Clark and Lois - Hope Realized - Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 5 23/25
By Ken Janney
Rating PG-13
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
(#) footnotes
/ denotes telepathic communication/
[ playback of a recording or TV Commentary]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
Alpha -120 x Gamma 255 x Tau -190 New universe called Alt 2
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Clark and Lois – Hope Realized - The Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 5
Previously:
Nigel answered, “Yes, I do. As far as my relationship with Lex Luthor, the two of you have been a thorn in my side. In view of what I just found out, and I understand I have you to thank for it, I’m glad you were. Thank you for warning me.”
Lois asked, “Why was he going after Clark? What was his motivation?”
“It all goes back to the White Orchid Ball. From that night on he has been obsessed with you, Ms. Lane. He will do anything to possess you. It happened suddenly, for no apparent reason almost like a post hypnotic suggestion suddenly kicked in. From that night on all he could think about was having you. He saw Kent as an obstacle to that end and decided to take him out of the picture. Initially he wanted to make it look like an accident. When the bomb failed he tried the mugging. After that didn’t work he wanted me to hire a sniper.” He saw the look of shock and horror on Clark’s face and quickly added, “I hadn’t done that. I was stalling because I didn’t feel that was subtle enough and would generate too much police investigation. If I disappear though, he may take matters into his own hands and contract the hit himself. He is desperate to possess Ms. Lane.”
There was a knock on the door. Bill answered it and Mayson walked in. Bill performed the introductions.
Mayson really gave Clark an appreciative eye after Lois was introduced as his partner.
Lois, seeing this, thought that early intervention was going to be important so she corrected Bill’s introduction, “Mayson, actually Bill’s introduction was incorrect but it is easy to excuse since it was so recent, you see, Clark and I are more than reporting partners, we are life partners as well. We were recently married.” She held out her ring hand as evidence.
Mayson’s countenance immediately fell. As, apparently in all universes, she had had an immediate attraction to Clark. This was a distinct disappointment. She turned to Bill and asked, “Okay, Lt. Henderson, what do we have?”
Bill introduced St. John, “ADA Drake, this is Nigel St. John. He is in the employ of one Lex Luthor. He has a story to tell. In order for him to give us his story though, he has asked for certain guarantees.”
She asked, “Such as?”
Nigel spoke up, “Quite simple, actually, immunity from prosecution, no deportation and the witness protection program.”
Mayson was shocked, “That’s quite a bit. Your information needs to be such that it will make it worth our while to give that level of guarantees.”
Nigel said, “As Lt. Henderson so quaintly put it, I know where all of the bodies are buried, those for which Lex Luthor is responsible. I know a lot besides that. You have heard rumors of ‘The Boss’ haven’t you? The central figure behind all of the major rackets here in Metropolis. Lex Luthor is ‘The Boss’. I can tell you where his secret books are and all of his hidden bank accounts.”
Mayson said, “Lt. Henderson, will that be adequate? Exactly what do you need from him?”
Bill replied, “All of it. What rackets does he run, well actually who runs each of the rackets and what can we use to bring each one of them in? How does he handle the money he takes in from these various enterprises?”
Nigel replied, “I can give you a list of all of his seconds. As far as the money goes, he has so many corporations and dummy corporations to move monies back and forth between that it’s ridiculously easy to confuse the money trail. He does, however, keep a detailed set of ‘secret’ books. Those he keeps in a small vault in his office. You will need to be extremely careful though. That vault has an intrusion prevention system which at any unauthorized access will incinerate the books. It would take Superman to get the door open and get to the books before they were like Burnt Toast. The problem you have is that Superman can’t enter his office because of the Kryptonite. You’ll have to deal with that first.”
Bill turned to Mayson and said, “At this point I’d say that it looks like he’s cooperating.”
Mayson said, “Tentatively, I’ll authorize all of your conditions, but, If Lt. Henderson tells me you’re holding back or giving false info, all bets are off.”
Nigel replied, “You don’t have to worry, I’m very motivated.”
Bill chuckled as he said to Mayson, “He’s telling the truth on that one at least. Luthor is planning on silencing him. The only thing keeping him alive is cooperating with us.”
Mayson replied, “All right, I’ll go back to my office and get the ball rolling on his guarantees. When you are satisfied that you have everything, let me know and we’ll go the next step. When the case is finally closed we will execute the final step.”
Mayson turned to Lois and Clark and asked, “How did the two of you get involved in this?”
Lois answered, “Luthor was after me and tried to kill Clark twice. We asked Superman and Superwoman to help out.”
At the mention of the superheroes Mayson got an angry expression and an irritated tone in her voice as she said, “Those vigilantes! Why did they have to get involved?”
Lois continued to be the one to interact with Mayson. She replied, “They were able to do some super surveillance which got the low down on Luthor’s plans against Nigel here. That’s why he’s being so cooperative.”
Turning to Henderson she asked, “Did you have a court order authorizing wire tapping or however it was done?”
Bill answered, “No, we didn’t. In this particular case it wasn’t needed. The evidence obtained will never go to court. It was for an audience of one.” He pointed to Nigel.
Mayson, mollified, said, “Okay, I’ll start the paperwork. Keep me posted.”
Bill said, “I’ll be asking for a number of warrants shortly, both Material Witness for people and search warrants for documents.”
Mayson said, “I’ll grab a couple of assistants to help with the paperwork.”
Nigel chimed in, “Be careful who you choose. Luthor has people in your office on his payroll.”
Mayson stared at him, “I’ll need names.”
Hesitantly he said, “That could take me some time to remember.”
Mayson, refusing to joust with him said, “The longer it takes you to remember, the longer it takes me to get the necessary paperwork done. I may just have to pick someone and hope they aren’t on your list when I finally get it. Of course, if they are then Luthor will probably have been informed and will have destroyed all this evidence you have promised us and we’ll just have to release you.”
Nigel started to panic again and said, hastily, “That’ll be the first list I give the good Lieutenant, rest assured.”
Mayson looked at Bill and said, “Call me as soon as he gives you that list.”
Bill chuckled as he said, “You got it. I like your style.”
Mayson nodded and exited the Interrogation room.
Lois said, “Bill, once you get the warrants you are after, let us know. We will contact Superman and Superwoman and let them know that you have some more pick-ups for them. It would be extremely satisfying for us to see them pruning the branches off of Luthor’s tree of crime.”
Bill replied, “As soon as I have the first one I’ll call, count on it and, thanks for the help.”
Clark spoke up for almost the first time, “Don’t mention it Bill. We are always happy to help the MPD, you know that. All we ask for is an exclusive.”
Bill barked out a laugh, “I should have expected nothing less! You’ve got it. It’s your story.”
Taking Lois’ hand they exited the interrogation room and headed for the Planet to await the call.
And now:
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Chapter 22 – Building the Case
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Universal Locator Designation
Common name ALT2
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As soon as they walked in Perry grabbed them and they went into his office. He asked, “Okay, what’s the story? Who is it that’s after Clark?”
Lois said, “Well Perry, it is this way. Lex Luthor is behind it. Bill Henderson has his chief lieutenant in custody and he’s starting to spill the beans. We expect that the case against Lex Luthor will break wide open in just a few hours. We are going to start writing it up now and fill in the blanks and flesh it out once that happens. The story is ours as a Planet exclusive and it’s a big one. You may want to set it up as a special with a double printing. How about this for the headline, “Lex Luthor, Metropolis Rackets Boss Revealed.” How does that sound?”
Perry was stunned. He said, “You told me that this story was going to be big but I didn’t know it was going to be this big. This is huge! Alright do the preliminary work. As soon as you have the whole package, let me know.”
Lois laughed, “You’ll be the first one we tell, won’t he Clark?”
“You bet. The very first.”
Perry had a huge grin on his lips as he rubbed his hands together and said, “I can’t wait. Why haven’t you brought me anything on Superman’s return? He’s been seen around here for a couple of weeks now.”
“Well, Chief, Superman and Superwoman have kinda been working in the background since he’s been back. They are the ones that brought in Luthor’s lieutenant, but we can’t print anything about that because it would warn Luthor.”
“Okay, well, what are the two of you doing sitting there? Get back to work, this is still a newspaper and I still need copy to fill the pages.”
Lois said, “We’ll do what we can Chief,” as they got up and left his office.
A little while later Clark’s phone rang. He picked it up and said, “Daily Planet, Clark Kent.”
He heard, “Clark, Bill. Okay, we got the first few. Can you get hold of Superman or Superwoman for me and let them know I have a couple of warrants for material witnesses that I need some help in executing?”
He replied, “Sure thing Bill, I’ll see what I can do.” He hung up the phone and looked over at Lois. She had heard the entire conversation so she nodded and got up from her desk. Together they headed for the stairwell. Seconds later, Superwoman and Superman appeared in Bill’s office.
Bill came directly to the point, “We have warrants for several people. Since they are wanted for questioning and not for crimes, anyone can bring them in.” He handed Superman a typed list which had names and addresses as well as pictures. He continued, “The first one is Izzie Banks, he runs the protection racket for Luthor. The next one is Frank Baxter, he’s the muscle that Luthor usually uses to eliminate problems. I’m surprised that he didn’t use him against you. Last is Mitzie Daphne, she’s the madam of the local house and runs all of the prostitution efforts here in town. By bringing in these three we hope to add to the case we are building.”
Superman handed the sheet to Superwoman to look over and said, “We’ll see what we can do for you, Lieutenant.”
They exited the building and took off, landing on the top of the Daily Planet building. Lois asked, “Who do you want to go for first?”
“Let’s see if we can find Izzie Banks. He lives in an apartment building in the Hobbs Bay area.”
She said, “He must be doing well, the apartments in that area aren’t cheap.”
He said, “I think we are going to need to be disguised, and, considering who he is and who he works for, we need to separate.”
“Okay, maybe a messenger service uniform. I think I still have one in my closet. I used it before.”
“That should work. I can wait down the hall from his door.”
They lifted off and headed home entering through the back door. Lois got her outfit out and put it on. It consisted of a gray uniform shirt and pants with a ball cap emblazoned with ‘Speedy Messenger’. She grabbed a manila envelope and wrote Izzie’s name on it. She did a little pirouette and asked, “How do I look?”
With a little snicker he said, “I can’t resist a woman in uniform.”
She laughed and said, “I bet you like my other uniform better.”
Giving her a leer he said, “Unquestionably.”
She said, “Down boy, time for that later. Let’s go catch us a fish.”
He laughed and said, “Later it is. Okay, let’s go.” To make it look better, Lois hopped up in Superman’s arms and he carried her to the vicinity of Izzie’s apartment.
When they entered, Superman moved down the hall a ways while Lois knocked on Izzie’s door.
Izzie looked out the security lens and seeing a woman in a uniform with a ball cap asked, “Who is it?”
Lois said, “Speedy Messenger Service. Delivery for Izzie Banks.”
Izzie unlocked his door and opened it. As soon as he did Superman appeared beside Lois and as he grabbed Izzie he said, “Izzie Banks, the police want to have a discussion with you. They sent me here to bring you in.”
Izzie started to splutter and said, “You got no right to do dis. Where’s your warrant? I got rights!”
Superman said, “You’ve got nothing. I’m not arresting you. Lieutenant Henderson just wants to have a little chat.”
Superman turned to Lois and said, “Ms. Lane, thanks for your help.”
She turned to him and said, “Any time Superman. I’m always happy to help.” She turned away and moved down the hall to the elevator. After she hit the button she turned and looked back. She x-rayed Izzie and saw an object in his pocket and sent a thought, /Watch out! He has a lead lined box in his pocket./
Superman grabbed his other arm just as he was starting to reach into his pocket. He called, “Lois, could you give me a hand?”
She feigned surprise, pointing at herself and said, “Me?”
He said, “Yes, just another minute of your time.”
She walked back down the hall. When she got there he said, “If you would be so kind as to check his pockets for me. He wouldn’t be the first of Luthor’s minions to have Kryptonite on his person.”
“Sure Superman. Anything to help.” She reached into his pocket and pulled out a little lead box. She asked, “Is this what you were looking for?”
He replied, “Sure is. If you could take care of it until I come for it for disposal, I’d appreciate it.”
Lois stuck it in her pocket and said, “Anything you want, Superman. I’ll look forward to seeing you later.”
He said, “Maybe I’ll stop by and visit you and Clark later, if that would be okay.”
Lois said, “Bring Superwoman with you and we can have dinner together.”
He replied, “I’ll check with her and get back to you. Right now I have to get Izzie here down to Headquarters.”
Lois left again, this time going down in the elevator and out of the building. She headed for the twelfth precinct.
She arrived a few minutes after Superman brought in Izzie. She was still in her disguise but Sgt. Tartaglia recognized her anyhow. He waved her on back. She moved down the hall and knocked on Henderson’s door. She heard, “Come in,” and opened the door. Superman was there with Henderson.
Henderson asked, “Lois, have you changed jobs?”
Lois looked at her attire laughed and said, “No, Bill, Superman needed a hand getting to Izzie. He asked me to be a decoy.” Turning to Superman she said, “By the way, here’s that Kryptonite you took off of him.” She handed him the little lead box.
He said, “Thanks Lois. I appreciated the help.”
She asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
He said, “I have a couple more to bring in. If I need you, I’ll call. Thanks again.”
Lois said, “I’ll look for a call.” She sent, /This all should help with the secret identities. Who’s next on the list?/
/I was thinking of Mitzie Daphne./
/The Madam? How were you planning to handle it?/
/I don’t have a clue yet./
/I’ve got an idea. Meet me at home./
/What we did in the other universe would take too long./
/I was thinking of a more direct approach./
/Okay. I’ll meet you at home./
All of this communication had taken place at the speed of thought so there was very little break in his conversation with Henderson. He said, “Well, Lieutenant, that’s the second one. I was thinking about going after Mitzie next. As soon as I have her, I’ll bring her in.”
Bill said, “Your help has been invaluable in this. My people couldn’t have moved so quickly. Thanks.”
Superman said, “Don’t mention it. Let’s just get this done.” He turned and exited the office.
When he arrived at the house he found Lois dressed in a very short skirt which even though it was short was still slit up the left thigh to just below the hip, fishnet stockings, stiletto heels and a skin tight knit top which showed off her assets. She had donned a red wig and some makeup.
All Clark could do is stand there and stare. He said, “Wow, you know, I’ve never really been attracted to redheads, but I could make an exception in your case.”
She swayed over to him and moved into his arms. She initiated a kiss which held a world of promise. When she broke the kiss she stepped back and asked, “Do you think that Mitzie would hire me?
“I sure would.”
“Okay, let’s go”
“I’ll bring her out. I want you to fly me there. I kinda liked it when you flew me a while ago. It was just like old times.”
“I liked it too. Let’s go, Sweetheart.”
They exited and he flew her to the vicinity of the brothel and set her down.
He flew up to the roof so that he could keep an eye on things while Lois entered the lobby and moved to the elevator. While she rode up in the elevator she stuck a piece of gum in her mouth and started chewing. When she exited the elevator she crossed to the doors to the lounge and entered. When she did a gong went off in an office alerting Constance to the fact that they had a visitor.
Constance came out of her office and was surprised to see a woman. She asked, “May I help you?”
Lois using a not so bright vernacular as she popped the gum she had in her mouth said, “Yeah sweetie, you may help me. Are you the boss here?”
Constance asked, “Do you mean the Madam?”
Lois said, “Yeah, that’s who, the Madam.”
Constance asked, “Why do you want to see the Madam?”
Lois popped her gum then she replied, “I thought I’d see if I could get a job in dis joint. I’m getting kinda tired of bein on de street, you know wad I mean.” Lois popped her gum again.
Constance gave her a critical look and decided that she had the body for the work. In fact she was outstanding and would probably be a good draw. So she said, “Okay, I’ll let you talk to Mitzie, but first, get rid of the gum.” Lois reached up and took the gum out of her mouth and looked for a place to dispose of it. Spotting a trashcan in the corner she walked over to dispose of the gum, using the time to x-ray the office, checking out the layout. Constance went over and knocked on another door. She opened it and spoke to the person inside briefly. Holding the door open she said, “Mitzie will see you now.”
Lois moved over and entered the office. Constance closed the door after her and returned to her own office.
Once Lois was inside, Mitzie came out from behind her desk and giving Lois a close scrutiny said, “Constance says you’re looking to get off the street. I don’t recognize you. You’re not one of my girls. How long have you been in town?”
Lois quickly x-rayed Mitzie and the office. She saw a box she couldn’t see through in her desk drawer. She did a spin change and before Mitzie could get back around her desk she grabbed her. Superwoman held her arm around Mitzie pinning her arms to her sides to prevent her getting away or hitting any buttons. She opened the desk drawer and extracted the box and heated it until the lead softened and melted into a lump, sealing the Kryptonite inside. She cooled the lead with her superbreath and then picking it up placed it into a concealed pouch in her cape. She then led Mitzie over to the window. She opened the window and looked down.
Mitzie started to feel fear. She thought, <Why is she looking down? Is she going to throw me out the window so that it looked like I committed suicide? I told Lex that it was risky having Kryptonite in my possession. I knew how mad it would make the superheroes to find me with it and what they would do in retaliation, but he just wouldn’t listen.> She tried to reason with Superwoman, “Listen, I really didn’t want that here. It was only here because Luthor insisted.”
Superwoman said, “Thank you. You just admitted that you work for Luthor. Lieutenant Henderson would like to have a conversation with you.” She picked her up and exited through the open window with Mitzie cradled in her arms. She was joined a few seconds later by Superman. Within minutes they were at the twelfth precinct and Mitzie was in Interrogation 5.
Bill said, “Thanks. That’s two of the three.”
Superman said, “We should have number three here shortly.” He and Superwoman exited the precinct and took to the air. Once in the air Superwoman pulled out the lead encased Kryptonite and heaved it into space. They landed on the roof of the Planet and after doing their change they went down to the bullpen.
comments go here To be continued in Chapter 23 – Capturing Luthor
