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 33
Sapphire Angel put her hands on her hips, locking eyes with Savage across the distance. She hid her surprise upon seeing his attire. The gang leader wasn’t wearing his armor or mask, but instead wore a pair of tight, black spandex shorts and nothing else. Even his feet were bare. The effect was to put his sculpted body on full display. His muscles rippled, appearing almost cartoonish, as light gleamed off his bare, hairless chest. One of his arms was as big as both of her legs together.
His appearance gave her pause. Was he so confident, despite her earlier victories, that he was foregoing his armor? Or had her arrival taken him by surprise? His malevolent, knowing grin gave her the answer, as did Lockheed’s earlier shove in the heroine’s back and the closing of the gate. Savage had been waiting for her, dressed like this. Lockheed had led Sapphire Angel into a trap.
Anger surged in the superheroine as she thought of the FBI agent. Now was not the time for distractions, though. She remembered how her lack of focus had almost led to a humiliating defeat at the hands of the car thieves three days ago. She wouldn’t let that happen here.
Sapphire Angel ejected thoughts of Olivia Lockheed from her mind and focused on her enemy. She projected confidence, showing a thin smile as her piercing blue eyes sparkled.
Sapphire Angel considered the gate behind her. She might be able to tear it open, but the attempt would leave her vulnerable, as Savage would reach her before she finished the task. And even if the gate wasn’t there, she refused to flee from this vile brute. It was time to end him, and hope his pride kept him from summoning help from his men.
She glanced up at the men who ringed the balcony. So far, none of them had moved to join their leader. They stood, hands on the railing, looking down upon her and Savage. Even from here, she could sense how they buzzed with excitement. With anticipation.
Her eyes moved down to the equipment scattered about the area. All types of gear littered the floor, from free weights to machines with bands, plates, and cables. The clutter would interfere with her ability to use her speed and agility. But it wouldn’t matter. She was stronger than Savage. She would win.
“Thanks for having me,” she said in her girlish but confident voice, cocking one hip and extending one of her coltish legs to the side. “I hate to be a rude guest, but I’m breaking up this party.”
Savage gave a laugh deep in his throat and smiled as he shook his head.
“I hope you’re ready for pain, Sapphire Angel,” he said in a voice that sounded like a growl, and echoed off the walls. “You are going to pay for getting in our way.”
Sapphire Angel sighed. “Your two earlier beatings weren’t enough for you?”
She shifted her position, keeping her hands on her hips and standing with her legs spread, giving the gangster another cocky smile.
Savage’s eyes flashed with anger. He let out a guttural laugh, louder than the last one. His deep, raspy voice carried a steel edge when he spoke.
“I’m going to hurt you, little girl, and tie that hot body in knots, if I don’t break it first,” he said. “I even left my armor in my room, so I can show you what a fraud you are.”
He gave a sweeping gesture toward his body for emphasis as he stepped forward.
A fraud. Sapphire Angel tensed, and her nightmares and doubts from Colorado came back to her. Unworthy.
Savage kept approaching, his gigantic form casting a shadow over her petite figure, like a tidal wave looming over the coastline. And like a tidal wave, he might overwhelm her if she let her doubts paralyze her.
She gave a quick shake of her head, tossing her blond hair. Savage’s choice of words was just a coincidence. And she didn’t have time for doubts, as he was close enough for Sapphire Angel to see the veins pulsing under his skin.
In the middle of his next step, when Savage’s balance was shifting, she launched her attack. She leapt forward, landing in a crouch and feinting with a low kick. As he shifted, moving to avoid the kick, she redirected, exploding upward and driving a fist toward his face.
He twisted his head to the side, and her punch glanced off his jaw. As he lurched backward, trying to regain his balance, she flew forward with another punch, her skirt twirling. Her fist blew through his raised arm, thudding into his cheek and sending him stumbling again.
She darted in, flashing another punch toward his jaw. Savage bobbed to the side, and her knuckles grazed across the side of his face. The motion left her off balance, stretched out and almost on top of Savage, with her arm extended. Savage drove a quick fist into her exposed stomach.
The heroine gasped, wheezing for air, as disbelief and anger flooded her mind. Disbelief at the force behind the massive blow. Anger at herself for striking only glancing blows, despite her speed advantage. And she felt the pain. Unbelievable pain, from a single punch. It lanced in her stomach, preventing her from breathing, and exploded outward with throbbing intensity, like lava cascading from a volcano.
Before she could find her breath, Savage pounced, crushing a fist into the side of her face, snapping her head to the right. Another fist came from the other direction, snapping her head to the left. And then another, from the other side. His punches slammed into her face with blazing speed, swiveling her head and whipping her long hair across her face, as the smack of his knuckles reverberated around the room.
As she wobbled on her feet, pain setting fire to her face, Savage reared back, as if preparing to drive a fist through her skull. He swung forward with a ferocious yell, ready to end the fight before it started.
Sapphire Angel got an arm up just in time. She deflected his blow, saving her face, but his redirected knuckles slammed into her shoulder like a sledgehammer. The impact spun her in place and she cartwheeled to the floor, landing at his feet.
Savage’s eyes lit up at the sight of the heroine below him, but before he could follow through, she pushed off the floor with her hands, lashing up with a two-footed kick. Her feet slammed her into his chest, upending him. Her momentum brought her to her feet, as his bare back smacked onto the stone surface. He slid across the floor, skidding to a stop a few feet away.
Sapphire Angel surged toward him, but Savage rolled to the side and kicked out with a foot. She twisted and sidestepped to avoid the blow, crashing into the side of a weight machine.
As the gang leader jumped to his feet and charged, she pushed away from the machine, feinting with a punch but going into a twirl. He ducked below the punch, but she came out of the spin with an elbow, crushing the center of his face. He staggered backward, his lip split.
As Savage teetered on his feet, blood filling his mouth, the costumed heroine closed the distance. He started to raise his arms, but she was faster, swinging one fist and then the other, smashing into both sides of his face. Her punches whipped the brute’s head back and forth, the muted smacks of gloved fists echoing about the large room. After six massive punches, his legs trembled and his arms hung at his sides. The massive gang leader was crumbling under the powerful onslaught of the mighty heroine.
Two more punches followed. After her eighth punch, Savage’s jaw tightened in fury. He yelled, brought his fists together in front of his pelvis, and swung up. His locked fists burst through her slender arm as it delivered another punch, and slammed into the bottom of her jaw.
The might of the blow propelled her airborne, twirling her in mid-flight, before she smacked into another weight machine, landing next to it on her feet. The impact slid the machine across the floor a few inches. As it came to a rest, Sapphire Angel winced, her left shoulder twisted behind her.
She tried to lunge forward, but gasped when her she felt a tug on her wrist. She glanced back and saw her arm tangled amidst three cables of the machine’s pulley mechanism. The snagged heroine glanced back in a panic, watching as Savage stomped towards her, his face a mask of fury. She reached behind her with her free hand, trying to free herself.
Her eyes alternated between her ensnared arm and the approaching gangster. Savage was almost on her. He extended his hands, reaching, as if he meant to strangle the life from her. With a surge of adrenaline, Sapphire Angel ripped her arm free of the cables, lunging both arms toward Savage just in time. She caught his hands, intercepting them before they reached her.
The two combatants stood, hands locked together above their heads, with the gang leader towering over the petite woman. A playful grin came to the costumed woman’s face, and she winked, pushing up with her superhuman strength.
Savage’s arms didn’t move.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (Book 4)
Savage Vengeance (Book 5 - this story)
I guess since I tend to have high-intensity action scenes mostly contained to a single chapter in my novels, I’m not particularly used to having these kinds of sequences split up over several chapters. Still, the stuff we did get in this chapter was definitely pulse-pounding, to say the least. I like how complicated and in-depth of a character Sapphire Angel’s been, not only for this series but for this novel in particular. Outwardly, she seems extremely sure of herself (perhaps excessively so), but it’s mostly just to get under her opponents’ skin and she still has the whole “fraud” and “unworthy” doubts deep down. I also enjoy how close you make all of these action sequences. Like, you always keep readers guessing as to whether or not Sapphire will come out on top without practically giving away the victor very early on in the fight. It’s always been Sapphire in the lead before Savage catches up, vice versa, or some combination of the two. Then again, Savage isn’t your average bad guy, so I’m certainly not surprised!
I was wondering whether or not some Savage Gang members would try to hop in to help Savage even though he didn’t call them; after all, he’s their leader and if they were loyal to him, they’d want to be by his side to the end, right? Or maybe have Larry Oberkfell suddenly appear in a huge, armed, weaponized mech suit as backup (I’ve been watching way too much Sonic and Crash Bandicoot, man……), or even someone like Crusher stampeding into the area from above. Or Benjamin Drummond trying to distract Sapphire by rambling at length about random trivia and statistics, or Megan Lawlor actively rolling the cameras and acting like a boxing referee as she excitedly narrates Sapphire and Savage’s fight move-by-move to everyone watching the news. xD
Speaking of second winds, what a time for Savage’s enhancements to kick in, am I right? We did see before that Savage is starting to surpass her in terms of strength, but man……now that we’ve actually seen it firsthand, I’m legitimately worried for her this time around. And after she did that confident wink, too…..
Let’s see how the next part of this fight shakes out!