We last read Chapter 31, in which Beth plans a movie night with Ethan, her best friend, who urges her to keep an open mind about Conner, who Ethan sees on occasion at the gym. Ethan confides that he thinks Conner is romantically interested in Beth. Ethan mentions an energy conference Conner will be attending in Florida, mistakenly assuming Beth is going, too. Beth doesn’t even know about the conference.
A short while later, Conner texts Beth, asking her to call when she is free. She calls his office, and Olivia Lockheed answers and blows up, chastising Beth concerning Beth’s meeting with Xavier Wheldon, CEO of StarPrime. When Conner gets on the line, they summarize the information they’ve gathered during the investigation. Beth almost mentions Sapphire Angel’s fight with Wheldon’s bodyguard, which Beth would have no way of knowing. Convincing herself it is to avoid a slip-up, she decides Sapphire Angel will pay Conner another visit later that night. She will share the photographs she took of the mysterious building on Wheldon’s land, where she fought the bodyguard. The surprise visit will happen after movie night with Ethan ends, and after Sapphire Angel gets a closer look at the tower on Wheldon’s land. The call ends with Conner suggesting Beth book a trip to the energy conference in Florida, since Xavier Wheldon will be there.
The chapter ends with a surprise call from Bud Tanner to Beth. He asks how her investigation into StarPrime is coming, and gives her information to decrypt a message he’ll be sending. The message arrives, containing details for a late-night meeting with him. As Beth ponders the meeting, she books her trip to the energy conference in Florida.
This is the second story, so if you want to start from the very beginning, you can jump over to book 1, and begin with the Prologue of Sapphire Angel, Superheroine. Or to start at the beginning of book 2 (this story), click over to the Prologue of Power Play.
Thanks for reading!
"I can always count on you to pick a movie where stuff blows up," Beth said, a teasing edge in her voice. Ethan was in the kitchen, putting the leftover pizza in the refrigerator, so she had to raise her voice. She sat with her legs curled under her, leaning up against the armrest of the sofa and looking at the description of the movie on the screen.
"Hey!" he called from the kitchen. "You like that kind of movie, too!"
His back was to her, but she knew he was smiling. He was right. Perhaps it was because of her life as Sapphire Angel, but she enjoyed action-filled movies more than romances and the other fare her female friends liked. Ethan knew her well.
He walked out of the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn, setting it on the coffee table in front of the sofa. He studied her for a moment.
"It's good to see you relax," he said. "You've been getting consumed with this story. Like you always do."
Beth pulled her legs up against her chest as she looked at Ethan.
"I blame my parents," she said, only half in jest.
"I'm pretty sure you were born with it, but whatever it is, don't overdo it. Your parents wouldn't want that. Even your mom."
She wondered what her mother would think if she learned her daughter was Sapphire Angel. While both her parents would worry, the revelation might cause her mom's strange insecurities to flare. Beth didn't regret not telling them.
"What's going on with your story, anyway?" Ethan asked, bringing her out of her daydream.
Beth tilted her head and looked up at him as she hugged her legs. "Where to begin?" she murmured. "Let's see. I've had a witness run from me after some thugs tried to abduct him. There's a tower on the personal land of the StarPrime CEO that people seem to want to keep secret. Someone was shot and killed near it. Evidence pointed to the CEO's people as the shooters, but the police chief covered up that evidence by suspending the investigating officer. The CEO was checking out another building in the woods late at night with the local police chief, but the building only contained some cinderblocks. Right now I'm just trying to piece it all together."
Ethan's cocked his head to the side as he soaked in the details. He sat next to her. "How in the world did you find all that out so quickly? Five days or so, right?"
Beth's skin flush as she realized she had just told Ethan about the building in the woods, when Sapphire Angel hadn't shared that information with anyone but Stanley yet. An urge came over her to tell him her secret. The constant deception, and the fight against her need to share everything with Ethan, sapped her soul. She bit her lip and fought the impulse. Telling him would be a selfish act, done to appease her own conscience.
"Stanley learned some of it, and, as I mentioned before, Sapphire Angel found out some of that stuff and shared it with Conner."
Ethan gave a slow nod. "Odd that she is involved in this."
"Uh, yeah, I guess," Beth said, her voice trailing off. Guilt rose in her again, washing away the thoughts of selfishness, as she lied to him again. Telling the truth to your best friend couldn't be selfish, could it? She opened her mouth to speak, ready to spill all, but closed her mouth in a thin line. No, she couldn't do it.
"I'm not a detective," Ethan said, "but it sure sounds like this StarPrime CEO has his hand in something."
"It seems obvious. Maybe you can tell that to the senior assistant chief counsel at the OCO, because she's afraid I'll offend him. But she won't stop me from working that angle."
"You and Conner," he reminded her.
"Yes, me and Conner."
"Maybe you two will hit it off at the conference. If you go."
Beth glanced sideway at him. "I'm going. You don't need to play matchmaker, though."
"Good!" Ethan said, his voice rising in excitement. "I'm glad you're going. It will be good for you. And I think he likes you. Just a hunch by how he talks about you. Nothing specific. I can just tell. And he was very complimentary about you."
"That's a shock."
"I guess," Ethan replied. "When do you leave?"
"Tomorrow morning," she answered.
"Wow, I didn't realize it was so soon."
They talked briefly about the conference, or at least about the limited details Beth possessed, before Ethan turned the conversation back toward Conner's possible interest in her.
"He's an acquaintance of mine, not a friend, so I'm not saying this for him. But for your own sake, please try not to go into a shell with him. Can you promise me that?"
Beth wrinkled her nose. "It's not like I try. I don't know... It's just that I start thinking of things. Of John..."
Her voice faded as she finished, and she looked away from Ethan. She felt like she was betraying John whenever she started to get close to someone else. No, it was worse than that. She had caused John's death, and falling in love again would be like kicking dirt on his grave.
"John is gone," Ethan said in a hushed tone. "He'd want you to be happy. It's been long enough. You can't blame yourself for what happened."
Beth frowned and looked down. Yes, she could blame herself. If she hadn't pushed him to take her to the Fizzure Technology building that night, he'd still be alive. And she wouldn't be Sapphire Angel.
"Yea, I guess you're right," she mumbled, before changing the topic. "Conner is full of himself, anyway. Probably not my type."
"His sister says the whole cocky thing is an act."
"An act?" Beth snorted. "Quite the act."
Ethan shrugged. "His sister says a former fiancé broke off an engagement. Turns out she was related to a bigwig in a company Conner was investigating, and she was using him. He never put two and two together. It gutted him. And it wasn't the only time. He dated someone else once, who was using him the same way. His sister says the cocky thing is just a wall he puts up now, because he feels like a sucker for having had it happen twice."
Beth sat back, lips pursed and brow furrowed. She had a hard time believing there was another level to Conner.
"Just think about it," Ethan said, leaning over and enveloping her in a hug.
She nestled her face in his chest and closed her eyes. She was the one with amazing powers, yet Ethan made her feel safe. Ever since John had died, he had been a comfort to her. The two had been friends for a few years, but John's death had brought them closer. He had lost his best friend, and she had lost her true love. They had helped each other get through it.
"Let's start the movie," she murmured into Ethan's chest, clinging to his shirt.
"Sure," he whispered, continuing to hold her with one arm, and kissing the top of her head. Within moments, he had grabbed the remote with his other hand and started the movie. The two didn't say a word for the next two hours, and remained close on the sofa. When the movie was over, and the credits rolled, they remained silent. Beth could have fallen asleep, but she still had work to do tonight. She would be meeting with Tanner, and possibly getting a closer look at Wheldon's tower as Sapphire Angel. She forced herself to rise.
"I should get going," she said. "The investigation for this story is tiring."
She didn't mention her plans for the night. He would worry about her if he knew of her meeting with Tanner, and she couldn't tell him of her plans to visit the tower as Sapphire Angel. Or could she? The urge to reveal her secret to him was overpowering. This charade seemed to get harder every day.
She stepped to Ethan, who had risen from the sofa, and paused in front of him. Instead of telling him her secret, she sighed, before embracing him in a hug and kissing his cheek.
"Thanks," she said. "Let's not wait so long until the next time. I love you." She used the words the same way she would use them with her sister. She told Ethan she loved him often, knowing he wouldn't mistake those words for something else.
"I love you, too," he replied, hugging her back.
She moved to the door, turned and waved with a smile, and headed off, ready for a long night and weighed down by the secret she kept from her best friend.
The moon hovered in front of Beth Harper as she exited the interstate and turned onto rural roads, toward the location given to her by Bud Tanner. She would have been lost without the navigation app on her phone and the GPS coordinates from Tanne. But she followed the directions on her phone through the desolate roads in the mountains until she found her destination.
Or at least she thought she had found it. There was no way to know for sure. One could go miles here without seeing a building, and there were no markings or notable landmarks to help with navigation. There weren't even any numbered mailboxes, as far as she could tell.
She reached the spot indicated on the phone for her final turn, and saw a gravel lane to her right. She slowed down and studied the phone closely. The map showed the lane curving for about 50 yards, before ending at her destination.
As she turned onto the lane, she saw three empty pickup trucks ahead, blocking the way. They were all dented and rusted, with faded and chipped paint.
Beth scrunched her nose. Tanner had been very secretive about the meeting and wouldn't have invited guests.
She stopped her vehicle before the trucks and got out, walking toward the trucks. She reached the truck closest to the main road, a red Ford with its bumper hanging down and resting on its tailpipe. She glanced in a window. The inside was a mess, littered with discarded beer bottles and other trash.
The other trucks weren't much better, except that the owner of each truck evidently had a different taste in beer and soda. Beth tapped a finger to her lips, before pulling out her phone and snapped a photo of each truck and its license plate. Stanley should be able to find out who owned the vehicles.
As she snapped the last photo, the sound of a gunshot rang out, causing her to jump and nearly drop her phone. The sound echoed all around her, sounding like multiple shots coming from different directions. From her life as Sapphire Angel, though, she knew what a gunshot and echos sounded like. It was only one shot.
She whipped her head around, trying unsuccessfully to determine the shot's origin. It wasn't here, but close. The pit of angst welling up in her stomach told her everything. Beth turned and raced back to her car, hopping in.
It was time for Sapphire Angel, which meant Beth's car couldn't be seen. She threw the vehicle in reverse and punched the gas pedal. The man who had given her driving lessons, shortly after Sapphire Angel received her powerful vehicle, would have been impressed. Beth's car lurched out onto the roadway, where she maneuvered in reverse into the oncoming lane. The engine screamed in protest as the car hurtled backward, her eyes scanning the darkened trees and vegetation along the side of the road. She didn't go far until she spotted what she needed. She slammed on the brakes, waited for the car to slow, and threw the gearshift into drive. She punched the accelerator and steered the car off the road, about ten yards into the woods and behind some overgrowth.
This would have to do. She leapt from the car and sprinted through the woods, toward where Tanner's house should be. She replayed the map in her head, knowing the house shouldn't be too far ahead.
Beth ran until her car was out of sight behind her. She stopped and reached her right fist up to the base of her neck. She held it there, closed her eyes, and concentrated. After a brief pause, a flash of light surrounded her.
When the flash subsided, her normal clothes were gone. In their place, her blue and white costume hugged her slim figure. Her white gloves extended to her elbows, leaving her slender upper arms bare. Her soft blond hair hung over her shoulders, caressing the soft blue fabric of the costume. Even her long, tight legs gleamed in the dim light, as her presence radiated in the dark forest.
Sapphire Angel sprinted, her short skirt swirling about her hips and her white ankle boots crunching on the soft floor of the forest. As she headed toward Tanner's house, both her diamond necklace and the fabric of her costume shimmered in the moonlight coming through the trees.
She covered ground faster than an Olympic sprinter, and within seconds the lights of a structure peaked through the growth of the forest. She increased her speed, dodging trees as if they were traffic cones in an obstacle course. She hoped she wasn't too late.
Thanks for reading! I publish a new chapter every Monday and Thursday. If you’re reading this on the website and enjoyed it, please hit the like button or leave a comment — or, better yet, sign up to get future chapters delivered to you via email. Every bit of feedback helps me figure out what people like, and motivates me to keep going. If you’re reading via email, feel free to reply and drop me a line. Thanks!
Wooo! Sapphire Angel’s back in business again!
The situation with Beth on the fence about dating again following John’s death is very intriguing. I personally think John wouldn’t want her to spend the rest of her life lonely and with no one else, and that she has to start again sometime. No matter what kind of grief it is, you absolutely cannot hold on to it forever, or else it’ll ruin you. But at the same time....I do see where Beth is coming from. She still feels like she has to stay “loyal” and “devoted” to John even though he’s long-dead. I just hope that this whole thing blows over peacefully.