We last read Chapter 36, in which Beth arrives in Florida for the energy conference, after safely getting Sapphire Angel’s costume through airport security using the hidden compartment that Stanley created in her shoulder bag. Raven Tristan notices how possessive Beth is of her shoulder bag during the trip, and is curious to learn why. During the welcome reception, Tristan poses as a banquet server and watches Beth.
During the reception, Beth runs into Conner, who informs her of Sapphire Angel’s most recent visit, and how the heroine found the building containing a pile of cinder blocks. Beth and Conner approach Xavier Wheldon, and overhear a man say “"midnight, by the water wall” to the StarPrime CEO. They engage Wheldon in conversation, and press him on his newfound interest in nuclear power. He invites both of them to an upcoming celebratory dinner and dance at his lodge, which he has planned in anticipation of the government approving his company’s purchase of the nuclear power plant.
Nick Marks intrudes upon Beth and Conner’s subsequent conversation, inviting Beth to join him for drinks in the hotel bar. Beth initially agrees, at Conner’s urging, but peels away from Nick to return to her room, not wanting to encourage Nick’s advances. In her room, Beth researches the “water wall” and learns it is a tall stone wall, with water flowing from it, in the center of a lush outdoor courtyard of the hotel.
Beth uses a pair of tweezers to remove the hidden panel in her bag, and retrieves Sapphire Angel’s costume. She dons the outfit and leaps from her balcony into the courtyard, to find the water wall and, if she’s lucky, to spy on Xavier Wheldon during his midnight meeting.
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!
Sapphire Angel touched down in the grass and darted for a line of bushes. After slipping behind the vegetation, she turned and looked back toward the building. The lights on the balconies gave off a dull illumination, which was enough to see the balconies were empty. Even if someone had been watching, she would have been just a blur in the darkness coming from an indeterminate position.
She turned away from the building, and set off for the center of the courtyard. The area felt like a strange man-made jungle, with trees, vines, and other foliage sprouting up all about her. The air was moist, thanks to the irrigation system for the lush vegetation, and the air carried the scent of the nearby ocean, mixed with the fragrances of various flowers and other plant life.
Sapphire Angel, her senses heightened, filtered out sounds irrelevant to her mission, such as voices far in the distance, or the chatter of insects in the flora. A nearby cobblestone path weaved through the courtyard She didn't head for it, but skirted among the trees and bushes, keeping the path in view. Leaves from the trees and bushes brushed against her as she threaded her path toward her destination, but she ignored them.
After a few minutes of weaving around the trees and vegetation in the huge open-aired area, she heard the splashing of water. She crept forward, peered around a large bush, and spied the water wall. The name was appropriate. It was a rough stone wall, about twenty feet high and ten feet wide. The cobblestone path circled it and a pool of water lapped at its base, extending out about two feet on all sides. Water streamed down the sides into the pool, which glowed thanks to glass-covered lights inset into the wall every few feet.
The air was silent, and stars twinkled above her in the courtyard. She pursed her lips, looking for somewhere she could hide while still keeping the wall in view. The costumed heroine cocked her head to both sides, spotting a waist-high rock behind some bushes fifteen yards away, and surrounded by overgrown vegetation. She crept over to it and lowered herself to her knees behind it. Sapphire Angel could peer over the rock and through the vegetation to the wall. The lights of the wall would help her see what happened, while she would be invisible in the darkness.
If the meeting happened on time, it would take place soon. She waited, and two minutes later the sound of footsteps approached, followed by two shadows emerging from the darkness. As the figures drew closer to the wall, she recognized them as two of the men who had talked to Wheldon at the reception and set up the meeting.
The older of the two was wearing the same suit, which by this point in the night no longer looked crisp. He was older than Wheldon by a few years, and wore a stern, almost angry look. The second man, in his forties or fifties, was tall with wavy blond hair, rugged good looks, and a casual air to him. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place him.
A minute later, another person approached. It was Wheldon. He, too. was wearing the same suit he had worn at the reception, but his clothing looked like it had just leapt off the pages of a catalog. It was perfectly pressed, and there was not a wrinkle on his shirt. His dark hair was slicked back on his head, and he walked with a confident but purposeful gait as he approached the other men.
The three men shook hands, exchanged a few words she could not overhear, and headed off to her right. She watched, waiting until they were a safe distance away before starting her pursuit. As they headed down the cobblestone path, toward the back of the courtyard, she stuck to the grass and tress. Even though her path was less direct, she used her agility to keep pace and remain quiet.
The back of the courtyard was approaching, so they had to be running out of space. When they slowed their pace, she hung back, but kept them in sight. A stone wall stood at the back of the courtyard, separating the courtyard from the outside. The three men walked to a metal door in the wall. She heard the jingle of keys as one of Wheldon's companions stood in front of the door. A moment later it swung outward, and the men stepped through it. The door closed behind them with a dull clang.
She didn't hear it being locked behind them, but she rushed forward, crouched, and leapt upward, reaching the top of the wall and landing on one foot. She paused to get her balance before setting her other foot down.
The lithe heroine crouched atop the wall, glancing out into the darkness. The ugly underbelly of the resort lay sprawled out before her. Two warehouses stood just ahead, about 50 yards away. To the right of the warehouses she could make out the outline of three small buildings, and the reflection of the moon off water. From the stench wafting up to her nose, she guessed the water to be part of the resort's sewage treatment facility. In the distance, behind the warehouses, a bland building rose three stories high. Windows lined the side of it, and lights shone from many of the windows. Living quarters for the staff, she guessed. This area made the resort tick.
The men were still in sight, approaching the warehouse on the right. Sapphire Angel prepared to leap down from the wall and follow them, but stopped upon hearing a noise below her. She looked down as the door beneath her opened again. A moment later a dark figure stepped out of it and headed off after the men. She waited, alternating her gaze between the new person and the other men.
This was an interesting twist. Someone else was trailing Wheldon, too. Law enforcement? Part of her wanted to leap down now and steer him away. If she did so, though, everyone might scatter.
Wheldon and his companions reached the warehouse and entered through a door. Once they disappeared into the building, the newcomer broke into a jog, quickly covering the distance to the warehouse. Sapphire Angel hopped down and trotted after him. She slowed, about thirty feet away, as he reached the warehouse door.
He paused at the door and put his head up to it, looking about but not spotting her. But she saw him, and her mouth dropped. Conner!
He must have overheard the same conversation she had heard at the reception. That was the only explanation. She balled her gloved fists. He was going to get himself hurt. Wheldon could be meeting more people in the warehouse.
She sprinted toward the door, but not fast enough. Conner swung the door open, stepped in, and closed it behind him.
When she reached the door, Sapphire Angel did not pause, opening it and stepping into a dimly lit building. After her eyes adjusted to the light, she found herself surrounded by pallets arranged in perfect rows, with crates and boxes stacked twenty feet tall. She couldn't make out the far wall above the crates, and didn't spot Conner.
The costumed woman eased the door closed and remained still, listening. She heard the echo of footsteps, but could not determine from which direction they came.
She scanned around her, left and right, up and down, noticing openings between the pallets and spotting a catwalk overhead. The catwalk, yellow and made of metal, extended out over the pallets, like a bridge over a river of boxes. She continued scanning her surroundings, looking for a ladder up to the catwalk, but found none.
Wasting no time, she leapt onto the nearest pallet of boxes underneath the catwalk, and in one motion bent down and retrieved the cylinder from her boot. She took aim at the catwalk and moved her thumb over a switch. A thin cable flew out of the cylinder, as if shot from a cannon, and in a blink of the eye had reached the height of the walkway. Sapphire Angel gave a slight tug, and the cable stopped ascending. As it did so, a hook on the end of it helped gravity take hold, and the hook fell over a metal railing on one side of the catwalk, swinging around it.
The superheroine gave a tug, testing the connection, before locking her hands around the cylinder and pressing the button again. Like a specter gliding through the night, she floated up through the air, reeled in as the cable retracted.
Within seconds, the cable had hoisted her up to the catwalk. She reached out with one arm, grabbed the railing, and swung over the side and onto the platform. Her boots made a slight clang on the metal surface, which she hoped was not enough to attract attention. A metal railing enclosed each side of the catwalk, and a grid-like platform extended under her feet.
After untangling the cable and hook from the railing, she pressed a button to reel in the remaining cable. She returned the cylinder to her boot, and took in her surrounding from her new vantage point.
The catwalk spanned the width of the building, which stretched out far to her left and right, perhaps seventy yards in each direction, and fifty yards ahead of her to the opposite wall. The catwalk extended across the shorter distance, and she stood in the middle of it, near what appeared to be a crane or pulley system mounted in the center. Wheels extended from each end of the catwalk and rested in tracks on either side of the building.
From her her current position, it only took a few moments to spot her quarry among the maze of pallets and boxes below. Wheldon and his companions were weaving through the warehouse toward the left of the building. She swung her head to the right and saw Conner stalking after them. Her breath caught as she noticed additional movement, away from Wheldon. Six other men, split into three groups of two, fanned out among the boxes.
Conner was in trouble and didn't even realize it. The six men all held handguns out in front of them as they crept up to each corner, guns out. They were looking for someone. Probably Conner. And they were almost on him.
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!
Comments and emails are welcome!
She’s gotta get in there soon, or people are REALLY going to start getting hurt! Of course Conner shows up now and not at the earlier meeting with Wheldon.....