Cassidy Freeman credited as playing...
Tess Mercer
- [first lines]
- Tess Mercer: [entering tent] Who is Regan? What have you been doing, all this time, building snowmen?
- Regan Matthews: Who do you think you are? This site is off limits.
- Tess Mercer: Tess Mercer. My access is unrestricted. Per Lex's written instructions, I'm now the acting C.E.O. of LuthorCorp and all its subsidiaries.
- Regan Matthews: You're nothing but an obscure Regional V.P. You actually think you're qualified?
- Tess Mercer: Lex believes it... and that's all that matters. I want a complete inventory of everything you've found. Footprint, snowmobile tracks, any sign of escape.
- Regan Matthews: Escape?
- Tess Mercer: Trust me, Lex Luthor didn't meet his end at some dwindling ice cap.
- Tess Mercer: You missed a spot.
- Lois Lane: Oui, oui, madame.
- Tess Mercer: And the floors, they've lost their sheen. You're not getting lazy, are you?
- Lois Lane: I didn't realize Lex's secretarial staff could spot a speck of dust from across the room.
- Tess Mercer: I'm as much a secretary as you are a French maid. I've been so looking forward to meeting the intrepid reporter Lois Lane. So, you like to play dress-up?
- Lois Lane: If you're not a secretary, who are you? Lex's 4:00 p.m. booty call?
- Tess Mercer: I realize Mr. Luthor gave you quite a bit of journalistic rope knowing you'd eventually hang yourself. Me, on the other hand, I'm a little less patient.
- Lois Lane: I'm not here as a reporter. I'm here to find my cousin, Chloe Sullivan.
- Tess Mercer: I doubt she's hiding under the furniture.
- Lois Lane: Lex had her arrested by the Department of Domestic Security, but the DDS claims to have no record of her. I want access to Lex's phone records from the day he made the call. I want that agent's name.
- Tess Mercer: Mr. Luthor is a firm believer in truth and justice, Ms. Lane. You can rest assured if he had your cousin arrested, she was guilty.
- Lois Lane: The only thing Chloe's been guilty of is standing up for what she believes in.
- Tess Mercer: What's the news from your elves at the North Pole?
- Regan Matthews: Satellites picked up an encoded communication signal from the group that attacked us.
- Tess Mercer: Well, they're not the only ones that are good at concealing information. Don't you remember, your little journey up north in the LuthorCorp jet right before Lex disappeared?
- Regan Matthews: I honored Mr. Luthor's request for absolute discretion.
- Tess Mercer: Have you been searching for Lex or are you just covering your own tracks?
- Regan Matthews: I did my homework on you. Girl who taught herself to read in a Louisiana swamp house, got into Harvard at fifteen, goes deep sea diving in her spare time. But I don't give a damn about any of it. Nobody questions my loyalty.
- Tess Mercer: If I ever discover that someone withheld information that could help me find Lex, I'd be forced to respond accordingly.
- Regan Matthews: Are you threatening me?
- Tess Mercer: Just giving you an opportunity to keep your job. I suggest you find Lex, or you will be summarily terminated.