video;

[andaway]

[The ID reads Clark Kent, as always. Not the right time to try fooling the network yet.]

Sadly, Captain Holiday was put under intensive care not long before I ended up here so I never got to talk to him. But I was hoping some of you might have gotten a chance to contact him before that. If you have, I'd appreciate if you could tell me about your conversations with him.

You don't have to tell me what the conversation was about, I understand a lot of them were confidential. [That word, he hates it. Lois might see it as a sign that she's pulling the right strings but Clark only sees it as a wall he cannot punch or fly over.]

It's really him I'm interested on. If you noticed anything weird in how he behaved, perhaps, or if he was acting completely normal.

[He pauses for a second. And then:]

I'd also be interested in talking with people who've been able to take a look at the Porter, or been in contact with it. I understand it's a privilege to be allowed near it?

Thank you.

Comments

-> private + anonymous

[rathercommon]

I don't know. And I don't like it.

[ She hesitates a few moments, then decides to go for it. Mr. Kent seems to be pretty methodical about his investigations, and so she wants to push him to be more interested in the question of why the Porter is failing. And how do you tempt a journalist? Offer them a bit of information, right?

So she switches over to private for this next part. ]

I was Ms Lounds' source. If you want to ask me any questions, you can ask them.

private

[andaway]

[The next text takes a long couple of minutes, whereas until now it'd just taken him a minute or two to reply.]

I guess the most obvious question would be that if you have such vital information, why stay anon? And why share it with Ms Lounds?

[The implication being that neither is going to help with having people believe her.]

If your proof and sources are solid why all the secrecy?

[rathercommon]

[ Her answer, in return, is blunt. ]

Because I got it by following government agents, and the government wouldn't look kindly on that. And I told Ms Lounds because I knew that she wasn't afraid to put the information out there.

[andaway]

Makes sense.

[And Freddie did get the information out, so there's that.]

But what she shared was pretty open. Did you hear any more specifics? And are you planning on following the government agents again?

[rathercommon]

No. I gave her everything. And yes, I am.

[andaway]

Good. And good luck with it, tell me if there's any way I can help. Do you turn invisible or something like that? How does it work?

[Can't blame a guy for trying to gather information.]

[rathercommon]

[ That's...sort of a cute question. ]

Get a passable waitress' uniform, and that's just as good as being invisible. Sometimes cleverness is worth more than superpowers.

[andaway]

[He just stares at the text for a second. Congratulations, you just left Superman the text-equivalent of speechless. Which is pretty dumb, since he's basically hiding in plain sight himself. He should have guessed.]

I wholeheartedly agree, I admit I didn't see that one coming. You'd think guards of something so powerful would be more careful with what their share around.

It's a pity that trick probably doesn't work with higher ups.

[rathercommon]

[ That reaction? Makes her very, very pleased with herself. Pardon her while she preens a moment. ]

You think it won't? Just because they're powerful and respected, that doesn't mean that they're more attentive.

[andaway]

It doesn't. They are more aware that some information is confidential, sometimes, but they can't be attentive 24/7.

Which is why they pay people to be careful for them. You'll probably have a harder time getting close to them, but maybe I'm just being pessimistic. My wife and I are a far cry from famous, but our faces are still recognizable as press so most higher ups get instantly on edge when they see us. Especially my wife.

[rathercommon]

[ ...Oh. That's a...good point. ]

Yeah...That's very true. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for pointing it out.

Who's your wife?

[andaway]

No problem. If you get that information we all benefit from it.

[A subtle request for her to share? Maaaybe.]

Lois Lane. She's won two Pulitzers so she's pretty well known in the world back home. At the Planet I'm called 'Mr Lane' as a joke more often than not.

[rathercommon]

[ Kitty grins. She approves of a man who can take that sort of joke. ]

Is she here?

[andaway]

No, she isn't. I'd say sadly, but I'm actually glad she isn't here. She'd be bored out of her mind with just a couple days.

Or she'd decide to take matters into her own hands and make a mess out of the politics here.

[rathercommon]

Glad, you say. But aren't you lonely without her?

[andaway]

Of course I am. She's my best friend as much as she's my wife. But it'd be pretty selfish of me to want her to be here.

[rathercommon]

Would it? I obviously don't know you or anything of the sort, so I might well be overstepping myself in saying this, but I imagine she'd be cross if she knew you were lonely. She'd probably WANT to be here for that alone.

[andaway]

Both of us are journalist, so we're pretty used to spending time away from each other because one of us is seeking a story.

[Among other reasons he can't share.]

I was actually spending some time away when I got ported here, helping my mother at the farm. If anything she'd be mad if I spent time missing her instead of doing my best to gather as much information as possible. This isn't permanent, she'd say, so I don't get to use her absence as an excuse.

[rathercommon]

[ Kitty smiles to herself. ]

She sounds really lovely.

[andaway]

I'm probably the only man in history to ever call her lovely and live to tell the tale but yes, she is.

But I'm sharing quite a lot considering one of us is anon. [He's willing to take a leap of faith, but there's lines to be drawn.]

[rathercommon]

[ Oh. Yeah. Well. ]

Yeah...But it's very nice things you're sharing. It's really sweet. And not at all embarrassing.

[andaway]

It's also a way to get under my skin. [Which honestly he shares with everyone who can stand to listen to him gush about Lois for more than a couple seconds, but still.]

But back to the topic at hand. Did you ever happen to listen to anything about Captain Holiday?

[rathercommon]

OK, that's fair.

And do you mean did I hear anything about him when I was eavesdropping, or have I been listening about him on the network?

[andaway]

Both, I suppose. But they are being pretty closed off about his situation and why the sudden need for treatment so I was hoping maybe you'd heard something.

[rathercommon]

Sorry. They were scientists, not politicians. What they knew about was the Porter, not any of the people around it.