Lex's butler was swift. Not long after, dinner was ready. During the meal, Clark confided to Lex about the trouble he encountered. Lex, sitting at the head of the table, cutting his steak, paused, then asked:
"So, you're saying, a bunch of people posing as the KGB infiltrated your dorm, and this rat tamed them? ... It seems, it is likely the people from the Cia."
But Clark was caught off guard by his certainty, asking: "How can you be so sure? What if it's not them?"
"Framing the KGB and failing at it - both the motive and the ability represent the Cia." Lex continued to contend with the food in his plate, speaking as he ate, "It's not surprising that the Cia is watching you. You think your use of superpowers is covert, but to those professional agents, you've done nothing to disguise."
"You think you take off in deserted locations, but your tracks disappearing out of nowhere is the biggest suspicion, and once they decide to watch you, every road you take will be stalked..."
"I guess, many times, you saved people or helped others, doing things like lifting a car bare-handed or pulling off doors directly, and they must be aware of this."
"You should understand, Metropolis is the most important city on the East Coast, there's no doubt about that." Lex glanced towards the front door of the Luthor Manor, "All the influential people here are monitored, including you and me."
Clark shivered, feeling his delicious food less tasty. He said, "Don't tell me, inside this manor also..."
Lex shook his head, said nothing, but Clark felt a bit uncomfortable, saying, "I don't like the feeling of being watched."
"So, do you want to deal with those people? Kill them? Make them feel fear?"
"Of course not." Clark immediately replied, "Alright, I know, it's their job, but it doesn't mean I like spies, from any country. I think most people would agree."
"So, can you make them stop bothering me? Even if I owe you a favor, call me any time you need help." Clark said.
Lex pursed his lips. He was unaccustomed to Clark's straightforward manner of speaking, but finally, he sighed and said, "Alright, I'll contact them for you, warn them not to go overboard. But complete withdrawal of surveillance is impossible, even I can't do that."
"Then it can only be so." Clark said with some emotion, "I remember, when I was young, these two countries were always competing with each other for new inventions, new achievements, why has it turned to deploying spies and conducting surveillance?"
No one answered his question. The wondering was left hanging in the Luthor Manor, dissipating in the evening breeze of Metropolis.
This bustling city still had people flowing like a river, it wouldn't grind to a halt on account of someone's question or distress. Like it would always be developing like this, until becoming a lighthouse for the entire human race.
After Clark left, Lex sat alone in the study of Luthor Manor. He opened the cage and looked at Pikachu, who hopped out, "Professor Shearer has a message for me, right?"
"Speaking with you is much easier. Clark, he's a good man, a pure man, a noble man...too noble."
Pikachu hopped onto the bookshelf and sat down, crossing his legs, then spoke, "Those two men were indeed electrocuted by me. They did invade Clark's dorm. I didn't expect them to deliver themselves to my doorstep so easily. Saved me quite some trouble."
"That medal, it wasn't retrieved from them, right?"
Pikachu nodded, "Don't ask about the specifics of the plan. Anyway, Shearer wants you to do as you promised, contact the Cia in Metropolis, warn them against following Clark."
"What does he plan to do?" As Lex picked up a book to read, he threw out the question. Pikachu shook his head, seeming to not want to say anything. But Lex didn't care. He looked out the window at the bustling night view of Metropolis.
At the headquarters of the Metropolis Central Intelligence Agency, the director, Kira picked up the phone and said to the other end, "Okay... okay... What did you say? You mean, the new head of the Luster Family, Lex Luther, invited me for dinner. Why did he..."
After hanging up the phone, Kira paused in thought, then instructed the subordinate next to her: "Get the vehicle ready. We are going to Luthor Manor."
The Cia vehicle stopped at the entrance of Luthor Manor and the butler went out to welcome Kira, who was wearing a professional outfit – a sweater with long pants, covered by a jacket, looking sharp and energetic.
However, Lex didn't look too pleased when he received her. As soon as the two sat down at the dining table, Lex got straight to the point:
"You know what? Your activities have been a little too frequent lately. Do you think that the surveillance system of the Luster family is for decoration?"
"It is for security reasons." Kira replied perfunctorily, "Fall is a time of many things. A murder just occurred at the mayor's mansion recently. You did not experience it. Do you want Luthor Manor to turn into the second mayor's mansion?"
"Don't threaten me with that. You know what happened better than I do. Luthor Manor is very safe, and my safety does not concern you."
"Really?" Kira's gaze landed on the bruise on Lex's chin; she said, "Indeed, after a trip to Gotham, you only got this minor injury. Your security work is indeed very impressive."
Kira wasn't being sarcastic. She spoke from the bottom of her heart, after all, she had experienced what kind of dangers lied in Gotham.
"Putting myself aside, why are you guys targeting my friend? You even broke into his dormitory? Isn't that going too far?" Lex expressed his displeasure by tapping his fork against his plate.
"Your friend?" Kira furrowed her eyebrows and asked: "Who?"
"Don't play dumb with me, that tall one called Clark, didn't you see him when we were at the mayor's mansion?"
Kira gradually recalled that during the mayor's murder case, there was a superpower user named Clark who had intertwined with them. Kira sighed and said, "Monitoring superpower users is not our job, it falls under a special security department."
"Then I have to say, that security department is really idiotic. They casually burst into Clark's dormitory, and even carried a Soviet Union medal to disguise themselves as KGB. Do they think everyone is a fool? To buy into this?"
Upon hearing this, Kira was taken aback. A brief look of unease crossed her face, but it quickly disappeared. "Disguised as KGB? Are you saying that those from the special security department tasked with watching Clark were masquerading as KGB?"
"Exactly, I know they want to use Clark's special abilities to deal with KGB. Given the current situation, one can somewhat understand such actions, but can't they do it more intelligently? Even that simple-minded giant saw through it."
"So, he came to me for help, asking me to warn you to stop bothering him; he saw through your little trick."
Kira deeply furrowed her brows and fell into thought. Lyx called her a few times without getting her attention. Kira then said, "I understand the situation you've reported. Could you let me see the medal they found on them?"
Lex took out the medal he had received from Pikachu. The moment Kira saw the medal, her pupils constricted. She became expressionless, and her facial muscles tensed as if she was trying to control her expression.
Eventually, she said, "This is important evidence, can I have it? If you keep it and someone sees it someday, it will…"
"I originally planned to give it to you anyway. I don't want to keep this thing. If it becomes evidence incriminating me someday, that wouldn't be good, right?" Lex hinted with a suggestive tone.
"I will vouch for you," Kira put away the medal, then stood up and said, "I will communicate with the special security department, but don't get your hopes up too high. They are a very stubborn bunch and hard to convince."
"All I want is to express my stance, and if you don't do as I say, you'll bear the consequences." Lex stood up too, his tone indifferent.
Kira didn't say anything more and turned to leave. After getting into the car, she sighed, clamped her arm to her body, and hid her trembling fingertips behind her knee.
When she got back to the CIA headquarters, she sneezed a few times, rubbed her nose, then pretended to be weary and said to her subordinates, "I may have a slight cold, going to see a doctor. You guys cover for me this afternoon."
"Don't worry, boss, there's nothing big going on lately. You should go get some rest. Ever since the murder case closed, you've been working day and night. It's time you go see the doctor."
Kira waved at them and then left. From the way they responded, it was clear that her popularity within CIA was much better than Benjamin's.
Once she was away from headquarters, Kira hurried to the hospital, registering, finding the consultation room, and seeing the doctor in one go.
When she arrived at the doctor's office, Kira caught the doctor's attention with a look. The female doctor pulled all the curtains closed, closed the door, and then sat down, asking, "What's up, Comrade Valeria, why did you suddenly contact me?"
Kira took a deep breath, speaking very quickly:
"It's suspected that people from the special security department, disguised as one of us, invaded the dormitory of the superpower user Clark. They were carrying the Red Flag Medal, trying to frame us, to provoke the superpower user in order to get him to deal with us."
"I've already sent the information about that superpower user back to Moscow. Moscow attaches great importance to this because he is extremely powerful."
The female doctor frowned, saying, "Indeed, if they resort to such dirty tactics, our field agents might indeed suffer a major blow. I will compile a report on this situation and send it back. We should get a response within three days at the earliest."
"But that's not the point." Kira said with a furrowed brow. She took out the medal from her pocket and dropped it on the table. The medal made a crisp sound. Kira stressed her point saying:
"The important thing is, the medal they used to impersonate us, is real, an authentic Red Flag Medal, and also…"
The female doctor didn't wait for Kira to finish her sentence. She reached out to take the medal, took a look, and said, "You're right, indeed it is ours, and it's an early version too."
"It's more than just an early Red Flag Medal; it has a special mark on it. Someone once told me what it means, that it represents a special hero..."
The woman doctor's hand holding the medal paused, looking at Kira, who also gazed back at her, slowly uttering a name:
"Harold. Jin. Philby."