We last read Chapter 68, in which Wheldon’s guards lock Beth and Conner in a room to await their fate, as the clock ticks down to the culmination of Wheldon’s plan to cause a nuclear disaster and assassinate the president of the United States. Out of ideas for how to escape, Beth uses the room phone to call down for food, hoping that Oliver, Raven Tristan’s contact, will be the one to bring it, and that he can get help.
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!
"And so this will take time," Xavier Wheldon said to the men in the room, and to MacGregor Lockheed, who was participating in the meeting by videoconference. "The walls of the containment building are made of reinforced steel. Those walls are the first barrier we need to penetrate. And the thickest. We have other barriers to breach after that, including the fuel ceramic itself, the fuel cladding tubes, and the reactor vessel and coolant system."
As Wheldon spoke he looked out over the people in the room. It was a smaller group than had been present at the earlier festivities. A trusted group of eight were the only ones who knew the details of the plan. Among the eight were the six men who had participated in his videoconferences, and two men who preferred to take a less prominent role. All eight men were here because of either a disdain for the president or his policies, or because of their opposition to nuclear power. Some had provided funding, some had provided logistics or expertise, and some were here because of their ability to rally others.
"But your man, Tanner, has the device working now?" asked Lockheed in a calm voice.
"He does," Wheldon replied, turning to the screen. "We are good to proceed."
"How long will this take?" Mark Bishop asked with a scowl as he held an ice pack to his face. One eye was nearly swollen shut.
"We don't know for sure," Wheldon answered, holding back a smirk as he answered. The senator had been an annoyance all along, so finding him unconscious on the floor had amused Wheldon. "That is why we started the process a couple hours ago. Once we're done here, I'm heading over to the tower. We'll breach before Andrews speaks, which is all we need."
A nervous-looking man raised his hand, and started speaking after Wheldon gave him a nod. "And... and you're sure the laser beam won't lead... won't lead right back to us?" the man asked, his voice stammering. He fidgeted with the stems of his eyeglasses as he spoke.
"No," Wheldon answered. "The laser itself is invisible. Particles in the air, such as dust, make a laser visible. One of the benefits of the mountains is the clean air, and it's a clear night with no fog."
"But..." the nervous man continued, hesitant. "But if they discover this, you're, um... um..." His voice trailed off.
"I'll take the fall for all of you, yes. I'll honor that commitment. Don't worry. We all have our reasons for being here, and one of mine is that I despise Andrews with every fiber of my being. If this fails, the rest of you need to continue on, and make sure he gets what he deserves — someway, someday, somehow."
"But it's not going to come to that, right Xavier?" Bishop snapped. "What are our chances of success?"
"Very good at this point. The biggest risk was the weather, which is cooperating. We should breach all the defenses in time, and our man on the ground has disabled the sensors. So we don't have to worry about warnings being triggered. We have a clear path to the finish line."
A voice called out from the back. "So the Office of Corporate Oversight — and the Harper girl — finally backed off? What did the trick?"
Wheldon flashed his trademark smile. "She needed evidence to write a story and had none. And without the specter of being publicly shamed, the OCO folded quickly."
"Why was she here tonight?" the same man asked.
Wheldon grinned again. "There's nothing to fear, but I'd rather keep the fox locked up in the pen, rather than roaming around us. She's a persistent girl, so I wanted her where I can see her."
"I like having her where I can see her, too!" Bishop laughed, still tipsy from his earlier consumption of alcohol. "And touching her, while I'm at it. She's a nice piece of ass."
Wheldon turned to Bishop with a sigh and a shake of the head. "That attitude served you quite well tonight, Mark. Maybe she or Bennett can give you a second black eye?"
Bishop scowled and asked, "You think I can have her when we're all done?"
"I'm don't think she'll be available, Mark," Wheldon said, before turning to the rest of the room. "Anything else?"
A hand rose in the front row, and Wheldon gestured to the man, another prominent senator. "Yes, Russ?"
"Are you still sure Sapphire Angel is out of the picture? How do we know she won't show up later tonight, or tomorrow morning when the President arrives, and rain on our parade?"
Wheldon paused. Why had he asked? Did his co-conspirators know he didn't control the superheroine? Wheldon hadn't disclosed his error regarding Harper to anyone, so it was unlikely. Actually, he knew why. It was the same reason he knew she would be coming. By all indications, Sapphire Angel didn't just disappear in the midst of something like this.
"We've planned for everything. Trust me. Sapphire Angel won't be a problem. If she shows up, we'll be ready for her. I'm taking her down." Wheldon studied the politician as he spoke and didn't like the look on his face. "You don't believe me, Russ?"
"Oh, I think you probably have a plan, Xavier. I'm just not as confident in your abilities to take down Sapphire Angel as you are. I'm sure many people thought they could handle her. So far, nobody has."
Wheldon folded his hands in front of him and gave a soft chuckle. "We'll just have to wait and see then, won't we? Trust me on this. I'm ready for Sapphire Angel."
Wheldon might not be able to blackmail the superheroine, but tonight would be the end of her.
After sitting on the bed and holding hands for 25 minutes, Beth and Conner jumped at the sound of a knock on the door. Beth rose and glided over to the door in her bare feet, having removed her heels. She opened the door to find Oliver standing in the hall, with a food cart in front of him and two guards behind him. He gave a quick bow before she gestured him in.
The guards followed, too close for her to risk speaking with Oliver. They took positions behind him, their eyes scanning the room. Their handguns were drawn, but held down at their sides.
Oliver lifted a lid from a tray on top of the cart, and the fragrance of cheese and pepperoni wafted up to her nose. On the tray sat a large pizza, two plates, two cups of vanilla ice cream, napkins, and utensils.
"I trust you will find what you need here," Oliver said, raising his eyebrows for emphasis and giving a barely perceptible nod toward the tray.
"Thank you," Beth replied, fighting down a jolt of excitement. "I'm sure we will."
Oliver turned and headed toward the door, slipping past the guards. The guards stared at her for a moment, before the smaller of the two turned to follow Oliver.
"One moment," the larger guard said. He stepped forward to the cart, lifted the tray, and carried it to the table by the sofa. He set the tray on the table, before returning to the now-empty cart and wheeling it to the door. Beth and Oliver locked eyes, just for a moment, and she caught a passing grimace on his face. A moment later, Oliver and the two guards exited the room with the cart, closing the door.
Beth moved to the food tray and lifted the lid, holding her breath. She lifted each item on the tray until she found a piece of paper under the plates. It contained a handwritten note, which she read aloud.
"Call when you're ready, and I'll be back for the cart. One of you should fit on the shelves under the tablecloth. I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do. All communications to the outside are down."
"Shit," Conner muttered. "Kind of hard to escape on a cart they took with them."
Beth moved to the bed and sat down with a despondent groan. Conner lowered himself next to her and they sat without speaking.
"So much for that," Beth finally muttered. She balled her fists in frustration. If she only could make her transformation and become Sapphire Angel, things would turn around in a hurry. Perhaps it was time to tell Conner her secret. If it meant saving their lives, and the lives of many others, it was a chance she had to take. She bit her lip. Before she could work up the courage to tell him, though, Conner spoke again.
"If I get a chance," he said, "I'm going to try something."
"Try what?" she asked.
"I don't know. But the first opportunity that presents itself, I'm doing something."
"Conner, they might hurt or kill you if you try to escape," she said, touching his arm.
Conner shrugged. "That's in the cards, anyway. So promise me something. When the time comes, if you get the chance, run like hell. Don't wait for me. One of us has to get out of here and get help."
"Conner—" Beth started, but he held up his hand.
"No argument. We gain nothing by having you stick by my side. Our best chance to live is if one of us gets free."
Beth gave a reluctant nod. "Okay, but you have to promise me the same."
Conner stared at her for a moment, his jaw tight, before nodding. "You're right," he said with a sigh. "It would be hard leaving you, but I know you're right."
As they fell silent, Beth again wrestled with the idea of telling Conner she was Sapphire Angel. She turned to him, her face serious, when the door opened and three guards entered. This time their weapons were up, pointed at Beth and Conner.
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.
Awww crud, we've been found out. Hope the guards didn't catch on to our attempted escape pIan and kiII OIiver offscreen as punishment.
I don't know what kind of pIan Conner has in order to get them out of this, but no matter what, it's going to be VERY risky. Beth shouId just teII him she's Sapphire so she's free to turn the tabIes in an instant. She aIready toId her best friend; sureIy teIIing her, umm.....partner.....shouIdn't be too hard....?
We gotta deaI with these guards first, though. They aIways have a habit of coming in at the worst times......