First Case: 3/3
by Nan Smith
Previously:
"Louie is a little --" Clark paused, trying to find a word to describe the man as they headed down the sidewalk toward the nearest alley. The layer of clouds overhead, that was responsible for the snow that drifted through the afternoon air, had grown thicker, and the slight breeze was crisp and cold.
"Louie's okay," Lois said. "Basically, he knows guys who know guys. Don't let him fool you."
"I don't think he could," Clark said. "Are you sure he's not going to harm Nunk?"
"He won't," Lois said. "Nunk is a grease job, but Louie knows I'll handle it."
"You seem pretty sure of it."
"You have to understand Louie," Lois said. "His word is completely reliable. If it wasn't, he'd be out of business in a week. It's his corporate policy -- so to speak."
"Oh," Clark said.
"Exactly. Now, let's get back to the newsroom and see what we can dig up. I also want to give Bobby a call. He might know something about this Gary Snoot character."
"I meant to ask; what did you find out that Nunk is up to?" Clark asked.
"He was trying to bribe the women in the Planet's secretarial pool to accuse you of trying to take advantage of them," Lois said baldly. "I caught him at the same game with Perry years ago when he was new at the Celebrity Scandal Weekly. I guess he figures that the stuff I had on him then is old news. We'll see what kind of result this new information produces."
**********
And now, Part 3:
Lois put down the phone and glanced at her partner. Clark was typing furiously on his computer keyboard, but, because of the angle of his desk, no one in the room could see the speed with which his fingers were moving across the keys. Lois smiled to herself. Their coworkers tended to watch Clark covertly for any demonstrations of super-human feats. If they were a little less obviously eager to see him in action, he might relax a little and give them their wish. As far as she could see, only the paper's science editor, Cat Grant, was blasé about Clark's presence in the newsroom. She and Cat had known each other slightly before her ill-fated trip to the Congo, but she had always had a positive opinion of the woman. Grant had class; that was the only word to describe her. It was probably just as well that she was a good ten or twelve years older than Clark, or Lois might have had competition for him.
Clark leaned back in his chair and stretched. Lois got to her feet and moved to sit on the corner of his desk. "Anything?"
Clark nodded at the screen. "I've been checking some of the news reports on the days of the fires. Bobby was right. Every time we had a double fire alarm, there was a robbery in the same section of the city. I guess Superman had better watch for that the next time it happens."
"Sounds like a plan," Lois agreed. "I, on the other hand, have been looking at sales of land in Suicide Slum in the last few months. There have been five --"
"Interesting coincidence. There have also been five double fires before the one today."
"Amazing," Lois said, dryly. "The different plots of land were bought by three different companies. It turns out they're dummies that are subsidiaries of other companies that are subsidiaries of *other* companies. The trails are getting complicated."
"Give me what you've got," Clark said. "I'll see what I can find."
"I just emailed it to you a minute ago. I also just got a call back from Bobby about that other thing."
"And?"
"Well, according to Bobby, Gary Snoot had something going with Vernon Hinkle's sister, Alicia. Something happened, and Snoot had to leave town in a hurry. Hinkle is apparently still looking for him. He even has a website with a picture of Snoot. Bobby gave me the URL. I looked it up. I owe Bobby a Peking Duck dinner."
"Oh?"
"Let's say, Gary Snoot bears a remarkable resemblance to Leo Nunk. Younger, of course, and his hair's a different color --"
"Why am I not surprised?"
"For the same reason I'm not. I guess that's why you never see Nunk's picture next to any of his articles."
"Maybe. On the other hand," Clark pointed out, "would you want *your* picture beside any of the kind of stuff he writes?"
"You have a point. Still, reporters are pretty anonymous. Most people wouldn't recognize your average journalist's name, much less his face. I guess he's felt pretty safe up until now," Lois said. She smiled innocently. "I just called Nunk and arranged to meet him as an anonymous source. Tonight. At the Countdown party. I'd think this particular piece of blackmail material should last longer than five years."
"I'd say so." Clark, she thought, needed to work harder on his poker face as he tried unsuccessfully to maintain a serious expression. "I'm glad you told me not to underestimate you. Have I mentioned that you're amazing?"
"I think you've said so before, but I don't mind hearing it again."
"Well, you are." The look in his eyes made her breath catch. "I owe Herb more than I can ever repay for finding you." He reached out to lay a hand unobtrusively on hers. "You're incredible."
"All part of the job," she said, trying to speak lightly. Instead, the words came out weighted with meaning. "Anybody who tries to mess with my partner is going to have to go through me to get to him."
"And anybody who tries to mess with *my* partner is going to have to go through me," Clark said quietly. "It's a two way street."
"Sounds like a good arrangement to me," she said.
He squeezed her hand lightly and released it. "I'll reimburse you for that dinner," he said.
"Clark, it's just a dinner --"
"You shouldn't be paying for it. You were working for me," he said firmly. "Let me see what you have on those companies," he added, changing the subject abruptly. "It'll be interesting if it turns out that their parent companies are connected."
"Let's say it won't exactly astonish me if they are," she said.
"Me, either," he said. "Let me see here --"
"You two look like you're scheming about something," Eduardo's voice said. Lois looked up to see their editor standing just behind her left shoulder. "Anything your boss should know about?"
"Let's say we're hot on the trail of our arsonist," Lois said. "We think it's a scheme to get hold of land at fire sale prices."
Eduardo raised his eyebrows. "In Suicide Slum?"
"Believe it or not, yes. It seemed pretty incredible to us, too," Clark said, "but the land where the fires were has already been bought. Now we're trying to find out who bought it."
"Now I've seen everything," Eduardo commented. "Don't let me stop you. Nice Superman exclusive, by the way, Lois. It *is* an exclusive, isn't it?" he asked, glancing at Clark.
"This time, yes," Clark said. "Why?"
"Some character from the Star just called and complained that you're playing favorites with Lois, here," Eduardo said. "I told him you have your reasons -- and I certainly don't mind if you give exclusives to the Daily Planet, but I'd like to know what they are."
"I guess I'll put a notice in the Planet," Clark said, "just to make sure it's public knowledge."
"Oh?"
"Martin from the Star, right?" Lois said.
"As a matter of fact, yes. How did you know?"
"Clark told him that any reporter who had violated the press's agreement with Superman is on Superman's freeze-out list for the next two weeks. I guess he doesn't like to be spanked," Lois said. "That's just tough. Clark gives interviews to whoever he chooses. He's a private citizen."
"Sounds fair to me," Eduardo said. "Smart idea, by the way, Clark. It might get you some peace in your off time."
"It was Lois's idea," Clark said. "And it's my official policy from now on."
"Good work, Lois," Eduardo said. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "By the way, who is this Charlie King character that you've been working with? I don't recall him ever working for the Planet."
"Charlie is a free-lancer," Lois said. "I'll tell you about him later. You're going to be seeing more of him in the future. Don't worry -- I'll vouch for him."
"Why do I get the feeling that there's more here than meets the eye?" Eduardo said. "All right, but be sure to fill me in later." He straightened up. "Well, don't let me keep you from your work." He glanced around. "Ralph, I still haven't seen that article on the urban redevelopment plan," he said, starting across the room. "Where is it?"
"Uh -- " Ralph hastily laid his doughnut on its napkin. "I'm waiting for a call from my source."
"Yeah, well in the meantime, try something besides propping up the water cooler. I'm sure you have more than one source. Get busy!"
**********
Snow was falling heavily from the sky when Lois and Clark headed for Clark's apartment. Lois's place was officially hers as of this afternoon, and Clark had promised to help her repair and ready it for occupancy tomorrow. Tonight would be the last night she spent at his apartment -- at least, she thought, for the time being. What happened in the future might be another story.
Their research into the companies that had purchased the land in Suicide Slum had produced some surprising results. Every company had been ultimately traced back to one of the companies that answered to LexCorp. Lois had opened her eyes at that at first, but Clark had been less surprised.
"You remember what I told you back when we first met," he'd said. "James Olsen bought the Planet from Lex Luthor after there was some kind of corporate scandal. I don't know exactly what it was -- it got hushed up. But it means that Luthor isn't exactly squeaky clean, even if he's pictured as this great philanthropist. I think we need to look into the connections a little more deeply."
"I agree," Lois had said. The little tingle that she always felt when she realized that she could be onto something very big and probably illegal was running up and down her spine. Lex Luthor? If they could prove that the billionaire business magnate was involved in something criminal, it might be bigger than the gun-running story had promised to be. "But first we've got to stop the arsons. That means Superman has to find out who's behind the robberies, and then we can start a surveillance operation on him -- and maybe catch him in the act of planting some of his incendiary devices."
Clark nodded. "Sounds like a plan of attack." He looked at the clock. "But right now, you and I have places to go and people to see. The Countdown party starts in about three hours."
The curtain of snow made it considerably easier for them to escape notice when they entered the building, and Clark set her down in his living room with a triumphant gesture. "Here we are."
"I'll go get that shower," she said. "We want to get there early. Superman's probably going to be busy tonight, what with the snow and the fact that it's New Year's Eve."
He grimaced. "I'm afraid so, but I want to be nearby when you meet Nunk. Am I being paranoid when I say I really don't trust the guy?"
"I think you are, actually," Lois said. "Nunk's a coward. Besides, I could probably wipe up the floor with him."
"Probably, but humor me, would you? Even a rat is dangerous when it's cornered."
She shrugged. "Just so you don't make a habit of it."
"I'll try not to," he promised. He hadn't let go of her hand. "It's just that I looked for you for so long -- and you turned out to be so much more than even I expected --"
She felt her cheeks grow warm. When Clark spoke with that tone in his voice and had that expression on his face, she got a fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, however. "Clark, I'm not that terrific."
"You are to me," he said quietly. "And it's not just because you've turned my life around in barely more than a week. It's just that -- for the first time since I was ten, I'm not alone against the world anymore. I've got the most fantastic partner that any man could ever have, and I'm scared to death that I'll lose her."
"You're not going to lose me," she said. "In fact, you'll have trouble getting rid of me."
"I don't want to get rid of you," he said. "Ever."
"Not even when we're old and grey?" she teased.
"Not even then," he said. "If I thought you'd go for it, I'd suggest an even more permanent arrangement."
Was he saying what it sounded like he was saying? "Well -- I might not go for it right now, but there's no reason that we can't see where things go in the future," she said, cautiously.
"I'm all for that," he said. He hesitated. "If I get too intense -- or pushy -- let me know, though, okay?"
"Sounds like a deal to me," she said. They met each other's eyes in silence for several long seconds, and then Lois shook herself. "I'd better go get that shower," she said. "And you'd better watch it, Kent. You could get a girl carried away with that kind of line."
"I hope I do," he said. "As long as it's one particular girl." He grinned a little uncertainly. "If you were smart, you'd run as fast as you can in the other direction."
She patted his arm. "Not a chance. I like a challenge."
"Where you're concerned, I'm not a challenge," he said. "I'm a pushover. On the other hand, there are bound to be a lot of challenges where the two of us are concerned."
"That's okay," she said. "You let me handle those. The media hasn't even begun to realize what they're up against."
"I wasn't talking about that," he said, "but we'll leave it there for now."
**********
The ballroom of the Metro Convention Center was as full as it would hold, Lois thought, several hours later. Decorated from floor to ceiling, with the enormous clock showing in several screens positioned about the room so that they could be conveniently seen by everyone in the place, they showed the hands of the clock at twenty minutes to midnight. The big glass window that filled one entire wall showed more crowds waiting outside, and many thousands of bundled-up party-goers dancing and laughing to the strains of music broadcast on loudspeakers for the benefit of those persons who wished to wait out the last minutes until the New Year in the open air.
Waiting in one corner of the room, a drink in one hand and a plate of treats fetched for her by Clark in the other, Lois waited for Leo Nunk. The man should be here in another couple of minutes.
Clark waited some distance away as Charlie King. Lois couldn't see him anywhere, but she was quite certain that he had his eyes and ears trained on her. The realization that Clark Kent, the most powerful man on the face of the Earth, thought so much of her, valued her so much -- and probably was interested in her romantically -- was certainly enough to turn any woman's head, and she had to admit that she wasn't indifferent to him. In fact, if she let herself think about it too long she found herself getting all starry-eyed, like a teenage girl with the latest teen idol. And Clark was certainly handsome enough to qualify in that department, too. Not only that, but his fame wasn't just on the movie and television screens. He truly qualified as a genuine hero, and he was as nice in person as the persona people saw when he was interviewed. Nicer, in fact, because Superman tended to be fairly stiff and formal with the press. If she wanted a future with him, she suspected it was hers for the taking. It might not be too smart to let him know it just yet, but she was almost sure that she was going to take it -- if nothing made her change her mind in the next few months.
Someone clearing his throat made her turn around. Leo Nunk stood there, a tape recorder in one hand. When he saw her face, the expression on his own changed to wariness. "Lane? You're the one who called me?"
She nodded. "I have a tip for you, Nunk."
The reporter for the Whisper raised a skeptical eyebrow. "If this is some kind of joke --"
"Not at all." She beckoned him closer into the corner. "I have some information for you. Superman knows about your scheme to try to link him sexually to women."
"Oh?" The Whisper's reporter grinned. "I don't suppose you think you can stop that, do you? It'll probably be out in the morning. Not all the ladies I spoke to were so -- um -- shy."
Lois smiled. "In that case, you're going to need to come up with some bodyguards."
"Don't tell me the big blue Boy Scout would go for revenge. He doesn't do stuff like that."
"No, of course not, and neither do I," Lois said sweetly. "But I hear that there's a fellow named Vernon Hinkle in New Jersey that wants very much to know where a man named Gary Snoot is living. If your story comes out, I'm afraid that's exactly what's going to happen."
The smug expression on Nunk's face vanished in the blink of an eye, and Lois could have sworn that his face went several shades paler. "What are you talking about?"
"Ever been to Hinkle's website?" Lois asked casually. "There's a very interesting picture posted there -- and an email address for contacting him. I happen to know that -- someone -- has an email all set to send to him if any kind of story like that should happen to appear in the Whisper -- or anywhere else. I just thought you should know."
"That's blackmail!"
"Nonsense. I just wanted to give you some information that might help you out. It sounds like something a crusading reporter like yourself should find very interesting. Anyway, that's all I had to say. The rest is up to you."
Nunk took a step forward. "It wouldn't be very smart of you to send that email, Lois."
She stiffened her spine and looked directly back at him. "Really? Did you forget you're not the only investigative reporter in Metropolis? In a loose sense, anyway. Maybe Alicia was a lot luckier than she thought. I can't see why on Earth you'd make any woman do anything other than want to barf, but maybe that's just my taste. In any case, I'd watch what I say and do right now. You're not the only one with a tape recorder. And there are plenty of witnesses. If you've turned in the story, you sort of have a limited time to get it withdrawn -- and if you haven't, I'd burn those notes if I were you."
"And," a voice said quietly, surprising them both, "if anything should happen to Lois, my ethics might be a little more flexible than you think, Mr. Nunk."
Lois turned in the direction of the voice, to see Clark standing there, looking as un-threatening as he usually did. Nunk, however, seemed to shrink. He swallowed, and then appeared to rally. "You don't scare me."
"Of course not," Clark said, "but I'd keep the thought in mind, if I were you."
**********
"Three ... two ... one ... Happy New Year!"
Lois lifted her glass of champagne, and then found herself floating in the air and being thoroughly kissed. Clark pulled his head back perhaps an inch, smiled into her eyes and then proceeded to kiss her again. Around them the strains of Auld Lang Syne filled the room.
Slowly, they settled to the floor once more, and Lois glanced around, surprised to see that apparently no one had noticed. New Year's revelers were laughing, singing and kissing friends and strangers impartially, and through the huge window, she could see the fireworks making the night as bright as day.
Clark's arm was around her waist, and he was presenting her with her champagne glass, that she had managed to drop during the kiss. Amazingly enough, it was still brimming with frothy, golden liquid.
"Here you go," he said, and lifted his own glass. "To a brand new year for both of us -- and a brand new life, too."
She nodded and smiled, touching the rim of her glass to his. "Happy New Year, Clark."
He grinned. "I have the feeling that this year is going to be something special."
"So do I," she said. "To Lane, Kent and Charlie. We're going to make a great team."
"Amen," Clark said.
The End
