Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (this book - Book 3)
"Give me your bag and your money, and you won't get hurt!" the man with the knife hissed as he pointed the blade at Beth.
She studied him, noting the incongruity between his attire and his face. Except for his clothes, he looked like he could have been ready for a job interview. While he wore not much more than rags, his face was neatly shaven and his hair was combed and trimmed.
"Your bag and your money!" he snapped, gesturing with the knife.
"Okay, okay" Beth said, sliding her bag from her shoulder, and extending it in front of her. She elevated it, holding it above eye level. As the man's gaze followed the bag, Beth lashed up with a kick, scoring a solid blow between his legs with the hard toe of her boot.
A sick gargle came from his mouth as he dropped the knife, and his eyes rolled back in his head. He dropped to his knees and bent forward, resting the top of his head against the ground and reaching for his groin. A moment later he moaned and toppled to his side. He lay on the ground, rocking back and forth in pain, holding his hands between his legs.
Beth turned and sprinted back down the alley toward the main road, but stopped when she came to the box truck straddling the curb. Only a few feet separated it from the nearby building. The man unloading it was gone and she didn't spot any surveillance cameras, so she squeezed between the truck and the building, hiding herself from anyone who might wander down the alley.
The young woman held her right hand up to base of her neck, forming a balled fist. As she closed her eyes, an exhilarating surge welled up within her. A brilliant flash filled the tight area, and a moment later Sapphire Angel, in her brilliant blue-and-white costume, stood between the truck and the building, where Beth had stood moments earlier.
Sapphire Angel dashed out from behind the truck and sprinted down the alley back toward the parking lot. She stopped when she reached her would-be assailant. He had risen to his knees, but was still slumped, groaning, with his hands resting on his thighs. His head was bowed, but he looked up at the feet and slender legs of the superheroine.
His jaw dropped as his eyes traveled up the rest of her body. A split second later, that same jaw was on the receiving end of her knee, which drove upward and sent him flipping onto his back. He was in no condition to resist as she pulled zip ties from her boot and bound his wrists and ankles.
The stunning super lady turned and darted across the parking lot toward Jack's car. She cleared the final distance with a leap, the heels of her boots clicking down next to the men at the car. Their heads jerked up and they turned, just in time for two of them to take fists to the face. They spun back into the third man, and all three went down in a tangled mess.
Sapphire Angel continued her assault, moving among the fallen men with a flurry of punches and elbows to finish the job. After the three men lay moaning in a heap on the pavement, she pulled out more zip ties, repeating the process she had used with the first man. Soon, all three lay at her feet, bound. She stood in a power pose above them, her legs spread and her hands on her hips.
"Now it's time for you to give me some answers," she said, but jerked her head back in shock as she took a closer look at the men. They were not in uniform, but she remembered two of them from the police station. They had worked in the cubicles, and looked up at her during one of her earlier visits. Her face set in a harsh stare, and she balled her fists in anger. Like in most industries, the bad apples made it hard for honest, hard-working men and women. But unlike many industries, these bad apples could cause serious harm.
Before she could say more, footsteps sounded behind her. She turned as four uniformed police officers hurried across the parking lot.
"Hold it!" the officer in front yelled. He looked to be the oldest of the bunch, perhaps in his mid-fifties, but he was tall and fit, with a lean, athletic build.
Even a month earlier Sapphire Angel would have left the scene, avoiding a possible chilly reception. After saving the President of the United States, however, her situation had changed. The president had made an impassioned public plea shortly after she saved him, imploring the public and law enforcement to view Sapphire Angel as a hero, not a vigilante.
So Sapphire Angel waited for the four officers to close the distance. As she waited, another figure came into view. Officer Jennings, the compassionate female officer, hung back several yards behind the approaching officers. She moved slower and didn't appear to be assisting them. She didn't take her gaze from Sapphire Angel.
When the four officers reached the superheroine, they looked down at the men on the ground. The surprise on the senior officer's face was obvious. The name "Sgt. Hanks" was stitched on one of his breast pockets. Appropriate, she thought, since he looked a bit like Tom Hanks.
"What's going on here, Sapphire Angel?" Hanks asked, narrowing his eyes.
The blonde woman met his gaze evenly, standing with her hands on her hips. He stood several inches taller than she did, so she had to look up to meet his gaze. Still, her presence dwarfed his, and seemed to illuminate the parking lot.
"These men here," she began, pointing with a gloved finger to the men on the ground, "were breaking into this car. I presume it belongs to a young woman who approached from over at that edge of the parking lot. The man back there, tied up, then accosted her. I was approaching from that roof over there and saw the whole thing. I came down to help, and as I dispatched the men, the young woman fled through that opening there." Sapphire Angel pointed to a narrow walkway between two buildings at the back end of the parking lot, near Jack's car.
"So you're responsible for all this?" Hanks said as he pointed to the men on the ground and nodded back toward the bound man on the other side of the parking lot.
"Yes, but I'm sure you can take over from here."
The sergeant set his jaw before speaking in measured tones. "Now listen," he said. "This may be okay where you come from, and actually in a lot of places after what President Andrews said about you on TV a while back. But this kind of stuff doesn't fly here. We're the law around here, not you."
Sapphire Angel glanced up at the other officers, before her eyes fell upon Jennings, standing in the background. The police woman had a pained grimace on her face, and mouthed the word, "Sorry" to the superheroine.
"I certainly understand, Sergeant," she replied, turning back to Hanks and matching the ice in his voice. "But you weren't here. If I hadn't been here, you would have a stolen car and a mugging victim on your hands, or worse."
Hanks shook his head. "That's not your call to make," he said, the agitation in his voice rising. "I think it's time for you to leave this town. If you pull a stunt like this again, you'll find yourself behind bars."
Sapphire Angel gritted her teeth. "I think I'm starting to understand this place," she said. She spun on her heel and stomped off through the opening at the back of the lot.
Once out of sight, Sapphire Angel darted down another narrow alley, trying to calm her anger. She heard cars on the nearby street as she approached the end of the alley. To her left was a set of stairs descending toward a basement door.
"Sapphire Angel!" a female voice called from behind her.
She turned to see Officer Jennings, who had just entered the alley. The female officer was hurrying toward her.
The blond heroine waited, hands on hips. When Jennings was only a few feet away, Sapphire Angel asked, "What can I do for you, officer?"
Jennings bit her lip, looked down, and stammered, "I'm not sure, actually. I guess I wanted to tell you we're not all like that."
"Like what?"
Jennings looked over her shoulder, back toward the parking lot, which was not visible. "Like them." Jennings said, before looking at the ground. "I've lost faith in my department. I'm not the only one. Many of us want to do the right thing."
Sapphire Angel studied her, but said nothing.
"There are many of them, maybe half, who aren't motivated to do anything unless it involves WarTech," Jennings continued. "When I started, I thought they were just taking care of a company that was good for the area. But lately it seems to go beyond that."
"You're aware of the man who went missing on Friday night?"
Jennings nodded. "Yes. There was a young woman here earlier asking questions about him."
Sapphire Angel wasn't surprised Jennings didn't make the connection between her and Beth Harper. The heroine's necklace made people overlook even the obvious.
"I am looking for him, too," the costumed woman said. "Could favoritism toward WarTech be affecting the investigation, or the lack of one?"
"If you mean, are my colleagues ignoring this because it doesn't involve WarTech? Yes, it's possible. Even likely. I don't have evidence, but I'm starting to think WarTech might be slipping money to police officers and town officials on the side, to make sure the company's interests come first."
Sapphire Angel nodded. "So it might be up to me. In that case, where would you start if you were trying to find someone who had gone missing around here?"
"The bar. Lanigan's. The owner, Don Lanigan, knows everything that goes on in this town. That will be doubly true in this case, since your friend was there the night he disappeared."
Sapphire Angel frowned. "I've already gone that route, and Lanigan pled ignorance. Of course, I didn't press too hard. Any other ideas?"
Jennings grimaced and shook her head. "No, unfortunately. But if you think of anything I can do, let me know." She pulled a business card out of her pocket. "I don't know if you have any pockets in that costume, but here's my card. If you need anything, call me or stop by. My cell number is on there. Even though I'm busy, I'll make time. I work security at Senator Chappel's office on the side. I'll be doing that for the next couple of hours, before heading home. Tomorrow morning I work security for the senator again for a couple of hours, but I'm otherwise off. You can talk to me. I'll keep it quiet."
The two women gave each other appreciative nods and headed in opposite directions.
Mantis carried the stack of papers to the closet, which contained his lockbox. He opened the lockbox and his gaze moved from the papers in his hands to the various gadgets and implements in the box. He need to add a few more items to be truly ready, but the lockbox contained most of what he needed to implement the plans sketched out on the papers.
His plans presumed he would cross paths with Sapphire Angel again. The superheroine's appearance in Wynton could be a coincidence, but it was unlikely. Extremely unlikely. She was here because of WarTech and whatever Mark Devlin was planning. And if she was here, he would encounter her again.
This time the outcome would be different. He couldn't have anticipated he would have faced someone with her unrivaled abilities during their first encounter, so she had possessed an unfair advantage. Next time he would hold the cards.
Mantis thought of ambush predators, like his namesake, the praying mantis. An ambush predator didn't pursue its prey, but laid in wait, ready to pounce. By the time its prey realized it was the hunted, it was too late. The battle was already over.
So it would be with Sapphire Angel. Mantis would not be unprepared again. Whether he needed to lure and trap her, or take her in combat with a type of attack she wouldn't expect, he would be ready. Because now he had a plan. Multiple plans, actually. Plans for either scenario — trap or combat. Whatever the nature of their next encounter, Sapphire Angel would learn he was her master.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (this book - Book 3)
Woohoo! Taking the wind out of them with a kick to the groin......nice! And that was Beth, too, not Sapphire! Goes to show you shouId not mess with peopIe. Some more action from the heroine again, aIways Ioving that! In my opinion, though, I have yet to read any scene that couId surpass that one from the parking garage. Chapter 12 or something.....? Somewhere around there.
But....(sigh) WeaIthy corporations bribing the poIice department to keep them siIent about your activities......what eIse is new.....peopIe that puII these kinds of things are definiteIy some of the Iowest of the Iow. To that end, Hanks sure seems Iike an ungratefuI turd; absoIuteIy nothing Iike Comm. Marvin from my stories. She heIped you out, man.....and then you just rebuff her Iike that?
At Ieast Jennings seems to be okay. (AIso, Sapphire's costume shouId have pockets, right? Or if not pockets, some other kind of hidden area.....? If not, where'd she keep aII those zip ties?) If they can get Hanks kicked and maybe put Jennings in his spot, or, barring that, get Hanks to see that Sapphire does seek to heIp (though I doubt that wiII work), that wouId be nice.
Can't wait to see what Mantis has pIanned for Sapphire next. I'd say she'd stiII come out on top, Iike she usuaIIy does, but that whoIe Raven Tristan incident in the previous noveI kinda shook my resoIve a IittIe bit. She did pay her back for it Iater, but there's no doubting that Raven won that; she got her to spiII practicaIIy everything. And she's stiII out there, too.....she didn't die or get her memories wiped or anything Iike that. She's a Ioose end, honestIy.
......Ahhh, who am I kidding? Sapphire's going to win. She aImost aIways does.
Great to have a chapter get reIeased on my birthday! My mother had jury duty today; terribIe timing, right? At Ieast something good came out of it.....keep it up! See you on Thursday! (On Wednesday, I have two exams in a row......)