We last read Chapter 55, in which Beth tells Stanley of the disastrous meeting with Xavier Wheldon, who threatened to reveal Sapphire Angel’s identity if Beth didn’t pull the plug on her story and use her influence to get the OCO to approve the sale of the nuclear power plant to StarPrime. Stanley surprises her, telling her he’s learned the identity and location of the woman who interrogated her. Beth decides that Sapphire Angel will confront Raven Tristan, in the hopes that the woman possesses information to salvage the situation.
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!
Xavier Wheldon picked up the remote control and turned on the large television hanging on his office wall, before tapping a few keys on the keyboard atop the credenza below it. The familiar faces of the members of the inner circle filled the screen. As he moved over to his seat, he pondered how much to reveal to these men. They were in this together, but this was his show. He controlled the flow of information and it was his job to make sure they were ready.
Mark Bishop, the influential senator with movie star looks, took the lead before Wheldon could seize the initiative.
"Before we get into your progress, Xavier, how are things going with the Harper girl and her story? We have the OCO in our pocket, but it will be for naught if she shames them into getting in the way of the deal."
"I just met with Harper, and she confessed she has nothing on us. She'll tell the OCO there is no story to be had. In fact, she has had a change of heart, and will encourage them to green-light the deal. We have nothing to worry about on that front."
Or so Wheldon hoped. Hints of doubt crept around the periphery of his consciousness, making him wonder if Tristan were right about Beth Harper being Sapphire Angel. If Tristan were wrong, he had no leverage over Harper, and she might be out there right now working to thwart his plans.
"Excellent," Bishop said, as murmurs of relief passed among the other men. "And how about the project, is it going to be ready? Any success in the tests?"
Wheldon expected the question. It was the whole point of the call.
"It will be ready in time, as promised." In truth, he wouldn't know they were close until they had succeeded. There was no way to be certain before then, but Tanner seemed confident when they had last spoken. Reluctant, but confident.
"We're running out of time," the nervous-looking man in the lower right of the screen said.
Wheldon gave a reassuring smile, and said, "No need to worry. This will be done in plenty of time."
"Is there anything you need from us to make this happen?" MacGregor Lockheed asked as the others fell quiet.
"I have it all under control," Wheldon replied.
"I hope you do," Lockheed said, "because we'll all be there tomorrow. It would be rather unfortunate for you to fail us."
"It will be ready," Wheldon said as he swallowed at the powerful man's remark. Lockheed was hard to read. At times he was Wheldon's strongest advocate, and at others his harshest critic. He was also the most dangerous one among the other men — even more than those well-placed in the federal government.
"Thank you," Lockheed replied. "Does anyone have anything else for Xavier?"
"I do," said Bishop. "I've understand you've had some problems with Sapphire Angel."
Wheldon maintained a poker face as he studied the other men. Their expressions ranged from eyebrows raised in surprise to dropped jaws.
"Sapphire Angel!" several of them exclaimed. A cacophony of grumbling and swearing ensued. Wheldon let it run its course, as he watched a smirk appear at the edge of Bishop's mouth. Bishop must have a source among Wheldon's men, if he knew about the superheroine's meddling.
"Is this true, Xavier?" another man asked, as the grumbling continued. "Is Sapphire Angel on to us?"
"Perhaps at one time she was," Weldon replied. "But the superheroine is no longer a problem. I neutralized her." I hope.
The grumbling died down as the other men went silent.
"How, pray tell, did you do that?" Bishop asked, breaking the silence. "I hadn't heard of her demise."
"Oh, something much less messy than that. Sapphire Angel still lives. Let's just say she'll do exactly as I tell her. And I told her she needs to leave us alone."
"And what makes you think she'll listen?" the senator asked with a scowl. "This is isn't a normal woman we're dealing with, Xavier."
"I'm quite aware of Sapphire Angel's capabilities. But even a superheroine has weaknesses."
"And what are those weaknesses?"
"I can't disclose them without jeopardizing my power over her. Just trust me when I say I bent her to my will."
"We need to trust Xavier on this," Lockheed interjected.
There were frowns and wide eyes among the other men, who were undoubtedly pondering, perhaps even fantasizing over, how Wheldon would control the stunning superheroine. In the end, though, they deferred to Lockheed and did not push him on it.
"It sounds like you have things under control then, Xavier," Lockheed said.
"As long as he gets things working," Senator Bishop reminded everyone.
"Don't let us down, Xavier," a bald man said.
Wheldon ended the call, but not before assuring them they would be ready. He rocked back in his chair, hoping he could keep his end of the deal.
Raven Tristan drummed her fingers on her computer desk as she looked out the window. Her stomach churned, causing her to squirm in her seat and ponder another trip to the bathroom. It had been three days since she had broken Sapphire Angel, and worry had replaced her pride.
Worry wasn't such a bad thing. The goth woman was a survivor, and one reason was because she possessed an innate sense of when things were about to go wrong. That sense was screaming at her now, growing from a nagging unease two days ago to a near panic. That sense had identified two problems.
Wheldon was the first problem. You've played a big role in what I'm about to accomplish. His words ate at her brain like a cancer. She had her ear to the ground, and knew he was up to something big, if only because of the prominent people involved and the secrecy he maintained. Wheldon's life had been full of big transactions and events, and he had never kept them so secret. Secret enough even she couldn't determine his plans.
In the beginning, she had chalked up her worries to her usual paranoia. But as time passed, and he continued to shut her out, her anxiety grew. Her instincts always guided her, and her instincts told her he was concocting a plot of frightening magnitude. Big enough to drag her down and cast her life into ruin, if his plans went wrong.
And Tristan could only blame herself. Sapphire Angel might have been able to stop him, but Tristan had neutralized her, leaving the otherwise untouchable superheroine as helpless as a lamb in the hands of a butcher. Sapphire Angel wasn't going to save the day.
The neutralization of the heroine had created Tristan's second problem. Based on everything Tristan had learned about the resilience of the girl, there was no way Sapphire Angel would let things go. Harper might think Tristan was with the Red Scorpion gang, but that didn't mean the blond girl wouldn't try to track her down. And if Wheldon used the information about her identify, Harper would figure out the Red Scorpions weren’t behind her interrogation.
Tristan had played through her capture of the superheroine many times in her head, and her thoughts kept coming back to the road near the garage. The heroine certainly had cameras hidden along the road, so she would know when to enter and exit her lane without being seen. Tristan should have searched for those cameras, too, instead of just circumventing the entrance to the lane. Her eagerness to unlock the costumed woman's secrets had caused her to be careless.
But would footage of cars on the road be enough for Sapphire Angel to identify her? The footage wouldn't show Tristan entering the lane or even pulling off the road. But it would show enough. If the roles were reversed, Tristan could use the footage to locate someone. She had to assume the superheroine could do the same, with enough effort. And Beth Harper was all about effort and perseverance.
With that realization, Tristan came to a simple conclusion — she shouldn't have crossed Sapphire Angel. While she had learned to hate Harper, and her perfect looks, perfect body, and perfect life, the girl was powerful.
Between Wheldon and Sapphire Angel, Tristan had two major problems. But what to do about them? Tristan wasn't a killer, so eliminating Sapphire Angel was out of the question. And even if she were, tracking down the heroine and learning her secrets had been hard enough. Tristan wouldn't get the jump on her again. She needed some way to guarantee Sapphire Angel didn't come after her.
Tristan rose from her chair and paced the room. Perhaps she should follow Wheldon's example and blackmail Harper. She might enjoy controlling the superheroine again. But that wouldn't take care of Wheldon.
The obvious solution to the problem was to stop her boss. Easier said than done. Tristan couldn't go to the authorities, because she might go down with Wheldon, either at the hands of the law or otherwise. He would see to it if he learned of her disloyalty. And she didn't even have any evidence of wrongdoing, so would the authorities even give her the time of day based on general suspicions?
She could see only one option — stopping him herself, without him realizing she was behind it. She didn't like the thought, because it didn't fit her normal method of operating, but she could think of no other way to avert personal catastrophe. How, though? He had many other powerful men working with him, and a veritable army of guards. This would be her toughest task yet. Perhaps even tougher than taking down Sapphire Angel.
Tristan sat and again drummed on the desk with her fingers. An idea crept from her subconscious to the forefront of her brain. She dismissed it at first as wishful thinking, but it kept intruding into her thoughts. It would solve both her problems — Sapphire Angel and Wheldon. But it would be tricky and would depend on Tristan's abilities to deceive and to persuade.
Raven Tristan, the survivor, bent over her computer with newfound enthusiasm and pecked away at the keyboard. She had a gnawing feeling she didn't have any time to waste.
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 appreciate any comments or email.
It might be a bit of a stretch, but I’m inferring that whenever Sapphire goes to confront Raven, she’ll realize SHE wants to take down Wheldon as well, and maybe they can both do something on the matter. It’d definitely be satisfying, I’ll say that much.
Or maybe Sapphire could say something like “Either you help me take down Wheldon, or I’m going to make you pay for exposing my secret” or something to that effect. I don’t imagine her being the particularly threatening type, though. She’s definitely a “pure hero” and not an “anti-hero”….as far as I know, she usually tries to just beat people up at most rather than outright kill them. Most of the time.
(Poor Demarco……)