20: Mark Of A True Leader

                                    

                                          
Lex's face took on a frown when he entered into the office and saw a man packing up things in June's office. The man didn't seem to be having any luck though, as everything he was picking kept falling off his hands.
                          
                                 "Can I help you with something?", he asked as he stepped fully into the office. 
                          
                                 "Mr. Luthor", said the man, looking up at him with a smile and an extended hand, "I'm an associate of Senator June, God rest her soul, and also a lower member in the Superman investigation committee, I'll be temporarily in charge of things until the President appoints another person to take over". 
                          
                                  "Nice meeting you", replied Lex, returning the handshake before he began to peruse through the rest of June's things that hadn't been packed yet. 
                          
                                   "What can you tell me about Senator Finch?", he suddenly asked the man who had begun to search through some files on the table. 
                          
                                    "Excuse me?", the man returned with a confused look at Lex. 
                          
                                      "Your boss, Senator Finch", he said again, "What can you tell me about her?" 
                          
                                      "Well...", the man trailed off with an unsure look on his face, he obviously didn't know how to proceed with the response, not to talk about the fact that he had no idea what Lex was driving at. 
                          
                                    "I get it", Lex said with a gentle smile, "She's your boss, plus she's dead now and it'll be considered disrespectful for you to speak ill of the dead, right?" He didn't wait for the man's response this time before continuing. 
                          
                                 "But do you know what?", he said, "In reality, June Finch was a weak spineless woman who can't do what needs to be done even if her life depends on it". 
                          
                                  "Mr. Luthor, I would it appreciate if-", began the man but Lex cut in. 
                          
                                  "Are you that kind of person?", he asked. 
                          
                                    "Excuse me?", the man returned for the second time that day, his confusion deepened than before. 
                          
                                   "You're a congressman, aren't you?", asked Lex as he gave the man a once-over but he didn't wait for a response before continuing again, "I'm very sure you have political ambitions that go beyond this; getting elected as a Senator, perhaps even becoming the President, right? Imagine what you can do with the backing of the entire wealth of LexCorp behind you". 
                          
The man's eyes widened as he suddenly realised what Lex was proposing. 
                          
                               "What do you want from me?", he whispered, dropping into a chair as if the entire weight of the proposal was pressing down on him. 
                          
                                "There's a certain shipment that I want brought into the city but Senator June refused to let me", he said as he sat opposite the man, "Since you're in charge now, I believe you can approve it". 
                          
                                  "Done", replied the man quickly. 
                          
                                   "I also want access to the body of the dead alien and his ship". 
                          
                                  "About that-". 
                          
                                   "Decisiveness is the mark of a true leader, Mr. Congressman", Lex cut in again with a stern stare, "What do you say?" 
                          
                                   "Alright, I agree", said the man after some minutes but he was looking a bit uncomfortable with the arrangement, not that Lex noticed or cared. 
                          
                                   "Good, Mr. Congressman", he said with a smile, "I believe you and I are destined for great things, you just wait and see".