Chapter 24 - Bait

Clark spent the next few afternoons at the Talon, and his evenings at the mansion. He didn't like the idea of leaving Lex unprotected at night, but Lex assured him that he'd doubled down on security, and even Clark wouldn't be able to do much more than they could.

Clark spent so much time protecting the Talon and the mansion that he was completely blindsided when the farm was attacked.

He came home to an empty house one evening, and wandered around the property until he found his parents. They stood before a field of dead cattle. Bubbling liquids soaked into the grass, alongside steel drums labeled with the LuthorCorp logo. People in hazmat suits swarmed the field.

Clark swallowed hard. He felt like a hole had been carved out of his chest. He knew it wasn't Lex's fault, though he would tell Lex what had happened, of course. But Lex could never understand the sheer amount of work and care that had gone into that herd without being a farmer himself. Lex would never understand the devastation Clark's parents must have been feeling, and would be feeling for a long time.

Taking a deep breath, Clark reached out and put a hand on his dad's shoulder. His dad turned, eyes red with tears, and pulled Clark into his arms. His mother held him from the other side.

"I'm glad you're okay," his dad whispered.

Clark's eyes stung, and he held on tighter, though he remained mindful of his strength. He expected his dad to launch into another rant about the evils of LuthorCorp, but he didn't. Maybe he felt like the events of the day were enough; maybe he was just too deep in grieving.

Clark heard a car pull up behind them, and he turned to see Lex coming out of his car. He winced and shook his head, gesturing for Lex to leave, but Lex only sighed. Clark knew how Lex could be about his company, but whatever his sense of responsibility, this was a bad time. Clark's dad was going to tear Lex apart.

Lex cleared his throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent . . . I have no idea how this could have happened. But I'll do everything in my power to find out. And I'll pay for your livestock, of course."

Clark's dad turned, venom in his eyes. "Oh, you think that's how you solve everything, don't you, Lex? Just sprinkle a little money on it and hope the problem goes away. Well, obviously some things are a little more difficult then that."

Lex's face fell. Clark wanted nothing more than to defend his friend, but even if his dad had known they were friends, there would have been nothing he could say.

When Clark was sure his parents had gone, he went to stand beside Lex, who was lightly kicking the fence.

"It's not your fault," Clark said softly.

"Tell that to your father. I didn't think it was possible to fall any further in his eyes. Obviously, I was wrong." He looked Clark right in the eyes. "I think that's the last step. Whoever this is, they've gone after everyone I care about. Unless they're deluded enough to think I'm close to my father, I'm next."

"You think they're going to come after you?"

"I think they've made too much of a statement at this point to come and kill me quickly."

"W-what do you think they're gonna do?"

"I dunno. They might come and take me hostage in my own home. Or they might abduct me."

"Well, I'm not leaving you until they come. I'll tell my dad the lab wants me to do an overnight . . . something. And I'll save you just as soon as they try to take you."

"No, don't do that."

Clark's breath caught. "You're gonna lecture me about putting myself in danger?"

"No, it's not that. I still want you to stay close until this is over. If they come after me, let them take me. I need a chance to get some information out of them. Follow behind at a distance, and only save me once we know what's going on."

"Lex, no—"

"Yes, Clark. We don't know what this thing is. Could be another shape shifter, or something else. Now, I know this has something to do with Club Zero, but if meteor rock is involved, I don't want to risk anyone else getting hurt."

Part of Clark was thankful that Lex wasn't telling him to keep out of this altogether, but he couldn't imagine letting Lex get hurt himself. "If someone's trying to hurt you, I'm not going to let them just so you can get information."

"I'll be fine. If it gets to be too much for me, I'll use a code word, and you can come rescue me."

"Okay, what's the code word?"

"Um . . . crazy."

Clark frowned. He didn't like this, but he knew he would have done the exact same thing if someone were threatening him—he would have wanted to know what was going on in the hopes of being able to protect people in the future. Whoever this was, they'd already killed Max Kasich, along with an entire field of cattle.

Clark didn't get a chance to think about it any further. At that moment, a police officer approached Lex. "Mr. Luthor, a CEP guy needs to talk to you. He's over there."

Lex nodded, and turned to Clark. "Go give your dad your cover story. I'll see you back at the mansion."

"Okay." Clark started back toward the house, heart pounding. He wasn't exactly sure what cover story he was going to use—as supportive as his parents had been about his internship, Clark couldn't imagine them being okay with him spending the night at his workplace, on a school night, with only a few minutes' notice, especially in the wake of a tragedy. But somehow, he had to convince them. It was the only way to protect Lex.

Clark frowned—he didn't like to leave Lex alone even now. He glanced back over his shoulder at the CEP van, just to make sure everything was okay one more time.

The van was driving away, and Clark couldn't see Lex anywhere, but Lex's car was still parked and empty. Clark squinted, using his X-Ray vision—a knocked out figure lay in the back of the van.

Clark swallowed hard and turned to run after the van. He remained a little distance away, hiding behind trees as much as he could so he wouldn't be seen at all. Long-distance vision wasn't exactly one of his powers, but he did have much better vision than most people, so he was able to follow behind for awhile.

The van pulled up to a warehouse, and the driver opened the door of the van and dragged Lex inside. Clark waited until he was out of sight, then he went to break the lock, remaining a little ways behind them so he wouldn't be seen, allowing the sounds of footsteps and Lex's body being dragged to guide him.

The sounds stopped, and Clark hid in the shadows behind a wall. He could hear shuffling, and a peek in the direction they'd gone told him that the kidnapper was putting Lex into a straightjacket. Lex still wasn't waking up; Clark figured it might be awhile.

Everything in Clark wanted to go save Lex now. He could do it so easily—knock out the kidnapper and carry Lex away and back to the mansion. Clark could be home before his parents even realized he was gone. But Lex was right about finding out what was going on. Besides, if the kidnapper was putting Lex in a straightjacket, he wasn't planning to kill him right away. Torture him, maybe, but not kill him. Clark only hoped Lex would remember the code word.

It could be hours before Lex woke up, and maybe even longer before that conversation took place. Clark winced—his dad was going to wonder where he was, but Clark didn't have time to go back and explain what he was doing, or leave them a note, or call Pete and ask him to cover. Lex could work with him on a cover story once he was safe, one that would protect their friendship even if it got Clark in trouble.

No matter what story Clark used, he was in for the grounding of his life when he got back, and this time, he doubted his dad would let him off on a technicality. But none of that mattered.