Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (this book - Book 3)
For the third time since her arrival in Colorado, Beth found herself at the Wynton police station. She had driven there from the hotel, leaving her car in the lot at the end of the alley. She considered returning Conner's phone call on the drive, but something told her their conversation wouldn't be short.
By the time she arrived at her destination, the pain in her chest had subsided to a dull ache, thanks to the mysterious healing power of her necklace. She knew how it worked — injuries she sustained as Sapphire Angel healed faster when she wore the necklace and for a period after she transformed back to her normal guise. But she didn't know why. Again, it seemed all too convenient to be a simple side effect of the experiment into which she and John had stumbled. It seemed like part of something bigger.
She wanted to uncover the answers to those mysteries, but it would have to wait. Eric's disappearance took precedence. And where would she search for answers, anyway?
The old man at the front desk announced her arrival, and a few minutes later Detective Clark arrived in the lobby. The middle-aged detective shook his head and sighed when he saw her.
"We're going to need to hire another officer just to deal with your issues," he said as he led her back to his office. When they arrived, he gestured for her to sit in a chair, as he moved to the larger chair behind the desk.
"Anything I can do to increase your budget," she said with a thin smile.
"I understand there was a commotion over at the hotel," he said. "I also heard it involved a pretty blond lady. I'm guessing that's why you're here?"
Beth nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes. I was there to see if I could discover anything, after learning my friend had booked a room. The man in black chased me — the guy from those photographs I showed you. I was lucky to get away."
"You were chased?" he asked in a disbelieving, almost mocking tone. "And how did you get away?"
"I'm not sure," she said. "There was a commotion behind me. I assume he got waylaid somehow."
The detective nodded slowly, sizing her up. "And he didn't get the bag?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Who said anything about a bag?"
"I, uh," Detective Clark stammered, drumming his fingers on the desk. "I'm well connected, Miss Harper. I heard about a disturbance at the hotel, so I asked some questions. Word is you went in without a bag, and then later witnesses spotted you carrying one."
Beth pondered her response before giving a slow shake of her head. "Nope, no bag." She didn't trust this man, and might never see the laptop again if the police took it.
Clark frowned, but a moment later the ringing of his desk phone interrupted them. He picked it up and listened as someone on the other end spoke.
"Nope," he said into the phone, followed by, "Yep, go ahead."
When he finished with the call and hung up the phone, he turned his gaze back to the young woman seated across from him.
"Are you sure you're being honest with me, Ms. Harper? That's a serious offense if you're obstructing an investigation."
She raised an eyebrow again and gave him a slight smile. "I thought there was no investigation."
He stared at her a moment without speaking, before letting out a sigh. "Ms. Harper, I think you probably concocted this entire story about a chase so we'd have to investigate your friend's disappearance. So I'll play along. Let's go over all the facts."
Beth had heard enough. Any help he pretended to give her would be superficial, and she'd just be wasting her time.
"You know," she said, "perhaps you're right. I didn't concoct this story, but maybe it was just my imagination running wild. With everything on my mind, I was probably seeing things that weren't there. I'll be going now." She rose from her chair.
"Ms. Harper, please, have a seat," he said, a surprised expression on his face. Beth was already halfway out the door.
"Sorry to waste your time," she said, calling back over her shoulder as she rushed away from his office. Time was crucial if she was going to find Eric, and time was slipping away.
Majid Azari leaned a hand against the glass of the tall window, looking out over the ocean far below as he held his iPhone to his ear. He wore a look of amusement on his face, with the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight grin. The look meant nothing, for inside a slow rage simmered.
He ended the call, turning to face the man standing on the other side of the desk. This was the one person against whom he wouldn't dare vent his anger. Azari's companion stood still, in a long black robe, his head bald and his skin pale. But the part that chilled Azari to the bone was the man's eyes. They were dull and lifeless, but somehow filled the room with their presence. A strange silver color, they bore right through Azari despite their passive gaze.
Evil. That is what Azari felt when he looked into those eyes. Azari was no saint himself, having used the wealth of his business empire to bankroll terrorist attacks around the globe, but Azari felt as if he could feel the depths of hell coming from the soul of this strange silver-eyed man.
But Azari hadn't risen to his current status as one of the wealthiest men in the Middle East by showing fear, and he made no exception for this man, whose name he did not know, and didn't care to know.
"That was our contact in Colorado," Azari said.
"Have you finalized the deal?" the man with silver eyes replied.
"It is close. But that wasn't the purpose of the call. The contact tells me she is there, in Colorado."
The silver-eyed man stared at Azari, waiting for him to explain, even though Azari suspected he already knew the answer.
"Sapphire Angel," Azari continued. "She's there. In the midst of things, yet again."
A rare smile formed at the edges of the robed man's mouth. "Do you believe me now?" he asked. "I warned you such coincidences would continue to occur. Your paths will continue to cross."
"I supposed I have to believe you, don't I?" Azari said with a sigh. "I don't have the same interest in the American superheroine as you, but I will not let her thwart my plans again. She led to the destruction of the Fizzure project last year, and she saved the American president at the nuclear power plant last month. With every plot she foils, the chances increase for her to follow a thread back to me, which will make my work for Allah much more difficult."
"It will not lead to you," the man with silver eyes replied. "That was why I destroyed the Fizzure building — to erase any evidence or witnesses. And it is also why you were a silent benefactor with the nuclear plot. No evidence remains to point back to you, especially with Xavier Wheldon dead."
"But Sapphire Angel saw you, on at least one occasion when you were at the main Fizzure building last year."
"I am but a ghost to her, and others," the robed man replied. "I have no known ties to you, or to anyone. I am a strange figure, and nothing more."
"We dance around the inevitable," Azari said, shaking his head. "Sapphire Angel has now appeared outside of Pennsylvania. You told me that when her sphere of influence expanded, it would be time for you to put her in her place."
"No, I told you that when her sphere of influence expanded, it would be time for my champion to put her in her place. There are two conditions in that statement, and one has not been meet. We have not yet found our champion."
Azari stared at the man, holding his gaze for as long as he dared, before swiveling his look back to the ocean, across the city, and then out over the desert.
"I've kept you around, in part because you warned me that fate would continue to intertwine my path with hers," Azari said. "It appears you were right. But you also promised you were the one who would be able to deal with her, once and for all, through this so-called champion of yours," Azari said. "And yet you have no champion to show me."
"Things of this nature take time, and must follow their natural course. It may not happen while Sapphire Angel is in Colorado, but the day will come when I will find this champion. When the day comes, Sapphire Angel will face a crushing defeat, and your plans will move forward unencumbered."
Azari stared at the man, saying nothing, before giving a nod.
"Very well," Azari said. "I will give you more time, as you have proven that your way is the path Allah desires. But my patience is not limitless. If Sapphire Angel's interference continues, I may have to take matters into my own hands, and break her, for all the world to see, whether you have your champion or not."
Beth fumed as she descended the steps from the police station and turned down the alley toward the parking lot. These detectives had made one fact clear — their lack of action wasn't due to apathy. For whatever reason, they didn't want what her, or anyone else, to learn what had happened to Eric. Perhaps it came from a desire to maintain the facade of a tranquil Western town, or perhaps it involved something much more sinister. She would find the reason.
Beth approached a box truck, half-parked on the sidewalk, and stepped into the street to go around it. She was so lost in thought she almost collided with a man at the back of the truck, as he pushed a hand truck full of boxes away from the rear of the open truck.
"Woah!" he called, stopping just in time.
"Oh, sorry," Beth murmured, walking around him. Annoyance crept up in her gut, but at herself, not the man. Her brain was overloaded with thoughts of her missing friend, her relationship with Conner, and all the unknowns about her life as Sapphire Angel. She needed to get it together, if she wanted to find Eric.
As she came to the end of the alley and reached the parking lot, she saw three men standing around her car — Jack's car — on the far side of the lot. They wore torn and tattered clothing, and one of them held a tool similar to the one Bernie, Luke, and Darin had used to try to break into Eric's car at the parking garage. It was like a long, thin piece of metal, almost like a yardstick or ruler. He had it jammed down inside the driver's side window. Her jaw dropped. They were breaking into Jack's car. Unbelievable. Was someone going to break into her car every time she went out?
"Don't move!" a voice hissed from behind.
She spun to find herself face-to-face with another roughly dressed man, who must have stepped out from behind a car parked at the very edge of the lot. He held a short switchblade knife in his hand and advanced toward her.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (this book - Book 3)
I KNEW Clark seemed fishy! He’s directly with Azari and the silver-eyed man (great to see them again, by the way). So is Azari, like.....orchestrating all of this---terrorist attacks and all---for his “god” or something like that? Figures.....it sure sounded like it with that segment. Even though Azari claims to be patient for the time being, it’s clear that he’s running out of it faster than the silver-eyed man. Come on, Azari, just try to go after her yourself. You’ll fail, and then there’ll only be the silver-eyed man left. How about that?
Upon reading earlier that Mantis hailed from the Middle East, I remembered that Azari ALSO had his roots in the Middle East. Maybe Mantis is truly aligned with Azari and the silver-eyed man, and is only working alongside Devlin and WarTech to further his own goals with them?
And......(sigh) yet again, we have another car break-in. Someone’s gotta stop these guys for good, I swear.....maybe make some sort of booby-trapped car that instantly knocks out any unauthorized carjackers or something like that. And with someone rapidly approaching her, it doesn’t look like she’ll have any time to switch over to Sapphire. Oh, well. I’m sure she’ll find a way.
Be back on Monday!