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    A Hand of Talons
    A Hand of Talons
    A Hand of Talons
    Ebook81 pages1 hour

    A Hand of Talons

    By Maggie Lee

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    About this ebook

    For generations, the Yao clan has ruled the criminal underworld in New Providence with an iron fist. But as the family empire threatens to crumble, Wilhelmina Yao must do whatever it takes to win in a high-stakes game of power and betrayal. Descend into the underground gambling den of the Fortuna Mews to explore the dark and dangerous world of steampunk noir in this thrilling new play.

    "A Hand of Talons is a very clever play. Maggie Lee has done an exceptional job of creating a very layered, intricate and complex world. But, she's also managed to make this world accessible to the casual viewer...Lee has created a complex world but to any fan of this genre of literature, it's clear and concise. It's a broadly drawn, melodramatic world of violent passions and emotions."
    ‒ Michael Strangeways,Seattle Gay Scene 
     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMaggie Lee
    Release dateOct 1, 2018
    ISBN9781386986348
    A Hand of Talons

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      Book preview

      A Hand of Talons - Maggie Lee

      Copyright © 2018 by Maggie Lee

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

      Mneme Press

      http://mnemepress.org

      The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

      Book design by Rebecca A. Demarest

      For Performance Rights Please contact Maggie Lee at maggie.lee.playwright@gmail.com

      A Hand of Talons

      Note on Casting

      Diverse, multicultural casting is strongly encouraged. While the rhythm and vocabulary of the dialogue may at times suggest a British or Southern accent, it is preferable not to employ any accents in this play other than the actor’s natural dialect.

      Characters

      Wilhelmina Yao: Female, 20s. The youngest daughter of the Yao clan and owner of the Fortuna Mews.

      Anders Yao: Male, late 20s. The middle son of the Yao clan.

      Delphine Yao: Female, 30s. The eldest daughter and Yarak of the Yao clan

      Kenzo Yao: Male, 20s–30s. An emissary from the Eastern Yao.

      Bernie Martillo: Female, 30s–40s. A dealer at the Fortuna Mews.

      Lawrence Howell: Male, late 20s. A friend to Wilhelmina.

      Lin Curtis: Female, 20s–30s. The First Lieutenant to the Yarak.

      Preston Hodge: Male, 40s–50s. An unlucky gambler.

      Setting

      Wilhelmina’s office at the Fortuna Mews, an underground gambling club. It is nestled deep within the Crookback Narrows borough of New Providence, a large industrial city in an alternate steampunk universe vaguely similar to the Victorian era, but with a few significant cultural quirks and technological differences.

      Act One

      scene 1

      Wilhelmina’s office at the Fortuna Mews, an underground gambling club in the bustling city of New Providence. The club has seen some years and has a creaky kind of elegance to it, a smoky blue haze that never quite clears. The office is tucked away in a back room behind the gambling floor, close enough to keep an eye on the action. There is an imposing desk covered in various knickknacks and stacks of papers. A large, garish painting hangs on the wall behind it, looking so out of place that it can only be the cover for a wall safe. In another corner, a couple of overstuffed settees are huddled around a low table holding bottles of booze, smudged highball glasses, and a deck of Talons cards. A grand pair of double doors opens out to the gambling floor, and smaller doorway covered with a beaded curtain leads to Wilhelmina’s bedroom. Several large bookshelves line the wall, one of which conceals a secret door to the nearby alley.

      It is late morning. Bernie Martillo enters, carrying a cash box. She is tough and sardonic, her face permanently set into a bemused scowl. She pokes her head into the beaded doorway.

      bernie: Wilhelmina? Time to get up, lazy bones. It’s almost noontime, it is.

      No response.

      bernie: I ain’t fooling, lass. Do you hear me? Wilhelmina? (beat) Sleeping like the dead, as usual. Well, can’t say I didn’t try.

      She sits on the settee to pour herself a drink. The bookcase opens noiselessly and Wilhelmina Yao sneaks in, wearing a saucy red gown. She is a cheerful young woman who comes off as a bit flighty and careless, but with a hint of steel underneath it all.

      bernie: Long night, lass?

      wilhelmina: Mother of Doom, Bernie! You nearly scared the jewels out of me.

      bernie: Ain’t you a little old to be sneaking back to your room after staying out all night?

      wilhelmina: Excuse me. Last I heard, I make the rules around this joint. And I’m not sneaking.

      bernie: Uh huh. So why all the creeping about through that bookcase?

      wilhelmina: I just thought, what’s the point of having a secret door if you never use it?

      bernie: Oddly, that makes some sense.

      wilhelmina: And I hate to wake up Matthias. He’s asleep at the front door like a little angel.

      bernie: Why you’re paying that twenty-stone angel to snooze at his guard post is beyond me.

      wilhelmina: At least he’s not always nipping away at my private bottles like some folks I know. Isn’t it a bit early for that?

      bernie: Never so. It’s good for you. Just the thing to tone you up, after a long night of wandering the streets.

      wilhelmina: I wasn’t wandering. There was a caravan of trading ships in from the East, so Lawrence and I went down to the port to see the new wares.

      bernie: In the middle of the night? With that gutter crumb Howell?

      wilhelmina: He’s not a gutter crumb, Bernie. He’s my friend. And that’s when they trade their best goods, you know, after the Customs Officers are tucked away in their warm beds.

      bernie: What I don’t know is why you had to deck yourself out in that flashy dress to go poking around some leaky old cargo ship with just a friend.

      wilhelmina: Well…we also happened upon some exclusive revelries aboard one of the steamers. I don’t know how he does it, but dear Lawrence managed to slip us past all the port guardposts and into the thick of the party. What a rumpus! I just love that Eastern music. It has such a kick to it.

      bernie: Huh. And you let those grubby deckhands from the Old Country whirl you about? Best go scrub your mitts

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