Murder of One

Title: Murder of One
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; Character Death
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Chlark friendship, imploding Clana
Spoilers/Timeline: Post-Wrath vignette, gratefully AU
Disclaimer: I own very little, certainly not these characters. Please don’t sue!
Author’s Note: A scary thought occurred to me as I re-watched the closing Chlana scene of Wrath recently. Good grief, I hope this isn’t the only way Clark would ever see Lana as beyond saving. I’m terrified it might be. Inspired by the lyrics to Murder of One by Counting Crows.

--
Blue morning, blue morning,
Wrapped in strands of fist and bone.
Curiosity, kitten,
Doesn’t have to mean you’re on your own
--

Dead.

Chloe Sullivan is dead.

It’s happened so often he should be used to it by now, but it still feels like he heard it backward and underwater. Nothing makes sense.

Dead?

Chloe doesn’t die. She bursts into rooms. She tears through research. She bounces down the sidewalk.

Dying is a passive thing. She wouldn’t know where to start.

Except, she does. She did.

No. No, that can’t be right. Not when he sees her as alive and furious as ever, in Technicolor. She’s telling Lana, with her ten million good intentions, that Clark deserves loyalty.

Chloe would know. Since telling her the entirety of his secret, he’s learned that Chloe Sullivan and loyalty are synonymous. It’s not a passive thing for her. Loyalty is action.

In fact, loyalty is nothing short of a full-contact sport where Chloe’s concerned.

That couldn’t translate to something so passive as death. So why was one of Chloe’s last acts mailing identical flash drives with documentation and this video? The packages were addressed to him and Jimmy, respectively. Both were delivered to The Daily Planet.

--
I’ve been watching you for hours,
It’s been years since we were born.
We were perfect when we started,
I’ve been wondering where we’ve gone.
--

The first time Jimmy called the farm, he could hardly make out the word “murder” through the broken sobs.

The police found her in the alley behind the parking garage. Someone stuffed her body in a dumpster like so much trash.

It took them a full day to find her, despite the obvious signs of foul play next to her tiny import. Even lacking her cousin’s combat training, she did not go gently.

He and Lana were just returning from a romantic weekend getaway in Star City when the call came in. She surprised him with the plans, so he hadn’t had time to charge his cell. He hadn’t even known Chloe was missing.

When Jimmy called today to report the package, Clark poured on the speed. With the funeral only a couple of days out, he still clings to the hope that something can bring her back. After all, her meteor power is healing. Knox said her heart could give his wife immortality.

It might be desperate, but it isn’t irrational, damned it.

Now, sitting next to the photographer, he’s utterly confused. Why would Chloe send him video footage of a conversation with Lana?

The young man next to him watches the footage with a bitter expression, tears tracing silent paths down his face.

Clark thinks tears and anger might be an improvement over the hollow, lost feeling he can’t seem to get past.

He jumps a little when the man next to him stands. Jimmy doesn’t bother to wipe at his tears before pausing the video, pulling out his cell and placing a call.

“Lois.” His voice is rough. “She left us the story. Get down here and we’ll put this ***** behind bars. Yeah, it is. I know. Bye.”

He turns to Clark, weary and guarded. “I swear to God, CK. If you warn her, I don’t care how huge you are, I’ll kill you myself.”

“What? Who?”

The distain Jimmy regards him with is palpable and more intimidating than he expected. “Gee. I wonder who had the motivation and the money to take out a lowly basement-dwelling reporter.”

“Lex was…”

“Lex planted Grant and was trying to distract Chloe with Lois. We figured that out weeks ago, and the situation was under control.”

“Then who?”

Jimmy just shakes his head and starts backing up the contents of the drive. “Just…remember who was loyal to you in the end.”

Loyalty.

He’s never been ill outside the presence of meteor rocks or alien viruses, but he vomits in the trashcan just the same.

Loyalty is a full-contact sport, and Chloe went down swinging.

Shaky fingers un-pause the video footage. Lana Luthor stares blankly as Chloe brushes past her. After a moment, she pulls her cell from her purse and speaks.

“I need a favor. Standard rate.” She speaks smoothly, and there is no hesitation.

--
One for sorrow, two for joy
Three for girls and four for boys
Five for silver, six for gold
Seven for a secret, never to be told.
--

Next in the series...