broken toy soldier { tommy shelby } UNDER EDITING

three: baby did a bad bad thing

Thomas and Iris sprung apart as they heard it. Gunshot after gunshot after gunshot.

"The fuck was that?" Tommy asked as his head whipped around, looking for the source of the shots.

A battered and bloody Arthur limped into the clearing then, leaning heavily on Freddie and Johnny, who appeared unscathed. Johnny's pistol was raised in the air. It must have been him who fired his gun - he was sending the remaining guests a warning.

The crowd surged instantly; the women scurried along with the children into the barn whilst the men grabbed their weapons and sprinted towards the trio. Out of the women, only Polly, Iris and Martha remained.

Polly ushered Arthur into a chair that had swiftly been provided by one of the men.

"Speak, Freddie!" She demanded. "Who did this to him?"

"The Digbeth boys. They came for us when we went to grab a barrel of beer."

The crowd all murmured anxiously. They were in no position for a fight. There was only 11 men there and more than half of them were heavily inebriated.

"How many of them were there?" Iris called above the uneasy buzzing of voices.

"I only saw around 4 or 5. But they're here for a fight; they only got off Arthur when we pulled our guns. And I'm sure there's more of them."

Iris's blood boiled. How dare they come for them on a wedding day?

"What shall we do, Poll?"

Polly bit her lip as she considered the best strategy. "Scudboat and Lovelock, I want you two to escort the women and children from off the yard. Those scums could be anywhere, if they're still even here. They may have left, but we don't know. So take them home. Bring rifles."

The two men nodded and jogged to the barn.

"Does anyone think they actually are still here?" Martha asked in a small voice.

Tommy nodded. "I wouldn't put it past them."

"We'll wait, then. For an hour. They're an impatient lot, they will strike soon if at all. The majority of us will remain here, and 2 people will patrol the yard. It's not too big so it shouldn't take long. Does anyone disagree?"

Nobody shook their head.
                               ——
The hour passed painstakingly. Everyone was on edge. Martha had gone with Lovelock, and Iris only prayed that her sister had drunk enough to forget about the horrible ending of her wedding night.

Finally, Polly stood up. "Right, we'll go home now. But I want everyone to take a weapon with them. No one leaves without one."

Thomas reached into his pocket and passed Iris a pistol, smaller than his own preferred one but still useful.

She took it from him and marvelled at the feeling of it in her hand. Cold and heavy and full of power.

He snorted as he watched her fascination with the weapon. "I know, no other feeling like it. Come on, I'll walk you home."
                              ——
They walked in near enough silence, apart from the sound of Iris's feet dragging against the gravel. Tommy was furious. And drunk. Not a good combination. "I'll fucking kill Ewing." He growled after a while, half to himself.

"No, you won't, Thomas." Iris said gently.

He turned to her. "I fucking will, Iris! No one gets to walk over us anymore, especially not on my brother's wedding night."

Iris linked her arm with his and nodded. "Alright, I know."

When he got like this, Iris found it best to agree with what he was saying. She felt his arms relaxing under the hand she had resting on his upper arm and sent him a smile. "We'll be alright, Thomas."