We last read Chapter 65, in which Conner and Senator Bishop joust over Beth, who shares a kiss and intimate dancing with Conner. But she is focused on Raven Tristan’s note, which told Beth that Tristan could help her get into the study at 11 PM. As the clock approaches 11:00, Wheldon takes Conner away, purportedly to answer some of his questions, and Senator Bishop corners Beth. She asks him for a drink, and when he leaves to get it, she slips away, ready to see the study.
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 Beth peered down the hall toward the study, Wheldon's goon still guarded the door. Beth moved across the hall and entered the women's restroom, cracking the door and keeping watch.
As Beth considered other ways to get into the room, the guard held his hand to his earpiece, and darted toward the front door of the lodge. When he headed outside, Beth hurried down the hall to the study door and tried the handle. Locked.
As her shoulders sagged, a soft buzz sounded from the lock, followed by a click. She tried the handle, and it turned. Beth opened the door, darted into the study, and said a silent "thank you" to Raven Tristan. Once inside, she closed the door behind her.
She spun, spying the same desk and large table she had gotten a peek of earlier in the day. Ahead of her, two plush chairs faced the desk, and to her left a sofa stretched against the wall behind the table. Curtains covered two windows behind the sofa.
The diorama rested upon the table. She rushed to it for a better view. It depicted the lodge and surrounding area, including the nuclear plant. The whole construction looked very realistic, except it was a miniature version of the real thing. She recognized the lodge, the lake, and the tower at the edge of Wheldon's land. Even the pond near the tower was visible, with blue paint representing the water. The building in the woods, where Sapphire Angel had defeated Wheldon's bodyguard, was also present.
Someone had tied two strands of red thread to the top of the tower. One strand extended to the building in the woods, while the other ran to a squat, rectangular building on the grounds of the nuclear plant. Beth wrinkled her brow.
As she pondered the diorama, her phone vibrated, and she slid it from her purse. As she glanced at it, a single bar of service disappeared, replaced by the familiar "No Service" designation. But a message had come through. It was from Stanley.
Tanner was an engineer for the U.S. Navy, working in a top secret laser weaponry program, before he retired. Also, I found out Tanner actually divorced a few months ago, so he's no longer married. And his five-year-old daughter was just reported missing, when Tanner didn't turn her over per the schedule in a custody agreement. He was supposed to have her for a month this summer, until the last day of August — today. More details to follow.
Tanner had a five-year-old daughter, at his age? Beth's eyes darted from the message back to the diorama, examining the two threads again. Her jaw dropped. Even to her naked eye, the thread from the tower to the building in the woods was the same length as the thread from the tower to the squat building on the nuclear plant grounds.
Everything came flooding to her at once, and she thought she finally understood Wheldon's plan. Parts still made no sense, but she could think of no other explanation. Was he that crazy? And was his plan even possible?
The door behind her opened, and she whirled as Mark Bishop stumbled in. His eyes scanned the room before focusing on her. A smile came across his face and he shut the door behind him.
"Someone is where she shouldn't be," he slurred, and lurched toward her. She stepped back, but the table blocked her way. When Bishop was a few feet away, she darted to the left, but his arm shot out, fast for his drunken state, and grabbed her forearm.
She yelped as he tugged her toward him. He grabbed her other arm and pushed her back against the desk.
"Get off of me!" she cried, as he held her against the desk and leaned in with his mouth. She twisted and squirmed, but he was too strong and big for her. She opened her mouth to scream, but stopped herself. If Wheldon knew she had seen his plans, he would never let her leave this place.
Bishop scooped her up with surprising strength, lifting her and slinging her over his shoulder. He gave an amused laugh as she kicked her legs and punched him in the back. He smacked her on her backside through the thin material of her sequin dress, eliciting a yelp from her, before he walked across the room and tossed her onto the sofa. She landed on her back and sprang up, but he pushed her down and lowered himself onto her.
"You are so hot," he slurred, alcohol reeking from his breath. As he leaned into her, she swung her hands toward his face, trying to gouge his eyes with her fingers. He seized her wrists, one in each hand, and pinned them above her head. He moved her arms together, holding them down with one of his sweaty hands and leaving his other hand free. She gave a half-grunt, half-whimper as she tried to break free of his grasp. With his weight on top of her, it was too much.
He panted, but not from exertion. His body smothered her small form, and she could feel his arousal as he pressed against her. With his free hand, he took strands of her hair between his fingers, holding her silken tresses to his nose and sniffing. She tried to head butt him, but he pulled his head back. He traced his fingers along the side of her face, and then her neck, before sliding down over one of her breasts.
She squealed and continued to struggle as he groped her. Bishop's intentions were clear. She had vowed a few years earlier she would do anything to stop a man from ever violating her again. If it meant calling out for help, or somehow squirming free and transforming into Sapphire Angel, she would have to do it. But could she get free, or would anyone hear her?
As his hand continued to paw at her, Bishop lowered his lips to her neck and started kissing her. She closed her eyes, cringing in disgust and hating herself for having thought him to be charming just a few hours earlier. He leaned back, his fingers reaching for the top of her dress, ready to pull it down.
Suddenly he was no longer on top of her. His body separated from her, as if yanked away by a lasso. Bishop's head turned in midair and a fist crashed into the side of his face, spinning him.
Beth heard the dull thwack of the fist striking flesh, and saw the vacant look in Bishop's eyes as his body rotated to face her. As he dropped to the floor, she saw her rescuer. Conner stood over the senator, his eyes blazing and his jaw clenched.
Bishop groaned on the floor, trying to push himself up.
"You son of a bitch!" Conner snarled, swinging downward with another punch as the senator looked up. The blow connected with Bishop's jaw, dropping him to his stomach. He lay still.
Beth pushed herself up to a sitting position on the sofa, looking down at Bishop before looking up at Conner. The rage on Conner's face softened as he looked at her, and he rushed to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling by the edge of the sofa.
"I'm fine, thanks to you," she said, giving him a weak smile. "You got here just in time."
He held out his hand, helping her to her feet. She adjusted her dress as she stood, and pointed to the diorama on the table.
"I might finally know what Wheldon is up to," she said.
"What do you mean?"
"Take a look."
Conner walked over to the table and stared at the setup.
"What is this?" he asked.
"See the threads, going from the tower to the two buildings?"
"Yes."
"Remember the info Sapphire Angel gave you about the work at the tower, and also about the building in the woods? The one with the cinderblocks we could never figure out?"
Conner nodded.
"I got a text message from a contact just a few minutes ago about Bud Tanner," Beth said. "His job, before retirement from the United States Navy, was top secret. He was working in a laser weaponry program."
"Laser weaponry?"
"Compare those threads," she said, pointing to the diorama. "The thread from the tower to the nuclear plant is the same length as the one from the tower to the building in the woods. What if the building in the woods was for testing? Like trying out the range and effect from the tower? What if that's what the cinderblocks were for? Maybe Wheldon and Tanner were firing a laser at the building, or at cinderblocks on top of the building, to test out their plan."
"Their plan being to blow up the plant? Doesn't that sound a little far-fetched? A bit too sci-fi?"
"I doubt they're going to blow it up, or even that they could," Beth answered. "But they could do other damage, and it's not as far-fetched as you think. My dad was in the Navy, and still follows what they're up to. He talked about them developing lasers to use as weapons to disable other ships. What if all Wheldon wanted to do was cause damage? Like a leak?"
Conner studied her for a moment before turning back to the table.
"Shit," he said after a few seconds, and turned back to Beth. "Lasers aren't my thing, but this plant has been my focus, at least for this investigation. That rectangular building — the one the thread goes to — is the containment building for spent radioactive fuel. Containment buildings are almost always the most vulnerable part of a nuclear plant. They were a big worry after 9-11, and little has been done to improve them. Any sort of breach would be bad news. But why would Wheldon go to all this trouble at a plant his company now owns?"
"That's the part that doesn't make any sense." Beth replied.
"And would Tanner help him? That doesn't sound like him, based on the little we know of him."
"No, it doesn't," she agreed. "But what if he's being coerced? He's divorced, with a five-year-old daughter. He was supposed to turn her back over to his ex today, as part of a custody agreement. The ex just reported the girl missing."
"Isn't he a little old to have a five-year-old?" Conner asked.
"I thought so, too, but he does."
"You think Wheldon has her?" Conner asked.
"When I met with Wheldon here at the lodge by myself, I saw a child's doll on the floor. Wheldon said it was his niece's doll. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but he has no siblings, so he wouldn't have a niece."
"Wouldn't Wheldon know the mom would report the girl missing? That might start a search for Tanner. Wheldon wouldn't want that."
"I'm sure stuff like this happens all the time between disgruntled ex-spouses," Beth said. "The mom reported it, but I doubt it will be a high priority for law enforcement so soon. Maybe Wheldon knew Tanner had custody until today."
Conner turned back to the table, shook his head, and looked back at Beth.
"There's still a lot that makes no sense," he said. "Creating a catastrophe at a facility his company now owns? Could Wheldon be that nuts?"
"I'm not nuts," a voice behind them said. Beth and Conner whirled. Wheldon stood just inside the doorway, with two armed guards at his side.
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.
Power Play — Chapter 66
Oh gosh, Bishop’s even worse than Sin’lazo……..
And thank goodness Conner’s okay after initially being taken away by Wheldon shortly before 11:00PM. Gave Bishop what he deserved, to be honest. Or……well…..maybe it was the drink. No, no…..Bishop was already a creep beforehand. Right? Right. Right…..? Right.
Also, lasers?! What?! I guess I should’ve taken the cinderblocks into consideration when putting things together, but to be honest, it didn’t even register in my mind initially that the red threads represented lasers. I thought they were just there for the purpose of measuring distances or something like that.
Looks like it’s time to deal with Wheldon.