In Bleak Midwinter

Chapter Thirty-Three

2 days later...

Polly, Emily, Arthur, Finn and John sat together in the kitchen of the Small Heath den whilst they awaited the arrival of Tommy who had called an emergency family meeting following the incident with Angel Changretta. Polly stared disappointingly at John whilst she sipped her tea, occasionally making an uncomfortable slurping noise to put the young Shelby brother in a state of unwanted awkwardness. Emily smirked subtly at the interaction occurring at the table, admiring Polly's authoritative tendencies towards her nephew. Arthur posed a seemingly displeased face at the recent behaviour as a means to avoid the inevitable growing anger which resided within him as a consequence to his brothers irrationality.

Emily cocked her neck slightly to the sound of Tommy's arrival. He marched in with a overpowering sway of self-assurance which he would later use to make an series of dogmatic and imperious commands. Everyone remained silent, witnessing John gently perform his final nervous gulp before Tommy begun.
"Right, as you all know, John cut Angel Changretta"

Silence loomed from the members of the Shelby family.

"Arthur told you not to" Tommy continued.
"Mhmm" Arthur muttered in agreement.
"Warned you of the troubles it would cause... potentially start a war. Now, I have an Italian in my backyard, saying he wants to kill my brother"
"Mhmm" Arthur muttered again.
"So what do we do, John?" Tommy asked firmly.
John inhaled deeply. Emily watched the interaction unfold, unsure on whether to interfere.
"I'm sure if we lay low for the next few weeks, this will all blow over" Arthur suddenly announced on John's behalf.
Polly shot a look of disbelief at Arthur's sudden change of heart. Emily pulled a face of confusion as she judged the dynamic between the three brothers.

Tommy momentarily stared coldly at Arthur, drawing all the attention away from John.
"So, should we apologise in Italian, or, in English?" Tommy sarcastically retorted. Polly turned again, expressing her utter dismay at the ridiculousness of the situation.
"Or should we ask them, which fucking language they prefer?" Tommy continued.
Polly leaned forward, placing her cup of tea on the saucer. "You said whilst business was expanding, you wanted peace at home?"
"And the only way to guarantee peace, is by making the prospect of war seem hopeless" he responded.
Emily rolled her eyes, understanding the nature of what he was implying.
"If we apologise or lay low, the Changretta's will only come at us. So, we strike them whilst they're weak" Tommy stated resolutely.
"Oh my god" Emily muttered with incredulity as she gulped the last sip of her tea.
"You did the right thing, John. Now we go on the offensive. We take two of the Changretta pubs" Tommy began before he was interrupted by Polly who seemingly burst out with a tone of sarcastic outrage. John stared smugly at the floor.
"Oh? For Christ sake, why?"
"Ey?!" Tommy snapped at the disobedience.
"Why?!" Polly snapped back.
"Because we fucking can! And if we fucking can, we do!" He shouted.
"Starting a war with the Italians is not going to make you more powerful, Thomas" Emily intervened.
He looked over at her to make her point.
"The war with the Sabini's almost cost us our lives, do you not think the Changretta's will do the same damage, if not worse?" She stated pragmatically.
"Not if we get them first" He shook his head dismissively, raising his eyebrows with steady conviction.
"Then you are making a mistake. I don't want to play the risk on these cards. If you provoke the Changretta family further, they will only get others involved. That will include the Sabini's again. Possibly more clans... maybe even the American Mafia. Who knows?!" Emily implored.
"I agree with Emily. This is an extremely dangerous game to be playing with soldiers we simply do not have" Polly confirmed.
"I also agree, brother" Arthur added.

Tommy glared at his family unemotionally as he allowed a wave of silence to pass.

"We take two of the Changretta pubs... tonight" he commanded, marching away from the family gathering and out the door. John aimlessly got up from his chair and went to follow before he was grasped by his Aunt who pulled him across the table to attention.
"You listen here, John Shelby. You don't ever pull this shit again. Next time, swallow your pride before you think about cutting the son of a gang leader. If anyone gets hurt because of this, mark my words I will cut you myself" she scolded, letting go of her grip. John yanked himself away and followed after Tommy.