"Go By"

///chapter eleven///





.





“Is he following us?”

“Jeeze Chloe, you’re really paranoid about this guy.”

Darted in his direction was a flat look. “Jimmy, he’s working for Lex. What’s not to be paranoid about?”

Side by side, they made their way through the rush hour traffic on Metropolis’ sidewalks. Tall buildings leaned over head, providing excessive shade from the evening sun that peaked through towers of glass and steel.

“I know, you said that.” The red head nodded, “But we don’t know it yet. It could all be a coincidence.”

He knew she wasn’t fully paying attention to their conversation because her blonde head was turned backwards, scanning the crowd behind them for the over grown guy in glasses.

“Chloe.” He stopped her, gently catching her by the arm. They dropped their gait, fixed like to buoys in the sea of moving pedestrians.

“I heard you.” She sighed, brushing a flyaway bang from her eyes. “It’s just… It’s a perfect strategy for Lex. Using someone I used to trust… against me.”

Jimmy watched as Chloe’s eyes grew dark at that last moment. Several waves of emotion swept across her tell-tale face, none of them she was able to hide very well. One of them, he noticed, was fear. “Chloe,” his voice low and lifting, “Even if that’s true. You’re not alone.” His bright blue eyes smiled, “I’m here. You can trust me, okay?”

She didn’t have to say anything for Jimmy to know he’d said the right thing to bring her back. To bring her lovely, infectious smile back to him.

She smiled still, a silent thank you, continuing their walk down the avenue, leaving Jimmy a few paces behind.

“Anytime.“ He said quietly, his words floating off with the its lingering beauty.

Jimmy stayed a moment, watching as his best friend walk ahead.

And wasn’t it always that way? Jimmy thought. She was always moving, investigating, pushing ahead and Jimmy was always… right behind her. Always there for that extra push, that extra encouragement. Her support.

He smiled.

“Jimmy?”

He perked up.

“C’mon, we gotta move it.” She waved for him to catch up and he did, swinging his messenger bag across his chest.

“What’s the hurry anyway?”

“Lois.”

He rolled his eyes while Chloe wasn’t looking. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Chloe’s cousin, cause he did. He just didn’t like sharing his best friend.

“So, Lois is meeting us?” He skipped over a curb to cross the intersection, that is until he felt her small hand catch his wrist, jerking him backward.

A horn blared, rogue car speeding past, running a red at the light.

“Whoa.”

“Idiot.” Chloe spat, and before Jimmy could process what had happened, he thought she might have been referring to him and not the maniac who almost killed him. When he looked at her, her face was twisted with concern as she rubbed his arm where she might have grabbed it a little to rough.

“Jimmy, you ok?”

“Yeah,” He smiled weakly. “I guess we don’t want a repeat, huh?”

She returned the dim smile. Chloe remembered that day well. They were both in their sophomore year of high school, out investigating the lure of drinking and driving when
Jimmy had ironically been stricken down by a DWI himself. Jimmy’s blood soaked head lolled around on the black asphalt until she’d reached him, cradled him in her arms. The blood was thick, and there was lots of it. Too much.

She’d cried, with him in her arms, thinking her best friend was dying in front of her. Jimmy.

And then--

“But then of course you’d just pass out like last time.” Jimmy joked, bumping her on the shoulder. “I know how much blood grosses you out.”

Chloe played along. “Yeah.”

She couldn’t remember what had exactly happened, only waking up to discover hours
had passed and she’d been taken to the hospital in Jimmy’s arms.

And that Jimmy was, fine.

“Seriously,” he said, interrupting her thoughts, “you really had me worried. Those doctors couldn’t find your pulse. I literally had to convince them you’d just passed out and not had a cardiac arrest.” He shivered thinking about it. “You turned bluish. It wasn’t pretty.”

She sneaked her eyes over to his. His were locked on hers.

“Not that you aren’t always beautiful.” He winked at her smile. “But it was weird. I’ve never seen you sick before. And haven’t since.”

“Well I guess I was just really freaked out. You had blood all over you and when that car hit you dead on, you practically flew over it.”

His brows furrowed. “Yeah, but the weird part was, they couldn’t find a scratch on me.
All of that blood and nothing. Not even a bruise.” Jimmy stood quietly, thoughts stirring
in his memory of that night.

Another cautious glance before Chloe changed topics. “We better hurry. Lois is picking us up. We’re going to need a getaway car and considering Lois’ penchant for speeding tickets, I know she’ll up for it.”

Before Jimmy could persist, Chloe was already five paces on their way. On their way where exactly, Jimmy didn’t know. Chloe had a way of keeping secrets. She always had. But he knew Chloe well enough to know that when she was ready, she would tell him. Jimmy felt a gratification knowing he was in Chloe’s inner circle. He knew she didn’t trust a lot of people, and within good reason too , knowing the types in Metropolis. And since Chloe trusted him, well. It made it all that much more, special.

Jimmy quickened his pace to keep up. “Where are we going?”



****

“Here?” Jimmy’s voice alarmed.

Chloe stayed silent, only reaching over to switch off the headlight’s to Lois’ Trans Am.

“Hey!” Lois looked at her cousin dubiously from the driver’s seat, “Chloe, it’s pitch black out here.”

“I know, I’m sorry. But I don’t want the guard to see us when we get close.”

“Here???” Jimmy asked again from the back seat, this time even more concerned.“How do you expect to even get in? I can’t image how many felonies it would be even if we made it in alive.”

Only the cool blue dash light lit the black interior of the car. Outside, hidden amongst the darkness were wheat fields and more wheat fields, barely visible except for the slight movement of whispery rows beside the road. But a few more miles ahead was a security check point that led to the largest ‘secret’ storage facilities. Some called it the Area 51 of the mid-west. Naturally, Chloe’s interest was peaked when she learned of Luthor using this address as his personal P.O. box.

“Trust me, Jimmy. I have it all thought through.”

Jimmy sighed, remembering he spoke the same words to her earlier in the day. “I do trust you, I do. It’s just that we’re not in high school anymore Chlo, and this…” He pointed towards the faint florescent light that signaled they were getting close. “This isn’t exactly sneaking into a club on a school night.”

“I’m kinda agreeing with the geek on this one, Chlo.” Lois darted her eyes to her right.
“Lately you’ve barely been keeping your head above water. Remember last time when you tried to get an exclusive about those extortionist? You were lucky that cute guy in green was there or you would’ve really---”

“Hey, if you don’t want in on this just say so.” Chloe looked to both of them in the dark.

Lois and Jimmy remained quiet which made Chloe wonder if they were really going to drop out on her for the first time in history. Her heart suffered a sinking feeling.

“I’m not saying I wont do it,” Jimmy spoke up from the back, “It’s just… why didn’t you tell us ahead of time?”

Through the dark, he watched a very wry smile form on her lips. “Because I knew you’d try to talk me out of it, Jimmy.”

The car moved a little further in the darkness, the stealth of the fine tuned engine barely above a whisper. When the bright post lamps reached half a mile ahead of them
Chloe turned.

“Okay, we’re here. Lois?” she rested a hand on the brunette’s shoulder, “You in or out?”

The older cousin tilted her head and cocked a brow. “You know you couldn’t do this without me, Coz. Of course I’m in.”

They exchanged smiles.

“Okay, pop the trunk. I brought a few things.” Chloe opened her door and stepped outside, Jimmy and Lois following.

They met at the rear of the car, Chloe searching through the trunk with a flashlight.
She found the bulky, black suit case she’d thrown in there before they’d left, and opened it. Within it were several gadgety items, all geek worthy in it’s sophisticated, expensive technology.

“Whoa.” Jimmy awed, picking up an incredibly cool looking green laptop. He flipped it open to find it already running a schematic of the facility on view, and with several radio monitors on the desktop. “Chloe, since when did you upgrade our gear?”

Chloe smiled gingerly. “Let’s just say I’ve picked up a sponsor since high school.”

She placed the laptop back in the trunk and pulled out three ultra small headsets and demonstrated how to hide them within the ear. “So we’ll never lose touch with each other.”

Lois adjusted hers. “That’s nice, Chlo. But what do you mean, ‘lose touch’? I’m not leaving you alone in there.”

“We’re going to have to break apart and work as a team. We all have jobs to do in order for this to work.” Chloe looked to each other them.

“Jimmy,“ She turned to him, “you’re going to document what we find.” She handed him one of the top of the line digital cameras. His mouth watered as he fingered the exquisite, long lens. He flipped the camera on and the machine literally chirped. He smiled in awe. “It’s beautiful.”

Both Lois and Chloe rolled their eyes. “Uh, huh. You can play with it later, Olsen. Focus for now.”

He nodded, shutting the camera back down.

Chloe turned towards her cousin. “Lois, you’re--”

“Strike force, I got it.”

“No..” Chloe made a dodged expression. “Lois remember the last time you played Steven Segal? That guy ended up in the hospital.”

“Only because he wouldn’t get out of my way of my double roundhouse kicks when he grabbed you!” Lois defended. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. No one touches my little cousin.”

Chloe smiled warmly. “I know, you’re wonderful Lois. It’s just that tonight is a little different. We don’t want any overt tactics. We want to be a covert as possible. And besides, with your dad’s military credentials I’m hoping that will buy us more time once you create your diversion.”

“Diversion?”

“Diversion.” She repeated, thoughtfully patting Lois’ arm and then slid a black, plastic card into her palm. “This is a magnetic key with impressionable memory. Once you ‘divert’ the guard, find a way to rub this against his key card and then drop it where Jimmy and I can get it. Once it makes contact with the guard’s key, it will apply it’s encoded magnet into a proxy key and that will be our way in.”

Lois studied the inconspicuous plastic card. “You sure this thing works?”

“We’ll find out soon enough.” Jimmy said, eying it skeptically as well.
Chloe was busy shuffling through the contents on of the trunk. “Lois, where’s your spare?”

The brunette leaned over and popped a hidden compartment on the bottom of the trunk, revealing a shiny new tire. “Right here. Why?”

Chloe nodded thoughtfully and then dug out a small utility knife from the black suitcase and moved to the front of the car.

Lois watched as the petite blonde curled the knife in her palm, the shiny metallic blade reflecting in the moonlight. “Chloe?”

Lois didn’t see her do it in the pitch black, but she heard it. A puncture and then hiss of air escaping her tire. “Chloe!”

She rushed over to her Lois and hushed her before the guard would hear them. She got her to calm down, promising her tire would be replaced tenfold later on.

Lois sighed. “Diversion, right I get it.” She shook her head. “Why am I always the diversion?”

Chloe smiled, “Because you’re so good at it, Coz. “ She stood up on tip toe and planted an endearing kiss on her cousin’s cheek. “Like you said, we couldn’t do it without you.”

Lois smiled but spied Jimmy leaning in for a kiss as well. “Don’t even think about it, Olsen.”

Jimmy wagged his brows. “Not even for luck?”

“No.” Lois replied stiffly.

Before Jimmy could persist, Chloe was already dragging him away. “Alright, positions everyone. Lois, you’re on.”

Chloe and Jimmy ducked into the surrounding wheat stalks and watched as Lois drove the car closer to the gate, with one deflated front tire that crunched against the hard gravel road. They could hear the light conversation she made with the guard per headsets they all wore and neither Jimmy or Chloe missed the well played flirtatious spirit Lois cooed into the guard’s ear.

Jimmy used the digital camera’s telescope lens like a scope to watch Lois work the guard play by play. Somehow she’d actually gotten the guy to leave his post and walk around to inspect her tire.

“You’ve still got it, Lo.” Chloe whispered into her headset, smiled and motioned for her and Jimmy to move.

When they got close enough to listen in at ear shot, Lois had the guard practically at her heel. They watched as Lois coquettishly places her palm against the unsuspecting guard’s chest pocket and held it there, smiling seductively up at the clueless chum.

“So,” Jimmy and Chloe listened over their ear pieces, “you think you can help a girl out?” Lois’ voice cooed.

A flick of her wrist and the black plastic card went flying in Chloe and Jimmy’s direction.

Chloe crawled forward and retrieved it.

Once Lois had the guard fully distracted, she and Jimmy snuck through.


**

The security systems weren’t that impressive. One of the little flash drives that the Green Arrow forwarded a long time ago gave the schematics of the facility. In it, was the entire strategic flow of where the blind spots were for cameras. The green guy had raided the place a few years back, but according to uncensored Queen Industry satellite imagery there seemed to be a new addition to the compound within the last few months. That’s where they were headed.

All of its staff was civilian, and even though it wasn‘t publicly owned by LuthorCorp, more than a few familiar coats could be seen in surveillance tape. Chloe luckily snagged a few old LuthorCop lab coats from her father’s closet earlier in the day. She unfolded them from her shoulder bag and passed one to Jimmy.

“Why would Lex even be interested in some twisted metal from the bridge?“ Jimmy whispered as they entered the building with the rest of the white coats.

“I’m not sure.” Chloe eyed the surroundings. “But just the fact that Lex actually made the trip to see the site himself sparked my curiosity. There has to be a reason why he‘s spending thousands of dollars on shipping scrap metal to a warehouse.”

They found their way along the industrial passages, Chloe navigating with the digital layout on her PDA. Every corridor was like the other, Chloe using her cheat key card as entry. Gray paint seemed to be common denominator concerning decor strategy.
Overhead were insulation pipes and flashing orange bulbs bleeding into the dizzying light of florescent bars. Very soon, Jimmy and Chloe felt like two hamster inside one of those plastic tube sets, every next corridor looking all too similar to the last. After a few minutes of wandering, Jimmy stopped.

“Chloe, we’re lost.” He pointed his blue eyes.

“No, it’s just around this corner.”

“Chloe, this is the same gray hallway as the last gray hallway. Just which way are we supposed to be going?” He made to look at her little computer, but she pulled it away.

“Chloe!”

“Shh!” She pressed her palm over his lips. “Someone’s coming. Quick, in here.”

Jimmy let her pull him by the sleeve over to the red, vaulted door at the end.

Jimmy looked at it skeptically, knowing full well that a door like that wouldn’t be open so easily. No matter how cool Chloe’s card trick was. But Jimmy watched as she pulled it out from her sleeve and pressed it against the magnetic pad.

As predicted, the LED remained red instead of chirping green like all the others had.

“What now?” Jimmy whispered hoarsely, watching as stretched shadows neared, a sign of approaching company. Any second now they were both going to be caught and seriously fried. His heart was in his ear drum, barely drowning out the ramblings of
Lois’ voice over the headset. Somehow she’d figured out a way to keep the guard entertained with her busted tire. Jimmy silently prayed for Lois’ super acting abilities once they’d been found out, and caught. They’d all need a good alibi and a great lawyer.

When Jimmy turned around, Chloe was already busy. Several other gadgets were in her other hand, her PDA insanely cycling though several serial numbers, each revolving on screen. He watched as one number fixed as the others revolved again, mimicking the way one might have broken into a old fashion combination lock.

Jimmy smiled, not at all surprised at Chloe’s abilities.

She glanced up at him. “I guess computer camp did more good than girl scouts. Thank you, Dad.”

The quirk lifted Jimmy’s spirits, but the sound of loudening footsteps brought him back down.

“That’s great and everything, Chlo. But we gotta get out of here.”

“Look around, Olsen. This is a dead end. There’s no where to go.”

He did look around. She was right. Somehow they’d found the end of the maze they’d wandered around for the past thirty minutes. And now they were trapped. If Chloe wasn’t standing right next to him, Jimmy would’ve already lost his cool. But he kept his head above water, trusting the tiny blonde’s instincts as she patiently waited for the next series of numbers to unlock.

Another few did, each one turning green. “Just one more.”

Voices. Jimmy heard them. They were close.

He licked his lips. “Chloe, any day now.”

There was a dull click, the last number unlocked. Green.

Not just the from the console, but the interior of the room glowed a vivid green, escaping through the small crack propped open. Chloe pushed it wider, just enough for her and Jimmy to squeeze through.

Once inside, Jimmy shoved the massive door closed, hearing it click, watching the opposite console switch to red behind them. He followed Chloe’s shadowed figure, wandering past several strange objects obscured by the dark.

“What is this place?”

Slowly, Jimmy’s eyes adjusted. Objects appeared one by one, the room coming together in formation with in the limited light.

Around them where tall, industrial shelves filled with boxes all marked by strange hieroglyphics that neither Jimmy or Chloe had never seen before.

Instinctively, Jimmy started shooting the room, his flash bulb creating an abbreviated light in the dark as he created a plethora of images for them to scrutinize and research into later.

He knelt down and rummaged through a box, pulling out several papers. “Huh,” he snapped a picture, “Chloe, look at these.“ He opened another box containing several strange, black and white photographs. Jimmy snapped his own. Deeper within another box, Jimmy rummaged some more. “Hey Chloe, have you ever heard of a Dr. Swann?
Most of this stuff has his name all over it.”

Jimmy turned on his heel, “Chloe?”

She wasn’t there.

He replaced the files and set the box back on the shelf. Pacing around the corner, he hoped to catch up with her but after the first set of shelves but he found nothing. Just more stacks of boxes and more boxes.

Another set of shelves, nothing.

At that point, Jimmy was worried.

“Chlo?” He shouted within a whisper.

He looked up towards the ceiling, surprised that they hadn’t been caught on surveillance somewhere. Oddly, there weren’t any cameras. Someone wanted to keep this room especially off the radar.

The only thing that did spark Jimmy’s attention was that the green glow illuminating the room was getting stronger. If Jimmy could just find his way through the maze of shelves may be he could--

There, Chloe was over there standing near the..

What is that? Jimmy squinted as he drew closer.

The room was dark still, but he could see the green light spread around a large, metallic surface, just enough for Jimmy’s eyes to trace around it’s body in the shadows.

A train engine.

Like the ones you could see bustling through Metropolis on its tracks. Expect there were no tracks. And it wasn’t moving. Dust and soot covering its shell as it had been stationary for some time.

It would have been out of place anywhere else, but considering its company, it fit right in. Several other large objects were stacked around it, creating a strange assortment of life sized collectibles. Jimmy counted several automobiles, a bus, plane parts and rubble of what could have been buildings at some point.

Chloe pulled out her small flashlight, and pointed it over the large hull of the engine. She approached it cautiously, as if it could come alive at any moment.

Upon closer observation, her eyes fixed on two considerable depressions in the surface. She touched it there, placing her hands inside. She could almost feel a certain fit, as if fingers had made an impression. She pulled back, knowing it was impossible.
Someone would have had to caught the engine at full force to make a steel fabrication bunch up around at impact.

But then again, it wasn’t totally impossible. Chloe had witnessed impossible things, happen.

A few more feet and Jimmy found a suspended air foil over their heads. This time half of it wrenched up and abnormally bent from its flat position.

“What is this, demolition derby?” Jimmy stared across the room to where more rumble lay scattered. “Why is Lex collecting junk?”

“I think it’s evidence.” Chloe touched the wing and flinched when it swayed in air.

“Evidence of what?” She heard from behind her.

Chloe shook her head, eyes tracing over the various strange objects scattered, a jungle of sorts. All hidden within a reclusive facility in the middle of nowhere, hidden in the dark.

Evidence of what? The question reverberated in her mind as she walked further through the room, the elusive green glow stronger there.

Chloe made her way through the menagerie the eccentric billionaire had made for himself. Within it she knew the steel girders from the bridge were there, somewhere.

Chloe knew she’d hit something big, something unimaginably big. Somewhere among the other junk Lex had collected over the years, clues were to be found but she wouldn’t be able to discern them unless they all have a common denominator. A connection.

She had a growing feeling that she was about to fit all of the pieces together, at last completing a picture that had been obscured from her for years. She stared deeper into the room, the literal obscurity by its darkness frustrating her.

Chloe ran her fingers lightly over one of the older pieces of the collection. A car door of some sort, hinges frayed and misplaced as if torn right off.

She felt her fingertips, rubbing the thick dust away from them. Everything was covered in dust.

Was it dust?

She studied the fine grit closer, tiny little specks of green surfacing like glitter.

It glimmered on her fingertips, reflecting light from…

The glow, it was stronger now, pulsating very slowly, the intensity changing.

That's when she saw it.


**


From what Jimmy could tell, it was a rock. Like one you could see at any geology book except this one was huge, like car sized huge. Jimmy scaled it to the Porsche sitting behind it and it was definitely bigger than the Porsche.

Wait. Jimmy darted back to the sports car. What’s a Porsche doing here?

He couldn’t decide which was weirder. The glowing green boulder or the four hundred thousand dollar beauty of a machine sitting next to it. Jimmy was about to rub his fingers along itsfender when he saw Chloe’s own fingers already moving against the rock’s glowing surface.

“Chlo, I wouldn’t touch that.” He walked between her and the specimen protectively.
“Whatever that is.” He looked at her, puzzled by the bewitched expression that brumed over her.

Her eyes flicked over to his before they rested back on the glowing creature. “Jimmy this is a meteor rock.”

He squinted at it again. “I’ve never seen a meteor rock glow, Chloe.”


Chloe studied it closer. Jimmy was right, most meteor rocks didn’t glow, but for some strange reason, this one did. She knew this was the same type of meteor from Smallville. Not all of them had reacted this way either, and she’d studied several samples. They’d all maintained the dull, dark composite as a regular meteorite found anywhere else. But this one, was different.

She couldn’t quite place the time she had seen a meteor rock glow and behave the same way, but she knew it was floating at the top of her brain.

She traced her fingers around the bumpy, green surface to where its shell recessed to some sort of imprint, like a fossil. The recess was deep and curved, resembling a smooth surface that looked almost, vessel like?

Chloe tilted her head examining closer, finding a small octagonal shape clearly left behind. Down further was a separate recess, almost identical to the first except for its jagged, ruthless edges at its crests.

She stepped back, observing the entire shape, that is, before she noticed Jimmy ogling the shiny metallic surface behind it.

And like that, an entire cluster of memories rushed back in waves, each one bringing back forgotten times. “I remember this.” Chloe walked over to where Jimmy stood by the silvery car, tinted by the green glow of the meteor rock.

“You do?” Jimmy eyes her from behind the camera.

“Yeah.” Her eyes blazed wonderously. “This was Lex’s car.”

Jimmy inspected the smashed front bumper and windshield up to the wrenched top.
“Yeah, well considering the damage, I think Lex is keeping it in the shop for a while.” He smirked, “ What happened, did the glowing rock fall on it?”

“Jimmy, this was the car Lex drove off the bridge in Smallville.”
He looked at her skeptically. “Off a bridge? I doubt anyone could survive that considering the serious toll it took his Porsche.”

“Me almost didn’t. Cl--” Chloe paused, and Jimmy looked over. Her lips were parted still in mid syllable, her mind suddenly invested in something else besides finishing that sentence.

“What?” Jimmy prompted.

“Clark,” she spoke his name softly, and slowly, “Clark was there that day. He saved Lex’s life.”

Jimmy made an ‘oh’ expression and nodded. “I guess that’s when they became best pals, huh?”

Chloe knitted her brows.

“Well,” Jimmy pushed ahead, “not to rush you or anything but I think Lois might be running out of time out there. Shall we?”

“Right.” She looked back once more before catching up with Jimmy who had already passed several more shelves. They moved away from the ominous green glow, the room being lit randomly by the white flash of Jimmy’s camera.

Chloe tuned into the outside conversation Lois managed, keeping the guard occupied.
Considering Lois’ usual non stop gab, it wasn’t that much of a stretch for her. Hopefully she’d get the tires switched before time ran out.

“Any sign of that scrap metal from last night?” Chloe whispered to Jimmy.

“No, but I think we should just leave.” He turned to her. “I can’t see anything in here and this place is giving me the creeps.”

“Yeah,” She sighed. There wasn’t a lot they could do in the dark like this. They’d documented enough, it was time to leave. “Let’s go.” Chloe directed the flash light back the way they came only to jump back three feet back at the abrupt presence of a large figure in front of them.

She screamed, dropping the flash light with a crash. One of Lex’s security guards, except he was bigger than average. His shoulder’s massive. They were so dead.

She felt Jimmy catch her, and pull her back, putting himself between her and the large body leaning towards them.

“Chloe, run!”

She felt him push her backward, but she held onto him. “No, we’re leaving together!”

Damn it. This is one of the times Jimmy really hated Chloe’s stubbornness. “Chloe, I’m right behind you--”

Before either one could move, the large body lurched forward, wobbling ungracefully, smashing into the side of one of the many dozen shelves.

They both watched as the first shelf slammed into the next one, and the next one, and the one after that, creating a domino effect that coupled the loud crash every time one fell.

Jimmy didn’t question what had just happened, only taking advantage of the big guys’ downed position, pulling Chloe along with him as he skittered past the fallen figure.

And they were almost gone if it wasn’t for the weakest whisper of her name.

Chloe stopped, guiding the flash light back at the figure lying on the floor.

She gasped.

“Clark!”



chapter twelve