Cherry Wine {lex luthor}

chapter twenty seven

"Security and murder aren't the same thing." Finch said softly. "We aren't living in an age where an eye for an eye is an acceptable punishment. Believe me, I wish I could have saved the lives that he took-or made sure no one got hurt because of him. But murder isn't something I can use as a bargaining tool."

Lex let go of me, and placed his hands firmly on his hips.

"Is it murder if the man you're killing has already killed? It doesn't matter." He waved a hand. "You had better go in. You'll be on the hot seat in there, Junebug."

She shrugged on her jacket.

"I grew up on a farm. I know how to wrestle a pig."

I opened my mouth to object to Lex being called a pig, but he interrupted me.

"Do you know the oldest lie in America, senator? It's that power can be innocent."

Finch rolled her eyes, and walked away. Lex turned to me, and took my hand. He was smiling like the cat that got the cream, and my chest seized. He had done something bad; I could feel it in my bones.

Inside the courtroom, people were beginning to sit. I tugged at Lex's hand.

"Shouldn't we go in?" I asked. Lex shook his head, still smiling. He started back down the hallway-back towards the front door.

"We aren't going in. Mercy is taking notes for me. She told me earlier that I have a phone meeting in a few minutes." He was walking faster now, checking his watch. I stopped suddenly, the pain in my chest growing.

"Why did we come all this way just to leave before the trial begins?" I asked. Lex's face darkened, and I remembered condition three too late. Suddenly, the cheering outside grew to a fever pitch, and I knew Superman had I arrived.

"Ruth, let's go. Now." Lex grabbed my arm. My chest tightened dangerously, and I gasped for breath. Heavy footsteps came down the hall, and a silence fell over us all. I watched as Superman stepped from the shadows, and into the courtroom. The doors closed behind him with a sharp bang. Lex was pulling in earnest now, a note of fear entering his voice.

"Ruth!"

My vision paled, and I felt my knees hit the hard floor as my ribs spasmed. There was no air in my lungs. Lex was shouting my name now, and I could see his voice floating in and out of my view. The senator had begun speaking, and her voice was muffled through the thick doors.

Lex scooped me up, or at least I assumed he did, because one moment I was on the floor and the next I was moving. The walls went by in a blur of art and plaques, and with every step the crowds outside grew louder. Within seconds, we were outside, the cool air only making it harder to breathe. Lex set me down, and my knees crumpled again.

"Come on, Ruth." He urged. "I know you're in pain, love, I know. Can you walk to the car, or should I carry you?"

"I can walk." I gasped out. Lex straightened, and began down the steps. He reached the bottom before looking back up-and the look of panic in his eyes when he realized I hadn't moved nearly made me scream.

And I would have, if at that exact second a wave of sound and fire hadn't hit me full in the back, knocking me unconscious.

***
The first thing I heard when I came to was screaming. I couldn't see, or feel, but I could hear-and the screams scared me so much that it took far too long for me to realize that I was the one screaming.

Seconds later, the pain hit.

My chest felt as though I had been hit by a truck. My leg was hot and wet, and I knew the thin, baby skin over it had burst.