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. I am placing this warning on all chapters, including those without such violence, so you can choose whether to continue.
CHAPTER 9
After lowering his binoculars, Rocco Lynch nodded in satisfaction and lifted his two-way radio to his mouth. “The loading dock is secure, and nobody has detected us yet. Move on to the prize and then get out of there. I’m heading down now.”
He backed away from the window, appreciative of this apartment, which he had commandeered earlier in the day. The sole inhabitant of the residence lay battered, bound, and gagged in a closet in the bedroom. Lynch could have killed him, but the man had surrendered without a fight. The gangster wanted to give this city’s residents an incentive for following his men’s commands, even if his men didn’t always spare those who complied. Keep them guessing. And hoping.
Now that the loading dock was secure, it was time to leave the apartment behind. The guard on the dock would alert the men inside the Thompson Center if anyone approached from his direction.
As he left the apartment and moved toward the stairwell, Lynch thought of how the locals would react once they learned of the gang’s first appearance in the city. He licked his lips in anticipation.
The hallway leading into the Thompson Center was quiet as Lynch’s three men crept forward. Their masks were in place, and they held their SIG Sauer P226 handguns in front of their bodies. The men had mounted suppressors on the weapons to reduce the noise, but suppressors could only do so much.
Each man had committed the floor plan to memory, and knew their destination wasn’t far. As they rounded a corner, they came face to face with a man in a tuxedo, carrying a tray over his shoulder. Various sandwiches, vegetables, and dips rested atop the tray.
Before the man could react to the masked intruders, the gangster on the right lunged at him, crushing a fist into the man’s face. Food tumbled to the ground as the tray clattered to the carpeted floor. The force of the blow snapped the man’s head backward, and he was unconscious before his knees gave way. The man didn’t reach the ground, though, as the attacker grabbed him by the throat and flung him into the wall. He bounced off the surface and dropped to the ground.
The three men rushed forward, reaching the closed door at the end of the wall. A nameplate with the words “Dressing Room” was affixed to the wall outside the door. Without pausing, the closest gangster kicked the door, flinging it inward. The men burst through the opening, handguns firing. They were precise, hitting their targets and nothing else.
When the chaos settled, three security guard lay dead on the floor. Lena Erb, world-famous violinist, stood cowering in the corner, near a long vanity table and mirror. Erb was a heavyset woman in a long black dress, with graying hair pulled up in a bun. She held a violin in her trembling hands. The lights above the mirror framed the large woman with a bright halo as she stood before the brutish men in black. A tall closet sat on the opposite wall, its doors closed, while hors d'oeuvres filled the surface of a folding table to the left of the vanity.
The largest of the gang members flashed a twisted grin, nodded at the violin, and said, “We’ll take that.”
All three men advanced toward the violinist.
Sapphire Angel crept up the street, using parked cars as concealment. Every time the gangster on the dock turned to glance in the opposite direction, she slipped forward, her lithe form moving from car to car. The man stood within the small alcove of the door into the building, almost hidden from sight.
The costumed woman wasn’t worried about losing a tactical advantage if the man spotted her, as she could defeat him with ease, but she didn’t want to give his cohorts advance notice of her presence. They might cause havoc inside the Thompson Center if they knew she was coming.
In less than a minute, two cars separated her from the hulking man. As she crept up and peered through the back window of the nearest car, she got her first close look at the half mask on his face. With its black and white color, he almost resembled a gargoyle, except for his exposed mouth and jaw. The man held a handgun at his side as he looked to his left. As he scanned back to the right, she ducked lower behind the car.
As he started looking to his left again, she moved, rushing out from behind the car and leaping toward him, her radiant blond hair flowing behind her and her short skirt flittering about her hips. With impossible quickness, her jump carried her through the air to the loading dock. Just as he was turning back toward her, her feet touched down next to him.
The two could not have struck a more stark contrast. He was at least five inches taller than the beautiful heroine, and possibly twice her weight, with arms as thick as her supermodel legs. His black attire and body armor suggested darkness and despair, while her shimmering costume and hair filled the alley with an aura of light and hope. And with his mask and girth, he was a monster. She was an angel, exuding both beauty and innocence.
But the man didn’t see any of that. He recoiled back in surprise, just as her gloved fist shot out, connecting with his jaw below his mask. He stood only a foot from the closed metal door to the Thompson Center, and slammed back into it. His back hit first, followed by his head, which whipsawed into the hard surface. As his head bounced forward, she met it with a crushing punch between his eyes, cracking his mask and slamming his head into the metal door a second time.
As he groaned, her toned arm flashed up and she delivered an uppercut to the underside of his jaw. The brute had been woozy from the first two punches, and the third finished the job, lifting him off his feet. He hung in midair for a moment before sliding down the door and flopping onto the hard surface of the dock. When he didn't move, Sapphire Angel crouched next to him, extending one of her shapely legs to the side as she pulled two cable ties from her boot. She used one to bind his wrists and the other to secure his ankles.
The guard lay a few feet away. She rushed to his side and knelt next to him, feeling for signs of life. He was still breathing, and she nearly cried out with joy. He needed help, but she couldn’t raise an alarm until she took down the other intruders. Sapphire Angel shook her head in frustration and stood, before hurrying to the door, easing it open, and stepping into the building.
She found herself in a hallway leading deeper into the Thompson Center. The famous heroine crept toward an intersection, where she leaned out and peaked to her right and left, holding back her long hair with one hand. To the left, a man in a tuxedo lay on the floor, with a tray and food scattered around his inert form. Even from here, she saw his chest rising and falling with precious breaths.
Sapphire Angel raised her eyes and focused on the door at the end of the hall. It was open, and voices drifted into the hallway. She gritted her teeth in determination and started for the door.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (this book - Book 4)
This is the start of the war with Savage Gang. I figured she would fare well early. My senses say that whild she will win this first battle, she won't come out unscathed. Interested to see how it all unfolds. I feel like she is very simaler to Supergirl in the sense that her over confidence will be her undoing. Maybe not finish her off completely, but cause her a lot more pain than necessary. She just rushes in without really knowing the whole situation. I get it, thats what hero's do, but sometimes they should show more caution. I remember Supergirl just rushing right into a situation to save Lena where she was dealing with the leader of Cadmus, who wants her dead, a cyborg thta had already knocked her unconcious in a fair fight, and metallo, who has a kryptonite heart. She lasted 2 seconds before they had her at their mercy. Sapphire Angel does simaler things where she might take the time to look around at what she can see, but she is really unprepared for what her enemies are capable of sometimes. Raven could have killed her right as her story was starting (of course thankfully she did not), but she has already faced a lot of peril, and yet she still heads in without any concern. I can't wait to see what kind of trouble that gets her into this time, and how she gets out of it.
I am also really liking the character development. I am very interesed in what the gang is going to do once they do get established in town. And very curious how Oliva Lockheed fits in. Then of course there is poor Connor. If Sapphire Angel survives this ordeal, I am not sure he will.
Some of me is going “WHOOOOOOOOO!” and some of me is going “Poor Conner!” Guess that second scene really showed how effective the Savage Gang can be if left untouched by any outside forces; they cleaned out the center and got to their target like nobody’s business. I don’t know if they’re set on killing Erb or not, but judging by how Lynch treated the apartment’s resident (sparing them as long as they surrender or don’t resist), I don’t think they will. But then again, if they don’t, she could just tell others about what happened. We’ll have to see to that, I guess.
Speaking of the apartment resident, did Lynch just leave them there, restrained and put away? Interesting. Sure hope someone comes to check on them soon.
And yet another well-written combat scene with Sapphire and (most definitely) the first of many members of the Savage Gang. She bested him just fine, though---just like everyone else---which kind of intrigued me since these guys are supposed to be her toughest adversaries yet. That whole method of using the cars as cover while getting closer and closer sounds both fascinating and unnerving; I wouldn’t have wanted to be in the goon’s shoes there, that’s for sure!
I hope she can intercept the other hostiles before they make off with the prized Stradivarius violin. And that Lynch doesn’t learn about what’s going on, otherwise he might call in backup or something.
Can Conner show up from out of nowhere to assist her, please? I’d really like for him to not continue to get left out of her superheroics. ......Even though he played a huge part in the WarTech infiltration and the StarPrime investigation. If I were him, I’d constantly be PLEADING to be let in on the fun.