http://haveatit-reportergirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/three-minutes-chapter-15.html
Chapter 14 Part A
(Lex POV)
Beep Beep Beep…I leaned over and slapped the beeping alarm and I felt Lana shift and groan next to me. I got out of bed, walked over to the closet and started pulling out clothes. I heard the covers rustling and then Lana’s sleep fogged voice spoke.
“Lex…what in gods name are you doing up so early? An even better question…what are you doing waking me up this early?”
I gave a small laugh and turned to face her. She had moved over into my spot and snuggled her head into the pillow. Sometimes I forget just how young Lana is…she’ll be twenty-one in a few months and by then she’ll not only be a wife but a mother as well. I walked toward her and she was pouting, looking absolutely adorable.
“I have to check something out this morning. Sorry I woke you. It shouldn’t take too long. I’ll be back soon and then you and I are going to spend the day out. I already cleared it with the doctor. I thought we could get Lunch in Metropolis and then take the jet on a day trip to do a little baby shopping. What do you think?”
I saw her smile into the pillow. Her voice was playful when she spoke.
“I think it’s the least you can do for waking me up.”
I chuckled. Lana was the only person who could bring this side of me out…when I’m with her and it’s just us…sometimes I feel like a normal guy…and then reality finds it’s way back in. I leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“I’ll see you later.”
She sat up quickly and called out to me.
“Lex!”
The volume of her voice made me turn faster then usual. I raised an eyebrow.
“Everything ok?”
She nodded and gave me a sheepish smile.
“I love you.”
I grinned.
“I love you too Lana.”
I walked out and headed out to the tunnels.
******
I walked through the series of underground tunnels checking on everything and making sure it was all-secure. I rounded the corner and was surprised by what I saw. My dad…this was getting to be ridiculous. I know he had information that could potentially make Lana leave me and that was the only reason I’ve been putting up with his outrages requests and what not. The other day he came to me and demanded most of the files on 33.1 so I had to make him copies of everything…and now he’s here…I kept walking as he fell in step beside me. His voice held amusement when he spoke.
“Don't tell me I missed the special 4:00 A.M. pre-dawn tour. You know, your current machinations have forced you to conduct business outside regular business hours.”
I looked heavenward for a moment before speaking to him in a sarcastic manor.
“I suppose I should find it comforting that you're still checking up on every move I make.”
He shook his head.
“What is it you find so compelling about these tunnels, abandoned for decades?”
I glanced in his direction for a moment and smirked.
“I'm spearheading a water-purification program. A little research would have assured you it's public knowledge.”
He gave me a look of indignation.
“Please, spare me. How long have you been scouting the tunnels, huh? Months? There's something down here important to you, more important than the approval from a few eco-enthusiasts.”
I chuckled. Good to know he thought so highly of me.
“Don't worry, Dad. I still have plenty of land to conquer above sea level before I take on the underworld.”
He nodded and then spoke with a casual tone.
“And what unknown world will be host to project Ares?”
I stopped short when I heard him speak the name of a project that even Lana was on a need to know basis with. I have no clue how he does it. Lana wasn’t that involved because I felt this particular project was too dangerous…she was upset but understood. She knows what’s going on in the project though and to her that’s all that matters…my honesty. I was about to say something to him when I heard a noise and saw some sparks flying from up ahead. My dad must have seen it to because when I moved up to see what was going on he followed me. I saw a person welding on the side of the tunnel.
“Hey! This is a restricted area.”
The person took off the welding hood and I was shocked to see a women. She didn’t look surprised to see me though. Her voice was tempered when she spoke.
“Mr. Luthor, you're right on time.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You mind telling me what the hell you're doing here?”
She gave me a sarcastic smile.
“Love to. In fact, I've already arranged someplace a little more private.”
I gave her a hard look.
“You need to pack your things and leave immediately. I'm calling security.”
She looked at my dad when she spoke.
“Invitation only.”
She pulled out some kind of remote and I heard my dad yell out to me about something. Everything went into slow motion as her finger pressed down on the button and the tunnel behind us collapsed all around my dad. I turned my head when he called out to me.
“Lex!”
Oh god…
“Dad!”
I moved back around to face her and I as I turned I saw the welding hood coming at my head and then connecting. I swayed and felt myself hit the ground…dammit…today was going to be a long day…before darkness over took me.
(Clark POV)
The ringing phone startled me awake. I rolled over and grabbed for the phone and I heard Chloe groan. I saw her head pop up and glance at the clock then she buried it back in the pillow.
“Whoever that is should be shot…it’s only seven fifty-five in the morning.”
I gave a small chuckled and answered the phone. My voice was scratchy from sleep.
“Hello.”
“Clark…thank god…I need you to meet me at the hospital right away..”
I sat up abruptly. It was my mom and her voice was frantic.
“Mom…are you ok? What’s going on?”
“Clark just come down here please…as quickly as you can.”
I hung up the phone and super sped out of bed. I blew all the covers off the bed and Chloe shook her head.
“What’s going on Clark?”
I was dressed in seconds.
“That was my mom she’s at the hospital I have to go.”
Chloe sat up and worry was written on her face.
“Is everything ok?”
“I’m not sure I’ll keep you updated.”
I kissed her and super sped to the hospital. I met my mom outside the entrance as Lionel was being taken out of an ambulance. I was confused.
“Mom, what happened?”
She shook her head.
“I’m not sure, they just called and said there was some kind of explosion. Lionel, it's Martha and Clark. We're here.”
He moved the oxygen mask out of the way and his voice was practically breathless. He said one thing.
“Lex.”
My mother gave him a sympathetic look.
“I left Lex a message and said it was an emergency.”
Lionel tried to shake his head and struggled to speak.
“He's still down there.”
The EMT guy cut my mom and Lionel off. His voice was urgent.
“Folks, he has to get into the E.R.”
Lionel grabbed at my sleeve trying to get my attention.
“Clark. Clark. You have to help him. Lex is being held hostage.”
Sometimes I really hated doing the right thing. Lex and I…we’re no longer friends…and we weren’t on the same side anymore. Yet I get stuck saving him every time he’s in trouble and that really pissed me off…but like Chloe always says…I can’t pick and choose who I save…it would make me just like them…
I glanced down at Lionel and spoke in a calm voice.
“Do the police know what happened to him?”
He nodded.
“Yes, but there's no time. We need to move.”
I scrunched up my face…where did this explosion happen again?
“One second. Where is Lex?”
He was struggling to get his words out so I waited patiently.
“They'll never find him, even if they get through the debris. It's a maze of tunnels. You've got to find him, Clark. He's put something terrible into motion down there. Lex is the only one who can stop it.”
Before I could say another word the EMT moved me out of the way and started wheeling Lionel into the hospital. His voice was rushed.
“Let's go. Let's go”
I saw my moms gave following the stretcher. She looked back at me.
“I should go with them…make sure he’s ok…there isn’t anyone else here for him Clark…”
She trailed off and I nodded. I didn’t like it but I understood. She disappeared inside the hospital and I sped off to go find Lex. I couldn’t imagine what Lex has gotten himself into the middle of this time…he really needed to be more careful because I wasn’t always going to be around to save his ass…
(Lana POV)
I was in the study reading. I glanced at the clock for the third time this morning. It’s nine-thirty, where could Lex be? He said it would only take a couple of hours and he left around five-forty-five this morning. I couldn’t imagine a simple walk through taking this long. I got up and tried his cell phone again…no answer. I banged the phone down. Something was wrong we had plans today and one thing Lex never does…is stand me up. I paced around his desk for a couple of minutes.
I wasn’t sure who to call. Normally in the past if something was wrong I’d call Chloe because I knew she would help…but now…especially after everything that went down a couple of weeks ago I doubt she would. Dammit! Where the hell was I supposed to start…maybe Lionel would be of some use…I’ll call him.
I picked up the phone and when I dialed his number it was the same as Lex’s…it just kept ringing. I hung up and shook my head. I put a hand on my stomach and paced some more when there was a knock on the doors. A second later it opened and Lex’s assistant was standing there behind him were two police officers. His voice was hesitant when he spoke.
“Mrs. Luthor…the sheriff is here to speak with you.”
My face paled and I motioned for them to come in.
“What can I do for you sheriff?”
He took his hat off and walked a bit closer.
“Mrs. Luthor I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
One of my hands grabbed onto the desk and the other clutched the bulge of my stomach.
My voice held confusion even though I could feel what was coming. Oh please…if anyone is listening don’t let Lex be hurt…let him be alive…let him be ok…I can’t do this without him…
“A…an accident?”
He nodded.
“There was an explosion in a series of tunnels and your husband and father in law were down there. We managed to get you’re father in law out but at the time we weren’t aware your husband was down there…not until Lionel told us. We have a full search party down there in the field now dedicated to finding your husband and bringing him out alive…we don’t have anymore information then that right now though…”
I felt my heartbeat speed up frantically. My palms were sweaty and I felt tears coursing down my cheeks. I couldn’t breath I had to sit down I felt like I was loosing my footing. Oh god Lex…an explosion…he was right to not want me anywhere near this project…I heard a voice calling to me and I glanced up.
“Mrs. Luthor are you alright? Is there anyone I can call for you?”
I took a deep breath and shook my head. I was quiet for a couple of minutes so I could pull myself together. Blubbering like a baby wasn’t going to help Lex…I needed to keep my composure so I could figure out how to get him out of this situation and keep the project a secret at the same time…but first and foremost was making sure he was alright….everything else was second to that…
I shook my head.
“No…no I’ll be fine. I ha…have some things I need to take care of…”
I stood.
“Our assistant can show you out…just…sheriff please make sure you keep me updated on everything that’s going on…I…”
My voice almost broke. I tried again and it was a little better this time.
“I need my husband to be ok…please do everything you can…”
He nodded and Lex’s assistant walked them out. I sat back down heavily…I just couldn’t believe this…but everything is going to be fine…I know Lex and he’s resourceful…he wouldn’t leave the baby and I…he’d do anything he had to in order to make it back to us…
(Lex POV)
I started to come awake and when I tried to move my arms I felt them cuffed to a pole. I glanced around…I was still in the tunnel…god how long have I been out…is my dad ok? I heard a chipper voice that hurt my head. I turned and saw the woman who knocked me out.
“Well, welcome back to sub-civilization.”
I struggled to stand up while still being handcuffed to the pole. I glanced around. My voice was horse when I spoke.
“What happened to my father?”
She shrugged.
“Not my problem. He was never part of the plan.”
I was so confused. Who was this lady…what plan? And what did she want with me? hopefully I’d be able to get some things out of her before anything happened.
“What do you want?”
She glared at me and spoke in a hard voice.
“My husband -- U.S. Special forces weapons sergeant Wes Keenan, the soldier you plucked from the battlefield. “
Ohhh…well that just sucks doesn’t it…I planned for a lot of things but I never planned for the crazy spouse to come back and bite me in the ass…I played it cool as I spoke.
“Luthorcorp has many subsidiaries, Ms. Keenan, but I'm fairly certain human trafficking isn't one of them.”
She shook her head.
“I got notice four months ago that Wes died when his chopper was shot down in Afghanistan. I knew in my heart it wasn't true.”
Great…she had a feeling…wonderful I’m dealing with a lunatic…even though she is right…I spoke in a calm manner.
“It's hard to accept, but the heart sometimes lies.”
She spoke honestly and almost calmly as she looked me dead in the eye.
“When you love somebody, really love them, you know when you've lost them.”
I wonder if that was really true…I suppose it must be because here she is claiming he lives and well…he does…kind of…
“I don't doubt your love for your husband, Ms. Keenan.”
She started pacing around and speaking quickly but low.
“There was no chopper crash that day. In fact, there were no chopper crashes reported that entire month. And then the military failed to produce his body.”
I might as well try to reason with her…see if she’ll let me go if not I’m sure I could figure out a way to over power her…
“Uncuff me. Look, I've got some influential friends at the Pentagon. I could help you find him”
She laughed in a crazy way.
“Yeah, nice try. You don't leave the service without learning a thing or two about reconnaissance. I used every source I had until they came up with this. Tell me, Mr. Luthor, what does a Fortune 500 Company want with a Green Beret?”
She showed me a document with a photo of her husband with a large Luthorcorp insignia on it. Wonderful…the woman was smarter than I gave her credit for…She got in my face and screamed.
“Tell me!”
I glared at her.
“It's only a matter of time before my security gets through. You should know their policy tends to err on the side of shoot now, ask later."
She moved away from me and gave me a sarcastic chuckle. When she turned back to me her eyes were cold and her voice was thick with hate.
“Except schematics for these tunnels don't exist in any city blueprints. And I've rigged all 5 miles with C-4. You see... I learned how to be all I could be in explosives ordnance control... discharged for having a short fuse.”
This was ridiculous…there had to be a way for me to get out of here…I couldn’t die here…Lana needed me…my son needed me…I wouldn’t abandon her like everyone else…I’d do whatever it took to get the hell out of here. My voice was frustrated when I spoke.
“If you think I'm lying, why don't you just kill me?”
She looked over at me from what she was doing.
“Then I'd be back to square one. Besides, I'm willing to bet this little project you're doing down here, whatever you're doing with Wes, is worth more to you than your life. You decide. If I don't speak to Wes in 20 minutes, it'll all be gone.”
She pushed a button and armed the explosives...the clocks started counting down. Crap…I’m in real good this time…I can’t tell her about the project…I wouldn’t risk it…my motto always has been and always will be deny deny deny…she can’t prove a damn thing…but my head kept going back to this morning with Lana…her smiling face buried in the pillows and the happiness radiating off her as we playfully bantered…I couldn’t lose that…she needed me…I couldn’t let her down…I heard her icy voice speaking in the background.
“What's wrong, Mr. Luthor? Haven't you ever done anything crazy for love?”
Yes…I most certainly have and I’d do it again…I’d do anything for Lana…which means getting out of here alive…to bad only one of us was going to have that option…
(Chloe POV)
Clark’s been gone for about forty minutes. When he left I got up because I couldn’t get back to sleep. I was worried about Martha…I had just eaten breakfast a little while ago and now I was pacing around the kitchen waiting for him to come back. Where the hell was he and why wasn’t he answering his cell phone? Ugh…
I was about to call him again when he came bursting through the kitchen door at top speed blowing my hair all over the place. He stopped in front of me and I shook my head.
“Where have you been? I was worried. How’s your mom what happened?”
He was looking around the kitchen for something but I wasn’t sure what. His voice was frustrated.
“It wasn’t mom my…she called because there was an explosion earlier this morning in a series of tunnels. Apparently Lionel and Lex were in them. They got Lionel out and that’s why we were in the hospital but they didn’t know Lex was down there. Lionel wants me to go find him he said that even if they search for Lex there are so many different twists and turns down there that they’d never find him.”
I nodded.
“What you say?”
He turned to face me leaned against the counter and shrugged.
“I didn’t…I wanted to come back and see if you could look into the tunnels for me on your computer…”
I gave him a small smile.
“Definitely.”
I got out my computer and twenty minutes later we still didn’t find anything…Clarks patients was wearing extremely thin so I sighed.
“Clark we’re not gonna find anything here. How about we just go down to wear the explosion was…that way you can take a look around?”
He gave me a soft glare.
“Chloe you’re doing it again…I don’t want you around this stuff right now…with the baby…and Lex I just…it makes me nervous ok?”
I spoke softly.
“I get that Clark…honest I do…but I’m not going to be going down there with you if you decide to go…I’m just coming to scope out the scene and help from above. I promise.”
He sighed and I knew I had him.
“Promise me you’ll be careful…and if I ask you to do something you’ll do it…no questions asked?”
I rolled my eyes but promised…and we were on our way.
We walked inside the police perimeter and I saw the Bomb Squad command center right near us. We had spilt up and talked to different people and nothing…well they did know that some G.I. Jane chick had taken Lex hostage but that’s it…no one knew his condition at least not on my side… Clark walked back over to me and his voice was strained.
“Chloe, any news on Lex?”
I shook my head.
“No, and the police captain just nixed the rescue efforts until they can debomb the area.”
He gave a frustrated sigh.
“That could take forever. Lionel said these tunnels are endless.”
I nodded. My voice was calm.
“Which means Lex and our G.I. Jane will be long gone before they get through all that debris.”
He looked extremely conflicted.
“So Lionel was right. Lex could die if I don't go down there.”
He glanced in my direction and I raised an eyebrow.
“What, don't look to me for encouragement. After what he did to my mom, I don't mind the idea of him cohabitating with the rats for all of eternity.”
Clark gave me a tiny smile.
“Trust me, Chloe. Lately I've had moments where I thought the world would be a better place without him also, but...”
I sighed and nodded.
But…like I say all the time…we don't get to choose who you save. I really hate my logic sometimes…”
H laughed a little and then got serious.
“Let’s think of it this way Chlo…whatever's in those tunnels must be pretty damn important if it’s hidden that well…this may be the first step in taking Lex down.”
I grinned. I love the way this man thinks.
“Then I suggest you beat the bomb squad to the entrance and human-wrecking-ball your way in before anyone can see you.”
He nodded leaned down and gave me a deep kiss. A couple seconds later he pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine.
“I love you.”
“I love you too…be careful.”
He nodded and was gone. I hate that after everything Lex has done to us Clark is always the one who has to come to his rescue…I know that it would be wrong for Clark to pick and chose who he’s saves…I mean hell I’m the one who always tells him that…but one of these days Lex is going to get himself into something and Clark won’t be there to save him…because face it…he can’t be there for everyone every second of everyday…no matter how super he is…he’s still only one person…but I’ll be looking forward to that day…when Lex Luthor finally meets his end…I won’t bat an eye or shed a single tear…I’ll smile because I’ll know that my family will finally be safe…
Chapter 14 Part B
(Lana POV)
Not to long after the Sheriff left I got my stuff together and had Lex’s assistant arrange for one of the limo’s to take me to the hospital. I didn’t feel up to driving at the moment but I needed to go see Lionel.
When I arrived at the hospital and made my way to Lionel’s hospital room I found Mrs. Kent sitting out in the hallway. She glanced up and saw me, I gave her a small barely there smile. I liked Mrs. Kent…Lex did too. We had absolutely no problem with her…She was like a mother to both of us.
Even though Clark and Chloe had never supported me through my relationship with Lex Mrs. Kent was always there for me…I felt so guilty for what Lex and I would be doing with the members of her family…I wish that there was a way to avoid having her get hurt indirectly…unfortunately there wasn’t…Her voice was soft when she spoke.
“I'm glad you came, Lana. Any word on Lex?”
I shook my head and tears came to my eyes.
“Not yet.”
She rubbed my arm in a comforting gesture.
“I can't imagine what's going through your mind, but I know it will mean a lot to Lionel that you're here.”
I nodded. Hopefully Lionel was ok…I know he and Lex didn’t get along very well but I also know that Lionel is all Lex has left and Lex would be hurting if he died.
I sighed.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Kent…I’m a little scattered at the moment…I just…I mean I hope Lex is ok…I think that waiting is the worst part…”
She nodded her head sympathetically.
“Of course dear…plus all the extra emotion from the baby…it’s hard…”
I placed my hand on my stomach.
“Maybe some tea will help with the nerves. I’ll think I’ll go get some…”
She waved me off.
“Let me go. I could use some fresh air.”
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
And she walked away to go find some tea. I went to quietly walk into Lionel’s room when a doctor stopped me. He was having a conversation with someone and when he finished he turned in my direction. He was looking at me appraisingly. My voice came out more stern then I felt.
“I want to see him.”
He glanced at the click board and shook his head.
“I'm sorry, Mrs. Luthor, but the patient's being prepped for surgery.”
The doctor was frustrating me. I need to see Lionel so I can find out what’s really going on down there…because he’s the only one who saw it first hand…
“You don't understand. My husband is missing, and Lionel is the last person who saw him alive.”
He spoke in a tempered voice and barely made eye contact with me.
“I realize this is an incredibly difficult time for you.”
Ok I’m done being nice to him…this is ludicrous. If I wanted to see my father in law you better believe they were going to let me in.
“Doctor are you aware that my husband donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to this hospital? I don’t care if you’re prepping him to fly to the moon I want to see my father in law…and I want to see him now or so help me god I will contact your superiors. If for some reason my husband doesn't survive... the man lying in that room is the only family I have left. I’m not asking for an eternity…all I need is a minute.”
He finally looked into my eyes and took in my appearance. He sighed.
“One minute.”
“Thank you.”
I walked into Lionel’s room. He was laying in the bed with his eyes closed. I placed my hand gently on top of his and I saw his eyes flutter open. I gave him a small smile. My voice was soft.
“I understand you're in a lot of pain. So I’ll try to make this quick Mr. Luthor.”
He looked relieved to see me.
“Lana.”
I nodded.
“I’m glad you’re alive…but Lionel…I need to know what happened…can you try to tell me? did something go wrong with the project?”
He tried to move his head back and forth but it didn’t really work.
“Ugh.”
Well that was an attractive noise. I sat in a chair by his bed and my face held desperation.
“Please Lionel try…help me find Lex…I need to find him…”
My eyes started to water up again and this time I couldn’t stop the tears.
I heard a sound come from him and he spoke in a congested voice.
“Project…Ar..aries…”
He was taking deep breaths trying to get in oxygen. I leaned forward.
“What about it?”
His face registered some shock that I was familiar with the name.
“She…blew…up…tunnel…Lex…trapped…blueprints…”
He started choking and I rubbed his arm.
“I’m sorry…relax…I can get water…”
He shook his head.
“Thank you…I can try to work with that…I’ll figure it out…I won’t let Lex down…I promise. And don’t worry there going to take good care of you here. With Lex missing, I'm in charge of your medical decisions. I’ll make sure they do everything in their power to help you…I know you and Lex aren’t that close…but I’m hoping that will change after the baby is born…”
The door opened and I heard the doctor speaking to me.
“Mrs. Luthor, we need to take him to surgery now.”
I nodded. I squeezed Lionel’s hand and as I walked out of the door I spoke to the doctor in a hard voice.
“Make sure you do everything you can…I want every specialist you have working on this is that understood?”
He glared in my direction but I didn’t waver and he conceded.
“its understood Mrs. Luthor.’
And with that I walked out of the room and down the hall. Once I was in the hallway I saw two police officers talking. I walked slower so I could hear what they were saying.
“Captain, Lex Luthor's Porsche was parked at the tunnel entrance. We searched the vehicle and found this in the trunk. It might hold some answers.”
Crap…Lex’s briefcase most likely had blueprints and files on the project…My number one priority is helping Lex…but if this got out he’d be destroyed…Lex wouldn’t want that to happen. I have to protect my family. I strode passed the officers and on my way past them I grabbed the briefcase out of his hand. I glanced up and smiled.
“Thank you, officer.”
The officer looked semi shocked and spoke in a demanding tone.
“Ma'am, that's part of a crime scene.”
They must have thought I was deaf because his captain spoke right after him.
“We need to take that case as evidence.”
I nodded in an understanding way and I spoke with confidence.
“Of course I completely understand and as soon as I see your warrant to search my husband's vehicle I’ll let you come claim this.”
I turned and started to walked away and then stopped. I moved sideways so I could see them.
“And please call me as soon as you have any news on my husbands whereabouts.”
I walked out shaking my head. They didn’t honestly think I was stupid did they? If they did go to get that warrant by the time they came back the files and everything will already be replaced…They were right about something though…the answers probably were in here…and if I could fin the blueprints maybe I could find a way to get Lex out…
(Lex POV)
After struggling for the past half hour I managed to get free from the cuffs that were binding me just as little miss G.I. Joe came back into the room and pointed a gun at my head. I was starting to think this wasn’t going to be as easy as I originally thought. She grinned at me and spoke.
“Perfect timing, Macgyver. You're gonna need those paws to call Wes.”
I sighed. What was I supposed to say? Oh sorry Wes can’t talk right now he isn’t done baking yet…I shook my head.
“The phones won't work this deep in the tunnel system.”
She practically tried to shove the phone in my face. Her voice was hard.
“Mine will. Take it. Take it! Without Wes, my life is over. When you meet someone that can pull you out of the trenches, you don't just give up on them.”
I looked at the phone in my hands.
“It's not that easy.”
Her facial expression changed and she was begging. Her voice held desperation and a part of me almost felt sorry for her.
“Put him on the phone. Please, let me hear his voice.”
I gave her a look of condolence. My voice was soft when I spoke.
“I can't call your husband.”
She started screaming again and moved toward me. I held my ground.
“Do you want to die down here? We're running out of time. Dial the damn phone.”
She was frustrating me and I was done trying to skirt around issues. I yelled in her face.
“He's dead! Wes didn't die in a crash. He was shot at close range by an M60 firearm. The bullets pierced his lungs, his liver, and his heart. Luthercorp tried to save him with an experimental procedure, but it was too late. Look, your husband endured a prolonged and unsettling death. I'm sorry, but the lie was easier than the truth.”
She looked stricken…se stumbled back and her face was full of shock.
Her head was shaking fiercely.
“No. No.”
She lost her focus and I smirked…this is it…the in I was looking for. I lunged at her. I heard the gunshot and felt her grip on me loosen. When she slumped to the floor I picked up the gun, stood and turned it on her. My voice was forceful.
“Deactivate the explosives. Let's both get out of here alive.”
She shook her head and gave me a small smile.
“It's pre-programmed. I won't stop them, just like you can't stop this.”
I saw the button in her hand and I dropped the gun and started to run out of the room just as I heard everything implode inside the tunnels…dust filled my lungs and they burned…the explosion catapulted me forward…I won’t die like this…Lana’s counting on me…
(Clark POV)
I heard everything explode around me and I was thrown under a pile of ruble…after everything was still I wiped the dirt from my face and started taking the rocks off me. Ugh…what is that…oh no…Meteor rocks.
I glanced around there area and scattered all along the debris were pieces of Meteor rocks. Well isn’t this just terrific…I looked around and started walking forward. I felt tired and weak but I came here for a reason. I walked toward were the explosion came from. I yelled out as loud as I could muster. I was panting.
“Lex. Lex!”
I coughed a bit as I walked further in. I could see a figure buried under rocks in back of all the smoke. I kept walking and heard Lex coughing. When he saw me he looked startled.
“Ugh. Clark... What are you doing here?”
I glared at him.
“Your dad sent me.”
I heard the slight relief in his voice when he spoke.
“He's alive? And you got through when nobody else could.”
I shook my head. He’d love to think that…he’d love for me to tell him I just flew on in here…well it wasn’t going to happen. My voice was hard when I spoke.
“No one else is trying, Lex. Police called off the rescue team when they found this place was rigged with explosives.”
He looked resigned and nodded.
“The entire tunnel system's scheduled to detonate in 14 minutes.”
I looked behind him to where the explosion came from. Pieces of dirt and debris were falling every few seconds.
“Is there a way to deactivate it?”
He gave a sarcastic chuckle.
“If you're trained in plastic explosives, be my guest. Come on.”
Against my better judgment I started helping dig Lex out from under the debris. I caught him staring at my hand and I looked down. I just realized my shoulder was throbbing in pain. Crap…I liked it better when I didn’t realize it. There was blood running from the shrapnel in my shoulder down to my hand. I glanced at Lex’s face and he looked surprised.
“Clark…”
He motioned to my arm. I rolled my eyes.
“Let’s get you the hell out of here…I have other things to do Lex…I don’t have all day…”
He glared at me and I helped him up…he was still looking at the blood running down my arm…well if anything this helps me…he has always thought I was indestructible…now he can see first hand that I’m not…
(Chloe POV)
I was officially freaking out. It’s been at least two hours since Clark went down there. I’ve called him six times and he hasn’t answered any of my calls. I took out my phone and tried again. It rang a few times before going to voicemail. I sighed.
“Hey, Clark, it's me again you know Chloe…your wife. Where are you? I feel like a stalker calling you a million times like this. I just…I need to know you’re ok…dammit Clark…please just call me as soon as you get this. I...love you. Bye.”
I saw the Bomb Squad leader walk by. I moved a little closer to where he stopped so I could in earshot. Jeez I might be pregnant but I’m still a reporter… his voice was strained.
“Hold up. That second blast dropped another 10 feet of rubble.”
When I heard that I walked over. I spoke loud and in a strong voice.
“Does that mean you haven't found Lex Luthor? Have you found anyone yet?”
He glanced at me then back at his men and continued talking.
“The inner tunnels caved. After those explosions, the whole area's completely unstable. There's no way anyone's getting in there by hand.”
I was starting to feel a little sick. I grabbed my stomach and took a couple of steps away from the Bomb Squad leader. I glanced at his vest and saw green dust all over it. I could feel time slowing down as realization hit me…Meteor rock…my eyes watered and I began to panic. No..oh god no…if there was Meteor rock down there…Clark could be seriously hurt…no wonder he’s not answering his phone…I had to make sure. My voice was shaky when I spoke to him.
“What's on your vest?”
He looked down and wiped some of it off. His voice was tired.
“Dust from meteor rocks. It's all over the place down there.”
I shook my head and stumbled a bit. The guy grabbed onto me a gave me a worried look.
“Ma’am…this really isn’t the place for you right now…you’re looking a bit pale…is there someone I can call who will take you home? Parent’s a boyfriend?”
I shook my head and faced him as some tears escaped my eyes.
“My husband…he…”
What was I doing…I couldn’t tell them…he was standing there waiting for me to finish. I shook my head.
“Nothing…I…you’re right I should get going…thank you for your assistance…”
I walked away and left him standing there staring at me. I knew what I had to do…but I really didn’t want to do it. There was only one place left to go for answers…the Luthor mansion…where I’m sure Lana was hold up. She most likely knew what was going on…whether or not she told me was a different story…
I got there about fifteen minutes later. I parked got out of Clark’s truck and walked up to the front door. Something was off…there was an extreme lack of security…I took a deep breath and walked into the house. It was now or never.
I could here my feet echoing through the hallway as I stopped outside the door to the study. You can do this Chloe…suck it up…it’s for Clark and that’s all that matters. I knocked on the large door and before anyone could respond I twisted the knob and opened it.
I walked inside the room and Lana’s head popped up from behind the computer screen. Her eyes were red but her pose was strong. She eyed me suspiciously. Her voice was tinged with coldness when she spoke.
“Chloe…”
I used the same tone with her.
“Lana…”
We were both quiet for a few minutes when I couldn’t take the silence anymore.
“Clark went into the tunnels to help Lex…”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Why would Clark do that?”
I gave her a nasty look.
“Because unlike you and Lex…Clark is a good person…you seem to be forgetting that he was the one who saved your life and your child’s life not too long ago.”
She nodded. Her voice seemed tired.
“What do you want Chloe?”
I thought about it for a couple of seconds before I looked her directly in the eye.
“For the next 24 hours…I want a truce… You have issues with me and I certainly am not your biggest fan…you aren’t fond of Clark and I despise Lex. Personally I don’t want to have anything to do with him returning from this little excursion…but if bringing Lex back is the only way to get Clark back…then I’d help in a heart beat.”
She looked intrigued and I continued.
“I know you know what’s going on…and I know you have information that you’re sitting on…you have to…I need that information to find Clark and you can’t find Lex on your own…Can you do it Lana? Can you put everything else aside so that we can work together and find Clark and Lex?”
She stood there looking at me thoughtfully…it was a long shot…but I had no other options…I saw her motion to the seat in front of the desk.
“Sit…we have a lot to cover and not enough time to do it in..”
Her voice was passive and I sat. Thank god…now all I had to do was stay non-confrontational with Lana for the next day and everything would be fine…unfortunately that was easier said then done…
Chapter 14 Part C
(Lana POV)
She stood there looking at me waiting for my answer. This wasn’t a good idea…actually it was a pretty bad idea. But I know Chloe can help me get Lex back…and ultimately that’s all that mattered to me. I motioned to the seat in front of me and spoke in a passive voice.
“Sit…we have a lot to cover and not enough time to do it in...”
She sat down and I ended the video I’d been watching on the computer. I can’t let her see all the files so I need to think of a quick way to spilt everything up…crap…Lex is so much better at this then me. Chloe broke the silence.
“I didn’t see you around the Bomb site at all…”
Great…we were going to try small talk.. I nodded.
“I thought I'd be more useful here. Has there been any news?”
She shook her head.
“No, that's the problem. Because I'm not a Luthor, no one will talk to me. What have they told you?
I shrugged and leaned back into Lex’s chair.
“The Sheriff came by this morning told me what happened, I went to see Lionel in the hospital to make sure he was ok and I’ve been here ever since. They said as soon as they knew anything they’d call…and they haven’t yet so I’ve been doing my own research into what happened…”
Her voice sounded strange when she spoke.
“Well…what have you got? Anything useful that might help us find them?”
I glanced at her. I hesitated before I spoke.
“Not too much…”
I could hear the frustration in Chloe’s voice when she spoke.
“Damnit Lana! The whole point of working together is for us to both add what we know into the mix.”
I heard her voice catch at the end of the sentence.
“Clark went into those tunnels hours ago, and I haven't heard from him since. Forget about everything else Lana…33.1, whatever projects you’re working on…I don’t care. this isn’t about me gathering information from you it’s about getting them out of those tunnels alive…and if you’re not serious about helping then I’m leaving.”
She stood up and started walking out and something hit me. We were in the same boat. As far apart as we have grown lately she is searching for her husband to and she knows exactly what I’m feeling right now…Clark went down there to save Lex and now we had to save them…I stood up and moved towards her.
“Chloe wait…”
She turned and I paused.
“I’m sorry…I’m just…I’m so scared I won’t be able to get to him in time…”
I saw her face soften as she came closer to me.
“So am I. That’s why I came here. Lana…Lex wouldn’t have been in those tunnels if he didn’t have something going on there…before you interrupt I don’t care what it is…but I knew if you had information you wouldn’t turn it over to the police because of that…so I was hoping you’d be able to show me and maybe the two of us can figure out how to get them out…”
I hesitated for a brief moment before nodding. She was right…it’s not about the projects…or Chloe or anything else…it’s about Lex…and Clark. I turned back around and walked over to the desk. I pulled Lex’s briefcase out so Chloe could see it. I opened it, spread the papers out and motioned for her to come over.
She raised an eyebrow.
“What’s all that?”
I sighed.
“This is all the paperwork on those tunnels…blueprints included.”
I laid them out and started showing it to her.
“Ok…this is where there saying the explosion was…now Lex would be making his way this way…there’s another entrance…that no one knows about…he was trapped under there he’d head this way.”
She gave me a calculating look.
“You knew…all this time everyone has been trying to figure out how to get him out and you knew?”
I gave her a frustrated sigh.
“Listen…don’t get mad at me ok…I was doing what Lex would have wanted me to do…I didn’t know Clark was down there…this wasn’t some kind of plot Chloe. If it was do you honestly think I’d put my husband down there?”
I heard her sigh.
“How do we get them out Lana? We have to give the blueprints to the Police…so they can send people to get them…before anything goes wrong.”
My voice was hard when I spoke.
“No. we can give the police the location but they can’t have the blueprints…I won’t give it to them…we can go to them explain there’s another entrance and lead them there.”
“Lana! Clark is down there! We don’t have time to be finicky about giving damn blueprints to the police.”
I sneered at her.
“I don’t know what all the fuss is about Chloe…We both know Clark isn’t what he seems…I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Her look turned glacial and when she spoke her voice was furious and sounded like it was about to break.
“I know you and Lex think you know everything about Clark…I know you think he’s this…super being or whatever and I can’t even fathom why…but Lana…I swear on the life of my unborn child…Clark is NOT invincible like you all seem to think…he could be hurt or worse in those tunnels…so stop acting as if Lex is the only one in danger…”
I looked into her face…and the look in her eyes is what made me believe her…it was the same look I had in mine…
(Lex POV)
Clark was bleeding pretty bad so I was standing there attempting to pull out the shrapnel out of his shoulder. The mere fact that it was there threw me. It was quiet and every few seconds a new piece of debris would fall from somewhere. I spoke softly.
“You're the last person I ever expected to be pulling shrapnel out of.”
He looked over his shoulder and glared. I got a good hold on it and ripped it out. he grunted in pain.
“Ugh!”
Everyone was always asking for honesty…well Clark was gonna get a dose of it right now. He wouldn’t be able to run away from the conversation this time. Just me and him…I spoke with a bit of accusation in my voice.
“I saw what happened when I stabbed you with that chisel, Clark. That thing accordion like it hit solid rock. I don't know why I needed so badly to believe that you're more than human.”
He grunted and faced me as he shook his head.
“'Cause nothing's ever good enough for you, Lex. You’re always looking for the greater truth…even when there isn’t one.”
I shook my head. So maybe I was wrong about him…that doesn’t explain everything…he’s been lying to me since the minute I ran him off that bridge.
“The truth would have been. You may be flesh and blood, but you've been hiding secrets from me since we met. You never trusted me.”
I tied a piece of a shirt around his arm as I spoke. He ripped his arm away from me and his voice held frustration in it.
“Ugh! Would it have mattered? What are you really doing down here, anyway, Lex? Trying to find new ways to exploit the people that have different abilities than you?”
I looked away from him. This was always the problem with us…the reason why we went our separate ways…one of the main reasons I went after Chloe in the beginning…because I knew it would hurt him.
I knew that he had confided in her and I wanted him to suffer for being honest with her. So when all this first started…I took her to get to him…until I realized what I could do with someone like her and now…it had nothing to do with hurting Clark…that was just a bonus. My voice was hard when it came out.
“There's no gray area with you, is there? It's either all good or all evil. Did you even try to see my humanity before you decided I had none?”
He stalked towards me and his frame towered over me.
“I did, Lex. I gave you every chance in the world…I tried so hard to believe in the good in you…to look past what everyone else saw. And look where that got us? You’ve been experimenting on my wife! Did you just expect me to look past that?”
His voice was angry and I looked him dead in the eye.
“You wrote me off long before you were married to Chloe…long before the two of you were even together. The truth is you wrote me off when you found out about Lana and I. After that things weren’t the same.”
He looked away. I glared at his back.
“What’s the matter Clark? You don’t have anything to say about that do you? No because you know it’s true.”
He whipped around and seemed somewhat out of breath.
“No Lex…it was then that I saw your true colors shinning through…that’s why we stopped being friends. Not because of Lana, although that did play a part…it was because of everything…you talk about me not being honest with you yet look at everything hiding in your closet…you have more skeletons than anyone I know!”
At that moment a particularly large part of the tunnels came crashing down. Some fell on Clark so I pushed him a little to the left and started running in that direction. I turned my head back and saw that he was slowing down. No…he can’t die here…I wouldn’t let him…I have plans for him and Chloe…after everything that’s happened with us there was no way I was going to let Clark Kent’s death be this easy. I called out to him in a loud voice.
“Clark, come on. Clark! Come on. What are you waiting for? Let's go. Clark! Come on. Come on. Get up!”
He was holding his stomach and he looked extremely weak. He shook his head.
“It's another dead end. We have to try another tunnel.”
Just then he plopped down on the ground against the wall. I glanced at him and he didn’t look well. He looked up and spoke in a sore voice.
“Lex, these ceilings aren't gonna hold out much longer. We have to go back.”
Was he crazy? We couldn’t go back we’d be crushed under all that debris.
“You know we don't have time for that.”
He glared at me and his voice was accusing.
“Something tells me no one else knows about these tunnels.”
I shook my head. If I was honest with myself for a minute…I needed Clark…we had to work together to get out of here. I would have all the time in the world to toy with him once we were out of here alive. But my priority is getting back to Lana…and if I had to work with Clark I would.
“By no one, I’m sure you’re referring to Lana. I'm sorry to disappoint you Clark but she does know about these tunnels. She’s probably already trying to figure out of to get me out of here. I know you don’t trust me…not that that’s new…and I can’t say that I trust you at the moment. But right now all we have is each other down here. I’m not going to be able to get back to Lana without your help…and you won’t be able to get to Chloe without mine. So we can work together on getting out of here or we can both try and find our own way and possibly never see them again. I don’t know about you…but I’m not willing to risk never meeting my son…”
His facial expression held contempt.
“You have done everything in your power to physically and mentally hurt the woman I love on practically a daily basis, you turned Lana into someone I can’t even recognize anymore , you have been putting me in life threatening situations for years trying to find out what I’ve been hiding from you…and you want me to trust you…with my life?
I shrugged and spoke in an angry voice.
“First off you have no proof of everything you claim I did to Chloe…secondly I didn’t force Lana to be with me nor did I turn her into the dark person you make her out to be. The way she is with you reflects on all the frustration she’s held for you over all these years. That’s all on you Clark…not me because Lana isn’t like that with me or anyone else for that matter…well aside from Chloe.”
I lowered my voice and spoke in an uncaring manner.
“If you don’t take me up on my offer you’ll die down here…and so will I. You don’t really have anything to lose…but you do have freedom to gain so I don’t really see the problem.”
He glared at me.
“Fine…we help each other get out of here…but this doesn’t mean anything Lex…this are not and will not be ok with us when we get out of here…it doesn’t change where I stand or make what you’re doing any less wrong.”
I gave him a cynical chuckled.
“Don’t worry Clark…I stopped expecting you to act like a friend a long time ago.”
He got up and we started walking. His voice held resentment and possibly a small amount of sadness when he spoke.
“Were we ever really friends, Lex?”
I thought we were…until Clark turned out to be like everyone else. I did everything in my power to prove to Clark I was worthy of his friendship and in the end he threw everything back in my face. I got frustrated after that and decided from that moment on I was going to do whatever it took to learn what he’s been hiding from me. At times it still bothered me…I wasn’t looking at him as I spoke but my voice came out serious.
“I don't know. I have nothing to compare it to. You're the only real friend I've ever had, Clark. And somewhere along the way, you saw me as your nemesis, turned your back on me.”
Right when I turned around to face him a large part of the ceiling collapsed between us sending a large pile of debris raining down onto Clark as I scrambled out of the way. When the dust settled I saw Clark still unharmed. Maybe I wasn’t so wrong after all. He was trapped under a large metal beam. When he spoke his voice was strained…and breathy.
“Lex, get this off of me. Ugh! Don't leave me.”
For a minute I thought about leaving him just where he was and getting myself out alive. And then something incredibly strange happened. It wasn’t the thought of seeing him suffer with what I was going to do to Chloe that made me decide to help him…If that was me lying under those rocks…
I would want him to he help me because I promised Lana I’d never leave her…and I had a feeling that Clark had promised Chloe the same thing. When we left here things would go back to normal…but as of right now I promised Clark we help each other get out and back to the woman we love…I planned to keep that promise.
I looked around at the beam and the debris around him. There wasn’t much time left I needed to find something to lift that beam off with. I turned and ran down the tunnel and around the corner. I could hear Clark screaming in the background. Each time he spoke my name it got louder…more frantic…He really thought I was leaving him there to die…
“Lex! Lex! Lex!”
(Clark POV)
I watched Lex run away and my blood ran cold. He couldn’t leave me here…I promised Chloe everything would be fine…I couldn’t leave her to fend for herself especially if Lex got out of here alive. She needed me…
I kept on pushing the beam trying to get it off. I wasn’t having much luck and all the struggling was making my chest hurt. I went to give it one more try and I pushed hard against the metal beam with my eyes closed and I felt it lifting. I opened my eyes and there was Lex using a metal bar to help lever the beam off me. he leaned over and held out his hand I hesitated for a second before I reached up grabbed it and he helped me get free from under the rubble.
He eyed me and shook his head.
“Did you really think I was gonna let you die alone down here, Clark?”
I didn’t say anything just looked away and when I did glance at him I thought I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes.
“Guess you never knew me at all. The last cave-in exposed a hatch. If we want to get out of here that’s our chance.”
I nodded and we made a run for it. Our time had to be running short…we’ve been down here for too long. Lex yelled out to me in a rushed voice.
“Go!”
We made it into a small chamber with a large ladder that lead up to the surface. I could see the sun shinning through a metal grate. I glanced at him.
“This is it..”
He nodded.
“Less talking Clark more climbing…we have to get up there…NOW!”
I nodded and we both grabbed onto the ladder and started climbing as quickly as we could. About half way up I saw Lex slip and using all the strength I had left I reached out and grabbed his arm until he got his footing. Our eyes me and he inclined his head in my direction as we continued up.
There had to be only seconds left when we finally reached the grate. I pushed at it and nothing happened. After a moment we looked at each other and at the exact same moment we shoved together as had as we could on the grate. It freed up and we were able to climb through one at a time as the entire tunnel system we were just in erupted into a massive explosion.
We were knocked out of the way just when a large fireball flew up the shaft we just climbed out of. It spilled into the air and we landed on opposite sides of the opening. I rolled over and glance up into the sunshine. I could feel my body starting to heal up as the suns rays beat down on my body. I let out a deep breath. And I thought it was going to be a quiet and relaxing day today…I couldn’t have been more wrong…
(Chloe POV)
Lana and I were standing on the sidelines as the police refused to go where Lana told them to. I was pissed. Lana came back over to me with the Bomb Squad commander in tow and I could see the furious look on her face.
“What’s going on?”
He spoke with slight hesitation.
“We can’t send out men down there without knowing where an when the bombs will detonate.”
I glared at him and Lana was livid when she spoke.
“But you can leave our husbands down there to die because you don’t want to do your job? Dammit! When I’m done with you your team is going to have to find someone else to lead them because you’ll be buried so far underground they’ll never find the body!”
I raised and eyebrow and the commander glared at Lana.
“I’ll ignore that threat because I know you’re under a lot of stress Mrs. Luthor…but don’t let it happen again…now I have to get back to my team you two shouldn’t be here.”
He walked away and Lana sighed in frustration. I rubbed her arm.
“It’ll be ok…Clark and Lex are resourceful…they’ll find away out of this…they have to.”
She nodded and then all of a sudden everyone started running around frantically and the ground rumbled. I looked down in horror. Lana’s face mirrored mine. I yelled out to the next person I saw go by.
“What happened?”
He glanced over and his face was sympathetic.
“The series of bombs that was down there just went off…the tunnels were caved in…”
He jogged away and I felt Lana grab onto my arm as my breath left me…No…I can’t believe that. Clark isn’t gone…so what the bombs went off…he wasn’t there…he couldn’t be…I can’t…I shook my head and heard Lana’s sob next to me.
I tried so hard to hold it in…but I couldn’t. Tears started flowing down my cheeks. I was holding onto Lana as hard as she was me. There was smoke and dust everywhere. I looked up and my face held shock. I saw two figures walking toward the crowd of people. I shook Lana. My voice held astonishment.
“Lana…LANA!”
She glanced at me because of my frantic voice and I saw her red eyes…I couldn’t talk so I pointed to about fifty feet in front of us. She turned her head and I heard her gasp. Her voice was a whisper when she spoke.
“Lex?”
We moved as quick as we could. There faces started to become clear and I then I saw it…the unmistakable blue shirt. They must have seen us because there calm walking turned into a frantic jog. When Clark was about three feet from me I catapulted into his arms and he caught me.
“Oh god….I thought…I thought I was never going to see you again…I thought we lost you.”
He shook his head and I could feel his grin against me.
“You’ll never lose me Chloe…”
His voice was soft and he still hadn’t let me go.
“You don’t know how good it feels to hold you.”
He buried his face in my neck and I chuckled. I turned my head and saw Lana and Lex in a similar position. Her voice was soft and I could hear the tears in her eyes.
“I thought you were dead. We tried…so…hard to get them to go down…but they just wouldn’t. Even when I threatened the commanders life..”
I heard Lex chuckled and Clark finally released his death grip around me but he didn’t let go of my hand as we faced them.
“You’re kidding.”
Lana raised her eyebrow and I smirked. my voice was amused.
“She’s absolutely not…She said he’d be buried so deep they’d never find the body.”
The three of us laughed and Lana glared at Lex.
“I was upset…”
He nodded and kissed her forehead.
“It’s ok…I would have done the same for you.”
He glanced down at her and I think it was the first time I’ve ever seen his face this unguarded.
“I love you…so much”
Her face beamed.
“I love you too. We both do.”
She placed a hand on her stomach and gave him a soft kiss. Lex turned to Clark and the four of us stood there for a moment looking at each other. It almost felt like old times…Lex and Clark were still friends…Lana and I were like sisters…and everything was ok…but then reality came back to me and Lex broke the silence. He looked directly at Clark and held out his hand.
“Thank you…for helping me get out…I couldn’t have done it without you Clark…”
Clark hesitated before taking his hand and shaking it.
“You to Lex…if it wasn’t for you…I probably wouldn’t be standing here right now…so…thanks.”
He nodded put him arm around Lana and they turned to leave. Lana stopped him and came back over to me. I was confused for a minute before she embraced me in a tight hug.
“Thanks for today Chloe…and…I’m sorry…for everything…”
Lex held out his arm to her, she took it and they walked away. I looked at her retreating form with confusion. What exactly was she sorry for? Clark nudged me and I glanced up. He smiled and his voice sounded tired.
“Let’s go home Chloe…”
I nodded and we started to walk away from all the people.
“When I saw the dust from the Meteor rock Clark…I thought…god I was so scared…”
He pulled me tighter to him.
“Everything’s fine now…I’m fine…just tired a lot happened down there.”
That made me curious.
“Like what?”
I saw him smirking but he didn’t look at me. he stopped walking and made sure no one was around. He lifted me up and super sped back to the farm. When we got there he put me down and I saw we were in our room.
“Well?”
He sighed.
“I’ll tell you about it later Chlo…right now all I really wanna do is lay here…with you in my arms. It’s been a long day and I really need to feel you next to me right now…”
I nodded and got into bed with him. He held me tight to him and I snuggled deeper into him. If he didn’t want to talk now we didn’t have to…I was just happy to have him back…invincible or not I almost lost him today and that was unacceptable…the next time Lex got himself into a mess like this I wasn’t permitting Clark to go in after him…he could ask one of his super hero friends to do it because I wasn’t gonna go through that ever again…not if I could help it…
(Lex POV)
I just left a sleeping Lana at home when the phone call came. She saved all the important data from getting taken by the police…she said that she knew that’s what I would have wanted. She’s amazing through everything that was going on today she still took care of this while I was gone… I strode down the tunnel system I was in earlier today and a scientist from the project Ares team led the way. He spoke in a satisfied tone.
“You'll be pleased to hear the prototype is just days from reaching its fullest functioning capacities.”
We walked into a large room and stopped in front of a large window chamber where Wes Keenan was lying unconscious and in straps. I glared in his direction.
“Thanks to your wife, I almost died for you. Let's hope there's nothing you can't do for me.”
This prototype would be the worlds leading defense against everything that was to come…and I invented it…the one thing that would be able to stop all the Meteor infected people…to protect the world from them…but not before I let them all loose…
Chapter 14 Part A
(Lex POV)
Beep Beep Beep…I leaned over and slapped the beeping alarm and I felt Lana shift and groan next to me. I got out of bed, walked over to the closet and started pulling out clothes. I heard the covers rustling and then Lana’s sleep fogged voice spoke.
“Lex…what in gods name are you doing up so early? An even better question…what are you doing waking me up this early?”
I gave a small laugh and turned to face her. She had moved over into my spot and snuggled her head into the pillow. Sometimes I forget just how young Lana is…she’ll be twenty-one in a few months and by then she’ll not only be a wife but a mother as well. I walked toward her and she was pouting, looking absolutely adorable.
“I have to check something out this morning. Sorry I woke you. It shouldn’t take too long. I’ll be back soon and then you and I are going to spend the day out. I already cleared it with the doctor. I thought we could get Lunch in Metropolis and then take the jet on a day trip to do a little baby shopping. What do you think?”
I saw her smile into the pillow. Her voice was playful when she spoke.
“I think it’s the least you can do for waking me up.”
I chuckled. Lana was the only person who could bring this side of me out…when I’m with her and it’s just us…sometimes I feel like a normal guy…and then reality finds it’s way back in. I leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead.
“I’ll see you later.”
She sat up quickly and called out to me.
“Lex!”
The volume of her voice made me turn faster then usual. I raised an eyebrow.
“Everything ok?”
She nodded and gave me a sheepish smile.
“I love you.”
I grinned.
“I love you too Lana.”
I walked out and headed out to the tunnels.
******
I walked through the series of underground tunnels checking on everything and making sure it was all-secure. I rounded the corner and was surprised by what I saw. My dad…this was getting to be ridiculous. I know he had information that could potentially make Lana leave me and that was the only reason I’ve been putting up with his outrages requests and what not. The other day he came to me and demanded most of the files on 33.1 so I had to make him copies of everything…and now he’s here…I kept walking as he fell in step beside me. His voice held amusement when he spoke.
“Don't tell me I missed the special 4:00 A.M. pre-dawn tour. You know, your current machinations have forced you to conduct business outside regular business hours.”
I looked heavenward for a moment before speaking to him in a sarcastic manor.
“I suppose I should find it comforting that you're still checking up on every move I make.”
He shook his head.
“What is it you find so compelling about these tunnels, abandoned for decades?”
I glanced in his direction for a moment and smirked.
“I'm spearheading a water-purification program. A little research would have assured you it's public knowledge.”
He gave me a look of indignation.
“Please, spare me. How long have you been scouting the tunnels, huh? Months? There's something down here important to you, more important than the approval from a few eco-enthusiasts.”
I chuckled. Good to know he thought so highly of me.
“Don't worry, Dad. I still have plenty of land to conquer above sea level before I take on the underworld.”
He nodded and then spoke with a casual tone.
“And what unknown world will be host to project Ares?”
I stopped short when I heard him speak the name of a project that even Lana was on a need to know basis with. I have no clue how he does it. Lana wasn’t that involved because I felt this particular project was too dangerous…she was upset but understood. She knows what’s going on in the project though and to her that’s all that matters…my honesty. I was about to say something to him when I heard a noise and saw some sparks flying from up ahead. My dad must have seen it to because when I moved up to see what was going on he followed me. I saw a person welding on the side of the tunnel.
“Hey! This is a restricted area.”
The person took off the welding hood and I was shocked to see a women. She didn’t look surprised to see me though. Her voice was tempered when she spoke.
“Mr. Luthor, you're right on time.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You mind telling me what the hell you're doing here?”
She gave me a sarcastic smile.
“Love to. In fact, I've already arranged someplace a little more private.”
I gave her a hard look.
“You need to pack your things and leave immediately. I'm calling security.”
She looked at my dad when she spoke.
“Invitation only.”
She pulled out some kind of remote and I heard my dad yell out to me about something. Everything went into slow motion as her finger pressed down on the button and the tunnel behind us collapsed all around my dad. I turned my head when he called out to me.
“Lex!”
Oh god…
“Dad!”
I moved back around to face her and I as I turned I saw the welding hood coming at my head and then connecting. I swayed and felt myself hit the ground…dammit…today was going to be a long day…before darkness over took me.
(Clark POV)
The ringing phone startled me awake. I rolled over and grabbed for the phone and I heard Chloe groan. I saw her head pop up and glance at the clock then she buried it back in the pillow.
“Whoever that is should be shot…it’s only seven fifty-five in the morning.”
I gave a small chuckled and answered the phone. My voice was scratchy from sleep.
“Hello.”
“Clark…thank god…I need you to meet me at the hospital right away..”
I sat up abruptly. It was my mom and her voice was frantic.
“Mom…are you ok? What’s going on?”
“Clark just come down here please…as quickly as you can.”
I hung up the phone and super sped out of bed. I blew all the covers off the bed and Chloe shook her head.
“What’s going on Clark?”
I was dressed in seconds.
“That was my mom she’s at the hospital I have to go.”
Chloe sat up and worry was written on her face.
“Is everything ok?”
“I’m not sure I’ll keep you updated.”
I kissed her and super sped to the hospital. I met my mom outside the entrance as Lionel was being taken out of an ambulance. I was confused.
“Mom, what happened?”
She shook her head.
“I’m not sure, they just called and said there was some kind of explosion. Lionel, it's Martha and Clark. We're here.”
He moved the oxygen mask out of the way and his voice was practically breathless. He said one thing.
“Lex.”
My mother gave him a sympathetic look.
“I left Lex a message and said it was an emergency.”
Lionel tried to shake his head and struggled to speak.
“He's still down there.”
The EMT guy cut my mom and Lionel off. His voice was urgent.
“Folks, he has to get into the E.R.”
Lionel grabbed at my sleeve trying to get my attention.
“Clark. Clark. You have to help him. Lex is being held hostage.”
Sometimes I really hated doing the right thing. Lex and I…we’re no longer friends…and we weren’t on the same side anymore. Yet I get stuck saving him every time he’s in trouble and that really pissed me off…but like Chloe always says…I can’t pick and choose who I save…it would make me just like them…
I glanced down at Lionel and spoke in a calm voice.
“Do the police know what happened to him?”
He nodded.
“Yes, but there's no time. We need to move.”
I scrunched up my face…where did this explosion happen again?
“One second. Where is Lex?”
He was struggling to get his words out so I waited patiently.
“They'll never find him, even if they get through the debris. It's a maze of tunnels. You've got to find him, Clark. He's put something terrible into motion down there. Lex is the only one who can stop it.”
Before I could say another word the EMT moved me out of the way and started wheeling Lionel into the hospital. His voice was rushed.
“Let's go. Let's go”
I saw my moms gave following the stretcher. She looked back at me.
“I should go with them…make sure he’s ok…there isn’t anyone else here for him Clark…”
She trailed off and I nodded. I didn’t like it but I understood. She disappeared inside the hospital and I sped off to go find Lex. I couldn’t imagine what Lex has gotten himself into the middle of this time…he really needed to be more careful because I wasn’t always going to be around to save his ass…
(Lana POV)
I was in the study reading. I glanced at the clock for the third time this morning. It’s nine-thirty, where could Lex be? He said it would only take a couple of hours and he left around five-forty-five this morning. I couldn’t imagine a simple walk through taking this long. I got up and tried his cell phone again…no answer. I banged the phone down. Something was wrong we had plans today and one thing Lex never does…is stand me up. I paced around his desk for a couple of minutes.
I wasn’t sure who to call. Normally in the past if something was wrong I’d call Chloe because I knew she would help…but now…especially after everything that went down a couple of weeks ago I doubt she would. Dammit! Where the hell was I supposed to start…maybe Lionel would be of some use…I’ll call him.
I picked up the phone and when I dialed his number it was the same as Lex’s…it just kept ringing. I hung up and shook my head. I put a hand on my stomach and paced some more when there was a knock on the doors. A second later it opened and Lex’s assistant was standing there behind him were two police officers. His voice was hesitant when he spoke.
“Mrs. Luthor…the sheriff is here to speak with you.”
My face paled and I motioned for them to come in.
“What can I do for you sheriff?”
He took his hat off and walked a bit closer.
“Mrs. Luthor I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”
One of my hands grabbed onto the desk and the other clutched the bulge of my stomach.
My voice held confusion even though I could feel what was coming. Oh please…if anyone is listening don’t let Lex be hurt…let him be alive…let him be ok…I can’t do this without him…
“A…an accident?”
He nodded.
“There was an explosion in a series of tunnels and your husband and father in law were down there. We managed to get you’re father in law out but at the time we weren’t aware your husband was down there…not until Lionel told us. We have a full search party down there in the field now dedicated to finding your husband and bringing him out alive…we don’t have anymore information then that right now though…”
I felt my heartbeat speed up frantically. My palms were sweaty and I felt tears coursing down my cheeks. I couldn’t breath I had to sit down I felt like I was loosing my footing. Oh god Lex…an explosion…he was right to not want me anywhere near this project…I heard a voice calling to me and I glanced up.
“Mrs. Luthor are you alright? Is there anyone I can call for you?”
I took a deep breath and shook my head. I was quiet for a couple of minutes so I could pull myself together. Blubbering like a baby wasn’t going to help Lex…I needed to keep my composure so I could figure out how to get him out of this situation and keep the project a secret at the same time…but first and foremost was making sure he was alright….everything else was second to that…
I shook my head.
“No…no I’ll be fine. I ha…have some things I need to take care of…”
I stood.
“Our assistant can show you out…just…sheriff please make sure you keep me updated on everything that’s going on…I…”
My voice almost broke. I tried again and it was a little better this time.
“I need my husband to be ok…please do everything you can…”
He nodded and Lex’s assistant walked them out. I sat back down heavily…I just couldn’t believe this…but everything is going to be fine…I know Lex and he’s resourceful…he wouldn’t leave the baby and I…he’d do anything he had to in order to make it back to us…
(Lex POV)
I started to come awake and when I tried to move my arms I felt them cuffed to a pole. I glanced around…I was still in the tunnel…god how long have I been out…is my dad ok? I heard a chipper voice that hurt my head. I turned and saw the woman who knocked me out.
“Well, welcome back to sub-civilization.”
I struggled to stand up while still being handcuffed to the pole. I glanced around. My voice was horse when I spoke.
“What happened to my father?”
She shrugged.
“Not my problem. He was never part of the plan.”
I was so confused. Who was this lady…what plan? And what did she want with me? hopefully I’d be able to get some things out of her before anything happened.
“What do you want?”
She glared at me and spoke in a hard voice.
“My husband -- U.S. Special forces weapons sergeant Wes Keenan, the soldier you plucked from the battlefield. “
Ohhh…well that just sucks doesn’t it…I planned for a lot of things but I never planned for the crazy spouse to come back and bite me in the ass…I played it cool as I spoke.
“Luthorcorp has many subsidiaries, Ms. Keenan, but I'm fairly certain human trafficking isn't one of them.”
She shook her head.
“I got notice four months ago that Wes died when his chopper was shot down in Afghanistan. I knew in my heart it wasn't true.”
Great…she had a feeling…wonderful I’m dealing with a lunatic…even though she is right…I spoke in a calm manner.
“It's hard to accept, but the heart sometimes lies.”
She spoke honestly and almost calmly as she looked me dead in the eye.
“When you love somebody, really love them, you know when you've lost them.”
I wonder if that was really true…I suppose it must be because here she is claiming he lives and well…he does…kind of…
“I don't doubt your love for your husband, Ms. Keenan.”
She started pacing around and speaking quickly but low.
“There was no chopper crash that day. In fact, there were no chopper crashes reported that entire month. And then the military failed to produce his body.”
I might as well try to reason with her…see if she’ll let me go if not I’m sure I could figure out a way to over power her…
“Uncuff me. Look, I've got some influential friends at the Pentagon. I could help you find him”
She laughed in a crazy way.
“Yeah, nice try. You don't leave the service without learning a thing or two about reconnaissance. I used every source I had until they came up with this. Tell me, Mr. Luthor, what does a Fortune 500 Company want with a Green Beret?”
She showed me a document with a photo of her husband with a large Luthorcorp insignia on it. Wonderful…the woman was smarter than I gave her credit for…She got in my face and screamed.
“Tell me!”
I glared at her.
“It's only a matter of time before my security gets through. You should know their policy tends to err on the side of shoot now, ask later."
She moved away from me and gave me a sarcastic chuckle. When she turned back to me her eyes were cold and her voice was thick with hate.
“Except schematics for these tunnels don't exist in any city blueprints. And I've rigged all 5 miles with C-4. You see... I learned how to be all I could be in explosives ordnance control... discharged for having a short fuse.”
This was ridiculous…there had to be a way for me to get out of here…I couldn’t die here…Lana needed me…my son needed me…I wouldn’t abandon her like everyone else…I’d do whatever it took to get the hell out of here. My voice was frustrated when I spoke.
“If you think I'm lying, why don't you just kill me?”
She looked over at me from what she was doing.
“Then I'd be back to square one. Besides, I'm willing to bet this little project you're doing down here, whatever you're doing with Wes, is worth more to you than your life. You decide. If I don't speak to Wes in 20 minutes, it'll all be gone.”
She pushed a button and armed the explosives...the clocks started counting down. Crap…I’m in real good this time…I can’t tell her about the project…I wouldn’t risk it…my motto always has been and always will be deny deny deny…she can’t prove a damn thing…but my head kept going back to this morning with Lana…her smiling face buried in the pillows and the happiness radiating off her as we playfully bantered…I couldn’t lose that…she needed me…I couldn’t let her down…I heard her icy voice speaking in the background.
“What's wrong, Mr. Luthor? Haven't you ever done anything crazy for love?”
Yes…I most certainly have and I’d do it again…I’d do anything for Lana…which means getting out of here alive…to bad only one of us was going to have that option…
(Chloe POV)
Clark’s been gone for about forty minutes. When he left I got up because I couldn’t get back to sleep. I was worried about Martha…I had just eaten breakfast a little while ago and now I was pacing around the kitchen waiting for him to come back. Where the hell was he and why wasn’t he answering his cell phone? Ugh…
I was about to call him again when he came bursting through the kitchen door at top speed blowing my hair all over the place. He stopped in front of me and I shook my head.
“Where have you been? I was worried. How’s your mom what happened?”
He was looking around the kitchen for something but I wasn’t sure what. His voice was frustrated.
“It wasn’t mom my…she called because there was an explosion earlier this morning in a series of tunnels. Apparently Lionel and Lex were in them. They got Lionel out and that’s why we were in the hospital but they didn’t know Lex was down there. Lionel wants me to go find him he said that even if they search for Lex there are so many different twists and turns down there that they’d never find him.”
I nodded.
“What you say?”
He turned to face me leaned against the counter and shrugged.
“I didn’t…I wanted to come back and see if you could look into the tunnels for me on your computer…”
I gave him a small smile.
“Definitely.”
I got out my computer and twenty minutes later we still didn’t find anything…Clarks patients was wearing extremely thin so I sighed.
“Clark we’re not gonna find anything here. How about we just go down to wear the explosion was…that way you can take a look around?”
He gave me a soft glare.
“Chloe you’re doing it again…I don’t want you around this stuff right now…with the baby…and Lex I just…it makes me nervous ok?”
I spoke softly.
“I get that Clark…honest I do…but I’m not going to be going down there with you if you decide to go…I’m just coming to scope out the scene and help from above. I promise.”
He sighed and I knew I had him.
“Promise me you’ll be careful…and if I ask you to do something you’ll do it…no questions asked?”
I rolled my eyes but promised…and we were on our way.
We walked inside the police perimeter and I saw the Bomb Squad command center right near us. We had spilt up and talked to different people and nothing…well they did know that some G.I. Jane chick had taken Lex hostage but that’s it…no one knew his condition at least not on my side… Clark walked back over to me and his voice was strained.
“Chloe, any news on Lex?”
I shook my head.
“No, and the police captain just nixed the rescue efforts until they can debomb the area.”
He gave a frustrated sigh.
“That could take forever. Lionel said these tunnels are endless.”
I nodded. My voice was calm.
“Which means Lex and our G.I. Jane will be long gone before they get through all that debris.”
He looked extremely conflicted.
“So Lionel was right. Lex could die if I don't go down there.”
He glanced in my direction and I raised an eyebrow.
“What, don't look to me for encouragement. After what he did to my mom, I don't mind the idea of him cohabitating with the rats for all of eternity.”
Clark gave me a tiny smile.
“Trust me, Chloe. Lately I've had moments where I thought the world would be a better place without him also, but...”
I sighed and nodded.
But…like I say all the time…we don't get to choose who you save. I really hate my logic sometimes…”
H laughed a little and then got serious.
“Let’s think of it this way Chlo…whatever's in those tunnels must be pretty damn important if it’s hidden that well…this may be the first step in taking Lex down.”
I grinned. I love the way this man thinks.
“Then I suggest you beat the bomb squad to the entrance and human-wrecking-ball your way in before anyone can see you.”
He nodded leaned down and gave me a deep kiss. A couple seconds later he pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine.
“I love you.”
“I love you too…be careful.”
He nodded and was gone. I hate that after everything Lex has done to us Clark is always the one who has to come to his rescue…I know that it would be wrong for Clark to pick and chose who he’s saves…I mean hell I’m the one who always tells him that…but one of these days Lex is going to get himself into something and Clark won’t be there to save him…because face it…he can’t be there for everyone every second of everyday…no matter how super he is…he’s still only one person…but I’ll be looking forward to that day…when Lex Luthor finally meets his end…I won’t bat an eye or shed a single tear…I’ll smile because I’ll know that my family will finally be safe…
Chapter 14 Part B
(Lana POV)
Not to long after the Sheriff left I got my stuff together and had Lex’s assistant arrange for one of the limo’s to take me to the hospital. I didn’t feel up to driving at the moment but I needed to go see Lionel.
When I arrived at the hospital and made my way to Lionel’s hospital room I found Mrs. Kent sitting out in the hallway. She glanced up and saw me, I gave her a small barely there smile. I liked Mrs. Kent…Lex did too. We had absolutely no problem with her…She was like a mother to both of us.
Even though Clark and Chloe had never supported me through my relationship with Lex Mrs. Kent was always there for me…I felt so guilty for what Lex and I would be doing with the members of her family…I wish that there was a way to avoid having her get hurt indirectly…unfortunately there wasn’t…Her voice was soft when she spoke.
“I'm glad you came, Lana. Any word on Lex?”
I shook my head and tears came to my eyes.
“Not yet.”
She rubbed my arm in a comforting gesture.
“I can't imagine what's going through your mind, but I know it will mean a lot to Lionel that you're here.”
I nodded. Hopefully Lionel was ok…I know he and Lex didn’t get along very well but I also know that Lionel is all Lex has left and Lex would be hurting if he died.
I sighed.
“I’m sorry Mrs. Kent…I’m a little scattered at the moment…I just…I mean I hope Lex is ok…I think that waiting is the worst part…”
She nodded her head sympathetically.
“Of course dear…plus all the extra emotion from the baby…it’s hard…”
I placed my hand on my stomach.
“Maybe some tea will help with the nerves. I’ll think I’ll go get some…”
She waved me off.
“Let me go. I could use some fresh air.”
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
And she walked away to go find some tea. I went to quietly walk into Lionel’s room when a doctor stopped me. He was having a conversation with someone and when he finished he turned in my direction. He was looking at me appraisingly. My voice came out more stern then I felt.
“I want to see him.”
He glanced at the click board and shook his head.
“I'm sorry, Mrs. Luthor, but the patient's being prepped for surgery.”
The doctor was frustrating me. I need to see Lionel so I can find out what’s really going on down there…because he’s the only one who saw it first hand…
“You don't understand. My husband is missing, and Lionel is the last person who saw him alive.”
He spoke in a tempered voice and barely made eye contact with me.
“I realize this is an incredibly difficult time for you.”
Ok I’m done being nice to him…this is ludicrous. If I wanted to see my father in law you better believe they were going to let me in.
“Doctor are you aware that my husband donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to this hospital? I don’t care if you’re prepping him to fly to the moon I want to see my father in law…and I want to see him now or so help me god I will contact your superiors. If for some reason my husband doesn't survive... the man lying in that room is the only family I have left. I’m not asking for an eternity…all I need is a minute.”
He finally looked into my eyes and took in my appearance. He sighed.
“One minute.”
“Thank you.”
I walked into Lionel’s room. He was laying in the bed with his eyes closed. I placed my hand gently on top of his and I saw his eyes flutter open. I gave him a small smile. My voice was soft.
“I understand you're in a lot of pain. So I’ll try to make this quick Mr. Luthor.”
He looked relieved to see me.
“Lana.”
I nodded.
“I’m glad you’re alive…but Lionel…I need to know what happened…can you try to tell me? did something go wrong with the project?”
He tried to move his head back and forth but it didn’t really work.
“Ugh.”
Well that was an attractive noise. I sat in a chair by his bed and my face held desperation.
“Please Lionel try…help me find Lex…I need to find him…”
My eyes started to water up again and this time I couldn’t stop the tears.
I heard a sound come from him and he spoke in a congested voice.
“Project…Ar..aries…”
He was taking deep breaths trying to get in oxygen. I leaned forward.
“What about it?”
His face registered some shock that I was familiar with the name.
“She…blew…up…tunnel…Lex…trapped…blueprints…”
He started choking and I rubbed his arm.
“I’m sorry…relax…I can get water…”
He shook his head.
“Thank you…I can try to work with that…I’ll figure it out…I won’t let Lex down…I promise. And don’t worry there going to take good care of you here. With Lex missing, I'm in charge of your medical decisions. I’ll make sure they do everything in their power to help you…I know you and Lex aren’t that close…but I’m hoping that will change after the baby is born…”
The door opened and I heard the doctor speaking to me.
“Mrs. Luthor, we need to take him to surgery now.”
I nodded. I squeezed Lionel’s hand and as I walked out of the door I spoke to the doctor in a hard voice.
“Make sure you do everything you can…I want every specialist you have working on this is that understood?”
He glared in my direction but I didn’t waver and he conceded.
“its understood Mrs. Luthor.’
And with that I walked out of the room and down the hall. Once I was in the hallway I saw two police officers talking. I walked slower so I could hear what they were saying.
“Captain, Lex Luthor's Porsche was parked at the tunnel entrance. We searched the vehicle and found this in the trunk. It might hold some answers.”
Crap…Lex’s briefcase most likely had blueprints and files on the project…My number one priority is helping Lex…but if this got out he’d be destroyed…Lex wouldn’t want that to happen. I have to protect my family. I strode passed the officers and on my way past them I grabbed the briefcase out of his hand. I glanced up and smiled.
“Thank you, officer.”
The officer looked semi shocked and spoke in a demanding tone.
“Ma'am, that's part of a crime scene.”
They must have thought I was deaf because his captain spoke right after him.
“We need to take that case as evidence.”
I nodded in an understanding way and I spoke with confidence.
“Of course I completely understand and as soon as I see your warrant to search my husband's vehicle I’ll let you come claim this.”
I turned and started to walked away and then stopped. I moved sideways so I could see them.
“And please call me as soon as you have any news on my husbands whereabouts.”
I walked out shaking my head. They didn’t honestly think I was stupid did they? If they did go to get that warrant by the time they came back the files and everything will already be replaced…They were right about something though…the answers probably were in here…and if I could fin the blueprints maybe I could find a way to get Lex out…
(Lex POV)
After struggling for the past half hour I managed to get free from the cuffs that were binding me just as little miss G.I. Joe came back into the room and pointed a gun at my head. I was starting to think this wasn’t going to be as easy as I originally thought. She grinned at me and spoke.
“Perfect timing, Macgyver. You're gonna need those paws to call Wes.”
I sighed. What was I supposed to say? Oh sorry Wes can’t talk right now he isn’t done baking yet…I shook my head.
“The phones won't work this deep in the tunnel system.”
She practically tried to shove the phone in my face. Her voice was hard.
“Mine will. Take it. Take it! Without Wes, my life is over. When you meet someone that can pull you out of the trenches, you don't just give up on them.”
I looked at the phone in my hands.
“It's not that easy.”
Her facial expression changed and she was begging. Her voice held desperation and a part of me almost felt sorry for her.
“Put him on the phone. Please, let me hear his voice.”
I gave her a look of condolence. My voice was soft when I spoke.
“I can't call your husband.”
She started screaming again and moved toward me. I held my ground.
“Do you want to die down here? We're running out of time. Dial the damn phone.”
She was frustrating me and I was done trying to skirt around issues. I yelled in her face.
“He's dead! Wes didn't die in a crash. He was shot at close range by an M60 firearm. The bullets pierced his lungs, his liver, and his heart. Luthercorp tried to save him with an experimental procedure, but it was too late. Look, your husband endured a prolonged and unsettling death. I'm sorry, but the lie was easier than the truth.”
She looked stricken…se stumbled back and her face was full of shock.
Her head was shaking fiercely.
“No. No.”
She lost her focus and I smirked…this is it…the in I was looking for. I lunged at her. I heard the gunshot and felt her grip on me loosen. When she slumped to the floor I picked up the gun, stood and turned it on her. My voice was forceful.
“Deactivate the explosives. Let's both get out of here alive.”
She shook her head and gave me a small smile.
“It's pre-programmed. I won't stop them, just like you can't stop this.”
I saw the button in her hand and I dropped the gun and started to run out of the room just as I heard everything implode inside the tunnels…dust filled my lungs and they burned…the explosion catapulted me forward…I won’t die like this…Lana’s counting on me…
(Clark POV)
I heard everything explode around me and I was thrown under a pile of ruble…after everything was still I wiped the dirt from my face and started taking the rocks off me. Ugh…what is that…oh no…Meteor rocks.
I glanced around there area and scattered all along the debris were pieces of Meteor rocks. Well isn’t this just terrific…I looked around and started walking forward. I felt tired and weak but I came here for a reason. I walked toward were the explosion came from. I yelled out as loud as I could muster. I was panting.
“Lex. Lex!”
I coughed a bit as I walked further in. I could see a figure buried under rocks in back of all the smoke. I kept walking and heard Lex coughing. When he saw me he looked startled.
“Ugh. Clark... What are you doing here?”
I glared at him.
“Your dad sent me.”
I heard the slight relief in his voice when he spoke.
“He's alive? And you got through when nobody else could.”
I shook my head. He’d love to think that…he’d love for me to tell him I just flew on in here…well it wasn’t going to happen. My voice was hard when I spoke.
“No one else is trying, Lex. Police called off the rescue team when they found this place was rigged with explosives.”
He looked resigned and nodded.
“The entire tunnel system's scheduled to detonate in 14 minutes.”
I looked behind him to where the explosion came from. Pieces of dirt and debris were falling every few seconds.
“Is there a way to deactivate it?”
He gave a sarcastic chuckle.
“If you're trained in plastic explosives, be my guest. Come on.”
Against my better judgment I started helping dig Lex out from under the debris. I caught him staring at my hand and I looked down. I just realized my shoulder was throbbing in pain. Crap…I liked it better when I didn’t realize it. There was blood running from the shrapnel in my shoulder down to my hand. I glanced at Lex’s face and he looked surprised.
“Clark…”
He motioned to my arm. I rolled my eyes.
“Let’s get you the hell out of here…I have other things to do Lex…I don’t have all day…”
He glared at me and I helped him up…he was still looking at the blood running down my arm…well if anything this helps me…he has always thought I was indestructible…now he can see first hand that I’m not…
(Chloe POV)
I was officially freaking out. It’s been at least two hours since Clark went down there. I’ve called him six times and he hasn’t answered any of my calls. I took out my phone and tried again. It rang a few times before going to voicemail. I sighed.
“Hey, Clark, it's me again you know Chloe…your wife. Where are you? I feel like a stalker calling you a million times like this. I just…I need to know you’re ok…dammit Clark…please just call me as soon as you get this. I...love you. Bye.”
I saw the Bomb Squad leader walk by. I moved a little closer to where he stopped so I could in earshot. Jeez I might be pregnant but I’m still a reporter… his voice was strained.
“Hold up. That second blast dropped another 10 feet of rubble.”
When I heard that I walked over. I spoke loud and in a strong voice.
“Does that mean you haven't found Lex Luthor? Have you found anyone yet?”
He glanced at me then back at his men and continued talking.
“The inner tunnels caved. After those explosions, the whole area's completely unstable. There's no way anyone's getting in there by hand.”
I was starting to feel a little sick. I grabbed my stomach and took a couple of steps away from the Bomb Squad leader. I glanced at his vest and saw green dust all over it. I could feel time slowing down as realization hit me…Meteor rock…my eyes watered and I began to panic. No..oh god no…if there was Meteor rock down there…Clark could be seriously hurt…no wonder he’s not answering his phone…I had to make sure. My voice was shaky when I spoke to him.
“What's on your vest?”
He looked down and wiped some of it off. His voice was tired.
“Dust from meteor rocks. It's all over the place down there.”
I shook my head and stumbled a bit. The guy grabbed onto me a gave me a worried look.
“Ma’am…this really isn’t the place for you right now…you’re looking a bit pale…is there someone I can call who will take you home? Parent’s a boyfriend?”
I shook my head and faced him as some tears escaped my eyes.
“My husband…he…”
What was I doing…I couldn’t tell them…he was standing there waiting for me to finish. I shook my head.
“Nothing…I…you’re right I should get going…thank you for your assistance…”
I walked away and left him standing there staring at me. I knew what I had to do…but I really didn’t want to do it. There was only one place left to go for answers…the Luthor mansion…where I’m sure Lana was hold up. She most likely knew what was going on…whether or not she told me was a different story…
I got there about fifteen minutes later. I parked got out of Clark’s truck and walked up to the front door. Something was off…there was an extreme lack of security…I took a deep breath and walked into the house. It was now or never.
I could here my feet echoing through the hallway as I stopped outside the door to the study. You can do this Chloe…suck it up…it’s for Clark and that’s all that matters. I knocked on the large door and before anyone could respond I twisted the knob and opened it.
I walked inside the room and Lana’s head popped up from behind the computer screen. Her eyes were red but her pose was strong. She eyed me suspiciously. Her voice was tinged with coldness when she spoke.
“Chloe…”
I used the same tone with her.
“Lana…”
We were both quiet for a few minutes when I couldn’t take the silence anymore.
“Clark went into the tunnels to help Lex…”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Why would Clark do that?”
I gave her a nasty look.
“Because unlike you and Lex…Clark is a good person…you seem to be forgetting that he was the one who saved your life and your child’s life not too long ago.”
She nodded. Her voice seemed tired.
“What do you want Chloe?”
I thought about it for a couple of seconds before I looked her directly in the eye.
“For the next 24 hours…I want a truce… You have issues with me and I certainly am not your biggest fan…you aren’t fond of Clark and I despise Lex. Personally I don’t want to have anything to do with him returning from this little excursion…but if bringing Lex back is the only way to get Clark back…then I’d help in a heart beat.”
She looked intrigued and I continued.
“I know you know what’s going on…and I know you have information that you’re sitting on…you have to…I need that information to find Clark and you can’t find Lex on your own…Can you do it Lana? Can you put everything else aside so that we can work together and find Clark and Lex?”
She stood there looking at me thoughtfully…it was a long shot…but I had no other options…I saw her motion to the seat in front of the desk.
“Sit…we have a lot to cover and not enough time to do it in..”
Her voice was passive and I sat. Thank god…now all I had to do was stay non-confrontational with Lana for the next day and everything would be fine…unfortunately that was easier said then done…
Chapter 14 Part C
(Lana POV)
She stood there looking at me waiting for my answer. This wasn’t a good idea…actually it was a pretty bad idea. But I know Chloe can help me get Lex back…and ultimately that’s all that mattered to me. I motioned to the seat in front of me and spoke in a passive voice.
“Sit…we have a lot to cover and not enough time to do it in...”
She sat down and I ended the video I’d been watching on the computer. I can’t let her see all the files so I need to think of a quick way to spilt everything up…crap…Lex is so much better at this then me. Chloe broke the silence.
“I didn’t see you around the Bomb site at all…”
Great…we were going to try small talk.. I nodded.
“I thought I'd be more useful here. Has there been any news?”
She shook her head.
“No, that's the problem. Because I'm not a Luthor, no one will talk to me. What have they told you?
I shrugged and leaned back into Lex’s chair.
“The Sheriff came by this morning told me what happened, I went to see Lionel in the hospital to make sure he was ok and I’ve been here ever since. They said as soon as they knew anything they’d call…and they haven’t yet so I’ve been doing my own research into what happened…”
Her voice sounded strange when she spoke.
“Well…what have you got? Anything useful that might help us find them?”
I glanced at her. I hesitated before I spoke.
“Not too much…”
I could hear the frustration in Chloe’s voice when she spoke.
“Damnit Lana! The whole point of working together is for us to both add what we know into the mix.”
I heard her voice catch at the end of the sentence.
“Clark went into those tunnels hours ago, and I haven't heard from him since. Forget about everything else Lana…33.1, whatever projects you’re working on…I don’t care. this isn’t about me gathering information from you it’s about getting them out of those tunnels alive…and if you’re not serious about helping then I’m leaving.”
She stood up and started walking out and something hit me. We were in the same boat. As far apart as we have grown lately she is searching for her husband to and she knows exactly what I’m feeling right now…Clark went down there to save Lex and now we had to save them…I stood up and moved towards her.
“Chloe wait…”
She turned and I paused.
“I’m sorry…I’m just…I’m so scared I won’t be able to get to him in time…”
I saw her face soften as she came closer to me.
“So am I. That’s why I came here. Lana…Lex wouldn’t have been in those tunnels if he didn’t have something going on there…before you interrupt I don’t care what it is…but I knew if you had information you wouldn’t turn it over to the police because of that…so I was hoping you’d be able to show me and maybe the two of us can figure out how to get them out…”
I hesitated for a brief moment before nodding. She was right…it’s not about the projects…or Chloe or anything else…it’s about Lex…and Clark. I turned back around and walked over to the desk. I pulled Lex’s briefcase out so Chloe could see it. I opened it, spread the papers out and motioned for her to come over.
She raised an eyebrow.
“What’s all that?”
I sighed.
“This is all the paperwork on those tunnels…blueprints included.”
I laid them out and started showing it to her.
“Ok…this is where there saying the explosion was…now Lex would be making his way this way…there’s another entrance…that no one knows about…he was trapped under there he’d head this way.”
She gave me a calculating look.
“You knew…all this time everyone has been trying to figure out how to get him out and you knew?”
I gave her a frustrated sigh.
“Listen…don’t get mad at me ok…I was doing what Lex would have wanted me to do…I didn’t know Clark was down there…this wasn’t some kind of plot Chloe. If it was do you honestly think I’d put my husband down there?”
I heard her sigh.
“How do we get them out Lana? We have to give the blueprints to the Police…so they can send people to get them…before anything goes wrong.”
My voice was hard when I spoke.
“No. we can give the police the location but they can’t have the blueprints…I won’t give it to them…we can go to them explain there’s another entrance and lead them there.”
“Lana! Clark is down there! We don’t have time to be finicky about giving damn blueprints to the police.”
I sneered at her.
“I don’t know what all the fuss is about Chloe…We both know Clark isn’t what he seems…I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Her look turned glacial and when she spoke her voice was furious and sounded like it was about to break.
“I know you and Lex think you know everything about Clark…I know you think he’s this…super being or whatever and I can’t even fathom why…but Lana…I swear on the life of my unborn child…Clark is NOT invincible like you all seem to think…he could be hurt or worse in those tunnels…so stop acting as if Lex is the only one in danger…”
I looked into her face…and the look in her eyes is what made me believe her…it was the same look I had in mine…
(Lex POV)
Clark was bleeding pretty bad so I was standing there attempting to pull out the shrapnel out of his shoulder. The mere fact that it was there threw me. It was quiet and every few seconds a new piece of debris would fall from somewhere. I spoke softly.
“You're the last person I ever expected to be pulling shrapnel out of.”
He looked over his shoulder and glared. I got a good hold on it and ripped it out. he grunted in pain.
“Ugh!”
Everyone was always asking for honesty…well Clark was gonna get a dose of it right now. He wouldn’t be able to run away from the conversation this time. Just me and him…I spoke with a bit of accusation in my voice.
“I saw what happened when I stabbed you with that chisel, Clark. That thing accordion like it hit solid rock. I don't know why I needed so badly to believe that you're more than human.”
He grunted and faced me as he shook his head.
“'Cause nothing's ever good enough for you, Lex. You’re always looking for the greater truth…even when there isn’t one.”
I shook my head. So maybe I was wrong about him…that doesn’t explain everything…he’s been lying to me since the minute I ran him off that bridge.
“The truth would have been. You may be flesh and blood, but you've been hiding secrets from me since we met. You never trusted me.”
I tied a piece of a shirt around his arm as I spoke. He ripped his arm away from me and his voice held frustration in it.
“Ugh! Would it have mattered? What are you really doing down here, anyway, Lex? Trying to find new ways to exploit the people that have different abilities than you?”
I looked away from him. This was always the problem with us…the reason why we went our separate ways…one of the main reasons I went after Chloe in the beginning…because I knew it would hurt him.
I knew that he had confided in her and I wanted him to suffer for being honest with her. So when all this first started…I took her to get to him…until I realized what I could do with someone like her and now…it had nothing to do with hurting Clark…that was just a bonus. My voice was hard when it came out.
“There's no gray area with you, is there? It's either all good or all evil. Did you even try to see my humanity before you decided I had none?”
He stalked towards me and his frame towered over me.
“I did, Lex. I gave you every chance in the world…I tried so hard to believe in the good in you…to look past what everyone else saw. And look where that got us? You’ve been experimenting on my wife! Did you just expect me to look past that?”
His voice was angry and I looked him dead in the eye.
“You wrote me off long before you were married to Chloe…long before the two of you were even together. The truth is you wrote me off when you found out about Lana and I. After that things weren’t the same.”
He looked away. I glared at his back.
“What’s the matter Clark? You don’t have anything to say about that do you? No because you know it’s true.”
He whipped around and seemed somewhat out of breath.
“No Lex…it was then that I saw your true colors shinning through…that’s why we stopped being friends. Not because of Lana, although that did play a part…it was because of everything…you talk about me not being honest with you yet look at everything hiding in your closet…you have more skeletons than anyone I know!”
At that moment a particularly large part of the tunnels came crashing down. Some fell on Clark so I pushed him a little to the left and started running in that direction. I turned my head back and saw that he was slowing down. No…he can’t die here…I wouldn’t let him…I have plans for him and Chloe…after everything that’s happened with us there was no way I was going to let Clark Kent’s death be this easy. I called out to him in a loud voice.
“Clark, come on. Clark! Come on. What are you waiting for? Let's go. Clark! Come on. Come on. Get up!”
He was holding his stomach and he looked extremely weak. He shook his head.
“It's another dead end. We have to try another tunnel.”
Just then he plopped down on the ground against the wall. I glanced at him and he didn’t look well. He looked up and spoke in a sore voice.
“Lex, these ceilings aren't gonna hold out much longer. We have to go back.”
Was he crazy? We couldn’t go back we’d be crushed under all that debris.
“You know we don't have time for that.”
He glared at me and his voice was accusing.
“Something tells me no one else knows about these tunnels.”
I shook my head. If I was honest with myself for a minute…I needed Clark…we had to work together to get out of here. I would have all the time in the world to toy with him once we were out of here alive. But my priority is getting back to Lana…and if I had to work with Clark I would.
“By no one, I’m sure you’re referring to Lana. I'm sorry to disappoint you Clark but she does know about these tunnels. She’s probably already trying to figure out of to get me out of here. I know you don’t trust me…not that that’s new…and I can’t say that I trust you at the moment. But right now all we have is each other down here. I’m not going to be able to get back to Lana without your help…and you won’t be able to get to Chloe without mine. So we can work together on getting out of here or we can both try and find our own way and possibly never see them again. I don’t know about you…but I’m not willing to risk never meeting my son…”
His facial expression held contempt.
“You have done everything in your power to physically and mentally hurt the woman I love on practically a daily basis, you turned Lana into someone I can’t even recognize anymore , you have been putting me in life threatening situations for years trying to find out what I’ve been hiding from you…and you want me to trust you…with my life?
I shrugged and spoke in an angry voice.
“First off you have no proof of everything you claim I did to Chloe…secondly I didn’t force Lana to be with me nor did I turn her into the dark person you make her out to be. The way she is with you reflects on all the frustration she’s held for you over all these years. That’s all on you Clark…not me because Lana isn’t like that with me or anyone else for that matter…well aside from Chloe.”
I lowered my voice and spoke in an uncaring manner.
“If you don’t take me up on my offer you’ll die down here…and so will I. You don’t really have anything to lose…but you do have freedom to gain so I don’t really see the problem.”
He glared at me.
“Fine…we help each other get out of here…but this doesn’t mean anything Lex…this are not and will not be ok with us when we get out of here…it doesn’t change where I stand or make what you’re doing any less wrong.”
I gave him a cynical chuckled.
“Don’t worry Clark…I stopped expecting you to act like a friend a long time ago.”
He got up and we started walking. His voice held resentment and possibly a small amount of sadness when he spoke.
“Were we ever really friends, Lex?”
I thought we were…until Clark turned out to be like everyone else. I did everything in my power to prove to Clark I was worthy of his friendship and in the end he threw everything back in my face. I got frustrated after that and decided from that moment on I was going to do whatever it took to learn what he’s been hiding from me. At times it still bothered me…I wasn’t looking at him as I spoke but my voice came out serious.
“I don't know. I have nothing to compare it to. You're the only real friend I've ever had, Clark. And somewhere along the way, you saw me as your nemesis, turned your back on me.”
Right when I turned around to face him a large part of the ceiling collapsed between us sending a large pile of debris raining down onto Clark as I scrambled out of the way. When the dust settled I saw Clark still unharmed. Maybe I wasn’t so wrong after all. He was trapped under a large metal beam. When he spoke his voice was strained…and breathy.
“Lex, get this off of me. Ugh! Don't leave me.”
For a minute I thought about leaving him just where he was and getting myself out alive. And then something incredibly strange happened. It wasn’t the thought of seeing him suffer with what I was going to do to Chloe that made me decide to help him…If that was me lying under those rocks…
I would want him to he help me because I promised Lana I’d never leave her…and I had a feeling that Clark had promised Chloe the same thing. When we left here things would go back to normal…but as of right now I promised Clark we help each other get out and back to the woman we love…I planned to keep that promise.
I looked around at the beam and the debris around him. There wasn’t much time left I needed to find something to lift that beam off with. I turned and ran down the tunnel and around the corner. I could hear Clark screaming in the background. Each time he spoke my name it got louder…more frantic…He really thought I was leaving him there to die…
“Lex! Lex! Lex!”
(Clark POV)
I watched Lex run away and my blood ran cold. He couldn’t leave me here…I promised Chloe everything would be fine…I couldn’t leave her to fend for herself especially if Lex got out of here alive. She needed me…
I kept on pushing the beam trying to get it off. I wasn’t having much luck and all the struggling was making my chest hurt. I went to give it one more try and I pushed hard against the metal beam with my eyes closed and I felt it lifting. I opened my eyes and there was Lex using a metal bar to help lever the beam off me. he leaned over and held out his hand I hesitated for a second before I reached up grabbed it and he helped me get free from under the rubble.
He eyed me and shook his head.
“Did you really think I was gonna let you die alone down here, Clark?”
I didn’t say anything just looked away and when I did glance at him I thought I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes.
“Guess you never knew me at all. The last cave-in exposed a hatch. If we want to get out of here that’s our chance.”
I nodded and we made a run for it. Our time had to be running short…we’ve been down here for too long. Lex yelled out to me in a rushed voice.
“Go!”
We made it into a small chamber with a large ladder that lead up to the surface. I could see the sun shinning through a metal grate. I glanced at him.
“This is it..”
He nodded.
“Less talking Clark more climbing…we have to get up there…NOW!”
I nodded and we both grabbed onto the ladder and started climbing as quickly as we could. About half way up I saw Lex slip and using all the strength I had left I reached out and grabbed his arm until he got his footing. Our eyes me and he inclined his head in my direction as we continued up.
There had to be only seconds left when we finally reached the grate. I pushed at it and nothing happened. After a moment we looked at each other and at the exact same moment we shoved together as had as we could on the grate. It freed up and we were able to climb through one at a time as the entire tunnel system we were just in erupted into a massive explosion.
We were knocked out of the way just when a large fireball flew up the shaft we just climbed out of. It spilled into the air and we landed on opposite sides of the opening. I rolled over and glance up into the sunshine. I could feel my body starting to heal up as the suns rays beat down on my body. I let out a deep breath. And I thought it was going to be a quiet and relaxing day today…I couldn’t have been more wrong…
(Chloe POV)
Lana and I were standing on the sidelines as the police refused to go where Lana told them to. I was pissed. Lana came back over to me with the Bomb Squad commander in tow and I could see the furious look on her face.
“What’s going on?”
He spoke with slight hesitation.
“We can’t send out men down there without knowing where an when the bombs will detonate.”
I glared at him and Lana was livid when she spoke.
“But you can leave our husbands down there to die because you don’t want to do your job? Dammit! When I’m done with you your team is going to have to find someone else to lead them because you’ll be buried so far underground they’ll never find the body!”
I raised and eyebrow and the commander glared at Lana.
“I’ll ignore that threat because I know you’re under a lot of stress Mrs. Luthor…but don’t let it happen again…now I have to get back to my team you two shouldn’t be here.”
He walked away and Lana sighed in frustration. I rubbed her arm.
“It’ll be ok…Clark and Lex are resourceful…they’ll find away out of this…they have to.”
She nodded and then all of a sudden everyone started running around frantically and the ground rumbled. I looked down in horror. Lana’s face mirrored mine. I yelled out to the next person I saw go by.
“What happened?”
He glanced over and his face was sympathetic.
“The series of bombs that was down there just went off…the tunnels were caved in…”
He jogged away and I felt Lana grab onto my arm as my breath left me…No…I can’t believe that. Clark isn’t gone…so what the bombs went off…he wasn’t there…he couldn’t be…I can’t…I shook my head and heard Lana’s sob next to me.
I tried so hard to hold it in…but I couldn’t. Tears started flowing down my cheeks. I was holding onto Lana as hard as she was me. There was smoke and dust everywhere. I looked up and my face held shock. I saw two figures walking toward the crowd of people. I shook Lana. My voice held astonishment.
“Lana…LANA!”
She glanced at me because of my frantic voice and I saw her red eyes…I couldn’t talk so I pointed to about fifty feet in front of us. She turned her head and I heard her gasp. Her voice was a whisper when she spoke.
“Lex?”
We moved as quick as we could. There faces started to become clear and I then I saw it…the unmistakable blue shirt. They must have seen us because there calm walking turned into a frantic jog. When Clark was about three feet from me I catapulted into his arms and he caught me.
“Oh god….I thought…I thought I was never going to see you again…I thought we lost you.”
He shook his head and I could feel his grin against me.
“You’ll never lose me Chloe…”
His voice was soft and he still hadn’t let me go.
“You don’t know how good it feels to hold you.”
He buried his face in my neck and I chuckled. I turned my head and saw Lana and Lex in a similar position. Her voice was soft and I could hear the tears in her eyes.
“I thought you were dead. We tried…so…hard to get them to go down…but they just wouldn’t. Even when I threatened the commanders life..”
I heard Lex chuckled and Clark finally released his death grip around me but he didn’t let go of my hand as we faced them.
“You’re kidding.”
Lana raised her eyebrow and I smirked. my voice was amused.
“She’s absolutely not…She said he’d be buried so deep they’d never find the body.”
The three of us laughed and Lana glared at Lex.
“I was upset…”
He nodded and kissed her forehead.
“It’s ok…I would have done the same for you.”
He glanced down at her and I think it was the first time I’ve ever seen his face this unguarded.
“I love you…so much”
Her face beamed.
“I love you too. We both do.”
She placed a hand on her stomach and gave him a soft kiss. Lex turned to Clark and the four of us stood there for a moment looking at each other. It almost felt like old times…Lex and Clark were still friends…Lana and I were like sisters…and everything was ok…but then reality came back to me and Lex broke the silence. He looked directly at Clark and held out his hand.
“Thank you…for helping me get out…I couldn’t have done it without you Clark…”
Clark hesitated before taking his hand and shaking it.
“You to Lex…if it wasn’t for you…I probably wouldn’t be standing here right now…so…thanks.”
He nodded put him arm around Lana and they turned to leave. Lana stopped him and came back over to me. I was confused for a minute before she embraced me in a tight hug.
“Thanks for today Chloe…and…I’m sorry…for everything…”
Lex held out his arm to her, she took it and they walked away. I looked at her retreating form with confusion. What exactly was she sorry for? Clark nudged me and I glanced up. He smiled and his voice sounded tired.
“Let’s go home Chloe…”
I nodded and we started to walk away from all the people.
“When I saw the dust from the Meteor rock Clark…I thought…god I was so scared…”
He pulled me tighter to him.
“Everything’s fine now…I’m fine…just tired a lot happened down there.”
That made me curious.
“Like what?”
I saw him smirking but he didn’t look at me. he stopped walking and made sure no one was around. He lifted me up and super sped back to the farm. When we got there he put me down and I saw we were in our room.
“Well?”
He sighed.
“I’ll tell you about it later Chlo…right now all I really wanna do is lay here…with you in my arms. It’s been a long day and I really need to feel you next to me right now…”
I nodded and got into bed with him. He held me tight to him and I snuggled deeper into him. If he didn’t want to talk now we didn’t have to…I was just happy to have him back…invincible or not I almost lost him today and that was unacceptable…the next time Lex got himself into a mess like this I wasn’t permitting Clark to go in after him…he could ask one of his super hero friends to do it because I wasn’t gonna go through that ever again…not if I could help it…
(Lex POV)
I just left a sleeping Lana at home when the phone call came. She saved all the important data from getting taken by the police…she said that she knew that’s what I would have wanted. She’s amazing through everything that was going on today she still took care of this while I was gone… I strode down the tunnel system I was in earlier today and a scientist from the project Ares team led the way. He spoke in a satisfied tone.
“You'll be pleased to hear the prototype is just days from reaching its fullest functioning capacities.”
We walked into a large room and stopped in front of a large window chamber where Wes Keenan was lying unconscious and in straps. I glared in his direction.
“Thanks to your wife, I almost died for you. Let's hope there's nothing you can't do for me.”
This prototype would be the worlds leading defense against everything that was to come…and I invented it…the one thing that would be able to stop all the Meteor infected people…to protect the world from them…but not before I let them all loose…
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