Sapphire Angel - Superheroine

Chapter 34 - Heart to Heart

Sapphire Angel had expected Dominick's home to be larger. It was big, but not the sprawling mansion she had imagined. Brick, with four tall white pillars framing the front porch, the structure reminded her of fraternity houses that lined the streets of her college town.

The house was immaculate, with a crisply painted facade and pristine bricks devoid of ivy or other growth. The grounds around the structure were meticulously maintained, with neatly trimmed grass and bushes. Large copses of trees surrounded the home on three sides. In the front, a circular driveway ran past front wide steps, climbing up to a brick porch. A detached garage sat twenty yards off to one side.

The petite woman crouched on a thick tree branch in a wooded area to one side of the house, waiting for the darkness to deepen and for Stanley to finish hacking into the home's security system. She watched the windows of the building for any signs of life. A single car, a late model Chevrolet sedan, sat in front of the home. Certainly not Dominick's, but whose?

She brushed her radiant blond hair over one shoulder and made sure her white gloves were pulled up her arms. Clad in her costume, a quiet confidence had settled over her.

As she studied the home, Sapphire Angel considered the name given her by the press. It was growing on her. In a way, it helped her make sense of her existence. It allowed her to see herself as someone else - as having a true alter ego. Beth Harper wouldn't do what she was doing now. But Sapphire Angel would.

She couldn't believe it had only been three days since she had donned the costume for the first time. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Then she had planned to wear the costume to a Halloween party. Now it was recognizable to everyone in the city, and allowed her to become something she wasn't.

As she scanned the home again, Beth heard Stanley's voice in a tiny earpiece hidden in her ear.

"You should be good," he said. "The security system is down."

Sapphire Angel dropped from the tree branch, her short skirt fluttering around her. She flexed her knees as she hit the ground, and darted off toward the side of the house.

A room extended from the right side of the home, looking like it had been added to the main structure after its initial construction. The room was constructed of brick like the rest of the home, but the bricks were slightly more vibrant in color, and the enclosure was only one story tall. An exterior door sat between two large windows. The heroine darted to the enclosure, stopping at one of the tall windows. She put her face to the glass and peered into a sitting area. A sofa and three chairs surrounded a coffee table, and paintings of nature scenes hung on the walls. Dim light from a nearby hallway cast shadows about the room.

Sapphire Angel crept to the door. She held Stanley's cylindrical device to the lock, and moments later heard a quiet click as the lock disengaged. She put a gloved hand to the handle and turned it.

Holding her breath, she pushed the door inward. The costumed woman paused, waiting for the sound of an alarm countdown, but none came. She stepped inside, pulling the door closed behind her. She paused again before moving past the sofa and chairs, and stopping at the entrance to the hallway.

The floor of the hall was made of hardwood that gleamed even in the dim light provided by sconces along the wall. Beth pulled her hair back with a gloved hand and listened. A sound came from down the hall, but didn't seem to be close. The hall ran the width of the home, with the spotless hardwood glinting the entire distance.

She crept down the hall, putting one slender leg forward at a time, taking care that her boots didn't thump on the floor. The stealthy woman saw a bright light through an opening at the opposite end, and a shadow playing on the wall in the room beyond.