Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (this book - Book 4)
VIOLENCE WARNING: The two stories in the Savage Gang saga, and especially the second story, involve a gang practicing extreme violence toward everyone — women, the elderly, the protagonist, etc. The stories contain mature sexual content and violence as well. I am placing this warning on all chapters, including those without such violence, so you can choose whether to continue.
CHAPTER 17
On her way back from her meeting with Mick, Beth listened to the news coverage of the Savage Gang’s attack on the baseball players at the hotel, learning it was worse than Mick had made it out to be be. Three players were in intensive care at local hospitals, and another had lesser injuries. Two nights earlier she had given the city reason for hope, by thwarting the attack at the Thompson Center. The latest news crushed any such hope and put Harrisburg in the national spotlight.
Thirty minutes later she slinked through the front doorway of Conner’s home, finding Conner seated in front of the television, shaking his head. She paused at the edge of the living room and set her bag on the floor.
“I hope you’ve heard about this,” he said, pointing at the television.
“The Nationals thing?” she asked, folding her hands in front of her waist and looking at the floor. She knew what was coming next.
“Yes, the Nationals thing,” he said. He rose from the sofa and started toward her.
“Listen,” he continued. “These guys are brutal. They’re strong. Huge — like four of you put together. They’re just obliterating people, without mercy.”
She nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Yes, they’re not nice people.”
“Not nice people?” he exclaimed, his voice rising. “They’re animals! They’re sociopaths, with no regard for anyone!”
“I know,” she answered, looking at him and nodding.
“Do you really?” he asked, his voice still raised. “Do you understand what I’m saying? I know you’re planning to go after them.”
She tilted her head and put one hand on her hip. “What exactly do you expect me to do? Hide?”
“Yes!” he said, throwing his hands up in the air. “Beth, this is some serious shit! Everyone may think you’re indestructible, but these people will gladly hurt you if they get their hands on you! Or worse, because you’re a woman. You need to sit down and watch all the videos circulating online of their attacks. They will absolutely destroy you if they get the upper hand, and they’ll enjoy every minute.”
Beth waited for him to vent, paused, and held up both hands in a calming gesture. “Conner, they won’t get the upper hand. I know they’re dangerous, but I’ve proven I can take care of myself. I’ve yet to find someone who can best me in a fight. And I’ve already had one run in with the gang, and it didn’t go well for them. Have some faith. There’s a reason people admire Sapphire Angel.”
Conner ran his fingers through his hair as he shook his head. “I promised I wouldn’t be a nag about your secret life, but this is nuts. Why do you feel the need to get involved in this? To always be the one to help everyone?”
“Because I can.”
“Nice cliché. That’s what the police are for!” he said, exploding again.
“From what I found out tonight, maybe not,” she said, shaking her head.
“What do you mean?” Conner asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Mick thinks the police won’t do much on this. He says they’re scared.” She left out mention of the FBI's arrival, as it would only embolden Conner in his protests.
“So they’re scared, but you aren’t?” he asked, his voice incredulous as he arched his eyebrows.
“In case you’ve forgotten, Sapphire Angel has done more to thwart crime in this city in the last year than the police.”
Conner groaned. “Beth, you can’t take on this gang alone.”
“I’m not. Stanley is finally back in town. I saw him today, and I’m going to visit him again tomorrow. He’s going to help.”
“He’s helping you with the gang? How about helping you with all the other stuff you waited four months to discuss with him? You had so many questions about yourself, and your powers, and where it all comes from. Are you going to forget about that?”
“No, not forget it. But this gang thing is more important, and time is of the essence. Now is when I need to hit them at their base of operations, before they bring in more men.”
Conner stared at her for several moments before giving a slow shake of the head.
“If I had to guess, I think you’re almost happy the gang is here,” he said. “It lets you put off finding out about yourself.”
“That’s ridiculous,” she muttered, even though his comment hit close to home.
“Is it? There’s this wonderful invention called the telephone. You could have talked to Stanley about your issues any time over the last four months.”
“Stanley had his hands full with his friend’s health. And it wasn’t the sort of thing to discuss over the phone. And now I don’t want to dump all my questions on him right away when he gets back.”
“But you will dump this Savage Gang stuff on him?” Conner asked. “Maybe he’ll talk you out of going against them, too. Have you considered that?”
She didn’t need to consider it, because Stanley had already attempted to dissuade her from pursuing the gang, before he agreed to help. But Beth didn’t reply, and she and Conner stared at each other for a moment, before his shoulders sagged. He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor.
She reached out and touched his arm. “It’s late, can’t we talk about this later? Let’s get to bed. I don’t want to spend the next few days fighting before your Philadelphia trip.”
He looked at her, his closed mouth twisted in a wry expression. She got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
He resisted at first, and she kissed him again. She grabbed his shirt at his stomach and pulled it out where it tucked into his jeans. As she watched, she could see his anger dissipate. He exhaled, and a small smile finally came over his lips. “Okay, but we’re just tabling this talk for another day.”
“Okay,” she said, before grabbing his shirt and leading him down the hall toward the bedroom.
Forward to Chapter 18 (link works after Chapter 18 goes live)
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (this book - Book 4)
Well, chicken nuggets.
First off, I was a little confused on the preview tab that claimed that this was only a “5 MIN READ” whereas the previous ones were 11 or 10 minute reads, but oh my gosh......this chapter packed so much emotion into 5 minutes than I ever could’ve.
I knew this was gonna happen, I knew this was gonna happen......but fudgesicles, I wasn’t thinking it would happen this soon. Something tells me this argument was just the tip of the iceberg, and that although Beth managed to defuse the situation, she likely won’t be able to do it again if this gets brought up once more in the future. Once again......I can kind of see both sides of the dispute, though I’m slightly biased towards Beth/Sapphire.
The police are not effective against the Savage Gang---at least, not as much as they are against typical street-level criminals---so of course they need some help, and to that end, they could use Sapphire Angel, who by proxy needs Stanley Devor.
But on Conner’s side, it’s clear the Savage Gang has no regard for human life, like he said, but also, the Gang does NOT entirely consist of gun-toting individuals. If they were, I’d imagine Sapphire would have an easier time, but that’s not the case; instead, some use brute strength. Better hope none of them are packing electricity (weakness from the second novel) or gas (weakness from the third novel), or else......hoo boy. We’d be between a rock and a hard place larger than Maximus Savage’s bottom. He’s her boyfriend, so of course he’d want her to stay safe, but at the same time, she literally can’t run away and hide, or else they’ll take over Harrisburg just like they’ve taken over everywhere else they’ve hit.
Plus, Harrisburg is Sapphire Angel’s home turf, so what kind of message would that send?
I’m on Beth’s side for now. That could change later if Sapphire Angel suffers a particularly humiliating loss in which she gets severely injured, but at the moment, she’s doing a decent job. She foiled their plot at the Thompson Center and got more dirt from Mick, so we’ll see where that goes.
The concept of her being “happy” the Savage Gang hit the city so she could have her mind taken off her powers was interesting. If I were in her shoes, I’d be absolutely jumping at the chance to find out more about myself and why I was the way I was. But if some kind of emergency came up, we’d likely have to put that on the backburner. If only Valik was still alive, but, like, somebody made him construct this weird, helmet-like device that literally exploded his head into a pasty mess! (laughs)
I’d actually say THIS is where cracks start forming in Conner and Beth’s relationship instead of the other chapter where they got it on inside the secret costume dressing room. That one was legitimately quite loving and affectionate, actually.
Feels like I was watching a tense episode of a telenovela! Well done!