Measures-NC17

[LaLa]

hmy: :goof: :huh: agahhhh aghaaaa agahhhhhh! --- that was me at the final

:crygreen: :worship2: --- that is me after the shock

MORE! xoxoLaLa

[June]

Whoa, whoa, whoa.. wait just a minute.... get back here right now missy. You can not just do that and then leave it.... or maybe you can... evil, pure evil.

[Thessaly]

What the fu...?

Um, zelda, you know I love you and your fic but frankly you're freaking me out. Has Lionel blackmailed her into this? Is it revenge? I don't understand. Lex gave her sweet, sweet lovin'. (Even if, as Zannie said, it was a little premature.)

If anyone deserves a damn good tasering, it's Lionel and his shrivelled little organs.

Come back and fix it so that my tiny brain understands what's going on.

Thessaly

[hfce]

So Chloe is the killer what bitch.,... :tease:

[sydsvaughn]

You can't say you didn't warn us ... (with the hints I just picked up on) ... but I'm hanging in there to see what happens next.

Intriguing plot you've got going here!

SaraC

[Reese]

ROFLMAO! Now *that's* some good shit! :hehe:

Whew. I wish I could say that I saw it coming but I was so focused on Chloe getting some Lex-Lovin' that I wasn't even paying attention to the whole there's-a-contract-out-on-Lex part. Kudos to those of you who even had a clue. That little revelation had me (literally) screaming "WTF? Are you SERIOUS?"

Now I hate to be one of those people who demand in their FB that you get back here ASAP, possibly threaten your life if you don't and so on and so forth but...

Well, you're safe...for now

Reese

[zelda]

A/N: Okay, still a few surprises ahead. Sorry I didn't have spell-check available and it was really late so I couldn't have my roommie look it over.


Lex opened his eyes, He was on the floor, and his face was pushed into the carpet. Then hands, hands that pulled him by the shoulder till he was lying on his back. Chloe's face, above him. She was slightly out of breath.

"God, I'm so sorry, Lex." She looked upset. He could relate.

"You'll never get away with this." He knew it was a lame line being given by the guy tied up on the floor. He couldn't tell what was around his ankles, but he could feel the terrycloth robe tie around his wrists. The irony did not escape him.

"I will, get away with it, I've been planning for too long. I can't have you messing things up now for me."

"Braun's going to come here and find you."

"I'll be long gone. And it'll all be over." She looked at him with regret. "I'm so sorry it had to end up this way." She looked at her watch.

"Why did you fuck me?" His harsh words couldn't hide the edge of hurt he felt. "Is that some kinky little praying mantis thing? Mate, then kill?"

"Lex, you've been barking up the wrong tree for weeks now. And I don't have time to explain." Her cell phone rang and she answered it terseley, running a hand through her sweaty blonde hair. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes. I'll take care of that and just wait till you hear us. I'll only need a few minutes with him." Finally, it dawned on Lex. He watched her hang up the phone and look around.

"It wasn't me." She glanced his way. "It's my father, right?"

"I called him while I was getting dressed, he'll be waiting for me."

"Why?" She looked annoyed. "Okay, dumb question, how?"

"Sorry, no time to chat now." She stuffed a handkerchief in his mouth and secured it with a piece of duct tape. He knew he couldn't have been unconscious for that long. Stun guns were only temporary.

Chloe leaned down to him. "I'd kiss you goodbye, but that would be melodramatic." She rose to leave. "By the way, Benny was contacted by Lionel last night and he was planning to have you killed. Beleive me or don't but I'm sure you'll do the investigating yourself so you'll understand soon enough."

Chloe left the building and caught a cab. She headed to Lionel's apartment building. She didn't bother with any disguise except a ball cap. She knew that there were cameras everywhere, fortunately, she was prepared for it. When she buzzed Lionel's apartment, the door clicked open. She stuck a piece of tape over the latch, not bothering to look behind her to see if Benny was around. She knew he'd be right behind her. She fingeredthe thick envelope stuffed fat with all of the money she'd scraped together over the last three months.

Chloe took the stairs to the basement and the only corridor that wasn't being filmed. She made her way to the security room and knocked on the door. When the door opened she tried to look pathetic.

"I think someone's followed me here from the garage. Can you have someone walk me upstairs and check my apartment?" The security guard smiled. "It's just me tonight, Honey, but I'll walk you," he said with a kind smile. "Just let me lock up." He turned around and Chloe zapped him. He fell to his knees and she used duct tape to secure him. Then she removed the tapes from the machines that were hooked up to the surveilance cameras in the elevator, top floor, and lobby.

Chloe put tape over his mouth and eyes, then left the way she came. She took the elevator upstairs, tucking the tapes into her napsack. When she walked down the hallway, her sneakers made little noise, she lifted her fist to knock on Lionel's door but he opened it before she could strike.

"Ms. Sullivan. How delightful to see you." He opened the door graciously and allowed her inside. She walked in, careful not to touch anything on her way to the living room.

"I just want to get this overwith and be on my way."

"I must say I'm intrigued by your request," he said, walking up close behind her. "I was surprised when you called about my son."

"I know about your plans." She sipped the preamble and small talk. "And I don't care. I just want some answers or I take Benny to the cops with me."

"You think that Mr. O'Toole will help you?" Lionel laughed. "This is too ironic. I don't believe you understand my humor at this, Ms. Sullivan, I must enlighten you."

"That's where you're wrong, Lionel. About that and many things. I just have one question for you, then you can have the tape I made of Benny discussing his plans." Lionel frowned. "The night I left you trussed up by the pool. You called my father. i want to know what you said to him."

"Do you think I'm going to fall for that? You don't even have truth serum to get your answers."

"You can frisk me for a wire if you like?" Chloe put down her bag inside the door to his study and stepped inward. She spread her arms out and turned around slowly. "I told you that you could be armed, and that I wouldn't be, so why don't you check?"

Lionel grinned. Then he approached and Chloe held back her revulsion as her ran his hands slowly over her shoulders. He stood behind her, much too close, and ran his fingertips down her spine before splaying his hands around her waist and running them up her front. Chloe's stomach lurched when he ran his palms over her breasts, she could feel his breath on her ear and it was getting heavy. He moved down to her waist and then down each of her legs.

"Okay, so you're not wearing a wire."

"I just want to know what you and my father talked about." She let him hear the tears in her voice. "I never got a chance to talk to him."

"I called your father after you left, and told him that I'd given you a gift. I told him about the set of pearls and my visits with your mother." He came around the front of her and smiled. "Your father was very upset when he heard that you had injured yourself. I told him that you'd run into a door, and fallen on the floor, and that I certainly hoped you weren't too upset by the experience. I also told him how much I was looking forward to having you back again. And again. And again."

"So Daddy thought that you'd actually managed to force me."

"I suppose he could've drawn that conclusion. In fact, he was probably coming to confront me. But then, I had a feeling that might happen."

"You'd planned the accident before I even got to the mansion." It wasn't a question. Lionel just smiled.

"Too bad about that. His car going off the bridge like that." he shrugged. "Now, what about these tapes of yours?"

"Nope, no tapes. No evidence, just a little heresay." Che smiled back at him. "I just needed to get in here to talk to you." Lionel drew his pistol from the waistband of his designer trousers. "I wasn't lying when I said that I came unarmed." She stepped to the side of the doorway. I just lied about coming alone."

*

Lex heard the door crash inward and from his position on the floor, saw Braun and Jack run into the bedroom. Both of their guns were drawn and Jack came to him first. he removed the tape over his mouth and Lex spit out the handkerchief.

"Cut me loose, and get me a phone." As soon as he was free he picked up the phone and dialed his father's number.

*

The phone on the desk rang and it distracted Lionel for a moment. Chloe jumped to the side and heard the soft puff of the silenced pistol, simultaneously fired with the shot from Lionel's own gun. She stood up and looked around. The phone was still ringing and she let it.

Chloe gazed at Benny, lying prone on the floor, he had a bullethole in his chest and was lying very still. Across the floor, Lionel was staggering to the desk, clutching his stomach. Before he could reach the phone, however, Chloe kicked the back of his knee and sent him down to the floor. Then she stepped on the wrist that held his gun. Lionel was in pain and shock and she slid the weapon from his grasp easily. Blood was pouring from the wound in his stomach, exactly where she'd told Benny to shoot.

Lionel said nothing, he just panted as he fought for consciousness and life. Chloe watched as he went limp and waited a full sixty seconds before checking the pulse on his wrist. It slowed, then stopped. There were no snide remarks from him, no last jibe. He was just dead.

Chloe picked up her bag and walked out the door. She used the back stairs and exited through the basement. Then she walked out onto the street and hailed a cab. When she got in, she asked the man to take her to a parking garage four blocks away where the car she'd rented was waiting. She felt her cell phone buzz and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm fine, how are you?"

"Damn it, Chloe! What have you done?"

"Stay in touch now."

"I'll find you."

"I know you will." She hung up the phone and paid the cab driver, then she got out and walked to where the blue, ford sedan was parked. She'd rented it with a fake ID, Dani Brax's, and drove it directly out of the city. She knew not to expect police this early. Lex would go himself before calling anyone. She didn't head for Canada. The one sacrifice she had to make was her mother. She hadn't been able to find her, but then, the woman hadn't wanted to be found before, so she couldn't think about it yet.

Chloe crossed the border into Mexico with her cousin's passport and a brown wig. She checked into a hotel and called home.

Lois was in hysterics. Chloe didn't admit anything, she just said that she'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time and didn't trust anyone in the city. She agreed to keep her cell phone for the time being, and asked Lois to not try and find her right away.

"I'll invite you down for margaritas and sunshine, darlin'," she said with more joviality than she felt. Lois asked her if she needed cash, Chloe said that she had enough for a little while, but that she might eventually.

"Just say the word, but if I don't hear from you at least once a week, I'm going to raise Holy Hell."

"I'd appreciate it if you would. Cause it'll mean I'm dead." Silence answered her. "Think positive, and keep Sam from trying to find me. He might lead Lex to me, and I just can't handle that right now."
*
November...

Chloe walked on the beach, feeling the breeze cool her skin. She'd developed a tan, and calluses on her feet from walking barefoot. She'd found a decent job that helped to augment her savings, and had rented a bungalo. For a girl not yet twenty, she felt like she'd accomplished a lot. Lois was visiting her. Lois had brought her a pile of money and didn't say where she'd gotten it. They'd talked about what had happened, or at least, Lois asked and Chloe changed the subject.

"I can't tell, you Lo'. I don't want you to have information that other people want."

"I can't stand this." Lois was upset. "You know Daddy's going to find you."

"He already did, three weeks ago," Chloe said, blandly. "Why do you think he didn't have you stopped at the border?" Lois shrugged. "Anyway, I'll come back when things cool down."

"Liar."

"I mean it," Chloe said, putting on her honest face. "If Lex decides to let things cool off, then I'll come back."

"That'll never happen." The older girl stroked her cousin's hair. it was past her shoulders now, and lightened by the sun. "In fact, I'm probably endangering you by being here. This money'd probably..." She stopped. Chloe grabbed her shoulder.

"It's probably what?" Lois bit her lip. "Where did you get the money?"

"From Lex." She winced as soon as she said it, and Chloe ran back to the bungalo where the bag was hidden under some floorboards. "He offered it to me to tell him what I knew. I just said that you called from time to time but I didn't know where you were. He gave me the money anyway."

"He probably knew you'd bring it here." Chloe dug out the bag and upended it. She went through all of the stacks of bills until she found it. A tinly little metal plug that pierced the center of a stack of bills.

"Shit, Chloe," Lois started grabbing random objects from the floor and bed. "I didn't know; I should have, but I didn't." She started stuffing things in her bag and plucked the tracker from her cousin's hands. I'll just keep driving down the coast till I find a nice place to toss it in the ocean. Then I'll call you when I'm on my way back." Chloe placed her hand over her cousin's. "If you come back, Sam can protect you, he's done it before."

"It's alright, Lois, just take it down the coast, at least a hundred miles, then toss it into the ocean. I'll call you in a few days."

After Lois took her leave, Chloe showered, changed and sat out on her porch, watching the sun set. Inside, she was calm. She knew when he came. The bugs stopped making noise when he approached. She didn't see him, but she spoke anyway.

"I know you're there, I'm unarmed, you can come out." Lex melted out of the shadows. He was dressed in black stealth gear. And he was armed; he had a pistol strapped to his waist. Chloe eyed the outfit. "Wher'd you get that? Army surplus?"

"You didn't run." Hearing his voice sent a shiver down her spine. She shook her head. "I thought you'd be down the coast and halfway across the ocean by now."

"No you didn't. You came here yourself to confront me." She was wearing a loose, cotton dress in a floral print. It wasn't her regular style, and her feet were bare. "So, tell me what you found out." She got up from her chair and opened the front door, she let him walk in and went to the old refrigerator. She tooka bottle of tequila out of the ice box and poured two shots. She pushed one towards him but he didn't drink it. She stood on the other side of the chipped counter and tossed down hers. Three months in Mexico could build up a tolerance for the bitter taste of tequila, but she still winced a little.

"Benny was the one who killed your father." Lex stood with his hands behind his back, his posture was tough, but his voice was gentler. Chloe nodded. "How did you find out?"

"Perseverance, and a little blind luck led me to Benny." She poured herself another and this time, Lex joined her in a shot. "He ran my father off the road but your father had hired him to do it long before his fallout with me." Her voice was tinged with the bitterness Lex could taste. "He'd planned to...break me that night by forcing me to have sex, then sending me home only to get the news that my father was dead."

"And don't forget about your mother."

"I couldn't find her, I tried, but I couldn't"

"I did." Lex put his glass back in front of the bottle. "She's out and living in Canada. I thought it might be safer there."

"Did she..."

"Ask about you?" Lex shook his head. "Sorry, she didn't want to get involved." Chloe shrugged it off, but poured two more shots. Lex took the bottle from her. "So you hired Benny to kill my father."

"He had no loyalty to anyone. He even took money from your father to kill you next. He laughed about it, how he made sure to get it up front."

"I know, Jack asked around till he found out that my father met with Benny the night before he died." He shook his head "I guess I was getting a little too powerful for him."

"Well, he probably figured you'd eventually kill him yourself."

"I might have."

"I guess I just saved you the trouble."

"Do you want a Thank you?"

"Nope." She shrugged. "But if you're not here to kill me, why are you here?"

"Maybe I am here to kill you," he said, drawing his pistol and examining it. "Maybe I'm about to avenge my father's murder and get some closure."

"Closure?" Chloe walked around the counter. "Yeah you came here for closure, alright. But you know damned well that you can't justify killing me." Her tone was harsh. "After what your father put me through, after what he did, can you blame me for it?"

"No, I can't," he replied. "But it doesn't mean I can let it go."

"I saved your life, but you're probably just jeaous that I managed, yet again, to accomplish what you've failed to do." She walked up to him, and stood close. "You can't thank me for it, even if you're relieved. You can't shoot me because you know I was right. You can't walk away because there's too much that needs resolution between us."

"There is no us."

"You wanted there to be an us," she said softly. Lex saw a little of the tenderness and sympathy that he'd once seen in her face. "We'd both said it. No one else understands." His hands clamped around her upper arms in a harsh grip.

"You don't know me at all." Then his mouth came down on hers, hard and unyielding.

[Reese]

First of all, thank you for coming through with another update as you mentioned you would in your last post. I've kept my computer on while I've read and cleaned since my last bit of FB on the off chance you'd come through. Good you. Well done

So now...where do we go from here? Is it going to be the obvious smutfest I'm sure that more than one of us is hoping for? Or will there be more twists and turns? Will Lex and Chloe actually end up together (happily ever after and all that jazz)? Or, and this might just be me, doesn't that seem a bit too simple in a story like this?

*sigh* Yeah, I was afraid of that...

Reese

[lexchloe]

:yay: :yay: I knew I knew it...... or at least I knew part of it. Kinda figured chloe had put a hit on MB. Liked the twist of her knowing that Benny killed her dad and her setting him up as well. Can't wait to see where Chloe and Lex go next. More please.

[autumngold]

I'm so glad that Chloe didn't hurt Lex, that she was only trying to protect him!! Excellent chapter!! I can't wait to see where they'll go from here!! :yay: :chlexsign3: :yay: