Two Sides of the Coin (PG 13/R) Update 9/6/05

[ColumbiaBlue]

Okay, so I was going to leave you some very frazzled feedback because I've just read this entire thing through and I actually cried out in horror when I saw that there were no more chapters, because I am so addicted to this it isn't even funny...

But then I saw your note and... well, the frazzle-ness has died away because I can totally sympathize with writer's block (it's a bitch and a half) and the stress of school (it has a habit of getting in the way).

Let me just say that I LOVE this story to pieces and that you're brilliant. Good luck with grad school and the writers block.

your friendly neighborhood Amanda

[Louie]

I just thought I'd up this story to let Tracy know that we still love it and hope she gets around or over or digs a tunnle through that block

[tracyaching]

Thanks for the bump, Louie! I know you guys are still waiting for the last chapter but I wanted to let you know I posted something I call "Two Sides of the Coin- The lost nights" on the NC-17 board. I decided to try my hand at the smutty stuff I didn't put in this version. It's my first straight-up smut, so let me know what you think. And I am working on the last chapt. I want it to be perfect! Thanks for your paitience.

[tracyaching]

A/N- the last chapter has become rather unwieldy so I'm giving it to you in two parts. I hope you guys like it. I've written and re-written and read it over so many times it hardly makes sense to me any more. Ah, the joys of authorship! But you guys help make it worthwhile. Thanks! Also a special thanks to June and KitMerlot for all their help and great advice! You guys are my hero muses!

Chapter 10, Part I-

Lex’s costume consists of a half mask, a tux, and a pirate’s hat. The mask is white, stylized, and blank. It does nothing but hide his identity and darken his eyes by casting them into shadow. The combination of mask, hat, and evening dress is not exactly traditional but Lex pulls it off with aplomb, like everything.

During the cab ride, Lex wears the hat and holds the mask in tense fingers. The hat, complete with plumes and worn at an angle gives him a rakish air. Of course part of it is his attitude. As he readies himself for the tasks ahead, his body language becomes increasingly relaxed, almost languid. He projects a confidence so complete it requires no dark expressions or tense postures. He looks like he has never been afraid of anything in his life. It is undeniably seductive but Chloe finds that she prefers the Lex she saw last night, overcome by emotion and human. And touching her.

She thought that when she stepped through the apartment doors something would be severed and she would have to accept that there was no way to go but ahead and away from him. She has yet to accept anything, really. Her mind keeps pushing back the deadline she had put on the end of her feelings. Now it was promising her that when she got out the cab, she would stop thinking of him as her Lex, that when they reach the high rise she will stop wanting to touch him.



Lex instructs the cabby to drop them off in a parking garage a block from the LuthorCorp building. Chloe steps out of the vehicle and fails once again to be freed from her emotions. Maybe when they are standing in the party itself she won’t need to look at him again and again. Their footsteps echo loudly as they cross the cement floor.

In the west corner stairwell on the second level, Lex stops in front of what looks like the doorway to a maintenance closet. There is an old-fashioned number pad beside the rusty door and Lex quickly types in seven numbers. The lock clicks and he opens the door to guide Chloe hastily through before following himself.

The room is small; there is only a few feet of space between the door they entered through and the opposite wall, which is really a set of elevator doors.

Chloe raises one eyebrow at Lex, “Lionel is a closet Bond fan, isn’t he?”

“Oh yeah. Octopussey is his favorite.”

Her lip curves but Lex doesn’t get the laugh he had hoped for. He would like to see her beautiful unrestrained smile directed at him once more before all this is over. Instead all he sees is the quirk of her lips and the light in her eyes that conceals rather than exposes. His insatiable curiosity for her forces him to ask, “How do you feel?”

“Like some kind of twisted Cinderella, about to sneak into the ball.” She quips. He wonders if she deliberately misunderstood him and can not manage to dredge up the smile she obviously expects. Why should he smile at her when she is shutting him out?

The dark of his eyes and the intensity of his stare makes Chloe’s breath catch. Tell him! something in her is screaming. Tell him. But she can’t.

They enter the elevator and going down and Chloe looses count of the floors as she fights with the words inside her. Obviously they are below the street when the elevator stops. The doors open up on a cold utilitarian hallway. The walls are gray and so is the carpet. The lights are florescent and weak and she can hear the faint buzzing sound they make in the relative silence. Chloe is reminded of a doctor’s office here in the city she visited once. Hallway and doctor’s office share the same sterility and cold disturbing smell. All she can see at the end of the corridor is a bend.

As they walk along Lex quizzes her on the plan. She responds absently, only a small part of her listening. The rest is busy wrestling with itself, fighting for a dignity she is becoming less and less convinced she wants to or has actually preserved.





Lex asks Chloe about the plan, attempting to draw her attention back to him from wherever it has gone. He wants desperately for her to look at him. She is moving farther and farther away from him in her mind and it makes him ache. Suddenly he wants the day back- he sees all the time he wasted when he could have been touching her, talking to her, when she could have been smiling at him. His mouth is moving on automatic and he barely knows what he is saying- all he can think of is the twelve precious hours he threw away.

They stop abruptly in front of another set of doors. Chloe realizes he has just explained to her that when they pass through those doors, they will be constantly monitored by video and that they should put their masks on now. It seems a little ironic. She has been wearing the mask of indifference all day.

“Lex-“she says. Her voice sounds strange and far away.

He turns to her. She wants to say it- she really does but the words just won’t come out. They stand in front of the doors staring at each other.




Lex is trapped in place. They are standing at the door and there is no more time and he can’t bring himself to move, can’t bring himself to pass through those doors. Everything has become monochromatic; Chloe’s white skin, the black dress, the gray wall behind her. Everything is stark and edged.

He manages to pull his gaze away from hers and as his eyes fall, he sees something he hadn’t noticed earlier.

She is wearing the cuff.

That damn stupid piece of black leather she has been trying to bully him into wearing since the third day. It’s too big, sliding around on her wrist and it clashes terribly with the elegance of the dress but she is wearing it anyway.

He sees it clearly then- he wants her and he will not let her go.

In one sudden move, he leans over and kisses her, fierce and tender and sweet, terrified and desperate and reassured, hungry and burning and joyful. He kisses her with all the things he feels when he’s with her.

“This is not over.” He promises fervently. He is shaking with the revelation and the pounding beat of his heart.

He holds her eyes for a moment to make sure she understands and agrees. She looks a little dazed but her expression resolves itself under his gaze.

“Why?” She asks.

He recoils, visibly.

“Why?” She repeats, “There are thousands of women you could have.” She is pale and shaking but her gaze is steady. “Any of them would be willing to-“

“Is that what this is to you?” He demands, furious and so hurt. “A quick tumble-“

“Isn’t that what it is to you?”

“No.” The word slips out, with a desperate sincerity that surprises them both, “Damn it, Chloe, we don’t have time for this-“

“What is it then?” She presses. She realizes now why she couldn’t speak first. He has demanded all kinds of answers from her. She will have this one. “What do you see when you look at me?”


Lex wears the same shocked, almost bewildered expression he had worn a month ago when he told her about his father. He opens his mouth to speak but nothing comes out.

Of course.

Chloe nods, feels the familiar burning pain in her chest that is a thousand times worse than what she felt with Clark. She turns from him toward the door and begins to slide her mask on when he grabs her arm, gently pulling her back around against the wall to face him.

He is not Clark. He won’t let her get away that easily.

He takes a deep breath but meets her eyes, “I see a fierce beautiful woman hiding in the dark, afraid that no one will ever see her true self or care enough to come looking for it.” His gaze is inescapable and he touches her face on the cheekbone just below her eye with one trembling hand, “I see someone just like me.”

The hand slips down to cup her jaw in one palm and he tastes her lips, as deeply as he can and still wanting more. She responds, sliding her arms around his neck and bringing her body flush against his. It is not the overwhelming flood of that first kiss but it is just as powerful, just as transformative. It is a promise.

He smiles at her when they come apart finally and she smiles back- a true smile. “This is not over.” She agrees and the relief and joy almost make him sag. He rests his forehead gently on hers for a moment, feeling her breathe and his hand slides down her arm to touch the leather on her wrist. He gazes at her beautiful face for a few seconds more, never wanting to stop looking at her, talking to her, touching her

- but he will have to. There are things to do. But at least now, there will be time. He will not let her go. His fingers slip away from her skin with a sigh.

“Are you ready to make Thomas Perry sorry?” He asks, moving them on to do what is necessary.

Her hand slips down and away from his arm slowly but her grin widens to show more teeth, “Oh, yeah.” She tells him. Lex moves in quickly for one more kiss before drawing back. She smiles at him- just for him before sliding on her mask with the deliberate motion of a samurai belting on his sword. His Chloe. Lex takes comfort in her smile and in the knowledge that what he is about to do does not mean he will lose her. Pulling his own mask into place, he pushes the double doors open with both hands and sweeps into his father’s castle with all the arrogant assurance of his namesake.





Chloe waits ten minutes as Lex instructed, before passing through the doors herself. She takes the elevator up twenty floors and follows Lex’s directions through the twisting halls of LutherCorp. Twisted like Lionel’s’ mind, she thinks dryly to herself as she approaches the party. She can hear the noise of it already and she steels herself for what she has to do now. Don’t look at Lex, she reminds herself. Don’t even look for Lex. Luckily, they are taking invitations on the first floor at the entrance to the building so at least she doesn’t need to worry about being caught crashing.

Chloe enters the party behind an older couple dressed as Romans and tries to look like she comes to these things all the time. It’s not easy. Even though her father worked for LuthorCorp all those years, she has never seen “The Grand Ballroom”. Trust Lionel to put a grand ballroom complete with marble floors and vaulted ceilings in his corporate headquarters. The room is huge, surrounded on three sides with ornate balconies. The fourth wall is actually a set of windows, two stories tall overlooking the skyline of the city. A jumbo screen obscures part of the view and below it is the table of honor, complete with podium. The ballroom is full of the cream of Metropolis society, dressed in elaborate costumes, eating elaborate horderves, and telling even more elaborate stories. One woman looks as though she is dressed entirely in diamonds. Chloe isn’t sure if she should be fascinated or disgusted by this obvious display of wealth. She decides it doesn’t matter which she feels as long as she manages not to stare.

Her eyes scan the room and she heads casually towards the stairs to the balcony.

Lex gives precise directions, Chloe has to give him that. Walking along the balcony casually, like she is just bored and wandering, she easily spots the boardroom he mentioned. With a quick glance ducks down the nearby hallway. Around the corner is a steel door with another number pad. Normally, it would require a card swipe as well as a code but Lex’s code has a master override and doesn’t require a card. Chloe enjoys the ease of breaking and entering with the help of an inside man. She’ll have to remember it for the future. She types the code in and listens for the tell tale click. She thanks a god she doesn’t usually converse with when she slips through the door without being spotted.

It’s the control room for the projector system. Lex had explained to her that presentations are generally loaded beforehand into the system and are then controlled by the person on the floor by a remote. It saves Lionel the cost of paying a technician overtime. Chloe vaguely remembers some quotation which explains that the reason rich people are so rich is because they hate to part with even pennies.

The room is crowded with computer equipment and cables, as well as one small desk on which rests the projector computer. Pulling the thumb drive out of her beaded handbag, she plugs it quickly into the proper port and loads the little “presentation” she and Lex have made of the evidence against Perry. Rifling through the desk drawers she finds one of the remotes and checks its battery. It looks all ready, so she slips it into her hand bag. She straightens slowly. It is freezing in the little room but Chloe pauses for a second and takes a deep breath. The hard part for her is coming next.





Meanwhile, Lex is on the main floor of the ballroom carefully stalking his prey and trying to stay out of Lionel’s sight. Lex doubts the power of a mask and hat to disguise him from his father. He has the disquieting feeling Lionel could recognize him in a full body cast with a paper bag over his head. The mask and hat is working on everyone else though. Of course, people rarely see what they don’t expect to see. It’s interesting for Lex to attend one of these events as just another person, usually he is fighting off the attentions of half the guest list or hiding in the coat closet. Looking around he is surprised to see people smiling and laughing in genuine pleasure. It never occurred to him that anyone might actually enjoy this sort of thing.

Lex turns his attention back to Perry. He’s a big man, heavy-boned in his early sixties. His hair is white and his nose is crooked, a clear indication it had been broken and set improperly sometime in his past. The fact that he has never had it fixed is very telling. He is one of the few people in the room who is not wearing a mask or costume, only a tux. Perry is a member of the “American success story, built my company on the sweat of my brow and the strength of my wits” set, like Lex’s father and he has all the insecurities therein. Probably the reason Lionel and Perry have never gotten along- robber barons prefer to be the only billionaire in the room so everyone can give them their undivided attention. Lionel had been very amused when Lex stole that defense contract out from under his enemy.

Lex watches as Perry sends his wife and what Lex recognizes as his granddaughter off, so that he can talk to a business associate. Lex leans casually against a pillar and pretends to watch the band as the two pass by. He can’t hear Perry’s conversation but he doesn’t care. He just needs a chance to get the other man alone.

His chance comes sooner than expected as Perry’s associate excuses himself and wanders away. Lex slips around the pillar and approaches Perry from the other side by the wall. He is at the older man’s elbow when Perry looks over and jumps a little.


“Geez, son. You scared me.” Perry said with a little laugh, “It’s polite to shake a man’s hand and say hello when you want to speak to him.”

Lex holds out his hand and when Perry takes it, Lex says quite deliberately, “Hello, Perry.” Lex can see the realization dawn on the man’s face as he recognizes the voice. Perry moves to pull his hand away but Lex holds on tight and leans forward to speak softly, “I wouldn’t make a scene if I were you. I’d like to have a quiet word since we’ve run into each other so conveniently.” Lex’s smile is not comforting or reassuring, nor is it meant to be.

“Lex, I’m so glad to see you alive and well.” Perry feigns a hearty tone.

“I’m sure you are.” Lex observes dryly, “I know I’m certainly glad to see you. There is a small matter I think we should discuss.”

“This is a party, Lex. I’m supposed to be entertaining my wife.” Perry is looking around for an escape but Lex won’t give it to him.

“This really won’t wait. You can convey my sincerest apologies to your wife later. Please come with me.” The words are a request, the tone is not. Perry nods reluctantly. They stroll up the stairs together to the balcony where Lex ushers them into the conference room Chloe had passed earlier. He locks the door behind them and motions for Perry to sit down at the large oval table.

He does reluctantly, swiveling the chair out away from the table to face Lex. Perry crosses his legs casually and leans back with a pleasant smile. He looks calm and attentive and mildly curious as Lex removes his hat and mask and places them on the table. The two men size each other up for a moment. Despite the businessman’s casual posture Lex isn’t fooled. Perry is an old lion, powerful and rangy with a vicious cunning- but a lifetime with Lionel makes him little more than an annoyance in Lex’s eyes.

Perry breaks the silence first, “What is this all about, Lex?”

Lex smiles mysteriously and rounds the table to it’s head. Sitting in the chair at the head of the table is a folder and a remote. In his mind, Lex’s smile turns genuine. Chloe really is a remarkable young woman. Lex reaches down into the chair and picks up the folder. With a casual flick of his wrist he sends it skidding over the tabletop to Perry before seating himself in the chair.

The older man moves automatically to catch the folder with one hand. When Lex doesn’t speak, he opens it reluctantly while the younger man watches. Though Perry must have suspected what it was, his lips still tighten. To his credit, he doesn’t attempt to deny anything. He just sighs a little as though he is bored before turning a mild look on Lex.

“So what happens now, Luther? Will you turn me over to the proper authorities?” Perry’s tone is gently mocking. They both know rich men rarely go to jail.

Lex smiles just as gently and mockingly in return, “So you can finally get your money’s worth out of all those lawyers you own and get off anyway?” he asks. “No, I don’t think so. The law doesn’t really apply to people like us. If we want justice we make it ourselves.” Lex leans back in his chair and surveys Perry as though he is casually passing judgment on the older man. He watches Perry go white with anger and allows his smile to widen. The older man’s façade is starting to crumble. “You’ve inconvenienced me for ten days. I think I’d like to inconvenience you in return.” He sits up suddenly and Perry jumps a little. “And while an attempt at prosecution would trouble you for a while, eventually it would be over and nothing would have changed. What I envision for you is something a little more . . . lasting.”

“I’ve know dozen’s like you- young and slick-fast talkers but none of them has had what it takes to come up against me. You don’t scare me, Luther.” Perry is ramrod straight in his chair, his eyes fixed on Lex in a cold level gaze.

Big words but Lex knows they are a lies. “I believe you came here tonight with you granddaughter. I noticed her earlier. A lovely girl. What is she, fifteen?”

Perry’s eyes widen, “You-“

“Don’t worry, Perry.” Lex interrupts, “Unlike some people, I don’t make it a habit of harming defenseless young women.” He pauses theatrically as though something new has just occurred to him, “How do you think she’d feel, to hear how her grandfather kidnapped an eighteen year old girl and planned to have her tortured and killed?”

“I never- She wasn’t supposed to be there!”

“But your people took full advantage of the fact that she was. They could have left her in that field but they took her- to keep me in line, isn’t that right, Tom? Because it might take a few days to break me but maybe to protect the girl I would spill it all in a few hours.” Lex’s grip is tightening on the arm of the chair and he forces it to relax. The thought of what could have happened to Chloe- in his mind he can see the ugly bruise on her cheekbone. What the businessman had set after them was a pack of rabid dogs and when Lex was done with Perry, he would deal with Perry’s little helpers.

Lex stands abruptly and strides over to the window. Looking down toward the buffet table his eyes fall on two figures. “Come here.” He gives Perry the command in a casual tone over his shoulder. When the older man doesn’t move, Lex adds mildly, “It would be in your best interest-“ Perry gives him a resentful look that would not be out of place on the face of a twelve year old school boy but he does come to stand at the window with Lex.

“Let me direct your attention to the nearest end of the buffet table,” Lex says with a nod. Perry looks down onto the party, eyes skimming. Lex knows the exact moment he recognizes his granddaughter below them. A pretty girl with plain brown hair dressed in white and winged like an angel. She is talking to another girl- a blonde dressed all in black. Lex knows the exact moment Perry spots Chloe as well.

Years in the boardroom and business meetings where self-control is imperative for success keeps Perry from going for Lex’s throat but it is a close thing. Lex is almost disappointed, although the thought of fighting the taller heavy boned man with his injured shoulder is not pleasant. “What is this?” Perry demands through clenched teeth.

“Relax, Tom.” Lex says almost mockingly, “I told you, I am not a danger to teenage girls. She won’t be harmed.” He studies the two girls absently while he speaks. Even from here Chloe stands out. She isn’t graceful but she moves with a confident self-possession that draws the eye. Something she says makes Perry’s granddaughter laugh. “This can go two ways. In the first scenario, we sit down and you tell me exactly what made you think you could kidnap me, threaten my life, and get away with it. Then you agree to sell me all of your stock in Perry Electronics-“ Perry makes a sound of protest which Lex ruthlessly plows over, “You’ll get a decent price, don’t worry. And in return the evidence I have of your involvement in my and Miss Sullivan’s disappearance never comes to light and you’re granddaughter and all the rest of your family never have to know that in addition to being incompetent you’re also a criminal.”

Perry is looking at him with hate filled eyes but Lex can’t care. Victory is what matters now. Victory that would ensure Chloe’s safety. Perry would concede. He would see that he had no choice. “In the second scenario, you do not concede to my very reasonable demands and I plaster the evidence I have against you all over the jumbo screen behind the podium and your granddaughter as well as your wife can watch while you’re unmasked as a gutless criminal in front of the best of Metropolis society. How do you think Jessica will enjoy school on Monday after that?” He uses the girls name deliberately for the first time and observes the blood drain from Perry’s face as he watches his granddaughter. Lex feels almost guilty for a moment but his eyes fall on Chloe where she stands beside the other girl and he remembers her tears and again the bruise on her face.

Lex gives Perry a moment to let his helplessness truly sink in.

Finally, the old lion sags in defeat and sinks down into a chair with his head in one hand.

“They were only supposed to hold you for a little while- a month no more,” his voice is weary and resigned as he explains, “so I could find out who had leaked that information to you and he could take over LexCorp. You weren’t going to be killed and they weren’t supposed to hurt you any more than necessary. It seemed fair that you should lose your company like I lost mine and he promised there would be no repercussions.”

Lex goes cold all over and though he knows with absolute and terrible certainty he forces himself to ask, “Who? Who could take over LexCorp?”

Perry gives him a strange look, “Your father.”

They are in terrible danger.

TBC. . .

[Kit Merlot]

My GOD, Tracy, this was a gorgeous chapter! And thanks for the mention in your A/N--even though I'm not quite sure how I helped. You are a very kind person

And I'm thrilled that it is in two parts--so we'll have one more part to go to this kickass story

Good for Lex for admitting his feelings for Chloe--that was a beautiful moment.

Well done!

[kimmie]

What, who's in danger...? Lex and Chloe? Please don't let anything happen to them, i want my happy ending!!! Loved this update, especially Lex refusing to give up Chloe!!!

Hope you have another update coming soon, cos I'm dying to know what happens next!!!

Kimmie

[darkangel]

Well that's a twist. Good update. Please update soon.

[hfce]

Yeah they told eachother how they feel. I am so happy about that.
But I so knew Lionel was behind this. I hope to God Lex can save them. Please


Hope

[Kendrix03]

WOW. I've read a lot of fanfic in my day, but I don't think I've ever been as thrilled to hear Lex profess his feelings to Chloe as I am now.

“What do you see when you look at me?”

He takes a deep breath but meets her eyes, “I see a fierce beautiful woman hiding in the dark, afraid that no one will ever see her true self or care enough to come looking for it.” His gaze is inescapable and he touches her face on the cheekbone just below her eye with one trembling hand, “I see someone just like me.”

(sigh)

[OddEvens]

Oh goodness, I got chills at the end. That is some superb writing. Please update again soon.