The Crossroads (Post-Eppie to “Reckoning”)
DJ Dubois
February 2006
Rating: M (Mature: Language, violence and
character death advisories)
Notes: The characters from Smallville belong to DC
and the WB. Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com
Spoilers: Goes without saying, everything through
the first 100 eppies particularly Skinwalker, 1961/Relic, and Reckoning.
Pairings: Martha/Jonathan, Clana, Lexana (implied)
and Jorouise among others
Dedication: This one goes out to everyone who
wanted things to continue on as they had in the first half of “Reckoning”. There
is more tragedy involved at first but old love helps the “new”.
Preface [Fortress of Solitude]
Jor-El, the last guiding spirit of Krypton,
speaks…..
As you Earthers like to say, those who do not heed
time’s lessons are doomed to repeat them. My father, Hes-El, sent me to Earth to
demonstrate how raw emotions run one astray and only through duty to one’s house
and predetermined path can one have order. I learned much on my journey through
your world during that hot season forty-five of your solar cycles ago. I saw
what my father said happening around me: that emotional chaos can lead to
tragedy.
However, there is balance. In Smallville, I
encountered Louise McCallum who taught me about love and passion. When she died
in my arms, I grew cold and mechanical in order to protect myself. I returned
home and accepted my duty. I married Lara and we had our son, Kal-El, whom we
sent away for his and duty’s sake.
But Fate and Destiny, as I have often told my son,
are immutable. The strands binding our lives together have extended to our
families as well. The agricultural collective which would have offered me
sanctuary did so for Kal-El. The one known as Jonathan Kent, Hiram’s son, raised
him. The descendants of Lochlan Luthor, the one who fired the projectiles at me,
lurk at the edges threatening everything I would put forth.
And then there is Louise’s descendant, the one
known as Lana Lang. Kal-El has loved her since they first met. But I have tried
to keep them apart. Again, I didn’t want him to go through the pain of losing
her the way I lost Louise. However, I also was willing to allow him to join with
her as long as she accepted our purpose. Given Louise’s outlook, I would have
given the girl a chance.
But history repeated itself in your present as it
did long before. Lochlan’s descendant, Alexander, undid everything on an icy
cold nocturnal period. It forced me to a decision: my duty as a father or to
Kryptonian tradition?
This is what occurred…..
Chapter 1 [Luthor Mansion]
Lex watched Lana storm out of the study, hurrying
quickly to her car. With everything that had happened that night with the
election loss, he figured that she would console him. Accordingly, he called her
over there and decided to pour himself a drink while he waited.
And then another….and another.
Their conversation, although starting as the
soothing balm he thought it would be, quickly went downhill.
He noticed strange things about her: her distant
expression, the insistence that there was no longer a problem between her and
Clark.
Most irritating of all, the diamond engagement
ring glared at him, announcing another devastating defeat at a Kent’s hands.
They argued—rather he yelled and she stood her
ground. After one decidedly pointed crack about parentage, she turned and left.
In a fit of rage, he threw the brandy goblet into
the fire, watching it flare momentarily. How could she do this to me? After
everything I’ve done for her! HOW? He paced about the room, trying to cool off.
However, whether it was jealousy, rage or a combination of the two, his rage
consumed him as the fire had the brandy. He opened his desk drawer, seeing a
pistol and a small leaden box. Unlocking the latter, he considered the glowing
green contents inside. Then he loaded the gun.
Throwing his coat on, he hurried out the door
toward the garage. He would give Lana one more chance. Failing that, he knew
what he would have to do.
If he couldn’t have her then nobody would.
Especially not Clark Kent.
*****
[Route 40—Five miles away]
Lana pushed her Explorer’s accelerator as fast as
she dared to. While she knew she should have stayed at the victory party with
her fiancé and his family, she also felt obligated to Lex. I wish he’d
understand! He knows that Clark and I love each other! She thought back to the
argument in the mansion, shuddering at his jealous rage and uncontrollable
desire to get at Clark’s Secret.
Worst of all, despite not saying anything, she
realized that he knew something. Somehow Lex knew about Clark. He also knew that
she knew. How did I give it away? I didn’t say anything! She looked around the
landscape, recognizing the field to the right of her. I’ll be at the Talon in
five minutes! Then I’ll be safe.
Then she saw two headlights closing in on her like
a hungry vulture pursuing its prey.
No! Knowing instinctively who it was, she dialed
her cell phone. Come on, Clark!
“Lana?” he answered. “Where are you?”
“Clark, I’m on Route 40 heading toward town. I’m
sorry. I didn’t say anything! Clark, he knows!” she told him frantically.
Behind her, a horn honked insistently.
“What’s going on?”
“Clark, Lex knows! He’s chasing me!”
As she said that, the Porsche pulled up beside
her. Lex demanded, “Lana, we need to talk!”
“No! I’m done with that!” she yelled back, trying
to pull away from him.
However, his car could more than make up for her
Explorer’s acceleration.
“Lana! Talk to me!” Clark implored.
“He won’t go away! Clark, I….”
In front of them, a school bus sped toward them;
its lights glaring a warning as they sped toward them.
“CLARK!” she screamed.
The driver saw the two vehicles too late. He
veered to avoid the Porsche only to hit the Explorer head on.
The Explorer turned over and over, finally coming
to a stop.
Inside, Lana didn’t move, lying deathly still.
“Clark, I didn’t….betray you…Love…you.” Then her eyes closed.
Chapter 2
[Talon]
Meantime, Clark tried to get a read on Lana’s
situation over the cell phone connection. With the party’s noise going on behind
him, that was no easy task. “Lana! What is it! LANA!”
Over the phone, he heard her scream and the crash.
“LANA!” he screamed.
At that, everything stopped around him and the
party goers stared at him.
“Son, what is it?” Jonathan asked, as he and
Martha ran over to him.
“It’s Lana. Something’s happened. Sorry but…”
Clark replied, trying to keep himself composed despite what felt like dozen of
meteor shards sticking in his insides.
“She’s part of this family. That’s what’s
important,” his father insisted. “Martha, stay here. We’ll be back. Chloe,
follow us.”
As the reporter rushed out the door, she saw Clark
speed off, hurling with desperate velocity down Main Street and west on Route 40
toward the scene. Come on, Speedy! Get there in time!
“I knew Lex was bad news,” Jonathan grumbled,
jumping into his pickup and flooring the accelerator in pursuit of his son.
What have you done, Lex? She didn’t want to know
the circumstances. Right now, her friends needed her. She pushed her car as fast
as it would go as well.
****
[A/N: Okay, brace yourselves. This is where it
*really* gets ugly.]
Seeing the crash, Lex slammed on the brakes,
skidding across the road and turning his car completely around as he stopped.
“LANA!” He didn’t want this. He had only wanted to talk, not to hurt her.
But the overturned crumpled wreck seemed to
confirm his fears.
He ran over, wanting to revive her.
As he did so, he felt a breeze blow up out of
nowhere. What the Hell? His eyes went wide as he saw the blur approaching.
And then Clark appeared between him and the crash.
“LANA!”
So he can do that! After the initial surprise wore
off, Lex’s eyes narrowed. They were both lying to me!
Paying no one any attention, Clark ripped the door
off of the Explorer and removed his fiancée from it. “Lana, talk to me! Come
on!”
But there was no answer. Only the blood soaking
the blacktop under her hinted at her condition. “Lana, no! Lana!”
At that moment, Jonathan stopped the truck beside
the bus. “What’s going on?”
“Man, that accident jarred my head. I could have
sworn I saw that guy over there speed out of nowhere,” the driver reported.
Seeing his son holding Lana the way he was, his
mind immediately thought the worst. “You’d best have that looked at.” He ran
over to his son’s side. “Clark, come on! There was nothing you could do!”
“I didn’t save her, Dad. I couldn’t keep her
safe!” Clark protested.
The farmer felt the tears blurring his vision.
“You did everything you could. You have to accept that.”
As they pulled away, Clark saw the blood on his
hands. His mind swum, trying to keep control.
Before Jonathan could say anything, Lex demanded,
“What was it, Clark? Why was she running? You caused this!”
“He wasn’t chasing her,” Jonathan retorted,
getting right in his political opponent’s face. “You know what your problem is,
Luthor? You don’t know when to take no for an answer. Leave us alone!”
“Don’t give me that!” Lex pushed the farmer aside.
“After all of the things I’ve done for you all, you take everything from me!”
“She wasn’t yours!” Clark growled; his eyes still
fixed on Lana’s dead face and the blood. He shuddered as his mind seized.
The red blood and anger…..
….working like the red meteor…..sweeping him away…
…and allowing the Kryptonian to take hold.
Kal snarled. “I’m sick of you, Luthor! Time to
beat some sense into that bald head!” He stood, letting the others see the red
pallor in his eyes and the vindictive expression. “Father said there’s a
balance. I’ll take you!” He grabbed Lex and flung him against the Porsche.
Seeing the latter scramble to his feet, he bellowed, “Come on! You wanna know
about me?”
“I’ve seen enough!” Lex hissed, taking out the
pistol. “You’ve stuck the knife in my back for the last time!”
“Clark, Lex, stop!” Chloe yelled.
“Deal with you later, Sweets!” Kal dismissed while
advancing on his former friend.
“Not this!” she protested, looking to rush into
the fray. She recognized Kal’s M.O. from that summer in Metropolis well enough.
As Jonathan restrained her, she yelled, “Let me go!”
“They’ll kill you,” the farmer protested. “You
know that.”
She shook her head and her eyes grew wide.
****
Meantime, Kal grabbed Lex again, pinning him
against the car. “I’m going to squish you like a grape, Luthor. Teach you what
pain really means!”
Lex pushed the gun into his assailant’s gut. “Not
if I do it first.”
“Please! You can’t hurt me with that toy,” Kal
ridiculed.
Lex smirked ferally. “No?” He pulled the trigger,
sending the bullet into Kal.
The Kryptonian staggered. “What?”
“I had them specially made for you,” Lex
explained. “Now you two can have each other.”
“Da…mn you!” Kal staggered away toward his Other’s fiancée. He dropped to his knees beside her. “Tried,…Father.” With that, he
allowed Clark out.
Clark gasped for breath. The bullet burned,
allowing his blood to flow, mixing with hers.
“CLARK!” Jonathan yelled. “Son!”
“Dad. I’m sorry….” Clark whispered. Putting his
hand on Lana’s, he added, “Make sure we’re together. Th…ank Chloe too.”
“Don’t you dare do this, Clark! Come on!” she
protested, her eyes watering as she shook him.
With his last act, Clark weakly brushed his lips
across Lana’s; he cuddled up against her. “Love…you.” Then he went silent.
Jonathan held Chloe closely against him. “He’s
gone.” He felt his heart tighten.
She broke free from him and started toward Lex;
the hazel fury clearly sparking in her eyes…..
Chapter 3
[Arctic—Fortress of Solitude]
Half a world away, all seemed quiet under a
blanket of freshly fallen snow. The Fortress loomed over the landscape as it had
for the past six months, standing as a sanctuary for its planet’s last surviving
inhabitant.
Within the structure, a lone spirit waited and
watched telepathically the events going on farther south. While he had wanted
his son to stay apart from Earther emotions, Jor-El clearly understood the
attractions of a certain female line. As he had loved Louise McCallum, so had
his son fallen for the latter’s great niece. After a great deal of
consternation, he allowed his son to propose a marital union with the Earth
female, hoping she would feel the same as his love had.
She will exceed my expectations!
Then he felt pain through his link. Kal-El! What?
The events leading up to Lana’s death played out
in his mind. Then he saw his son trying to save her.
Kal-El kneeled over his dead love….
…much as he had with Louise in the barn on that
horrid night long before….
With that, he felt the slightest touch of raw
emotion surge through him, disrupting his mechanical thought patterns.
That was followed by his son’s transformation,
allowing Kal to surface.
Then he felt the shot. Earth projectiles shouldn’t
do that! What?
He heard Lex’s words and saw the twisted
expression. “I had those specially made for you. Now you two can have each
other.”
He saw the face….
…much like the one sent to kill him for loving
Louise.
He saw the green specks glowing in his son’s
stomach, feeling the latter’s last moments.
He saw his son die on the roadside.
NOOOO!!!!! He screamed, shaking the structure with
his fury. After everything, not again! NOT AGAIN!
You know what we have to do, Joe, a voice told him
in his mind.
The ghost saw his Earth love materialize in front
of him. Louise? We can’t….
We can’t what? Joe, your son and my great-niece
are gone. We have one chance to save them!
They’re dead. With them, our hopes are with them!
He smoldered with rage.
Just like on us, you’d give up on them! I can’t
believe you! GO! She argued, pointing to the south. I’ll wait for you here.
The spirit shuddered. For the first time in forty
Earth solar cycles, his emotions spun out of control. His eyes flared like twin
crimson flares. In a flash, he disappeared.
Bring them back, Joe. Let’s do for them what we
couldn’t for ourselves. Louise bowed her head, trying to deal with being with
her love again. As with Jor-El, she had seen the whole drama from Heaven and had
been sent back to help deal with it.
****
[Caves]
Jor-El appeared in the hidden chamber. After
making sure he was in the right place, he concentrated, making the room fill
with light.
When it subsided, he appeared as he had in 1961.
“Joe” glared at the place and then sped off in pursuit of his son.
****
[Accident Scene—Route 40]
Lex frowned as he tossed the gun back into the
car. He knew the paramedics would be there soon and the police with them. I need
to get out of here.
As he turned to leave, Chloe grabbed him. “Uh uh,
Luthor! Think again!”
“Beat it, Chloe!” he growled, pushing her aside.
“Damn it, Lex! You just killed our friends! Why?”
she demanded, shoving him against the car. Seeing the smug smirk, she slapped
him hard across the face. “You bastard!”
“Get in line,” he growled. “Isn’t that right, Mr.
Kent?”
Jonathan glared at him. “I’d like nothing better.”
He rose to his feet. Despite the tightening in his chest, he was going to have
satisfaction for the losses in his family.
Before anyone could do anything else, they saw the
blur once more and Joe appear.
“What? I knew you were something, Clark! But this
is beyond anything I could have dreamed!” Lex declared.
Recognizing the combination of the Clark
look-alike, the late 50s clothes and the medallion around his neck, Chloe
stared. “It can’t be! It’s the Drifter—Joe. But he looks like Clark!”
“I’m his father. His birth father!” Joe retorted
while grabbing Lex. “You called me the Drifter. Let that suffice.”
Telepathically, he sent the other flying, skipping him across the pavement like
a rock across a pond. “Your foul breed has cost me enough. Tonight, it ends!”
“Joe…Jor-El, stop!” Jonathan interceded. “We need
him to stand trial. We need justice!”
“This one’s lineage has avoided your pathetic
Earth justice, Jonathan Kent. Let this serve notice!” Joe announced. With a wave
of his hand, he made Lionel appear. “That one seeks to control you and our son.”
Lionel looked around in confusion. One minute, he
had been waiting for Jonathan at the latter’s farm. Now he was here in the midst
of an accident scene. He saw Clark and Lana lying dead. But somehow, Clark was
also advancing on Lex while Jonathan and Chloe Sullivan tried to stop him. “NO!”
“I haven’t forgotten about you,” Joe growled,
telepathically yanking his victim to Lex’s side. In a heartbeat, he stood over
them again.
“Can’t we talk about this?” Lionel offered
desperately.
“The way your father talked. The night he shot me
and killed my love? No. Tonight, you find the answers you sought along with true
justice!” Joe growled, grabbing both Luthors’ right shoulders and flooding them
with energy, disintegrating them both.
“Y…you just…d…disintegrated them!” Chloe stammered
incredulously.
“I did. They won’t bother either of you again.”
The Drifter sped back to Clark and Lana. “This was unnecessary. Now our hopes
are gone....” He caressed the lovers’ foreheads. “As they wished, so shall they
be.” In a flash, he disappeared with them.
Jonathan leaned against the truck, gasping. With
all of the amazement, his heart ached.
“Come on, Mr. Kent, relax. Take a seat,” she
advised.
“Gotta get to the caves,” he whispered weakly in
her ear.
“He’s somewhere else,” she disagreed, guessing Joe
was at the Fortress by now. Whatever he has up his sleeve, let’s hope the
Drifter can do it!
Chapter 4 [Heaven]
Clark blinked and raised his hand to block an
intense light. “What? I thought I died.”
“You have, Clark,” a familiar voice indicated. “We
brought you here.”
His eyes went wide as he saw Alicia Baker standing
by the bedside. “Alicia? B…but. …you’re….”
She rolled her eyes. “Even here, your head’s
denser than your skin! Yes, I’m dead. And so are you!” She turned toward the
window. “Can you believe him?”
“Being such has cost all of us, Alicia.”
He stared at the brunette standing at the window.
“Kyla?”
The Native American skinwalker nodded. “Yes,
Clark. You need to open your eyes. Come, there’s someone waiting to see you.”
He rose cautiously. “Someone? As in?”
Alicia replied, “You’ll see…..” She took her
companions’ hands and teleported them away in a green flash.
****
Lana felt something soft beneath her. Jerking
herself to a sitting position, she found herself on a blanket in the midst of a
giant meadow whose grass billowed as far as the eye could see. A gentle breeze
billowed through her hair. The puffy clouds blew through the sky.
As she moved to take this all in, she knocked a
small box over, spilling crayons all over the place.
“What?” She found the scattered colors there…on
top of a coloring book and a familiar journal.
“Silly! Now you made a mess!” a voice chided.
Lana’s eyes went wide as she recognized its
source. In front of her, she saw a brunette girl in a white blouse and blue
coveralls licking what looked like a vanilla ice cream cone. “Emily!”
“Course it’s me, Lana. You’re with us now. Now we
can play all we wanna!” her friend insisted.
Recalling the encounters with the little girl’s
clone, the former cheerleader backed away slowly from the spirit. “I…is it you?”
The youngster pouted. “You’re being stupid! Course
it’s me! Not those creepy ref’ections!”
She turned to run but found another face from her
past there: Adam Knight. “Adam?”
“Hello, Lana,” he greeted emotionlessly. “It’s
okay. You’re safe now.”
She backed away from the duo until hitting
something hard. She found herself up against a giant oak which had appeared out
of nowhere. “Safe? Safe from what? For whom? You both want to take me to
Lionel!”
He shook his head. “Lionel’s gone. So are Lex,
Clark and you.”
“Gone?” She did another visual sweep of the
backdrop as well as the two companions and realized, “We’re dead!”
“You are good, you know that?” he cracked
sarcastically; the smug grin forming on his face.
“What did you do to Clark? Tell me! Is he here?”
Lana demanded.
“Course, Silly!” Emily affirmed. “We wanna talk
first!”
“Talk?” Lana asked hesitantly.
His right brow arched and he sighed, trying to
keep his patience. “Yes, Lana, talk. Don’t worry. The Others wanted to say it
themselves. He motioned over his shoulder toward the couple approaching.
Lana stared incredulously. This was just too much
for words. “I…really am dead.”
Adam shrugged. “Yeah. You are.”
Chapter 5 [Smallville Regional Medical
Center—twenty minutes after the accident]
What had started as a quiet night at the med
center quickly turned into a media circus.
Even before the ambulance pulled into the back,
the local news hounds had already descended on the facility, looking to confirm
the Senator-Elect’s condition and the crazy stories from the bridge west of
town.
The doors banged open, allowing the EMTs and Chloe
to push Jonathan into the facility. During the trip, the patient had struggled
to breathe; his heart spasming from the latest attack as his life hung in the
balance. “CODE BLUE! OPERATING ROOM STAT!”
Unfortunately, the media mass blocked the way in a
mass of rambled questions, flash bulbs and insisted attitudes.
Faced with the options, Chloe shook her head. I
can’t believe I’m doing this! “Hey! Move it! We can do interviews later!”
“No dice, Sullivan!” Roger Wilkins from the Ledger
bellowed. “The Planet’s not getting this exclusive to itself!”
Chloe stared incredulously. “This isn’t about a
damn exclusive! This is about Mr. Kent’s life!” She started toward the mob.
****
[Front]
Meanwhile, Lois sped into the parking lot,
pressing the pedal right to the floor and pushing her car for all it was worth.
Since the two ambulances had rushed past the Talon, everyone inside knew the
worst had happened.
As was her nature, she had taken charge,
dismissing the group and escorting Martha to the vehicle.
“We’re here, Mrs. Kent!” she declared, pulling a
hairpin turn and just avoiding the curb before screeching to a halt. Seeing the
trembling passenger beside her, she reiterated, “We’re here!”
Martha nodded numbly, undoing her seatbelt and
opening the car door slowly.
Lois helped her out of the car and shut the door.
“He’s going to be all right. He’s really going to be fine.”
“I…I hope so,” Martha sighed as they walked
through the front door.
The younger woman nodded as they headed up to the
Admissions Desk. Seeing it empty, she yelled, “Hey! We need some info now! It’s
an emergency!”
The security guard rushed by her. “You’ll have to
wait! Sorry, Miss, but there’s a situation with…..” Seeing Martha, he stopped.
“You’re Martha Kent!”
“That’s right, Buddy. What’s going on? We want
answers and we want them NOW!” Lois demanded.
He looked at Martha anxiously.
“Where are my husband, son and his fiancée? Tell
me!” the desperate wife insisted.
“The media circus is blocking them in the back.
Some feisty blonde’s ramming their way through but they’re giving her trouble
and….,” he started.
“Chloe!” Lois looked at her companion. “Stay with
him. I’m going to help her!” Without missing another beat, she took off down the
hall, sprinting for all she was worth.
“Hey! Stop! You can’t….” He shook his head. “I
hope she knows what she’s doing.”
“She does,” Martha concurred. “Can you get me
there?” She hung on by a thread but determined not to break down at that point.
“You sure? Can I get you something?” he offered.
She shook her head. “Thank…you but I need to make
sure my husband’s okay.”
“Right this way then, Mrs. Kent,” he agreed.
****
[Back hall]
Meantime, Chloe managed to clear a path through
the media at least as far as the door but it was going way too slow. “You want
to be responsible for this man’s death? Come on!” Clark, I wish you were here
right now! The thought of him made her remember the other situations and her
dead friends. “No story is worth a man’s life!”
But the reporters weren’t giving ground either.
She looked back at Jonathan who was holding steady
by some miracle. However his vital signs remained dangerously low. Then she saw
her cousin rounding the corner. “You might want to give up now, guys.”
“Hey! Let them through!” Lois ordered.
The Ledger reporter shook his head. “We’re not
moving, Toots. What are you going to do? Have us arrested? We’re doing our
jobs!”
“Funny, killing a senator wasn’t there last time I
checked, was it, Chloe?” Lois countered sarcastically. She took out her cell
phone. “You’re sure you’re not going to move?”
“The sheriff and the cops couldn’t do it. The army
might be next, Sweetie,” the woman from Granville shot back.
“Now that he’s an elected official, absolutely,”
Lois concurred, pressing the speed dial on the phone.
“What’s she doing?” the EMT asked.
“Calling in the cavalry,” Chloe answered, judging
from Lois’ facial expression. “He’s going to be so pissed.”
****
[Fort Smithson—Regal, KS]
Even as the crisis developed to the southwest,
General Sam Lane returned to his barracks, looking for some much deserved r and
r. After returning from Europe and another fruitless search for his daughter,
Lucy, he was really wired. “Stupid dumb asses!” he growled, slumping into his
favorite easy chair and stuffing one of his fat Cubans into his mouth. Lighting
it, he started to relax.
Then a frantic knocking came from the door.
“General Lane! Sir!”
He rolled his eyes, recognizing his anal
subordinate, Lieutenant Carlos Quinones. “Yeah? Get in here!” When the other
nervously entered, shut the door behind himself and saluted his superior, Lane
growled, “This has better be the President dying, Quinones!”
“Just about, Sir,” Quinones told him while turning
on the television and cueing up the broadcast. “It’s from Smallville.”
“Smallville?” The general frowned so hard that he
broke his cigar in half.
The news anchor summarized, “…To recap, everyone.
Tragedy hits Smallville tonight. An accident on the Route 40 bridge west of town
claimed the life of Lana Lang, the fiancée of Senator Kent’s son, Clark. From
witness accounts, Lex Luthor fatally shot the younger Kent and caused his
political rival to have a heart attack. Then another man appeared with Lionel
Luthor, the noted billionaire businessman. This other man murdered both Luthors
execution style before disappearing with the bodies of Clark Kent and Miss
Lang.” Then she listened to her ear piece. “We have an update from Smallville
Regional Medical Center. Jeanne, are you there?”
“Yes, Samantha, I am.” The medium built sandy
haired reporter replied, “I’m here at Smallville Regional where Senator-Elect
Jonathan Kent is hanging on. We’re trying to get a comment from him but two
women are keeping us away….”
“Two women?” Quinones asked.
Lane shook his head. “Lo-Lo.” As the camera cut to
the standoff, he saw Lois and Chloe, trying to guide the Senator-Elect through
the mass of media. “Damn it!”
The reporter quipped, “The taller one’s calling
someone. Heck of a time for a call, isn’t it? Wonder who she’s talking to?”
On cue, the phone rang in back of the two
officers.
Quinones went for it but the General shook him
off, grabbing it. “Yeah?”
“Daddy, it’s Lois. I hate to call but….”
“What the Hell’s going on down there?” he snapped.
“Chloe and I are trying to get Mr. Kent to the OR
but we have a situation. The media aren’t responding to us. If we don’t get
help, the Senator’s going to die.” He heard her hesitate before asking, “I know
you’re busy but…Chloe and I…can’t deal with this.” She started to slip.
Despite the outrage he felt over the situation, he
was even angrier over the media spectacle.
And that wasn’t counting the joke they were making
over Lois and Chloe’s efforts.
He had reasons enough to be angry with Lois. But
that was between them. Nobody made a fool out of his daughter or niece.
Finally, there was the fact that the man in
question was a Senator-Elect and someone to whom he owed a debt.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Tell Chloe not
to do anything stupid. That goes for you too, Young Lady. Understand? That’s an
order!” he affirmed.
“Yes, sir,” she agreed. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome.” With that, he hung up and put
out what remained of his stogie. “Quinones, fire up the chopper and get me the
Governor on the phone. We’ll talk in route! Move it!”
The other rushed out the door, knowing better than
to even remotely get in General Lane’s way at that point. Those news people are
toast. Glad it’s not me!
The General pulled his boots on and growled low.
Marching out the door, he slammed it behind him.
To their credit, his men already had the
helicopter blades twirling and building up speed. In addition, they had a cell
phone waiting for him.
Two minutes later, the copter lifted off of the
ground, speeding through the night toward Smallville and his fresh meat.
Someone was definitely going to pay for this
farce. You could count on that….
Chapter 6 [Smallville Regional—12 minutes later]
As promised, the transport landed in the parking
lot in record time. Due to his call to Governor Granger, the General saw the
police cars from Granville already there with backups on the way from Dodge
City. In addition, the governor gave him authority over the whole situation
until the former and Smallville’s mayor could get down there from Topeka.
As Lane jumped out of the copter, he stomped over
to the few Smallville officers and their Granville counterparts. “Who’s in
charge here?”
“We are, sir. We just arrived, General,” the
Granville sheriff replied. “The Smallville officers are dealing with the
accident victims out on Route 40.”
Lane shook his head. “Meantime, you have a US
Senator dying in there! Have you spoken to Granger?”
“Yes, General Lane. You’re in charge. What’s your
plan?” the sheriff inquired.
Lane growled, “The plan? Think! Bust a path
through those idiots!”
“But the negative publicity….”
“Screw the publicity! We move in! NOW!” the
General bellowed. He pointed at the officers. “You six, around back! You four
are with me! MOVE IT!” He led the others through the door, heading for the
standoff.
Rounding the corner, he saw the media circus still
milling around. “All right! Break it up!”
Lois and Chloe looked at each other with relief as
they backed out of their relative’s way.
“Name’s General Sam Lane. Anyhow, the Governor’s
put me in charge here until we get this cleared up. Right now, Senator Kent is
being operated on. Anyone who gets in the way finds themselves in my stockade
ASAP! Got it?” the General informed the group tersely.
The reporters parted, allowing a path.
“Get him into surgery now!” the General ordered.
After the EMTs rushed him down the hall, he wheeled around to face the cousins.
“Okay, you two. I want the full brief and I want it now. Follow me. Quinones,
nobody else gets in here. Got it?”
“Yes, General.”
The General led the two girls into an empty room
and shut the door behind them. “Okay. Give it to me straight. What’s going on
here?”
Lois looked to Chloe. “You were on the bridge.”
Chloe took a deep breath. “We were at the Talon
for Mr. Kent’s celebration party. Clark took a phone call from Lana. He was
pretty upset and took off for….the site. Mr. Kent and I followed. When we
got….there, Clark had Lana in his arms. Lex was provoking him. Then they
confronted each other….”
“By they, you mean Clark Kent and Lex Luthor?” he
insisted.
Chloe nodded. “They were both upset. Mr. Kent held
me back.” She trembled; the tears flowing from her eyes. “Lex shot Clark. I
confronted Lex but that didn’t make a difference. He and Mr. Kent argued. Then
that mystery guy showed up along with Lex’s father.” She quivered.
Lois tried to assure her cousin while motioning to
her father to back off.
He asked, “And then this mystery man killed the
two Luthors and disappeared with Kent’s and Lang’s bodies, right?”
“Right. He disappeared into thin air. Sorry….” She
broke down. “Sorry, Uncle Sam.”
His expression softened while embracing his niece.
“It’s all right, Chloe. Can you track down Martha Kent? I’ll need to speak to
her next.”
“S…sure,” Chloe agreed before heading out.
As soon as they were alone, Lois winced. “I tried
to help Chloe and I fouled it up.”
“Can it, Lo-Lo,” he retorted, shutting her up.
“The rest of these yahoos fouled it up. For once, you did exactly the right
thing. I gather you got Mrs. Kent here?”
“Yes sir.”
“And you didn’t touch any of those reporters out
there?” he inquired.
“Hands off like you taught me,” she informed him.
“I told them to back off then I called you. With Sheriff Adams’ death, I didn’t
know else to do. Mr. Kent needed help.”
He took out a stogie and ripped off the end. “Give
me a light.”
“Daddy, this is a hospital.”
He glared at her. “You see any oxygen in here?”
“No.”
“Then give me the damn light already! I know you
have that stupid lighter in your purse. Hell, you might as well light up
yourself. You’re ready to have a full-blown nicotine fit,” he insisted.
“Sorry but not for me. I’m really trying to quit,”
she declined, lighting the cigar for him. While she knew he shouldn’t be doing
that, she was too shaken up to argue the point. Even so, she wasn’t about to
welch on that bet with Clark….not even under these circumstances.
“It’s going to be okay, Lo-Lo,” he reassured her
before puffing on his cigar. “Let’s hope we got Senator Kent into surgery in
time. Otherwise, there’s going to be Hell to pay.”
“Just keep Mrs. Kent and Chloe out of it. Do
whatever to me,” she asserted.
“I think Chloe knows more than she’s saying but
her story matches what I saw on the tape,” he noted gruffly. “You and Martha
Kent aren’t even on my list.” Seeing Chloe at the door with Martha, he motioned
them inside. “Mrs. Kent?”
“General, I’m sorry. I must be a sight,” Martha
apologized while entering the room. She trembled noticeably and her eyes were
blood shot.
He switched gears, going from interrogator to
official in a second. “Mrs. Kent, it’s quite all right. You have my sympathy
about your son and Miss Lang.”
“Thank you,” Martha expressed. “Anything on my
husband?”
“I ordered them to take him to the operating room.
They’re doing what they can for him. Meantime, Governor Granger and Mayor Wilson
have put me in charge until they get back from Topeka. Would you like
something?”
She shook her head. “General, can I say
something?”
“Of course.”
Martha sighed. “We owe Lois a great deal of thanks
for getting this situation under control.”
“I know but I appreciate hearing that, Mrs. Kent.
Meantime, you should rest. I’ll have the doctors wake you when there’s news.
Lois, can you help her?” he indicated.
“Right.” She helped the older woman out the door.
“Shut it?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” He looked crestfallen at her.
Lois knew that look. He needed space and
post-haste. “Come on, Mrs. Kent.” She quickly ushered the other out to where
Chloe waited for them. Then she closed the blinds and secured the door.
He took out his wallet and looked at the picture
inside of his deceased wife. Seeing Martha in that state brought the pain back
to him again. While he wouldn’t show weakness in front of his men, he had to
deal with it. “Chloe and Lo-Lo did us proud, Maggie.” With that, he put the
wallet away and reapplied the gruff persona.
Time enough for that stuff later. Right now, he
had a crisis center to manage.
Onto Part 2