Daco - Super Women

Avon, Massachusetts

Copyright 2016 by Daco Auffenorde.

All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by

Crimson Romance

an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

57 Littlefield Street

Avon, MA 02322

www.crimsonromance.com

ISBN 10: 1-4405-9687-5

ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-9687-2

eISBN 10: 1-4405-9688-3

eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-9688-9

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author's imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Fred Machuca, illustration by Ricky Ostendi

For my superheroes, Isabella and Andrew!

With a heart as pure as platinum!

Electricity at her fingertips!

She soars like a falcon and travels at the speed of light!

Shes ELECTROMANCER!

Alexa Manchester grasped the door handle as the car sped around the last curve on the road leading to The Manchester Electric Company. In the distance, she could see the stately spires of Britannias metropolis, Kensington City, shining in the early twilight. Once the land of Round Table knights, romantic poets, kings and queens, and colonial rule, Britannia was now experiencing trying times. Tonight, Alexa would change all that; she would change the world.

Except she was already ten minutes late.

The companys board of directors, along with influential denizens of Kensington City, were assembling in the central courtyard to watch her power up The Magpie generator, to which her father, Mickey, had devoted his lifes work. The Manchester Electric Company already provided most of the worlds electrical powerfor Europa, Asiana, Africana, even the Americanas across the Eastern Seathrough conventional means. Now, the revolutionary new Magpie promised to deliver an astronomical source of green energy and save the distressed planet from the energy crisis that had befallen it as a result of a decade-long drought.

Its a splendid time for a ceremony, madame, Alexas chauffeur and butler, Sigfred Sawyer, said. He spoke the words as calmly as if they were out on a Sunday drive.

Honestly, Sigfred. Will you ever just call me Alexa?

Yes, madame, as you wish.

Alexa suppressed a smile. Despite Sigfreds insistence on behaving like a blue-haired attendee at Downton Hotels high tea, he was still in his thirties. His azure blue eyes and sandy hair, cut in a military flattop, made him look like a Southside street tough turned movie actor. But his hand-tailored Italian suits and the perfect knots in his necktiesa tight double Windsor for button-down collars, an impeccable Eldredge knot for wide collarsrevealed the pride he took in his occupation.

They finally turned into the circular driveway of the power plant, known locally as The Mick, in homage to her father. I only wish my father were here to see this, she said.

You can rest assured that he is here with you in spirit, madame.

Sigfred parked the car in front of the entrance that housed the executive offices. The complex was modeled after Georgian architecture and carved from Bath stone. Manicured Bermuda grass, sculpted bushes, and trellis after trellis of roses in full bloom made the picturesque grounds into a living landscape painting. An inner courtyard with a triple-tiered marble water fountain was prominently placed at its centerbecause water was, of course, The Micks lifeblood. The rear of the building overlooked the dam.

The facility had been strategically located on the northern boundary of Kensington City, where the East and West Kensington Rivers intersected. Those rivers were sourced by underground springs and runoff water that accumulated from the top of the Mullgany Mountains. Because of this confluence of rivers and groundwater, Kensington City had been spared the severe drought that most of the world had suffered.

Sigfred turned off the cars engine and opened Alexas door. The main plaza was already filled with the patrons and guests. Mayor Bobby Baumgartner, known throughout Britannia as The Mayor, was up on stage, glad-handing other officials and dignitaries.

Sigfred, how late am I?

Fashionably late, madame.

As soon as Alexa walked onto the stage, Bobby hurried to greet her. Alexa, you look especially ravishing today, he said, his eyes flashing quickly to her chest. Your mothers necklace?

Her fingers lifted the platinum and diamond necklace she wore.

Simply beautiful, though only the second most beautiful jewel on this stage tonight. He winked and placed a hand on her elbow, the politicians touch, but this one lingered longer than most. Then he regarded her with a devilish smile. An involuntary thrill coursed through her body, causing her to step back and break contact.

Flatterer, she said. Bobbys dark brown hair and deep green eyes could send the most reserved woman into a giddy, hypnotic trance. Shed had a crush on him, a family friend, when she was a gawky fifteen-year-old and he was a twenty-two-year-old college senior. But hed never thought of her as anything other than a kid... until she filled out during senior year. Handsome as he was, shed quickly realized he was a player. Even if he hadnt been, she couldnt afford to be romantically interested in Bobby Baumgartner or anyone else. Not with all her responsibilities.

Bobby, the sun is about to go down, Alexa said. Why dont we get started? She took her place at the podium, and after he introduced her, she welcomed both the guests and the employees.

My father would jokingly say that he was like a magpie, she said. He was fond of collecting shiny objects. And one of those shiny objects was a meteorite that fell from space and into our own Mullgany Mountains. My father called this silver, crystalline rock Electromite, a new element unknown to our planet. It proved to be more potent than uranium or plutonium, yet in its native form, perfectly harmless. My father would say Alexa, if you raise the level of the river, the boat will rise. Well, the rivers of the world have been lowered by drought, but through the heaven-sent gift of Electromite, weve found a way to raise the boat. Ladies and gentlemen, with the advent of The Magpie, well be sailing high.

The crowd quieted and watched as Alexa radioed down to the generator room and directed the engineers to power up The Magpie. When one of the engineers confirmed that hed flipped the switch, she smiled broadly and made a thumbs-up sign to the crowd. A rainbow of lights illuminated the grounds, and the hum of the new generator filled everyones ears. Balloons were released, and a band began playing. The crowd applauded and cheered.

Bobby wrapped her in a warm embrace, and heat flushed through her body. I wish Mickey were here to see this, Alexa, he whispered. Hed be so proud of you. Im proud of you. Her eyes welled up, and a tear fell down her cheek, which seemed to make the crowd cheer even louder.

When he finally released her, Alexa turned to the audience and raised both arms in triumph, her tears flowing freely now. Then...

Boom!

A violent explosion rocked the entire power plant, shaking the ground seismically. The cheers turned to murmurs of surprise and then to shrieks and screams. A moment later, Kensington Citys entire electrical grid shut down.