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 22
Still seething, Savage stomped away from the sofa, his mind awhirl, unable to comprehend what was happening in Harrisburg. Rocco Lynch was failing in the state's capital city, and yet he was Savage’s best man — almost as brutal and skilled a fighter as Savage himself. In sparring, he was the man who gave Savage the biggest challenge, and Savage had seen him demolish formidable foes with ease.
Why was Lynch having trouble with Sapphire Angel, then? Savage knew why — Lynch hadn’t faced the superheroine yet. She had taken down several gang members, but hadn’t encountered Lynch himself. While all the gang’s members were lethal combatants, Lynch was on another level entirely.
The gang leader would need to give Lynch more time, and hope he could track down the costumed woman, or lure her to him. The crossing of their paths was inevitable, and there was no way she could overcome Lynch, especially if he had other gang members at his side. One of the gangsters in Harrisburg, Smash, was a massive brute who also hadn’t faced the superheroine, and might possess the skill and power to go toe to toe with her. Together, Lynch, Smash, and the other gangsters would defeat her. But defeating her wasn’t enough now. They needed to destroy and humiliate her for the entire city to see, before he decided if she would die, or if she would live out her life in torment.
Savage swung open a door in the middle of the nearest wall and stepped into a small room. The room was empty except for a naked woman sitting on the edge of a queen-sized bed, and a red robe draped next to her. Her red hair was pulled back behind her head, drawing focus to her thin face, which matched her thin body and small breasts.
The gang leader walked to the edge of the bed, unfastened his belt, and dropped his pants. It was time to release some frustration. The woman slid off the bed and lowered herself to her knees. She paused.
“What are you waiting for?” Savage snapped.
“It’s… it’s not ready,” she mumbled, staring between his legs.
“Then get it ready,” he said, muttering and shaking his head.
The woman reached out with one hand between his legs, taking his limp member in her hand and stroking it. She got no reaction, eased her grip slightly, and increased her speed. Still nothing.
“It’s your fault!” Savage snapped, before flashing a smack across the woman’s face, sending her back against the side of the bed. “Get the fuck out of here.”
The woman darted to her feet, holding her cheek as tears flowed down her face. She grabbed her robe from the bed, sprinted to the door, and flung it open. She hurried from the room, closing the door behind her.
Savage watched her go, his face burning red. These occurrences were becoming more frequent for the gang leader, as Oberkfell continued to pour more chemicals into him. But in the end the side effects were worth it, as the drugs helped Savage exact revenge against his country for its betrayal. His jaw tightened, and he snarled in the empty room as he thought of that betrayal.
He would never forget the day it happened six years earlier. He was set to rendezvous with his commanding officer, in a clearing deep in the mountains of Afghanistan. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Savage’s next hit, when his men would wipe out another village, women and children included, and send another strong message to enemy forces.
Except the meeting didn’t happen that way. Savage stepped through the clearing to find his commanding officer, Earl Galloway, standing near an idling helicopter with two armed men in combat fatigues at his side, their eyes hidden by their sunglasses, and the sun glinting off their shaved heads. Behind them stood another uniformed officer, a stern look on his face.
“Maximus,” Galloway said, an almost sad look in his eyes.
Savage narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on, sir?”
Galloway took a deep breath before speaking.
“It seems news of our operation has leaked up the chain of command, and caused some distress. Some high-ranking officers don’t want us to kill civilians as leverage. They claim it isn’t what our country stands for, or so they say. Really, they’re just worried about bad PR if word gets out.”
“So what are you saying?” Savage asked, his senses tingling. “You’re pulling the plug on the operation?”
Galloway looked down, not meeting Savage’s eyes. “More than that, Max.” When he looked up, he gazed at the men on either side, who raised their rifles and aimed them at Savage.
“What the fuck, Earl?” Savage snarled, not bothering to address the man by rank.
“I’m sorry, Max, I really am. But my orders are clear. I can’t leave behind any evidence of the operation.”
“Is this a fucking joke? And aren’t you forgetting something? I’ve got loyal men just a couple of miles from here. You can’t silence us all.”
As if on queue, a sound, almost like rolling thunder, echoed in the distance, rolling over the hills toward the men.
“You HAD some loyal men, Max. That was an airstrike, which, by tomorrow, we will report as an enemy ambush, not one of our own. Your men are dead. But I felt I needed to say this to your face. You’ve done outstanding work here, and deserved that much. Plus, I know what a slippery son-of-a-bitch you are, so I need to witness your death with me own eyes.”
As he finished speaking, Galloway nodded to the two soldiers, who sighted Savage down the barrels of their rifles. As Savage snarled and prepared to lunge at them, fighting to his last breath, the crack of a gunshot sounded. The shot didn’t come from the rifles, but from a Beretta M9 pistol wielded by the officer standing behind Galloway and the two soldiers.
Savage watched, like in slow motion, as one solider crumpled to the ground, and a split second later, the head of the other soldier exploded in a puff of red. Galloway whirled, only to receive a bullet through the center of his forehead.
As the last body fell to the ground, Savage turned his gaze on the remaining officer, who lowered his pistol. Savage said nothing.
“Some people appreciate what you’ve done,” the officer said. “You’re a patriot, and don’t deserve this betrayal.”
Savage paused, his brain still processing the turn of events. He gazed down at the three dead bodies before looking back at the officer.
“What now?” Savage asked.
“We stage this mess, to hide what happened,” the officer replied. “Including torching that chopper. One of these men was the pilot, and I don’t know how to fly it. Then you and I have a long journey ahead, while we figure out how to get out of this hellhole of a country.”
Savage gave a slow nod. “I guess that’s our only option. It sounds like we’re going to be spending a long time together, so I at least need to know your name.”
The officer extended his hand toward Savage, saying, “I’m Augustus Bell. Since we will be partners for the foreseeable future, you can call me Auggie.”
Forward to Chapter 23 (link works after Chapter 23 goes live)
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (this book - Book 4)
Well.....maybe the Savage Gang’s third encounter with Sapphire Angel will be the time they finally get her? After failing at both the Thompson Center and Chase Bentley’s mansion? They always do say that the third time’s the charm, and while this isn’t the third Savage Gang hit overall, it’s (I think) the second one where they’ve actually been intercepted by Sapphire. I’ve always been told that, so that makes me worried for whenever her next encounter with them will be. If she makes it through THAT one okay, then I can probably start breathing sighs of relief.
Moving on! Wait.....what the.....NOOOOOOOOO! I AM UNCLEAN! I AM UNCLEAN! (pours holy water all over self) Ugh.......what the heck, Savage......what the actual heck......I mean, I could probably understand it somewhat if he just had a bunch of risky fashion magazines or several laptops tuned in to lewd sites inside that private room, but to have an actual person in there......dude, my heart broke into multiple pieces for her. She’s like Savage’s living stress ball, but worse. I wouldn’t wish that fate on absolutely anyone......she was only in about a quarter of a single chapter, but I’m already crying for her plight. Hopefully at the end of all this, she’ll be free and get to return to a normal life. We don’t even know if she has any family or loved ones, but if she does, they’re likely worried as heck. At first, I was in denial about everything. I was like “No. It’s not THAT, is it?” My mind literally kept scrambling for alternatives. I thought that maybe Savage was an artist on the side and that the woman was just his guide/model for his newest painting (perhaps he could sell those and make money the legitimate way). Or maybe that she was his actual partner or some undercover member of the Gang whom he was about to consult with. Or that she was just some elaborate simulation and wasn’t actually real.
That made me kind of hate him, but the sequence after it---the one that gave more information on Savage’s backstory---immediately threw everything into question for me again. If Savage’s superiors were actually serious about not wanting to kill civilians in their bid to surpass their enemies, then I’d be on their side. In war, you should only target soldiers, their weaponry, and their vehicles. And MAYBE their commanders, too. But not civilians, and ESPECIALLY not medical staff (that last one’s actually a war crime). But......I don’t know if they actually believed that, or if they WERE on board with Savage’s philosophy and just claimed that they weren’t so they’d have a legitimate excuse to kill Savage. I can see how Savage saw it as a betrayal, but he failed to see that what he was doing was completely unethical and callous, and apparently that’s why his officers turned against him. Murdering innocent people and stringing them up as an example to the enemy is a horrendously gross practice that I also write about in a future novel, but for right now, let’s assume that Galloway tried to prevent Savage’s warmongering ways from continuing......and died in the process.
Speaking of his death, I was NOT expecting Augustus Bell to be the traitorous officer. Because of the specifications of the firearm, I thought it might’ve been T.L. “Tip” Grim (the gun salesman), or Rocco Lynch (Savage’s future second-in-command and best man). I thought Savage was like “You’ve got guts, kid. Join me and we’ll build an empire to strike back against the world together!” or something like that. That just makes me sad for Augustus Bell’s current state in the present-day; riddled with health problems and overseeing a prison. Then again, everyone ages; no one’s young and capable forever.
If Galloway were still alive today, he would definitely be against Savage. Wonder who he’d side with, though; Lockheed or Sapphire? Probably Lockheed since Galloway was someone heavily involved with the government and would likely prefer more by-the-book methods. In other words, he’d rather do things the straightforward, boring way than the actual right way. Yeah, I DID just make that comparison. xD
Are Rocco Lynch and T.L. “Tip” Grim also given some further characterization down the road? Because honestly, I love multi-dimensional villains, just as you do. People who cause destruction and suffering, but solely because of how they were raised, what they were taught, and/or what events they have suffered, if any. I could imagine Benjamin Drummond and Larry Oberkfell having their own stories of how they came to the Savage Gang and became Savage’s informant and medic, respectively, but I feel like that’d be a bit lengthy from a narrative perspective, even for a two-novel arc like this.
Strong heroes do make for a great story. But strong heroes AND strong villains make for an amazing story. Keep it up!