Lily Marin - three short steampunk stories by Paul Kater Page B

over
the rad-gun that was under the coat, making sure it was there.
    Four of the men carried handguns, she saw,
and at least one of those was a rad-gun. Her coat would take a good
beating if they had a shot at her with that.
    In the darkness, the six men did not notice
Lily until she was very close. The thick soft soles of her boots
dampened her footsteps, which usually was an advantage.
    "Now look what we have here," one of the men
said as he saw Lily walking up to the group. Four barrels of guns
were pointed at her. "Halt, raise your hands."
    "Wrong. You will raise your hands," Lily
said, "and after I tied you up you will come with me. About time
that this neighbourhood is freed from the likes of you."
    The men looked confused, despite their
weaponry. Lily never changed her voice; the sound of a woman
speaking from inside the fearsome attire usually was in her
advantage. Now also. As the six hesitated, she brought out her whip
from under her coat and made it dance a few times. The four guns
flew through the air and landed on the street somewhere, out of the
range of triggerfingers.
    As the whip landed in her other hand, she
drew the rad-gun and pointed it at the group.
    "Make no mistakes, gentlemen," she said, "I
know how to use this and my finger is faster than all your legs
combined.
    "Madam, if you allow me-" one of the men said
as he stepped forward.
    Lily did not allow him. With her other hand
she was very well able to crack her whip as the man learnt. He
landed on the pavement. Hard.
    With a flick of the wrist, Lily undid the end
of the whip from his ankle. "No tricks. I am here to bring order
back to the area."
    Her voice had gotten hard and strong, the way
it always did once she became her true self again. The singing bit
was just a cover for the daytime, no one should know who Lily Marin
really was. The more out of sight she was in her public life, the
better.
    "Oh my God," one of the other men said. "It's
her. It's the Masked Woman!"
    Lily hated the unoriginal name the press had
given her, but it was hers apparently. "Yes. I'm the Masked
Woman."
    "Behind you!" the man yelled as he and the
other four dropped to the floor.
    Nicely synchronised trick, Lily thought, just
before she sensed something wrong. Behind her. She ducked and
swivelled round, raising the rad-gun and blasting a round. The rock
that had come for the back of her head fell harmlessly on the
ground behind her, as the man who had thrown it fell on the ground
in front of her. He was with a few more men. Or rather, he had
been, as he was no more.
    Crap, there are many more of them, was the
first thing she thought. Then it dawned on her that the six she had
taken for the gang were possibly a few of the not yet scared people
that wanted to go against the vagabonds.
    "Stay put, I'm going after them," she called
to the six as the rock-throwers made a run for it, away from her.
She saw how they turned left, back into Lowell and heard their
footsteps echo away.
    Lily slammed the gun back in the holster as
she got up. She estimated where the vagabonds would be going and
positioned herself as she reached into her pocket. She pressed hard
on the ruby. It slipped into the copper tube. At the hiss from the
backpack she braced herself; this was going to be nauseating
again.
    The fierce jolt from the pack pushed her
upwards. She hoped that she had positioned herself properly, once
airborne there was no way to make any changes. The thunder behind
her deafened her, the skin on her face that was not protected by
the mask wanted to retreat to her neck as she sped upwards. Up and
higher she went, over the buildings.
    Below her she saw the gang running. So far,
so good, Lily the Masked Woman thought. A splutter from her pack
told her that the flight was almost over and she prepared for the
smack-down. Landings were unpleasant and she never got the timing
right to make her boot extensions break the fall.
    She started to drop. Falling was not so bad.
It was the moment of