The Proof

   The main office of the Wayne Enterprises Metropolis tower was large, impressive, and usually empty.  It was only there to be used when the CEO of the company—currently Lucius Fox—was visiting.  As it happened, this was one of those times.
   Lucius sat at his desk, patiently awaiting his guest.  Lois stood to his left, casually sitting on the desk, legs properly crossed in front of her.
   Lucius took a quick glance at her.  She'd been like family to what was left of the Waynes and their friends—namely, Bruce, Alfred, and Lucius.  Lucius had heard from Alfred that Bruce and Lois had apparently broken it off, and that Miss Lane had taken it rather hard.  If she did, she certainly wasn't showing it.  She seemed to retain all the confidence and sharpness that often frightened adults twice her age.
   The elevator dinged.
   Inspector Dan Turpin walked out, looking gruff as ever.
   "Inspector," Lucius greeted, "thank you for coming."
   Lucius stood, and the men shook hands.  Lois gave Turpin a nod.
   Dan almost jumped back when he recognized Lois.  "Hey! 'Ain't you the kid who snuck into that school just ta get a lousy story?!"
   "That'd be me," Lois said without blinking.
   "Miss Lane has uncovered something of vital importance, Inspector," Lucius kindly interjected.
   Dan turned back to Lucius.  "Yeah?  And what might that be?"
   Lucius handed Turpin a plastic bag with a quarter-sized metal disk inside.  "This is one of a dozen tracking devices that were found on Wayne-Ferris aircraft prototypes.  According to our own analyses, they are of Luthorcorp design."
   Dan's eyebrow raised slightly.  "Huh. So you caught 'em in some corporate espionage, eh? Nice. That'll make 'em squirm for a while, tryin' to get outta that one."
   "Oh, it's much more than that," Lucius said.
   "How so?"
   "The Wayne-Ferris Air Base—and all aircraft on it—are partially funded by the United States Air Force.  Per that agreement, all aircraft are the property of the United States government.  Those tracking devices don't merely track the location of the aircraft; they record extremely sensitive data.  For all we know, Luthorcorp could have gained full knowledge of every plane in that hangar, as well as any prototype weapons the planes were carrying.  Put plainly, Luthorcorp has been spying on classified government weapons systems."
   Dan squinted his eyes and shook his head in frustrated thought. "Wait wait wait... why would they do that?  Wouldn't the government, I dunno, NOTICE that whatever Luthor comes up with is exactly the same as what you guys had already been workin' on?"
   Lois leaned in. "Unless they're not planning on selling these weapons to the United States government.  I'm betting it's no coincidence that the Regent of Kaznia was invited to Luthorcorp headquarters a week and a half ago, just a few days after these trackers were discovered."
   Dan's eyes widened with surprise.
   Kaznia.  Take the volatile history of Vietnam, the dictatorship of North Korea, and the supposedly-innocent public face of Iran, and you've got Kaznia.  Currently under trade embargo with the United States, and listed as a terrorist state.
   Dan's grin widened to match his eyes.  "So, you think Luthor's stealin' government military secrets and sellin' em to Kaznia?"
   Lois shrugged.  "Makes sense to me.  Even if Kaznia managed to get their hands on some of this stuff, they still don't have the resources to actually do much of anything with it."
   Turpin chuckled. "Heh. Like givin' a calculus book to a five-year-old."
   "More like giving a get-rich-quick book to a homeless person," Lois said with just enough attitude to get on Turpin's nerves.
   "We came to you," Lucius said, "in the hopes that you would be able to follow this lead to its source, and stop it."
   "Yeah, you can bet your fifty-thousand-dollar pants on that one."
   Lucius smiled approvingly.  "Very good.  I'll inform the staff at the air base that they're to fully cooperate and provide you with everything you need for your investigation."
   "...There's one other thing," Lois interjected.  "I want the story on this when it breaks."
   Dan rolled his eyes. "O' course you do.  Listen, this business ain't for kids, alright? You—"
   "Miss Lane was the one who discovered this, Inspector.  If anyone deserves the right to inform the public, it's her."
   Dan sighed. "Okay, I get that. I really do.  But you gotta understand, Miss.  Doin' somethin' like this... it'll paint a target on your head.  I don't think I need ta' tell ya that Lionel's not exactly the nicey-nice businessman he claims to be.  You could be hurt, or worse."
   Lois stared him straight in the face.  "How is that different from what you do every day?"
   Dan sighed again.  "...Alright. You got it. Gimme your number, and I'll give you a call when we've got somethin' solid."