Chlark Fanfic: Crisis, Chapter 24
Yet another Crisis chapter! In which the Magnificent Bastard strikes again... :-/
Enjoy!
Title: Crisis
Author: BabyDee
Pairing: Chlark/Kaloe
Rating: NC-17 (this chapter PG-13)
Warnings: Angst
Timeline: Season 2-3 (Exodus - Exile; Clark’s RedK Summer & beyond)
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics
Summary: A violent encounter between Chloe and Clark threatens to destroy their friendship forever.
Feedback: …is love. :-)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break...
- Linkin Park, One Step Closer
Chapter 24
“…there has to be something you can find for me, old buddy,” Chloe heard her father saying on the phone as she let herself in. “It doesn’t have to be permanent, just something to tide me over for the next couple of weeks. You know I wouldn’t ask if I weren’t desperate.”
She hid behind the door and waited with baited breath for the answer.
“I see,” her father said, clearly disappointed. “Well, thanks for trying.”
He sighed and put the phone down just as she stepped cautiously into the room. “Everything okay, Daddy?”
He smiled warmly at her, but she could see the signs of strain around his eyes. “Everything’s fine, Peanut. Just a slow day on the job-hunt.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked as she sat down beside him.
He grinned and ruffled her hair. “Just having you here is helping. Oh, and thanks for placing all those ads in the windows for me the other day.”
She smiled. “Any feedback from any of them?”
He shook his head. “Not yet, but I’m sure the phone will ring soon.”
She sighed despondently. “It’s not looking good, is it?”
“Hey, we’re not in dire straits just yet,” he replied, trying to sound positive. “And you needn’t worry about going hungry, either; we’re surrounded by farmers who insist on dropping off food baskets every other day.”
She swallowed. “Listen, Dad…I was thinking…”
“Yes…?” he prompted when she fell silent.
“Well…if we dissolved my college fund-”
“No,” he answered shortly.
“But-”
“Your college money stays where it is.”
“Just until we’re back on our feet,” she tried, but he wasn’t having it.
“No arguments,” he said. “You’re going to college, and that’s that, no matter how tough things may get.”
“We can always replace it when things improve,” she pushed relentlessly.
“Do you have any idea how many years of saving it took to get it to where it is?” he asked, and shook his head. “I’m not taking any risks with your future, Chloe.”
“And what about yours?” she said softly. “I know about the house, Daddy.”
He closed his eyes slowly. “What do you know, exactly?”
She paused. “That if you can’t sell it in the next few weeks, we’re going to lose everything,” she whispered.
He exhaled roughly and stared at the ground, looking defeated.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” he admitted. “Who told you?”
She gave a sad smile. “I did my homework, Dad. The Smallville Savings and Loan was declared a distressed and failing bank last week, and is on the verge of collapse.”
Gabe Sullivan sighed. “The bank is chasing its debtors to settle up, so that they can try to give customers money from their own savings accounts,” he replied. “But it’s tight out there.”
Her eyes widened in dismay. “So as low as we already were on funds, you might not even be able to recover all your savings?
He nodded grimly. “And I won’t be the only one. A lot of Smallville folk have their nest eggs in that bank. If we can’t get a bail-out soon…”
A sick feeling of dread washed over Chloe. What if Lionel Luthor had something to do with the bank’s troubles? She wouldn’t put it past him; he was certainly vindictive enough to go to extreme levels to maintain the upper hand. But surely he didn’t consider her important enough to cripple the entire town? Unless of course he felt whatever information she had on Clark was just that valuable…
She swallowed, feeling genuinely fearful. She really hadn’t known exactly what she was getting into when she took the deal with Lionel, but it was too late for regrets. She had tangled with the wrong person, and now the whole town would have to pay. The ripples in the water from her ill-advised decision were nothing short of cataclysmic.
“If we can sell the house, we’ll have enough left over after paying the mortgage to rent a small apartment and live comfortably for a while,” her father was saying.
“Assuming we can sell the house,” she pointed out.
He nodded. “True. No-one’s investing in property at the moment.”
“But we won’t need to sell the house if we dissolve my college fund!” she pressed, and he shook his head.
“It’s not up for discussion, Chloe,” he warned. “I don’t want to hear any more about it.”
“Dad, please let me help!” she pleaded tearfully. “I have to!”
“Chloe…”
“I mean, I could get an evening job - waiting tables, or something,” she went on, sounding desperate. “The Talon is one hostess down since Lana left-”
“…and you want to pick up where she left off, and spend your valuable time peddling muffins?” he said wryly, and shook his head. “No. Your only job right now is to face your schoolwork, kiddo; leave the job-hunting to me.”
“I’m so sorry, Dad,” she said, her voice choked. “You don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve this at all, it isn’t fair…”
“Hey, I’ve got you to keep me sane,” he smiled, ruffling her hair. “Why Lionel Luthor has it in for me, I have no idea; but he’s not going to break me. I’m getting some help in the job-search from a very unlikely source, so fingers crossed for a breakthrough on that front soon.”
“But what if nothing happens?” she asked, a concerned frown marring her brow.
“Have faith, Peanut. This is just a temporary setback. Things will soon get back to the way they were.”
But she could see the worry in his eyes. Their savings was running low, a good job was unlikely to materialise in the next couple of weeks, and a significant portion of his earnings had gone into the new house - which, if they couldn’t sell, would revert to the bank and they’d have lost everything.
“This is all my fault,” she whispered brokenly.
“I don’t know how you figure that out, but stop being silly,” he admonished. “Yes, things have been a bit rough lately, but we’ll be out of the downswing soon.”
“How can you be so sure?” she sniffed.
“You know what they say; when you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way left to go is up. And this is definitely rock bottom. Things can’t get any worse than they are now, right?”
***
Apparently, they could.
She had just arrived at school the following morning when a courier followed her into the building.
“You Chloe Sullivan?” he asked.
“Who wants to know?”
Without ceremony he slapped a padded envelope into her hands with her name on it. “I may or may not be back at closing time,” he said, and turned to leave.
“But who sent this?” she called to his retreating back.
No answer. Curious, she lifted the flap to find three unsealed envelopes, each containing various documents.
Quickly, she hurried to the Torch and locked herself in, and then opened the first of the envelopes.
Her eyes widened in shock. Inside was a letter of employment re-establishing her father as Luthorcorp’s Senior Plant Manager - at five times his previous salary. The second envelope contained a letter from the Daily Planet welcoming her back for a full internship, with one of their most prestigious reporters as her mentor.
And the third envelope housed check in the sum of $10,000 in her name, beside which was folded a small, handwritten note.
You know what I want, it read. You have until noon.
Fury and hope warred within her. On one hand, this was the silver lining her father so desperately needed. On the other, she had no desire whatsoever to share breathing space with Lionel Luthor ever again.
Still, she thought, tapping the envelopes against the edge of the desk, she had to admit the offer was tempting.
But not tempting enough. With her jaw set in determination, she held all three envelopes together and ripped them in four ways, then dropped them in the waste paper basket.
The bell rang for first period, and she hurried off to her History class.
***
As soon as noon arrived, her cell buzzed with an anonymous caller ID.
It could only be Lionel. Briefly she considered not answering, but decided she’d best make her intentions clear from the beginning.
“Do you always harass teenage girls on their lunch breaks, Mr Luthor?” she snapped as soon as she took the call.
He chuckled loudly, making the skin on the back of her neck crawl. “Only when we’re on the verge of a very important merger, Miss Sullivan. I trust you received my package?”
“Oh, I did,” she said airily. “Most generous of you. And I’ve already paid it forward. To my trash can.”
Silence. Then a tight-lipped: “Surely that wasn’t necessary.”
“It was. You have nothing I want, Mr Luthor.”
“Maybe not you, but I’m sure your father would appreciate a nice, new corner office,” he said smoothly. How many weeks has he been unemployed, now…five, six…? I forget.” He chuckled. “I’m sure you can’t forget as easily. Those unpaid bills and pesky letters from the bank to foreclose on your property should start trickling through your letter box any moment now…if they haven’t already.”
Chloe fought back tears and her hand shook as she gripped her cell tightly.
“My sources even inform me that your father’s missed a payment,” he went on, sounding annoyingly gleeful. “And the bank isn’t in any position to be charitable.” He tut-tutted. “Most unfortunate.”
“Why are you doing this to him?” she cried. “My father’s done nothing to you, he doesn’t deserve this!”
“Hence my readiness to rectify his situation,” he said smoothly. “All you have to do is answer one simple question. What happened to Clark Kent in that elevator?”
So it was back to Clark. She should have known he would circle back to that sooner or later, especially after her stupid stunt in the Luthorcorp building.
Chloe snorted. “Didn’t you ever hear of claustrophobia?”
“Oh, yes, I heard that diagnosis,” he said icily. “I am also aware that young Mr Kent, despite his incredibly virtuous upbringing, is quite the master of misrepresentation. As are you, Miss Sullivan. Now I ask you again: what happened to Clark in that elevator?”
She paused. “Claustrophobia.”
“Miss Sullivan, you disappoint me,” he said with a weary sigh. “But then, I’ve been a businessman for years, and one valuable rule I’ve learned is that everyone has a price. And it seems like yours is in excess of the ten thousand dollars I offered. Perhaps you’d be more agreeable if I doubled that fee?”
With a growl she hung up the call and, for good measure, switched off her phone and strode down the hall to the cafeteria.
Not that she was going to be able to eat much; her appetite had waned considerably since hearing that voice. Lionel Luthor was a snake who couldn’t be trusted, and this was exactly why; he knew where to hit the hardest. Playing the Father Card was a sneaky, underhanded tactic, most Luthorian in execution. He had found the chink in her armour, and he was exploiting it to the full.
Well. She’d made her stand, and she’d made it clear. With any luck, Lionel Luthor wouldn’t bother her again for anything else.
***
She was wrong.
She was typing up an article after school when the same courier from the morning walked into the Torch.
“Me again,” he said airily as he approached, handing her a padded envelope identical to the one he’d given her earlier. “Told you I’d be back.”
With an angry sigh she ripped it open and checked the contents. This time, her father’s salary had doubled from the previous offer letter and also contained both a bonus payment of $100,000 and an apology for his unfair dismissal. The Daily Planet letter was still there, and the cheque with Chloe’s name on it was now in the sum of $25,000.
“Oh, and I almost forgot…” the courier handed her a cellphone. “He said to give this to you, and to tell you this was your last chance.”
Last chance. Chloe stared at all the zeroes on the cheques in her hands, thinking about how easy it would be to just give Lionel what he wanted. It wasn’t as if Clark deserved her loyalty, and there was no indication that Lionel actually intended him any harm. And even if he did, it wasn’t her job to protect him. She still didn’t really know why she was, especially when all it seemed to be doing was making things worse for her and her family.
So she stared at the cell for several minutes, her finger hovering over the call button. So much pain that could be eliminated; a significant portion of her suffering that would instantly cease with just one phone call…
A sigh escaped her lips, and she brushed her thumb yearningly over the envelopes in her other hand. A new job and an apology for her father, plus the 125-thousand dollar lump sum that would certainly take care of all their immediate and future needs.
It was an offer that was too good to refuse.
Almost.
With a deep breath, she pushed all three envelopes into the shredder and watched them emerge through the whirring machine in miniscule cross-cut pieces.
Satisfied, she stuffed a handful of shredded paper back into the padded envelope and handed both it and the cellphone back to the courier.
“He knows where he can shove these,” she said tightly.
The courier sighed. “Your decision.” He lifted the radio from his hip and spoke into it. “We move ‘em out.”
Chloe stared in confusion. “Move…move what out?” she asked fearfully. She heard footsteps in the hallway and turned around to see a small group of what appeared to be removal men with Luthorcorp nametags striding purposefully towards her.
“Hey, what are they doing here?” she asked shakily. “What do they want?”
As soon as they walked into the Torch, she froze with horror and shock as Lionel’s latest move became clear.
They had come for the Torch computers.
***
Chapter 25 … http://babydee1.livejournal.com/157855.html
Enjoy!
Title: Crisis
Author: BabyDee
Pairing: Chlark/Kaloe
Rating: NC-17 (this chapter PG-13)
Warnings: Angst
Timeline: Season 2-3 (Exodus - Exile; Clark’s RedK Summer & beyond)
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics
Summary: A violent encounter between Chloe and Clark threatens to destroy their friendship forever.
Feedback: …is love. :-)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Everything you say to me
Takes me one step closer to the edge
And I'm about to break...
- Linkin Park, One Step Closer
Chapter 24
“…there has to be something you can find for me, old buddy,” Chloe heard her father saying on the phone as she let herself in. “It doesn’t have to be permanent, just something to tide me over for the next couple of weeks. You know I wouldn’t ask if I weren’t desperate.”
She hid behind the door and waited with baited breath for the answer.
“I see,” her father said, clearly disappointed. “Well, thanks for trying.”
He sighed and put the phone down just as she stepped cautiously into the room. “Everything okay, Daddy?”
He smiled warmly at her, but she could see the signs of strain around his eyes. “Everything’s fine, Peanut. Just a slow day on the job-hunt.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked as she sat down beside him.
He grinned and ruffled her hair. “Just having you here is helping. Oh, and thanks for placing all those ads in the windows for me the other day.”
She smiled. “Any feedback from any of them?”
He shook his head. “Not yet, but I’m sure the phone will ring soon.”
She sighed despondently. “It’s not looking good, is it?”
“Hey, we’re not in dire straits just yet,” he replied, trying to sound positive. “And you needn’t worry about going hungry, either; we’re surrounded by farmers who insist on dropping off food baskets every other day.”
She swallowed. “Listen, Dad…I was thinking…”
“Yes…?” he prompted when she fell silent.
“Well…if we dissolved my college fund-”
“No,” he answered shortly.
“But-”
“Your college money stays where it is.”
“Just until we’re back on our feet,” she tried, but he wasn’t having it.
“No arguments,” he said. “You’re going to college, and that’s that, no matter how tough things may get.”
“We can always replace it when things improve,” she pushed relentlessly.
“Do you have any idea how many years of saving it took to get it to where it is?” he asked, and shook his head. “I’m not taking any risks with your future, Chloe.”
“And what about yours?” she said softly. “I know about the house, Daddy.”
He closed his eyes slowly. “What do you know, exactly?”
She paused. “That if you can’t sell it in the next few weeks, we’re going to lose everything,” she whispered.
He exhaled roughly and stared at the ground, looking defeated.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” he admitted. “Who told you?”
She gave a sad smile. “I did my homework, Dad. The Smallville Savings and Loan was declared a distressed and failing bank last week, and is on the verge of collapse.”
Gabe Sullivan sighed. “The bank is chasing its debtors to settle up, so that they can try to give customers money from their own savings accounts,” he replied. “But it’s tight out there.”
Her eyes widened in dismay. “So as low as we already were on funds, you might not even be able to recover all your savings?
He nodded grimly. “And I won’t be the only one. A lot of Smallville folk have their nest eggs in that bank. If we can’t get a bail-out soon…”
A sick feeling of dread washed over Chloe. What if Lionel Luthor had something to do with the bank’s troubles? She wouldn’t put it past him; he was certainly vindictive enough to go to extreme levels to maintain the upper hand. But surely he didn’t consider her important enough to cripple the entire town? Unless of course he felt whatever information she had on Clark was just that valuable…
She swallowed, feeling genuinely fearful. She really hadn’t known exactly what she was getting into when she took the deal with Lionel, but it was too late for regrets. She had tangled with the wrong person, and now the whole town would have to pay. The ripples in the water from her ill-advised decision were nothing short of cataclysmic.
“If we can sell the house, we’ll have enough left over after paying the mortgage to rent a small apartment and live comfortably for a while,” her father was saying.
“Assuming we can sell the house,” she pointed out.
He nodded. “True. No-one’s investing in property at the moment.”
“But we won’t need to sell the house if we dissolve my college fund!” she pressed, and he shook his head.
“It’s not up for discussion, Chloe,” he warned. “I don’t want to hear any more about it.”
“Dad, please let me help!” she pleaded tearfully. “I have to!”
“Chloe…”
“I mean, I could get an evening job - waiting tables, or something,” she went on, sounding desperate. “The Talon is one hostess down since Lana left-”
“…and you want to pick up where she left off, and spend your valuable time peddling muffins?” he said wryly, and shook his head. “No. Your only job right now is to face your schoolwork, kiddo; leave the job-hunting to me.”
“I’m so sorry, Dad,” she said, her voice choked. “You don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve this at all, it isn’t fair…”
“Hey, I’ve got you to keep me sane,” he smiled, ruffling her hair. “Why Lionel Luthor has it in for me, I have no idea; but he’s not going to break me. I’m getting some help in the job-search from a very unlikely source, so fingers crossed for a breakthrough on that front soon.”
“But what if nothing happens?” she asked, a concerned frown marring her brow.
“Have faith, Peanut. This is just a temporary setback. Things will soon get back to the way they were.”
But she could see the worry in his eyes. Their savings was running low, a good job was unlikely to materialise in the next couple of weeks, and a significant portion of his earnings had gone into the new house - which, if they couldn’t sell, would revert to the bank and they’d have lost everything.
“This is all my fault,” she whispered brokenly.
“I don’t know how you figure that out, but stop being silly,” he admonished. “Yes, things have been a bit rough lately, but we’ll be out of the downswing soon.”
“How can you be so sure?” she sniffed.
“You know what they say; when you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way left to go is up. And this is definitely rock bottom. Things can’t get any worse than they are now, right?”
***
Apparently, they could.
She had just arrived at school the following morning when a courier followed her into the building.
“You Chloe Sullivan?” he asked.
“Who wants to know?”
Without ceremony he slapped a padded envelope into her hands with her name on it. “I may or may not be back at closing time,” he said, and turned to leave.
“But who sent this?” she called to his retreating back.
No answer. Curious, she lifted the flap to find three unsealed envelopes, each containing various documents.
Quickly, she hurried to the Torch and locked herself in, and then opened the first of the envelopes.
Her eyes widened in shock. Inside was a letter of employment re-establishing her father as Luthorcorp’s Senior Plant Manager - at five times his previous salary. The second envelope contained a letter from the Daily Planet welcoming her back for a full internship, with one of their most prestigious reporters as her mentor.
And the third envelope housed check in the sum of $10,000 in her name, beside which was folded a small, handwritten note.
You know what I want, it read. You have until noon.
Fury and hope warred within her. On one hand, this was the silver lining her father so desperately needed. On the other, she had no desire whatsoever to share breathing space with Lionel Luthor ever again.
Still, she thought, tapping the envelopes against the edge of the desk, she had to admit the offer was tempting.
But not tempting enough. With her jaw set in determination, she held all three envelopes together and ripped them in four ways, then dropped them in the waste paper basket.
The bell rang for first period, and she hurried off to her History class.
***
As soon as noon arrived, her cell buzzed with an anonymous caller ID.
It could only be Lionel. Briefly she considered not answering, but decided she’d best make her intentions clear from the beginning.
“Do you always harass teenage girls on their lunch breaks, Mr Luthor?” she snapped as soon as she took the call.
He chuckled loudly, making the skin on the back of her neck crawl. “Only when we’re on the verge of a very important merger, Miss Sullivan. I trust you received my package?”
“Oh, I did,” she said airily. “Most generous of you. And I’ve already paid it forward. To my trash can.”
Silence. Then a tight-lipped: “Surely that wasn’t necessary.”
“It was. You have nothing I want, Mr Luthor.”
“Maybe not you, but I’m sure your father would appreciate a nice, new corner office,” he said smoothly. How many weeks has he been unemployed, now…five, six…? I forget.” He chuckled. “I’m sure you can’t forget as easily. Those unpaid bills and pesky letters from the bank to foreclose on your property should start trickling through your letter box any moment now…if they haven’t already.”
Chloe fought back tears and her hand shook as she gripped her cell tightly.
“My sources even inform me that your father’s missed a payment,” he went on, sounding annoyingly gleeful. “And the bank isn’t in any position to be charitable.” He tut-tutted. “Most unfortunate.”
“Why are you doing this to him?” she cried. “My father’s done nothing to you, he doesn’t deserve this!”
“Hence my readiness to rectify his situation,” he said smoothly. “All you have to do is answer one simple question. What happened to Clark Kent in that elevator?”
So it was back to Clark. She should have known he would circle back to that sooner or later, especially after her stupid stunt in the Luthorcorp building.
Chloe snorted. “Didn’t you ever hear of claustrophobia?”
“Oh, yes, I heard that diagnosis,” he said icily. “I am also aware that young Mr Kent, despite his incredibly virtuous upbringing, is quite the master of misrepresentation. As are you, Miss Sullivan. Now I ask you again: what happened to Clark in that elevator?”
She paused. “Claustrophobia.”
“Miss Sullivan, you disappoint me,” he said with a weary sigh. “But then, I’ve been a businessman for years, and one valuable rule I’ve learned is that everyone has a price. And it seems like yours is in excess of the ten thousand dollars I offered. Perhaps you’d be more agreeable if I doubled that fee?”
With a growl she hung up the call and, for good measure, switched off her phone and strode down the hall to the cafeteria.
Not that she was going to be able to eat much; her appetite had waned considerably since hearing that voice. Lionel Luthor was a snake who couldn’t be trusted, and this was exactly why; he knew where to hit the hardest. Playing the Father Card was a sneaky, underhanded tactic, most Luthorian in execution. He had found the chink in her armour, and he was exploiting it to the full.
Well. She’d made her stand, and she’d made it clear. With any luck, Lionel Luthor wouldn’t bother her again for anything else.
***
She was wrong.
She was typing up an article after school when the same courier from the morning walked into the Torch.
“Me again,” he said airily as he approached, handing her a padded envelope identical to the one he’d given her earlier. “Told you I’d be back.”
With an angry sigh she ripped it open and checked the contents. This time, her father’s salary had doubled from the previous offer letter and also contained both a bonus payment of $100,000 and an apology for his unfair dismissal. The Daily Planet letter was still there, and the cheque with Chloe’s name on it was now in the sum of $25,000.
“Oh, and I almost forgot…” the courier handed her a cellphone. “He said to give this to you, and to tell you this was your last chance.”
Last chance. Chloe stared at all the zeroes on the cheques in her hands, thinking about how easy it would be to just give Lionel what he wanted. It wasn’t as if Clark deserved her loyalty, and there was no indication that Lionel actually intended him any harm. And even if he did, it wasn’t her job to protect him. She still didn’t really know why she was, especially when all it seemed to be doing was making things worse for her and her family.
So she stared at the cell for several minutes, her finger hovering over the call button. So much pain that could be eliminated; a significant portion of her suffering that would instantly cease with just one phone call…
A sigh escaped her lips, and she brushed her thumb yearningly over the envelopes in her other hand. A new job and an apology for her father, plus the 125-thousand dollar lump sum that would certainly take care of all their immediate and future needs.
It was an offer that was too good to refuse.
Almost.
With a deep breath, she pushed all three envelopes into the shredder and watched them emerge through the whirring machine in miniscule cross-cut pieces.
Satisfied, she stuffed a handful of shredded paper back into the padded envelope and handed both it and the cellphone back to the courier.
“He knows where he can shove these,” she said tightly.
The courier sighed. “Your decision.” He lifted the radio from his hip and spoke into it. “We move ‘em out.”
Chloe stared in confusion. “Move…move what out?” she asked fearfully. She heard footsteps in the hallway and turned around to see a small group of what appeared to be removal men with Luthorcorp nametags striding purposefully towards her.
“Hey, what are they doing here?” she asked shakily. “What do they want?”
As soon as they walked into the Torch, she froze with horror and shock as Lionel’s latest move became clear.
They had come for the Torch computers.
***
Chapter 25 … http://babydee1.livejournal.com/157855.html