Chapter 58: Schism

                                    

                                              
        
                          
"Lex, you've got to come home right away," the voice said the moment Lex answered her cell phone.  After a second Lex recognized Lily's voice, higher pitched and speaking faster than she'd ever heard.
                          
"Lily?" Lex asked, the confusion she felt showing in her voice.  "What's the problem?"
                          
She heard a fast exhalation, somewhere between a huff and a sigh.  "Lex, there's no time to explain," Lily continued, the tone and volume of her voice rising as her words came even faster.  "There's something wrong with Serena.  I don't know what, and there's nothing I can do to help her.  Please, just come!"
                          
Lex could feel the worry settling into the pit of her stomach.  "All right, I'll be there.  Where are you?"
                          
"In the living room at home," Lily replied, her volume rising again.  "Please get here as soon as you can!"
                          
The line went dead and Lex looked at her phone for a moment, wondering what could be going on.  She opened her desk and pulled out her purse, slipping the phone into it, and then looked over at Rolf, sitting one desk away and working on paperwork, as she'd been until a minute previous.
                          
"I'm not going to be able to go to lunch today," she explained, referring to the celebration they'd planned for Tamara's birthday.  "Something's going on at home."
                          
Rolf quirked an eyebrow, as if to ask what, but Lex shook her head.  "Not sure what, but I'll call you when I find out.  Lily's really upset about something."
                          
He nodded, watching her put her winter coat on.  "Nothing dangerous, I hope," he said a moment later, and Lex could see his drawn eyebrows as she looked into his face.
                          
"Lily would probably have mentioned if there were anything," Lex concluded, putting her hat on.  "She said something about Serena, which I didn't understand, but it didn't sound dangerous, just urgent."
                          
"All right, I'll see you later, then," Rolf replied, standing up to kiss her goodbye.
                          
She smiled at him and gave a wave as she headed out the door.  Several minutes later, as she hurried down the cobblestone sidewalks towards the more residential area where they lived, Lex tried to think about what could be going on.  Despite her worries, the six months since she and Rolf had married had been relatively quiet.  They'd heard no more about what Hardy had threatened regarding MSI, although he, Iris, and Win had escaped again a couple of months ago.
                          
The ICC suit against MSI had continued, and enough evidence had been brought forward that early the previous month, October, she'd been happy to note that some of the major players in the company, including Mr. Sauer and Clara, had been summoned to the court to testify.  Lex found it didn't surprise her that when the time came for them to speak, none of the people who'd been called could be found.  She'd wondered at the time who'd taken the company over, since according to news reports, the corporation till seemed to be operating.
                          
When she'd last read about it, the injunction against the company operating in the EU had still been making its way through the courts and was being debated, prior precedent, or really lack thereof, being a problem.  Lex's mind continued to go in circles as she tried to consider what might be today's problem, and why Lily had called from home and talked about Serena, but she couldn't come up with any idea, and found herself sighing in relief as she saw their house come into view.
                          
"Lily?" she asked the minute she opened the front door.  "Where are you, and what's wrong?"
                          
"I'm in the living room," her friend's voice came from down the hallway.  "Please, hurry."
                          
Lex glanced into the kitchen as she passed, noting a half-constructed sandwich on the counter and a head of lettuce sitting nearby.  "What happened?" Lex asked, still walking towards the living room.