For stands_for_hope

[timetopaythepiper]

Hartley was sitting quietly in the lobby of his hotel as he waited for Clark to arrive for the interview, and afterwards, dinner.

He wasn't sure why he was going through with this interview. He was pretty sure Clark would have still agreed to go to dinner with him even if he had decided he wanted everything to remain off the record. It wasn't as though anything he'd have to say would be new or particularly surprising (unless he wanted to reveal his little side career as the Pied Piper to the world, and that sure as hell wasn't happening).

But he didn't really have much to lose by giving the interview and it was a chance to have his side of the story heard, and perhaps that was too tempting an opportunity to pass up. It was also possible Hartley enjoyed attention way too much not to agree to do this.

But whatever his reasons, Clark Kent would be arriving soon, and Hartley needed to be prepared for any questions the reporter might throw at him. S.T.A.R. Labs was still a sore subject for him, and the last thing he needed was for his bitterness to tip Clark off to the fact that he had something to hide.

Comments

[stands_for_hope]

Clark prepared for this particular interview very carefully.

He couldn't do much with the glasses since they were very specifically made to cut the color of his eyes and slightly warp his features, but the clothing was another matter. Usually, he tended towards ill-cut, cheap suits. But tonight was... well, dinner out. And, quite frankly, he knew he had a better shot of being appealing to his dinner date if he wore something a little better than the usual.

That was why he tugged out the one suit that actually fit him, the one with the waistcoat that his mother had told him more than once was absolutely forbidden, and while his hair was a long jog from Superman's, he at least neatened the curls into something attractive instead of scattered. The good shoes came out too, along with his favorite red tie and all in all, he looked good. The glasses had to remain, but for once, Clark Kent was going to look at least a little appealing for the night out.

He arrived on time to the location they'd agreed upon, glancing around to see if he could spot Hartley before Hartley saw him. When he did, he took a moment to observe him before he gave the man a bright smile and headed over.

[timetopaythepiper]

Hartley hasn't had much reason to dress nicely as of late (he hadn't felt up to dating during the months after the explosion), but this date/interview was the perfect excuse to shop for a nice suit, comb his hair neatly out of his face, and pretend he was a normal person, living a relatively normal life. Despite how long it's been since he's last been on a date, there were some things that just came naturally, and making sure he looked attractive for his date was one of them.

So how he looked was one of the few things he wasn't worried about. How the interview might go on the other hand... Well, he'd just have to be careful. Make sure he gave a good interview without revealing too much.

He couldn't pretend he wasn't somewhat nervous (this was his first date in a long time, and his first interview ever), but he'd been looking forward to this, so he wasn't too concerned about his nerves getting the better of him, even if discussing his past at S.T.A.R. Labs might.

It took him a few moments to realize the man that had just walked in was Clark. Hartley had done some Googling and he knew what Clark looked like, but he hadn't been quite this attractive in any of the pictures he found.

"Hello, Mr. Kent," he greeted, standing up and heading over with a smile as he offered his hand for Clark to shake. Best to keep things somewhat professional until the interview was over.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark took the hand with his own and gave it a companionable squeeze before drawing back, not too limp and definitely not with anything to prove. ...it's hard to get that way when you know you could squeeze a hypothetical diamond out of a lump of coal.

If the science worked that way. Whiiiich it didn't. Clark'd discovered that one when he was a teenager and he'd thought he might be able to make one for his mother. #science

"Mr. Rathaway," he returned as he tilted his head to one side. "It's good to see you. Interview still first, yes?"

[timetopaythepiper]

It was a good handshake. Hartley couldn't really tell anything about Clark from it, but to be honest, to him, a handshake was just a polite greeting, a minor necessity before moving on to more interesting things. Like science. And antagonizing annoying new colleagues.

Or in this case, an interview and a date.

"It's a pleasure to meet you in person," he said before nodding his head. "Yes, I think the interview should still come first. Is there anywhere specific we should be doing this? I've never actually given an interview before, so I'm uncertain what the protocol is. We can go up to my room if you think it'll be less distracting."

[stands_for_hope]

"Nowhere specific," Clark admitted, "though someplace more private would probably be best. If your room makes you more comfortable, that sounds like a perfectly good place."

But he couldn't help a faint smile.

"You're buying me dinner before we go up there again, though."

[timetopaythepiper]

Hartley laughed. "Of course. What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't?"

He gestured for Clark to follow him before heading to the elevator.

Having a reporter up in his room could be risky, so he was glad he prepared for the possibility of Clark coming up beforehand. His gloves were safely hidden away in his suitcase. And his latest pet project... well, that was hidden in plain sight. Just a normal looking flute resting harmlessly on the dresser. There was nothing laying around that might arouse Clark's curiosity or suspicion.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark followed behind, pacing himself just behind Hartley but mostly to the side. When they came into the room, he took a look around. A good look around. If nothing else could convince him this had been a good idea, it was the tech he found in that room.

"Maybe the couch over there?" he offered with a gesture of one hand.

[timetopaythepiper]

Hartley most likely wouldn't have suggested his room if he had known how easily Clark could spot his tech, but there were a lot of things he probably wouldn't have done if he'd known he was going on a date with Superman. Like agree to an interview.

"Couch it is, then," he said before heading over to it. He waited for Clark to get settled onto the couch before giving him a polite smile.

"We can start whenever you're ready."

[stands_for_hope]

He is crafty that way. He made his way to the couch, sat down on one end and gestured to the other. Then he tugged out his little notebook and scribbled a few notes down before tucking it behind his ear.

"Whenever you're ready, honestly," Clark admitted as he settled against the arm rest. "Though I hope you don't mind. I tend to start off with a few personality questions just to get us both settled into the interview."

[timetopaythepiper]

"I'm ready. Feel free to consider this on the record now," he said as he got settled on the couch. "Some personality questions is fine with me. You can feel free to ask me anything you'd like."

Which was easy to say when he was sure everything truly important was too well hidden for Clark to even consider asking about.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark smiled and nodded to that. He took his job seriously, even if he was here for other reasons to some degree.

"What would you say is your favorite form of art?"

[timetopaythepiper]

"Performing arts," he said, because 'anything I can steal and sell for a lot of money' just wasn't going to cut it if he wanted that date to actually happen. Besides, this wasn't a lie. He always did have a soft spot for music.

"Music, specifically. I've always had a fondness for classical music and musicians."

[stands_for_hope]

"Something we share then," he admitted with a smile, "though I also happen to enjoy jazz quite a bit."

He settled in his seat a little further.

"Here's an old favorite: if you could meet and talk with any historical figure, who would it be?"

[timetopaythepiper]

"I've been known to enjoy jazz on occasion," he said, grinning before giving Clark's next question some thought.

This wasn't the first time he's been asked this question, and his answer seemed to change each time. But that was because there were so many historical figures he wished he could meet.

"Marin Mersenne," he said, eyes lighting up with excitement as he spoke. "He was a theologian, philosopher, mathematician and music theorist, and many referred to him as the 'father of acoustics'. He was the first to measure the speed of sound in air. I like to think we'd have a lot to talk about."

[stands_for_hope]

Clark couldn't help a chuckle.

"I'm sensing a theme here. So to go a little personal...

"What is it about sound that you find so fascinating?"

[timetopaythepiper]

Hmm. Perhaps he should have gone with Albert Einstein like most others would have. He hoped his answers weren't giving too much away about himself, but he has already admitted to working with sonic tech, so hopefully none of his answers will be too suspicious.

"This one might be a bit harder to answer. I could point out all the important and amazing ways sound affects our daily lives, but for me it really is more personal," he said with a shrug. "My hearing was... altered after the explosion. I wear hearing aids that limit what I hear and working on them gave me a new appreciation for sound and what it can do for and to a person."

[stands_for_hope]

"I think that's entirely reasonable," Clark said as he crossed his legs, relaxing into the couch. "The more we learn about something, the more interesting it can be, after all."

That came with a warm smile over at Hartley.

[timetopaythepiper]

Hartley returned the warm smile, relieved that Clark seemed to understand what he was saying, and at the same time, pleased to have that smile directed at him. Hartley was beginning to feel a bit more at ease than he did when this began. Apparently Clark knew what he was doing.

"Exactly. But you're a reporter. If anyone would understand that, it's you."

[stands_for_hope]

Some people think that Clark Kent's farmboy smile is a ploy, a carefully utilized shot of warmth designed to put people at ease. Others think that Clark is really just that genuine, and that that genuineness is what shines through, let's them know that whoever they are, he's on their side.

The truth of it is somewhere in the middle, because he's genuine... but he's very aware of what he's doing. Being Superman means always being aware of what you're doing, after all.

"I'm a reporter; we try and understand," and he finally pulled the pencil out, "otherwise, how can we make other people understand? The eternal struggle for any writer."

[timetopaythepiper]

Clark had a very nice smile, Hartley would give him that. It reminded him that if he could get through this interview without letting anything too important slip, he'll be going on a date with a very attractive man.

"I'm not sure all reporters see it that way, but it's a relief to know you do," he said, watching as Clark pulled out a pencil. "Are we getting started now?"

He was curious about what kind of questions Clark was going to throw at him. He was almost looking forward to seeing if Clark could keep up with him.

[stands_for_hope]

"Seems like the time to get started," he agreed as he put the pencil to the paper. He writes down a couple of things before glancing back up at Hartley.

"So I guess the most important question ought to be first: what do you feel people should know about the particle accelerator incident that they don't already?"

[timetopaythepiper]

"Well, everyone already know what happened with the particle accelerator, and everyone knows Dr. Harrison Wells had warning that something could go wrong and ignored it. But what almost no one knows is that I was the colleague that warned him and that those warnings weren't just ignored," he said, keeping his gaze steady and calm, despite the familiar bitterness rising to the surface.

"Harrison Wells went to great lengths to hide the risks that moving forward with the particle accelerator posed to the city. I warned him several times and he shut me down. When I told him I was going to go public with what I had learned, he terminated my position at STAR Labs and threatened to destroy my career as a physicist if I breathed one word to anyone."

Hartley also suspected Harrison wanted the particle accelerator to explode, but he'd be keeping that to himself, since that's much harder to prove.

[stands_for_hope]

"And did Dr. Wells at any point indicate why he was behaving in such a manner when approached with such information?" Clark asked, leaning in a little. "Did he offer any justification?"

[timetopaythepiper]

Hartley shook his head. "No, every time I brought up my concerns, he'd assure me that everything would be fine. That I was worried about nothing," he sighed. "I thought at the time that his pride just couldn't handle the possibility that he was wrong."

But it was so obvious now that Harrison knew damned well what he was doing.

"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via," he said, glancing away as if lost in a memory. "It was what he said to me before he fired me. There is no easy way from the Earth to the stars," he translated. "It was the closest to a justification I ever got from him."

[stands_for_hope]

"But clearly, you seem to think something different now." Which was a statement, but a leading one. 'I thought at the time' means he doesn't think that now. And he's curious what else he thinks it might be. He has his own suspicions.

[timetopaythepiper]

Hartley eyed Clark for a moment before nodding his head. "Harrison Wells was not only a brilliant man, he was a competent, careful man as well. He'd been working on that accelerator for years. It was his life. And I don't believe for a second he'd suddenly start taking unnecessary risks when he was so close to accomplishing everything he'd been working on for so long."

He frowned. "And I don't believe he would miss something that I spotted so easily."

[stands_for_hope]

"And in your opinion," he leaned in a little then, curious from both sides of his personal equation, Clark Kent and Superman both, "did the 'flaws' you saw feel like flaws... or a difference in the design than initially, supposedly, intended."

[timetopaythepiper]

"Both. There was a difference in the design than initially intended. Given the nature of the project and the length of time we'd been working on it, I think adjustments and changes being made here and there were to be expected," he pointed out.

"Unfortunately, I noticed flaws around the same time some of those changes were made, and as far as I know, nothing was ever done to fix the problem."

[stands_for_hope]

"And did you bring any of these flaws to the light of other employee?" Clark continued, scribbling down a few notes. "Did any of them concur with your analysis?"

[timetopaythepiper]

He shook hid head. "No, I know should have said something to my other colleagues, but I was just so convinced Harrison would see what was obviously there. That he'd do the right thing. By the time I realized that wasn't the case, it was too late. The only employees who were aware of my concerns were the security guards he had escort me out of the building."

He glanced at Clark. "I doubt bringing the issue to my colleagues' attention would have made a difference anyway."

[stands_for_hope]

"And why is that, exactly?" he tilted his head one way, then the other as he wrote in his notebook.

"After all, all of your careers were riding on this, to some degree. You didn't think they'd care? You didn't think they'd believe you over Wells's assurances?"

[timetopaythepiper]

"I thought they'd care, but I also knew they wouldn't believe me over Harrison's assurances. I wouldn't have believed me if I hadn't seen the flaws myself," he said, shaking his head. This was going to be hard to explain.

"I don't think I've ever met anyone who could inspire loyalty and faith the way Harrison could. He was our mentor, our hero. Who wants to think badly of a man like that?"

[stands_for_hope]

"Including you," and that... was a little gentler.

"In all seriousness, do you want this to hit the page? I don't mean to be overly concerned on that point, but I do understand these situations can be complicated. And if you really just needed someone to talk to about it..."

He takes his notebook and pointedly puts the cover back on.

"This doesn't leave the room."

[timetopaythepiper]

"Including me, yes." Especially him.

This interview really wasn't going the way he'd expected it to. He's clearly given way too much away and made himself look weak in the process.

"You wanted an exclusive," he pointed out. "Has that changed?"

Talking about it would probably be the healthy, normal thing to do, but Hartley wasn't exactly known for being healthy or normal these days. He wasn't sure how he wanted this to proceed.

...and I thought this tag was sent. go me.

[stands_for_hope]

"It hasn't changed," Clark answered, slow and careful. "But I always try to punch up with my work. That means I don't get to make the decision on something like this. Not alone, anyway."

Because the harm had been done. Wells was already scientifically sunk. If this went out, it was about helping Hartley and possibly preventing Wells from causing future harm.

Haha I do that sometimes too.

[timetopaythepiper]

Of all the ways Hartley imagined this interview going, he hadn't counted on Clark actually being a decent human being about the whole thing. Perhaps not all reporters were the blood thirsty vultures they appeared to be.

"I don't mind continuing our interview," he said, shrugging. "But I still have my doubts whether or not any of it would be worth publishing. There's plenty I could tell you about Harrison Wells, but the truly interesting parts I can't discuss on the record without risking a lawsuit."

Or incriminating himself in the process.

[stands_for_hope]

"Having written a story on the largest cookie in Metropolis, I can say without a doubt that less important things have gone into the paper."

He settled back into the couch again then, the notebook clearly away for the moment.

"Though I'm curious about those other parts. On a non-professional level."

Well, a professional level. Just not the one that involved publishing.

[timetopaythepiper]

"I think I missed that story. But I'm sure it was... interesting."

He wasn't sure telling Clark about those other parts would be a good idea, but part of him did want to talk to someone about this stuff. He'd just prefer not to put his date in potential danger while doing so.

"If I tell you about the other things I know about him, it stays off the record and you can't investigate any of it. I mean it. If tonight goes well, I'll want a second date, and that will be impossible if you get yourself killed or locked up over a story."

[stands_for_hope]

He leaned in a little; he couldn't help it. When Hartley mentioned his concern for a second date, he smiled just a little.

"I promise not to poke my nose into anything. I have no intention of getting myself killed, locked up, or worse. Just like before: if you say it's off the record, it stays off the record."

Of course, if he told Batman, that was just between friends. And if Batman investigated and found more, well, that would be looking into things that Batman had found.

"Though you're definitely on your way to a second date."

[timetopaythepiper]

Hartley couldn't help but smile. The interview might not be going the direction he thought it would, but he still had hope their date might go well.

"Good to know."

He eyed Clark for moment as he quietly debated whether or not he'd regret telling him what he knew about Harrison. He hoped not. Clark seemed pretty sincere about this being off the record.

"Harrison Wells is working with the Flash," he said. He didn't bother wording it carefully as an opinion or a suspicion. It was a fact.

[stands_for_hope]

The Flash. That was... hmm. That would have to be handled carefully. Very carefully.

"What would Harrison Wells be doing working with the Flash?"

[timetopaythepiper]

Still think getting Batman involved is a good idea, Clark? Tread carefully.

"Helping him protect the city from dangerous metahumans? I'm actually not certain what Harrison's true endgame is with that, but I'd say the particle accelerator explosion worked out surprisingly well for him. He gets to have his a superhero wrapped around his finger."