Two minutes. That was more than enough time for Clark to do what he needed to. He gladly followed Lois out into the hall, noting her cold demeanor as she went, and took a moment to inspect their surroundings. People were still curious, he was sure, but they weren't going to step out into an area as closed off as this one was to observe them on the off chance that they'd be seen doing so. So long as they didn't peek around the corner, Clark knew he could get Lois out of here without making their Superman and Lois Lane jokes evolve into serious discussions. "This is fine," Clark told Lois, averting his gaze downward so that he was looking square at her. "Perfect, actually." There was a window down the hall behind them. It was more than perfect.
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry." Clark put a hand to her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry about your cousin." There was a lot more to it than that. Clark was feeling apologetic for more than just one reason. "I'm sorry that you're hurting. I'm sorry that you feel like you've gotta walk around here and pretend like everything is okay when deep down you know that it's not." She'd turn away at that. Clark knew that Lois would get mad or she'd shut him down as soon as he said it, so he tightened his hold on her shoulder just a little. It wasn't enough to hurt her, but it was definitely enough to keep Lois from spinning away before he could do what was necessary.
The coast was still clear. Good.
"And I'm sorry, Lois, for what I'm about to do now, even if it's what you need."
With one hand already on her, it was more than easy for Clark to grab Lois around the waist and hoist her into his arms. If she said anything, he didn't respond to it. Instead, Clark turned and made way for the window at a speed that was well beyond anything human. In the blink of an eye, they went from standing in the hallway of their workplace to rushing through the sky above it, leaving all the distractions that Lois had buried herself in so far behind that she couldn't have gotten back to it if she tried.
The path to the Fortress was already mapped out in his head. He would take her there, where Lois couldn't rush off and find something else to use as a tool to aid her in her quest to avoid Chloe's death. She had to accept what had happened. She had to mourn. She had to do this right, for both herself and Chloe, and Clark was going to make sure that she got the chance to do it.