𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃, ⁱˢⁱᵃʰ ʲᵉˢᵘˢ

61

"And more of a reason for me to hate Gina, too" She hissed, sipping her whiskey. "Did you know that Thomas Shelby, has stopped drinking whiskey" Isiah joked, raising his eyebrows.

"I heard, strange isn't it?" she laughed.

"Anyway, i best make my way over to the docks" Florence sighed, standing once more. "My boat leaves late tonight, i get on the plane early hours tomorrow"

Isiah stood, wrapping his arms around her. "Don't go killing anyone" he teased. She scoffed, kissing him quickly. "No promises"

"Toby" he shouted. The small boy skipped in. "Say goodbye to your mother"

The boy jumped up, Florence catching him. "Goodbye, sweetheart" she whispered. "When will you be back" the four year old asked. "In a few days" she nodded.

-

Florence waltzed into the old looking bar, looking at Tommy who sat with a cup of water in front of him. "Whiskey please" she nodded to the man, sitting down.

"Hello Tommy" she sighed, taking her coat off. "Florence" he nodded.

"How have things been, not seen you in a while" she said, thanking the man for the drink. He shrugged. "I've stopped drinking"

"I can see that"

She glanced at the newspaper that sat in front of him. "Maybe you should take your water into the hall" the barman suggested. Tommy ignored him.

Florence kept her eyes on the other man who approached the bar. "Another bottle of whiskey" he said in French.

"You work for the whiskey company, right?" he asked the two. Florence licks her lips, looking down. Tommy placed a business card in front of him. "We're here on private business" he said.

The man picked up the card, using his lighter to burn it. "Where did you learn french?" he asked Tommy.

"In France, yeah i learned a lot of things in France."

"Island is crawling with you tucking commissary men, closing our warehouses down" The man hissed, throwing the card into the ashtray. "Throwing men out of work"

"Jean-Claude leave the man alone" The barman spoke.

"Ten years our boat ran whiskey down the president roads to Boston. Now we have fucking nothing"

Florence scowled as he stood close to her. She moved her chair away.

"And you sit in front of us and order fucking water, is that meant to be a joke" he asked. "Right" Florence sighed. "You, my friend, are too close. And you stink of shit, i came to France to get away from that smell, but look where we are" she said.

The man bit his tongue.

"No, i ordered water because i no longer drink alcohol of any kind." Tommy corrected.

"Jean-Claude, please. Leave it alone"

"You my friend, are going to drink s toast. You will raise your glass to the poor people of Miquelon whose lives you bastards have destroyed. Drink it" he poured out the water in Tommys glass and poured whiskey into it. "No need, step away" Florence repeated. "He's sat right there, he can hear you"

"Drink. You're not leaving this bar until you have raised a toast"

"Okay" Tommy sighed, putting out his cigarette. "Okay, i understand that today of all days you would be angry. But if you had read my card instead of burning it, you would realise this is a misunderstanding. Now i've been very patient given the circumstances but you need to sit down and let me read my newspaper"

He scoffed. "He's a good one, isn't he" he said in French. He smashed the glass and Tommy stood, slashing his face with a knife. Florence pulled her gun, cocking it. A man charged at Tommy and she too pulled a gun from her pocket, stabbing the side of his neck. He fell to the floor.

"Before this goes any further please let me explain, I will not drink your toast because four years ago i forswore alcohol"

"Fuck" the man hissed, standing, grabbing a piece of broken glass.

Florence stepped forward, placing her gun on his chest. "No, don't" she said, pointing and shooting the clock on the wall.

"Since i forswore alcohol, i've become a calmer and more peaceful person. Florence on the other hand, still drinks, is still herself" he shrugged. "Sometimes in moments of personal conflict, i can resort to my old ways"

"If this were to happen now, it would indeed be a black day in Miquelon. Now my guests will be arriving shortly, need to prepare the room, show me where?"

The followed the woman into room.

-

"They think we're distillery men here to take our whiskey back" One of Michael's men said when the others ignored them. "We're late, he's always early let's go"

-

Florence sat at the chair, crossing her legs. Tommy poured a glass of water. "So, Micheal Gray, making an appearance for the first time in four years" she sighed, clasping her hands together.

"He's late" Tommy said, checking his watch. Footsteps approached and Micheal and three other men walked in.

"Hello Tommy" Micheal said. "There's a man out there having his face stitched up."

"That was a misunderstanding, hello Micheal" Tommy greeted. Florence stood. "Hello brother" she said coldly. "Florence" he said, "i didn't know you'd be here" he said, hesitating before giving her a hug.

"Well" she sighed, "I'm just Tommys little lap dog aren't i?" she mimicked, returning to her seat.

"I wasn't sure what i'd think when i saw you again, Tom," Micheal said. "Oh, yeah? What do you think?" he asked. "Since my mother, our mother, passed away four years ago. Tommy and I haven't even spoken. Me and Florence had the odd conversation"

"Well, we've all been very busy" Florence said coldly.

"You've been too busy to punish the people who killed her" he looked at Tommy.

"You know, Micheal, when you're dealing with a very powerful enemy, taking revenge sometimes requires time. You have to pick your moment. That moment will come"

Micheal sat down.

"But now we have a business interest in common, and any bad blood will be diluted by time and practical self- interest."

"Well, Tommy, we're all keen to hear what you have to say" He lit a cigarette. "I'm looking forward to working with you again Micheal. You look very well"

"You too"

"Micheal how's your kid? Sorry i've forgotten his name" Florence said, leaning forward. "He's..good?" he questioned. "I too had a boy, he's called Toby. But you wouldn't know that would you" She shrugged.

"Florence" Tommy said.