Back from the Dead (PG-13/R)- CHAPTER 27 plus Epilogue (Aug 17, 2010)

[Kit Merlot]

Chloe knows her real name buy her memories have yet to return so she truly is still in the dark. I hope she decides to trust Lex with her and Laura's life again--the mystery caller is rather scary.

[lexie]

Yes, he even gives me the creeps and I´m the one writing him. Unfortunately, it won´t be the last time you´ve heard of him.

[Gaia]

Loved it as usual and I need more!!!

[lexie]

And there´ll be more- you´ll just have to be patient. I still have a few chapters written and I´m trying to kick my muse´s butt so that she cooperates. Wish me luck.

[lexie]

A/N: I know I´d promised you an update in ten days, but I decided to give you something a couple of days before the deadline. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 6: Resolutions

SOMEWHERE AT LUTHORCORP PLAZA

Lex Luthor stepped out of the lift on Level 33.1 and walked purposefully down the corridor to a door at the end. He swiped his keycard and pushed the door open. Clenching his fists, he looked through the two-way mirror at the twenty-something sitting at the table in the small interrogation room.

“Has he talked?” he asked gravely to the man in the shadows.

“He says he was just following orders and insists he´s never seen his boss and that he doesn´t know who draws his cheques,” responded Lex´s head of security.

“Do you believe him?” replied the young billionaire, observing the detainee, whose face was now clear of make-up.

“He seems to be telling the truth, but he could also be a consummate liar. I can´t be 100% sure, sir.”

“You know what to do, then.”

“Shall we use the Levitas serum on the interrogator?”

“That´s ill-advised. I don´t want anyone with such a power on the loose at Level 33.1 - I don´t care how temporary it might be. No. Bring Mikhail. He´ll get us what we want.”

“All right, Mr Luthor,” assented Greul before pressing the button on the intercom to speak to the lackey conducting the interrogation. “That´d be enough,” he told the employee. That would get him out of the room and give the `guest´ a false sense of security. He had no intention of giving the young man a respite and lose what they´d achieved the last three hours; they needed to strike while the iron was hot and get the information their employer was requesting.

Lex Luthor was a man not worth defying or vexing- Greul loved his life too much to run that risk; not that he thought Lex would have him killed. No, he´d use a much subtler and intelligent means of revenge. He´d probably have all records of Greul´s existence erased and a new identity created for him - preferably with a criminal record.

“Wipe out Mikhail´s memory once he´s done,” Lex ordered him before leaving the room and taking the lift to the top floor of LuthorCorp Plaza.

“I´m sorry, madam, but I´m afraid you´ll have to ask for an appointment in advance. Could you tell me what business´s brought you here?” asked Lex´s assistant to the attractive blonde at the reception of the executive floor.

“It´s personal. I´m sure if you told him who it is that´s asking to see him...” explained Chloe while Laura pulled at her hand to let her snoop around.

“I´m afraid Mr Luthor´s busy at the moment. Now, if you tell me your name and what it is you need, I´ll see he gets the message,” Jennifer cut her off.

Chloe clenched her teeth and tried to paste on her best smile. She didn´t know why, but this willowy brunette with her chocolate doe eyes, her perfectly pressed trouser suit, her perfect manicure and fake smile grated on her nerves.

Gabe´s daughter couldn´t explain her animosity towards the assistant and still, she felt as if she had known the woman from another time or as if she reminded her of someone. The damn Rotweiller with her affected voice and saccharine smile wouldn´t deter her from doing what she´d planned.

“Listen, Miss...” the blonde cocked an eyebrow as the assistant fidgeted under the intense scrutiny of the blonde miniature next to Chloe. “You see...”

“Mummy, “ Laura interrupted her, pulling her arm gently.”Gen´man,” she added pointing at Lex, who had stopped dead short in the middle of the corridor on seeing Chloe and the child at the reception of his very own office when he´d thought they were safe and discreetly guarded by his own people in Star City.

“It´s all right, Jennifer. I know Mrs Fairchild,” he smiled at the petite but curvy blonde. “Reschedule my last appointments. You can leave when you´re done; I won´t be needing you till Monday,” he added, once he got closer to his assistant´s desk. “Come this way, Mrs Fairchild,” he invited Chloe to his inner sanctum, resisting the impulse to rest his hand on her lower back to guide her as he´d have done in the past. “Hello, Laura,” he smiled at the girl as she clutched at her teddy bear and look up at him with a mischievous twitch of her mouth. “That´s a very nice bear you´ve got there,” he told the child once he had shut the door of his private office. “Does he have a name?”

“Pooh,” she beamed, flashing him a blinding Sullivan smile.

“Of course, what else would he be called?” he smirked, raising his steel blue-grey eyes to meet her mother´s.

Chloe locked her deep green orbs with his and felt a tightening in her chest. She knew this was going to be hard and had tried to prepare herself for the moment- the moment when she´d come face to face with Lex again, knowing everything she now knew about him, about them. She´d gone over everything she´d say and how she´d say it- she´d even put it in writing and practised it in front of the full-length mirror of her tiny apartment as she changed into different outfits, indecisive of what to wear to the meeting.

Lex studied her discreetly as she shifted her gaze to Laura and carded her fingers through the girl´s golden hair. She´d smiled at him, but he knew her well enough to realise it´d been one of her practised smiles; he´d seen too many of those when Clark and Lana were around before the summer that changed it all. She´d never turned that smile on him and, seeing it now, made him feel awkward and impotent because in the past he´d have had the right to do something about it. He´d never been able to see her depressed and, although she´d just tried to hide her discomfiture, she hadn´t been fast enough.

“Why don´t you sit down, Mrs Fairchild?” he offered, showing her to the leather upholstered sofa.

“You can call me by my first name, Lex,” she answered stressing his name.

“OK, Karen,” he responded, lowering himself on the other end of the sofa as Chloe sat Laura next to her.

“By my real name, Lex,” she corrected him, holding his gaze.

He had expected her to come to him eventually- he had counted on it – but he hadn´t thought it´d be this soon. She must have lost the security detail he had assigned to both of them.

“I´m sorry, Chloe,” he answered with regret in his voice.

“It isn´t you who should be saying sorry, Lex, and I haven´t come all the way to Metropolis for that. We need to talk.”

“How much do you remember?” he asked her, getting up from the seat and walking to the wet bar.

“Bits and pieces. There are still big blanks, but I´ve been able to find some pieces of the puzzle making use of my investigative skills,” she replied with the ghost of a smile.

“Let me make a couple of quick phone calls first. I´ll ask Jennifer to bring us some coffee before she leaves. What shall I ask for Laura?” he said picking up the handset.

“Fresh fruit juice?” she suggested.

“Any preferences?” he asked her, dialling the extension number to get in touch with his assistant.

“Orange... with a straw,” she told him, taking off her jacket. “Could you make sure they pour it into a plastic or Styrofoam cup?”

“Sure,” he smiled as Jennifer picked up his call. “Bring us a carafe of freshly made coffee, two cups, sugar, no cream. And a freshly-squeezed orange juice in a paper cup with a straw,” he said to her before covering the receiver.”Chloe, have you both eaten yet?”

“We´re fine, Lex. Thanks,” she responded, suddenly embarrassed as she noticed his eyes had strayed for a few long seconds to the opening of her shirt to peek at her creamy breasts- where his gift was still lying.

Lex saw a delightful blush cover her before she hid from him by kneeling in front of Laura to tie one of the girl´s shoelaces.

“Jennifer,” he told his assistant, looking at Chloe´s back and remembering the way she´d blushed when he saw her naked for the first time,” have Stevens get some educational toys. Tell him to make sure they have no tiny parts. Yes, for a two-year-old. That´s right. Ask him to bring them to the room we use for our board meetings.”

Chloe thanked Lex for his thoughtfulness. She knew they´d be more comfortable talking while the girl was busy in her own world. Although the ideal thing would have been for her to come to see Lex without the child, she hadn´t been able to leave Laura behind- not when there were people out there who might hurt her. She hadn´t figured out how she´d get to talk with Lex mincing no words with the little girl around, but his quick-mindedness had resolved the issue for her.

“Why don´t you pick up your purse and follow me, Chloe?” he suggested, walking around his desk and leading the former reporter and the child to LuthorCorp´s board meeting room. “Make yourself a home,” he added, pushing the acid-etched glass door open. “The coffee´s ready and the games should be here any minute,” he smiled, drawing back a chair for her to sit down. “Excuse me,” he added, opening the ringing mobile phone. “Luthor. What do you have?” he snapped, walking into the kitchenette and closing the door behind him. “OK. No, that´d be enough. This interrogation has never happened. Make sure he won´t remember a thing. Something else... how come I wasn´t informed Mrs Fairchild had left her residence? I don´t want excuses. You were lucky no harm came to either of them on their way here, but I want to know if they were tailed by someone. Make it happen,” he told his head of security grimly before slamming the mobile shut.

When he stepped back in the room Chloe was looking out of the panoramic windows with a mug of hot coffee in her hands while Laura was busy drawing with her crayons.

“Whose ears have been boxed?” Chloe asked when he heard him pour himself a cup of java.

“Why do you assume something like that´s just happened?” he cocked an eyebrow as he sipped the hot beverage.

“It took me half an hour to get rid of a car that had been following us all day from Star City. A friend´s just called me. The licence plates are in LuthorCorp´s name. You´ve had me... us... followed and it doesn´t take a rocket scientist to know you like to be... on top of things,” she responded, turning around to face him.

“Those men were there for your protection, Chloe,” he said tightly.” They were paid to do their job.”

“I write murder mysteries, Lex. What harm could come to me? Some unsatisfied reader venting his anger because he felt cheated when he found out the butler hadn´t done it?” she replied ironically.

“Come in,” he told his assistant when they heard a knock on the door. “Thanks, Jennifer. Leave them on the coffee table,” he instructed her as the young woman entered carrying a pile of toys, cube puzzles and building blocks.

“You shouldn´t have,” said Chloe after Jennifer left, approaching the table to have a look at the expensive games and toys.

“She can take them when you leave,” he said calmly, looking at the little girl´s enthusiasm as she grabbed a wooden puzzle featuring her favourite bear.

“It´s very generous of you, Lex, but...” she started.

“Chloe... let me do this,” he interrupted her, locking his intense blue-grey eyes with hers.

“You know why I´m here, Lex. Who are they? What do they want with me and my baby?” she asked in a cracking voice.

“They´re trying to get to me through you.”

“You know who they are, don´t you?”

“I´m working on it.”

“Don´t lie to me, Lex.”

“I may have a lead, but I want to be certain before doing anything about it. I promise you that whoever´s threatening you and Laura won´t go unpunished,” he told her fiercely, resting both hands on her shoulders and looking her straight in the eye.

“They said you know what it is that they want. They scared the hell out of me, and I´m not that easily spooked,” she confessed, lowering her voice and glancing away with the excuse of checking on Laura, who was busy with the puzzle, only to escape what looking into those depths was making her feel.

“You can´t go back to Star City- it´s no longer safe for either of you,” Lex stated matter-of-factly.

“Too much has changed in our lives these last few days. I don´t want to uproot her as well.”

“You´ve already paid dearly for my relying on someone else to watch over you once. I won´t make the same mistake twice,” he responded passionately. “You´ll stay with me in the penthouse. It isn´t as big as the mansion, but there are enough rooms for you to choose from.”

“Lex...”

“Please, Chloe. I know asking you to trust me is a lot considering how much pain my family´s caused you.”

“I´m largely guilty for bringing this onto me. Entering that reckless deal with your father was sheer madness. I was foolishly naïve to believe I could outsmart someone like him.”

“There´s more than one party to blame, Chloe. You might have entered that bargain, but I had my part in what happened next. And I´m not talking just about the safe house explosion,” he said huskily.

“It takes two to tango,” responded Chloe, confirming Lex she remembered about them.

“Will that be a problem? Is that why you´re reticent to stay in the penthouse?”

Chloe looked at him in silence and recalled the Lex of her dreams. She knew what having him around could do to her defences and he must be aware of it.

“I won´t be a hypocrite and tell you that isn´t one of the reasons I don´t believe our moving in with you would be such a good idea.”

“And I´d be an insensitive bastard to pretend to pick up things where we left them after everything that´s happened. Not to mention the fact you didn´t remember me until I paid you a visit last weekend.”

Although the prospect of living under the same roof with someone whose mere presence could provoke in her such a turmoil was courting disaster, something in Lex´s demeanour told her he meant what he said and that helped dispel her qualms in part. Still, if she were honest with herself, it was her own weakness around him, rather than his ardour, what she feared.

TBC

A/N: My following update will be posted on September 30th or Oct 1st.

[malugargula]

Wonderful chapter

I can`t wait to see them living under the same roof

[ThraceC]

Anyone taking bets on whether Lex is Laura's real dad?

Thanks for the early update Lexie, I needed a break . Looking forward to the next installment.

[hfce]

Anyone taking bets on whether Lex is Laura's real dad?

Thanks for the early update Lexie, I needed a break . Looking forward to the next installment.

Has is that possible? Wasn't Chloe gone for three years? I think I need to reread the first chapter.

Good update and I am glad she is now under Lex care.

[ripsconscullmin]

Sorry I didn’t review Chapter 4 before I went MIA. The flashbacks were heartbreaking. They had me fighting the leaky-eyed syndrome.

So Lionel made a deal with another devil and that devil has come calling on Chloe to pay. Interesting. Very interesting. It almost sounds like Lionel didn’t have the upper hand in this deal. What would cause Lionel to make a deal with someone where he wasn’t the one in control? There is no way he would allow someone else to get control of his company (he didn’t even like the idea of Lex in control), so what made them think he would allow them influence or control of his company? What did these people have over him? Of course, I imagine in typical Lionel form, he probably had a plan to double cross them. I can’t wait to find out more about this deal he made.

Poor Chloe. The turmoil she was feeling leading up to and during that meeting with Lex must have been almost unbearable. She handled it admirably. I loved her hackles being raised by his Assistant. That tickled me. Why am I not surprised that Lex already has an inkling regarding who is behind everything? They are seriously underestimating him if they think they’re going to get one over on him without consequence. They dodged the Lionel bullet only to face down the Lex one. I could almost feel sorry for them.

Eagerly anticipating the next installment.

[Gaia]

Great chapter!
And how did the get so many toys so quickly? Guess money really can buy you not only things, but also very quickly.