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 53
The smell of snow was crisp in the night air, heavy and biting, as Sapphire Angel stepped into a swirling white canvas. The wind howled and the snow blew around her, but no other sound or movement reached her senses, giving the environs a strange calm. She squinted, making out vague shapes through the blinding snow, but she couldn’t discern any detail. For a moment, she thought her head injury had returned, but realized it was just the weather interfering with her senses.
“I can’t see a thing out here,” she said, hoping Stanley heard her over the howling wind.
“I’ll guide you,” he replied through her small earpiece. “Do you see a tall object in the direction you were just headed, ahead and a bit to your left?”
“I do, but I can’t tell what it is. Is it a tree?”
“Yes. Head toward it and I’ll direct you from there.”
Sapphire Angel started off toward the tree, unable to determine how far away it sat. As she fought through the blowing wind, holding up a hand to shield her face, the outline of the tree grew larger, like an apparition approaching in the darkness. She trudged forward, with the driving snow soaking her costume and hair. Now, more than ever, she appreciated her necklace. Without it, she would be in no better shape than the frigid prisoner on the bridge.
After a few more steps, the tree materialized in front of her. It was an anchor for her, like a ship’s captain finding a landmark after being lost at sea.
“I’m here,” she said, coming to a stop.
“Good,” Stanley answered. “If that tree is noon on a clock face, turn yourself to about two o’clock. Opponent number one is about thirty paces ahead. He was the guy we saw on screen, crouched in the bushes, holding the weapon over his shoulder.”
“I’m on it,” Sapphire Angel said, and headed off toward the man.
She moved through the snow, taking quick but short steps. She glanced behind her as she walked, not only to make sure someone wasn’t sneaking up on her, but to see if she left a path in her wake. Fortunately, the blowing snow obscured her tracks within seconds after she left them. If anything, the snow was coming down harder now than even a few minutes ago. Her hair hung damp on her shoulders, and water dripped from her eyelashes.
As she approached the gangster’s hiding spot, she made out his figure in the gloom. He crouched in the same position, behind some bushes, with his back to her. If she hadn’t known he was there, she might have missed him. But she knew his location, and her eyes fixed on him.
She got a better look at the weapon he was holding. It looked to be pretty heavy duty. Not a gun, but some sort of grenade or rocket launcher. She had tangled with one of those before, and it hadn’t gone well. She wouldn’t give him a chance to use it.
Sapphire Angel slowed her pace, creeping forward and looking left, right, and in the rear, to make sure nobody had moved into a position to surprise her. For a moment, she thought she noticed movement behind her, but when she stared at the area she saw only swirling flakes. She shook her head, and forced herself to focus, turning back to the man behind the bushes. Stanley would warn her of any surprises coming from behind.
When she came to within a few feet of the man, she jumped the final distance. The falling snow muffled any sound, so he never detected her. As she landed behind him, she slid a few inches in the snow, before grabbing the back of his neck and whipping his head down, sending his feet out from under him and face-planting him into the snow. His face sank into the fluff, and, as he tried to push himself up, she pushed down, holding him in place.
He struggled, his body bucking, but his arms were pinned underneath him in the snow, acting like natural bonds. He also faced someone whose strength surpassed his own. The man outsized her, but her might acted against him, preventing him from getting any leverage.
Like an avalanche victim, he was losing oxygen. But like an avalanche victim, it might take a few minutes for him to pass out. Sapphire Angel didn’t have several minutes. The image of the prisoner on the bridge flashed in her mind.
The costumed woman lifted her hands from his head, and before he reacted, she wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled his head backward. He sputtered, spewing a mouthful of snow and gasping for air. As he sucked in his first breath, Sapphire Angel slammed a fist into the side of his head. He groaned and slumped slightly, but his helmet-like mask had protected him, keeping him conscious. She reared back again and repeated the process. This time, his body went limp, and she dropped him face-first into the snow.
Not wanting him to suffocate, Sapphire Angel flipped him onto his back. His body sank down into the snow, but his face remained clear. She crouched next to him and searched him, finding a handheld radio shoved into an unzipped pants pocket. The heroine thought about taking it with her, but she didn’t know if the gangsters could track one another with the devices, so tossed the radio next to the man, letting it sink into the snow.
She turned her attention back to the defeated gangster, shoveling an area around his head with her hands, saturating her gloves. Once she was sure he could breathe, she pulled two pairs of flex cuffs from one of her boots and bound his wrists and ankles.
As she rose, she stared at the weapon laying partially submerged in the snow. It might have caused some serious damage if he had used it. She picked it up and tossed it away, deeper into the brush.
“Okay, where to next?” she said.
Stanley’s voice came to her through the earpiece. “Continue in the same direction you took to approach this guy.”
“I’ve got to get around this brush, just a moment.”
Sapphire Angel crouched and sprang upward, leaping over the brush behind which the man had been hiding. The snow on the other side provided a soft landing, but she still flexed her knees to absorb the impact, balancing as she skidded forward a few inches.
Once she landed, she started off in the direction Stanley had given. The area was open, and the snow formed in deeper drifts.
“In about ten yards, make a ninety-degree turn to your left, and then go straight ahead. After about fifteen yards you’ll come to the guy perched in the tree.”
“Got it,” she said, picking up her pace. Every second was critical to the newswoman’s survival.
“There’s one problem,” Stanley said as she marched through the driving snow.
“What’s that?” Sapphire Angel asked as she made her turn and held up a hand to shield her eyes. She headed directly into the wind, and the snow blew into her face, making it feel like she was taking a shower in her costume. Her hair was dripping wet, and her costume was saturated, clinging to her body. At least she wasn’t cold, thanks to her necklace.
“The third guy — the leader — has moved, and I can’t find him.”
She froze and her head whipped around, looking in all directions. Had that been what she’d seen earlier? No. If it had been, he would have tried to surprise her when she was occupied taking down the other man. Or maybe not. Perhaps he had lost her in the storm. Or maybe he had other plans.
Sapphire Angel peered through the snow, wishing she had chosen the night-vision goggles after all. The leader of these brutes was out there lurking in the snow. Memories rushed back of the pummeling he had given her five nights earlier, in the alley by the hotel, as his men pinned her to the wall. That night had almost been her end.
She gritted her teeth and forced her mind back to the present. She needed to focus on getting to Lawlor, and had to count on Stanley to warn her of other threats. There was a reason she hadn’t worn the goggles. She wouldn’t be able to see anything Stanley couldn’t see. And the leader didn't have goggles, either.
“Keep an eye out for him, Stanley, but I need to keep moving.”
“I’ll keep looking, and hopefully I’ll locate him by the time you’re done with the guy in the tree.”
Sapphire Angel frowned, but didn’t reply. She would move forward, but needed to be on high alert, in case the leader had discovered her presence. The blowing snow still obscured her tracks, but if he came upon her path soon after she left it, he might still be able to follow her trail. And hunt her.
Of course, she had the same benefit. If he was in front of her somewhere, she might pick up his path. So far, though, all she saw was a pristine blanket of snow ahead of her, except for where the snow piled in higher drifts.
Sapphire Angel stepped forward, but froze a moment later and whipped her head to the left. There had been something there — a blur of motion in her peripheral vision. Or had there? As she squinted and stared through the wall of white, she saw nothing. No figures. No movement. Just blowing snow. She cursed herself. The man was getting in her head.
“Any sign of the leader?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Stanley replied.
Swiveling her head, Sapphire Angel forged on, trying to focus ahead of her and let Stanley worry about the leader. But she couldn’t’ stop thinking he might jump out at any moment. Lawlor needed her, though, and was freezing to death, so the heroine moved forward until the tree loomed ahead of her. She surveyed the scene, realizing she was approaching the next gangster at almost a right angle, across open ground. If he was still in the same spot, he might spot her, even through the snow. Crouching low, she sidestepped, circled to a point behind his position, and crept forward.
As she got closer, she made out his form in the tree, facing away from her. If her recollection of Stanley’s digital map was correct, the bridge should be about forty yards away. He wouldn’t be able to see the bridge from his position, as other trees stood in the way, so he must have chosen this spot to monitor the path leading to the bridge.
She was getting close to her final destination. Too close. His fellow gangsters would never see the man through the trees and the snow, but they might hear a fight. And if they heard a fight, they might harm the prisoner. But she had an idea.
As she crept closer to the tree, she swiped her hand past her boot, grabbing her cylinder like a gunfighter drawing a pistol. Within a few more seconds, she was in range and lashed out with her arm.
The thin cable shot from the end of the cylinder toward the man in the tree, lashing around his leg and emitting a tiny flash of light. Sapphire Angel tugged, and the man toppled from his perch, like a tranquilized bear, with his arms and legs swaying before he hit the snow. When he landed, he disappeared beneath a drift. Sapphire Angel rushed to him and found him unconscious. After looking over her shoulder, looking for the leader, she cleared an area around the fallen man's face, tossed away his radio, and bound him with flex cuffs.
She paused, listening, and heard nothing. The trees and snow had hidden the brief flash of light, and the attack had been quiet, but she couldn't shake the feeling someone was out there, watching.
“Any luck finding the leader?” she asked, her voice high with tension. She blinked as she looked through the snow, again wondering if her symptoms were returning, or if it was just the effect of the swirling snow and howling winds.
“No, unfortunately not. If you sit tight, I’m sure I can find him.”
Sapphire Angel balled her fists at her side and glanced off in the direction of the bridge.
“No time. That woman won’t last much longer. I’m going to get her.”
Sapphire Angel heard Stanley’s protests as she darted off through the swirling snow, but she blocked him out. A date with eight of the world’s toughest combatants awaited her — if she made it there before the leader found her. Or maybe he was already waiting.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (this book - Book 4)
.....This is freaking terrifying as heck, dude. Just imagining Sapphire getting through the harsh, blinding snow, completely unable to track her targets aside from good memorization, recollection, and Stanley’s guidance......I’d be a dead person walking in this scenario. Again, sure hope no one finds Stanley’s van and cuts him off from communicating with Sapphire, otherwise she’ll probably be finding herself in an awkward position.
So far, so good, though! A couple of Savage Gang guys are already down, with Lawlor in “sight” (as much as she could be in an almost-blinding snowstorm, anyways). Rocco Lynch is definitely going to try something, though.....I can feel it. It feels like purple velvet. But that’s besides the point. Moving on, I’d be pleasantly surprised if someone else from Sapphire Angel’s current adventure were to show up right about now. But even if this climax really is just Sapphire Angel and Stanley vs. Rocco Lynch and the forces of the Savage Gang, then I’ll still be fine with it. Huge-scale final confrontations involving several major characters on BOTH sides are regular occurrences in the PCU (as you’ve no doubt likely read, with Coldsnap: Harbinger of Ice being the most recent one), so I guess I find myself expecting relatively the same thing by default here.
Couple of ideas:
• Sapphire Angel arrives at the bridge to battle Rocco Lynch and the Savage Gang.....and then Olivia Lockheed and the FBI show up on the OTHER side of the bridge, effectively trapping the Gang on it and forcing them into a two-front clash
• Same as above, but with Conner and Ethan in a car instead, with one or both of them likely armed in some way
• Maybe Lynch becomes aware that Sapphire’s using some kind of communicator, and cuts her off from Stanley, forcing him to intervene personally
• Or Sapphire Angel literally just takes all eight of them AND Rocco Lynch no problem, rescues Lawlor, convinces Lawlor to start seeing her in a better light, and every single one of the good guys walks away still breathing (the most likely, in my opinion).
I am aware that there still has to be at least a few open threads, though, for the second novel in this mini-saga. I’d say it definitely involves Maximus Savage and his two friends (Larry Oberkfell and Benjamin Drummond), perhaps the silver-eyed man.....maybe Majid Azari, even.....
I’d be fine with this novel technically having fewer chapters than the previous two if it really is just the first part of a two-part adventure. If the second novel has somewhere in the ballpark of ~50 chapters as well, that’d make for a grand total of ~100 chapters, and ~100 is such a satisfying number, for some reason.
Staying tuned! Catch you on Monday!