The Blind Brother (Peaky Blinders)

Brotherly banter

(Tommy's P.O.V.)
I followed the Solomons brothers through their backery. All the while we walk, the boy, does not talk while Alfie only talks. We arrive at Alfie's office and I closely watch Killian feel his way around untill he finds a chair and then easily sits on it. This is the first time, I see him clearly face-first. Both of his eyes were a grayish-white colour which didnt have any emotion and only seemed to stare blankly without any form of emotion. On the right side of his face was a nasty scar. Although it was an older scar and now it had healed, it was still awfull to see it. The scar trailed like a spiderweb over his face. The injury had slightly discoloured his face in that area. I wondered if this injury had hurt him alot. "we've heard very bad, bad, bad things about you Birmingham people" Alfie starts and takes my eyes away from his brother. "You're all Gypsy's right? So what you live in? A fucking tent or a caravan?". "Probably a narrowboat" Killian remarked. "I came here to discuss business with you, Mr Solomons" I replied not answering Alfie's question. "Well" Alfie said clapping his hands together, which made Killian ears perk, as if he tried to figure out what his brother had done. Alfie leaned forward on his desk "rum is for fun and fucking innit. So, whiskey!" He continued and opened a draw, "now that is for business". He placed a full bottle of whiskey on his desk. "Let's talk first" I told him. He scratched his thumb against his beard before putting the bottle of whiskey away "suit yourself". Alfie sat back into his chair and clasped his hands together. Meanwhile Killian grabbed a pack of cigarettes. His finger trailes over the top in search for a piece. Pulling one out he felt around for the correct end to light it before putting it against his lips. He grabbed a match and striked it before lifting it to the butt of the cigarette. He turned his hand around and placed his wrist against the burning cigarette. I noticed he didn't flinch or show any pain when the cigarette burned his wrist. Then I spotted multiple burn marks on his wrist. So he has done this before and got used to the pain. Also seeing Alfie not react at all at the fact his younger brother had just burned himself to find out if the cigarette is actually lit, confirmed my supsicion that Killian always does this. "They say you had your life saved by a policeman" Alfie said cutting the silence, "I have policemen on my payroll" I asnwered back, "well, we don't like policemen" Killian said and puffed out a cloud of smoke "policemen can't be trusted". "Mr Sabini uses policemen all the time. That's why he is winning the war in London and you two are loosing it" I responded simply. That statement made Killian annoyed. "War aint over 'till its over, mate" Alfie responded. "You were in the war?". Alfie sat back in his chair before answering "I once carried my own personal form of stigmata on an Italian. I pushed his face up against a trench and shoved a six-inch nail up his fucking nose and I hammered it home with a duckboard. It was fucking biblical, mate". I turned to face the younger brother, who seemed to be greatfull for Alfie's personal stigmata to the Italian. Then I wondered if Killian fought in the war, to me he looked to be on the edge of the age of being able to fight. And maybe that was how he got his scar. "Kill's stigmata was tying someone to a post with barbwire and then shoving a fucking grenade into his mouth and pulling the pin afterwards". An eerie smile crept onto Killian's face after hearing Alfie explain. Almost like he enjoyed his personal stigmata. "So don't come in here and sit there in my chair and tell us we are loosing our war to a fucking Wop". "That war was a long time ago, you need to be more realistic" I shrugged. "Realistic?" Killian questioned, "realistic, yeah?". "Well, if you weren't loosing your war, you wouldn't have send me the telegram". "Well, you're forgetting your fucking telegram. Because it just said 'hello'. Nothing more" Killian commented harshly. "It's very simple. You want to sell us something. What?" Alfie asked me. "We join forces" I replied. "Fuck off!" Both brothers answered in union. "Mr Solomoms" I began and leaned forward on the desk, classping my hands together. "Your distillery provide one-tenth of your income" I continued telling them that I clearly have done my homework. Although I have not figured out alot about the youngest brother. He was still a mysterie to me. "I know you keep a gun in your draw" I said turning my head to the older brother. "I know you keep it beside the whiskey. I know you two over a deal or death. I know what I am saying makes you angry. But I am offering a solution. Because Mr Sabini is running all your bookies of your courses". But neither one of the brothers actually reacted toy statements. "Your the bloke who shot Billy Kimber, right?" Alfie questioned but he knew the answer to it already. "You did, you fucking shot him. That's you. You fucking betrayed him, mate". He laughed and then sat forward aswell. "So it will be entirely appropiated to do what I'm thinking in my head to do to you right now" Alfie then said gaining the my attention. "I can offer you a hundred good men, all with weapons and a new relationship with the police" I continued to try and make a deal with the two. "intelligence" Alfie began, "Intelligence, is a valuable thing, my friend. But it usually comes far to fucking late". Then suddenly Alfie grabbed a gun from his left, not from the right that I had thought. And held it level head with me. I was suprised, but didn't show it. I didn't flinch, nor move a muscle. Totally blank expression. "Lets say, I shoot you in the fucking face. And the bullet goes bone-mush-bone-cabinet, over there" he said and motioned behind him to the cabinet. "Which is a total shame, innit" Killian added, "So, what I'd do is this..." Alfie continued, "It's fucking simple, mate". I watched the two brothers closely. Trying to figure out if Alfie was going to actually going to shoot me. "I cut that cabinet in half, don't I? I do. I just literally... I cut the cabinet literally in half, mate" Alfie said dropping his gun and showing how he would cutt it. "And I take one half of the cabinet, all right, and I put it into a barrel and I take the other half of the cabinet and all its pieces and I put that into another barrel, right? And I send this barrel off to Mandalay. And the other barrel off to somewhere like...I don't know..." he turns to his brother who answers "Timbuktu" for thw other place. Before turning back to look at me "Timbuktu. You ever been?". "No" I replied simply, "well I heard its a very pretty at this time of year" Killian said, "of course it won't matter to me what the scenery looks like". He gestured to his eyes, which confirmed to me that he is in fact blind. "But would you like to go?" He asked me, "no". He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth "shame". "You know, I always thought that you'd have a great big fucking gold ring in your nose" Alfie said going of topic. "I'm sorry, go on" Alfie told me and gestured to me "Tell us your plan".

(Alfie's P.O.V.)
After the Blinder left, Killian spoke up "I don't trust him". "You dont have to trust him. You only need to trust me" I told him, "I don't trust you either" Kill answered simply. "You don't trust anyone" I told him and turn to face him. "Besides, we might need him" I told him. "Says who?". "Says I. The oldest one". A smirk forms on Killy's lips. "So you finally agree to being old" he said cheekily, "I am not old". "Dear brother. You are literally pushing retirement". "Im not that fucking old!" I told him harshly. "says the man who makes loud groaning noises when he gets up from a chair" he snickered at me and stands up. Then he walks out of my office. I smirked watching him leave. I knew that this was just brotherly banter between the two of us. Something we often did.

Several days later

(Killian's P.O.V.)
I was in the rumhouse when suddenly I heard very heavy footfalls. I immediatly regocnized to whom they belonged too. After all, how could I not? I lived with them for all my life. The owner of the footfalls didn't even have to speak and I still would know who it was. They belonged to my big brother. But beside his own footfalls, I could also hear another sound, which I dont hear often. I was slightly confused because it sounded like small hooves to me. I had no clue what Alfie was accompanied by, as the approached, untill the familiar scent hit me. The smell of clean hay and straw filled my nose. "So is it you or your goat friend that smells" I questioned Alfie cheekily. He didn't answer my question as he walked past me. He did however, slap me against the back of my head in a playfull manner, when he passed me. I snickered as I stood up to follow him and the goat. With my hand on the wall, I guide myself to where I hear Alfie walk to. I trace my hand over the long table which contain all kinds of food. I could smell ever bit of deliciousness. Eventually I stopped and began to listen to Alfie's speech. "The Passover started off way out there in the Far East - out in the sand, out in the desert, where our forefathers come from - the Jews, the brews, whatever you want to call them. It started out as a little speck on the horizon. And the Pharaoh, kept our people in slavery for thousands and thousands of years. Turning them into a persecuted race. The killing of the innocent, right? Seder, this feast what we is having here, right? Seder is basically the day when the Jewish angels decided, you know, that the evil fսcking Egyptians had pushed their fսcking luck. Right. It's part of our tradition, to do with Seder, right, that in order to make it good with God to kill a king... we have to carry out the Korban Pesach. Right.

I heard the little hooves of the goat move and then he bleated loudly. "And therefor we are going to sacrifice this goat tonight". "I know what you do to the goats, Alfie, you do not need to explain it every year. But then again, I do not really care" I tell him, "you are becoming more and more like the gentile" Alfie answered. "You're wrong. Gentile belief in other gods. Greeks: Zeus, Poseidon, Athena. The Christians: the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Northmen, like Vikings: Odin, Thor, Frey. Just to name a few religions and beliefs". I leaned forward "I on the other hand belief there is no god at all. He who invented a God is a fool. He who propagates a God is a scoundrel. He who worships a God is barbarian". "Then do you know to what afterlife you are going?" My brother questioned, "As of a matter of fact, no I do not. I could be going straight to hell. Eternal damnation. The whole bit. Or I could just rot in the ground, being eaten by the bugs. Either way, I do not care. I'm just here to eat" I told my brother, "so would you do the honor, and slit the throat of the passover goat already". I heard my brother chuckle but he got on with it anyway. Alfie knows that ever since, I had been shot and was blinded, my faith dissapeared. Why? Simple really, because why would a God put his people through something just for the sake of 'its what he wants you to go through'. But I will always remain respectfull to anyones beliefs, except for Alfie of course. I won't push them to not belief anymore or tell them they are wrong. Its just my belief and mine alone. "Atheist" Alfie called me, but by the way he said it, I could tell it was in a loving manner. Jusg brotherly banter

Published: 15th of September 2023