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 31
Sapphire Angel dropped from the fifth floor of the garage, her short skirt fluttering around her hips as she lunged and grabbed the railing atop the ledge of the next level. She flew toward the wall, using her legs and one arm to shield her body, before she pulled herself up over the ledge and landed on the fourth floor deck.
The athletic heroine sprinted toward the opposite side of the garage, but skidded to a stop as she swiped her hand past her boot, missing as she tried to retrieve her cylinder. She muttered, annoyed at the distraction Lockheed had caused. Not only had the FBI agent appraised her like a piece of meat, but Lockheed had alluded to the earlier meeting with Beth Harper. Sapphire Angel had become so accustomed to the ability of her necklace to conceal her identity, she hadn’t considered being more discreet. Instead, she had made the same suggestion to Lockheed she had made as Beth — that the FBI woman should work with the superheroine. Lockheed didn’t appear suspicious, though, and had even suspected another impetus for the heroine’s idea.
Sapphire Angel shook her head, forcing herself to concentrate, and pulled the cylinder from her boot before resuming her sprint. As she approached the edge of the garage, she aimed the cylinder and pressed a button near her thumb. The thin cable shot from the device toward the low wall, where it stopped and wrapped around the railing like it had a mind of its own.
Sapphire Angel leapt over the wall, out into the night. With the cable tight around the railing, Sapphire Angel started a controlled descent to the ground, her silken hair undulating above her. As she dropped, she again pondered the ramifications of Olivia Lockheed’s behavior, and wondered whether she wanted to work with the FBI woman.
Five seconds after jumping from the garage, the stunning super lady touched down on the ground next to her car. She stood like the Statute of Liberty, holding the cylinder above her head as she moved her thumb to another button, still thinking about Lockheed and knowing what she needed to do. She needed to put aside her discomfort and work with Lockheed to help the city.
The moment she pressed the button, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Distracted by thoughts of Lockheed, she almost missed it. She released her grasp on the cylinder and twisted her body as a dark figure swung a baseball bat at her head. As the cylinder and cable clattered in a tangle around her, she avoided the worst of the blow, but the bat still clunked off the side of head, just as the massive fist of another attacker flew toward her exposed midsection.
The punch struck home, perhaps harder than any blow she’d ever felt, driving the air from her lungs. As Sapphire Angel grunted and doubled over, another fist came toward her face. She arced her back at like a ballerina, avoiding the blow but leaving her off balance as another attacker slammed into her with a shoulder, catapulting her petite form into the concrete wall of the parking garage.
The heroine bounced off the wall, hit the ground, and rolled, popping to her feet and somersaulting over the heads of her attackers, her blond hair whirling. As she landed with her back to her attackers, trying to gather her scrambled senses, her eyes opened in surprise as yet another assailant appeared in the darkness in front of her, swinging a crowbar. She twisted, avoiding a blow to her head, but the crowbar slammed down onto her shoulder.
“Ahhh!” Sapphire Angel cried in pain, staggering back and stumbling in a slow turn as she lost her balance. The attacks had come fast and powerful, with the blows dulling her superhuman ability to sense opponents in battle.
Another attacker came from the front, swinging an uppercut. This time, she got enough of a view to register who it was — a member of the Savage Gang, clad in the gang's telltale mask and body armor. She bobbed to the side, avoiding the blow by a whisker and lashing up with a knee to the man’s stomach. She felt a thunk as she impacted his body armor, and he stumbled back.
Hearing movement behind her, Sapphire Angel tumbled to the left in a sideways somersault a millisecond before the crowbar slammed into the asphalt. She put out her palms, stopping her tumble, and kicked out and up from a crouched position. Her foot connected with the man’s jaw, flipping him onto his back and rolling him across the alley, and sending the crowbar clanging to the ground.
Sapphire Angel sprang to her feet, raising an arm to block a punch from the other man, who had recovered from the knee to his stomach. The punch didn’t strike home, but the impact sent her skidding back a few feet on the soles of her boots, and into the range of a roundhouse punch from another attacker. She bobbed her head, avoiding his blow, before seizing the gangster's arm and flinging him to the side, sending him into a tumble.
On the follow through of her throw, an uppercut came from nowhere. Perhaps with her normal reactions, she could have avoided the blow, but the punch landed under her chin, snapping her neck back and sending her blonde hair arcing above her head.
She flipped back and hit the ground hard, just before a booted foot drove into the side of her head, sending the world spinning. The costumed woman put her elbows beneath her, blinking as she tried to focus, and twisted to the side as the same boot slammed toward her midsection. It missed, and as it stomped onto the ground, Sapphire Angel grabbed the man’s leg and heaved, upending him.
As she rolled to the side and sprang to her feet, a gargantuan of a man appeared in front of her, charging with a snarl. She whirled, feinting with a kick. As he skidded to avoid her attack, she reversed her spin and drove an elbow toward his throat. He raised his hands to block the worst of the blow, but the impact still send him stumbling away from her and falling to the ground.
Another man darted from her left, but as she readied a parry, an unseen attacker slammed into her from behind, enveloping her and tackling her to the ground. She landed on her stomach with a grunt as the man kneeled over her, reaching for her shoulders. Sapphire Angel drove back with both elbows, hearing him wheeze as he toppled off of her.
As she coiled to spring to her feet, another hard boot smashed into her head, and her surroundings went black and then light again.
"Ohhh…" she murmured as she toppled onto her side, laying with her arms above her head, one long leg cocked at an angle below her, and one extended straight out. Her skirt was bunched up at her hips, making her legs appear even longer.
A moment later, a set of gigantic hands — the giant’s, she presumed — enveloped her thigh and neck. She couldn’t even squirm as his iron grip tightened around her, pulling her slender body from the ground and eliciting a whimper from her lips. With a roar, he hoisted her above his head, extending his arms and displaying the famous superheroine like a trophy. Sapphire Angel hung limp above him, her back arcing as the dim light of the alley shimmered off the smooth fabric of her iconic costume, which pulled tight across her firm breasts and taut stomach. Her slack arms swung underneath her, like tall grass swaying in a gentle summer breeze, and her long hair and short skirt dangling below her.
"Finish her!" a deep voice bellowed.
The giant swung her body down, smashing her to the ground. She hit the pavement with a smack, bounced a foot into the air, and hit the ground again. Her surroundings were spinning, and before she could rise, two sets of hands grabbed her toned biceps, hoisted her to her feet, and slammed her back against the wall of the garage, thudding her head into the concrete surface. Two rapid punches followed from another gangster, smashing into the center of her face and bouncing her head against the wall twice more.
A soft, feminine moan escaped her lips. Sapphire Angel dangled a foot off the ground, pinned against the wall with her supermodel legs kicking weakly back and forth, and her hair hanging in her face. Her eyes told the story — she was dazed and unable to focus. Through her hair and her blurry vision, she made out the malevolent grins of the two men at her sides holding her, and two men standing in front of her, their black outfits providing a sharp contrast to her vibrant costume.
For the first time since the attack began, she was able to size up her attackers. Four of them. All huge, with the giant the biggest of all. She recognized the man next to him by the scar peaking out from under his mask. He was the second in command of the entire gang. The leader in Harrisburg.
"You're done, superheroine," the leader said, before slamming another fist into her jaw and snapping her head to the side. A moment later he drove an uppercut into her trim stomach, driving the remaining air from her lungs.
In a fog and wheezing, she tried to process what was happening. They had hit her so hard and so fast, she had been on the defensive from the outset, unable to assess the battlefield as she always did. And during most fights, she possessed a sixth sense, allowing her to avoid attacks and go on the offensive, moving with the grace of a dancer as she pirouetted from opponent to opponent. The gang's devastating blows, from the very first strike with the baseball bat, had muddled her senses and neutralized that ability.
It was Olivia Lockheed’s fault. Sapphire Angel had been so preoccupied with analyzing the woman’s behavior, she had gotten careless, and allowed them to take her by surprise. Or so she hoped. The alternative was that these men were powerful. Too powerful.
As she tried to catch her breath and steady her vision, the leader seized the top of her silken tresses and yanked her head up. She winced, suppressing a whimper.
“The world is gonna see you ain’t all your cracked up to be, bitch,” he growled.
The brutal gangster buried another fist into her stomach, convulsing her body, before he drilled her in the face again, ripping a cry of pain from her mouth. Still holding her hair, he followed with four more brutal punches to her face, the crack of skin on skin echoing in the alley, until Sapphire Angel slumped in the hands of her captors, barely hanging on as the hint of tears formed at the corners of her eyes. Her necklace saved her from broken bones, but couldn’t block out the pain. As the man released her hair, her head sagged toward her chest, and disbelief clouded her thoughts. This couldn’t be happening.
“Ohhhh…” a soft whimper escaped her lips.
"Use that to tie her up," she heard the leader said.
She felt one gangster seize her gloved wrists, holding them together as another man wrapped a cable around them, pulling it tight and securing her. Through hazy eyes, she looked down at the cable. It was her cable, still attached to the cylinder, which they must have gathered from the ground. They were binding her with her own nearly unbreakable device.
“We got her, boys,” the leader said. “Well done. Let's get her to the van.”
The leader tugged on the cable as the men on either side of the dazed heroine lowered her to her feet. Her coltish legs almost gave way, but they held her by her thin arms, guiding her as the leader led her like a leashed animal. Sapphire Angel stumbled along, trying to bring the alley into focus. As they passed in front of her sleek blue car, the battered heroine titled her head toward the vehicle.
“Ariel, start; Ariel, lights,” she commanded in a shaky voice.
As her captors turned to look at her in puzzlement, the car’s engine roared to life. The surprised men whipped their heads away from her and toward the car, only to throw up their hands to shield their eyes as the headlights came on. This caused them to release their grip on the heroine, who jumped straight up a moment after shouting “Ariel, to me!”
Sapphire Angel’s weak leap took her above the hood of the vehicle an instant before the car shot forward, plowing into the four men and scattering them like bowling pins. The heroine thudded down onto the hood, landing on her side and rolling off before smacking onto the ground near the driver’s door.
As the men of the Savage Gang groaned on the ground, Sapphire Angel reached up with her bound hands, wincing and with her legs trembling, and slid her fingers under the door handle. It unlocked with a click, and she pulled the door open and fell inside, landing on the driver’s seat and tugging the rest of the cable in behind her. As the gangsters staggered to their feet, she held her bound hands up to the steering wheel, swung her legs in front of her, and stomped her foot on the gas pedal. The car rushed forward, sending her attackers diving out of the way.
As the car flew toward the end of the alley, she took her hands from the wheel and pulled the door closed. Looking ahead, she saw a white van blocking the end of the alley. She stood on the brake pedal, and after the car lurched to a stop, she threw the gearshift into reverse. A moment later, the car roared backward down the alley, scattering the gangsters again. One man swung a baseball bat at the vehicle, but it thudded off the hood as she sped past. The other men pulled out handguns and opened fire, but the bullets struck the car and fell to the ground.
Sapphire Angel reached the opposite end of the alley, pulling on the steering wheel as best she could with her wrists bound. Still traveling backward, she angled the car onto the adjacent street and slammed her foot onto the brake pedal again. Another shift of gears and a stomp on the accelerator, and the car hurtled off into the night, taking the defeated superheroine to safety.
“Damnit!”
Rocco Lynch turned to his men, his face contorted in rage. So close. They had defeated the famed superheroine and she had been in their grasp, ready for them to deliver her to Savage. But, against all odds, she had slipped away.
Smash, Dillard, and Mitchell faced him, hiding whatever pain they felt. They had to be hurting. Lynch's knee was already throbbing, having taken a blow from the car.
“Everybody okay?” he asked, moving his gaze among the three men. They nodded but said nothing.
Lynch chewed on his lip, considering this latest failure. Sapphire Angel was becoming a bigger problem with every passing day. First, the Thompson Center. Then the fiasco at the actor’s mansion. And now this.
But Savage didn’t need to learn about this latest occurrence. These were Lynch’s most trusted men, and would keep their mouths shut. This had been an unplanned encounter, and none of his other men knew about it.
“What happened tonight doesn’t leave this alley,” he said. “Understood? We don’t need anyone learning we blew a chance to get our hands on the superheroine.”
The men nodded, with Dillard looking more enthused than the others.
“What is it, Vick?”
“We learned something tonight, man.”
“What’s that?” Lynch asked.
“We learned she’s not invincible. You all saw what we did to that superheroine. We kicked her ass! She had to run away! If we run into her again, we can break her.”
Lynch considered the man’s words before nodding. “Yes, we can. And we will. But first there’s another matter to handle. Tonight I lay the trap for the FBI woman and everyone with her at the gun shop. Their trip to the shop tomorrow will be their last excursion on this planet.”
Forward to Chapter 32 (link works after Chapter 32 goes live)
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (this book - Book 4)
WOOOOOO! WOO-HOO! I didn’t believe that the Savage Gang had Sapphire on the ropes for even the slightest one-millionth of a millisecond (if there even ARE smaller measurements of time than that). What’s so fitting is that although the car (Ariel) is what gave away Sapphire’s presence when they were first planning the ambush, it was also what ended up saving her life. I guess that’s another “ally” (though not exactly sentient) that Sapphire has during her missions, besides Stanley and Conner’s tech know-how and Ethan’s support. I can’t help but worry, though; Sapphire blaming Lockheed for her misfortune might potentially drive a wedge into what could have been an efficient working relationship between them; I had hoped that Lockheed would be able to overcome her negative (and “positive”, I guess) feelings for Sapphire in favor of a collaboration, but.....I don’t know.....after this happened and Sapphire viewing Lockheed as a “distraction”, things aren’t looking so good. I also wonder how this will affect the mission to the gun shop; Beth might end up refusing to work with Lockheed now.
The more victories that Sapphire puts under her belt (regardless of how narrow this one was), the more I feel good about her getting out of future one’s okay. Again, like before, the only character I could possibly see dying in this gun shop attack is T.L. Grim; I don’t feel like Olivia Lockheed would die in the middle of her character arc right when she’s starting to (maybe) turn out for the better. And of course, Beth can’t die because reasons. Wonder if we’ll get a scene where T.L. Grim just starts trying to fruitlessly riddle Beth full of bullets, but she just stands there and takes absolutely every single one without flinching.....perhaps even acting as a “shield” for Lockheed. And then he wastes all of them and then the Savage Gang blows up the place. ......Or something.
Good thing Rocco and his friends already had that gun shop attack lined up; otherwise, who knows how Savage would’ve reacted to the failed hit on Sapphire in the garage? I still think he’s basically going to finish himself off, between the sheer amount of drugs being injected into his system, his temper problems, and his waning patience.
If I were to keep reading further on the other site that you have, would I still be able to leave comments like I do here? Or can I only “like” chapters, with that being the end of it?