We last read Chapter 75, in which Sapphire Angel uses the phone in the tower to speak with Raven Tristan, who has already summoned federal authorities. Tristan tells her there has been no leak of radiation at the power plant. Tristan also informs Sapphire Angel that she has located Bud Tanner’s family, locked up in the lodge. Finally, Tristan conveys her intention to disappear.
Sapphire Angel tends to Bud Tanner, telling him his family is safe and waiting for him at the lodge. As a helicopter approaches, Sapphire Angel leaves the scene. She transforms, becoming Beth again, and Conner finds her in her sequin dress, stumbling out of the woods. She tells him she hit her head in a tumble into the ravine, and then wandered lost in the woods. Conner kisses her, and she notices his gunshot wound, feigning ignorance about the events in the tower. Conner tells her of Sapphire Angel’s heroics, before FBI agents arrive, interrupting their moment.
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!
MacGregor Lockheed turned off the television, shaking his head. It had been a long day, and it was only lunchtime. Along with the rest of the world, he was only now learning details of the disastrous events at the Pegasus Club, after intentionally not attending Wheldon's gala. As usual, he was one step ahead of everyone else, his absence making it even easier to distance himself from the night's events.
"I want the truth," Olivia, his daughter, said as she sat across from him. She had driven all morning to reach his Manhattan office. "Were you involved in any of this?"
Of course he was involved, and of course his daughter knew it. He hadn't raised a dummy. But she needed to hear his denial, so he would give it to her.
"Of course not, Olivia. I may be many things, but I'm not a monster. I'm just as shocked as you are to learn of Xavier Wheldon's plans. If I had known, I would have tried to stop him."
Olivia watched him with narrow eyes. After a few moments, she nodded.
"I suppose if you're lying, I'll know soon enough when I see your mug shot on television," she said. "Because a trail will certainly lead back to you."
That wouldn't be happening, since there was no trail to follow. Only Xavier Wheldon could expose Lockheed at this point, and Wheldon had pledged to take the blame for the failed conspiracy. Still, Wheldon was a loose end. One Lockheed needed to clip.
"Father, the real reason I came here so quickly is because my future at the OCO is looking bleak, thanks to you. So you have a promise to keep. You said you would help me land the FBI job if I did what you asked at the OCO, regarding Harper. I did, and it turns out she was right all along. It will be a career killer if it ever comes out."
MacGregor Lockheed studied his daughter as she said Harper's name. Her eyes flared with anger, but also with something else. Something he couldn't put his finger on. It was the same way her eyes had flared when the television anchorwoman had discussed Sapphire Angel's involvement in last night's events.
"Olivia, you're forgetting what I asked you to do regarding Harper. You pushed to keep her closer to the investigation. So it sure sounds to me like you were in favor of closer scrutiny of this corrupt deal. If anyone looks into your involvement, you'll be a hero."
"In the beginning, yes, I argued to keep Harper closer," she said. "But don't forget you had me try to control her as time went by."
There was that flare again, he noticed, as his daughter talked about controlling Harper. Very interesting. Perhaps he didn't know his daughter as well as he thought.
"You worry too much, Olivia. I can make sure people view your involvement in the best possible light. In fact, I'll use it to help you get the FBI job. Don't fret. I'll keep my promise."
"You won't be able to keep your promise if you're behind bars."
"I won't be behind bars, Olivia," he said, as his mind turned to Xavier Wheldon.
"You were right," Majid Azari said as he looked out over the glistening waters of the Persian Gulf from the forty-second floor of the high rise. He stretched his athletic frame and ran a hand over his close-cropped hair. He paused before turning to face his black-robed guest, and those freakish silver eyes.
Even after all these months, the eyes still disconcerted him. Not much unsettled Azari, who, despite his relative youth, was the mastermind and financier behind a string of terrorist attacks and murders across the globe. But those eyes did. Dull and lifeless, they still exuded a presence. Or perhaps it wasn't the eyes, but what lay just beyond them, on the inside of the man. A black pit of emptiness.
"I'll concede it," Azari continued, forcing himself to focus on his silver-eyed guest, with whom he had forged a tenuous alliance. "You told me Sapphire Angel would cross my path again, and in an indirect way she did."
"You're sure none of this can be traced back to you?" the robed man asked, his eyes standing out from his pale skin and bald head. His voice was quiet, yet filled the room.
"I had but one person involved in the conspiracy at the American nuclear plant, and none of his co-conspirators knew he was acting as a proxy for me, furthering my own designs. So we are secure. But back to Sapphire Angel. I'm tired of these coincidences. This is twice now she has shown up at the worst possible time. I don't want there to be a third."
"There will be," the man with silver eyes replied, with a nonchalant shrug. "Because these aren't coincidences. Or they are, in a way. But Sapphire Angel attracts coincidences. She always will."
"I suppose you're going to talk about fate again?" Azari said with a sigh and a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Call it what you will," the silver-eyed man said. "But she will continue to be a threat."
Azari muttered and turned back to the window. He looked down to the edge of the shore, where people, mere specks from this distance, waded down steps into the water.
"Then what do we do about her?" Azari asked, his voice flat, his mind racing through options.
"Nothing, yet. When she made her first appearance, to thwart Dominick's plans, I acted too hastily. I thought I could nip it in the bud — nip her in the bud — before she realized her full potential. But I should not have ignored the way it was meant to be. I should have waited."
"Waited for what?"
"As I've told you before, there is one foolproof way to crush her. And that is with a champion of my own, who can bring her to her knees."
"Well, what are you waiting for? If you are so sure of this, get to work!"
The silver-eyed man gave a thin smile. "It doesn't work that way. I haven't found him — or her — yet, but I will know when I do. This person is out there. It will take patience and then training. Training with one goal — to destroy Sapphire Angel. We may have to sit quietly, perhaps for an extended period of time, even while Sapphire Angel's legend grows. But her time will come."
Azari stared at him, his scowl growing. "You ask too much. Our alliance has been mutually beneficial so far, even with the setbacks. But I will not wait forever. If she continues to be a bother, I will take control of the situation, and take her down myself. Or, better yet, take her for myself."
A thin smile crossed Azari's face as he thought of the beautiful superheroine in his grasp. But the smile vanished when he locked eyes with the man across the table. Yes, for now he would wait.
It was just over twenty-four hours after the events in Wheldon's tower, and Beth snuggled against Conner on her living room sofa. Even Beth, who had lived the story for the past two weeks, could hardly keep up. President Andrews was on the television screen, sitting in the Oval Office and assuring the American people he was safe and the country was secure.
Both Beth and Conner had a hard time paying attention to him, however. Almost an hour before his press conference, the network had cut in with breaking news to announce Xavier Wheldon had died in federal custody. The circumstances were still murky, but it appeared he had suffered a massive heart attack on the way to an FBI building for questioning. That hadn't stopped the news anchor and other personalities from speculating and covering every possible angle prior to the president's news conference.
President Andrews addressed Wheldon's "unfortunate death" briefly at the start of his talk, assuring the American people the law would be followed, and justice served, but emphasizing his complete faith in the FBI and dismissing any suggestion of foul play. But he minced no words concerning Wheldon and Senator Mark Bishop.
"Xavier Wheldon and Mark Bishop were terrorists, make no mistake about it," Andrews said. "They were Americans, yes, but they sought to foster fear, and to set back America's energy self-sufficiency. We as a nation must not let fear prevail. Over the years, we have made nuclear power safe from natural disasters by learning from the past. We must learn from this as well."
Beth wrinkled her nose. Andrews made no mention of Wheldon's enmity toward him, focusing solely on the nuclear power angle.
The president continued on, explaining how the FBI would leave no stone unturned in rooting out any other conspirators. Beth and Conner glanced at one another, shaking their heads. They had little faith any other conspirators would face justice.
One name the president did not mention was Raven Tristan. Beth was feeling better about not pushing back against Tristan's decision to flee and escape this whole mess. When Beth had finally returned home from the lodge, she had found a cardboard box on her bed. Inside the box was her stolen costume, two computer hard drives, and two computer tablets. A note from Tristan explained they contained all the evidence Tristan had accumulated about Beth and Sapphire Angel. Beth had promptly destroyed it all.
Beth was so lost in thoughts of Tristan she almost missed it when the president turned his talk to Sapphire Angel.
"We owe a debt of gratitude to this mysterious woman," the president said, staring into the camera and pointing his finger for emphasis. "Without Sapphire Angel, Pennsylvania would have been the site of a nuclear catastrophe."
Beth had Conner to thank for President Andrew's praise. Conner had told the FBI of Sapphire Angel's exploits in his debriefing. Several of the guards, upon withering questioning, had verified some of Conner's story.
"I understand that many in law enforcement and elsewhere do not uniformly welcome or approve of Sapphire Angel," Andrews continued. "Today that will change. We are not talking about a vigilante. We are talking about a hero. Let it be known that in my presidency, I will do everything in my power to make sure we show Sapphire Angel the gratitude she deserves."
Beth watched the television with a forehead creased in thought, trying to process what was happening. The president of the United States was talking about her, but she felt as if he were discussing someone else. In a way, he was. Beth was a different person now than she had been eleven months earlier. Perhaps it was time to step back for a moment and consider how much her life had changed.
"What are you thinking about?" Conner asked.
Beth shook her head.
"Just about the crazy events of the last couple of weeks," she said.
"It wasn't all crazy, right? You met me."
"Yes," Beth said with a growing smile. "I met you."
"And all for a story you didn't publish," Conner said. "I know you didn't get to stop the deal by exposing Wheldon's corruption, but there's a bigger story for you now."
Beth shook her head. "There are plenty of people covering the story. It's gone national now."
"But you lived it. All these media bigwigs are coming in after the fact."
"I know, Conner. But all this craziness has given me clarity. I realize I don't like all the attention. I thought I always wanted the big story, and to be a big-shot writer, but I never considered everything that comes with it. I'll be content to return to writing about fashion and decorating advice, and other puff pieces, and living an ordinary life."
Her explanation was only partially true. With Sapphire Angel a national craze, and something she couldn't give up, Beth needed at least part of her life to be mundane. She needed room to breathe if she was going to move forward. Two weeks ago, she had been stuck in a rut, wondering if she would ever open up to another person. Now there was Conner. He might never know her secret, but she otherwise would give their relationship her best shot. That wouldn't happen if both parts of her life consumed her.
"Okay, it's your life," Conner said. "I get it."
"Good. Plus, it will give me time to get to know you better."
Conner remained silent and stared blankly ahead.
"What's wrong?" Beth asked.
"I'm what's wrong," he answered.
"What do you mean?"
"I can be a jerk. I thought I had a good reason for acting tough and being a smart-ass, but it seems so pathetic now. I'm really sorry."
"You don't have to apologize to me."
"No, I do," he said. "The whole bravado thing is all an act. Maybe not even intentional, but still an act. Or at least mostly. It's a reaction to getting burned before. I decided, maybe subconsciously, the best way to protect myself was to not show the real me. I need to get over it. It's okay to remember the past, but it's time for me to let go. I need to live my life and be myself."
A chill ran through Beth at Conner's words, and her chest tightened. She maintained her hold on one of his hands, but felt John's ring through her shirt with the other. She had worn it there, at the end of a simple necklace, since his death. She said nothing, lost in thought.
"Say something at least," Conner said.
"I will," Beth answered. "But just a moment."
Beth kissed Conner on the cheek, stood, and walked to the bedroom. She moved to her dresser, opened the top drawer, and found a box containing some of her lesser-used jewelry. Beth pulled her necklace over her head and stared at John's ring. She wiped away the hint of a tear and gave the ring a gentle kiss, before placing it into the box and closing the dresser drawer.
Conner was right. It was her life, and it was time to start living it again. She returned to the sofa and snuggled back up against Conner. She looked up at him with a playful smile.
"Do you remember when we first met, and you said I needed to lighten up?"
"Uh, yes," Conner replied, giving Beth a puzzled look.
She swung one leg over him on the sofa, straddling him with a knee on both sides of his lap. Beth looked down into his eyes as she put a finger under his chin. She lifted his head so their lips were close.
"You can decide for yourself just how carefree I am now," she said.
With that, the two of them locked lips and melted into each other.
THE END
Continue with information about Sapphire Angel, Book 3
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 — Epilogue
That was such a good ending, oh my gosh……
So three important people—Wheldon, Rockford, and Bishop—are now dead, but MacGregor, Olivia, Chief Biggins, Azari, and the silver-eyed man are still at large.
Sapphire Angel’s on her way toward (hopefully) being seen as a hero—rather than a danger—by the populace, and Beth’s finally moving on past John and living her life again. It’s probably what he would have wanted, anyway. Let’s hope she lasts longer with Conner than she did with John.
I’m honestly loving this series so far, and I want to see how Azari and the silver-eyed man are dealt with. I get the feeling that if I stick around…..I might end up reading about something quite extraordinary.
But we won’t dwell on that. There’s no time to waste; on to Book #3!