Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (this book - Book 3)
For the first time since the start of her relationship with Conner, guilt didn't assail Beth's conscience. As she headed out to the car next to Conner, once again dressed in her normal clothes, she bounded with a skip in her step. Telling the truth about her secret life felt wonderful. No more lies.
Her happiness was short-lived. As they drove toward Gavin Pierce's apartment, Beth noticed Conner staring ahead as he drove, gritting his teeth.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
He glanced sideways at her and pursed his lips. He said nothing.
"Conner, what's wrong?" she repeated.
He took a deep breath. "The question I keep coming back to is, 'Why?'"
"Why what? Why did I hide things from you? Why did I come home late all the time?"
"I'd be pretty selfish if that's all it was," Conner replied. "You're out there saving the world, and you think I'm worried about you getting home late?"
"Then what is it?"
"Why are you doing this? Putting yourself in danger? Being Sapphire Angel?"
"Why? Because I can."
"That's it? Because you can?"
"This isn't a comic book, Conner, where I have some deep reason for it. You understand how I feel when I see people getting victimized. When I got these powers and realized I might actually do something about it..." Her voice trailed off. "I can't sit by and see people being hurt, and do nothing. Not with these powers. I resisted it at first, when I might have been helping John. And then it was Ethan. Never again. I need to help people. So if you want a deeper reason, I guess that's it."
He shook his head. "You're putting yourself in danger. You're going to be the one getting hurt. Or killed."
"I can take care of myself."
"This isn't a game, Beth!" Conner's voice rose. "And it's not a TV show, where the good guy always wins. There are lots of very bad people out there who want nothing more than to take you down. Or worse, since you're a woman."
Beth scowled. "What's that supposed to mean? That a man could do this better?"
"That's not what I meant at all. I meant the stakes are higher, because you're a woman. Do you have any idea what some of these people would do if they came out on top? I hope you've considered it. My whole point is it's not up to you to save people."
"But it is," she said.
Beth waited for Conner to reply, but he said nothing. She looked down at her hands in her lap, shaking her head. She couldn't win. Here they were, right back to where they had been five days earlier. Conner was upset with Beth's lifestyle. Except now he understood the actual reasons for her behavior, and he was still upset. More upset, even.
They drove in silence for several minutes until they were a block from Gavin Pierce's apartment. Conner pulled over, as they had planned, and Beth hopped out without speaking. Beth closed the remaining distance on foot and ducked into an alley near the store. She made her transformation, circling around the back of the store and emerging on the other side as Sapphire Angel.
The costumed woman entered the building and climbed the stairs, before making her way down the hall to Pierce's apartment. She rapped a gloved fist on his door. She heard grumbling on the other side, footsteps approaching, and a sharp intake of breath through the thin door as an eye came to the peephole. The door flew open, and she stood face to face with Gavin Pierce.
"Sapphire Angel!" His eyes bulged out even more than she remembered from her first visit. He should be easy pickings.
"Hello, Gavin. Can I come in?"
"Yes, yes, yes, come in," he stammered.
Gavin stepped back away from the door and rushed to a sofa. He grabbed piles of laundry covering its surface and tossed them onto the floor. He gestured for her to sit.
"That's okay," she said, facing him with her hands on her hips. "I can stand."
His eyes looked like saucers as he regarded her. "Why are you here?"
"I need your help," she replied.
"You need my help?" he asked, disbelief in his voice.
"Yes. I need you to tell me about your brother."
"What about him?"
"Did he discuss his work at WarTech with you?" she asked.
"Why are you asking?"
"I can't get into that, but it's very important. Which means you're very important. So I need you to tell me if discussed his work at WarTech with you."
He nodded with wide eyes before answering.
"He only talked about his work a little bit," he began. "He said it was top secret, so he spoke real vague about stuff. No details, ever."
"What sort of vague stuff?"
"Just that what he was doing was important, and would help our country. That's all. I promise."
"Why did he quit?" she asked.
"How did you know he quit?"
"I have my ways, Gavin. What did he tell you?"
"He didn't tell me anything. But he starting acting weird."
"Weird? How so?"
"He just seemed nervous the last month or so. Every time I saw him, he was stressed out. Like something was eating at him."
"Did he ever say anything to hint at what was bothering him?"
Gavin wrinkled his forehead as if in thought. "He asked me once if I'd ever been stuck in a spot where I had to do something I knew was wrong. He didn't explain it any more than that."
Sapphire Angel rested her chin on a fist and pursed her lips. Gavin's words reinforced her belief that WarTech was up to no good. But what exactly was it?
"Any idea what he might have been talking about?" she asked.
Gavin shook his head. "He said it shortly after they moved him to a new location. But other than that, I have no idea."
"New location?"
"He said something about a paradox... no, wait, not a paradox. An enigma. Or the enigma? No, no. Now I remember. I think I heard him say the project was an enigma?"
"The Enigma Project, maybe?" she asked.
"Yes, yes, that's it! He said it was the key to the whole place. I thought maybe something with the project bothered him."
Jackpot. The Enigma Project was WarTech's project to deconstruct and neutralize the technology of America's enemies. Something was going on there.
"Did he talk about this Enigma Project in any more detail?" she asked.
"No. He clammed up after that, and I haven't seen him since. I'm worried about what might have happened. His phone is going straight to voicemail. It's not like him to drop off the radar like this."
"Have you gone to the police?"
"Once. They didn't give a shit. They said he probably just took a trip somewhere. I'm not sure what to do."
That sounded familiar. Sapphire Angel nodded. She continued peppering him with questions for several minutes, trying to learn all she could about his brother’s activities with WarTech, but it was clear he had told her everything he knew.
"Gavin, you've been a tremendous help," she said, although his answers only led to more unanswered questions. "I'm going to go now."
As she left, she sensed Gavin staring at her.
Ten minutes later, Beth was back in the car with Conner, filling him in on her discussion with Gavin Pierce. Conner sat in silence until she finished.
"So what's the next move?" he asked.
His question took her aback. Conner wasn't one to defer to anyone, even her. Was it because he knew she was Sapphire Angel?
"I'd like to get inside the lab and area for the Enigma Project, but I'd feel better about it if I had more than just suspicions," she said. "I can't go breaking into places every time I suspect something. I need more."
"You shouldn't break into that place anyway," Conner said as he pulled from the curb. "Too dangerous."
Beth glanced out the window, frowning. She didn't need Conner trying to dissuade her from her life as Sapphire Angel.
They had parked a block before Gavin Pierce's apartment, so they drove past as they headed down the street. As they passed, Beth did a double take. Two large men moved from the sidewalk to the entrance door, opened it, and stepped inside. Beth saw them pull gloves from their pockets, and noticed the grip of a gun in the waistband of one man, before the door closed behind them.
"Conner..."
"I saw it," he replied.
"Pull over," she said. "I've got this."
"What do you think you're going to do?"
"Not me," Beth replied with a smile. "Sapphire Angel."
Conner frowned. "No way. Too dangerous, Beth."
Beth closed her eyes and groaned. "Before I told Ethan I was Sapphire Angel, I made him promise he wouldn't try to stop me. I should have done the same with you. This is who I am, and you need to get used to it. I don't have time to argue. They could be hurting him as we speak."
Conner's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
"Pull over, please," she said, urgency in her voice.
With a shake of the head, Conner slowed and pulled to the curb. Beth jumped out and sprinted toward the secluded side of the building.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (this book - Book 3)
I knew Sapphire was going to talk to Gavin! It didn’t go nearly as bad as I had envisioned it, either; for now, he just seems like a really huge fan, if anything. Then again, you kind of made me have that false sense of security with Roy Valik as well, so I’ll be sure to not rest too easy on him.
And......whoops. Looks like Conner really isn’t taking Beth’s secret as well as I initially thought. Like he said, it’s not so much that she’d been lying to him for a long time as it is the sheer amount of danger she’s basically placed herself into. I love the amount of critical thinking and questioning you’ve invited (kind of like with my novel “Nightclaw”): it’s always been said that a heroic person places the needs and safety of others before their own, but at what point does that become too much? In other words, where is the line between valor and recklessness? As Peter Parker/Spider-Man (MCU Version) said once:
“When you can do the things that I can, but you don’t, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you.” -Peter Parker/Spider-Man (MCU Version, “Captain America Civil War”, 2016)
Personally, I don’t have a lot of concern for Beth/Sapphire’s well-being; not in a negative way, of course. It’s not because I don’t think she can handle herself (she DEFINITELY can), but the fact that she has all these superpowers (technically being immune to bullets, for one) and has rarely ever lost (with a few exceptions) puts me at ease....or at least, more than it would if she had been a completely regular person with no special abilities. If she can help people, I definitely think she should do it whenever possible; especially since she has gifts that no other person has which can make it easier FOR her to do so.
If I were in Conner’s shoes, I’d be completely accepting of her activities, and only start actually worrying if her foe in question was ALSO an enhanced individual (i.e., someone with improved powers who’s actually on par with her). Speaking of which.....I don’t think we’ve met anyone like that yet.....? Demarco Dominick, Majid Azari, Xavier Wheldon, Jake Rockford, Raven Tristan, Mark Bishop......they were all “regular” people; although I’ll admit that Jake Rockford was unusually strong, and Raven Tristan had a lot of knowledge about anesthetic and sedative compounds, they had no innate superpowers and were just regular humans, albeit very corrupt ones in some cases. (I still think it would’ve been cool if Raven had gotten Sapphire’s powers during that scene with the two of them in the garage. Would’ve made a great “Spider-Man/Venom”-type situation.) Part of me thinks the silver-eyed man---the one who has allied with Azari---is a super as well, but I guess we’ll find that out further down the road. Maybe he’s a psychic/telekinetic.....?
Looks like it’s time to save Gavin from what I assume are some of WarTech’s lackeys. Let’s spring into action!