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 25
When Howard Vincent’s number appeared on her caller ID for the fifth time in the last five minutes, Olivia Lockheed decided she could no longer dodge the man. She was superior to the old dinosaur in every way and despised her role as his subordinate. But she wanted to advance her career, so she would pretend to play by the rules. She sat in her car, which was parked illegally in front of the York City police building, and answered the call.
“Yes, sir?” she said.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“I’m about to go into a meeting with some local officials about this gun trace.”
“What do you mean? And who is with you?”
“I’m alone, sir. We’ve finally had some luck and traced the guns to a shop in York, a city thirty minutes down the road from Harrisburg. Michaels is back at our office researching the shop, and I'm meeting with some law enforcement officials in a few minutes. There will be a writer there, too, Beth Harper, who has a connection with this shop owner. I'm taking your advice to rely on the locals, so I can get all the info they have on the shop before I get a warrant and visit the place myself. I’ll probably visit the shop tomorrow morning.”
The line was silent.
“Sir?”
“I’m sorry, Olivia. I was just thinking. Who knows about the results of the gun trace?”
“Only me and Michaels so far.”
“You need to cancel this meeting.”
“Excuse me, sir?”
“You need to cancel the meeting,” Vincent replied. “I think we might have a mole, and he might be at the meeting.”
“What?” Lockheed asked, her voice rising.
“It’s the only explanation for how this gang is always out of our reach. Every city we go to, they seem to be one step ahead of us. I’m starting to suspect they pick cities where they can pay off a high-ranking official. Perhaps each city has a mole, which helps guarantee the success of their operations.”
“I guess it makes sense,” Lockheed said, tapping her chin with a finger. “But wouldn’t that have leaked out, in at least one city? It would be hard to keep secret in all those places.”
“I agree,” he said. “That’s why I ruled it out until now. But we can’t take any chances. You need to cancel the meeting and keep quiet about the gun trace. We don’t want your visit leaked to this gun dealer. He might get cold feet before you get there, or hide any evidence on the premises.”
“Sir, this will look bad for me, if I cancel the meeting after calling everyone here. I’m parked out front of the meeting place right now.”
“You’ll think of something. Tell them you wanted to get them all in the same room.”
Lockheed muttered and closed her eyes before answering.
“Yes, sir,” she replied, her voice quivering. This decrepit old man was calling the shots from over three hundred miles away. She would do what he said, but he hadn't mentioned Harper. If Lockheed was lucky, Harper might possess information to help her with T.L. Grim.
“I’ll keep my mouth shut, sir, and won’t tell the police anything.”
Five minutes later, Lockheed paused outside the conference room of the City of York police department to gather herself. This meeting might still serve a purpose, even after her orders from Vincent. This would be a chance for her to show the local law enforcement officials an important fact — she was in charge.
She looked through the glass panes on either side of the door, frowning when she saw the room's round table. The table looked to be big enough for ten, although only six chairs surrounded it. A rectangular table would have been better, allowing her to take charge by commandeering the head of the table.
The room was otherwise a drab, with awful paintings of boats hanging on faded tan walls, and a worn brown carpet on the floor. A coffee tray sat on a narrow table along a wall, and a window offered a view of the side of a nearby building.
Lockheed sighed as she sized up those who gathered around the table, talking with one another. Michaels, her assistant, had briefed her on the attendees. Walter Westbrook, the chief of the York City Police Department, stood behind a chair, his face impassive. He looked more like a librarian than a law enforcement official. His hat sat on the table in front of him, revealing his bald head, and his large eyes darted about, as if he were uncomfortable in this small crowd. Michaels had told Lockheed the man might remain silent throughout the meeting, unless asked a question.
A second police official stood near Westbrook. It had to be Rick Devlin, a Corporal from the Pennsylvania State Police. He was spearheading the State Police's investigation, but might take a back seat in this meeting, as the Harrisburg police had jurisdiction so far.
One police official was notably absent. Jack Chambers, the Harrisburg City Police Chief, had conveniently become ill prior to the meeting. His excuse didn't fool Lockheed, who knew the man feared the gang’s retribution. Michaels had assured everyone that the FBI would keep their involvement in the meeting secret, but it hadn't been enough for Chambers. She would make him pay a price later for his cowardliness.
The fourth man in the room, J.T. Dorney, had angled features and short, dark hair, and looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was an assistant district attorney in York and was the son of the current district attorney. His performance in his year on the job had done little to stifle complaints of nepotism, but his father continued to assign him to some of the more high-profile cases in the county.
The final person intrigued Lockheed the most. Beth Harper was a writer for Radiance Online, but she was so much more than that. Her gun exposé might be her most famous story, but she also had been in the middle of uncovering the plot to assassinate the president. Her tenacity intrigued Lockheed, who enjoyed putting strong-willed people in their proper places.
As Lockheed eyed Harper, the smaller woman moved over to the coffee table with a graceful and confident glide. Lockheed felt something stir inside her as she watched Harper pour a cup of water. The blond woman’s sleek navy pants, coupled with a white blouse and navy jacket, accentuated her slim figure. Lockheed nodded her head approvingly before opening the door and stepping into the room.
As she entered, all eyes turned to her. Lockheed gave a nod and moved behind one of the two empty seats at the table, announcing, "I'm Olivia Lockheed, Senior Deputy, FBI National Violent Gang Task Force. I know who you all are, so let's get started. Have a seat."
The two police officials exchanged a glance and frowned, but pulled out their chairs and sat. A slight smile crossed Harper's face before she sat, as if she had foreseen this type of exchange.
Devlin, the corporal from the Pennsylvania State Police, spoke. "If we're getting right into it, here's —"
"Wait," Lockheed interrupted, holding up a hand. "I'm running the show here.” She glowered at the man and lowered herself into her seat.
If her comment offended him, Devlin didn't show it. "Listen," he began, his demeanor still pleasant.
"No, you listen!" Lockheed snapped. "This is now FBI jurisdiction. If I want, I can have you shut out of this case. The governor supports what I'm doing here. In fact, he is the one asking for more — not less — FBI resources on this gang issue. He is your boss. I'm the one with the clout here, so unless you want to be sent packing, you will fall into place, and let me do my job. I am in control."
As she spoke, Lockheed noticed Harper fighting back a smirk. Lockheed clenched her teeth and directed her gaze at the other woman. She wouldn’t let Harper undermine her control of the situation.
"Is there a problem, Harper?" she asked with a sneer. Her face exuded anger, as did the faces of most of the men in the room, who probably weren't accustomed to someone pushing them around. The one exception was the assistant district attorney, Dorney. He wore a wry, almost amused smile on his face.
"I'm sure these men are glad the FBI has turned its attention to Harrisburg," Harper said. "And they're probably thrilled you have the clout to bring such extensive resources to the region. Those resources consist of you and one other agent, right?"
Lockheed's face flushed red, and she balled her fists at her side, at a loss for words. There was no retort to the truth. Dorney, the young DA, was grinning, and the others watched Harper through appraising eyes. The young woman didn't seem fazed to be in this meeting with powerful law enforcement officials.
"I am here to assess the situation," Lockheed replied, trying to keep her voice steady but unable to hide her anger. "If I need more resources, I will get them. Easily."
"I'm sure you will," Harper replied.
Lockheed gritted her teeth. Harper's outspoken nature infuriated the FBI woman, but also aroused her. Someone needed to bring Harper to heel. She imagined herself peeling the blond beauty out of her business attire and twisting her lithe body in knots.
Before Lockheed could gather herself to speak, Harper continued. "Can we get down to business, so I know why you want me here? I'm sure these gentlemen are wondering why a civilian like me is in this meeting, and then they probably have things they want to say and learn."
"Yes, she's right," Dorney said, flashing a wink at Harper.
Lockheed wanted to leap across the table and teach Harper a lesson, but she composed herself by looking down at her typed agenda, which was moot after her call from Howard Vincent. She looked up and moved her gaze across the people at the table.
"I wouldn't be meeting with everyone if I didn't plan to hear what you all had to say," she said, locking eyes with Harper. She paused, mesmerized by the girl's swirling blue eyes, before forcing herself to continue. "And the FBI has strike teams in place, ready to travel here if we can locate the gang’s headquarters. But that's down the road. One step at a time. The primary purpose of this meeting was to get everyone together in the same room, although I have a brief agenda. Let's talk about the first attack, and what we know."
The men nodded. Before any of them could speak, Lockheed continued. "We know there were four men involved directly, and there was likely a fifth spotter across the street. There may have been others involved as well. These four or five had enough firepower to take down armed guards. Their methods matched the Savage Gang's methods in other cities — extreme violence."
"They're making a statement — to intimidate," Devlin, the representative from the Pennsylvania State Police, interrupted.
Lockheed's jaw tightened at the interruption, but she did not rebuke him this time. "That is one possibility," she said. "Or they could just be sadists."
"That doesn't fit," Devlin said. "If you study their history of attacks in other cities, they orchestrate everything with a purpose. Deviating from that just for kicks would be out of character for them."
Dorney nodded, and Westbrook said, "Yep," before all the men broke out into a loud debate about the gang’s horrific violence, talking over one another.
Lockheed clenched her fists underneath the table. This meeting was getting out of control fast, which was to be expected. Howard Vincent had pulled the rug out from under her by telling her to keep quiet about the guns.
"Very well," she barked, and all eyes turned to her as the men fell silent. "This is all speculation, so there's no point in beating a dead horse. Let's move on."
"What about the guns?" Westbrook asked. "We heard you might be able to trace them."
Lockheed studied the man. Could he be the mole? He sat watching her, his face impassive.
"Nothing there yet," she replied, fumbling with her pen and looking down at her papers. A few eyes around the table narrowed.
"Have your people had any luck identifying the prisoners?" Devlin, the state police corporal, asked.
Lockheed shook her head. "Like with the few arrests we've made around the country, these men don't show up in any of our databases. It's almost like they don't exist."
"So you have nothing," Westbrook said. The York police boss sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.
"We'll find something," Lockheed replied, wishing she could tell him about the guns, if only to show him how capable she was. "For now, though, that sums up the important facts about the Thompson Center job. Now we can turn —"
"Not everything," Devlin interjected. "You left out the most important thing — Sapphire Angel."
Lockheed leveled a glare at him. "I was focusing on the gang, and its activities. That girl has nothing to do with it."
"You really think so?" the state police corporal asked with a raised eyebrow. "I think it goes back to the fear and intimidation angle, and also shows the gang's capabilities, or lack thereof. Sapphire Angel has shown everyone that the gang can be defeated."
"Need I remind those of you sitting at this table," Lockheed said, her voice quivering in anger, "that Sapphire Angel has no law enforcement powers? She had no authority to do what she did. That is our job. She is just getting in the way." Lockheed's fingers tightened around the pen in front of her as she spoke.
"Getting in the way?" Harper asked. "Without her, things could have gone much worse at the Thompson Center."
Lockheed stared at Harper, who should have been happy to even be at this meeting. The men at the table were silent. Lockheed forced herself to look away before she fell under Harper's unintended spell.
"Perhaps," Lockheed said. "But she didn't stick around, so we don't know might have happened without her, or what she knows, or how she found out about the attack in the first place, or anything else. She's a prime witness. All of it could be helpful, but I can't even talk to her because she doesn't have the guts to operate in the open."
Harper frowned and swallowed, but did not respond. Everyone else remained silent, watching the exchange between the two women. Lockheed felt a jolt of excitement at silencing the pretty girl.
Lockheed cleared her throat and used the lull to regain control of the meeting. She was starting to think she should have called from her car out front, and canceled this meeting. The optics wouldn't have been good, but the present situation might be worse. These people were just going to get in her way. It was time to wrap this up.
"I'd like all of you to coordinate your efforts through me. My assistant, Michaels, will make sure you all get his mobile number. I'll tell the Harrisburg police to hit the streets hard. Keep their ears to the ground. The same goes for the York police. Somebody has to know where these guys are. The state police can do the same, including with your undercover agents immersed in the city. Get the word out to them to be on the lookout. Everyone should report even the smallest lead, without delay."
There were nods and grim faces around the table. Finally, some respect.
"If I need anything else, I'll let you know," she said. "I just wanted to hold this meeting to make introductions. That's all for now."
"You didn't — " Harper began, but Lockheed glowered at her and held up a hand.
"You and I have some things to discuss, Harper, but it doesn't concern anyone else," the FBI woman said. "The rest of you can go."
Devlin looked like he was about to ask a question — probably what Beth Harper was doing at the meeting — but then waved a hand in disgust. He gathered his items and stalked from the room. The other men weren't far behind him.
Harper stared at Lockheed, her mouth twisted in annoyance, as Lockheed moved to the door and closed it.
"Now we can talk, Harper," Lockheed said.
Forward to Chapter 26 (link works after Chapter 26 goes live)
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (this book - Book 4)
Whoooooooooaaaaa! Noooooooooo! Dude, my face actually kind of hurts from the huge ear-to-ear grin that I held for several seconds practically every time Beth spoke during this chapter. She literally was NOT scared to tell Lockheed off, like Book #2; very amusing.
And dang, Howard Vincent did a great job of saving himself there. Implying there was a mole without specifying who, to potentially throw everyone off his trail......crafty. Then again, Olivia Lockheed should now have those suspicions in her head, right? That there may have been a spy/mole at the meeting? Vincent single-handedly cowed her into withholding evidence (i.e., the guns) that could’ve cracked the case......fantastic. It would’ve taken me a way longer time to come up with that idea. xD
I know there’s no reasonable way (at the moment) that Olivia Lockheed should know that Beth Harper is Sapphire Angel. But could you imagine how much of a wham line that ending line would’ve been if she said “Now we can talk.....Sapphire Angel”? I’d practically be banging my head against the wall until Monday waiting for the next chapter!
I guess on the surface, Beth’s remarks were meant to be both humorous and awesome at the same time; like, she’s not scared to tell the harsh truths and deck the authorities for not doing a proper job, but I also felt bad for Olivia ‘cause Beth doesn’t know her (Olivia’s) full story. She doesn’t know that Olivia is plagued by insecurity due to a lack of parental approval and the fact that she turned out to be a girl and not a boy, which disappointed her father. She doesn’t know that Olivia desperately feels this need to be “in charge” or “in control” ‘cause that’s what makes her feel useful/valuable. In her eyes, if she doesn’t have authority, she’s nothing. And I can’t imagine that seeing Sapphire upstage her and the FBI’s performance is helping to alleviate those feelings.
Instead of asking “Hey, why are you like this?” Beth just immediately resorts to snarking at her first and finding other things out later. Gave me a small round of PTSD flashbacks from bullies in high school, but we won’t get into that. Maybe if/when Beth finds out, that’s when we can get a Sapphire/FBI partnership. Highly doubt it, though......Olivia seems too far gone.
Wavering towards Olivia’s side a bit, now that we know why she is the way she is.
Both of them sucked! ......But that changes, right? ......Right?