Slip Gun (19 page)

‘
Just
what do you have in mind?’

‘
I’m
going to do what dad would have done to any saloonkeeper who’d
aimed to put up a sign like that. I’m doing a man’s job and so are
you. So we’ll settle it like men.’

‘
You?’
Lily scoffed, watching Wil unbutton the Basque jacket. ‘Lay one
hand on me and I’ll scratch your eyes out.’

‘
Maybe
you could do it, with those talons,’ Wil sniffed, sounding a whole
lot calmer than she felt. ‘But you always did like to have the
edge.’

Up to that moment, if Wil had shown any sign
of reconciliation Lily would have accepted it. There was none.
Telling the mayor to wait, the blonde stamped by her and into the
passage.

‘
Is Doc
Riley in the Bull, Lorna?’ Lily demanded.

‘
I’d be
surprised if he’s not,’ the girl replied, watching her employer
jerk open a drawer of the dressing table. ‘What’s up?’

‘
Go
tell him to stick around,’ Lily ordered and took out a pair of
elbow-length black gloves. ‘And tell the girls not to come up here
until I say they can, no matter what they hear.’

‘
Sure,’
agreed Lorna uncertainly, staring as Lily removed her rings and
tossed them into the drawer. ‘What’s—?’

‘
Go and
do it!’ Lily commanded. ‘I’ll tell you what it’s about
tonight.’

Watching to make sure that Lorna
obeyed, Lily returned to
her room and locked the door. Swinging to face
Wil, she received a surprise. Not only had the lady mayor taken off
her jacket and blouse, but she was removing her skirt.

‘
I
don’t want to get my clothes mussed up, or bloody,’ Wil
announced. ‘And I’d hate to have you wailing that I took an unfair
advantage after it’s over.’

For all her outward calm, Wil
felt as if she was boiling inside. Part of her revolted at how she
was acting, but more of her demanded that she went on. Months of
pent-up anger drove her to meet Lily at the
blonde
’s own
level and on even terms. So she continued to undress until all she
wore was her knee long white drawers, stockings and gloves. Shoving
her discarded shoes and clothing under the bed, Wil forced herself
to turn and face Lily.

‘
Well,
well, well,’ the blonde said, tossing aside her robe. While drawing
on the gloves, she ran her gaze over a bosom as well-developed and
waist as slim as her own. ‘So there is a woman under it after all.
It’s a pity Poona’ll never get to see you like this, Chilly
Willie.’

Like Lily, Wil would have accepted the
slightest hint of a peace offering. The last words warned her that
such would not be made.

‘
I’d
say my chances with him are better than yours, Shivery-Shakes,’ Wil
answered. ‘He doesn’t want somebody else’s leavings.’

‘
You
bitch!’ Lily screamed and flung herself at Wil with hands driving
towards the black hair.

That was what the mayor wanted
to happen. Ducking under the hands before they could take hold, she
rammed two sharp punches against Lily
’s mid-section. With a grunt of pain, the
blonde backed off and threw her left at Wil’s head. Intercepting
the blow with the same ease she had shown in evading Lily’s opening
attack, Wil again belted her in the stomach. Down went the blonde’s
hands to cover the point of impact. Like a flash, Wil lunged in and
nailed her with a straight left to the cheek, snapping her head
around and buckling her at the knees.

‘
I
learned fisticuffs with the Women’s Suffrage Movement in college,
Shivery-Shakes,’ Wil warned, watching the other retreat and
apparently on the verge of falling.

Gasping, Lily made a grab with
her left hand as if to strip off the right
’s glove. Wil remembered the length
of the blonde’s finger-nails and rushed forward to prevent them
being unsheathed. It proved to be a bad mistake. Side-stepping
fast, the blonde avoided the charge and drove her bunched left hand
into Wil’s unguarded right breast. Numbing pain such as she had
never experienced ripped through Wil as the knuckles found the
sensitive area. She fell back, wide open to the attack with which
Lily followed up her advantage. Showing a skill many a man might
have envied, the blonde thumped the mayor in the belly and, as she
folded over, hooked the other fist into her face to lift her erect.
Blood dribbled from the corner of Wil’s mouth as she reeled
backwards into the wall.

‘
You
didn’t learn enough,’ Lily answered, rushing after her like a
tigress.

Everything seemed to be
revolving wildly before Wil
’s eyes as she tried desperately to protect
herself. Alternating between the mayor’s head and body, the blonde
kept one blow ahead of her attempts at defense. When Wil tried to
cover her head, Lily hammered at her body, either hitting her
stomach or jabbing uppercuts at her vulnerable breasts. It was a
kind of treatment she had never suffered during ‘fisticuffs’
lessons at college. Soon she careened helplessly the width of the
room under the wicked onslaught. It could not last. Taking a
rough-house swing to the jaw, Wil crashed to the floor with a thud
that resounded in the room below.

Rolling on to her stomach, Wil made an
instinctive attempt to rise. Failing, she sprawled face down on the
thick carpet, her gorgeous, pain-torn body shaking
uncontrollably.

Sucking in deep breaths, Lily stood over Wil
and watched for any sign that she might be able to get up. After
about thirty seconds, Lily hooked her left foot under her shoulder
and rolled her on to her back. Still the mayor showed no hint of
wanting to resume hostilities.

‘
Looks
like you’re all through, big businessman, and I hadn’t hardly got
started,’ Lily mocked, then shrugged and turned to walk slowly
towards the door. ‘I’ll have Doc Riley come tend your hurts. Any
other time you feel like coming to run me out of town, feel free.
I’ll be pleasured to oblige.’

If Lily had looked behind, she
would not have felt so com
placent. Forcing herself upright, Wil darted after
her. While hurt, the mayor had been able to think well enough to
know standing when Lily faced her would be dangerous. So she had
waited for her chance. The rules learned in the Women’s Suffrage
Movement’s ‘fisticuffs’ classes—taken to prove they could do
anything men could—would serve no purpose at that moment. This was
not a carefully supervised affair in a boxing ring but a real,
anything-goes fight.

Lily
’s voice smothered the slight sounds
made by Wil’s feet and the blonde suspected nothing. Even as her
right hand reached for the key, Wil caught up with her. Throwing
her left arm over Lily’s left shoulder, Wil snapped it across the
front of her throat in a choke-hold. Back and forward flashed the
mayor’s right fist, pumping and jabbing blows into the
saloonkeeper’s kidney region. Flattened against the door, Lily
could do little or nothing to protect herself. Then Wil heaved with
her left arm and twisted around. Thrown off balance and released,
the blonde teetered almost to the bed before subsiding on to her
rump.

Giving Lily no chance to
recover, Wil rushed up. Swooping over, she dug greedy fingers into
the long blonde hair. A heave brought Lily, squealing protests,
almost to her feet. Turning with her back to the blonde, Wil again
encircled Lily
’s throat with the left arm. Having gained the hold, the
mayor rained punches into the bewildered girl’s head and
face.

‘
I’m
ready to start again right now!’ Wil gritted as her
leather-encased knuckles drew blood from the blonde’s nose and
lips.

Through the agony of the
brain-jolting impacts came a sickening realization that Lily had
underestimated Wil
’s courage and determination. Instead of being beaten, the
mayor had tricked her. Now she was paying the penalty for her
mistake by taking back as much punishment as she had previously
handed to Wil.

Half-strangled as well as
receiving the blows, Lily knew that she must try to escape. She was
at Wil
’s
mercy and could be sure that none would be shown. Three times she
raked the tips of her fingers down the mayor’s bare back, clawing
at the choking left arm with the other hand. Then she understood
why her efforts produced no results. Covered by the gloves, her
nails were unable to dig in and rip her way out of the
chancery-hold.

Sobbing curses, Lily allowed her
knees to sag until her sweat-sodden torso rested against
Wil
’s left
hip. Thrusting her left arm between the mayor’s spread-apart thighs
and clamping her right arm tightly about Wil’s waist, she surged
upright. Wil let out a startled yelp as her feet rose from the
floor. Retaining her hold on the blonde’s neck, she stopped the
pummeling and sank the free hand deep into Lily’s hair. In her
efforts to throw Wil from her, Lily staggered backwards. Still
locked together, they tumbled on to the bed.

Such was the force Lily put into
her effort that Wil lost her hold as they fell. Passing over the
blonde
’s
head, she rolled across the covers and on to the floor. Landing on
her derriere, Wil saw Lily wriggle around to follow her. Bouncing
from the bed, the blonde landed astride the mayor almost as if
trying to sit on her lap. Lily’s weight carried Wil over backwards.
Straddling Wil with her knees, Lily swung slaps and punches at her
face. Kicking wildly, but ineffectively, with her legs, Wil tried
to catch the hands that flailed at her. Failing, she hurled up a
jab that rammed her left fist into the blonde’s already bloody
nose. Squeaking in pain, Lily grabbed at and caught the wrist
before it could withdraw. An instant later their unoccupied palms
met and fingers interlocked.

‘
When
I’ve finished with you!’ Lily gasped, straining to keep Wil pinned
to the floor, ‘Poona’ll look away instead of at you.’

Putting all she had into a
sudden pitching thrust, Wil toppled the blonde over. Retaining
their hand-holds, the mayor assumed the upper position. With her
hips between Lily
’s thighs and bosom pressed against bust, Wil glared down.
Feeling Lily trying to lock her legs around for a scissor-grip, she
eased up her rump to counter the attempt.

‘
Don’t
think he’ll even look once at you!’ Wil hissed back. ‘Because I’m
going to make you want to leave town.’

Releasing the trapped wrist,
Lily grabbed for hair and Wil duplicated the move with her left
hand. Jerking their other fingers apart, they transferred them to
help in tearing at hair. Tight as two lovers, they went rolling
along the floor. The nature of the fight had undergone a
transformation. All signs of skilful attack and
defense were forgotten. With no
more definite thought than to inflict punishment on the other girl,
they churned and wrestled in a wild, primitive tangle of waving
arms and thrashing legs.

For almost three minutes,
practically without a pause, Wil and Lily battled in that fashion.
They were oblivious of repeated poundings on the door and shrill,
excited feminine voices demanding to know what was happening.
Screams, gasps and shrieks broke from them as they punched,
slapped, nipped, pulled, kneed, kicked or bit mindlessly at each
other. Occasionally one of them would shove clear and get to her
knees, but the other always tackled and brought her down before she
could stand upright. Nor did they stay face to face. Sometimes they
would be head to foot, or one on the other
’s back, or even back to back. Once,
wriggling out between the kneeling blonde’s thighs, Wil found her
face pressed against the other’s well-padded buttocks. There was
only one thing to do in such a position. Lily screeched aloud as
the teeth sank home and dived away. Later, the blonde returned the
treatment as Wil, thrust aside by her feet, fell face down on the
bed. Squealing, Wil reared on to her knees and shoved Lily away
from her with such force that the blonde fell and rolled several
feet.

Slowly the girls dragged themselves erect
and faced each other, Lily croaked in her attempts to replenish her
aching lungs with air and swayed from side to side in exhaustion.
To her amazement and horror, Wil showed no hesitation about
returning to the attack. While sweat-soddened, bruised and bloody,
now clad only in her tattered drawers, the mayor seemed in better
physical shape than the saloonkeeper. That was understandable, for
Wil lived an active life which kept her muscles exercised and toned
up. Lily followed a more sedentary occupation.

Trailing her one remaining
stocking behind her, Lily tried to throw a slap. Wil sprang the
remaining distance, thrusting out with both hands. They clapped on
the blonde
’s
heaving bosom and shoved hard. So slowly had Lily’s arm been moving
that her palm missed Wil as she was sent staggering backwards
across the room. Brought to a halt by the wall, she slumped against
it and stared at the approaching lady mayor.

‘
N—N—No!’ Lily sobbed, holding out her left hand weakly.
‘Don’t h—’

Instead of continuing her
attack, Wil lowered her raised hands. Instantly
Lily
’s right
fist hurled upwards. Caught under the jaw, Wil spun back several
steps and crumpled face down on the floor. Delighted by the success
of her bluff, Lily shoved herself from the wall and advanced.
Sinking down, she lay on the mayor’s back. Sliding her left arm
under Wil’s throat, Lily started to choke her and the right’s
fingers made a determined effort to tear out a hank of the black
hair.