Chapter 4:By some miracle Lois made it to the ground floor. She had just left the staircase when she heard the boy’s muffled voice down the corridor to her right.
“Move it,” he ordered. “I warn you - if anyone is trying to play the hero, I’ll kill you.”
She turned left and hastened down the hall. Looking around for a place to hide, Lois passed the reception. Too exposed. She hurried on, keeping her ears trained on the voices and steps behind her. Any moment now Tied-Sleeves could round the corner. Lois glanced over her shoulder. The hall behind her was still empty.
Lois ran on and spotted a door several yards down the corridor. The steps were closing in. Could she make it that far? She pushed herself on, but skidded to a halt when from the corner of her eye, she saw a hidden closet door right next to her.
She pressed the handle down, but the door didn’t budge. Locked! Damn. She pushed harder, willing the door to open.
“Hey, you! Faster,” the boy growled, clearer this time.
They were almost there. What now? She gave the door one last frustrated push and it finally gave way. She snuck inside and closed the door behind her, hoping Tied-Sleeves wouldn’t hear the lock click.
Resting her back against the door, Lois squeezed her eyes shut and caught her breath. Just in time. Outside, the tapping of feet and faint sobs moved past her. At least two people, maybe three. Her heart hammered in her ears, almost drowning out their sounds. What if they’d seen her? She pressed her back against it for all she was worth.
Please just go, she silently pleaded.
Beyond the door, the steps faded. Lois released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She opened her eyes and found herself behind a heavy, red curtain.
Then she heard someone speak.
Lois froze.
“Oh, look at our newest guests,” a man said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Let’s make one thing perfectly clear right from the start. You don’t get to buy yourself out this mess. Hand over your mobile phones to the gentleman over there.”
The voice was close. Too close for comfort. With a start, Lois realized she was in the conference room, probably on a stage. Mindful of the curtains she pressed herself against the wall and crept toward the edge.
She reached out and pulled the curtain aside, just enough to see Sailor Guy move around the toolbox in slow circles. The glow emanating from the meteorite cast him in an eerie green.
Lois looked around as far as the curtain would let her. Besides Sailor Guy, she counted four more goons inside the room. So only one left outside.
“Mayson,” Clark's urgent whisper startled Lois.
She'd been so focused on the bad guys that she hadn't realized he was sitting almost within her reach. He looked awful. His skin had a green hue to it. Droplets of perspiration peppered his face and his shirt was soaked in sweat. His hands were clenched into tight fists. Still, they were shaking.
Mayson was right next to him, head hunched between her shoulders.
Now she raised her head. “Clark, what is it?”
“Listen,” he mumbled, his voice breathy. “The next time all six of them are here, you vanish behind the curtains. There's a stage door behind them.”
“What about you?” Mayson studied his pale face.
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“You’re obviously not. Something's wrong with you.”
“This isn’t about me and you know it,” Clark hissed.
“You still believe they’re here for me?” she murmured. “They’ve walked past me at least a dozen times.”
“Only because we’ve been lucky so far.”
“Lucky? Is that why you look like hell?”
No, because he’s trying to save your skinny butt. Lois bit her tongue before she said something she was going to regret. She wanted to strangle Mayson with the seam of the curtain.
Suddenly Sailor Guy was looking right in their direction. Lois pulled back. Had he seen her?
She held her breath while her heart beat in her throat. Counting the seconds, she awaited a reaction. Some barked commands to get her, a hand that grabbed her through the curtain. She pressed herself against the wall.
“Burke is going to be here any moment,” Mayson said under her breath.“I bet he’s already coordinating a SWAT team.”
“I wouldn’t bet on Burke,” Clark answered tightly. “I believe he’s on Intergang’s payroll.”
So Clark had come to the same conclusion. Lois relaxed. If they talked, then Sailor Guy probably wasn't onto her. Yet. Once more she snuck toward the edge and crouched down, wondering how she was going to contact Clark without drawing any attention toward them.
“Why would you think that?” Mayson whispered.
“The kryptonite. Someone must have told Intergang about Superman keeping an eye on you. I hope Lois gets help.”
“Lois?”
“Yeah, she's here. Somehow she managed to get herself a job as a maid.” His face darkened. “And I hope she isn’t about to do something stupid.”
“Like what?”
Like standing behind the curtain on the stage, Lois cringed. This was exactly the place where Clark wouldn’t want her to be.
Next to her the curtain bulged.
***
From the edge of the stage, the bulky guy approached. “Got something you want to share with the group?” He nudged Mayson with the tip of his gun.
Clark’s heart skipped a beat. The last thing he’d wanted was to attract attention. Next to him, Mayson blanched and clamped her mouth shut. She slid a little lower, hunching her head between her shoulders.
“Didn't think so,” the man grunted.
He kept the machine gun pointed at Mayson though, the muzzle only inches from her head. Clark tensed. From this close not even Superman could catch a bullet before it struck Mayson. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer, praying the big guy wouldn’t shoot. His invulnerability was long gone. Just trying to hide his discomfort was becoming increasingly difficult.
Had their luck run out? Had these guys just been biding their time until he handed them an excuse to strike? Make Mayson look like an accidental victim rather than the intended target of this whole operation?
Clark had no idea what to do. He wished he'd been more careful, wished he'd thrown Mayson over his shoulder and gotten her out of this mess while he still could. Instead he was locked in a staring contest with a pair of pale blue eyes, afraid of what might happen if he blinked first.
His stomach twisted painfully. Long seconds passed.
Then the big guy backed off.
“Okay, everyone, take that as a warning,” the leader drawled. “The next chatterbox is going to face some serious consequences.”
The hostages around Clark stared at their hands, doing their best to become invisible. The conference room was eerily silent. Mayson watched him from the side, worried. She reached out and took Clark's hand, only to flinch back. A deep frown marred her features.
Clark guessed he was running a fever like the first time he'd been exposed. Something had to happen soon. He couldn’t keep up the pretense much longer. Even from a distance he felt the kryptonite suck the life out of him, not in a painful wave that crushed him but slow and steady.
On the other end of the conference room, the door swung open and three new hostages entered the room. It should have been their cue. But the big guy was still keeping an eye on them, Clark was sure. He cursed himself for throwing away such a perfect opportunity. While the man with the Cowboy boots was here, there was no one keeping watch outside the conference room.
Perhaps if he created a distraction?
He lowered his glasses and stared at the sprinkler system under the ceiling. If he concentrated, maybe he could still muster up some heat vision. He focused on the sprinklers until a headache built up behind his temples, willing heat to pool in his eyes until they watered, burning from lack of fluid. When he had to blink again, he had nothing to show for it but a blinding headache and the sickening feeling of nausea rising in his stomach.
More beads of perspiration covered his forehead and, with a sigh, he slipped his glasses back onto his nose. It was no use. He was no use. Gritting his teeth, Clark rubbed his temples and shut his eyes, breathing through the nausea. He felt Mayson’s gaze on him.
There had to be some way to get Mayson out of this place.
If Lois had gotten through to Henderson, how long would it take until help arrived?
With a hostage situation at their hands, the police weren't going to risk anything. So a rescue was not going to happen anytime soon even if help was on the way. Clark bit down a grunt as he opened his eyes again and studied the conference room. On the far side of the room, the leader was talking to the man with the cowboy boots. The bulky guy still stood on the stage, but at a safer distance. Still, his eyes were never far from Clark’s corner, daring him to try anything.
A distraction, Clark thought desperately. He needed some kind of distraction.
“Mayson, Clark!” a hushed voice whispered next to his ear.
Clark turned his head, feeling like someone doused him in a bucket of ice water as he spotted a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes peeking around the curtain. His heart sank. When Intergang’s goons hadn’t brought Lois in, he’d hoped she’d gotten out in time.
But of course she hadn’t. Of course she would walk right into the lion’s den, no matter the consequences! A surge of anger flooded him, chasing away the pins and needles assaulting his body.
“Lois,” he grunted. “What are you doing here?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Well, what do you think?” she mouthed. “Trying to get the two of you out of here!”
Clark’s gaze flickered toward the leader, who’d stopped talking to the guy with the cowboy boots and had resumed his round, pacing back and forth next to the kryptonite. Behind him, Cowboy boots left the conference room. The others stayed.
One man outside. A chill ran down Clark’s spine, but he knew their chances weren’t going to get any better. Not while he still had some semblance of control over his body.
Create a distraction. He could do that.
But he only had this one shot. He looked back at Mayson, then at Lois. This time, he wouldn’t fail. He couldn’t. Too much depended on him getting this right.
He set his jaw. “You have a place where you and Mayson can hide?”
“Well…” she hesitated. Clark could practically see her mind work until something clicked. “Yes, but.. “
“Okay.” He sat straighter. “I'll provide a distraction. You two get away from here.“
He scrambled to his feet, swaying as he did so.The world spun about him and his knees buckled. For a moment the ground seemed to be rushing toward him, but he locked his legs underneath himself and balled his hands into tight fists. He wouldn’t give into the weakness, not if he could help it.
Lois' gaze drifted toward the kryptonite and her eyes widened. “Clark, no, it's too dangerous.”
“I can handle this. Trust me. I've had worse. Just get out of here.”
Clark smiled at her, hoping it was reassuring. His stomach curled into a tight knot, but he wasn't going to back down. Not as long as Lois and Mayson were in danger.
“Cla…” Mayson hissed. “What are you doing?”
Clark ignored her and waded through the people sitting on the floor. Some tried to hold him back, but he gritted his teeth and moved on. The wave of pain hit him like a wall, pushing him back. Clark swayed. Dark spots danced before his eyes. Still, he felt everyone’s gaze on him, except for the leader’s.
“Hey you,” Clark shouted, struggling to keep his voice steady. “What do you want from us?”
The man turned, taking his sweet time to aim his machine gun at Clark’s chest. A collective gasp echoed through the room.
“Sit down!” he barked.
“No! Tell me what you want! Is it money?” Clark pulled his wallet from his jacket and waved it around, almost losing his balance as he did so. “There’s got to be another way. You don’t want to hold a room full of people hostage!”
“Are you drunk, or what? Sit down and be quiet!” With a few quick strides, the leader approached Clark, keeping his gun firmly trained on him.
Clark resisted the urge to look over his shoulder. His vision greyed on the edges. The kryptonite radiation pulsed through him, strangling every sinew and bone in his body in a death grip.
“You don’t want to do this!“ He ground out. Breathing became harder. His chest was so tight. “Get out of here now. Nobody has been hurt, yet. You can still stop this before it’s too late.”
The leader pressed the nuzzle of his gun into Clark’s chest. “Sit down man, or you'll regret it.”
Some more time, all he needed was to buy them some more time.
His legs wanted to give out, but Clark stood his ground. “Squeeze that trigger and it's not just my life that's over.”
“I told you to stow it!” Clark saw the butt of the gun coming, but he barely felt the knock to his stomach.
The ground rushed toward him, something hit the side of his head, hard.
Then there was only darkness.
***
The sickening grunt followed by the heavy thud of Clark's dead weight hitting the floor echoed through Lois’ mind. She stood behind the curtain, one hand covering Mayson's mouth to keep her from screaming, the other one covering her own. Her breath came in panting gasps. She wanted to storm right into the room and beat the hell out of these guys.
Out of Mayson, too.
The blonde menace was shaking, her eyes wide with terror. As if she hadn't seen this coming. What had she been expecting, walking right into the lion's den? All because she wanted to bring down Intergang on her own.
And now Clark was out there, letting them beat him up.
Mayson peeled Lois’ hand off her mouth, her glance toward the curtain urging Lois not to leave Clark alone. But these people had machine guns. All her Taekwondo was useless in a situation like this. Getting herself killed in a reckless fight would be a bad way of repaying Clark. He was going to be fine, she told herself. After all, Intergang’s people hadn’t shot him.
I can handle this. he’d said, knowing full well the kryptonite was going to kill him.
She had to trust that he knew what he was doing. And there was little doubt what he would want her to do. No matter the consequences.
Lois blinked back a tear and – pushing every other thought aside – took Mayson's hand. She wasn’t going to wait for the moment Sailor Guy noticed that one of his hostages was missing.
“Come on, now,” she hissed.
Mayson shook her head, pointing toward the curtain.
I'm not going without him, her eyes said.
“He’s doing this for you,” Lois mouthed, though she'd much rather scream.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she pressed Mayson into the wall and pointed at the curtain which was only inches from their faces. All it took was a slight rustling of that curtain, one small noise to give them away. Lois didn't want to see the pain in his eyes when he realized that they had been caught.
No, she wouldn't let him risk his life for nothing.
Lois tightened her grip on Mayson’s hand and, moving sideways, dragged her toward the stage door. They were far from out of the woods, yet. Even if - by some miracle they made it out - beyond the stage door Spurs was once again patrolling the corridors.
“Anyone else feeling particularly brave?” Sailor guy’s rough voice mocked. “ No? Well take that as a warning.”
Another sickening grunt tore right through Lois, testing her resolve. She closed her eyes and moved on. Out, just out of here, hoping Clark would get a chance to back off once they were safe. The stage door was close. Lois placed a hand on the handle and forced herself to slow her breathing. Blood rushed in her ears as she pressed her ear against the wood, listening for the telltale jingle announcing Spurs.
She couldn't hear a thing beyond Hardy’s heavy steps on the other side of the curtain, pacing on the stage.
Sailor Guy spoke again. “Our friend here-”
More pained grunts sounded too much like Clark. Lois tightened her grip on the handle. The crook was still kicking her partner, she was sure.
Breathing hard, he continued. “- asked what we are doing.”
Lois hesitated. Part of her just wanted to go back, find out what this was all about, rescue Clark if possible. Mayson didn’t need her to get out of here. It was her own fault they were here in the first place. Let her deal with the consequences!
Before her mind’s eye, Lois could see Clark shake his head.
Lois shot a glance at Mayson and gritted her teeth. As long as Sailor Guy talked, they were more likely to go unnoticed. She'd come back for Clark later, she vowed to herself. Sending a silent prayer to heaven, Lois pressed down the door handle, careful not to make a noise. She peeked around the corner and found the hall blissfully empty.
She gestured for Mayson to follow her and together they ran toward the door Lois had spotted earlier. They hastened across the hall. The door still stood ajar, just a little. Lois pulled it open and pushed Mayson inside the room. When she shut the door behind them, they were plunged in near darkness. The flickering light of several monitors cast a dull grey light on the chair in front of them. A coffee cup sat forgotten on a desk underneath the monitors. There were eight of them, attached to the wall in two rows. Each showed another part of the hotel.
Images of empty corridors switched in regular intervals. Lois recognized the cart she’d left in front of Clark’s hotel room. The main entrance was next, then the pool area, the parking lot… Lois found displays of the conference room on two monitors in the lower row.
Sailor Guy was still walking back and forth, continuing his speech. His lips were moving, but there was no sound. Hardy hadn’t left his position on the stage, the three others were guarding the hostages from the other side.
Spurs appeared on one of the cameras that showed the upper floors and pulled a keycard from his pocket. He vanished into the first room.
The camera in the conference room moved until Clark appeared. He lay sprawled on the ground, dark stains of blood covered his forehead. Lois stared at the motionless figure, willing him to move a limb, do anything to prove he wasn’t dead yet.
“How is he?” Mayson’s voice startled her.
Lois had completely forgotten about the other woman who stood next to her, her gaze fixated on the monitors. One hand clapped to her mouth, she ran her index finger above Clark’s unmoving form.
“Not well,” Lois managed.
Her stomach clenched in dread.
She turned to Mayson. “This is your fault. If you hadn’t insisted on acting as bait, none of this would have happened. If you hadn’t…”
Mayson’s pale face and quivering lower lip gave her pause.
Her eyes were wet with tears and sobs shook her body. “I never thought something like this was going to happen,” she whispered. “I thought the police were going to be here. That Clark was being so protective because he was finally coming around to admit to his feelings for me.”
Mayson buried her face in her hands and Lois almost felt sorry for her. Almost. Because next to the toolbox, Clark was still lying face down. Her own eyes filled with tears and she was tempted to look away again. But suddenly - was that a twitch of his arm? Lois blinked and wiped away the tears, straining to have a closer look. Did he really just move or was that just wishful thinking?
Agonizing moments passed until he moved again. Just another twitch of his arm, but this time with more purpose. He propped himself up, just enough to lift his head. Lois couldn’t help but smile. Clark wasn’t dead yet. His face scrunched up in pain, he crawled away from the kryptonite.
Sailor Guy was still pacing and continuing his speech. As he passed the toolbox, he picked up the green crystal and held it up as he walked along the hostages. Clark dropped back to the floor, when Sailor Guy approached him. The goon delivered a vicious kick to his stomach, then bent down and brought the kryptonite closer to his face, taunting him. Clark curled in on himself, and even on the poor footage of his camera Lois could see his limbs shaking. Was he screaming in agony, giving away how much that crystal was hurting him?
“The kryptonite.” Next to her, Mayson pointed at Clark’s trembling form on the monitor. “Oh my God, he’s reacting to it, isn’t he?”
“Don’t be silly.” Lois’ snort sounded too unnatural to her own ears. “The guy kicked him. Why would he react to kryptonite?”
She knew it was too late, though. Realization had already dawned on Mayson’s face. “That’s how he knew Burke’s people wouldn’t show up. That’s why he wasn’t concerned with taking a bullet for me. I told him I didn’t need Superman, but he absolutely had to interfere.”
Lois’s mind raced, trying to think of something to throw Mayson off the notion that Clark was Superman. As if there was still a point to keeping his secret. On the monitor, Sailor Guy’s hand was still awfully close to Clark’s face. What would he do to Clark if he realized the man he wanted to kill was already in his hands? She had to do something to get Clark out of there.
Mayson balled her hands into fists. “He knew bullets weren’t going to hurt him. I thought he was so brave, but he lied to me the entire time. He let me believe there was something between us when –”
“When what?” Lois growled. “Would you have given him the time of the day if he’d told you the truth about his powers? About who he is? All you ever saw in him was a vigilante. But have you ever talked to him after a rescue gone bad? When all he could do just wasn't enough? Have you ever seen the look in his eyes when he thinks he failed the people he wanted to protect?”
On the monitor, Sailor Guy straightened and delivered another vicious kick to Clark’s stomach. Tears sprang to Lois’ eyes as she saw her partner sprawled on the floor when the goon walked off and put the kryptonite back into the toolbox.
“You mean something to him, don’t you see?” Lois blurted out. “He’s getting himself killed to keep you safe. Though I really don’t know what he sees in you.”
Mayson stared at her. “You really think he saw something in me?”
Lois wanted to strangle her. “Why else would he spend a whole night watching over you, though he was in desperate need of sleep after he saved all those people from the tsunami? Why else would he risk any chance at a normal life to make sure Intergang doesn’t kill you? When he decided to come with you as Clark, he knew very well that any stray bullet might expose him. You think he’s doing this to make himself look good? That he’s Superman so he can show off his powers? if you really think that then you don’t know Clark at all.”
The hard lines around Mayson’s mouth softened and she looked back at the monitor, tracing Clark’s unmoving form with her finger. “I guess I never really thought of Superman as a person. He had trouble carrying the chairs, he almost looked like he was about to collapse. And that strange fever he was running.”
“That stuff is going to kill him if we don’t do something soon.”
“Clark said that he’d had worse before he went to confront the gangsters,” Mayson whispered. “Do you have any idea what he was talking about?”
Lois shook her head and looked at the monitor, where Clark seemed to have come to again.
His crawl away from it looked painful. What little she could see of his face looked bruised and battered. She couldn’t imagine anything worse than this. But she felt that Clark hadn’t been lying when he’d said that. What had happened that he hadn’t told her about?
Lois’s stomach clenched. She couldn’t stand another minute of watching him. “I need to help him! He has to get out of there!”
She started toward the door, but Mayson held her back. “Don’t!”
With an angry grunt, Lois tried to shake off her hand. “He needs help, can’t you see that?”
Mayson pursed her lips and tightened her grip on Lois’ arm. “Don’t you realize that he did this for you, too? So we could both get out of there? Did you see the look in his eyes when you appeared in the conference room? He’d been so worried that Intergang’s guys would catch you, that you’d do something reckless.”
“You don’t understand. I have to get to him.”
She shook her head. “You called the police, right?”
“Yes, I did, but… Clark might not have that kind of time.”
Sailor Guy noticed Clark’s pitiful attempt to get away. With two long strides he was at his side and delivered a vicious kick to Clark’s stomach. Lois closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists.
“Oh my God,” Mayson whispered and let go of Lois.
“You stay here. I’ll get Clark out of there,” Lois said.
“But how?”
“I don’t know.”
This time Mayson didn’t stop her as she stormed out of the room, paying little mind to who might be waiting outside. All she knew is that she had to get to Clark. She ran down the corridor and checked only briefly before she crossed the hall back to the hidden stage door.
Outside the door, however, Lois hesitated. Upon second thought, she felt a lot less confident. What was she supposed to do? Walk right in and let them catch her, hoping that her sudden appearance would distract them enough for Clark to crawl out of the conference room? That was ridiculous.
But there had to be something she could do. Perhaps she could get inside and act like she’d been a hostage all along and then somehow drag him to safety. But he’d still be too close to the kryptonite and Lois had no idea if she even had the strength to move him.
She put her hand on the handle, more out of despair than with any real plan in mind, when someone placed a hand on her mouth and pulled her back. A muffled scream escaped her lips and she struggled against her captor.
“Easy there, Lane.” she heard Henderson’s voice next to her ear. “I’m one of the good guys.”
She turned to him and stared daggers at him until he removed his hand. Henderson wasn’t alone. He’d brought a whole SWAT team.
“Finally! I thought you’d never make it. Clark is still in there! You have to get him out now!”
“Hold your horses.” He pulled her back. “As far as I know we’ve got a hostage situation on our hands. We can’t just storm in and risk the lives of all these people, Lane. You of all people should know that. And since Superman won’t be able to help us, we’ve got to do this the old fashioned way.”
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