The design of Kara's apartment building was entirely similar to Winn's but two stories shorter. Again, the ladies took the elevator up, getting off at the third floor and heading left to the end of the hallway.
"What exactly do you expect to find in Kara's apartment?" Lena asked as they walked towards it.
"Like I said," Lois shrugged, "reporter notes on Supergirl and such."
"At her apartment instead of at work?"
"Look, I already grabbed the most recent notebook from her desk, and that didn't have anything relevant so—"
"You what?"
"Just relax, Luthor. I'm not spying for the Planet. I'm just looking for a clue on the missing Supers. We're in this together, right?" When Lena continued to scowl, Lois asked, "What's wrong?"
"Kara enjoys her privacy." Lena thrust her chin forward. "Going through her desk was disrespectful."
Failing to contain her eye roll, Lois replied, "I'll apologize when we find her."
"Supergirl?"
"Ah, yeah. When we find Supergirl, I'll apologize to Kara for snooping through her things. I'm sure she'll, she as in Kara I mean, will agree that it was for a good cause."
Somewhat mollified, Lena let the conversation drop and they continued on to the apartment. It had been a short trip to the third floor and was an even quicker walk to Kara's apartment.
"Let's just hope she didn't leave the chain on," Lois said as she pulled out her lock pick case and unzipped it.
"How would she have the chain on if she isn't at home?"
"In case she left through the... Yeah, good point. What was I thinking?" As she knelt in front of the door with a pick in her mouth and the tension wrench in her hand, Lois pulled her head back when a hand with keys in it cut in front of her gaze. She harrumphed and looked up at Lena. "You have a key?"
Unlocking the door, Lena pocketed her keys and stepped through the threshold. "Of course. It's Kara's apartment."
"Of course," Lois muttered as she put her picks away and closed and pocketed the case before following Lena inside. "So, you come here often?" When Lena cast a difficult to decipher look in her direction, Lois said, "I mean, do you often come here to Kara's apartment?"
"Oh." Lena flicked on the switch, illuminating the room as Lois closed the door. "I suppose. Kara and I try to get together once or twice a week. Though my place is bigger, hers is much... homier. Anyway, we don't need much room for two people."
"Right," Lois said slowly as Lena cast her gaze around the room. "And you have a key?"
"Hmmm?" Lena prodded the soil of a plant with her fingertip. "Sometimes, Kara will have to run out unexpectedly, and I've been stuck in the hallway waiting for her to return on movie night. This way, I can let myself in. I also water her plants while she's away." As if to demonstrate, Lena flicked on the kitchen light, grabbed a glass from a cabinet, and filled it from the tap.
Lois was already digging through drawers in the living room, her gaze quickly examining the contents before dismissing them and moving on. "You two sound close." When Lois looked up, Lena was leaning against the kitchen counter, frowning.
"She's my best friend."
Lois offered an awkward smile. "She's lucky to have you."
"I'm the lucky one," Lena replied rather dismissively as she turned her back on Lois and moved to the houseplant from earlier.
"Look, Lena—"
There was a noise outside, the jangle of keys and then a thud as they perhaps fell to the hallway floor. A slight groan followed that along with a muttering of, "God damn it. I'm too fucking tired to deal with this shit."
As Lena and Lois' wide-eyed gazes locked, Lois whispered, "That's Alex."
"She can't find you here," Lena whispered back.
"No shit." Lois looked over toward the windows. "What do we do?"
"Uh... go hide. I'll take care of her."
"But..." Lois tried to argue, but between Lena's hurried waving and the sound of a key in the lock, she fled the room and headed to Kara's bedroom, mostly closing the door behind her.
The doorknob jiggled. "What the... did I just lock it? Who left her door unlocked?" The keys jingled again, and then the door opened. There was a rush of motion, the sound of a ring of keys clattering against a hardwood floor, and then Alex said, "Lena?"
Gasping, Lena spun from where she stood watering the plant. She sloshed water over her hand and spilled some onto the floor. "Damn it, Alex. You nearly scared the life out of me." Her gaze went to the partially lowered weapon in Alex's. "Is this a stickup, or do you think I'm here to rob the place?"
"What? Oh." Alex slid her weapon back into the holster and secured it before picking up the keys from where she'd dropped them onto the floor. "Sorry about that. Why are you here?"
"Watering the plants," Lena replied as she went to the kitchen and returned with a dishrag. "Apparently, I thought the floor looked thirsty too."
As Lena crouched to wipe the floor, Alex frowned. "Kara asked you to water her plants?"
"Not this time," Lena replied as she stood and turned to Alex with a weak smile. "I didn't even know she was going away, but I didn't know if anyone else was doing it. It's a good thing I stopped by. Kara's philodendron is looking a bit crunchy. Why are you here?"
"Oh, uh, same thing. Kara asked me to feed the plants when we spoke."
"Today?" Lena took several eager steps toward Alex. "Did you talk to Kara today?"
"Yes," Alex replied slowly.
"Oh, I haven't heard from her since she left. I was getting worried."
"Well, my mom is... Kara's super busy— really, she's really busy! Um, she said to say hi to you, and she'd call as soon as she could come up for air."
Lena silently examined the cloth in her hand for several moments, her expression inscrutable. "How's your mom?"
"Sick but she'll be fine. We all appreciate you giving Kara the time off with no real notice."
"It's her family, and Kara is... Just tell her I was getting concerned if you do speak with her before I do. She can have as much time as she needs." Lena smiled a bit. "I'll put in a good word with management."
Alex chuckled. "Good to know. Well, if you're going to feed the plants, I should probably head out. Take care, okay?"
"You too." Lena followed Alex to the door, watching until Kara's sister got into the elevator, waved goodbye around the door, and disappeared as the elevator doors closed. In turn, Lena closed and locked the door again, this time adding the chain for additional security, before heading to Kara's bedroom. "She's gone."
"And we should be too," Lois said as she stepped by Lena. "We don't want to be here if she comes back."
"Why would she come back?"
