G Version
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
(#) footnotes
/ denotes telepathic communication/
For reference purposes the following will hold true throughout.
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 - Canon Lois and Clark universe also called – Prime
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 – Canon Alt Clark universe also called – Alt 1
Previously –
“Clark, about a month ago I had a run in with this guy on campus. Actually, he was hitting on me. When he found out I was married, his tune changed and he got a real attitude. I’ve done some more checking and I think we could be onto something big here. Most of the members of this list belong to a particular group. That group has been responsible for governmental unrest and terrorism in the past. I think that we ought to narrow our research to Middle Easterners since we may have a local connection. Now, you know, I don’t have any real dislike of Muslims. I had several friends, well, maybe acquaintances, of Muslims in college and they were fine people, but this guy was creepy.”
“Are you sure about this guy you believe you recognized?”
“I’m as sure of it as I am that I’m sitting here. I couldn’t mistake him. He made *quite* an impression. A negative one, that is.”
“Okay. Maybe we could tail him and perhaps get a line on some of the others on the list?”
“If there’s one of them here, there’s a good possibility that more of them are around. Let’s give it a try.”
Lorelei hacked into the MetU system and started by checking the registrar’s information on the individual. They got the address of an apartment building in the Suicide Slum area. When they staked it out they saw several Middle Easterners moving in and out of the building. It was unclear if they all lived there or if they were coming and going from meetings. They continued the stake out using a camera with a telephoto lens and night vision capabilities. They were able to match up a majority of the images they had gotten with pictures of the individuals on the list they were working from. Clark used his enhanced vision to check out what rooms were in use. All the rooms in the building were inhabited. There would be no opportunity to get into a room near the one being used for meetings.
“Clark, we can’t get in so we won’t be able to plant a bug inside. They’d see you while you were doing it. Take us home, I have an idea.”
Clark flew them back home to pick up a couple of things, they changed into dark clothing and then he flew them back. They had picked up some surveillance equipment. It was dark so Clark was able to fly up and attach a miniature wireless microphone to the frame of the window making sure he couldn’t be seen by anyone inside. When he returned they checked the recording equipment and found that they were getting a good signal so they started recording. They were able to record the proceeds of the meeting. Those in the meeting were all speaking in Arabic so Lorelei didn’t understand what was being said but Clark translated for her.
Lori and Clark found out that there were plans afoot for a major terrorist attack on Metropolis. The group was going to have possession of one of the ‘rogue’ atomic weapons that had gone missing with the breakup of the old Soviet Union. The plan was to bring it to Metropolis inside a cargo container by ship. It was very heavily shielded so that it wouldn’t be picked up by radiation detectors. It would be placed in the old sewer tunnels below center city and detonated mid morning one day the next month. Flying at just below the speed of sound, Clark fetched the microphone so that it wouldn’t be spotted in the morning.
The next morning they wrote up the story, without filing it. Then they contacted the Department of Homeland Security and asked for an appointment to meet with the local director. The meeting was scheduled for 2:00 that afternoon.
And now -
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 15 – The Intervention
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At 2:00 PM they arrived at the local office and were shown into the director’s office.
“Mr. Kent, Ms. Lane how can I help you? Is this interview about any specific aspect of our operations?”
Clark replied, “Mr. Jackson, we really aren’t here for an interview. We have been engaged in an investigation into the presence of illegal aliens in the country for a story. In the process of our investigation we have uncovered information that we felt needed to be turned over to your office for action.”
“What information do you have for me Mr. Kent?”
Lorelei pulled out a sheaf of pictures and placed them on Mr. Jackson’s desk. “These individuals have been seen congregating at an apartment in Suicide Slum. The majority have been identified as being in the country illegally. Furthermore, they have all been identified as being members of a radical Muslim organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. We gained access to the area and were able to record the proceedings of a meeting.”
Clark said, “Here is a copy of the recording.” He placed a memory chip on the desk. Clark continued, “I speak Arabic so I know what was said in the meeting. When you have it translated you will find that it is a planning session on the placement and detonation of an atomic device under Metropolis.”
Mr. Jackson called in his operations officer and asked Clark to repeat what he had just told him. The Ops officer took notes, picked up the photos and memory chip and departed.
“Mr. Kent, Ms. Lane, The residents of this city and our nation are in your debt. What can we do to thank you for this information?”
“If you could keep us ‘in the loop’ and allow us to be there when the intervention occurs giving us an exclusive we would be well compensated.”
Mr. Jackson laughed, “Mr. Kent, I believe that that can be arranged. Tom Jacobs will be running the show. Look for a call from him.” He took Clark’s card and promised to be in touch.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Clark didn’t hear anything for three weeks. Then one afternoon he received a call from Tom Jacobs, Ops officer for the local Homeland Security office. “Mr. Kent?”
“This is Clark Kent.”
“This is Tom Jacobs with Homeland Security. We have been following up on your information. We have had the apartment building under surveillance and have gotten more details on the attack. They are expecting the bomb to be delivered tonight and we plan to grab the conspirators at that time. We want to catch them with the goods so that it will be an open and shut case. Can you join us at Pier 85 Metropolis harbor at 11 tonight?”
“We’ll be there. Thanks!” He hung up the phone and turned to Lori. “Okay the bomb is due in tonight and Homeland Security is planning to catch them in the act. I would suggest that we wear dark clothing. I may have to make my return debut tonight because, if something were to go wrong …well, that’s a nuclear device we are talking about.”
“How do you propose we handle it?”
“We should try to remain unseen that way if I need to change I can.”
“Okay, now, if you have to act, will you give me an exclusive interview?”
“I can’t think of anyone I’d rather give an exclusive interview to.”
“Oh goody, maybe I can get back to the reporter ranks sooner.”
“Let’s see how things work out.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
At 11:00 PM they arrived at Pier 85, which was the staging area for the operation. The delivery was actually being made at Pier 75. Mr. Jacobs was briefing the HS personnel. This was the Terrorist Take Down Squad, TTDS. They were dressed in black para-military type uniforms. Each had two side arms. One was a stun gun and the other was a tranq gun which fired tranquilizer darts. They each also had a carbine with night vision scope and laser targeting. The infrared laser was activated as the trigger was depressed and showed as a white spot in the night vision sight. Each individual also was wearing a Kevlar™ vest and helmet. On the helmet was mounted a night vision device. Across the back of the vest was printed HOMELAND SECURITY in yellow. Current doctrine was that if the individual was armed with a projectile weapon then they were to be engaged with the carbine. If a lesser weapon was needed, then either the tranq or else the stun gun was to be used depending on the situation.
When Mr. Jacobs had completed their briefing, the TTDS formed up in two ranks and they moved out at the double for Pier 75. They made sure that they remained out of sight of the crew of the ship as they approached and spread out to surround the area and each taking up concealed positions, were ready and waiting by 11:35. They each had communication with Mr. Jacobs who had also provided Clark and Lori with communicators so that they would know what was happening and not get in the way. Lori and Clark took up a position where they couldn’t be observed by HS personnel so that if Superman was needed, he could spin into the suit and act.
The perpetrators were actually due at midnight for the pickup. They arrived right on schedule with a panel truck for transporting the weapon from the ship. They were armed with AK-47s and deployed around the truck as they got out. The leaders went aboard the cargo ship. After half an hour the leaders came back down the gangway while movement on deck indicated that an item was being prepared to be transshipped to the dock. They watched as it was lowered over the side of the ship to the dock. What they saw was one of the so called ‘suitcase’ bombs. It was somewhat larger than a standard ‘three suiter’ suitcase with a panel with glowing lights and some switches visible on the end facing them. Clark and Lori were both taking pictures as the scene developed.
The TTDS personnel waited until the device was removed from the sling before moving. Since the perps were clearly all armed with AK-47s with live ammo, rather than risk a protracted gun battle, standard practice in these types of situations was to shoot first to disable the armed adversaries. Following protocol therefore the TTDS, on Mr. Jacob’s signal, started by shooting all those with weapons. Most of them were simply wounded however, there were a couple of fatalities.
Clark more than Lori was surprised at this because having leap frogged ahead twenty years Clark had missed some of the developments regarding dealing with terrorists and terrorist activities. Gone were the polite days of “Drop your weapons”. Those warnings only provided the terrorists with an opportunity to seek cover and shoot back which could prolong the conflict and generate even more casualties.
The leaders, who were unarmed, both put their hands up. However, one of them held a small object in his upraised hand and shouted, “I have a detonator and if you don’t thrown down your weapons I will trigger the bomb, now. We are willing to become martyrs are you? I will give you ten seconds and then I will detonate the bomb!”
Clark and Lori were still in hiding. They had been directed to remain concealed until given the all clear by Mr. Jacobs. Clark said, “I need to handle this.”
“Go!”
Clark spun into the suit and took off straight up so that it wouldn’t be obvious where he was coming from and swooped back down from a different direction. He snatched up the bomb and sped away again, straight up until he hit the ionosphere and launched the device out into space as fast and as hard as he could.
He then reversed course so that he could avoid as much of the effects of the detonation as possible. He hoped that he could get the device out of range of the detonator so that it wouldn’t go off but, unfortunately that didn’t happen and the weapon detonated. Fortunately, Superman was far enough away that there was actually not much of a compression wave due to the extremely thin atmosphere. He quickly returned to Metropolis and landed at pier 75.
Mr. Jacobs approached and introduced himself. “Superman, Tom Jacobs, Homeland Security. I don’t know how you happened to be here when you were needed, but you just saved the entire city.”
“Well Mr. Jacobs, I was nearby when I heard gunfire and decided to investigate. I saw ‘Homeland Security’ on the vests and knew that this was a government operation and determined not to interfere. When I saw what appeared to be a detonator being held up by one of the individuals I knew that I needed to help out.”
“That was a nuclear device, but I guess I don’t need to tell you that. What did you do with it?”
“I sent it into space. Fortunately I was able to get it high enough that the compression wave was almost non-existent and also high enough that there was no EMP effect. You probably saw the flash a couple of minutes ago. It was probably a couple of hundred miles up when it went off. I don’t think that it will be a rainbow bomb but I think that there are a couple of satellites that might have been affected by the EMP and will need to be replaced. Geosynchronous orbits aren’t all that high but they could have been within the zone of EMP effect. There may be communications or GPS outages until replacements are made. If called upon I am willing to offer my services as a launch vehicle and I’m sure that the other supermen and superwomen would be willing to help as well.”
Mr. Jacobs replied, “Thank you Superman. I’ll pass that along to the upper echelons.”
Lori had been approaching as Superman had been talking to Mr. Jacobs. Lorelei had come out of concealment when it went down and had been using her ‘Reporter’s Assistant’ taking pictures of the action including Superman taking the bomb away. Their ‘Reporter’s Assistants’ are a combination still camera, minicam, voice recorder and personal assistant with solid state memory and internet capability. They could edit and file their stories within the device to send directly to the editor or they could upload the doc to their workstation for final editing. She approached Superman and asked, “Superman, would you be willing to allow me to interview you?”
Superman replied, “I might. Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?”
“Lori Lane, I work for the Daily Planet.”
“Well, Ms. Lane, what would you like to know?”
“Are we to assume that you are now back with us permanently or will you be returning to New Krypton?
“As far as I know I will be here for the foreseeable future.”
“How will we be able to get hold of you when you are needed?”
“Oh, I’ll be around. I need to go now.”
“Thanks for the interview, Superman.”
“Happy to oblige. Bye.”
Superman took off and disappeared into the darkness.
A few seconds later Clark came out from an area off to the side. He approached Lori and asked, “What did I miss? I finally got my assistant working.”
“If you hadn’t been trying to repair your assistant you would have been here to interview Superman.”
“Oh, which one?”
“No, not one of the supermen, Superman! The original one.”
“Oh, he’s back?” Clark started looking around as he said, “Where’d he go?”
“He said he had to go and he just flew off.”
Clark turned to Mr. Jacobs. “Did Superman say anything to you? Can we get a quote?”
“Superman said that the device was nuclear and that he launched it out into space where it wouldn’t do any harm when it exploded.”
“Thanks, Mr. Jacobs. Can we do some more interviews?”
“Sure, help yourselves.”
Seeing that the threat of the bomb had been removed the leaders both surrendered. All those alive were taken into custody.
Mr. Jacobs used a communicator to call in the police, emergency and Coast Guard personnel that had been on standby at another location. They all arrived, code 3, lights and siren, and took custody of the perpetrators. Emergency personnel treated the wounds of the injured, placed them on stretchers and loaded them into ambulances for transport to the hospitals, each accompanied by a police officer. A group of police accompanied Coast Guard personnel as they boarded the ship and took the crew into custody. All the unwounded perps and the crew from the ship were loaded into detention vehicles and taken away.
Lori identified her previous ‘acquaintance’ as one of the leaders, in fact he was the one with the detonator.
As she approached him he recognized her and in a threatening tone said, “You are a worthless female who should be confined in your husband’s home and beaten by him until you are more submissive.”
Lori retorted to his rhetoric with a confident, “Can I quote you on that? I work for the Daily Planet. Oh, and by the way, that will never happen to me!”
He responded with a threat, “May Allah destroy your house!” he cursed as he was dragged off.
Clark had claimed his Reporter’s Assistant was malfunctioning and requiring him to work on it as his reason for not being in the thick of it when Superman intervened. After things had calmed down they each interviewed some of the people involved. The perps all refused to comment but they did get some good quotes from the HS personnel, the Emergency personnel, the police and the Coast Guardsmen.
When things had all been wrapped up Mr. Jacobs said, “Well, there you go Kent. There’s your exclusive.”
“Thank you, Mr. Jacobs. You’ll see it in the morning edition.”
Mr. Jacobs said, “By the way, Kent, how were you so easily able to get a recording of that meeting? We had one heck of a time bugging that apartment.”
Clark laughed and then said, “I guess that will have to remain a trade secret.”
“Okay, but if you ever decide to change vocations, keep HS in mind. We could use people like you and your partner.”
Lori replied with a laugh, “We’ll keep it in mind.”
Lorelei and Clark went straight to the office and finished the write-up of the story and Clark was about to submit it to the night editor when Lorelei stopped him.
There was a full color photo of Superman taken as he grasped the bomb preparatory to launching into space with it followed by the headline.
“SUPERMAN RETURNS – SAVES METROPOLIS FROM NUCLEAR DESTRUCTION”
By Clark Kent and Lorelei Lane
“In the early hours of the morning while most of the inhabitants of Metropolis were either in bed or preparing for slumber, Homeland Security was protecting the citizens of Metropolis. A plot to detonate a nuclear device under the city had been uncovered and an operation designed to capture the perpetrators and prevent the disaster was underway when one of the leaders attempted to perform a suicide bomb attack with the nuclear device. The only thing standing between the city and total destruction was Superman. Superman swooped in at the last second and launched the bomb into space. In an exclusive interview your reporters were told that the ‘original’ Superman had returned from his mission and would again be protecting the city.” (Story continued pg A2)
“You’re sharing your byline with me?!?! I’m not back in the reporter ranks yet; I’m your research assistant.”
“I’m sure Frank will agree that you deserve it. You did just as much work on this story as I did. Besides you’re the one that got the interview with Superman. Maybe this will move you from research to reporter.” He gave her a wink.
“Wow, Okay but, that byline, there’s just something wrong with it. I don’t like it - By Clark Kent and Lorelei Lane. I think I’ll use a ‘professional’ name. I know, I think I’ll go with my middle name. I didn’t know it until I started doing some family research that I *was* named after a famous relative.”
She reached over and deleted the name on the byline and then retyped it as:
By Clark Kent and Lois Lane.
“There, that more accurately reflects who I am now.”
Clark smiled. He hadn’t known what her middle name was. It just hadn’t seemed important. It was almost like old times and he looked forward to the day when she insisted on top billing.
comments go here To be completed in the Epilogue
