In Bleak Midwinter

Chapter Twenty-Six

Emily slowly opened her eyes and rubbed her head painfully; as she sat up, she realised she was in an unfamiliar room, surrounded by cobwebs and empty cracks in the wall which creaked every time the wind blew gently. Before she could properly regain her senses, an inconspicuous voice announced itself from the dark corner of the room.

"Ello love"

Emily immediately jumped up in an instant panic. Realising she no longer had her gun, she raised her fists in an attempt to defend herself.

"Don't worry love, I'm not going to hurt you" the voice joyfully emerged.
"Who's there?" Emily questioned, tilting her head in curiosity.

The figure slowly stepped out from the darkness. Disclosing a long stick which banged against the floor with every step, the now obviously rustic man was apparent; it was Alfie Solomons.

Emily rolled her eyes and sighed. She had taken a wild guess who he was and was quickly disappointed. She turned around and walked towards the door.

"I wouldn't bother mate" Alfie interrupted as he watched her move towards the exit. "I've already tried it. We're stuck in here together".
"Fucking brilliant" Emily cursed, still attempting to open the door despite his advice.
"Yeah it is" Alfie remarked. "In fact, I think god has put us in here together for a reason. That reason I am yet to discover, however, I truly believe it is meant to be".

Emily searched the room for a way out, not bothering to acknowledge Alfie's nonsense. It became apparent to her that she was being held in a prison cell, but she was unsure where or how; all she could remember was running to Tommy after she had fired her revolver at Billy Kimber. Giving up, she folded her face into her hands and sat on the floor.

"I don't think we have formally met before?" Alfie approached, standing next to Emily and looking down towards the dumbfounded woman. "You are the soon to be Mrs Shelby, aren't you?"

Emily took her head out of her hands and looked up at him. Her eyes had welled up with water at the stress of not knowing whether Tommy was okay. She nodded and feigned a small smile.

"I am Alfie Solomons. I am very acquainted with your fiancé Thomas. He was told me much about you. Some might argue you're a weakness to him... maybe that's why you're here?"

"I shot Billy Kimber in the head" Emily announced.
"Fuck..." Alfie prolonged. "And I thought you were Tommy's pretty little... fragile.... toy?"

Emily shot a fierce glare at Alfie. He immediately started waving his finger at her.

"You see, that right there, it the stare of a deeply un-profound woman. Total irrationality. Thats why he's in love with you. You have my respect" Alfie said, adding a bow to the end of his sentence.
"Why are you here, Mr Solomons?" Emily asked as she analysed his features.
"Same reason you are, I suspect" Alfie said vaguely, "All part of the plan".
"What plan?" she retorted.
"A few days ago, I was at the opera. Now, I usually don't decide to go during the day time, but, I wanted to see whether the demographic of people who went during the day was drastically different from the night" Alfie spoke.

Emily stared ambiguously at him, unsure of where his story was going to lead. She assumed that eventually her would conclude with the reason to his antics, but, she knew from Tommy's dealings with Alfie that it was never that simple.

"I was watching the opera and I saw a very fucking tall man, and he had the most ridiculous hair cut I have ever seen. Anyway, the opera, yeah? It went on for quite a while actually... into the night-"
"How is this relevant?!" Emily interrupted angrily.
"Patience" Alfie responded momentarily before continuing his long-winded story. "I realised that the opera had a very large and costly build up before it's final act".

"Oh my god" Emily shook her head and placed her hands across her face in disbelief at Alfie's utter chaos. Unprovoked and unfazed by her disappointment, Alfie carried on, waving his hands as he began to reach the point.

"I realised that I needed a build up before my final act. It was as though god, right, was telling me, Alfie... you need a plan" he nodded. "So, with that, I decided, I was going to sell prohibited narcotics and rum at the racecourses with help from your fiancé".

Emily lifted her head and stared blankly. "Tommy doesn't deal with narcotics or alcohol though?"

"No. You're right, Mrs soon to be Shelby" Alfie nodded.
"It's Emily. Just call me Emily" she sighed.
"Thomas Shelby needs a license for his bookmaking. We made a deal. He helped me, I help him. But we had Sabini to answer to"
"Right?" Emily curiously questioned.
"And you two fucked Sabini off big time. And now Kimber is dead, thanks to you, he's going to be mega fucked off mate. Big fucks small" Alfie spat.

"What has Kimber got to do with Sabini?" she questioned again.
"So many questions... so little time" Alfie said to himself.
"Alfie, we're literally both stuck in here. I'm sure you have plenty of time" Emily rolled her eyes.

"Yeah I suppose" Alfie agreed. "Kimber and Sabini both had legal licenses for the tracks. That means, in order for their business to operate successfully, the two shared a mutual agreement so that things would run smoothly".

Emily began to listen carefully; it was all information Tommy never shared with her. She knew it was because he didn't want her to be involved with the dangers of his business, which meant she was much safer being kept in complete darkness about it all.

"When Tommy began to mess around with Sabini, Kimber jumped in to help. This is why I assume he was after confrontation. Now that you have killed Kimber, Sabini is in danger again, along with his business. He wants revenge" Alfie shared.

"Oh... I understand now why Tommy choses not to share this information with me" Emily frowned.
"For your protection" Alfie nodded.

A brief silence swept around the room before Alfie cleared his throat.

"As Thomas is one of my dear friends, I will help you get out of here"
"Or... we could help each other?" Emily smirked; it was clear she had a plan...