In Bleak Midwinter

Chapter One

The fires of Small Heath Birmingham roared fiercely on this cold winters evening, softly covering the blackened, smog coated city with a bleak orange blaze. The streets were empty; not a soul could be seen or heard lingering along the mud soaked gravel that connected the streets.

That was until exactly 12:41am.

In that moment, a young woman, no older than 22, was caught running seemingly away from trouble which followed. The woman was of medium height with her hair pinned in a messy, half braided bun, complimented by her rich sense of fashion, now covered in both muck, blood, sweat and tears. After she reached a specific doorway on Watery Lane, the woman proceeded to bang violently, followed closely by a few desperate yells at the upstairs window.

"Tommy!" She cried.
No answer.
She began to panic, frequently turning around to check her surroundings.
"Tommy! God dammit open this fucking door!" She wailed this time.
The door flung open and revealed a man, not much taller than the woman, but of a muscular build and a more menacing character. A cocktail stick which had obviously been chewed on was seen half sprung out of his mouth in a shock of revelation.
"Emily?!" He gasped, pulling her inside.
"John! My god am I glad to see you?!"
"What the fuck is going on?! Why are you covered in blood??!" John interrogated in a concerned manner.
"Where's Tommy? I need Tommy" Emily panicked, wiping her face and smearing the blood across it. John guided Emily into a small kitchen and placed her gently onto the wooden chair. He immediately grabbed the nearest cloth and began to wet it slightly, followed by soft dabs at her face to clean the muck off.
"John?!" Emily said, pushing him away.
"Let me help... we need to get this off you" he responded, ignoring her desperation to find Tommy.

The kitchen door peered open exposing Finn's position; he had been listening in to the chaos unfolding which ultimately led to his curiosity getting the better of him.

John sharply turned. "Finn boy, go find Aunt Pol and Arthur now!"
"And Tommy... go get Tommy, Finn!" Emily snapped moments after. She was clearly in a state of shock, believing Tommy would fix the issue before anyone else could.
"No Finn, don't listen to her, don't tell Tommy yet! Get Pol and Arthur first" John sharply retorted.
Used to the aggression and shouting, Finn nodded and shot out the front door in a hurry.
Emily winced in pain at Johns attempts to fix the woman.

"What the hell happened?" He questioned.
"I was-" Emily choked on her sobbing breath. "I was walking back from the Garrison when three men approached me-"
"It's okay, take your time Em" John soothed, dabbing her cuts.
"They said they were working for a man by the name of Sabini?" She sobbed.
"What?" John spat in anger.

Loud banging and clattering came from the corridor. It was Tommy, followed by Polly, Arthur and Finn. Tommy immediately dived down beside Emily as she fell into his embrace in a emotional cry.
"It's okay Em, I'm here now" Tommy comforted.
"John get the medical kit now" yelled Polly, pushing
John out the way in the process. As John stumbled back, he shot a confusing glare at Polly.
"Did I stutter John? Go get the medical kit now!" She hissed. John immediately ran into the other room like an obedient puppy.
"Who did this Emily?" Tommy said, cupping her cheeks in his hands and wiping the tears with his thumbs as they fell.
"I-I..." Emily stuttered.
"It's alright, it's alright, you're safe now" He soothed.
"Three men. By order of a man..." She continued.
Tommy nodded and pulled a small smile of reassurance.
"I didn't say anything to them Tommy I swear!" Emily blurted out in a sudden panic, changing the subject entirely.
"Emily" Tommy paused sternly, "You need to tell me the names of the men who attacked you or who they were working for".

John came crashing back into the room, medical kit in one hand and a bottle of whisky in the other.
"Tommy, she said it was Sabini's men earlier" John blurted out.
"What?!" Tommy shot an angry look over at John and Arthur.
"How does Sabini know Emily is linked to Tommy?" Polly questioned whilst cleaning the wounds dotted upon Emily's skin.
"Say the words Tommy and we will go after him" Arthur spat.

Tommy remained silent whilst comforting Emily. You could see by his expressions he was scheming ways of killing the men responsible for hurting his only vice; the girl he had spent his childhood with, the girl whom he shared his first kiss with and most importantly, the girl he was in love with. However, though Tommy was scheming, he was doing it in a calculated and tactical way. He knew his heart wanted to do the most terrible action, but equally he knew that's not what Emily would want. He knew she would want him to act in a level headed way, even if it meant revenge would be taken much later.

"Say the words Tommy..." Arthur repeated.
Emily flinched in Tommy's arms at the hands of Polly's care.
"They want to hurt you Tommy" Emily sobbed.
Tommy looked at her and pulled her closer. Polly ceased tending Emily's wounds to allow the two to have some space.
"They knew they could hurt you Tom by getting to Em first" Polly sighed.
Tommy closed his eyes and let out a slow huff of anger, keeping Emily as close to him as he could.
"Arthur, tell Alfie Solomon's there's been an attack on us by Sabini's men and that I will come and talk plans about how we can take Sabini down tomorrow. John, take Finn and the other Blinders to gather weapons and let Ada know to return to Birmingham at once" Tommy stated.
"Tommy" Polly tried to interrupt.
"I want every man to gather tomorrow at the Garrison before Midday" He continued, "If Sabini wants war, it will be war he gets".