Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (Book 4)
Savage Vengeance (Book 5 - this story)
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 17
Beth pressed the button to close the garage door behind her before moving through the laundry room and into the kitchen. She wore a tight pair of jeans, black boots, and a black sweater, and had her hair pulled back in a ponytail.
The door to Stanley’s office stood open a few strides to her right. She had sat with Stanley in his office dozens of times, but she now looked at the open doorway with hesitation. Because of his postponement of their meeting, she couldn’t shake the feeling he was hiding something from her.
The two-day postponement had served at least one beneficial purpose — it had given her time to conquer her dreams. And her doubts. She had reminded herself of Sapphire Angel's track record in combat, and her domination of every fight in her career, except when already injured or when taken by surprise — or when distracted by thoughts of the Savage Gang.
Beth felt better. If she hadn't exterminated her doubts, she had at least shoved them into the deepest recesses of her mind. She wasn’t a fraud. She was worthy.
She walked the remaining steps into Stanley’s office. He sat ahead and to her left, behind a dark wooden desk, staring at a huge computer monitor. He raised his eyes toward the door and gave her a smile.
With his wiry hair flopping in all directions, and his rumbled clothes, strangers might mistake him for a hobo. But looks were deceiving. Intelligent eyes gleamed out at Beth from behind the wrinkled skin on his face, giving a truer view of the man.
“Come on in,” he said in his booming voice.
Beth moved to her customary chair across from Stanley and sat with a view of him past his monitor.
“What’s up?” she asked in a cautious tone, hoping to learn the real reason for his postponement of their meeting.
He gave a thin, knowing smile.
“Quite a bit, right?” he asked, before his face turned somber. “The gang is getting bolder. The raid at the rally and at the police station made that obvious. We’ve got a lot to worry about.”
Beth frowned. His answer didn’t explain the wait. It didn't explain why he had wanted to speak with her two days earlier, before changing his mind.
“When Ethan told me you wanted to talk,” she said, “it was before the gang appeared at the rally. We didn't know they were back in town.”
Stanley stared at her for a moment.
“Call it a hunch,” he said. “The more I considered it, the more I realized Maximus Savage wouldn’t let Sapphire Angel get the last word. He was going to come here, to our city. I was right, although I didn’t expect to be right so soon, and I didn’t predict the gang would start spreading its tendrils so quickly.”
“Oh,” Beth murmured. She chewed on her lip as she studied Stanley. He had been as happy about Sapphire Angel’s earlier defeat of Rocco Lynch as anyone, and had not mentioned any suspicions about the gang’s return. Before she could decide whether to push the issue, Stanley continued.
“I know you won’t ignore the gang, no matter what any of us say. Which means I needed to do some soul searching. I can’t leave you out there on your own. So, let’s talk about how to handle it. How to keep you safe. But first, how are you? Ethan told me about you and Conner…”
As Stanley’s voice trailed off, Beth looked down, biting her lip. Her prior concerns evaporated, and she pictured Conner in her mind’s eye. The vision of him walking out the door was still vivid in her mind. She took a deep breath and raised her gaze.
“I’m okay, Stanley. To be honest, in a weird way, it’s good the gang is back. It brought my issues with Conner to the surface. Plus, the gang keeps my mind off things.”
Too much, perhaps, she thought, recalling the embarrassing encounter with the car thieves, when thoughts of the gang had distracted her. But her point was true, to a point. Her focus on her life as Sapphire Angel could be a curse, but it kept her from wallowing in misery about her personal life.
“I’m not good at relationship advice, Beth, but this sort of thing is going to keep happening in your life. You can’t keep putting it off. If you’re going to be Sapphire Angel, you need to figure out how to live a normal life, too.”
“I know, Stanley. I know. But not right now. This gang has to be my priority. The gang is distracting me even from my normal work helping the city.”
She didn’t mention her encounter with the men breaking into her car. There was no point in reliving that embarrassing moment.
Stanley tapped a finger against his chin and exhaled.
“Okay, then,” he said. “The gang is our focus. Any thoughts?”
Beth frowned. “You’re asking me? I thought that’s why you wanted to postpone our meeting for a day? To figure out how to approach this?”
She gave him a suspicious look, and he averted her gaze before speaking.
“I have some thoughts, but nothing concrete, unfortunately,” he replied, looking down and shuffling some papers on his desk. “It’s like last time. Waiting for them to strike is a recipe for disaster. We can’t expect you to always be where they attack, even if coincidences seem to follow you. The raid yesterday at the police station showed that. And you need to control the environment.”
“I agree,” Beth said. “I was having some doubts about myself a day or two ago, until I reminded myself that I’ve been untouchable when I have surprise on my side. So, I need you to tell me some way to find them, so I can dictate the situation.”
Stanley took a deep breath before a frown spread over his face. She thought she saw his shoulders sag a bit.
“Finding them is easier said than done,” he said. “I thought the extra time would help, but I’m embarrassed to say I’ve struck out.”
“Oh,” she murmured.
“Are you sure working with Olivia Lockheed is out of the question?” he asked. “I thought that arrangement showed some promise.”
Beth hoped Stanley didn’t notice her squirming in her seat and the flush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. She hadn’t told him how Lockheed, wearing full bondage apparel, had laid in wait for Sapphire Angel during their last scheduled meeting, taking the heroine by surprise. Lockheed had temporarily incapacitated her, trussed her up, groped her, and nearly stripped her. Sapphire Angel had barely escaped with her costume on her body. As far as Stanley knew, though, Lockheed, not Beth, had turned down the possibility of working together.
“Uh, I’m pretty sure it’s out of the question. She showed no interest in working together or sharing information.”
“That’s too bad,” Stanley said. “But let’s not rule it out. If she gets desperate enough, she may change her mind. If the gang makes another hit or two on bigger targets, she could come around. For now, though, you’ll just have to be patient. I’m exhausting all avenues. Maybe something will pan out.”
Beth stared at Stanley, holding back a frown. He always came through for her, but she could read it in his face. He was at a dead end. And all she could think was, I waited for this? For Olivia Lockheed to be her only hope of finding the gang? Stanley had postponed their meeting — to give her no information at all? She could push him and find out if he was being truthful about the reason for the delay, but something stopped her. It didn’t feel like the time. The gang needed to be their priority.
Beth sighed. “Let’s just see if there are any updates. The noon news broadcast should be on.”
Almost too eagerly, Stanley leaned forward, found the remote, and turned on the television. As the screen came on, and images from one of the local stations filled the screen, Beth’s jaw tightened.
At the bottom of the screen, below the news anchor sitting at a desk, were the words, Breaking News — Savage Gang strikes again. Several deaths feared.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (Book 4)
Savage Vengeance (Book 5 - this story)
At this point, I definitely feel like Olivia Lockheed would work way better with Beth Harper than Sapphire Angel. Maybe “Beth” can be Lockheed’s point of contact while “Sapphire Angel” still technically continues working solo-ish, using information gained from Lockheed as Beth for potential leads? ‘Cause both this chapter and a lot of the previous ones suggest some kind of team-up approaching, and Beth/Sapphire’s going to need it if Stanley’s intelligence happens to not be sufficient.
I do feel like Beth relies on Stanley a little too much, though. For pretty much all of the enemy factions thus far, he’s given her an immensely useful amount of help, but it’d be cool if Sapphire proved she could take down some kind of criminal plot by herself, too.
Was this Savage Gang attack ever alluded to in any way? ‘Cause I think the last time we heard from anyone from there was Maximus Savage’s meeting with Augustus Bell at the latter’s prison, and Bell said he wanted Sapphire Angel…..but Sapphire Angel’s not wherever the Gang just attacked. Or at least…..I don’t think she was.
(jokingly) Maybe the Beth that Stanley was talking to during this chapter was just an elaborate hologram and Sapphire Angel’s already on her way to the site this minute!
Let’s see what happened this time……