We last read Chapter 4, in which we met Olivia Lockheed, Deputy Chief Counsel of the Pennsylvania Office of Corporate Oversight, the corporate watchdog for the state. A phone call from her father woke her from sleep after a night of bondage and play. Her father, a man of wealth and a political animal, called to stress to her that her agency must give its blessing to StarPrime’s purchase of a nuclear power plant.
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. Thanks for reading!
As Ethan Moore's Toyota 4Runner idled in front of her townhouse under the late August sun, Beth darted down the sidewalk. She wore tight jeans, a cream-colored cotton blouse, and beige ankle boots. Running late, she had clipped her damp blond hair back behind her head.
Ethan hurried around to open her door for her. He wore checkered shorts and a navy blue t-shirt, looking cool and comfortable with his lightly tanned skin, dark hair, and sunglasses. She beat him to the door, opening it and sliding into the passenger seat.
"Really running late this time, huh?" he teased, glancing at her wet hair as he returned to the driver's seat.
A pang of sadness, not annoyance, ran through her. Ethan missed nothing because he knew her so well. But she remembered what had brought them so close, and what she continued to hide from him. His best friend and her boyfriend, John Devor, had died ten months earlier when she and John had stumbled into the middle of a scientific experiment. The experiment had killed John and given her fantastic powers. She and Ethan had grieved together and leaned on each other ever since, but she still hadn't told him she was Sapphire Angel.
"It'll get better," he whispered, his eyes filled with sadness and understanding.
She smiled as she reached over and touched his arm, wanting to tell him her secret. Instead, she remained silent.
"But you were still running late," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"I did a quick workout after my self-defense class, and lost track of time," she explained.
"You've been fanatical about that stuff since you moved here. Don't you want to enjoy what's left of the summer?"
"Just trying to stay in shape. In school I had my skating, but ice time is expensive up here."
She was in fact tiring of her frequent workouts and training, but couldn't stop. She might have superhuman abilities, but her first appearances as Sapphire Angel, ten months earlier, hadn't been smooth sailing. When she returned to Pennsylvania three months ago and reemerged as Sapphire Angel, she had embraced her training. Criminals had barely laid a hand on her since and her fame had skyrocketed.
"So how late did you stay up researching this Bud Tanner thing?" he asked.
She bit back a smile. She had called Stanley and Ethan to fill them in on her aborted meeting with Tanner, and Ethan knew she wouldn't be able to sleep with so many unanswered questions.
"Late enough," she answered, and Tanner's words came to her. Did you hear about the shooting north of Harrisburg, at the Pegasus Club? The people behind it are hell-bent on making sure the sale of Echo Energy to StarPrime goes through.
"Bud Tanner seems to be a bit of a recluse," she continued. "I couldn't find much on him. Just an address, and that he's married and has a young daughter."
"Were you able to find out what the Pegasus Club is?"
"Not what it is, no. Just that it's owned by Xavier Wheldon, the CEO of StarPrime Energy. News sources are scarce up there. Conveniently enough, though, it's on a big plot of land next to the nuclear plant Wheldon's company is trying to purchase."
"What about the guy who was shot up there?"
"Once again news sources up there are scarce," she grumbled. "The guy's name is Joseph Synder, but I found many Joseph Snyders. So another dead end."
"Maybe you need to look closer at the Echo and StarPrime deal?" Ethan said.
"I guess," Beth murmured. "When I got back last evening, I faxed a couple requests to the NRC and the OCO, asking for any unprotected records, under some freedom of information laws. They still require those things to be faxed or mailed, if you can believe it."
"OCO?"
"The Pennsylvania Office of Corporate Oversight. Based on what I found, they have a major say in the sale. The feds are sensitive to local concerns with things like this."
"Never heard of the OCO."
"It's a division of the Pennsylvania Department of State. A corporate watchdog, created back after all the corporate scandals around the country. Remember stories about Enron? I don't expect the OCO to get back to me anytime soon. You know how government red tape works."
"Maybe Stanley can dig around behind the scenes for you, so you're not sticking your neck out there. If anyone can find out, Stanley can. But he's kind of upset that you went to meet that Tanner guy alone. And I don't blame him. That was dumb, Beth."
"It all worked out," she said. "Well, except for the part about him running away before I could get answers."
"You're lucky Sapphire Angel showed up. Those guys could have come back for you."
"Yeah, good thing she was there," Beth said, her voice trailing off.
"At least you got caught a glimpse of her again. That's twice now. I haven't seen her since she saved me last year. I still daydream about it."
Beth bit her lip. Ethan had been kidnapped by the same men who had created the experiment that had killed John. The experiment that had given Beth powers. Sapphire Angel had rescued him, and he had obsessed over her ever since. Beth found it amazing Ethan didn't question the timing of the heroine's appearances, but the power of Sapphire Angel's necklace prevented even him from recognizing her.
As they crept up the on-ramp, traffic stopped in front of them. It took several minutes to merge onto the highway where it crossed the Susquehanna River. Cars crammed the bridge and crept along, three abreast. For a relatively small city, rush hour was always an adventure on the highways around Harrisburg. As she looked out the passenger window, she looked down upon the river. Shallow and slow, it appeared almost unmoving in the late summer sun.
Ethan's eyes focused ahead as the line of cars in front of them sped up and braked, over and over. Beth tapped the fingers of one hand on her leg, while her mind floated elsewhere.
Traffic finally started moving after they reached a point where three lanes merged down to two. Moments later they were flying along the highway at a regular speed.
"You should write about Sapphire Angel," Ethan said. "People are starving for every morsel they can get about her. Nobody knows anything about her."
Beth shook her head. She didn't want to write about herself and didn't want to feed the growing media frenzy. From local websites to television, everyone was discussing Sapphire Angel. National sources also had covered the story, but to a lesser extent. Public reaction ranged from disbelief and awe, to disapproval about the mystery woman who operated outside the bounds of regular law enforcement.
"That's not my sort of thing, and I barely saw her through the window," she said.
"I wonder what she thinks about all the hoopla," Ethan said as they took an exit off of the interstate.
"Hmm, I wonder. I'm guessing she's like most people, and sometimes likes the attention and other times it's too much. Especially when it crosses the line. I've seen some crazy stuff online."
"I'm guessing the ordinary attention doesn't bother her," he said, "or she wouldn't wear that costume. She would have gone with all black or something. And not so revealing."
"I don't know," Beth said, chewing her lip and looking away from Ethan as she spoke. "Maybe there was some other reason she wore what she did in the beginning, and doesn't want to change now. I saw a clip on TV talking about how she gives people hope, and how her costume is like a symbol now."
"I really need to stop talking about Sapphire Angel, don't I?" Ethan asked.
"It's okay," she said. She was accustomed to his fascination and to his regular apologies about it.
"No, really, I need to stop."
"I just need to find you a girlfriend. That will get your mind off Sapphire Angel."
"Me?" he said. "At least I've been dating. You need to get back out there. And that Nick guy doesn't count."
Beth cringed. Nick Hunt had been a source she interviewed for one of her stories weeks ago. He had asked her out many times since.
Beth shook her head. "I'm not ready yet. My mind isn't right."
"I won't push you, Beth. But it has been ten months. It's okay for you to date. John would want it."
"I know. Soon. Not Yet." She reached up, feeling the hidden engagement ring hanging from a necklace underneath her shirt. After John's death, John's father, Stanley, had let slip John's plan to ask Beth to marry him. Feeling bad about revealing a potential source of pain for her, Stanley had insisted Beth take the engagement ring. She hadn't taken it off in the ten months since, except to sleep and when she was Sapphire Angel.
Their conversation ended as Ethan pulled into the Devors' driveway. The Devors lived in a typical upscale suburban home a few minutes from the interstate. The house sat at the edge of a nicely manicured lawn and boasted a brick facade and a two-car garage. The difference between their home and other homes was Stanley's obsession with security. Surveillance cameras peered down from various points on the home.
The garage door rose as Ethan turned off the car. Ethan and Beth exited the vehicle and headed toward the house, walking into the garage and through an interior door. That door opened into a laundry room, which led into a kitchen. Mrs. Devor stood at the island, stirring something in a white bowl and looking over at a television in the corner. She was slender, with her brown and grey hair tied neatly in a bun on her head.
A news anchor spoke on the screen, and an image over his shoulder depicted gunmen wearing half-masks. The masks, gray and angular, reminded Beth of gargoyle heads. The words, "The Savage Gang Strikes in Chicago," sat below the photo.
"Just awful," Betsy Devor said, shaking her head and clicking the remote to turn off the television. "That vicious gang is now in Chicago. They're spreading everywhere! What is this world coming to? It seems all we see are stories of that brutal gang, or stories about those models and actresses disappearing. It makes me not want to turn on the television."
"The world is a crazy place, Mrs. D," Ethan said.
"Yes, it is. Well, dinner should be ready soon. But first, Ethan, I want to show you something I found. Something of John's."
She took Ethan's hand and started toward the hall to the stairs. Ethan glanced at Beth and shrugged before setting off with Mrs. Devor.
"Stanley is in his office," Mrs. Devor called back over her shoulder with a wink, before she and Ethan disappeared from sight.
Beth made her way to a nearby door and entered Stanley's office. She found him sitting behind a large wooden desk with thick legs. A computer monitor was on the desk, off to the side.
Stanley Devor looked up and gave a grim smile. "You should close the door," he said.
Thanks for reading! A new chapter is published 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!
Okay, she HAS to tell Ethan about her identity sooner or later. He deserves to know! :(