We last read Chapter 60, in which Beth and Conner meet with Richard Emerson and Olivia Lockheed of the OCO, to review the findings of their investigation. Beth lays out their evidence, but doesn’t convince the OCO officials. She does receive a text from Raven Tristan, though, telling her that their plan worked, and Xavier Wheldon no longer suspects that Beth is Sapphire Angel. As she leaves the meeting, Beth also receives a call from Tristan, telling Beth she can trust a butler at the Pegasus Club, Oliver Dickerson. Beth leaves the OCO building and heads home to get ready for Wheldon’s gala at the club, much to the chagrin of Olivia Lockheed.
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!
When the morning of Wheldon's gala arrived, Beth awoke and ran to the grocery store to replenish her empty refrigerator. She needed to push thoughts of Xavier Wheldon, Raven Tristan, Conner, and Olivia Lockheed from her mind, at least for the morning.
When Beth arrived home, her arms filled with bags of groceries, she found a note taped to the front door. Elegant handwriting graced its surface.
A driver will arrive at 5 p.m. to bring you to my lodge. Consider it an apology for any misunderstanding on my part.
- Xavier Wheldon
Beth stared at the note for a moment, before shifting the groceries in her hands and removing the note from the door. She hurried inside and put away the groceries, before scurrying to her closet. She grimaced as she rifled through her clothes. The wardrobe of a college girl wouldn't do for this event.
Her gaze fell upon the garment bag draped on the back of her bedroom door, containing the dress from Wheldon. At first glance, the dress reminded her of Wheldon's recent control over her. She could do without that memory. But what else did she have to wear? Perhaps she could get lucky, and find the perfect dress, in just her tiny size, in Harrisburg. Those chances weren't good, and she was running out of time.
Beth peeked at the dress on the door again, pursed her lips, and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. She could at least try it on.
Within a few moments, Beth had slipped out of her clothes and was stepping into the dress. After she pulled it up around her, she reached behind her back, finding the zipper and raising it. She stepped to the mirror and took in a sharp breath. The dress was beautiful. She turned left and right, marveling at its quality and how it looked on her.
It was form-fitting, showing off her tight, slender body. One of her long legs extended out from the dress's high slit whenever she moved, and the strapless design revealed her toned but delicate shoulders while accentuating her firm breasts. Silver sequins glittered in the light, and even the satiny fabric between the sequins shimmered, reminding her of the gleam of Sapphire Angel's costume.
The more she looked at herself in the mirror, the more she smiled, and the more the memories of Wheldon's control over her retreated. The dress was fantastic, making her feel like a movie star. Like she felt when she was Sapphire Angel.
If the event were taking place in town, with the possibility of running into friends or acquaintances, she wouldn't be bold enough to wear it. While Sapphire Angel's costume was more revealing, part of her boldness as Sapphire Angel was because she was assuming a different persona. As Beth, she was much more conservative.
Perhaps that was why she liked it. The dress reinforced that she didn't need Sapphire Angel's costume to feel good about herself. Even Beth Harper needed to be reminded of her beauty on occasion. She would wear the dress tonight.
Beth slipped out of the dress and into a pair of blue running shorts and a gray t-shirt. She moved to the bed, yawning. She had time to rest her eyes for a few minutes. Once her head hit the pillow, though, the exhaustion of the past twelve days caught up with her, and she drifted off to sleep, dreaming pleasant dreams for the first time in weeks.
In the middle of a dream where Conner was applying sunscreen to her bikini-clad body, causing her to moan in pleasure, a ringing nose startled her. As Conner stopped applying sunscreen, the ringing came again.
Beth jerked awake and she sat up. Her foggy mind recognized the ringing as the sound of her doorbell. She glanced at the clock, muttered, and bounded out of of bed. It was probably her ride to the lodge, and she hadn't packed yet.
Beth scurried to the window near the front door and peered out. She saw a black, four-door limousine parked by the curb, and a man in a tuxedo standing at her door. She opened the door and greeted the man.
He gave a slight bow of his head. "Ms. Harper, my name is Dean. I will be your transportation to the Pegasus Club."
The Pegasus Club. With all that had happened, Beth had forgotten the lodge had a name.
"Give me about 10 minutes, please," she said, embarrassed at being late once again. "I still have a few things to put together."
"Certainly, Ms. Harper. I will wait by the car. Motion when you are ready." Dean gave another nod and headed for the limousine.
Beth locked the door, darted to her bedroom, and began throwing things into a suitcase she pulled from under the bed. She packed casual clothes, a business-casual outfit, bedtime attire, a few pairs of shoes, makeup, a hairdryer, and toiletries. She also returned the evening gown to the garment bag, and put matching heels in her suitcase. Once finished, she changed into a pair of jeans and a black sweater.
She wheeled her suitcase to the front door, grabbed the hanging bag, and laid it over the suitcase. Fifteen minutes after Dean's arrival, she opened the front door. Before she could motion, Dean was rushing up the sidewalk and steps. He took her suitcase and hanging bag from her, carried them to the car, and was by her side a moment later to open the rear car door for her.
A few seconds later, he was in the driver's seat and the car was pulling away from the curb. As he navigated through the streets of town toward the highway, Dean explained how to control the music from her seat, and pointed out the location of a refrigerator.
"Do you work for Mr. Wheldon?" Beth asked.
Dean glanced up at her in the rear-view mirror. "I do, ma'am."
"Please, call me Beth," she said with a smile. "How long have you worked for him?"
She could see Dean counting in his head.
"Three years, ma'am — Beth," he replied.
Beth nodded, before turning to her own thoughts. She wasn't sure what to expect tonight. If Tristan was correct and Wheldon wanted her close to keep an eye on her, it would be difficult to find out much of anything. Perhaps Tristan's contact, Oliver, could help her sneak away.
As the highway slipped past, Beth also thought of Conner, and wondered if he would still attend. She had been so cold to him, she wouldn't be surprised if he didn't make an appearance.
"Dean, are you Mr. Wheldon's only driver?"
"I am," he replied.
She frowned. "Has he arranged to transport anyone else to the lodge?"
"Not that I'm aware," Dean answered. "Most of the guests at his events are — how should I say it? — well, they have their own drivers."
Beth nodded, gazing out the window. If Conner were coming, he would be driving himself. To distract herself from thoughts of him, she turned on the audio system, switching from satellite to FM radio. Reception was spotty in the mountains, so she pressed a button to scan ahead. After a few moments, the radio locked in on a station. A country song finished playing and the DJ started talking about a visit by President Andrews to the Edgewood Nuclear Power Plant. He would be there Sunday morning to christen StarPrime's recent acquisition, and to promote his nuclear energy agenda.
Beth sat up straight in the car, like a bolt of lightening had struck her.
"Dean, did you know President Andrews was coming to Mr. Wheldon's plant tomorrow morning?"
"I did. It was just announced a day or two ago, although I heard it has been in the works for quite a while."
Of course she wouldn't have heard of it. She had been licking her wounds, oblivious to the outside world, until this morning.
"It's odd for them to announce it with so little notice," she remarked.
"Yes and no," Dean replied. "I thought the same thing, but was told that after the Secret Service's recent security issues, and the threats against the President, they keep many events under wraps until the last minute. Only when necessary do they announce something sooner."
Beth's mind swirled. There had to be a connection, didn't there? Tristan had been certain something big was going down tonight. Could it be tomorrow morning instead, involving the President?
She picked up her phone and dialed Stanley. When he answered, she spoke softly so Dean wouldn't hear, and told him about the President's visit. He was already aware of the news.
"There's got to be something going on here, Stanley. This can't be a coincidence."
"I agree. I've been researching President Andrews all morning for other connections to Wheldon, beyond their time together in the military."
"And beyond Wheldon lobbying him when Andrews was in Congress."
"Yes," Stanley replied. "I also started looking into a connection between the President and Bud Tanner. Wheldon loves the power of information, as you well know, so maybe that's why Tanner is so important. Maybe he knows something about the President."
"Why would that matter?" Beth asked. "Do you think Wheldon is blackmailing the President, like he tried to blackmail me? And if so, why?"
"I don't know," Stanley replied. "It's just a wild guess, based on how Wheldon likes to operate."
"It would have been nice if you had said something to me," Beth said, unable to keep the annoyance from her voice. "I just learned of the visit now."
"They just announced the President's visit, and you've had your hands full. I didn't want to burden you until I had something. I haven't found any other connections between Wheldon and the President, or anything that Tanner might know."
As Stanley said the words, she thought back to his words of reassurance, when she had bemoaned how Wheldon knew everything about her, including her secret identity, and she knew nothing about him. It's not always what you know that is important. It's what you do.
"Stanley, what if it's not what Bud Tanner knows? We've assumed all along he has information, and that's why he wanted to meet me. And maybe he does know something, but what if it's not about what he knows, but about what he does?"
"For once, I'm not sure I'm following you," Stanley said. "Did you have something specific in mind?"
"I don't. Just that maybe Wheldon needs Bud Tanner for what he can do. Can you look into what he's been up to since you last knew him? What he's capable of?"
"Absolutely."
"Great. Please call or text you with anything you learn. I need to call Conner and see if he knows about the President's — "
Beth never finished, as the line went dead. She glanced at her phone and saw the words "No Service" near the top. She looked out the car window and, through the trees, saw the start of the long lane leading to the Pegasus Club.
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.
Wheldon potentially has the PRESIDENT around his finger?! What?!
Okay, before we head into the gala, let’s take stock:
• Oliver Dickerson’s supposed to be somewhere around here, sent by Raven to get us off Wheldon’s back.
• Current targets are the President (don’t know much), Wheldon (controlling mastermind), MacGregor (man behind the man), Bishop (womanizer), Olivia (ARGGGGH)……..MAYBE Raven (crazy super spy)…..? I really don’t know, you’ve done a very good job making her character ambiguous and keeping your readers guessing about her. And did Jake Rockford ever get taken care of for good? At most, he only got beat up by Sapphire Angel. Granted, she’s a superhero, so it’d take a while to recover, but it’s been several chapters already……
• Wheldon’s going to search the suitcase for the presence or absence of Sapphire’s costume to clear the doubts sown in him by Raven.
• The deal went through and this whole gala is meant to be a celebration.
• Wheldon has some kind of plan. Still don’t know what it is. Nukes?