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 37
Lockheed’s BMW exited the interstate, and the two women found themselves creeping through a series of traffic signals on a busy six-lane road, lined with strip malls, fast-food restaurants, and stores. The traffic might not compare to the traffic of a larger city, but it took them several minutes to travel just a few miles, until they left the busy thoroughfares and turned onto a more rural road. After a mile-long jaunt down a winding down, they pulled up to a flat-roofed rectangular building made of faded wood paneling. A large sign hung between posts near the road, reading, “T.L. Grim - Protect Yourself, Arm Yourself” in large letters.
“Here we are,” Lockheed said. She turned off the car and hopped out. Beth grabbed her bag and followed, and the two women headed toward the front door.
Rocco Lynch watched the two women from his hiding place amidst dense shrubbery across the street. They were both attractive, but in different ways. The driver, who must be the FBI woman, was larger, although still feminine. Even in her business attire, she exuded the sculpted build of someone who regularly worked out. She had pulled her sandy-brown hair back tight on her head, and she wore jeans, boots with short heels, and a blue FBI windbreaker.
The other woman was petite, with a youthful glow. Her straight blonde hair fell past her shoulders, and she wore a black sweater over black leggings which hugged her slender legs. She walked with an athletic grace.
Rocco frowned. Lockheed’s assistant, or perhaps partner, wasn’t with the two women. The gangster cursed and stared at the detonator in his hand. All he needed to do was push the button, and the propane tank next to the building would explode, turning the building into a tomb for anyone inside. But the third person, Michaels, was absent. Rocco gritted his teeth in indecision as the women stepped into the shop.
As Beth followed Lockheed through the door, Tip Grim, the proprietor, leaned against the wall behind a counter to their right, yawning. He was an older man of at least sixty, with a hawk nose and sharp eyes below bushy eyebrows, and a full head of brown hair. A slight paunch formed at his waist, but he appeared to be in decent physical shape otherwise.
He looked up at the sound of their entrance, and his eyes narrowed when he saw Lockheed’s FBI jacket. His brow wrinkled in confusion when he saw Beth walking a few steps behind Lockheed.
Beth looked around the interior, noticing no other patrons. The place hadn’t changed from her prior visits, and was a strange mix of Army surplus store and Montana hunting lodge. One half of the room could have passed for a military building, with camouflage-style green decor, and bland army-issue shelves filled with holsters, radios, clothing, and other accessories. Hunting supplies filled the other half of the room, and animal heads lined the walls. A large stuffed bear reared up in one corner, its teeth bared.
A counter ran the length of one side of the building. What could have passed for a bank vault door stood open behind the counter, with a room beyond it. Grim stored his weapons there.
“What do you two want?” Grim asked, suspicion in his voice.
“We need to talk to you, and to see your records,” Lockheed replied as she and Beth moved closer to the counter.
“Why would I want to talk to you, or let you see my records?” he snapped, bobbing his head in disdain.
“Tip, it’s okay,” Beth said in a soothing voice. “I know the support you have for law enforcement. This is FBI agent Olivia Lockheed, and you could be a big help to her.”
Lockheed smiled and said, “Besides, if you don’t help, I’m waiting on a search warrant, which will tie this place up for hours. I’ll also talk to anybody who gives you a license to operate your business. I can make your life miserable.”
Beth kept an impassive look on her face, but a jolt of anger shot through her. Lockheed hadn’t told her she planned to threaten the man. Why had the FBI woman even brought Beth if she was going to destroy any goodwill the man felt toward her? Perhaps Lockheed was getting desperate, especially with the progress Sapphire Angel had been making.
“It’s never going to come to that,” Beth said, giving Grim a warm smile. “Tip is one of the good guys.”
Grim chewed on his lip for a moment before speaking.
“What records?” he asked, peering at Lockheed.
“What records do you think?” Lockheed snapped. “Everything, but let’s start with your sales records.”
Again Beth tensed in annoyance. Grim didn’t answer, and gripped the counter with his shoulders clenched tight.
He turned his gaze to Beth and exhaled when he met her blue eyes.
“My computer is back there,” he said, gesturing to the room beyond the vault door.
“Then that’s a good place to start,” Lockheed said, and walked around the counter toward the door. Grim remained standing at the counter.
Beth followed Lockheed, studying Grim as she moved past him. He bit his lip again. He was probably nervous, like anyone would be, because of the FBI presence. But he might be wondering whether he had adequately hid his tracks, or if his computer logs would be his undoing. She sensed they would find out soon.
Rocco Lynch stared at the building, and then at the detonator in his hand. He couldn’t have another failure on his hands. Savage might kill him. He needed all three of them dead — Lockheed, Harper, and Michaels. But Michaels wasn’t here. And Lockheed might find evidence in the shop and immediately call in the results to someone else.
Lynch decided. He would eliminate the two women now and take care of Michaels when he returned to Harrisburg. He looked down at the detonator again and pressed the button.
Beth followed Lockheed, leaving Grim behind as the bossy FBI woman took one step into the vault. Grim needed to give them access to the computer, but he remained at the counter, frozen. Beth paused inside the vault doorway, and saw the computer in the back of the vault, its screen on and filled with lines of text.
Beth raised her hand to point at the computer, when a deafening noise erupted from behind her. Before she could turn, a massive conflux of light, heat, force, weightlessness, and pain hit her, until she felt nothing at all.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (this book - Book 4)
Dang, uhhhh.....I really feel like Lynch was heavily affected for the worse after joining the Savage Gang. Like, blowing up a shop and committing murder (or, at the moment, just attempted murder)? Like, come on! It really is just a vicious cycle; you do bad or unethical things to win your boss over.....and then you have to keep doing them if you want them to keep you around. I think, if it was up to Lynch, he would’ve waited for Michaels to come around before detonating the shop, but like the narrative indicated, the fear of Savage’s wrath should he (Lynch) fail him was likely a major factor in the premature attack, too.
And, well.....there it goes. Where’s Conner and Ethan when you need ‘em, man? .....I mean, I know where they are, but, like.....still. Even if there’s an off-chance all of them survived, they could’ve really used a getaway ride of some kind, in case Lynch and the Gang decide to try and take them out during their escape.
Maybe the bomb didn’t actually go off just yet and the lights, the tremors, and the noise were just a malfunctioning prop inside the store. Or maybe Michaels being late to the gun shop actually puts him in the perfect position to rescue all of them? Maybe he’ll be walking down the street to the shop (being late), and he’ll see it on fire, then call first responders?
We’ll see on Monday! Let’s get to it!