Someone to Save you, ch. 3
Chapter Three
The grounds surrounding Luthor mansion appeared deserted. The full moon cast long shadows as Oliver approached on foot. He’d left his motorcycle in bushes back from the main road. Oliver skirted the edge of the property until he found what he was looking for: a grey, rectangular box situated at the east corner of the mansion. The box contained the circuit breakers for the perimeter security. Oliver carefully opened the box and threw the main circuit breaker. The perimeter and auxiliary lights went out. He had about fifteen minutes to get into the mansion, find some clue to Lex’s plan and get out before someone came snooping. Oliver was momentarily thankful for Lionel’s death. With the senior Luthor gone and Lex “missing,” security at the mansion was severely diminished. Apparently, Lex wasn’t ready to announce his survival to the world.
Oliver trotted across the grounds and entered by way of what was once the servants’ entrance. A red light shining across the room indicated the presence of a security camera. Oliver quickly took out his cross bow and disabled the camera with a single shot.
The entrance he’s chosen was closest to the library and Oliver wasted no time making his way down the dark hallway. Upon entering the library, Oliver shot yet another security camera. He couldn’t risk turning on the lights so he pulled out his pencil flashlight to guide him to Lex’s desk. He began opening drawers searching for something that would give him some indication of what Lex was planning. The desk appeared to be empty, however. Oliver growled in frustration. There must be something. It’s not like Lex not to have a plan; he runs a corporation for god’s sake.
Oliver was running out of time. Quickly he scanned the dark room for another lead. As his eyes fell on the fireplace Oliver thought he saw something glinting off his flashlight; a small metal switch was screwed under the lip of the coffee table. Oliver ran to it and groped for the switch. As he flicked it, there was a hiss and the sound of a catch releasing. He jumped back as a small drawer slid out from underneath the table.
Oliver reached into the drawer and pulled out a large manila envelope. He unceremoniously tore it open and dumped the contents onto the table. Dozens of eight by ten glossies appeared. They were mostly pictures of Clark: Clark at the farm, Clark walking into the Daily Planet, Clark out and about in Metropolis covering a story. There were also pictures of people Clark knew: Martha, Lois, Chloe. Most were from before Clark’s stint as an alien Popsicle but a few were recent.
A dog barking outside got Oliver’s attention. He needed to go. He stuffed the pictures back into the envelope and left the same way he had come.
In a secure facility thirty miles from Metropolis, Lex Luthor grinned at the monitor. After seeing the Green Arrow the night before, he knew it was only a matter of time until the Emerald Pest would come snooping around. Luckily, Lex had special fiber optic cameras installed days before his fateful trip to the Traveler’s palace of ice. While Green Arrow wasted his time on the more conventional cameras, Lex got to watch the entire show from the privacy of his temporary office.
Sanctimonious fool, Lex thought as he watched Green Arrow leave. That terrorist had been nothing but ruinous since he arrived on the scene. Lex was convinced that Green Arrow had ties to Clark; he just couldn’t prove it. Yet. But Lex hoped to change all that. If everything went according to plan, then Lex would kill two birds with one stone. Step one was already complete.
Back in Metropolis, Chloe stood outside Oliver’s building cradling her phone to her ear. She’d been calling him every ten minutes for the past hour. Each time she got his voice mail. Worried, she tried Victor’s number.
Cyborg answered on the first ring. “Hey, Chlo. What’s up?”
“Have you seen Ollie today? I’ve been calling and he’s not answering.”
“Haven’t seen him since this morning when he sent us to Gotham.”
“Gotham? Wayne slacking off?”
Victor laughed. “No, nothing like that. We did some recon at a warehouse outside Gotham. Turned out to be a dead end.”
“And Ollie didn’t go with you?”
“Nope.” Victor lowered his voice. “Listen, Chloe, I found him this morning asleep at his computer. He said he was up late working on a business deal, but it doesn’t feel right, you know?”
That made Chloe even more worried. “It’s OK, Victor. I’ll look into it.”
“Thanks.”
They disconnected and Chloe headed inside for the elevator ride to Oliver’s penthouse. He’d given her the passcode after he once found her asleep outside his door waiting to give him some information he’s asked her to get. Chloe punched in the code - his mother’s birthday - and entered the apartment. It was empty.
“Oliver!” she called just in the off chance he was there. As she suspected, he wasn’t.
Chloe walked over to the computer and switched it on. Setting her laptop case down, she searched the desk for whatever Oliver had been working on and came up with zilch. A search of the computer garnered similar results. Chloe chewed on her lip thinking. Maybe there was a USB drive somewhere. Chloe groaned as she gazed around the apartment. Haystack meet needle. Still she had to try.
Cursory searches of the bookshelves and kitchen garnered nothing. Chloe tried to manhandle the doors to Ollie’s Green Arrow gear but they wouldn’t budge. He really needs to get an automatic door opener for that, she thought idly. The only room she hadn’t searched was the bedroom. Chloe hadn’t been there since her most recent death. On some level she knew that the revelation of her power scared Oliver. But his fear didn’t come from the all-meteor-freaks-go-crazy-in-the-end place. No, that was still very much her fear. But it was the only explanation she had for Oliver’s avoidance routine. Every time the subject came up he quickly changed it.
Chloe sighed. Oliver was missing and she needed to find him. She marched into the bedroom and began searching. The nightstand and dresser didn’t yield anything. Neither did the bathroom. Next to the bed in a heap lay Oliver’s clothes from the night before. A vision of a nearly naked Oliver flashed in her head. Chloe shook her head. Get it together, Sullivan. She reached down for his pants and felt the pockets. There, in the right front pocket, she found the mystery USB drive.
Chloe took it back to Oliver’s computer and plugged it in the port. The files appeared to be a series of schematics and security plans. The first file Chloe opened was a layout of Luthor mansion. What on earth did Oliver want that for? The next file was a series of contingency plans for Luthorcorp secrets should anything happen to Lex. Chloe didn’t like where this was leading. The rest of the files were copies of every security plan Lex had ever devised and how to get past them. What could be so important that Ollie would go alone into the proverbial lion’s den? Angry at Oliver’s lack of trust and worried he’d done something stupid, Chloe headed for the elevator as she dialed Clark’s number.
“Hey, Chloe,” Clark answered.
“Clark, Oliver’s missing. I think he went -" Chloe stopped short as the elevator door opened and Oliver, or rather Green Arrow, stepped out of it.
“Went where?” Clark asked.
“No where, I found him,” Chloe said absently as she disconnected.
“What are you doing here?” Oliver asked. His voice, low to begin with, was gravelly with the voice distorter.
“Looking for you. I was worried.”
Oliver pushed past her, lowering his hood, removing his glasses and restoring his voice as he went. “I’m a big boy, Chloe. I can take care of myself.”
Chloe followed him as he entered the hideaway room. “Doesn’t look that way from where I’m standing. What were you thinking going off to Luthor mansion alone?”
Oliver roughly put his weapons away and didn’t face her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t give me the I-was-policing-the-streets routine. I saw the files. I know you went out there. What could be so important that you’d lie to your team?”
“It doesn’t concern them. It doesn’t concern you.”
“Superhero translation: It does concern me.”
Oliver reluctantly turned to face her. Quietly he said, “Please, Chloe. As a friend, I’m asking you to stay out of it.”
Touched at his obvious concern for her, Chloe took a step toward him. “No offense, Ollie, but I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you.”
“I know, Sidekick. But trust me, you don’t want to go anywhere near this one.”
Chloe felt her frustration mount. “Damn it, Oliver, if whatever is going on has something to do with me, I have a right to know. Why don’t you trust me with this?”
It was Oliver’s turn to be frustrated. “Don’t you get it, Chloe? This isn’t about trust, it’s about protecting you!”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, Oliver, I don’t need protecting! Especially from you!” she said heatedly.
“Why? What’s wrong with me? Is it because I’m not your precious Clark?” Oliver replied with equal heat.
“What does Clark have to do with this?”
“Come on, Chloe! We both know that if Clark asked you to stay out of something you’d listen to him!”
Chloe laughed derisively. “Clearly, Oliver, you don’t know me or Clark very well. Clark knows better. He trusts me with things, which is more than I can say for you!”
Oliver watch in horror as Chloe turned and walked away. She got about five steps before he said, “Chloe. Wait.”
Relief washed over him as she stopped and turned back to face him. He saw anger, hurt and hope reflected in her green eyes. “Let’s talk.” When Chloe hesitated, Oliver reassured her, “I’m right behind you. Just let me de-Arrow.”
Chloe chuckled and smiled slightly. “OK.”
A few minutes later, Ollie returned, dressed in his clothes from the night before and carrying the torn manila envelope under his arm. Chloe glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. “Laundry day,” Oliver replied to her unasked question. As he sat next to her on the couch, he reached for the remote. “There’s something you need to see.”
Chloe gasped as Lex Luthor filled the screen. “This video is from last night. I saw him, Chloe, in the warehouse just before we blew it to hell.”
Chloe looked at Oliver with wide eyes. “Oh my god. He knows about Clark! What are we going to do?”
That was why he didn’t want to tell her; he knew she’d want to help. Oliver turned off the television. “I’m not sure. But that’s why I went to the mansion. To try and figure out what Lex is up to. You know as well as I do that he won’t rest until Clark’s either under his control or dead.”
“I still don’t get why you kept this quiet.”
Oliver sighed. “I didn’t want to involve anyone else until I had more facts. Besides, Lex is my responsibility.”
Chloe looked askance. “Since when?”
Seriously, Oliver replied. “Since I nearly let him beat his only friend to death.”
Chloe reached out and covered his hand with hers. “Oliver, the monster that Lex has become had nothing to do with you. He’s a Luthor. Evil is in their blood.”
Oliver looked down at her small hand overtop his; his skin tingled where she touched him. He took a deep breath and pulled his hand away, using it to dump the contents of the envelope onto the glass table. “Let’s see what Lex has been up to.”
They spent the next several hours look at the photos. Chloe found a new USB drive in the bottom of the envelope and eagerly inserted it into her laptop. Those files were a lot more helpful than the pictures. As the night progressed, a plan started to form in Oliver’s mind. He was reading a classified Luthorcorp document when Chloe unconsciously laid her head on his shoulder. She was fast asleep. Oliver glanced at the clock; it was three in the morning. Grinning to himself, he shut down Chloe’s laptop. Gently, he raised her head as he moved to pick her up and carry her to his bedroom. His bed still unmade, Oliver laid her down and pulled the blanket over her. Thank goodness she wore slacks to work today. Oliver didn’t fancy Chloe’s reaction to him undressing her while she was asleep. His gaze lingered for a moment; then he grabbed the spare pillow and blanket and headed back to the safety of the couch.
To be continued…