Sapphire Angel - Superheroine

Chapter 21 - Kidnapped

She grabbed his arm with both hands, but his grip was like steel. His other hand came up and held a cloth over her mouth. An unfamiliar chemical smell filled her nose and lungs. Beth struggled, reaching for the hand holding the cloth. It was like trying to pry open a vice with her bare hands.

Her assailant was bigger than she was, and she couldn't shake him off. She became desperate, kicking and thrashing, and still grabbing at the arm holding the cloth. He barely moved. He was just too strong.

She whimpered into the cloth and let out muffled moans as the chemical continued its work, sending her senses reeling. She continued to kick her legs, but they slowed until the soles of her sneakers barely scraped along the ground. Within seconds her eyelids were drooping and her breathing slow. She gave a final tug at the man's hand before her arms fell to her sides. Her eyes fluttered as she looked up at the man. He was smiling as she let out one final whimper.

Her last as her eyes rolled back in her head was that the same people responsible for John's death had her in their clutches.

—————

Stanley and Betsy Devor sat across from one another at a table in a diner just outside of Harrisburg. Stanley had convinced his wife they needed sustenance and were in no condition to prepare their own food.

After ordering they sat in silence for several minutes, their eyes hollow and their shoulders slumped. Betsy hadn't said more than a few words since John's passing. Stanley hoped his wife could recover from the loss of their son. He wasn't even sure he could reover, but he had experienced more hardship in his life than she had. He was better conditioned for this, if anybody was conditioned for losing a child.

Stanley's watch vibrated, signaling a notification through his phone, but he ignored it. He gave his attention to his wife, even though they remained silent.

Service was slow even though the restaurant was nearly deserted. Thirty minutes later their food arrived. They ate without speaking. Stanley wondered if his son would still be with them if he hadn't investigated Fizzure. Was this his fault? He thought of Beth's words, when she had blamed herself. He blamed himself.

Betsy Devor excused herself to use the restroom. Once she stepped away from the table, Stanley raised his wrist and looked at his notifications. The notification came from his security system. Somone, or something, had triggered the motion sensors by the back door and by the garage.

He pulled out his phone, activated an app, and scrolled through some footage recorded by cameras hidden around his house. He watched as a bearded man in dark clothes and plain baseball cap stalked in the darkness, examining the house. The man moved out of one camera's view and into the view of another, several times, before taking a phone call. The call was brief, and after hanging up he settled into place in bushes near the garage. Stanley looked at the time stamp on the video. It had been almost forty minutes earlier. This was no coincidence.

A thought jumped into his mind. Beth. His heart raced. If they were coming for him, they might come for her, too. He shouldn't have left her alone. He thought the danger was over with John's passing, but clearly it wasn't. He only hoped they didn't know who she was, and wouldn't be able to find her.

Betsy Devor returned. He waited until she sat, trying not reveal his angst. She had enough on her plate without having to worry about him or Beth.

"Betsy, I want you to take the car and go stay with Sue Nelson for a few days. I'll take an Uber back to the house."

"What?" she said, looking up at him with a vacant look in her eyes.

"Things aren't safe here, Betsy. I need to take care of a few matters. I'll send a bag of your things for you."

"Not safe? How?"

"I don't know yet, but I don't want to worry about you."

"If it's not safe, then I'm not leaving you," she said.

"Betsy, you'll just get in the way. Trust me on this."

She stared at him, and he expected a fight. But the fight was gone from her. She nodded.

"Now?" she asked.

"Yes, now. I know its sudden, but I need you to do this. I'll let Sue know you're on the way."

Five minutes later they embraced in the parking lot, and Stanley watched as his wife drove away. Five minutes after that he was in the back seat of a car, giving an Uber driver the name of Beth's hotel.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket in such a rush he nearly flung it across the car. He grabbed it as it slipped from his hand, straightened it, and dialed Beth's number. As it rang, he said a silent prayer. After four rings the call went to her voicemail.

"Beth, this is Stanley. Call me." He ended the call and dialed again. Again it went to her voicemail.

If these people found Beth, she stood no chance. Unless she had forewarning and was able to change and put on the necklace. That was his hope.

The driver pulled in front of the hotel. Stanley tossed four $20 bills onto the front seat.

"Wait here," he said as he sprang from the car. He darted toward the front desk as fast as his decrepit body would allow. A young man, probably a college kid, stood behind the front desk.

"Can you ring the room of Beth Harper, please?" Stanley asked.

The man scanned a computer screen in front of him. His eyes wandered up and down. He typed some keys. His eyes wandered more. Stanley grimaced. This was taking too long. Finally the man spoke.

"I'm sorry, but Ms. Harper checked out about an hour ago."

An hour. That was too long. Too much could have happened. Without a word, Stanley turned from the desk and rushed to the elevator leading to the garage. He rode the elevator to the garage level and exited. It didn't take Stanley long to find Beth's car. He tried the doors, finding them locked.

He leaned against the car and took a deep breath. She might have just taken a detour to get a bite to eat, just like he and Mrs. Devor had. But he didn't believe it for a moment. Beth was in trouble. Or dead.

Stanley Devor hadn't run in a few years, but now he did. He ran to the elevator, and, after reaching the lobby of the hotel, ran back outside to the Uber driver. He ripped open the back door and jumped in, before blurting out his home address.

He hoped the man at his house knew what had happened to Beth. And that she was still alive.