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 46
Olivia Lockheed sat in the chair in her hotel room, staring at the wall, her face blank. So close. She had been so close to living the fantasy of many, and having Sapphire Angel at her mercy, to enjoy and do with as she pleased. She would have pulled out all her tricks, bending, probing, and punishing the superheroine in every way imaginable.
Lockheed wouldn’t get another chance, at least for the foreseeable future. It was too dangerous. Sapphire Angel would be cautious now. Worse, Sapphire Angel might try to get revenge. From what Lockheed knew of her, revenge didn’t motivate the superheroine, but Lockheed doubted anyone else had ever manhandled the costumed woman.
Lockheed grinned, lowering a hand between her legs as she thought about controlling Sapphire Angel. The memories would have to do. The feel of the stunning superlady was unlike anything Lockheed had ever experienced. Perhaps the effect had been a mirage, created by Sapphire Angel's fame and stature, but Lockheed had felt a charge, like lightning coursing through her, when she touched the heroine’s bare skin and smooth costume.
At least she had the video, which wouldn’t just entertain her. It would give her some leverage. Lockheed’s mask would protect her if the video became public, but Sapphire Angel would be anything but anonymous. It should be enough to keep the stunning super lady from exacting revenge, as the incident would be too embarrassing for someone as idolized as the blond beauty. But the video wouldn’t give Lockheed the ultimate power over Sapphire Angel, since she hadn’t stripped the heroine.
Tiredness came over her, and Lockheed trudged to the bed. She was coming off of the high from her encounter with Sapphire Angel, and post-adrenaline exhaustion washed over her. Without even removing her bondage apparel, she slid under the covers. Within minutes she drifted off to sleep, with images in her mind of flawless skin, smooth blue fabric, and blonde hair.
Beth Harper keyed in the code to disable the alarm within moments of opening the front door, but Stanley certainly would detect her return. She smirked, knowing he may have detected her departure the moment she left the house. It didn’t matter now, as her night was done. If needed, she would beg for forgiveness.
She crept up the stairs, finding the climb much easier than the reverse trip earlier in the night. She saw no sign of Stanley or Mrs. Devor in the upstairs hallway, and slipped into the guest room and closed the door behind her.
Beth was numb as she peeled off her jeans and sweater, realizing how close Lockheed had come to peeling off her costume. Her cheeks burned red with humiliation, and she cringed at the memory of Lockheed's hands running over her body, and her helplessness to do anything to stop her. She lifted her hands, touching her wrists and remembering her vulnerability, bound with her arms above her head. She was Sapphire Angel. America’s heroine. Unbeatable. Unattainable. Things like this didn’t happen to her. But tonight they had.
As feelings of hopelessness and helplessness invaded her psyche, Beth realized how Lockheed had depowered her, in more ways than one. Her life as Sapphire Angel had helped Beth overcome her past sexual assault, by crushing simmering feelings of powerlessness. By helping others, she was helping herself, even if she hadn't realized it until recently.
Thanks to Lockheed, she wouldn't be able to help anyone be safe from the Savage Gang. The domineering woman had been her last hope of stopping the gang. And Lockheed had crushed her hope in the worst way possible, by assaulting Sapphire Angel, in a way that reminded Beth of that assault from her past. It had been a cruel night for the young heroine, on so many levels.
Perhaps worst of all, it was Beth's own fault. Conner had been right — she was getting overconfident. The overconfidence had cost her, causing her to go to the hotel when she was at her weakest. And now it was too late. Even if she fully recovered in the next few days, she couldn’t locate the gang before its reinforcements arrived. Lockheed had been her last chance. She wiped a tear from her eye, finished slipping into her pajamas, and climbed into bed.
“W… W… We’re really pushing the envelope here,” Larry Oberkfell stammered. The mostly bald man scratched at the little hair remaining on his head, and wiped his hands on his dirty lab coat.
Savage leaned back in the recliner and flexed his hand. Doing so caused the veins in his arm to bulge under the tight tourniquet, as if he were sending a message to Oberkfell to get to work. Oberkfell moved the needle closer to Savage’s arm, but paused again.
“This could eventually k-kill you,” he said, still stammering. “Every time we do this, I need to use more of it. The long-term effects of such strong doses are unknown. And before long, this might stop helping you at all.”
Savage frowned. “We’re not stopping now. I’m fine. If I notice anything unusual, that’s when we’ll stop.”
Shoulders sagging, Oberkfell leaned forward with the needle. As he was about to plunge it into his boss’s arm, the door to the room burst open. Benjamin Drummond, Savage’s chief advisor, rushed in. Savage looked up at him with a scowl.
“What the fuck, we’re not knocking now?”
Benjamin Drummond ignored Savage’s annoyance. He pushed his glasses up on his face as he stopped in front of his boss.
“We have a problem,” he said.
“What now?” Savage asked. Drummond would not have interrupted him if it weren’t important.
“Harrisburg again,” Drummond replied. “Sapphire Angel may have discovered the location of our hideout.”
There was silence in the room as Savage processed the information. After a few seconds, his face twisted into a snarl.
“Fucking Rocco!” he snapped. “Tell me more.”
“She was questioning our guys in jail, and mentioned something about wet feet, like she wanted them to know she knew about the hideout. It was vague, so I think she only has a rough idea. Shit would have hit the fan already if she knew its exact location. But she wouldn't have said something like that if she didn't possess some sort of information.”
Savage’s face contorted into a pained expression. “That damn city has been one disaster after another,” he said.
“Thanks to Sapphire Angel,” Drummond said, as if to remind Savage of his initial advice concerning the city.
“Yes, thanks to Sapphire Angel,” Savage replied with a sneer. “Well, her days of messing with us are over. And Rocco’s days are over, too. I’m going to Harrisburg.”
“Don’t forget you’re meeting with the governor of Illinois in two days. If we get him on the payroll, the entire state will roll over.”
“Fuck,” Savage muttered. “You’re right. I’ll go the day after that, then. That gives Rocco three days to get his shit together. But don’t tell him. I don’t want him to panic and do something stupid. Just get word to some of the other guys there to keep an extra eye out for unwanted visitors, in case the blond bitch gets lucky and finds the place. But don’t tell them why, and tell them to keep their mouths shut. When I get there, I’ll find a better spot for our hideout.”
“Very well,” Drummond said. “I’ll make arrangements for your trip.”
“You do that,” Savage said, and turned back to Oberkfell. “What are you waiting for? I could hurt Sapphire Angel as I am right now, but I want to do more than hurt her. I want to break her and make her beg.”
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (this book - Book 4)
This whole scenario is just so tragic on so many levels. Here I was, all the way at the beginning of the whole series, thinking that things would be looking up for Beth/Sapphire after she gained her powers at the hands of Fizzure Technology's devices. But four novels on, I honestly think it's gotten worse more than it's gotten better. We didn't have any particularly horrifying sequences like Raven Tristan's drugs, Valik's experiments, or Lockheed's submissive torture in the first novel, and we also didn't have Sapphire getting shot point-blank with Wheldon's rocket launcher, either.
(sigh) Of course Lockheed would be getting off (I think) to her encounter with Sapphire. She didn't completely get the best of her, but she most certainly had her way with her for a good few minutes. I don't really know where her arc goes from here (maybe she'll just try to continue to track down the Savage Gang with her own forces), but if she ever runs into Sapphire again, oh boy.....teamwork's gonna be the LAST thing on their minds.
Although the sequence with Sapphire and Lockheed was unsettling, I actually wouldn't personally consider it the worst circumstances that our heroine's ever been in. In truth, I'd consider it a close second to Valik and the experiments, with Raven and the drugs in third place. I still rank THAT (Valik's scenes in "Deconstruction") as the most pain and humiliation that Sapphire's been through, partially because she was forcefully stripped naked at the time and had her systems compromised by a gas trap. Don't get me wrong; Lockheed would have DEFINITELY stripped Sapphire bare as well if she hadn't managed to escape, but because that didn't happen, it either just ties with Valik or ranks slightly below him.
So Sapphire.....IS close to finding the hideout, right? She just doesn't quite have it, and has lost her last chance at it (being Lockheed). .....Can Lockheed and Beth still work together, though? There could still be a chance there.....but I can't recall if there's anything particularly bad happening between them.
I was worried that Savage might end up killing himself with the drugs before he even got to face Sapphire Angel, but the ending section of this chapter kind of did away with those thoughts. Maybe Rocco Lynch and his crew were technically the arc villains of this first part, and the second part deals more with Maximus Savage, Larry Oberkfell, Benjamin Drummond, and their forces.....and maybe a little "Majid Azari" and "silver-eyed man" thrown in there as well.....?
Whatever! Come on, then, Savage! Just TRY and take over Sapphire's hometown yourself. Rocco Lynch is going to serve as an example for you soon enough. ......I think.
The whole "two-part" system gives me "Infinity War + Endgame"-type vibes, even though the scope isn't nearly as huge.