would you listen to?"
And that had set him thinking. He stood up. "I have to get back. Thanks for letting me talk to you. I might have an idea."
"That's what we're here for," Jonathan said. "Bye, son."
Clark had taken off for Metropolis, but while he flew, he was busy considering and discarding ideas. Finally, he settled on one, and it required a visit to a novelty shop in Metropolis, but now it was set up, and judging by the conversation he had just overheard, he just might have what he needed. A little more incriminating conversation, and then he would find Lois. He hadn't been Lois Lane's partner for nearly a year without learning a few things. And if she refused to listen, well, he was still stronger, and he could still fly ...
**********
"Good night, Lex," Lois said, lifting her face to be kissed. "It was a lovely evening."
"One of many to come," her fiance said. "After tomorrow, you can attend the opera every evening if you wish."
She laughed a little, reaching inside the door of her apartment to snap on the light. "I think it would get boring if I did it every evening." She hesitated. "Lex, could you do me a favor?"
"Anything, my love."
"If I'm going to be working for LNN in a position of responsibility, my staff needs to let me know when there's an important decision to be made, not just assume that I don't want to be bothered."
"Of course they do," Lex said. "Did something happen to upset you?"
"I wanted to check the background research on a couple of the stories that we were presenting this evening, and no one even thought to call me, even though I'd told them I wanted to review them before they went on the air. When I called my secretary she said there were standing orders not to disturb me with details." She looked up into his concerned face. "Lex, this is my *job*. If I'm not to be bothered with details, I can't do it right. It makes me feel like they don't really need me there -- that I'm --" She paused, searching for the word. "-- Window dressing."
Lex smiled. "I'm sure it was just a lack of communication, but I'll let Mrs. Cox know. She'll make certain it won't happen again."
"All right." Lex would take care of the problem, she was sure, but somewhere beneath the assurance she was uneasy. How many times would she need to go to Lex to request that he use his authority to be sure *her* subordinates understood who was in charge? If she had to rely on him to reinforce her orders, it didn't seem that she actually had any authority at all.
No, she told herself. It was just a case of the staff getting used to a new boss. Things would smooth themselves out in time.
Lex turned and made his way down the hall. Lois stepped inside and closed the door.
She had turned the third lock when the knowledge descended on her that she wasn't alone. She spun.
Clark was sitting quietly in an armchair, just out of the line of sight of anyone standing in the doorway.
"Clark!" she said. "What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you," he said. "I needed to talk to you."
"What about? Especially," she added, "when you wouldn't even answer my calls yesterday."
"I was out," Clark said.
"Then why didn't you call me after you got back?"
"I didn't want to fight with you anymore," Clark said.
"So you show up here at this hour, just to talk?" Lois demanded. "You're not going to start in on Lex again, are you? Because I'm telling you right now that I'm not going to listen."
"Not exactly," Clark said. "I wanted to talk to you where no one could overhear us."
"Like Lex is going to be spying on me or something?"
"Actually, that was part of it. Take a look at what I found while I was waiting for you."
"What?" she demanded. "You searched my apartment?"
"Only for these." He set several small items on the table. "I found one on your phone, one attached to the bottom of your coffee table, one in the kitchen, one in your bedroom and one in your bathroom. They're surveillance devices."
"*What*!"
"Microphones, to be exact," Clark said.
"But who would --"
"You tell me, Lois."
Lois stared at the tiny microphones, her head whirling. "You don't think Lex would spy on me! It could be anyone! The National Whisper would love to get some kind of story about Lex and me right now!"
"Fortunately," Clark said dryly, "that's not everything. You told me I had no proof about him. Well, try listening to this." He held out a tiny cassette. "It's a recording of several conversations between Luthor and his assistant -- a Mrs. Cox -- in Luthor's office."
Lois stared at him in outrage. "You bugged Lex's office?"
"Actually, Superman did it for me," Clark said. "Why not, Lois? I'm an investigative reporter, remember? Who told me that I needed proof? It's what you would do in my place."
Through her anger, she seized on one word. "Superman! Why was he helping you?"
"Because he's afraid for you. He knows what Luthor is."
"What is this? He doesn't care enough about me to ..." She broke off before she admitted more to her former partner than she wanted him to know. "But he wants to stop my wedding? What gave him the right to do that?"
"Nothing," Clark said quietly. "Except that he cares more about you than you think." He set the cassette on the coffee table next to the microphones and stood up. "All I ask is for you to listen to the tape. If you still want to marry him after you hear what he had to say, you're not the person I think you are." He strode to the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Home. Maybe we can talk again after you listen to the tape. Good night, Lois." He opened the door and went out. The door clicked shut behind him.
**********
Lois looked at the little pile of microphones and the tiny cassette that lay beside them.
Clark had broken into her apartment to bring her that tape, and had searched the place while she wasn't here. He had some nerve doing a thing like that. She should call the police and have him arrested for breaking and entering!
Only, of course, she didn't even have any evidence that he'd done so. The door hadn't been forced, and looking around she had to concede that Clark hadn't left any sign of entry. She'd obviously taught him better than she had realized at the time. But if he thought she was going to listen to some trumped up recording just because he'd given it to her and claimed it was a recording of Lex, he'd better think again!
Quickly, before she could debate it further, she gathered up the microphones and the cassette, walked to the kitchen and tossed them into the trash can. There. That settled that. She didn't need proof to know that her fiance wasn't -- couldn't be -- what Clark claimed.
Without a backward glance, she went into her bedroom and began to pull off her evening dress.
But the tape nagged at her. It was there, and there was something on it. The thought made her a little uneasy. It was temptation, sitting there in her kitchen, pricking at her curiosity.
She wasn't going to give in to curiosity this time. If she didn't have enough faith in Lex to trust him without proof, she wouldn't have agreed to marry him. Would she?
'Maybe,' a little voice in the back of her mind whispered softly, 'you don't want to listen because you're afraid of what you'll find out.'
'That's ridiculous,' she scoffed. 'I know everything I need to know about Lex. I know he's cultured and intelligent, and one of the greatest philanthropists in the world. I know he supplies jobs to thousands of people. I know he's not perfect, but no one is, not even Superman. What could possibly be on there that would make me change my mind about marrying him?'
She was halfway to the kitchen before she made herself stop and return to the bedroom. She wasn't going to think about this any more. She was going to go to bed and get a good night's sleep so she could look her best at the ceremony tomorrow afternoon. She was just going to forget about the blasted tape!
An hour later, she was gritting her teeth in frustration and wide awake.
All right, that was it! She sat up in bed. If she flushed the tape down the toilet then she wouldn't be wondering about it anymore. It would be beyond her reach. Quickly, she got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen.
The tape was still sitting in the trashcan on top of the little pile of broken microphones. Lois picked it up and headed toward the bathroom.
**********
tbc
