Table of Contents **********
From Part One: “Goodnight, Clark,” I tell him abruptly, getting up and heading to the elevator. Yes, goodnight...and get a good night’s sleep because you have battle to do in the morning.
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PART TWO: **********
The next morning I wake up tired. I didn’t sleep well the night before. I spent most of the night going over ways that I could expose Clark’s secret.
I’m certain now that I don’t want to just come right out and ask him. I’m not even sure he would tell me if I did. I would need irrefutable proof, first, if I were going to do that. But what I really want is to corner him, force his hand.
But I didn’t come up with one acceptable idea all night. First, I thought maybe I could hire someone to pretend they were in danger, scream for Superman. Then I could try to follow Clark when he tried to dash off to rescue them. Too risky. If he *dashed* too fast, I wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Then I thought maybe I could put myself in danger somehow, in front of him. He’d have to save me as Clark, revealing himself. I still think that idea may have some merit, but I haven’t come up with an acceptable situation yet.
The last idea I came up with was to test Clark himself in some way. Like by stabbing him with a pencil or something. I shudder at the thought, am I becoming a sadist? But, it would definitely prove he was Superman.
But all these ideas would force his hand in a way that I don’t want. Part of me wants to make him tell me, but another part of me wants him to volunteer the information. Ugh! This was going to be difficult.
I *know* that he is Superman, deep down I really do. But before I put any sort of a *plan* into action, I really need to confirm that to myself. The one way I can think of to do that is to *mark* him somehow, so that when he dashes off as Clark and shows back up as Superman, he’ll still be marked.
But how? I can’t mark anything he’s wearing, he’ll take it off. It has to be on his body, and something I can see outside the suit. And I probably need to do it in a way that he won’t notice. If he knows he’s been marked, he’ll be less likely to show up anywhere as Superman.
A thought strikes me – one of my previous ideas just might work for part of this.
**********
I walk off the elevator at the Planet, headed towards my desk. Clark’s there already, standing next to it holding two cups of coffee.
Hmm, sweet, Clark, nice try - try again.
“Good morning,” he says, testing a smile on me.
Ugh! There’s that pesky smile again. Could he melt butter with that? Focus! I keep myself composed. I don’t say a word.
“Come on, Lois, you can’t still be mad about last night.”
“No, Clark, I can.” You can lie and I can stay mad.
“But why?” he pleads with me.
“Why? Were you not listening to anything I said last night? You keep secrets from me, and what happened last night just proves that.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kept that from you.” He risks moving a little closer to me. Having smelled his shirt just yesterday my nose immediately picks up on his scent. That darned flutter returns to my stomach. Mmm, his clothes had smelled nice, but he smells even better. I breathe him in and enjoy it, despite myself, as he continues to close the distance between us.
“Are you really?” I finally manage to ask him. Our bodies are in such close proximity that it’s a little distracting. My mind keeps trying to picture Clark’s perfectly formed body beneath those clothes. I’ve always known that Clark has a nice physique, from that first time I went to that dingy little apartment he was living in and he answered the door in just a towel.
But then when we had our *almost* first date, and we fell together on the couch, I felt that muscular form, up close and personal. The swell of his...muscles, and the feel of his body beneath the thin shirt he was wearing. I had run my hands along his chest before letting him get up off that couch. Oh, and then, then, he had undressed behind that foggy glass door. And now I know it’s not only Clark’s body I was admiring, but...Superman’s!
No, Lois, think, stay clear. Clark lied – you’re angry. I cross my hands against my chest and step backwards a little. “Are you sorry for hiding it? Or sorry you got caught? Do you have any other secrets you’d like to divulge to me? Now’s the time.”
Clark sets my coffee mug down on my desk. “Let me know when my partner, and friend, Lois Lane, comes back. I’d like to talk to *her*.” He starts to walk off. Is he really going to leave it like this? Fine!
“Oh, that’s nice, Clark. Real mature,” I huff at him.
But I let him go. I don’t have time to pursue this any further at the moment. I look down at my watch, it’s almost showtime. I open my desk drawer and take out the cheap tube of lipstick I bought – the kind that bleeds off your lips really bad. I press it to my lips making sure to get a good thick application on them. I wait a few minutes for good measure – this has to seem believable - and then make my way over to Clark’s desk.
I walk up behind him quietly and place my *marked* lips against the side of his neck, kissing him. The smell of his skin is accosting my nose. For a minute, I consider kissing him somewhere else, his lips look so inviting, but no, I don’t have time for that right now.
“I’m sorry, you’re right,” I tell him. “I probably over-reacted about last night.” I work hard not to gag on the words as I say them. I move my hand away and he turns his chair to look at me. I glance down at his throat – bingo!
He raises his eyebrows at me in disbelief and opens his mouth to say something. But, before any words come out, he gets a strange look on his face and moves to stand up. Wow, how many times have I seen that look before and not realized what it was for? But I know what it’s for this time. Ha, she’s right on schedule.
“Can we talk about this when I get back?” he asks.
“Get back? Where are you going? You’re running off again while I’m trying to have a discussion with you?” I can’t help myself. Besides, if I don’t show a little irritation he’ll be suspicious.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I...”
Oh come on, let’s hear it. What’s the excuse going to be this time?
“I, uh, forgot to mail a couple of bills that are due. I’ve gotta run back home and grab them. I’ll be right back.”
I almost laugh out loud. Like that’s something he needs to do right this second? How could I have not seen through all those stupid, flimsy excuses he gave me whenever he needed to run off as Superman? Cheese of the Month Club? Yeah, right!
“Oh, well of course, you’d better go get them then,” I say sarcastically. Now, if my *plant* does her job.
He smiles sheepishly at me and dashes off.
I wait for a few short minutes and here he comes, right back, adjusting his tie as he walks. So that’s why he does that. He’s checking to make sure everything’s tucked and tied and nothing’s exposed. I had always thought he was just obsessive over his tie being straight.
Wow! That was a quick trip home, I muse. What’s his excuse gonna be to cover that? “Back already?” I ask him.
“Yeah. I got all the way downstairs and realized that I did mail them. Yesterday morning. I’d just forgotten.”
“Oh. Well good thing you remembered. It would have been a shame to waste a trip all the way home for nothing.” I can see in his face that my false sympathy isn’t lost on him.
Okay, better take care of the smudge that is still on his neck. No sense taking the chance that someone else would notice the same mark on both Clark and Superman.
“Clark? What did you get on your neck?”
“Huh?”
“There’s a smudge on your neck.”
“There is?”
“Yeah, right here,” I say as I walk up and poke him in the neck. I lick my thumb and give him a spit bath, washing the evidence away. Not romantic, but hey, if he’s going to act like a kid – lie like a kid - I’m going to treat him like one.
“Uh thanks, I think.”
“You’re welcome,” I say sweetly. If I have to keep this up, I am going to gag. I’m itching to see how my evidence turned out. So I decide to come up with a lame excuse of my own. “Okay, well I’m off.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, I’ve got a minor little thing to take care of. Won’t take too long. I’ll be back when it’s done. Bye, Clark!” I see the puzzled look on Clark’s face out of the corner of my eye as I head towards the elevator. Ha. “It’s not fun is it? Being left in the dark?” I mumble under my breath, knowing full well he can hear me if he’s listening.
I restrain myself to keep my pace steady. It’s all I can do not to run to the elevator. I can’t wait to meet up with Michelle Sitkowitz, my neighbor I wrangled into helping me.
***********
“I’m confused,” Michelle was saying. She leaned against the doorframe of her apartment door and put one hand on her hip. “Why did you need me to get this picture of Superman for you? Aren’t you and he close?”
I had set it up perfectly. I had Michelle drop a wad of money, my money, down a sewer vent just a little way down from the Daily Planet building. Then I had told her to call for help. I knew Superman would hear her, especially as close as she was. I told her she could explain that it was her grocery money for the week and she desperately needed it back. I knew being the boy scout he is that he wouldn’t be able to resist. Then, once she had the money back, I told her to tell him she had her camera with her and ask if she could take his picture. The money was hers to keep, of course, for the favor.
“No, I wouldn’t say close.” No, obviously not *that* close since he still feels the need to lie to me and keep secrets from me. “It’s for...a story I’m working on. I needed a specific picture of him on this specific day, and I couldn’t let him know I was the one taking the picture.”
“Oh, okay,” Michelle says, not quite sounding convinced. “Well, here you go. As promised. You know I really don’t want to keep this money. It really wasn’t a big deal.”
“No, I insist. Believe me, you earned it.”
“Well, I have to admit, it was kind of exciting. Like I was helping you investigate a case or something.”
Or something... “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your help.”
“Okay, well I’ll see you around, maybe at the next tenant’s meeting, huh?”
“Oh, uh, maybe. Bye Michelle. Thanks,” I say, walking off towards my apartment.
“You’re welcome! Bye.”
I unlock my door and make my way inside, closing the door behind me. I open the envelope she gave me and take out the roll of film. Now to go find a one-hour photo lab.
***********
“Um, when you asked for doubles, did you realize there was just one picture of Superman on this whole roll of film? Not any other pictures? The rest were blank.” The clerk was giving me a funny look. He hands me the photo envelope and picks up the money I had laid on the counter.
Oh mind your own business, would ya? “Yeah, I’m a big fan. I just had to get this picture back. I couldn’t wait.”
He rolls his eyes slightly as he gets my change out of the cash register. Does he really think I can’t see him doing that? If I wasn’t in such a hurry to examine my prize photo, I would take the time to give him a piece of my mind.
I grab my change out of his outstretched palm and hurry back out to my car. Once inside, I open the envelope and pull out the picture.
There before me is the solid proof I’ve been looking for. A big lip-print-shaped smudge on Superman’s handsome neck, right where I kissed him. Busted! Okay, now I’m ready. Now, I have the conclusive, infallible proof I need.
**********
When I get back to the planet, Clark and half the rest of the newsroom are nowhere to be seen. I look around and find all of them huddled together in the conference room. What’s going on?
I head towards the door and Perry sees me. He begins frantically waving at me to hurry up and come inside. I walk through the door, trying to hide my embarrassment. Great, one of the few times I play hooky to take care of something personal, and I get caught red-handed.
Whatever’s going on, it must be important because Perry doesn’t even bring up my absence. I move over next to Clark.
“What’s going on?” I whisper.
Clark seems agitated but, oddly enough, not with me. “A news report just came in that the Bank of Metropolis is being held-up at gun point. The robbers have hostages and are making demands. One man is already injured, he was hit by a ricochet when one of the robbers got excited and fired his gun,” he whispers back to me.
Ah, I know why he’s agitated now. He wants to *fly* off and help, but he’s stuck here trying to find a reason to excuse himself from Perry’s briefing so he can leave. See, Clark, if you’d just be honest and share your secret with me, I might be able to help.
But maybe I can help anyway and manage to get the exclusive on this story. My palms sweat with excitement at the thought. “Chief, we’re wasting time here,” I tell him. “Let Clark and I go down there. We’ll get you that story.”
“Wasting time? Uh, Lois, I wasn’t the one off gallivanting around while everyone else was here, working on this story.” Perry frowns at me.
I feel my cheeks redden, but I know he’s going to concede...he wants this story.
“Sorry, I can explain.” No, I can’t really, but, I know the Chief, he won’t want an explanation. It would waste too much time.
“No, Lois, just get down there and get me that story. Clark, you go with her.”
“How ‘bout me, Chief?” Jimmy asked, hopeful.
“Yeah, okay, you too, Jimmy. Get me some prize winning photos.”
“Chief?” It seemed Clark had finally found his voice. “Lois doesn’t need to go. It’s going to be dangerous down there. Someone needs to stay here and keep trying to get through to our source at the precinct to see how negotiations are proceeding.”
Oh, no you don’t, Clark. If you think I’m going to do that, you’ve got another thing coming. “No way! I’m not staying. Perry knows I don’t need to stay here to do that. He’s perfectly capable of handling that on his own. Besides, it’s his source anyway, not mine.”
“Lois, I don’t think...”
“No, Clark, you don’t. You’re welcome to come with me if you want, but I’m going.” With that I head out of Perry’s office, catching Jimmy’s arm with mine as I leave. Perry and Jimmy seem to share some *knowing* look between them, but both of them are smart enough not to say anything. “Come on Jimmy, grab your camera.”
“Okay, fine Lois, you win. You and Jimmy go on. I’ll meet you there,” Clark says in resignation.
Yes, I’m sure you will but I’m betting not as Clark.
************
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you’re going to have to stay back behind the police tape, I don’t care who you are,” the officer tells me gruffly. Ma’am? The kid can’t be much younger than me, maybe twenty-five or twenty-six years old. His statement irks me a little. I’m certainly not over-the-hill. Ma’am? Fine, he won’t let me get in close, maybe I can find another way around.
I just have to get closer to what’s happening. The robbers have hostages inside, and they have the building wired with explosives to use if they don’t get what they want. Superman arrived shortly before me and Jimmy, of course. He is talking with the chief of police and the bomb squad to work up a plan for him to get inside and diffuse the situation without harming any innocents.
Hmm, I wonder if there is another entrance to get inside the bank, maybe an employee entrance off to the side, or in the back? I decide to go exploring. I know it’s a little reckless, a little dangerous, but since I also know Superman is here that takes some of the danger out of it. He’ll save me if I get into too much trouble. But, that doesn’t mean I want Jimmy taking risks with me.
“Okay, Jimmy, I’m going to go around back and see if there’s anyway I can get in a little closer and find out what’s going on. You stay out front here and keep an eye on things. You need to be here in case the robbers surrender, to take pictures. Be careful okay?”
“Me? How ‘bout you? I don’t think CK will like you going off like this by yourself. It could be dangerous.”
“Don’t worry. Besides Clark isn’t here right now to have to know about it.”
I make my way down a side alley, and begin closing in on the bank building from the back. I keep myself pressed close to the building I’m following and low to the ground.
I’m in luck, there’s a back entrance into the bank. It’s being guarded, however, by two police officers. How am I going to get past them?
Before I can contemplate that thought any further, the door violently swings open and an armed man comes out shooting the two police officers. I try to strangle a startled cry before it escapes my lips. But I’m too late I realize as the masked gunner looks my way. I’ve been spotted. What do I do?
The robber quickly bends down taking the weapons from the downed officers and then begins heading towards me. There’s only one thing to do – run! I take off back down the alley, the way I came. I hear the sound of the gun firing and feel something hit me in the shoulder almost simultaneously. He shot me!
I fall to the ground in shock and reach up to feel the wound that I’m certain is there. Instead, I find a small dart sticking out of my shoulder; I jerk it out inspecting it. As a feeling of nausea washes over me, I wonder – is it a poison dart or maybe just a tranquilizer? I don’t feel any immediate pain, maybe it wasn’t poison, I hope.
Whether it’s poison or not, I’m in trouble. I feel my mind clouding over. Everything is getting hazy. A man’s arms pull harshly on my body, dragging me deeper into the dark alley.
“Oh baby, I really don’t have time for this, but in your case I think I’ll make time. Surely the other boys will understand,” a deep, abrasive voice says in my ear. I feel something soft and wet slide across my ear and down the side of my face.
He...he licked me! Oh, that’s disgusting. I raise an arm to slap him but my limbs are all beginning to feel like dead weights, they won’t move. This can’t be happening.
He shoves me roughly to the ground and begins pulling at my clothes. I can’t keep my eyes open any longer. I’m still trying to fight him off but I’m losing consciousness.
Okay, no more time to fool around, I’m really in trouble here. I need help. “Clark,” I try to scream out, but much to my horror it only comes out as a soft strangled cry.
I hear the flick of a knife blade being opened and then there is a sharp tug on my hair. The last thing I hear before I pass out is the man’s voice again. “Just a little souvenir to remember you by.”
**********
To Be Concluded...
