Chapter Text
The sun had barely risen over the paddock, and yet she was here, lying in the dirt. Watching with a laser-like vision the front door of the well maintained and picturesque farmhouse. The place was immaculate, a far cry from the rundown, ramshackle, drafty shack she and her father called a home.
No, this was the Lord’s farm. Every piece of equipment from the tractor to the post hole driver was barely a year old. Oscar shifted beside her, his nose twitching as he watched the barn door for a hint of movement. He let out a low whine, making Kara gesture with her hand for him to be quiet.
They were watching and waiting, had been for over an hour. Last night, when Kara had dropped by the town bar for her usual pickup, she had overheard a drunk Max Lord complain to all his buddies that his father was making him do fencing the next day. Her ears had perked up at that, and the corner of her mouth twitched. She guessed that the arrogant man would start early. It made sense, considering the nature of the job and how hot the days got out here.
And she needed all the material she could get.
The farm needed all the material it could get.
Finally, the door to the opulent house opened to reveal the overdressed pompous prick that was Maxwell Lord. He stumbled over to the barn, still nursing a hangover probably, and shifted around before carrying out a stack of fenceposts and throwing them in the back of the Lord’s farm truck.
This was it, Kara thought as she lifted herself up into a crouch. The blonde waited for a minute until the man turned back to the barn to grab more gear and then she sprinted for the truck, Oscar hot on her heels. She grabbed the tied stack of posts as quietly as she could and sprinted back the way she came as fast as possible in the direction of the boundary fence between her family farm and the Lord’s. She was only part of the way there when she heard the roar of the truck start and start forward in her direction fast. Kara picked up her speed until she was running as fast as she could, finding her way to the gap in the fence and diving through it her dog following her just as quickly. The blonde dived into a ditch and pulled Oscar close to her just in time to hear the truck screech to a halt by the fence line and the slam of the car door.
“You fucking bitch!” Max screamed out, making the corner of Kara’s mouth twitch upwards even as she panted for air.
“I know you’re there! You think you’re so clever…but one of these days I’m going to catch you in the act and then your broke ass will be in jail and your piss poor excuse for a farm will go under the hammer! What will happen to your daddy then, huh? Maybe he’ll finally fall down a hole and break his fucking neck. I’ll make sure to send you pictures.”
Another slam of a car door sounded and the truck roared to life again before driving away.
Kara let out a breath and a laugh, peeking over the ridge of dirt to make sure that Max truly had disappeared before standing to her feet and picking up the fallen bundle of posts with a huff, slung them over her shoulder and started to walk back towards the dilapidated farmhouse.
They were just what she needed to finish that patched up and rotting fence she’d been itching to repair for the last month. The last storm had made it even more precarious, and at this point, it was more likely to start dancing than to keep any livestock in.
Not that they currently had any livestock to keep in.
Still, it didn’t hurt to be optimistic. And they wouldn’t be without cattle forever if Kara had anything to say about it.
Well, she was the only one who had any say about anything around here really. On the odd occasion when her father was in a particular blustery state he would rant about how it was 'still his farm' and he wasn’t senile yet. Of course, his words carried less weight when he collapsed on the floor and the blonde was forced to carry him to his bed.
But today she promised herself she wasn’t going to linger on those thoughts, today she had a plan.
She was going to fix her fence with her appropriated posts and then finally getting started painting the slowly renovated cottage they had on their farm. It gnawed at Kara’s mind that she wasn’t as far along in the renovations as she liked, but she had been forced to be creative when it came to repairing the old place and that had stunted her schedule.
The blonde had been forced to be creative with a lot of things these days.
But ever since they had been forced to sell the last of their livestock, the farm had no income coming in. And with the bank nipping at their heels for repayments on the mortgages she had to take out and the property developers sniffing around the place, Kara had been forced to think of ways to come up with some cash and quickly.
The cottage used to house the workers her family would hire back in the day. Way, way back when the Zorel family was an actual family. Before her uncle and aunt had died, followed by her mother years later and then Clark abandoning her for greener pastures in the city. Now it was just her and her father.
But her dad wasn’t up for much these days.
So the work that used to be managed by at least three people at any given time had fallen on Kara alone.
The blonde supposed she shouldn’t complain too much. Everyone in the area was suffering from the drought that had hit the state hard. No rain when rain was sorely needed. She’d barely been able to get a pittance of what her cattle were actually worth when she sold them, but nobody was making money these days.
Hence why she was working on the cottage. Kara figured maybe, just maybe, she could make some income renting the place out to city slickers who needed a weekend away from their ‘stressful’ lives. It was a long shot, she knew. But it was something at least and the only accommodation for visitors in the area for hundreds of miles was two dingy rooms above the local bar.
Maybe, she thought as she shifted the posts on her shoulders once more, the cottage was the answer to their financial problems.
She let out an internal sigh.
It was something, at least.
Once she reached the rusted and half rotted cattle yards, Kara was finally able to dump the posts down next to her old fencing gear with a grunt. She stretched her aching back, before scratching her panting and faithful dog behind his ears.
Kara had been lucky with the posts this morning. If she had moved a second too slow, Max would have caught her and then there would have been hell to pay.
It wasn’t like the blonde enjoyed stealing off her wealthier neighbours, but the finances being as they were she was limited in her options. And the Lord’s had been horrible enough over the years for the blonde to justify the thefts in her mind, and it wasn’t like she took anything big.
Some fence posts here and there, a bit of wire on the side. Occasionally the odd toolbox.
Her neighbours on the other side of her farm did all that they could to help her out, but the Danvers weren’t faring much better in the financial department. And Kara was loathed to take the little charity they offered considering they needed it just as much as she did. The only way Eliza and Alex had managed to keep their own farm afloat was because their income was being supplemented by Alex’s girlfriend’s equally meagre Sheriff’s wage.
So no, Kara wasn’t going to take what little left they had.
Kara hesitated as she looked over to her rundown house. She wasn’t eager to step foot in the place, she never was. Her dad was always more mellow in the mornings to be sure, but last night they had had a furious argument once again over Kara’s renovation project, completed fully by the drunk man hurling his half-eaten plate in the sink. Either this morning would be stony silence, or a cheery greeting as if the events of last night had never occurred at all. With each passing day, it took Kara more effort to handle her father’s behaviour, but there was nothing to do except grit her teeth and bear it. The blonde had a responsibility to keep this dried out patch of land afloat, and she’d be damned to abandon it the way her cousin had.
Kara felt a pang of guilt at the thought. Clark had made his choice, yes. The blonde didn’t like it, but she couldn’t hold it against him anymore. The years after his leaving had lessened the sting his departure had caused, but the wound still remained.
But she understood why he had left. Only a madman would hang around for all this. Her older cousin had seized his chance to follow his own path and a part of Kara envied him. But as horrible and bleak as her current situation was, there was no way the blonde would ever leave this place. Their family had owned this land for five generations and that meant something to her. Beyond the money signs, the bank painted over the land. This was where she’d grown up and her heart was linked into every tree root and rock.
It was her home.
With that thought lingering in her mind, Kara made her way up the creaking steps and opened the back door of the house quietly, knocking the dust off her boots as she entered the house with Oscar.
Her father was up and sitting hunched over his place at the dining room table, nursing a cup of tea that Kara dryly assumed was his second ingestion of liquid for the day. His sunken eyes turned up at her appearance and he gave her a bleary smile. A small amount of tension left Kara’s shoulders at that, and she returned the gesture with a half smile of her own before bustling about the kitchen to get some toast with jam. She eyed the bare cupboards of the pantry shrewdly, deciding that she would have to make a run into town today to stock up on some food when her father spoke behind her.
“You’re up early.”
Kara flipped the electric kettle on, before turning around to reply.
“I had some work to do Dad.”
The man nodded in his seat.
“You work too hard, Kara,” he said with a tinge of regret in his voice.
The blonde couldn’t help but snort internally.
Oh? I work too hard? That’s not what you thought last night. Last night I was a lazy brat who was using up all your power.
“Well, these things need doing. Best to start before it gets too hot anyway. You taught me that.”
The man nodded once again, but a wry smile played on the edge of his mouth at the words.
Sometimes Kara was smart and diverted the conversation into happier territory by reminding her father that yes, he did, in fact, teach her some useful things about operating and working on a farm.
But more often than not these days, her dad would view her words as a subtle barb and launch into an emotional speech about how horrible he was feeling and that he knew he was letting her down. It was exhausting and more often than not, Kara would rather be moody. Skip the compliment and the more than likely tearful conversation, heading straight into argument territory.
Either way, he still ended up drinking.
“You know, I was thinking that maybe I could ask J’onn if he could give you some shifts down at the general store, Lord knows I’ve spent enough money there over the years for him to do me a favour,” he said with a grumble before taking another sip of his tea.
Kara knew her father meant well, but there was absolutely no way that J’onn was going to hire her. The fact was the man was as strapped for cash as the rest of the people in the area. That and the blonde already owed the man a bucket of cash from the materials she needed to fix up the cottage. The man had been kind enough to be very generous with the time she was expected to pay the money back, but even his generosity only stretched so far.
And Kara had things to do here. She didn’t have the time to take on more hours when she was barely able to fit in her own farm work and renovations on top of the few shifts she managed to get at the bar paying off her father’s running tab. At this point, the blonde often wondered if it wouldn’t just be cheaper to build a distillery of her own in one of the sheds, the way her father was drinking these days.
“That’s an idea, Dad,” she answered easily instead of speaking her mind. “I’ll ask him when I’m in town today.”
Her father nodded his satisfaction at that, before standing up wobbly to his feet.
“Kara, I’m really not feeling well. I think I’m going to go back to bed.”
Yeah, that’s right. Have another glass from the bottles you don’t think I know you stash in your room and then have a nap. Feeling sick my arse.
“Ok, Dad,” she answered instead.
He gave her another smile before turning once more to stagger away in the direction of his room.
Kara let out a breath when the door closed, more tension leaving her shoulders even as a headache formed behind her eyes. She was sick of walking on eggshells in her own house, warily waiting for the next explosion of anger to roll out of her father.
Still, she thought as she stood to her feet, better to make do with the situation she had instead of the one she wished she had.
As Kara exited the house, she whistled for Oscar to follow, opening the door to her truck for the dog to jump through and settle on the passenger seat. The blonde watched him with fondness, knowing that her father hated the fact that she let the cattle dog into the cab with her. In his mind, as much as you could love them, a dog was a dog. They slept outside rain or shine and rode in the back of the truck. But Oscar wasn’t just an animal to Kara. He was her best friend. She’d gotten him a week after Clark left and he’d been by her side ever since.
Loyalty was rare between family members these days so you had to cherish it wherever it came from.
The truck roared to life when she turned the ignition and she drove down the driveway leaving a cloud of dust behind her. Kara took the shortcut through the paddock, opening three fences until she crossed the dry riverbed and found her way onto the Danvers land. The blonde skidded to a halt in front of their farmhouse, noting that Maggie’s Sheriff’s car was out front meaning she’d stayed the night. As Kara jumped out of the truck and approached the kitchen she heard the sound of clattering cutlery and murmuring voices meaning that the Danvers clan was up and about.
“Hey, Kara,” Maggie said with a smile as she opened the door and stepped inside the warm room.
The officer was decked out in her uniform already, gun strapped to her hip and a piece of toast stuffed in her mouth.
Kara waved her hello before pulling out a stool next to a sleepy Alex and smiling appreciatively as Eliza heaped a stack of eggs onto the plate that had been waiting for her.
“Thanks, Eliza,” she said before tucking her food.
“You’re off to work early,” Kara said as she watched Maggie bend down to press a quick goodbye kiss against Alex’s head.
“I got called in. Apparently, someone stole fenceposts from the Lord farm. Mr Lord demanded that I come to investigate immediately,” Maggie said with a raised eyebrow at the blonde.
Kara took another big bite, chewing loudly before she replied.
“Well, it’ll be a bit hard to prove someone took them. I don’t think you’re going to be scanning for DNA.”
The cop raised another eyebrow.
“Well, it will be a bit hard to prove, considering that nobody actually saw whoever took them. Plus, it’s not likely that someone is going to risk their neck over a few posts now are they? My money is, that idiot Max miscounted,” Maggie replied, eyeing Kara meaningfully.
“Still, if names are named I’ll have no choice but to investigate tomorrow. If someone did take them, they better be smart enough to have hidden them well. Especially considering Mr Lord will insist on coming with me to see for himself.”
The blonde nodded at that but didn’t otherwise reply. Kara was well aware of the dance she had been playing with the local law for the past few years regarding the small…. missing items from the Lord farm.
And occasionally the Daxam farm.
And if she was really daring and desperate, although she was wracked with guilt afterwards, the Grant farm.
Cat Grant was a tough woman, who seemed to keep her farm afloat and making money through sheer willpower, but she always seemed to have a soft spot for Kara. The blonde was well aware that the older woman knew about the items Kara liberated occasionally, and while she always called the police she never named the blue-eyed woman as a suspect.
Instead, she would turn up with no warning when she needed farmhands for the day to shear her sheep or ring some bulls. The expectation is that Kara not say a word and just get in the truck to work off the debt she had accrued. Logically, Kara knew that in their unspoken agreement she was still getting more out of it, but Cat never seemed to mind. As long as she came without protest each time Cat called and didn’t speak a word through the older woman’s sharp barbs no more action was taken on the matter.
But still, Maggie had been well on her tail when she first moved here after the town hired her. It was only after Alex and she had gotten together that the heat had died down on the blonde and the dimpled woman began to give her warnings ahead of time about ‘surprise’ inspections she would make.
Kara knew that Maggie wouldn’t do it at all if it wasn’t for Alex. The shorter woman allowed herself to be swayed by the fact that the blonde was her girlfriend’s almost pseudo-sister. After all, Kara knew if the Sheriff had her way the redhead and her would already be married.
And it would just be wrong to arrest family.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure if someone did happen to…. procure any items you won’t find them anywhere,” Kara answered before scooping up the last of her eggs.
Maggie gave her a curt nod, before waving her final goodbyes and exiting the house.
After the cruiser had pulled away from the farmhouse, Kara turned to smirk at the still sleepy redhead next to her.
“Couldn’t you just have had your sexual awakening with someone else? Why did it have to be the fuzz?”
Alex scowled at her, before spearing a bit of bacon on her own plate.
“Couldn’t you just stop stealing? Then we wouldn’t have to do this roundabout mess every other week and I could finally stop having to ask Maggie not to do her job.”
The blonde let out a laugh.
“You’re just pissed at me because I beat you in poker last week.”
Alex scowled down at her plate once more, stabbing at her cooked bacon even more viciously than before. It was with enough force to make even Kara raise an eyebrow, and the blonde turned to Eliza with a questioning eye.
The older woman gave her a significant look and the blonde immediately understood.
“Asked again last night, did she?” Kara questioned the redhead with sympathy.
Alex shook her head, before letting her fork drop to the table with a sigh.
“No… this morning.”
Kara let out a breath and placed a gentle hand over the redhead's.
“You know… you could always say yes.”
Alex scowled down at the table again, but the blonde could see the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
“And then what? We live out here with my mother in lesbian bliss? With the whole area breathing down our necks in disapproval and scorn? Probably getting beaten up by the local idiots while Maggie loses her job? What a great life I have to offer.”
Kara let out a sigh, while Eliza gave her daughter a worried look.
As much as she wished it to be different for her friend, the blonde knew she was right. Alex’s already difficult life would increase tenfold if she made an open acknowledgement of her and Maggie’s relationship. The Vicky Donahue incident in high school had been bad enough, this would likely cause all hell to break loose. And these days, people in the area were just itching for someone to be angry at just so they could let loose all the emotion they’d been bottling up since they started going broke.
The alternative would be for Maggie and Alex to move away, probably to the city. Kara knew from Alex that it was an idea that the local cop had suggested more than once. But the blonde also knew that, just like herself, the redhead would have to be dragged from her home kicking and screaming.
There was no way that Eliza would be able to handle the place on her own, so she wouldn’t inevitably have to sell. And in the blink of an eye, every bit of history and memory that had been held in this land would go under the hammer.
So Alex endured it, while she and Maggie languished in a will they won’t they state. The blonde knew that the redhead was bracing herself for the inevitable of the cop deciding enough was enough. But Kara could see that Maggie was so head over heels in love that she’d continue doing what they were currently doing. The sheriff wouldn’t ask Alex to sacrifice the part of herself that was rooted in this place.
“Hey,” Kara said, rubbing soothing circles on the redhead’s hand. “It’ll be ok.”
Alex shuddered slightly, but repressed her tears the same way she always did, before pushing back her stool and clambering to her feet.
“You heading into town after this?” She asked, pulling on her jacket.
The blonde nodded, before thanking Eliza once again for the meal and standing to her own feet.
“Yeah. Need to pick up a few things.”
The redhead nodded, before following the blonde out the door and entering the truck on the passenger side. Oscar jumping over her with ease so he could settle on the island between them.
“I’ll come with you then. I need to get some stuff as well, and I want to know what time that meeting will be tonight.”
Kara let out a loud groan, before turning on the ignition and roaring say from the Danvers' farmhouse.
“Please tell me you aren’t going to that?” She asked.
Alex shrugged.
“Someone’s got to stand up for us little guys, lest they think they can press their advantage and force us to sell just because Lord and Edge want to.”
Kara grunted in reply, her thoughts turning broody.
“I still don’t even know why Luther Corp wants to buy up all this land anyway. Maybe for military prospects? GM plants?” Alex questioned.
The blonde snorted.
“Who gives a shit. Besides, it doesn’t matter why they want it. The fact is, we have no interest in selling.”
Alex shook her head, bouncing slightly in her seat when Kara hit a pothole in the road.
“They're offering well above what the bank is. A couple of people are going to be tempted. You’d be stupid not to be.”
Kara grunted once more, but in her heart, she knew that Alex was right. People around here desperately needed the money and it was enough for many of them to let their love for the land to slip away just so they didn’t go under so badly financially that they’d never come up for air again.
“We’ve just got to get diversified, is all,” Kara insisted. “That’s how we’re going to get out of this mess, diversification.”
Alex let out a sigh.
“All the same, I hear Luther Corp sent down their best to do the presentation tonight. She’s going to be hanging around for a while to inspect the land and make plans. She’s supposed to be pretty ruthless and really good at her job. And I’ve seen photos, she’s bloody good looking. Reckon she’ll charm some of these old farts right off their land.”
Kara’s fingers tightened on the vibrating steering wheel.
“I don’t care if she’s the FBI and Cleopatra rolled into one, she won’t get me to break. They can send all the corporate pricks they want, I’m not selling.”
Alex hummed.
“She’s the best of the best. Lena Luthor herself.”
The blonde glanced at her friend in surprise, before turning back to look at the road.
“Fancy that. I wouldn’t think a spoiled brat would deign to dirty her hands on a place like this.”
The redhead shrugged again.
“You never know with people, I guess.”
Kara thoughts turned broody once more.
Lena Luthor, younger sister to the company she worked for’s CEO. Probably loaded with money and the finest education money could buy to boot. She had probably done this job a hundred times easily. Making desperate farmers roll over as she swayed in with her money and power. Kara didn’t doubt that she was ruthless. In fact, she bet on it.
Still, she doubted that Lena Luthor had bet on her.
“Maybe I will go to this meeting tonight then,” Kara said easily.
Alex gave her a sidelong look.
“Just try not to attack her, please. I don’t think I’ll be able to convince Maggie not to arrest you for assault, and the Luthor lawyers will have a field day. Then you’ll definitely lose the farm.”
Kara gave Alex an annoyed look.
“I’m not going to attack her. I’ll just, metaphorically, kick her out on her ass. Make it very clear that this is one farmer she ain’t going to mess with.”
Alex grinned at her in agreement, and the blonde felt her spirits lift slightly.
Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad after all, it might even be fun to knock a big city hot shot down a couple of pegs.
“Lena Luthor,” she muttered to herself. “Meet Kara Zorel”