“Didn’t save anyone on the way here, did you?”
Lex’s voice came from behind me.
I turned and found him studying a massive table covered by a detailed model of a fortress, complete with dozens of miniature soldiers.
“Keep this up and you might actually have a career.”
“Hello, Lex.”
I turned toward him and held out my hand.
He shook it.
“I brought your food order.
They’re unloading it now, so I decided to look around.”
I glanced at the model.
“Planning to conquer the world?”
“I got this set from my father when I was nine.”
“That’s a pretty cool gift.”
I nodded meaningfully toward the miniature army.
“Gift?”
Lex looked at the model.
“This isn’t a gift.
It’s a strategic weapon.”
He smiled faintly.
“My father treats business like war.”
“He’s right, actually.”
I shrugged.
“Business is a lot like war.”
“Perhaps.”
Lex didn’t argue.
“But it’s still a great gift.”
I looked over the miniature soldiers.
“Your father must love you very much.”
“Love me?”
Lex gave me a strange look.
“My father?”
He almost laughed.
“You must be thinking of someone else.
My father doesn’t know how to love.”
“Do you?”
That caught him off guard.
“What?”
“Do you know how to love?”
Lex stared at me.
“What do you mean?”
I gestured toward my chest.
“Do you know what you’re supposed to do with that warm feeling of attachment when it appears right here?
What words are you supposed to use to express it?
What actions?
How do you show someone you love them?”
I looked at him.
“A girl?
Your parents?
Your own son?”
Lex stared at me for several seconds before finally smirking.
“I…”
He shook his head.
“You ask some very complicated questions, Clark.
Don’t you think they’re a little beyond your age?”
“Probably.”
I spread my hands with an embarrassed smile.
“They’ve just been bothering me lately.
That’s all.”
I looked at the miniature fortress.
“Someday, hopefully, I’ll have a son of my own.”
I paused.
“Or a daughter.”
I looked back at Lex.
“How do I show them that I love them?
How do I make sure they know?”
Lex considered the question seriously.
“I don’t know, Clark.”
He shrugged.
“Maybe you spend time with them.
Pay attention to them.
Give them useful gifts that help them learn important things.”
“That’s a pretty good gift, though.”
I pretended to become completely fascinated by the miniature fortress. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“Those little soldiers when you were nine.
I would’ve loved something like this.”
I looked back at Lex.
“Did your father explain what battle this is supposed to represent, or did you figure it out yourself?”
Lex burst out laughing.
He pointed a finger at me.
I gave him another innocent, apologetic shrug.
“You’re a devious one, Clark.
Like the Tempter himself.”
Once he’d stopped laughing, he shook his head.
“You’d never guess that beneath that innocent smile and naive expression there’s such a calculating predator.”
He smiled.
“I underestimated you.
I’ll admit it.”
“That’s certainly flattering.”
I smiled.
“But what exactly makes me a predator?”
“Don’t be modest.”
Lex smiled back.
“And since we’re talking about the set, this is the Trojan War.”
He gestured toward the miniature battlefield.
“My father told me about it.
He used to spend time playing with me and these little soldiers when I was nine, trying to put some of his own experience into my head.”
Lex glanced at me.
“The Trojan War began because two men fell in love with the same woman.”
His smile became more mischievous.
“Much like you and the quarterback.”
He tilted his head.
“Is that why he hung you out in the field?”
“If there was a war…”
I glanced at the model.
“Then I won it.”
Lex nodded.
“I did some research.
That whole local Scarecrow tradition is basically public humiliation, disgrace, and a permanent label as a loser.
It can follow someone for the rest of his school career, maybe even beyond it.”
He looked at me thoughtfully.
“But you allowed him to do it.”
“When I found you, you didn’t have a single bruise or scratch.
You didn’t resist.”
Lex smiled.
“At first glance, that looked like stupidity.
Weakness.
Defeat.”
He pointed toward the miniature battlefield.
“Then, at the exact moment of Fordman’s triumph, you delivered one perfectly calculated, perfectly timed blow.”
His smile widened.
“And what was the result?”
“Fordman was humiliated, crushed, and completely defeated.”
“And you?”
“You’re the hero.”
He applauded softly.
“And after what happened today, there’s no question about it.”
“A beautiful combination, Clark.
Bravo.”
I could only scratch the tip of my nose with a modest smile.
“I suppose there’s only one thing missing.”
Lex turned toward his desk.
“The final detail.”
“The finishing stroke.”
He opened a drawer and pulled out a beautiful gray metal box.
“The strike of the misericordia.”
He opened the box.
I recoiled before I could stop myself.
Inside was the green meteorite pendant.
The same one.
The same cursed piece of green rock.
I immediately tried to turn my reaction into a joke.
“Oh!”
I pointed at the box.
“Which one of us is the Tempter now, Lex?”
He raised an eyebrow, a victorious, sly half-smile appearing on his face.
“Not Alexander?”
“Definitely not Alexander.”
I shook my head with exaggerated seriousness.
“Alexander is too ordinary.
Too domestic.”
I pointed at him.
“You’re Lex.”
I smiled.
“Dangerous, just like that misericordia you mentioned.”
“Perhaps.”
He nodded.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
He closed the box.
The nausea disappeared instantly.
I stepped closer and cautiously touched the metal case.
Nothing.
No pain.
No weakness.
Interesting.
“Can I take it?”
“Take it.”
Lex handed me the entire box.
“This really is a king’s gift, Lex.”
I examined it with genuine admiration.
“You actually found the key.”
The box was surprisingly heavy.
“What is it made of?”
“Lead.”
Lex shrugged.
“My mother bought it at a market in Morocco.
The merchant told her it had been made from the armor of Saint George, the patron saint of the Boy Scouts.”
He paused.
“She gave it to me before she died.
She believed it would bring me good luck.”
“Uh…”
I looked at him carefully.
“Are you sure?”
There was no joking in my voice now.
“This is actually important to you.”
I understood what memories of your parents were worth.
I understood what their possessions could mean.
“Maybe you could find a simpler box instead.”
I smiled slightly.
“Gold, perhaps.
Or platinum.”
I was trying to bring a little humor back into the conversation.
“I’m sure, Clark.”
Lex almost managed to hide his sigh.
“I know the word ‘letting go.'”
He looked at the box.
“And I’ve known for a long time that I need to let this go.”
He looked back at me.
“Besides, through you, it might bring a little happiness to a girl who also needs to learn how to let go.”
His expression softened.
“And you’ll help her with that.”
“Maybe.”
I sighed.
“Fine.
I won’t insult you by refusing a second time.”
I accepted the box.
“I’ll take it.”
“By the way…”
Lex gave me a sly look.
“Clark, what would you have done if water hadn’t worked on Jeremy?”
I thought about it.
“I would’ve thrown the fire extinguisher from your car at his head.”
I shrugged.
“Or grabbed the pike from the fire station.”
“So either way, you wouldn’t have let the sheriff simply shoot him?”
Lex winked.
I could only give him a helpless smile and shrug.