This Dark Disposition

Chapter 30 - Camden Town

Three Days Later

As Danielle walked along the cut it surprised her how much Camden Town reminded her of Small Heath. The dirt, grim, and soot all the same. The place even smelled like Birmingham for god sake. The only difference between here and there, Danielle figured, was the Jewish men working along the water's edge.

Danielle put her black leather gloves into her pocket and pulled a cigarette out of her navy blue coat. She knew that she probably shouldn't be smoking given her condition, but she figured that if the predicament at hand were to kill her then she'd be damn glad she had one last smoke before it did. As she smoked her coat swayed in the wind as she continued to walk towards the Solomon Aerated Bread Bakery. When she got to the front door she threw her spent cigarette to the side and the swinging front door opened. Danielle was met with a tall, brown haired boy younger than she, "What the bloody hell are you doing here, eh?" The boy asked.

"Look, I'm here to meet with Mr. Solomon," Danielle quickly replied while she straightened her back and rolled her shoulders. She knew these people were powerful - more so than Tommy even. She knew they were dangerous. And she knew it was important that she confidently and calmly achieve what she set out here to do.

"And why do you think Mr. Solomon would like to meet with you? Are you a whore?" The boy asked.

Danielle adjusted her fur coat as it hung across her shoulders and felt her jaw clench. Damn, she thought, she had picked that up from Tommy.

The man took a step back "Alright, so not a whore then," the man said defensively, as if Danielle had made a weapon out of her silence - she learned that from Tommy, too.

The man started to pat Danielle down when she heard a distinct accent that she couldn't quite place, "Put her down, Ollie," Danielle turned to look at the man as he walked down the hall. She noticed he had a unique limp in his step and that was when Danielle realized who he was, "Put her down Ollie, alrigh', she's only lil'."

Danielle adjusted her coat to ensure it would remain on her shoulders as she turned to look at the man more closely. It surprised her, how wrinkled and disheveled the man's clothes were. No doubt he was just as wealthy as Tommy, and yet had you not known he was a notorious and ruthless gangster, you may very well pass him on the street without a second thought. Danielle thought it almost comforting in a strange, menacing sort of way.

"You on your own?" the man she presumed to be Alfie said.

"Seems so."

"Right well you, Miss are a brave lil' dove ain't ya?"

Danielle took a step forward, anxious to get this over with, "A few weeks ago, the organization I represent received this," Danielle pulled the letter from Camden Town Polly gave her out of her pocket, "I think it's past time we break bread, don't you Mr. Solomon?"

Alfie shifted on his feet a little bit and then, when Danielle seemed unwavered, he turned to walk back down the hall, "Right then, you want to take a look around my bakery?"

Danielle followed him down the hall past a long line of barrels stacked on top of one another, "Did you know, we bake over 10,000 loaves a week? Can you believe it?" Some bakery this is.

She watched as the men working in the bakery looked her up and down and then quickly shifted their gazes to the floor when they saw who she was walking with. It was clear to everyone including Danielle that she didn't belong in a place like this, "We bake the white bread, we bake the brown bread, we bake all sorts. Would you like to try some?" Alfie asked as he turned on his heel, "Miss?"

Danielle followed him into a wider room and she saw bottles of room littering the table in front of them "Virtue, Miss Virtue," Danielle said as she looked him in the eye. She nodded her head slightly.