We last read Chapter 33, in which Sapphire Angel rescues Bud Tanner from three mystery men, who start a fire in his remote cabin. Tanner disappears during her chaotic battle with the men. Before authorities arrive, she questions one of them, who reveals they were sent by Wheldon’s bodyguard.
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!
On the drive away from the fire scene, Beth's phone alerted her to a missed text message from Stanley. She tapped a button on her steering wheel, and her car read the message aloud. "Call me, no matter how late. I want to hear how it went with Tanner"
Beth dialed Stanley's number. The sound of a ringing phone filled the interior of the car, followed by Stanley Devor's voice.
"Hello, Angel," he said. "How did it go?"
Awful," she grumbled, and described her rescue of Tanner. "So I saved him, but he took off before I could talk to him. And the fire trucks showed up before I got much out of the thugs."
"But you got something?"
"One of them told me that Wheldon's bodyguard sent them. It was weird how easily he shared that with me. It was almost like he was in a trance talking to me. Like he was on drugs, or..."
"Or you discovered another power?"
"I'm not sure. I've tried to get opponents to talk before, but I was never... calm about it, like this time. It's something I need to keep in mind." She paused before letting out a frustrated growl. "I'm so frustrated with this whole thing. That's twice Tanner has been ready to tell me something, only to disappear."
"I wish I had some answers for you, Beth. I'm not sure how else to help you now. We running into dead ends."
"I'm not giving up. Conner is still researching Wheldon's military service, and I'm heading to Florida in the morning to keep an eye on Wheldon at a conference." Beth explained how she learned of the conference, and her last-minute plan to attend.
"I'm not sure what you hope to get from Wheldon in Florida. He didn't reveal much when you met with him, one on one."
"I might not get to speak with him, but Conner says the trip is odd for Wheldon. Conner suspects there's something to it. And he wants to talk to Wheldon when Wheldon's not ready to be questioned."
"I guess it can't hurt," Stanley murmured. "But be careful. People can be unpredictable when someone pushes them. And Sapphire Angel can't always be around to bail you out."
"I wanted to talk to you about that, actually," she said. "About whether Sapphire Angel can be in Florida. I've worried about it since I booked the trip last night."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you remember how, after I got my powers and headed back to college, I put a pause on Sapphire Angel's activities for a few months until I graduated? I wanted to focus on my studies and try to get a normal life."
"And you were worried about it being too much of a coincidence for you and Sapphire Angel to appear in the same two towns."
"Yes. That was before I knew my necklace somehow prevented people from seeing obvious coincidences like that. But the point is I didn't go out at all as Sapphire Angel in school, but I tried to transform a few times. I wanted to test it out, since the whole transformation thing was new to me. And when I tried, I wasn't always able to do it."
Beth remembered her first days as Sapphire Angel, and how she had stumbled upon the ability to summon her costume to her. An enemy had used a strange device to transform her out of the costume, sending the costume and necklace away through a tunnel of light only visible to her. As humiliating as the experience had been, it hadn't been all bad. She had used what she had felt during the process to call her costume and necklace back to her, through the tunnel of light.
"What are you getting at?" Stanley asked. "Don't you think that was just a lack of concentration? You said yourself that you need to focus to see the tunnel of light. You had recently lost John and were dealing with new powers and a new life. You had a lot on your mind. Plus, you were new to transforming. I wouldn't get worked up over it."
"I've always assumed it was a lack of focus, too. But now I'm not so sure, because of something that happened a few days ago. Do you remember when I jumped off the cliff on Wheldon's land to get away from the shooter? I transformed in midair. Could I really have been concentrating in the middle of a free fall? And yet I transformed almost instantly. That's been gnawing at me. What if the problem is something else, and not a lack of focus?"
"Such as?"
"I don't know," she answered. "It could be anything. Geography, weather, even my mood. Or maybe it is concentration, and I was hyper-focused going over the cliff. This is uncharted territory."
"Anything is possible."
"The one I'm worried about is geography — where I am. I've always assumed the tunnel of light is an extra-dimensional thing, like your original theory. Or even something in my mind. But what if the tunnel leads to a real place? Somewhere my costume and necklace go? What if I was too far away from that place at college? I could have been on the edge of the range, so to speak. What if I'm out of range in Florida? What if I need to transform, but I can't summon my costume and necklace back to me?"
"That might be a problem, depending on the situation."
"A big problem. Part of me thinks I'm overreacting, and geography isn't the reason. I transformed with no problems tonight, near where I jumped off the cliff. And I had a momentary delay trying to transform when I first met Bud Tanner in town, and those thugs showed up. That happened near where I've transformed plenty of times."
"You didn't tell me about that."
"I didn't think much of it, because it was a momentary blip. I doubt geography is the reason, but how can I be sure? I don't have time before my trip to travel several hours away, try to transform, and come back."
"You haven't always had Sapphire Angel in your life. You can take a break from her for a few days."
"You talk like she's another person, Stanley. Sapphire Angel is part of my identity now. I can't chance not having those abilities in Florida."
"The obvious answer would be to do it the old-fashioned way and pack your costume and necklace. Just like in the beginning. You never had a problem then. Why all the worry?"
"Because I'll have to travel on a plane with Sapphire Angel's costume and necklace," the young woman replied. "That scares me. I had a dream about airport security searching my carry-on and finding my costume."
Stanley chuckled.
"It's not funny!" Beth exclaimed.
"I'm sorry" Stanley said. "I mean, the idea is funny, but not the real thing. I can see the headlines. 'Superheroine revealed by airport security screener.' I can help you. I can get your bag set up so you can get through airport security with no problems."
"You can do that?"
"Have I ever let you down?"
"No, I guess not," Beth said, and felt a weight lift from her shoulders.
"Good. Don't worry about the specifics. Go home now, get a good night's sleep, and stop here on the way to the airport. I'll have a bag ready for you."
"I will," Beth answered. "But first I have one more stop to make tonight."
Raven Tristan climbed into bed in a foul mood, once again having tried to tail Beth Harper, and once again losing her. She would need to take further steps the next time she followed the girl, to make sure she didn't slip away. As Tristan's head hit her pillow, her phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. Xavier Wheldon. A late call meant he needed her abilities more than ever. She forced the smile from her face, hating the approval she craved from powerful men like Wheldon.
"Yes?" she answered, trying to force the expected annoyance into her voice.
"We need to talk," Wheldon said, his tone carrying a hint of urgency.
"We're talking right now."
"Raven, I have another problem, just as big as Beth Harper."
"What problem?"
"Sapphire Angel."
Tristan remained silent for a moment. "Go on," she said, intrigued.
"Just like Harper, Sapphire Angel is sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. I know this is a big ask, but can you handle two jobs at once? I need something I can use to bring Sapphire Angel to her knees."
This was a first. Tristan had only ever investigated one person at a time. Normally she wouldn't divert attention from Harper, with so much mystery surrounding the girl. But the possibility of getting leverage over the superheroine was too enticing to pass up.
She thought back to her last meeting with Wheldon, when he had been unimpressed with her initial findings on Harper. He would be in awe if she unraveled Sapphire Angel's secrets. Tristan scowled, hating her need for approval from Xavier Wheldon and people like him. From men in power. She hated it so much she had cultivated a persona to project the opposite. Raven Tristan was a self-sufficient loner who needed nobody. But deep inside, she knew that was a lie.
She couldn't let her desire to penetrate Sapphire Angel's secrets, and her desire to impress Wheldon, override her caution. Wheldon's mention of Sapphire Angel's name set off alarm bells. If the heroine was involved, it meant Wheldon was up to something big, and something bad. Something worse than normal, even for him. Tristan needed to be careful, so he didn't take her down with him. But Sapphire Angel was too prime a target to pass up.
"Yes, I can do it," Tristan answered. She had learned Harper was heading to a conference in Florida in a few hours, and with luck Tristan would find what she needed about Harper there. And then she would turn her full attention to Sapphire Angel. A smile crept on her face at the thought of breaking the superheroine.
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Tristan’s going to find out. She’s going to find out; I can FEEL it. It’s just a matter of when, at this point. Wonder how Stanley’s going to get Sapphire Angel’s costume to Florida safely; chances are she’ll need it. If someone attacks the event and she has to spring into action, that’d be pretty cool!