PREVIOUSLY...
Perry White stood up when Luthor approached. The two men shook hands and exchanged a few words before Luthor turned to the woman at the table, exchanging some words with her as well. Then Luthor pulled an envelope out of his pocket.
Finally, Linda stopped talking as she began snapping pictures. Clark breathed a sigh of relief and activated his hearing.
“As we discussed,” Luthor said, handing White an envelope.
Clark quickly lowered his glasses. His eyebrows rose when he quickly counted the number of thousand dollar bills he could see inside. There were fifty.**
AND NOW...
* * * * * * * * *
Chapter Sixteen
* * * * * * * * *
**“Thank you, Lex,” White responded. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
“Nonsense. It’s always nice doing business with you, Perry.” He turned his attention back to the woman. “Alice, I’m not sure why you stay with this old bear, but he’s a lucky man.”
Clark rolled his eyes.
The two men shook hands one final time and then Luthor turned and began walking out of the club. Clark rose to follow.
“Wait,” Linda said.
“What?”
“I think we need to get a look at what’s inside that envelope.”
Clark hesitated. She was right. He knew what was in there, but there was also no way he could say that. For the sake of the story, she needed to see it. Otherwise, it was just one man handing another an envelope. On the other hand, Luthor had mentioned two appointments, and been given two envelopes. No, Linda was right. The other envelope contained nothing more than a five thousand dollar donation to a local charity. This was the important contact.
“How exactly do you propose we get a look in that envelope?” Clark said, gesturing towards White as he took the envelope and stuck it in his inside jacket pocket.
“Watch a pro.” She winked at him before picking up her water and rising to her feet.
Clark took one final look towards the departing Luthor before sighing and turning his attention back to Linda. She was just passing the White’s table when she appeared to trip, spilling her water all over Perry.
“What the tarnations?” Perry White gasped, jumping to his feet.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Linda said, brushing frantically at the front of his jacket.
“I’ve got it. I’ve got it,” White said, brushing her hands away.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Linda said again. “If there’s anything I can do...”
“I think you’ve done quite enough.” White gestured to a waitress who was already coming over with a handful of napkins.
Linda apologized again before backing away, until she was finally far enough from the table to be unobserved as she rejoined Clark.
“What do you think that accomplished?” Clark asked.
“Shh... Look.”
Clark glanced again towards the White’s table and his eyebrows rose as he watched Perry remove his suit jacket, laying it over the back of the booth, before again taking his seat.
“Now all we have to do is get into the booth behind them without them noticing and... when the time is right, we can get a look in that envelope and put it back without Perry White ever being any wiser.”
Clark let out a breath. It just might work.”**
“Did it work?”
“Yep. It took a while, but we did get a look in the envelope and there was fifty thousand dollars in it. We even took a picture of it with Perry’s jacket hanging over the back of the booth in the background.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense. Why would Lex give Perry fifty thousand dollars in cash?”
Clark’s eyebrows rose.
“No way! There has to be another explanation. There is no way, no matter how much we screwed up the past, that Perry would take a bribe from Lex.”
“I know. I know. But... well, without knowing Perry... what were Linda and I to think?”
“Still, that couldn’t be enough for even The Star to go to print. All you had was circumstantial evidence and innuendo.”
“It wasn’t. First, other than your stories questioning the safety of S-126 when it first became news, there hadn’t been any seriously negative stories about it posted in the Daily Planet.”
“Of course not. I didn’t have the evidence yet to run those stories.”
“So how did you get the evidence?”
“Like I said, Lex called. He suggested I contact someone at Star Labs named Dr. Jefferson Cole.”
“The same Jefferson Cole who tried to frame you for murder?”
Lois let out a breath. “That would be the one. Although, of course, he hadn’t tried to frame me for murder - at least not by that time. All I knew is that I had a scientist from Star Labs who was willing to give me information. And he did, too. Test results. Inter-office memos. Letters. It was very thorough. He said that these reports were being kept secret because the Directors at Star Labs knew they had a cash-cow on their hands. The idea was to keep the true test results secret until such time as they could develop an effective delivery method. Then they would sell the technology. By the time anyone realized there was a problem, the Directors would all be sipping pina coladas in some tropical paradise without an extradition treaty. ”
“So after you got Cole’s evidence, you ran the story?”
“I ran the story.”
Clark nodded. “We got wind that the story was coming out from a friend Linda had inside the Daily Planet.”
“Obviously not me.”
Clark smiled. “Obviously not. Anyway, that’s when Linda and I first went to Carpenter with what we had.”
**Carpenter looked at the notes he’d been handed before looking back at the two people in his office and then back at the notes.
“So... why haven’t you written the story? This is big news. The most respected paper in the country is involved in a plot to undermine the greatest discovery since the wheel. The only thing wrong here is that the story isn’t written,” Carpenter said.
“Mr. Carpenter,” Clark said, “all we really have at this time is supposition. Lex Luthor says he’s going to get the Daily Planet to run a series of stories to undermine S-126 in order to ensure that his electric company’s profits are not threatened. Then Luthor meets with the editor of the Daily Planet and gives him fifty thousand dollars in cash. The next day, a story about S-126 is to appear in the Planet.”
“So what are you saying, Kent? Legitimate business deals are not conducted with large cash payments, passed along in restaurants in plain white envelopes?”
“Granted, it looks bad. I agree. But there could be another explanation for the money. I think we have a duty to our readers to make sure we’re right.”
Carpenter nodded slowly. “So how do you propose getting proof?”
“We need to look into Perry White’s finances.”
Carpenter nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Why don’t you let me see what I can do about that. I have a contact that might be able to help us out. In the meantime, I need the two of you down at City Hall. The mayor is about to give a press conference.”
Linda and Clark rose to their feet, preparing to leave.
“Good work, you two,” Carpenter said.
Clark nodded, but in the pit of his belly he had this sinking feeling. They about to go to war with the Daily Planet, Lois Lane’s paper. Some days it just wasn’t worth getting out of bed.
As he was collecting his jacket however, he discovered that not everyone was as upset by the impending fall of one of the Fourth Estate’s great names as he was. His hearing picked up the sound of Carpenter’s voice talking to a bulky man who seemed to follow Carpenter everywhere he went. Bodyguard was Clark’s guess. Although in some ways, he seemed more like a Mr. Belvedere - butler, chauffeur and personal assistant. Ahh... the life of the rich and famous.
Clark listened to the conversation as he and Linda walked to the elevator.
“Good news, Stark. It seems we’re about to bring down Perry White. And with White’s reputation demolished, the reputation of the Planet will crumble.”
“And then The Star will be the only game in town,” Stark completed for him. “Congratulations, Mr. Carpenter.”
Clark felt ill. The only thing Carpenter cared about was power and profit - no matter what it might do to the reputation of the Forth Estate or to all the employees of the Daily Planet. Still, if Perry White was taking money from Luthor to run phony news stories, this was news.
Still, as the elevator door closed behind Clark, he wondered, and not for the first time, if he was in the wrong business. His intention had been to get Lane to see the truth about Luthor - or well... no. It wasn’t about Lane. It was that Clark wanted to find out the truth about Luthor. And instead, he was about to destroy Perry White. Not that White didn’t deserve it if he was doing what he appeared to be doing, but Clark didn’t exactly feel good about this. This time, he feared, he may have bitten off more than he could chew.**
“So if you didn’t like the story, why did you write it?”
“Lois, you know as well as I do that this was big news.” He hesitated. “If it were true, I mean. We both know Perry. He’s as honest as the day is long. But then... I didn’t know Perry - except by reputation. And, by the way, that’s really all I knew about Luthor, too. Unlike in reality, I didn’t have the Superman perspective. All I knew was that both men seemed too good to be true. But keep in mind that I didn’t run the story then. It wasn’t until I saw Perry’s bank records that I wrote the story.”
“Tell me about that.”
**When Linda and Clark arrived back from the press conference, a pile of papers were waiting for them. Linda dug into them enthusiastically. Clark found he was more reticent. It was one thing to be digging around in Luthor’s financial information, but Perry White’s? And after the excitement he’d heard in Carpenter’s voice at the idea, not of bringing down Luthor, although he would to some extent get caught in the cross-fire, but of bringing down White, Clark was having serious second thoughts.
Still, it might not be what he’d been looking for, but it was what he’d found. With a heavy heart, he sat down and joined in the search.
At the end of their search, Linda was ecstatic. Clark, on the other hand, just felt tired.
“Let’s go talk to Carpenter,” she said, rising to her feet.
“Before we do that,” Clark said. “I think we should call Perry White and ask for his reaction.”
Linda sank back down in her chair. “We should probably see if we can get a reaction from Luthor, too.”
Clark nodded. “Why don’t you call Luthor? I’ll call Mr. White.”
A few minutes later, they were both putting their phones back in their cradles.
“Well?” Linda asked.
“I couldn’t get through to him. What about you?”
“Apparently, Mr. Luthor does not take calls from the press either. And, according to Mrs. Cox, if I need a quote, the response is... no comment.” She paused briefly. “I think it’s time we talked to Carpenter.”
Clark nodded.
“So we found three deposits, all in cash, all in the amount of fifty-thousand dollars,” Linda was telling Carpenter a few minutes later.
“So then this isn’t the first time Luthor has bought some free advertising,” Carpenter said thoughtfully. “Were you able to link up those previous deposits with stories in the Daily Planet?”
“The first one was around the time of the Messenger explosion,” Clark said softly.
“Didn’t you have suspicions at that time that Luthor was involved in that?” Carpenter asked.
Clark nodded morosely. “Yes, sir. But I could never prove it.”
“Seems the Daily Planet couldn’t ‘prove it’ either - at least their story stops with Baines. Is it possible that the reason they never looked past Baines was because White killed the story?”
“I suppose anything is possible, sir. But we really don’t have any evidence...”
“Relax, Kent. I’m not going to run it. It does make you wonder, though.”
Clark nodded. Carpenter was right. It did make him wonder.
“The second time was around the time that Clark broke the story about those smart kids who were holding Metropolis hostage.”
“Luthor was involved in that, too, wasn’t he?”
Linda nodded. “Clark’s story mentioned that Luthor was the one who had funded Dr. Carlton’s experiments and suggested that might have been the reason that the kids kidnapped Luthor.”
“And the Daily Planet article?”
“In it, Luthor came out as looking like something of a hero after Dr. Cartlon’s suicide. They reported that Luthor had made sure that all of Carlton’s notes and samples were destroyed and had even agreed to pay off the charges the kids had put on his credit card.”
“And that was when the second deposit was made to White’s bank account?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What about the third time?”
“The day before Lois Lane’s first story about S-126. I guess he hasn’t had a chance to deposit last night’s payment yet.”
“Okay, write me up the story.”
“But, sir, we still don’t know...”
“Be careful with your wording - stick only with what we know. I think the implications once people connect the dots will be clear enough. In the meantime, I have an editorial to write about the criminal sin of selling out the truth when claiming to inform the American public.”**
* * * * * * * * *
**Clark stood outside the front door of the Daily Planet for a long time before he finally worked up the nerve to walk inside.
He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d come. After all, he’d left a message for Perry White to call him back. He’d tried to stress the importance of returning the call - even though he knew he wasn’t on White’s ten most popular people list. But there had been no return phone call.
Still, Clark had to give him one last chance. After all, maybe there was some sort of logical explanation for the deposits and the envelope full of cash. Clark didn’t want his article to go to print without at least giving Mr. White a chance to respond.
He looked around the lobby, before walking over to the reception desk. “Would you inform Perry White that Clark Kent from the Metropolis Star would like to speak to him. It’s very important.”
The receptionist picked up the phone and placed the call.
“Who?”
Clark heard White’s response.
“A Clark Kent from the Metropolis Star,” the woman said, looking at Clark for confirmation that she’d gotten the name right.
Clark nodded.
“He says it’s important.”
“I’m not interested in anything Mr. Kent might have to say,” White responded. “And if he ever sets foot in this building again, I want him forcibly removed.”
“Tell him that it’s in regards to a story coming out in the Star tomorrow morning.”
“He’s hung up, sir. And I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Clark stood for a moment more before turning and leaving the building. It seemed Mr. White still hadn’t forgotten what had happened at Clark’s interview.**
Lois and Clark sat in silence for a long moment. “So you tried to ask him about what you’d found?”
Clark nodded. “It just... didn’t feel right. But all of the evidence seemed to point towards him being guilty.”
“Something seems... odd here, Clark. After all, if this is the reason Perry and the rest of the Planet staff is so mad at you, why would Perry have been so hostile before the story even came out?”
Clark gestured helplessly.
“You know, it seems to me that I remember something else about that time,” Lois finally said.
“What?”
“It must have happened the same day that you were working on Perry’s bank accounts. I got a call from Henderson - about a dead body that had turned up in Hobbs’ Bay.”
**“What’s so important, Henderson?” Lois asked as she raised the yellow tape blocking off the crime scene far enough that she could slip beneath it. “I’m supposed to be covering a press conference at City Hall.”
“I think you might find this a little more interesting.”
“One dead guy washes ashore? Henderson, this is Metropolis we’re talking about. One dead drowning victim isn’t going to even rate an honorable mention on the front page.”
“How about nine dead bodies?”
“I thought you’d said...”
“When I called, only one had been found. But since then...” He led Lois around the edge of the building to where she could see nine full body-bags sitting on the dock some distance away. Not a soul was near them.
“What happened?”
“We’re not exactly sure, yet. But we do know where they all worked.”
“Where?”
“Star Labs.”
“What? All of them?”
Henderson nodded.
“Do you know how they died?”
“Not yet. But that’s why I contacted you. I wanted to talk to you about your source inside Star Labs. You know, the one that gave you the information on S-126.”
Lois began walking towards the dock. “You know that I’m not going to give you my source, Henderson.”
“Wait!” Henderson said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back.
“What?”
“They’re radioactive.”
“What? The bodies?”
Henderson nodded.
“How?”
“That’s what we’re hoping your source can tell us. I have an officer who used to work for the military and had some experience with radiation burns. Anyway, when he saw the burns on the bodies, he got concerned, and got hold of a Geiger counter. We got everyone away from the bodies, but right now we’re waiting for the experts before moving them.”
Lois let out a breath. “Sorry, Henderson. I’d like to help, but...”
“I’m not asking you to tell us the name of your source...”
“I can’t give you anything that might help you identify...”
“I’m asking you to give your source my name and number and ask him to call me.” He let out a breath. “Lois, these men and women all worked for Star Labs. They all are radioactive. And yet, they were just dumped in the Bay. The first one was found by a kid who was fishing. I need someone who can tell me what the hell is going on. Normally, I’d just contact Star Labs, but if your story is correct...”
Lois bristled. “Of course my story is correct.”
“Then I need someone from Star Labs I can trust - someone who will not try to bury the issue for their boss - if case this is connected to S-126.”
“Okay, Henderson,” Lois said, looking back at the bodies. “I’ll try. He seemed serious about stopping Star Labs from getting away with this, but he still didn’t want his name used. But I’ll try. By the way, any estimates yet on when these people died?”
“Not yet. But according to the officer who made the original diagnosis, it couldn’t have been very long. Otherwise, the nature of the burns might have been harder to recognize. But it certainly looks like someone was trying to hide what happened.”**
“My story was in the next morning’s edition of the Daily Planet. Like you, I allowed people to ‘connect the dots’ on their own.”
“So at the same time that the world is reading about how people are dying who work at the lab which is testing S-126, they’re reading about how Perry White is taking bribes from Luthor to destroy the reputation of S-126.”
“What a mess.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“I remember coming into the Planet the next morning. It was like walking into a morgue.”
**Something was different. Something was... wrong. The normal din of morning conversation had dropped off and everyone spoke in whispers.
“Who died?” Lois asked, only half joking.
“Didn’t you listen to the news this morning, Lois?” Cat asked.
“No, I went for a jog. So what happened?”
“People!” Perry bellowed, stepping into the newsroom. “Conference room! Five minutes.”
Lois was shocked when he walked back into his office and closed the door. Not only was it unheard of for him, if there was a lack of noise in the newsroom, not to bellow at everyone to get back to work. But he had closed his door.
“Who died?” she asked, this time completely serious.
“Well, we can’t be sure. But Perry isn’t looking too healthy at the moment,” Cat said.
“What?” Lois gasped, spinning around to face her often nemesis. “Perry’s dying?”
“No! No, relax, Lois. I didn’t mean it literally. But didn’t you read King and Kent’s article in the Metropolis Star this morning?”
“Why would I read the Metropolis Star?” Lois asked, not quite able to look Cat in the eye. Since Kent had started working there, she read it on a regular basis. Nothing personal, but it was always prudent to keep one’s eye on the enemy.
“I suggest you might want to take a look at it,” Cat said, walking away.
Lois watched her go before turning to look around the newsroom. There was often a copy of it somewhere - along with copies of dozens of other publications. But today, in spite of Cat’s comments, not a copy was anywhere to be seen.
“Jimmy,” she yelled when the young man stumbled past looking ten years older than he had yesterday.
He stopped and looked at her.
“What’s going on?”
“You haven’t heard?”
“Why does everyone keep asking that? Would I be asking if I had heard?”
“Well, this morning’s front page article in The Star...”
“Okay, everyone! Conference room now!” Perry bellowed.
Immediately, everyone began walking in that direction. Lois tailed along behind, trying to understand what was going on. Morning meetings were a regular occurrence. But there were always stragglers - people needing an extra moment to talk to a source or grab a cup of coffee. People talked and laughed and were generally noisy as they gathered in the conference room.
This morning, there was no talk. No laughter. In fact, Lois felt as if she had joined a funeral procession as she took her seat at the table. Only, a funeral party was more fun. All the long faces, all the people who seemed unable to look Perry in the eyes. What the hell was going on?
“I suppose you’ve all seen this by now,” Perry said, holding up a copy of the Metropolis Star, giving Lois her first look at the headline.
‘Perry White Takes Bribes; News Stories Fabricated. By Clark Kent and Linda King.’
She stared at the words in shock, feeling as if she’d just stepped into the twilight zone. She had to force herself to concentrate as Perry continued to speak.
“Now, I want you to know that not a word of this drivel is true,” Perry said.
“We all know that, Chief,” Lois responded, only to look at the faces around her. Many were staring at the table or playing with their fingers. Obviously, a lot of them were not so sure. What exactly did that article say that could have provoked these people to think that the most honest man alive would do something like this?
“Anyway,” Perry continued after giving her a brief smile that didn’t touch his eyes, “I’ve been in with the suits upstairs all morning and I just called Alice...” Perry’s voice broke.
Oh, no. God, no. This couldn’t be happening. It just couldn’t be. There had to be some mistake. This was some terrible dream.
Perry cleared his throat. “I’m sure this will all get sorted out in time, but until then...”
Lois’ heart was breaking. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. What would she do without him?
“...I’m stepping down as editor of the Daily Planet. You’ll be informed later today of who your temporary editor will be until they can find someone permanent. In the meantime...”
“No!” Lois was instantly on her feet. “You can’t do this, Perry. This is some sort of mistake or smear campaign. But we’ll get to the bottom of it and in the meantime...”
“Lois!” Perry said, breaking into her tirade. “It’s already been decided, darlin’. But in the meantime, you all need to keep working on your current assignments until my replacement arrives.”
Then Perry stepped out of the room, pausing only briefly to lay a hand on her shoulder in silent thanks for her support and then he was gone.
Lois sank back into her chair as shock took over. No. This was wrong. This simply could not be happening.
But when she finally looked up, through the windows of the conference room, she saw Perry carrying a box towards the elevators. Two security guards were flanking him. She watched until the elevator doors closed behind him and then she burst into tears.**
TO BE CONTINUED...
