red↳ thomas shelby

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[ B i r m i n g h a m , 1 9 2 1 ]

"I'm telling you Thomas this is a very bad idea."

Tommy rolled his eyes, but clutched Zara's hand tighter. "No it's not. I don't have bad ideas."

"She's not going to talk to you." Zara warned him.

"That's why you're here, love. Use your womanly charm." Zara wrinkled her nose in disgust.

The couple had begun their mission to bring Polly's children home to her, and that would begin with her son Michael. Tommy had figured out where his adoptive parents lived and immediately picked Zara up so they could investigate. The King woman took in her surroundings as she walked with Tommy up a dirt road. The small village was beautiful, and Zara got excited as they came upon a field filled with wildflowers, and she made a mental note to make Tommy go back with her once their business was over.

"Here, pass the ball!"

The couple heard a young boy's voice from farther up the road, and continued walking until they saw him and another boy come towards a small cottage. A woman was standing near the gate, ushering the boys inside as she saw Tommy and Zara come closer.

"Mrs. Johnson?" Tommy said, pretending to be as polite as he could.

"Yes, who are you?"

"I'm from Birmingham Council. Bordesley Parish." The couple came to a stop once they were facing Mrs. Johnson with only the rickety wooden fence to protect her.

"No one wrote to me. What do you want?"

"I would like to talk about you son, about Henry. Can I come in?" Tommy said.

"I'd rather you didn't." The woman stuttered. "He doesn't like to talk about this."

"I see." Tommy pretended to be understanding. "So what does Henry know about his real identity, Mrs. Johnson?" He was beginning to lose his patience with the woman.

"I only deal with Mr. Ross from the agency and he only ever writes. So why are you here in person?" Mrs. Johnson was beginning to get suspicious, shaking her head.

"Well the boy is approaching his eighteenth birthday." Tommy remained stoic.

"This isn't right. You're not from the council, something isn't right!" The woman began to panic.

"What does he know, Mrs. Johnson?" Tommy kept prying.

Mrs. Johnson flared her nostrils in anger. "He knows his mother couldn't cope. She drank too much, she used opium, she used to beat him."

"You know that isn't the truth, is it?" Zara spoke up for the first time, glaring at the small woman.  

"Look, I think you should come back when my husband's here." Mrs. Johnson tried to leave.

"Does he know what his real name is? Tommy continued.

"His real name is Johnson. Henry Johnson. Now, I would like you to go away and come back when my husband is here." Mrs. Johnson started to raise her voice.

Zara looked over the woman's shoulder seeing "Henry" leave the house and start walking towards them. She raised a brow in amusement.

"The truth is he was taken from his mother without her permission." Tommy started to speak louder so that the boy could hear him. Unfortunately this alerted his mother of his presence, who turned around quickly to shove him back inside.

"Henry, go back inside, please."

"Who are you?" "Henry" asked, ignoring his mother making Zara smirk.