Lex was silent for a moment but then he nodded to himself. “This is a problem,” he said at last.

“You think?” Chloe asked him dryly. Pete nodded slowly, rubbing his chin. They were all staring out windows, watching the groups of tanks and soldiers that ringed the building. Helicopters swarmed through the sky overhead, circling the building relentlessly.

“I didn’t even know they had this many troops,” Pete breathed out. “There’s got to be a hundred-“

“One hundred and fifty,” Chloe supplied glumly. “Pretty much everything my uncle’s got.” She walked away from the window and flopped down onto the bed, burying her face into the pillow. “God, he is going to be so pissed with me,” she grumbled into it. “He’s just gonna shoot me dead and not stop till he has to reload.”

Joseph was beside himself with rage. “I should have heard them coming. I should have, even asleep!”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Tina told him listlessly. “It’s probably something you’d be used to hearing in your sleep. And besides, there’s nothing we could have done anyways.” She said it in such an accepting tone that Chloe rolled over, giving her a wondering look.

“What do you mean?” she asked, a little bothered by how calmly Tina seemed to be taking this.

“There’s nothing we could have done even if we knew an hour before hand,” she replied. “Too many of our people are injured to get out in time. And besides, where would we go?”

“They’ve taken over the whole town, there’s no way we could move a group this big out and stay hidden,” Pete said, staring out the window.

“So what do we do?” Joseph asked tensely. He shuffled around nervously, alternating between glancing at Lex and outside.

“’We’?” Chloe asked

“That’s a step,” Lex muttered quietly. “I’d say resisting them is out the question. Even with Clark and Joseph at full strength.”

“Maybe,” Joseph said, clenching his fists.

“We might not have a choice, Lex,” Pete agreed.

“Let’s see what they have to say first,” Lex replied. He gestured out the window. Outside, they could see a single jeep break ranks and drive towards the hospital. “It looks like they want to talk.”

“Oh God, it is him,” Chloe breathed out as she saw the soldier who climbed out of the jeep. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” she muttered.

“Take it easy,” Lex told her calmly. “This is just going to be a simple negotiation. I promise I won’t let him spank you.”

“Easy for you to say!” she hissed at him. “Why did you want me here too? I don’t want to talk to him.”

“I think you’ll know what to say.”

“Last thing I said to him wasn’t exactly ‘goodbye, see ya later’, more like I told him where to stick it.” He smiled lazily at her. “How are you so calm? You know what he’s like. I’m surprised he hasn’t opened fire on us already!”

“Well, you forget,” he said, “I’m also on a lot of painkillers.”

“Terrific,” she muttered, watching her uncle advance on them. When they’d seen that the soldiers were ready to talk, they’d ordered everyone out of the first floor and she and Lex had gone down to wait. They could see the tanks and soldiers marshaled around them from where they stood in the lobby. And there, filling the doorway was her uncle, General Nathan Lane. He stomped inside; his face a thundercloud, as he kicked upturned chairs out of his way. He stopped short in front of them, red in the face and practically quivering with rage. He was a big man with a dark brown hair that was cut very short. He was in full uniform and was quite imposing. Chloe took a quick breath and held it in, waiting for the explosion.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Lane snarled at Lex as he pointed a stubby finger at her. Lex smiled casually and glanced at her before looking back at him.

“And a good evening to you too, General,” he said back pleasantly, his voice a little too subdued. “Lovely escort you brought. Little bit of overkill, don’t you think though?”

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“Overkill,” he said slowly, “that’s funny coming from you. I’m not the one who just left his father’s building a crater and pissed over what was left of his company. And that’s not even the worst.”

“I haven’t gotten a chance to check in yet, how are things going?”

Chloe saw her uncle’s head retract briefly, a warning sign she’d learned years ago, but before she could warn Lex, her uncle had already lashed out with his fist, knocking the millionaire to the floor. “That’s been a long time coming,” Lane growled.

“Lex, are you alright?” Chloe asked as she tried to help him to his feet.

“Peachy,” he said weakly. “Thank God I can’t feel anything right now.”

“Chloe, what the hell have you gotten yourself into now?” her uncle snapped at her. “Not enough to get yourself arrested every week you have to get involved in this madness!”

“What do you care what I do?!” she yelled back at him, helping Lex back up.

“I care when my brother’s only daughter seems to be trying her best to get herself killed.” He stepped forward and tried to grab her but she jerked away from him. He blinked and then stepped back, fuming.

“So this is a first for you then, huh?” she said, helping Lex back onto his feet. “You never cared what I did before. How’s it feel?”

“Chloe, don’t push me,” Lane growled at her. “You have no idea how much trouble you’re in already.”

“We’re all in the same boat, General,” Lex grunted, taking his crutches from Chloe. “Trust me; you can’t protect her from any of this.” Lane frowned at him, but then looked up, his face going even stonier. Chloe glanced back and saw Joseph leaning against the wall in the back of the room, his arms crossed. He stared back at the General intently.

“No, maybe I can’t,” Lane muttered, still looking at him. “So that’s your father’s dirty little secret. Or one of them.”

“You read the files. Yes, he’s with us.”

Lane snorted. “I read the files; the President read the files; anyone with a dial-up could read them! You did a hell of thing, boy.”

“My father spent his life collecting secrets. I grew tired of them.”

“You destroyed a lot of careers back in Washington.”

“Somehow that fails to upset me.”

“I’d be inclined to agree with you,” he sighed, “but now there’s hell to pay.” His face grew troubled and he glanced at Chloe once more. Then he looked back at Lex. “You know why I’m here.”

“I’ve got a good guess. You’re here to fetch something.”

“Someone. They want the woman.”

“’They’? Who’s ‘they’? And, hell no!” Chloe snapped at him. “We’re not handing her over to anyone.”

“None of you have a choice,” Lane snapped back. “Did you really think you could let us know about her and then expect to keep her? My God, if she can do half of what it says…”

Chloe opened her mouth to yell back, but Lex stopped her with a raised hand. “It’s not that simple,” he said. “She’s sick, injured; she might not last the night. If we move her it will make things worse.”

“It’s even worse than you think,” Lane shook his head. “I’ve been ordered to collect her, dead or alive. She’s too dangerous to leave alive in any case. Especially now that everyone in the goddamn world knows about her. We need proof; the rest of the world needs proof that she can’t threaten anyone ever again.”

Chloe stared at him. “Threaten anyone? What are you talking about?”

“Remember what my father did with her, Chloe?” Lex asked. “How easy would it be for someone else to do the same? Think of what a country could do with her, even ours.”

“Now you understand,” the General said. “They want her, Lex. You have to give her up.”

“And what if we don’t?” Chloe asked spitefully.

“Then I’m prepared to take her,” her uncle responded harshly. “I can order my men to storm this hospital. You don’t have a chance of keeping her.”

“The second your men step foot inside will be their last,” Joseph spoke up from the back of the room. It was the first thing he’d said in the entire time. Lane looked up at him for a moment and then back at Lex.

“Ask your pet if he can see what’s circling over us right now, Lex,” he asked. Lex frowned at him in confusion and then looked back at Joseph.

“Helicopters don’t scare me,” Joseph said to him.

“I mean farther up. Try the stratosphere,” Lane said dryly.

Lex blinked, his face going pale. “You wouldn’t!”

“I wouldn’t, but that’s the point. Those boys are out of my hand. If they decide to deploy, there’s nothing any of us can do about it.”

Chloe looked from him to Lex in confusion. “What are you talking about?” she asked quietly.

“Nuclear bombers, Chloe,” her uncle stated quietly. “If you don’t hand over the woman, they’ll wipe Smallville off the map.”

Chloe swallowed, staring at him. “You’re kidding me!”

“It’s true. Much as I wish it wasn’t, but I don’t have a say in the matter.” He stared at Lex. “Hand her over now. There’s nothing you can do anymore.”

Lex looked down, his face wracked in concentration. “Lex, what do we do?” Chloe whispered to him, but he ignored her for the moment.

“There’s nothing he can do, Chloe,” Lane said. “Just hand her over, Lex. There’s no need to endanger anyone…,” his voice trailed off suddenly as he looked at the back of the room. Chloe looked at him, but then she felt an incredible wave of heat behind her. She whipped her head around to see Joseph staring up at the ceiling, his hands clenched at his sides. The air around his head was shimmering with raw heat, sending out searing gusts towards them. Chloe felt like she was standing in an oven, it was so intense. The paint above Joseph’s head started to peel away as he stared upwards.

“NO!” Lex shouted at him. He rushed towards him as fast as he could, despite his broken leg and the intense heat. “You can’t shoot them down!”

“I’m not going to be threatened by anyone,” Joseph shouted at him, still looking up through the ceiling. Chloe could only imagine what he was staring at, the planes above them, thousands of feet up. Could he really even reach them from down here?

“They’ll drop the bombs. You can’t risk it!” Lex gritted his teeth as he came closer to Joseph. The very air around both of them was shimmering with heat now.

“Lex, no!” Chloe shouted and tried to rush forwards, but her uncle grabbed her and pulled her back.

“Don’t be a fool!” he shouted, holding onto her tightly.

“I can help them!” Chloe yelled back. She struggled to get loose, but he was too strong. Finally she gave up and looked back at Joseph and Lex.

Lex was right in front of him now, holding onto his arms. Chloe could see him wincing in agony as he held on. “Don’t do it!” he yelled again. “We’ll find another way. You have to trust me.”

Joseph stared upwards, his face set, and then finally he relaxed. He lowered his head slowly, his one eye slowly fading from red back to its usual color. Lex let go of him, flinching as he pulled his hands away. Chloe could see the burned skin on the palms of his hands. He would have collapsed, but Joseph caught him and held him upright.

“Lex,” Chloe said quietly.

“Take him from me,” Joseph said to her. Chloe blinked and then nodded. She tugged on her uncle’s arm, and was half-surprised when he released her. She rushed over to Lex’s side and slipped his arm over her shoulders. He grunted and lifted his head as she did.

“Two hours,” he whispered hoarsely.

“What?” Lane asked.

“Two hours; you’ll get our answer then,” he said louder.

“Lex, you can’t negotiate here.”

“I just saved you and your men’s lives, General,” Lex reminded him. “The least you can give me is two hours.” He waited, staring the man down. Lane was silent, watching him. Then he looked at Joseph, and then even more surprisingly to her, at Chloe herself.

“Alright,” he said finally. “You’ve got two hours. That’s all. Lord knows what you can do with it.” He looked at Chloe one final time and turned around sharply, heading back towards the door.

Chloe watched him leave, feeling a knot tighten up in her stomach. Two hours. She looked at Joseph and Lex and saw them looking just as worried. What could they possibly do in two hours?