<<< Chapter Nine >>>
As Lex walked away from the dojo with Lois’ hand in his, he smiled to himself. There were so many things about being Lex Luthor that both pleased him and advantaged him that he wasn’t sure where to begin listing them. He enjoyed the prestige, the power, the political influence, the deference his social and financial equals showed him, and the opportunity he had to influence history.
But he also knew that he could never buy what was happening to him at that moment.
He leaned over and gave Lois a quick kiss on the side of her head and was rewarded with a bright smile and a look that he thought suggested future possibilities. And he didn’t want the moment to end, despite the outside pressures on him from the media and from law enforcement and from the public, not to mention all the constant internal pressures of running a business as large and varied as LexCorp and its subsidiaries. No deal, no merger, no sale or takeover could give him this thrill up and down his spine like being with Lois could.
So he said, “Why don’t you and I go get some coffee? I’ve asked Asabi to join me, and I’m sure he’d enjoy seeing you.”
“I don’t want to get in the way, Lex.”
“You wouldn’t be. I’m certain he’d enjoy spending some time with you.”
They took two more steps, then Lois nodded. “Okay. I assume this is your treat?”
He laughed. “Yes, it’s my treat! I wouldn’t want to bankrupt you, seeing that you only bring in a meager reporter’s salary.”
“You’d better believe it. Even with my dad’s allowance for Lucy living with me, I don’t have nearly enough money to make it rain.”
Lex stopped short and stared at her, then laughed. “Oh, my dear, I can just picture you at Chesterfield’s, throwing dollar bills at the men in tiny shorts as they shake whatever it is they shake.”
She blushed slightly and shook her head. “I knew I’d be in trouble as soon as those words left my mouth. Hey, where’s that coffee you promised me?”
“I have a favorite table at the local Starways. If it is not occupied, we will claim it and wait for Asabi to join us.”
“We might have a long wait. I heard several people, including a couple of the judges, ask him about setting up a time to demonstrate some of his techniques.”
“I’m not surprised. Asabi is a past master of the art, and he delights in sharing his expertise with anyone who wishes to learn from him.” He pointed. “Excellent! The table is unoccupied.”
He helped her sit, then she folded her hands under her chin and smiled at him. “I have to admit that I’ve enjoyed this afternoon more than I thought I would. There were a few moves Asabi made that I don’t think I could have followed – “ she tapped the side of her head just behind her eye “ – if not for my special advantages.”
“I confess that I couldn’t follow some of them at all. In fact – ah, here comes the hero of the day himself. Congratulations on a wonderful performance, my friend.”
Both Lex and Lois stood as Asabi reached their table. Lex shook Asabi’s hand enthusiastically, but Lois put her palms together just below her chin and bowed slightly. Asabi returned the bow as both of them held the position for a long breath, then straightened.
“Thank you, Mr. Luthor. And thank you, Miss Lane. You both honor me beyond my accomplishments with your praise.”
Lex slapped him gently but manfully on the shoulder as they all sat. “Nonsense! You’ve earned every bit of approbation you receive. You were terrific.”
“I agree, Asabi,” Lois added. “I can’t remember ever seeing such a masterful escrima exhibition.”
Asabi’s eyes twinkled. “How many such demonstrations have you seen, Miss Lane?”
“A few. My former sensei insisted that we be acquainted with a number of different techniques. He said that what works for one person may not work so well for another, and it had nothing to do with each person’s skill level or commitment to the specialty itself. Some opponents are vulnerable to certain moves and others aren’t. Plus he wanted us to be able to counter all kinds of holds and attacks, and it’s hard to learn that if you’re locked into a single style.”
Lex nodded and waved for a waiter. “A wise man, your instructor. One should always be ready to meet any situation, whether in combat or in everyday life.”
“Expect the unexpected?” asked Asabi.
“Absolutely.”
“But if one expects the unexpected, it therefore becomes the expected and not the unexpected, and the aphorism collapses in on itself, does it not?”
Lex gave him a sideways frown, but Lois chuckled. “Well put, Asabi. I’ve never heard it explained like that.”
“It is much like the saying that whatever does not kill you will make you stronger.”
This wasn’t the direction Lex wanted the conversation to go. “It does.” He leaned back in his chair, his good mood quickly evaporating. “Unless, of course, it cripples you. Or it actually kills you.”
*****
Martha bustled about the kitchen, trying to explain to Rebecca how to trim a freshly-shaped apple pie without actually doing it for her. “Just run the knife around the rim of the plate, Becca. It doesn’t matter what happens to the excess as long as it doesn’t fall on the floor.”
Rebecca slowly and carefully trimmed the pie until the dough on the top was even with the edge of the pan, then she cautiously pressed the edge down to the lower crust. “Got it! Do we bake it now or wait and let it age?”
Martha laughed. “No, we can put it in the oven now. Use the potholder so you don’t burn your hands.”
Rebecca stopped and frowned. “Before it’s cooked?”
“Baked, dear, and remember that the oven is pre-heated.”
“Oh, right. I forgot.”
The pie slid into place on the oven rack and Martha set the timer for fifteen minutes. “I’m so glad I have this timer. We don’t have to stare at the clock. Now, when the timer goes off, we turn the oven down to three hundred seventy-five and bake it for another forty-five minutes.”
“And then we have pie?”
“After it cools for another hour or so. You don’t want to burn your mouth on hot apples.”
“No, I guess not.” She plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs. “I’m so sorry, but I’m just about out of energy already.”
“I understand. You’re still recovering from a gunshot wound. That would take a lot out of anyone.”
Rebecca picked up the glass of tea Martha had made for her. “It’s surely taken a lot out of me. I don’t know how I’m going to handle going back to work week after next.”
“Oh, I think you’ll do just fine. Your therapist told you that you were making good progress yesterday, remember?”
“I think Lynn says that to all of her patients just to keep them going.”
Martha laughed. “Well, I think you’re doing well. You don’t have any more pain except when you do your crunches too fast, and you can climb the stairs all by yourself and go the bathroom without any help, just like a big girl.”
Rebecca tried to growl at Martha, but it turned into a chortle. When she finished, she leaned back and smiled. “I know, I know, I’m just a constant complainer. I plead guilty to not liking my recovery from what I hope to be my greatest and most dangerous adventure.”
“Me, too. Are you hungry? I can probably be coaxed into making you a sandwich for lunch while I make mine.”
“Thank you. That would be nice.”
“Ham and cheese or turkey?”
“I pick turkey and cheese.”
“Consider it done. I’ll even refill your tea for you.”
“Oh, no, I can handle that. I’m making good progress on my recovery, remember?”
Rebecca poured tea for both of them while Martha assembled two champion turkey sandwiches. They ate in companionable silence until Rebecca leaned back again and muffled a small burp.
“Oops! Excuse me.”
Martha smiled and gathered the dishes. “Did you know that there are cultures on the Earth where a belch after a meal is considered a compliment to the cook?”
“No, I didn’t. But I know that orcas sometimes catch seals and bat them around to each other with their tails before actually eating them. Some researchers think they’re trying to teach their young about seal behavior, and others think they’re just playing.”
Martha sat down again. “What do you think?”
“I think we don’t have enough data to make a call on that one. Most of the folks who have strong opinions about that behavior also have a vested interest in proving they’re right, so they’re not exactly objective observers.”
“That sounds like a true scientist talking.”
Rebecca sighed. “I just wish I could be that objective about my own life.”
Martha’s ears twitched. “What do you mean, dear?”
She sighed again. “I’m not sure about Clark. I mean, I know that I love him, but – well, he doesn’t like to talk about the future, except for me moving back to Metropolis and going back to work for LexCorp. I can’t get him to talk about a future that directly involves the two of us together.”
Martha knew this was a minefield and she’d have to tread lightly. “Do you have any idea why that might be so?”
“No. Well – maybe. Okay, yeah, I do. I think part of the reason he’s being so attentive is because he feels responsible for me getting hurt. But he shouldn’t. There wasn’t anything he could have done to stop it.”
Martha nodded. “But he’s a man, so he thinks it’s his responsibility anyway.”
“Yes! That’s it exactly! And he won’t talk about that with me, either.” Rebecca crossed her arms and blew a strong breath out of her nose. “It’s so frustrating!”
“I know, dear. You just have to give him time. He’ll come around eventually.”
Rebecca looked out the kitchen window and waited a long moment before she said, “What if he doesn’t?”
“What if he doesn’t what?”
“What if he doesn’t come around? What if he breaks up with me? What if I’m – I’m just wasting my time with him?”
Martha shook her head. “A woman never wastes her time being around a good man, Becca. And Clark is a good man. Whether you and he should or shouldn’t make a life together isn’t my call, it’s yours and his. I can give you advice until we’re both blue in the face, but until you and he both have peace about your relationship, nothing I say or do will make much difference.”
“You mean – are you saying that we shouldn’t get married unless we’re both deliriously happy? Was it like that for Clark and Lana?”
Martha laughed. “Oh, no, dear. Just before they got married, they had a huge fight over a series of stories Clark had written about an archaeological dig her father was heading up. It took them the entire flight back from Africa to make peace.”
Rebecca smiled a little. “Really? Clark never said anything about that. In fact he rarely mentions her, except to refer to something really good or really fun that she did. As far as I can tell from the little bit Clark has told me about her, Lana was some kind of saint, like Ingrid Bergman in ‘Joan of Arc’ and Jackie Kennedy in Camelot and Mother Teresa all rolled into one perfect person.”
Martha laughed again. “Oh, that girl was no saint, I promise you. If you want to know about her, ask Clark, but be ready to sort through some ‘Lana was so wonderful’ stories before you get to the ones where she was just another human being.”
Rebecca nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll do that. Thank you, Martha.”
Just then the timer dinged. “Time to reset the oven temperature,” Martha said. “Do you want to do it, Becca? After all, you are making good progress.”
*****
Cat knew she had a shadow. She’d glimpsed him several times in the past few days, and she figured that Arianna had told him to follow her after the shootout at her upstate house. The man hadn’t threatened her, hadn’t tried to pressure her, hadn’t deliberately made his presence known to her, but she knew he was there and it made her nervous.
Her taxi dropped her off about three blocks from the Daily Planet. She’d planned to do some shoe shopping that afternoon, but Perry had called her in to make some changes to her column before the Sunday morning edition was put to bed. Since it was just after lunch and her real deadline on the changes was eight o’clock that evening, she decided to do some window shopping along the way.
She sauntered slowly past Macy’s shoe display and a pair of dark blue pumps caught her eye. Color, not so much, but the style was very nice. Maybe they had them in a lighter –
The man on the other side of the street, the one leaning against a lamppost and holding a newspaper in front of him – the National Whisper, she thought – caught her eye. He hadn’t been there a moment ago, and he wasn’t looking her way, but it was her shadow. She’d never seen him quite so clearly, and she forced herself to look away before her gaze alarmed him.
Her shopping mood was gone and she walked the rest of the way to the Planet as quickly as she could without breaking into a trot.
By the time the elevator opened on the news floor, she felt safe again. She put her purse in the bottom drawer of her desk and headed to Perry’s office.
“Hi, Chief. Do you have – oh, sorry, didn’t know you had someone in here.“
Perry waved her in. “It’s okay, Cat. Do you know Bill Henderson?”
She extended her hand as he stood. “Don’t think so. Good to meet you, Mr. Henderson.”
His slate-gray eyes didn’t waver behind his glasses as they shook hands. “Hope you still feel that way in a few minutes.”
She frowned and took her hand back. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
“Sit down, please, both of you. Cat, I didn’t tell you what Bill does for a living.”
“What’s that?”
“He’s a cop.”
She froze in place with her rear end just touching the chair seat. “He’s – a cop?”
Bill lifted his lapel and showed her his badge. “Detective Inspector. Homicide division.”
She sank down the rest of the way. Her mouth was suddenly dry and her palms felt slick. “So – uh – I guess you want to talk to me about something?”
“We do. I want to get a preliminary statement from you about your involvement with Dr. Arianna Carlin, and we also need to set up a time for you to come in and give us a formal deposition.”
She felt her eyes bulge. “But – but Perry knows everything I know! Can’t you ask him?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Grant, but no, I can’t. You have to be the one to testify about what you know. The words have to come from your mouth.”
“Um – that’s gonna be a little tricky right now.”
“Why is that?”
“Someone is following me.”
Both Perry and Bill shifted forward. “Are you certain of this?” Bill asked.
“Yes. I’ve seen him six or seven times since Dr. Carlin’s house got shot up and she disappeared. In fact, I saw him this morning as I was coming in.”
Bill leaned back and shook his head. “You were right, Perry. Having her come to a precinct might have gotten her killed.”
“I told you Carlin is dead serious about this, Bill.”
“I know. It’s just – until I have evidence, I tend not to believe what I hear from the media. No offense intended, you understand.”
Cat lifted her hand. “Look, the longer I’m in here the more suspicious that guy is going to be, so can I give you my statement and get going?”
Bill nodded. “Perry already has a statement typed up for you to sign. I want you to look it over and make sure it’s both accurate and complete. If it is, we’ll be able to arrest Carlin as soon as we find her.”
“What? You mean you can’t arrest her with what you already have?”
“No. The most we could do would be to bring her in for questioning, and her lawyer would put a stop to that in a Metropolis minute. But with this – “ he tapped a thin stack of paper on Perry’s desk “ – we can hold her without bail until her trial. That would give us enough reason to commit significant resources to investigating her.”
“I don’t understand. Why can’t you do all that now? What about the stuff Lex Luthor said about her in his press conference?”
“That came from Nigel St. John, but it’s hearsay from a dead man repeated by another man involved in a pretty complex investigation. The DA strongly advised Luthor not to mention her name, but his lawyers were focused on deflecting public blame away from him, and now we have to make sure we do everything legally perfect or some judge is liable to throw out our case and rule all of our evidence inadmissible, just because a public figure accused her without proof and poisoned the jury pool against her.”
Cat nodded slowly. “I see. So, you making your case is all on me?”
“No. We need your testimony to get things started, but after that the investigation will take on a life of its own. To put it in chemical terms, you’re the catalyst to make this volatile combination of elements ignite.”
“Okay. Let me read over this, and while I’m doing that, you can send someone to protect my parents.”
Perry said, “I got that covered. I called for Superman just after I called you. He should be here soon.”
Just then the stairway door opened and someone stepped onto the floor. Cat felt Bill Henderson straighten, and when she glanced at his eyes they were bright and focused. She turned and saw a woman she assumed was dressed for a movie role until she stepped closer.
The woman opened the door to Perry’s office and stepped in. “I am Ultra Woman. Superman asked me to come in his stead. He has another issue with which he must deal at this moment. How may I assist you?”
Bill was standing now. He moved to one side and invited Ultra Woman to take his seat. “Thank you, Detective Inspector Henderson, but I suspect that I will not be here long.”
Perry was also standing. “Ultra Woman, this is Catharine Grant. She has a problem and we think you can help her.”
Ultra Woman turned her dark eyes to Cat, who was still seated. “How may I assist you, Ms. Grant?”
“Um – yeah. My parents are in Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, and someone needs to go rescue them.”
Ultra Woman frowned, then looked at the two men in turn. “I take it that this is not an urgent problem?”
“Not right now,” said Bill, “but it will be very soon. See, Ms. Grant is a confidential informant in a criminal investigation, and the criminal we’re investigating is threatening to harm her parents if she talks to the police. We need someone who can protect them while we get the investigation started.”
Ultra Woman crossed her arms. “Why do you not simply ask the Atlanta police department for their assistance?”
“Because we don’t know if any of them have been compromised by the person we’re investigating. If we make an informal request for protection for her folks, and right now we don’t have the evidence to make a formal request, the people we’re looking into would probably find out and make their move before the Atlanta cops can get set up. We need someone to go in quick and quiet.”
“I understand. But do your laws not provide that, because this criminal enterprise appears to cross state lines, your Federal law enforcement agencies may become involved?”
“That would take too long. The goal is to protect her parents, and I strongly suspect she’s not going to cooperate unless we do that first.”
Ultra Woman turned her gaze back to Cat. “Is this a true statement, Ms. Grant? You would refuse to give vital information to the police because of a threat to your parents?”
Cat didn’t flinch from that hard gaze. “I’ve gotten pictures of my parents walking their dog on the street. I have pictures of them in their front lawn, pictures of them eating at restaurants, having dinner at home, driving to work or to a dental appointment or shopping for groceries. I even have one of them riding a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. And they have no idea that any of these pictures exist. Yes, I’m scared for them! Wouldn’t you be if you got those kinds of pictures of your parents and knew that someone could kill them in a flash?”
Ultra Woman’s gaze softened, along with her voice. “I apologize. I did not consider the situation from your point of view. Your position is quite understandable under the circumstances.” She turned back to Bill. “Detective Inspector Henderson, I will do as you ask. How may I locate these people?”
Perry picked up a manila folder and held it out. “Here’s their names, address, phone number, description, and a couple of pictures of each of them.”
Ultra Woman opened the folder and looked at the photos, then looked at Cat again. “They appear to be very nice people, Ms. Grant. I will do my best to protect them.”
Cat let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. “Thank you. Thank you so very much.”
Ultra Woman nodded. “With your permission, gentlemen, I will assume this duty now. Ms. Grant, I will leave as I arrived, via the roof, so as not to alarm the man who is following you.”
“Can you describe him to us?”
“I can do better than that, Detective Inspector Henderson, I can point him out to you. He is at this moment on the far side of the street in the small park facing the front of the building, pretending to read a newspaper. If you will send two uniformed officers to the park area, I will land in front of him, engage him in conversation, and your officers may apprehend him.”
Perry chuckled. “On what charge?”
Ultra Woman tilted her head at him. “Why, the charge of reading a paper other than the Daily Planet while in full view of the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, of course. It is a clear case of disrespect to one of the city’s most noble institutions.”
With that, she spun on her heel and strode to the stairwell. Funny, thought Cat, she walks a lot like Lois does.
But the thought was pushed to the side as she sat down and began to read the statement she was to sign. She ignored the call Bill Henderson made from Perry’s phone.
Four minutes later, Perry chuckled. She looked up to see him next to Bill at the window. “There he goes,” said Perry.
“One cheap thug down,” said Bill, “a couple of dozen more to go.”
Six minutes after that, Cat signed the statement and initialed each separate page. Both Bill and Perry did the same. Bill slipped the papers into his briefcase and said, “I’ll call you, probably later this evening but no later than Monday morning, to set up an appointment for you to speak with the DA. You’ll be formally deposed at that time.” He paused, then said, “I know you were blackmailed into doing what you’ve been doing, Ms. Grant, but you may still face some charges. And, depending on what happens with Arianna Carlin and her associates at trial, you may have to relocate, maybe even change your identity. This isn’t over, not by a long shot.”
Cat swallowed hard. “I know. But I can’t go on like this any more. I have to get out from under this, one way or another.”
Perry said, “We’ll help you, Cat. I think this is a brave thing you’re doing.”
“So do I,” Bill said. “I just wanted to make sure you know that you’re not in the clear yet.”
Cat looked at him, knowing that her face said as much as her words did. “I’ve lived with this for more than five years, Inspector, and I’ll live with it for the rest of my life. There’s no way for me to make up for what I’ve done or forget all the people who have been hurt or even killed because of me. All I can do now is to try to stop it from happening again.” She turned and reached for the door. “And I’ll never be in the clear. I’m already serving a life sentence.”
*****
Ultra Woman skimmed over the north Atlanta suburb where Cat’s parents lived. She scanned the area around their house and spotted two men who didn’t quite fit the neighborhood. One was a man with his head under the open hood of a car, but who wasn’t doing anything beyond wiggling wires and touching belts. The other man was raking leaves into a pile, but he was the only one on the block who was working like that. And there weren’t that many leaves in the yard he was raking.
She hovered high above the street and checked on the Grants. There they were, sitting on the couch next to each other watching television. Judging by their laughter, it must have been a comedy.
Suddenly the man with the rake stopped and dropped his tool. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a cell phone. He listened for a long moment, then put the phone back and started walking toward the Grants’ house.
The man fiddling with his car stood and closed the hood, then reached into his jacket and pulled out a compact revolver. The first man did the same as the second man fell into step almost beside him.
Something was happening and it wasn’t good.
Ultra Woman swooped down behind the men as they started moving faster. The man who’d dropped the rake moved to the side of the house where the windows were alight, and the man who’d been playing with the car moved to the front door.
The first man lifted his pistol and aimed through the window. Ultra Woman flashed down and snatched the weapon out of his hand before he could pull the trigger. Then she zoomed around to the front of the house and yanked the second man backward off the porch.
His revolver skidded out of his hand and she grabbed it before he stopped sliding. Then she grabbed the first man and threw him on top of the second man.
She stood over them and glared fiercely. “You men will remain where you are while the police come. When they arrive, you will – “
The first man tried to get up and run, but a blast of icy breath knocked him to the grass and drove the breath from his lungs. The second man lifted his hands in front of him and closed his eyes. “D-don’t kill me!” he begged.
“I will not kill either of you,” she snapped. “But I also will not allow you to leave this yard.”
The front door opened behind her and a man called out, “Hey! What’s going on out there?”
“Mr. Grant,” she answered without turning, “please call the police and tell them that Ultra Woman has captured two men who meant you and your wife great harm. Please ask them to come here at once, or I will not be responsible for the condition of these men.”
The first man gasped and tried to roll over. “Do it, mister!” he yelled. “Do it now!”
Mr. Grant said, “Will you tell me what’s going on here?”
“I shall explain everything, Mr. Grant, as soon the police arrive. Please call them now.”
She heard a woman’s gentle voice behind her. “Come on, Hugh, do as the scary lady says. If she wants the police here, she probably isn’t a criminal, right?”
Hugh grunted. “Okay, Sandra. Just don’t go out there.”
Ultra Woman nodded to herself and smiled. The men on the ground saw it and apparently misinterpreted her expression. The first man turned and buried his face in the grass and moaned, while the second man crossed his arms in front of his face and again yelled, “Don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me!”
“Very well. I will not kill either of you as long as you remain where you are. But do not attempt to flee again. Do you understand me?”
“Yes! I – I got it! I understand! Just don’t kill me!”
They remained in that state of abject fear until the police cruisers pulled up with lights flashing and sirens wailing.
Ultra Woman had no problem convincing the police of her identity once she folded her legs underneath herself and sat in mid-air. She handed the men’s weapons to one of the arresting officers, finished giving him her report, then rose out of sight to the north.
That was a good save, thought Lois. Wish all of them could be like that.
