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 9
Larry Oberkfell walked into a makeshift laboratory in the tunnels below Harrisburg, his hands shaking. He glanced over toward a set of vials and beakers on a table on the far wall. His gaze was full of apprehension, like a death row inmate waiting for a jury to announce his fate. In the center of the table sat a test-tube rack, and inside the rack rested four vials. A black liquid filled three of the viles. The fourth vile was empty.
Oberkfell wasn’t quite a doctor and wasn’t quite a scientist, but he was good at what he did — helping people augment their physical abilities. He did so by crafting unique and powerful concoctions, using steroids and other substances. But at the moment, his skill didn’t matter. Oberkfell, the “doctor” for Maximus Savage, was worried.
Unlike his normal concoctions, Oberkfell hadn’t made the substance in the vials himself. Instead, he had obtained it a week earlier from an eerie silver-eyed man. If possible, the man frightened Oberkfell even more than Savage did, but not because of any sort of physical threat. The robed man exuded an aura of pure evil, as if blackness oozed from his soul. He was unlike anyone Oberkfell had ever met.
Oberkfell was desperate, though, so he hadn’t let his fear stop him. He had seen the power of the liquid with his own eyes, thanks to the man’s brief demonstration. It was too good to ignore. Good enough, he hoped, to save his job as Savage’s doctor. Good enough, he hoped, to save his life. Safe enough, he prayed, not to harm Savage.
He had already used one vial, injecting it into Savage two days earlier. The gang leader was showing no adverse effects, except for occasional nausea, but that didn’t mean additional doses were risk-free. For all Oberkfell knew, he could be killing the gang leader. The alternative, though, might be his own death. If Oberkfell didn’t produce for Savage, there was no telling how the brute might react.
The injections hadn’t done enough so far — Sapphire Angel had defeated Savage, forcing him to flee during their first encounter. If she defeated Savage again, Oberkfell might not live to see the end of the month. So he would continue to inject the gang leader. And hope the mysterious formula worked.
Maximus Savage grabbed the last piece of body armor from his makeshift bed and fastened it to his torso. He paused as a wave of nausea roiled his stomach, before he connected the last strap.
Five more gangsters were suiting up elsewhere in the damp labyrinth below the city. He had picked his best men to carry out a fast, surgical strike — get in, take care of Rocco Lynch, and get out. The planned mission, if successful, would help the gang reassert itself in the city. It would also send the right message to his men — that failure was not an option.
They needed to be on top of their game for this raid to succeed. For once, though, Savage was more worried about himself than his underlings. It wasn’t the nausea, or even his aching teeth, that caused him concern. It was the damn nightmare, which kept intruding on his thoughts. He couldn’t let it distract him from the mission.
With a growl, he eyed the satellite phone on the bed. He muttered, picked it up, and dialed a number.
“Hello, Max,” a man answered after a single ring. “What’s up?”
On the line was Augustus Bell, a former military officer who had saved Savage from execution six years earlier in Afghanistan. Bell had been with a group sent to kill Savage, to hide evidence of an illegal military program. Instead of killing the man, Bell had turned his weapon on the executioners. Savage and Bell had fled Afghanistan together, forming an inseparable bond. After that, Bell had done something Savage had not — moved onto a normal life, working as a prison warden.
“Auggie, this is gonna seem like a dumbass question, but…”
Savage hesitated.
“What, Max?” Bell asked.
“Galloway is dead, right?”
The line was silent for several moments, and a flash of insecurity came over Savage. He realized how ridiculous the question was, and why it gave Bell pause.
“You were there, Max,” Bell said. “You saw me shoot him in the head. And the two men with him. Before they executed you.”
“Yea, I know,” Savage mumbled. “You’re a damn good shot. I’ve just been having the same dumbass dream, where Galloway is back. But I’m fine now."
"You're sure?" Galloway asked. "Just like that, all better?"
"Yea, I just needed to imagine that fucker laying dead. That makes it all better. So this nightmare is done. Exterminated.”
When Bell replied after a few moments of silence, doubt filled his voice.
“I'm not buying it, Max. Most people in your situation go through some pretty intensive counseling and rehab. You did none of that. And you were screwed over pretty bad. So it’s understandable if this is eating at you.”
“I’m fine, Auggie,” he said. And Savage believed it. Bell’s words helped him picture the bullet going through Galloway’s skull. The memory soothed the gangster's psyche.
“If you say so,” Bell replied, doubt remaining in his voice.
“I am okay,” Savage insisted. “Still pissed off about it, though. And the only thing that’ll make me feel not pissed off will be to keep hurting this country, and the people in it. They treated me like I was a fucking leper when I came back!”
“Not everyone did, Max.”
“Everyone who counted! I thought my damn family would understand what I’d been through over there. Or my friends! But they all looked at me like I was a monster when I told them what I did.”
“And now they’re all dead, and not painlessly either. You can’t kill and maim everyone in the entire country.”
Again, an awkward silence filled the line. Nobody else would dare question Savage’s actions, but these two men had a bond and could speak the truth.
“You’re right, and I don’t want to,” Savage said after several moments. “I learned that lesson. Killing people doesn’t help, because their pain is gone, and mine continues. They need their pain to last, with no escape. Better for me to hurt them, and keep hurting them.”
“Max, most gangsters want money,” Bell said. “Why can’t you be like that? This impossible quest for vengeance is going to get you killed, and the target on your back is going to keep growing. At some point, the government will invoke laws to allow them to send the military after you on U.S. soil. And then you’ll have more than the FBI and the police to worry about.”
“So what? Maybe they will kill me. But I can hurt a lot more people first. And one in particular.”
“Sapphire Angel? She might hurt you instead, from the sound of it.”
“Fuck you, Auggie.”
“I’m only telling you to be careful, Max. You can’t be blind to how powerful she is.”
“I’m not blind, Auggie. I can fuck up anybody, even her. She’s gonna feel pain. I’m gonna hurt her bad. Real bad.”
“If you say so, Max. But please think about what I said. At some point, you have to put this behind you.”
“You would understand, Auggie, if it had turned out different for you. Everybody believed your story when you came back home.”
“Yes, yes they did,” Bell replied. “They still think you killed Galloway and his men, and took me hostage.”
Savage snorted.
“If I had taken you hostage,” the gang leader said, “you wouldn’t have escaped, like they think you did.”
“I know, Max. I’ll forever be grateful for what you did for me.”
More uncomfortable silence. After a few seconds, Savage chortled and spoke.
“Aw, fuck, Auggie. I just said a few things, for the right people to hear, to make the story believable. You saved my damn life. I’ll never be able to pay you back. Anything you ever need, just ask.”
Bell mumbled a few unintelligible words, as if the conversation made him feel uncomfortable. Savage sensed the man had more to say, so the gangster remained silent. Bell cleared his throat and spoke clearly this time.
“Well, Max, I could use something.”
“Anything, Auggie,” Savage replied, without hesitation. From the day Bell had saved Savage’s life, the gang leader knew he would help the man in any way he could.
“Things are getting dicey here,” Bell said. “Even worse than during your last visit. The Cobras are causing more and more trouble down below, in the Dungeon. Do you think you could make another visit, so they realize you’re still in my corner?”
Savage paused. Now was not a good time, since he needed to deal with Rocco Lynch, and then he needed to address his superheroine problem. But he couldn’t say no to Bell.
“I need to take care of the thing with Rocco Lynch today,” Savage replied. “And then get these teeth looked at. But after that I’ll be there, and we’ll make sure those fuckers know their place.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, I’ll be there. Sapphire Angel can wait another day. But I need to take care of Lynch, and teach him a lesson.”
“Thanks, Max.”
Savage hung up the phone, and, after making sure his body armor was in place, strode from his room. Six men waited for him in the larger chamber beyond, their bodies bubbling with energy and excitement. To his right stood Crusher Barnes, the most lethal fighter in the gang, after Savage himself. Crusher was huge, even bigger than Savage. But his neck was red, where Sapphire Angel’s cable had struck home.
A fury simmered behind Crusher’s eyes, and Savage knew it was from more than just his defeat. Crusher’s younger brother, Smash Barnes, was dead, thanks to the costumed woman. It had happened six days earlier, during the gang’s confrontation with the superheroine during the blizzard. After the encounter ended, and police descended on the scene, they had found Smash with his skull split open, laying dead on a bridge.
Savage suspected the superheroine hadn’t killed the gang member. It wasn’t her style. Smash’s death was from friendly fire, no doubt — another screwup from his former lieutenant in Harrisburg, Rocco Lynch. It was time for his men to learn what happened to those who were incompetent.
“Time to move out, men,” Savage growled, and headed for one of the two corridors exiting the room.
With a whoop of excitement, the men fell in behind him.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (Book 4)
Savage Vengeance (Book 5 - this story)
Dang……looks like this novel is really going to make up for Augustus Bell not being as major of a character last time around! If I had to say anything, with Savage still being a criminal gang member and Bell being a simple prison warden now, Bell might probably be some kind of “morality pet” of sorts to Savage; someone who could likely rein him in from doing something he (Savage) might regret later. It’s like he supports Savage’s evil, but not too much, and since Bell’s a prison warden…..maybe that’d mean he’d hold some influence? Like, pull some strings so that law enforcement can never legally touch Savage?
I get that they’re basically a “big evil” and a “lesser evil”, but I’m honestly loving their dynamic so far. Especially after that moment in the past when Bell turned on his people FOR Savage. Villain or not, when there’s a debt to pay, you usually do it.
Speaking of that…..I wasn’t exactly sure whether or not Smash was dead after the previous novel’s final battle, but I had a feeling he was. Ironically, Savage echoed a bit of my thoughts; Smash couldn’t have died by Sapphire Angel—at least not directly—because she’s a pacifist for right now. But…..I don’t know, can friendly fire from weapons be capable of splitting someone’s skull completely open? Hmm…..
Well, at any rate, on to take out Rocco Lynch, even though he’s been a big asset to the Gang up until this point. …..Maybe Lynch will actually defeat all of them, send them running for the hills, and officially defect and serve as a “mole” to the heroine? Or maybe Wayne Steele instead? Seems unlikely, though.
I’ll keep it here! Great background chapter, too; had a lot of backstory that people who didn’t read the prior novel would’ve likely missed out on!