7.09 Collusion by TW and ED (Part VI)

as retold by Bill C

TW: And we cut back to Lex's now empty office. A man walks in--Lionel's henchman.
JG: Can I name him?
ED: No, we already did.
JG: Really? What's his name?
TW: Burgh.
JG: Mr. Burgh. Okay, I've heard worse. You may continue.
TW: So Burgh goes straight to Lex's desk, pulls out a tiny circular object from a pocket, kneels beside the desk, and very carefully attaches the object to the underside of it.
JG: The Magnificent Bastard is bugging his own son's office? I definitely approve!
TW: As Burgh leaves Lex's office, we crossfade to Lionel's office--where Hope is going through a file cabinet near his desk, obviously looking for something.
JG: I do not approve!
MR: Well, I definitely approve. Keep that shit up!
JG: Lionel should get one thing over on Lex at some point, dammit!
MR: The hell with that!
TW: Hope finishes with the file cabinet, and moves on Lionel's desk. She searches through two drawers, then gets to a locked one; she picks the lock using either a hairpin or a lockpick, I haven't decided yet. Opinions?
ED: Hairpin!
AoT: Lockpick!
MR: Hairpin!
JG: Neither!
AM: What the hell...hairpin.
TW [makes notation on his copy of the script]: Okay, hairpin. The lock gets picked, the drawer opened, and Hope starts riffling through its contents--and comes across Lionel's notebook of Kryptonian scribblings.
JG: Oh, God. [points at MR as he's about to say something] Shut up!
MR: So Hope actually earns her pay this episode. Nice.
TW: Hope puts the notebook on the desktop, pulls out a small camera, and like the good little spy she is she starts photographing the pages in the notebook. Once she's done, she carefully replaces the notebook in its drawer, closes and locks it with the hairpin, and quickly makes her exit.
JG [sighs]: Dammit. That notebook was Lionel's one completely unique thing!
TW: It's for the good of the story, John. Now shut up.
JG [raises an eyebrow]: Damn, Welling, who pissed and poured vinegar in your Wheaties this morning?
TW: Our executive producer.
MR: Don't give in to hate!
[AM elbows MR in the ribs]
TW: This is where the episode takes a brief detour, and we jump from a commercial break to a street in Metropolis. Various construction vehicles, barricades, and workers are running around. In the far background, we see a couple of police cars go by with lights flashing.
ED: We cut to a reverse shot of the street in front of the construction area, and in the background we see Chloe's Yaris--
AM [stunned]: For the love of God, Tom, please. Not the Yaris.
ED: We had to. How do you think we could afford James Callis?
AM: Yeah, but come on--anything but the Yaris! I'm begging you! I'll drive Lana's fucking red Jeep Cherokee instead of that Yaris!
AoT [quietly, to JG]: There's stage three.
ED: We've got to go with the Yaris. Trust us, okay?
AM: I don't want to! I'm being fired and you're bringing back that goddamn car? Come on, can't I get a Matrix or a Prius or something?
TW [firmly]: Trust me.
[AM looks slightly more depressed]
TW [clears throat] Okay. So some guy in a hardhat waves Chloe's Yaris around a corner and it disappears out of the shot. Then we cut to a dead-end side street where it pulls over and stops. Chloe turns to Lois, and says...Allison?
AM: Uh, okay... "Great. What the hell's going on back there?"
ED: Lois shrugs. "No idea. Looked like someone was working on a main or something. I didn't hear anything about any construction in the area today, though."
JG: Can I make a plot device joke now?
AoT [sweetly]: No, John. Bad.
AM: Chloe is suitably distracted, I'm guessing, so all she gets here is an "Okay."
ED: Lois gets out of the car. "I'm going to at least see if we can back up and go around. Be right back."
JG: As opposed to backing the car up and going around?
AM: At least Chloe notices that. "Hey, Lois, wait, we can actually drive the--Lois? God..."
ED: It's dramatic license, okay?
JG: Your dramatic license should be revoked.
AM: Okay, so Chloe's alone in her car.
TW: Not alone, since she always has Sex. Who conveniently is sitting in the front passenger seat in the next shot. Michael, mind chipping in?
MR: Okay. "Are you really sure you want to go back to the scene of the crime, Chloe?"
AM: Chloe folds her arms. "Am I sure? Of course not. But my not being able to remember anything other than going to Lex's office...that has to mean something. I've got to know."
MR: "It could have just been some sort of accident. You've got more important things to worry about than this. Why put yourself in danger?"
AM: Chloe actually looks at Sex after he says that. "Danger? What are you talking about? Do you know something I don't?"
MR: Sex...okay, for the first time I can think of, Sex looks pretty much at a loss for words. He actually tries to backpedal a bit. "If there is a mutant involved, Chloe, it probably didn't hurt you then because it was only focusing on either Lex or Lana. Getting close to Lex again...at least right now...is probably a bad idea because of that."
AM: Chloe looks thoroughly unconvinced. "I've got to know, though. Don't you understand?"
TW: Sex actually looks sad about that, but only for a moment as Lois runs up to the driver's side of the Yaris...
ED: "The entire block looks like it's blocked off. And it did look like they're working on a gas main."
AM: "And the other side street was blocked off as well, we saw that before the turn."
ED: "Yeah. We can go the long way around...or try later..."
MR: "This is a sign of sorts, Chloe. Go home, come back later when it's safe."
AM: Chloe shakes her head. "No way, Lois. We're going by foot if we have to, but we're still going to LuthorCorp. The only way I'll know the truth is to get a look at the security video for Lex's office." She resolutely gets out of the car and starts jogging through a nearby playground.
ED: "Chloe! Oh, for God's--" And off she goes, chasing Chloe.

Continued...