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 31
Sapphire Angel stepped forward in the shadow-filled alley. Moonlight shimmered off the smooth fabric of her costume and gleamed off her lustrous blond hair. The heroine was oblivious to the chilly night air as she extended one of her long, supermodel legs and took a final stride toward Olivia Lockheed. The FBI woman waited in the middle of the alley. Sapphire Angel’s tight costume contrasted with the thick winter coat Lockheed wore, which enveloped her and extended past her knees.
Sapphire Angel’s patience was wearing thin. She had arrived at the location mentioned in Lockheed’s text, only to see Lockheed disappear down another alley. This happened two more times, and Sapphire Angel was about to use her speed to catch up to the FBI woman and force her to stop. Finally, though, Lockheed stood in place, waiting for her.
“I was about to cancel our meeting,” Sapphire Angel said, her voice on edge.
“Aww, so sensitive,” Lockheed said with a smile, as her eyes traveled up and down the heroine’s lithe body. “Relax. I wanted to make sure nobody was following us.”
Sapphire Angel’s hands moved to her hips, and she frowned. When she had called Stanley about this meeting, he had warned her to be careful with Lockheed. He wasn’t even aware of the FBI woman’s past attempt to dominate the heroine, yet he still didn’t trust Lockheed. But Beth had no choice but to come. Stanley hadn’t been able to decipher Lockheed’s clue, and he had intercepted communications buzzing around the criminal underworld, suggesting the gang had reinforcements coming to the city as soon as tomorrow. Time was running out.
“This had better be worth it,” the costumed woman said. “You don’t have the best track record with me.”
“Now, now,” Lockheed said, making a pouty face. “Are you still bent out of shape about that? Come on, you enjoyed it. Your body gave you away. But I still need to finish our lesson.”
Sapphire Angel blushed, and she leveled a glare at Lockheed.
“What lesson?”
“Teaching you who is in control. Me.”
“Not going to happen,” the heroine said, crossing her arms across her chest. “Just get to the point.”
“Fine,” Lockheed said with a sigh. “I can be patient. Someday, I will teach you who is in control.
“I said get on with it.”
“Okay, okay. But you have to promise me one thing, or I’m not sharing anything. It's the same thing I mentioned before, but I want you to say it again. Promise you won’t cut me out. If I share my info with you, and you take down the gang, you need to share the glory.”
Sapphire Angel scowled. Leave it to Lockheed to think of herself in a time like this.
“Fine, then,” Lockheed said, and turned to walk away.
“Wait!” Sapphire Angel snapped. “You disgust me, but fine. I’ll make sure you get the accolades you so desperately want.”
Lockheed turned back around, nodding.
“Good. I know you'll keep your word, little Miss Goody Two Shoes.”
Sapphire Angel frowned and moved her hands to her hips.
“Let’s get to the point then,” the heroine said.
“Of course. Here’s the deal. I’ve learned something since we last talked. I now have more than a lead — I’ve discovered where the gang’s hideout is located.”
Sapphire Angel’s pulse sped up, and she couldn’t stop her eyes from widening.
“It’s true,” Lockheed continued. “I got accosted by one of the gangsters — he threatened me, trying to get me to back off. But that gave me the chance to slip a tracker on him. And based on the data from that tracker, the entrance is somewhere in this alley. The gang is underground. Literally.”
“So between last night and today, all this happened?” Sapphire Angel asked, raising one of her perfectly arched eyebrows and showing another frown.
“It did. You probably heard the rumors of reinforcements coming to town, maybe by tomorrow? I knew time was running out, and that I had to turn up the heat. Specifically, the heat on my boss. I suspect he is in the gang’s pocket, but I have no way to prove it. So I started pressuring him. Hard. Accusing him. I was hoping to get him to slip up, or flush something out into the open. Which, in a way, I did, because evidently the gang didn’t like it. They sent someone to deliver the message to me to back off.”
Sapphire Angel tried to hide her surprise. This was big news — an official in the FBI was working with Savage, if she could believe Lockheed. The heroine continued to press the FBI woman.
“And you managed to track one of them?" Sapphire Angel asked. "They don’t strike me as being that careless.”
“They’re not the most careful guys when they’re threatening to rough you up. ”
“And yet you’re standing here in one piece?”
“You know how they operate," Lockheed said. " Just like they do with the police — they only hurt you if you don’t do what they say. They want to make sure their threats count for something. So he pushed me around a bit, and he threatened me. But he didn't hurt me. They don’t know yet if I’ll do what I’m told, but they tried sending me the message to back off.”
Sapphire Angel nodded, tapping a gloved finger to her mouth.
“So, you know the location of their hideout,” their heroine said. “Or at least you think you do. What are you going to do about it?”
“That’s where you come in,” Lockheed said. “Since my boss is under Savage's thumb, he’ll override any request I make for more manpower. And I can’t go above him and make accusations I can’t prove. Perhaps somebody above him would investigate, but first they’d take me off this job in a heartbeat. And I could never muster enough local firepower, in this shit town, to go after the gang on its home turf. The cops are running scared. But you seem to have a knack for putting the big boys in their place.”
Sapphire Angel studied Lockheed, trying to pick up any signs of dishonesty. Lockheed appeared scared. Nervous. Which was understandable. Lockheed stared at her, waiting for a response.
“You have quite a bit of confidence in me,” Sapphire Angel said. “What makes you think I can go into the lion’s den and take them down?”
As Sapphire Angel spoke, Lockheed bit her lip and continued to run her eyes over the costumed woman’s body.
“Three reasons,” Lockheed began. “First, they won’t all be there tonight. Perhaps you’ve already figured that out. They’re accelerating their operations around the city. Their men are out most nights, shaking people down, selling drugs, hitting targets, and so on. But nobody has seen Savage in those groups, so I believe he should be at their home base, with a skeleton crew, for at least the next couple of hours.”
Sapphire Angel wanted to nod, as this matched with what Stanley had told her yesterday. But she said nothing, allowing Lockheed to continue.
“As you probably know, Savage orchestrates everything, and only shows his face for the important stuff. Like dealing with you. But you can end the gang by dealing with him, even if most of the gang isn’t there. If you cut off the serpent’s head, you kill the snake.”
Stanley also had made this point. Sapphire Angel didn’t show any emotion, but pressed Lockheed to continue.
“Second reason?” she asked.
“You’ve already done this once, at Italian Lake," Lockheed said. "Unless we have terrible luck, and the gangsters all stay home tonight, you won’t face more men tonight than you faced at Italian Lake. Probably much less.”
Sapphire Angel shifted. The battle at Italian Lake had been difficult, and she could have just as easily ended up on the losing end, and in the clutches of Rocco Lynch and his men. But she felt more capable now than she had during that fight, like a soldier tested in battle.
“Fair point,” the heroine said, holding her chin up. “What’s the third reason, then?”
“This,” Lockheed said, and held out her phone, showing the screen to Sapphire Angel. What looked to be a floor plan or blueprint was on the display. “This is the layout of their tunnels. After I analyzed my tracking data, it wasn’t hard to figure out the location and find some old schematics for the place. The entrance is somewhere in this alley. Once we're down there, it will be a matter of navigating a maze of tunnels.”
Sapphire Angel leaned in, and her silken hair dangled out, brushing against Lockheed’s hand. The FBI woman inhaled sharply, and her hand gave a slight tremble of excitement. Sapphire Angel noticed, frowned, and leaned back. Lockheed continued.
“These are the tunnels,” she breathed, gesturing to the screen, “with rooms scattered all around. Everything is spread out. It looks like there is a bigger room here, and it is the only place for them to congregate in a single area. If you focus on the smaller rooms, you can pick them off, a few at a time, with nobody being the wiser.”
“You’re telling me they don’t have a security system?” Sapphire Angel asked.
“Based on these schematics, there isn’t much of an electrical grid down there. Even if they have generators — which is unlikely, because of the fumes — my guess is they have to ration what electricity they can get. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’re running on battery power. But I can’t rule it out.”
Sapphire Angel tapped a gloved finger to her lips. A sensor on her cylinder would detect most electronic signals and alert her of any surveillance devices. She stood still, crossing her arms again, and inhaled.
“Now for the big question,” the superheroine asked. “Why should I help you?”
Or trust you, she wanted to add. For all Lockheed’s faults, though, she didn’t strike the heroine as corrupt. If Lockheed were going to betray her, she wouldn’t be sharing this information now. She would spring a trap, right here in this alley, instead of giving away the gang’s hideout.
“Listen, hot stuff,” Lockheed said. “Our fates are intertwined. If you win, I win. And the city wins. And do we really have a choice but to work together? You’ve heard the chatter, haven’t you? An insurmountable force is on the way here. If we don’t take down Savage tonight — right now — we can kiss this city goodbye.”
Sapphire Angel sighed. She could picture the imaginary headline in her mind. Superheroine learns of the location of arch villain, but runs away scared, even with an imposing force ready to descend on the city. This was her chance to end this, once and for all. And Stanley could activate a tracking beacon on her car, so he could always learn where she met with Lockheed, if need be. But time was running out.
“Where are these tunnels?” she asked.
“They’re under the city,” Lockheed said. “Like I said, the entrance should be in this alley. I’ll lead the way myself, using my gadget here. I’m not telling you everything and having you cut me out and take all the credit. I want some of the glory, just like you promised.”
“You want to face the gang with me?” Sapphire Angel asked, turning her perfect lips down in a questioning frown.
“Oh, I’m not going to face them. I’ll let you handle that. But I want to be nearby to put the cuffs on Savage when you take him down. Do you know what that would do for my career?”
Sapphire Angel studied Lockheed, her mind churning. She could almost hear Stanley’s voice, chastising her for considering going to the gang’s hideout without proper preparation. But it would never get easier, with more gangsters coming to the city. It was now or never. And Lockheed’s maps looked legitimate. If they were legitimate, the rooms in the tunnels were dispersed enough to improve her chances. And Lockheed shared the same fact Stanley had shared — the gang’s base should be well below full capacity, with the gangsters out terrorizing the city.
Sapphire Angel decided. She would allow Lockheed to lead her to the outskirts of the gang’s base of operations, so she could learn its location and scout the situation. If the circumstances were perfect, she would take Savage down. But the night was young, so if the circumstances weren’t ideal, she would make a retreat, confer with Stanley, and plan a more strategic assault — on her own terms, not Lockheed’s. But Lockheed didn’t need to know this, as it might alter the FBI woman’s willingness to work together.
“Lead on, then,” Sapphire Angel said with a sweeping gesture of her gloved hand.
It was time to hunt Maximus Savage.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (Book 4)
Savage Vengeance (Book 5 - this story)
Literally the entire time I was reading this chapter, I was screaming “OH HECK YEAH” in my head over and over and over again at finally seeing a Sapphire Angel/Olivia Lockheed team-up come to fruition after so long! They’ve been at odds as early as the second novel, but dang…..if that’s not character development for you, then I don’t know what is.
Slight offhand thought about Vincent, the other FBI-to-Savage Gang mole; the revelation that he was working for the Gang because he was unsatisfied with his other job’s pay was interesting. Maybe Lockheed can convince him to turn back as well in exchange for promising to see to it that he gets better treatment? Then again, he is her superior, not the other way around. I just feel like he’s being compelled by outside circumstances to work for the Savage Gang rather than being genuinely malicious.
I think Lockheed’s being sincere here; honestly, the rewards are much more substantial than the risks. Olivia Lockheed will get to officially take Savage into custody, get her name within the FBI boosted, and have extensive time working with Sapphire Angel (ha ha ha ha ha), while Sapphire Angel will physically take down Maximus Savage (thus avenging her previous “defeats” and putting her self-consciousness to rest), also get significant recognition of her own, and then finally get to part ways with Lockheed for good.
Of course, I know it can’t ever be that simple. There’s still the matter of Conner’s arc, Ethan’s arc, and maybe Stanley’s arc as well. Did you say that this novel has ~80+ chapters? Maybe the Savage Gang’s only the main antagonistic group for the first act and a different group takes the helm for the second, like maybe Majid Azari, the silver-eyed man, and the ILA.
(gasp) What if Lockheed convinces Vincent to leave the gang, and in return, he allows her to request extensive backup for the upcoming siege on the Savage Gang’s hideout? That’d be epic as heck!
Moving onward! This story’s just way too good…..