The ride home was long and quite. You were sat next to Tommy in his car, while he kept his eyes on the road. It wasn't because it was a painful quite but it was the both of you thinking long and hard about your next move. Tommy's facial expression changed every few moments as you could see every stone be turned over in his mind. Your next move could very well be your last, in a good way. There weren't many of Mick Kings people left and there currently weren't a lot of places left for him to go, if he stubbornly stayed in Manchester.
Somehow the news must have gotten to Polly or she must have seen Tommy leave in the car earlier in the night, because she was standing outside in the dim morning light with a long fur jacket tucked firmly around her. She shifted from foot to foot as you approached and she was next to the car in an instant when Tommy parked it.
"How did it go?" She looked from Tommy to you.
"King is still alive" You said calmly and you could hear Tommy breath in heavily. He didn't like the outcome of the night, but you had to go back as soon as possible to finish what you started. With or without Tommy. You were sure that many of the men would follow you again, because everyone knew how weak King was by now.
"What are you going to do now?" this was Polly asked you directly and you felt proud about how much she trusted you, almost as a part of the family.
"We will immediately gather as many men as possible and go back. We will infiltrate the city and find the bastard and get rid of him once and for all." Tommy was fast to reply and he was about to walk hastily past Polly and into the house, but he stopped for a beat and reach out his hand for you to take, and took you with him inside the betting shop.
The first workers were starting to slowly arrive at the office as you both disappeared upstairs to your room. You didn't understand why you weren't going to Tommy's office to start on the plan, but you followed along to see what he would do. He let you inside and closed the door. He sat down on the side of the bed and breathed in heavily and let out the air like it was the first breath he was taking in a long time. He was still holding on to your hand when he slumped down a little, lowering his shoulders that you first then noticed where extremely tense. He looked like a wreck, you suddenly realized. He gave you a once over while he furrowed is brows.
"Tommy... Are you okay? What are we doing up here?" You asked him quietly while he gestured you to turn around.
"You are too much like me and I don't think I like it." That was not what you expected to hear from him but you did as he wanted and turned around for him. You let go of his hand and you could feel him letting his fingers trace along your hips and your lower backs curves.
"What do you mean?"
"Are you hurt anywhere? If you are as much like me as it seems, you will be hiding it right now." You stopped turning and faced Tommy again. You caressed his cheek and he leaned into your touch and kissed the inside of your palm.
"Tommy I'm fine. They didn't catch me. I was the one who did the damage."
"See, you ARE like me, huh?" He said under a laugh and sighed heavily. Now he was finally smiling and somehow relaxed by your touch.
"Tommy we need to get back downstairs. We need to gather people and get back to Manchester." You let your hand run thought his hair and smooth it down.
"I'll admit it is thrilling to see you at work but I am looking forward for this to be over." He said finally getting up from the bed, grapping your hand on the way out.
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The whole family had gathered downstairs while you were taking a minute in the bedroom. That included a very angry Ada. She wasn't happy with the way that you had suddenly gone into battle without telling her first. When she was done shouting at you and had hugged you till you gasped for life, Tommy looked around at everyone like he was sizing them up; figuring out if they were ready for the final blow.
"We need to find Mick King. Tonight. Circumstances are that he is weakened and we don't want to give him a chance of finding more men to fight his battle. We need to find as many men as possible as fast as possible. Go out and knock on some bloody doors and get people up and moving. We will all meet here before heading to Manchester." Tommy spoke with a loud clear voice to make sure that everyone understood. The brothers already ran out to the people waiting just outside and barked their orders at them. The Shelby Family was showing off their leader skills brilliantly as it didn't take long before many men and a few women were gathered in the bedding shop. The desks were cleared out and were used for all the men coming in, counting guns and blunt weapons and organizing transportation.
"Tommy?" You had been watching over the whole thing and helped with the planning, but you didn't have a clue about the weapons that people brought and what ammo the different guns needed. Tommy was speaking to Johnny but turned around when you said his name. As a natural reaction he reached out to rest his hand on your arm. Touching you in any way had become much more important to him when you spoke, you had noticed.
"I think I know exactly where he is." You said in a low voice so that only the three of you could hear it. Tommy just lifted his eyebrows to signal to go on.
"I believe the only place he has or the last place there might be secure for him, is the club he is running for Lady Finch." You suggested and Johnny nodded eagerly even though you knew he didn't know much of the place.
"Christ... I think you might be right. But the place is still running, we can't just run in there and kill him. Lady Finch will never forgive us interrupting anyone in her club. She will never let us take over any businesses then." A deep line formed between his brows as he frown. He was not at all happy about this new information. All the big men with the blunt weapons might not be the best idea unless you could find a way for them to get into the building discreetly. If that was even possible when you were talking about the men who huffed and puffed like a steam locomotive when they were walking by you.
"You do not suppose that Lady Finch might hand over the drawing of the building? She is rather fond of us." You suggest, but you almost knew the answer.
"She's fond of YOU, but I'm certain that she doesn't want to get involved in any of this. It would take her time to find the drawings anyway and time is something we don't have." Tommy muttered and his eyes darted around.
"It's a casino, Tommy, I might be able to get in as a guest. They will recognize you any day, but not me." You suggested but Tommy held up a finger to signal you to stop.
"I'm not letting you walk in there alone." He declared.
"I could have a few of the big guys with me. No one would bat an eye as the club is for the upper class. I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one in there with a couple of bodyguards. I'll go change into another dress." You said quickly and was about to move to the stairs but Tommy caught your arm. You couldn't help but flinch a little which made Tommy let go immediately, knowing what that meant.
"You think you can find him in there alone, only flanked by muscles?"
"No of course not. The lot of you will find another way in, so that we got the whole ground covered. Besides, no one will suspect that any of us will just walk in the front door, so I think my way in will be the safest." Tommy looked you in the eye for a moment before he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
"Y/n, go get changed. Johnny, call for attention." Tommy padded Johnny on the back and the man nodded once and trudged to the middle of the room. He roared at the top of his lunges until people got quiet. First when people stopped talking and whispering, you realised how loud it had been before.
Tommy walked up to the middle of the room and all eyes were on him immediately. He told them what you had just been talking about and he needed someone to go with you. You didn't hear more of it, as you hurried upstairs to find the prettiest dress you owned. Ada joined you as she had heard the plans and helped you into the clothing.
"And here I thought the dress we bought would be used for a fancy ball, but now you are using it with the risk of getting it covered in blood." Ada joked, as she help you put your hair up and took a necklace from your small jewellery box and placed it around your neck.
"I'm sure I won't be the one actually killing the guy, even though it's very tempting. We just need to surround him and make sure he can't escape." You explained and picked up a pure and placed your small handgun in it. You didn't even know if they would take it away in the entrance.
"You are sounding too much like my brother and I don't like it." Ada sighed with her eyes on the little gun.
"Tommy said the same thing only a few moments ago." You teased and Ada laughed.
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"Are you ready, Darling?" Tommy took your hand as you walked to the end of the stairs. He never called you Darling, but he said it with a smirk on his lips and his eyes on your cleavage. You guessed that the dress might be approved.
"As ready as I can be. You organized everything? Or is it even possible to do from home?" You asked Tommy. He kissed the back of your hand and placed it on his arm as he led you outside.
"I can't say I have been at the building before, but I know of places like it. We can guess a few of the ways in, but we'll have to see. I'm sure we will figure it out and we got the men to cover the whole building. We'll just wait till the three of you are in, before we move."
"And who's going with me then?" You asked curiously, as none of the faces you knew were in sight outside Shelby Limited. Many men were walking to the different cars with guns in their hands. Some had already gone you realised and you spotted Arthur handing out a few blunt weapons to a couple of soot covered working men.
"Don't think about it. Its better you don't know their names." Tommy huffed.
"And why is that?"
"Because you will remember their names if we loose them. I found some without family, don't you worry." Tommy thought this would sooth you, but that was just making it worse. How horrible it must feel that you were picked to do a task that might be dangerous, just because no one would miss you when you were gone? You didn't say anything, but you had all the time in the car from Birmingham to Manchester to get to know your guards and that was what you were going to do.
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The brute that was called Peter was a horrible drive compared to everyone else you had been driving with. You now knew why the houses in the city had cut off corners, because you would have driven into all the edges whenever you rounded a corner. You and the other brute Andrew were desperately hanging unto the seat under you and you had a hard time stretching your fingers out, when you arrived in front of the club. Strangely enough you weren't met with a piccolo that could drive your car to the side for you, so you had to park it yourself and walk the distance. In front of the highly decorated door, stood only one man as security and he looked very sleepy. His clothing was very middle class and didn't fit the place and he was very skinny. It was only when you stood in front of him that he finally opened his eyes all the way up and placed his sight on your breasts.
"I'm here to play some cards." You simply said, as you didn't know what else would make him open the door for you.
"That's too bad, as our dealer is in the hospital." The man cheekily said.
"Pardon me?" You said and blinked. You were shocked that this man was so open about their problems. That made you think, that he might not have been the first choice for the job.
"Ermh I mean that... You might want to go to another place... I mean no, you should play something else, yes." He was still staring down your cleavage as he twisted his brain for the information you were sure he had been told only a few hours earlier, as he won the job as security guard.
"I'm sure I can find something to entertain myself with inside." You placed a can over you bosom to get him to focus.
"I'm sure you can. Do you have an invitation or a member's card?" He asked as he stood up taller, like he was proud to finally do his job.
"None of that, but I know Lady Finch personally."
"Lady Finch?" He asked stupidly. You were getting really tired of this man and the two men you had with you, sighed loudly as well.
"The owner of the damn building!" Peter said angrily and that made the stupid security guard peak up and look at your guards with an angry expression.
"Hey, now you listen...!"
"Will you please let us in, sir, or I'll have to call upon my friend Lady Isabella Finch. She will have you removed from this job immediately." You interrupted the man. He shouldn't ruin your plans already at the entrance. The man grumbled under his breath but finally opened the door for you. He looked at the two men for a long time, before closing the door after you again. You tried your best not to react to the surroundings but the hall you stepped into was magnificent. With marbles everywhere and the Greek inspired statues it all looked snowy white and clean. A butler met with you and showed you the way to the main halls where the games were happening. He told you that many of the dealers were otherwise occupied but a few of the roulettes and baccarats were open. You guessed that the dealers must have been a big part of the people you had been fighting against only the night before and they were either being buried or where at the hospital. At least the butler had a bit more class and didn't tell it outright.
You walked into a huge room that had a much darker design. It was like stepping into another time period. This looked much more modern with the dark wooden panels on the walls and the dark green and Bordeaux coloured fabrics on the furniture. The room was covered in smoke from cigarettes and cigars.The gambling table that wasn't used were covered in red sheets and the tables that were being used, had very little money on them. That only showed that people had already abandoned the place for somewhere else and it was only the few and very desperate people that were showing up at the sorry excuse of a casino, around tea time. A few suited men stood around and looked like security guards, as they followed you with the eyes. You had to hurry before they got suspicious of you and a fight broke loose. Lady Finch wouldn't be pleased with that.
"Excuse me, can you tell me the way to the restroom?" You asked, as the butler was waiting for you to choose a table.
"Yes, it is just this way." The butler let you down between the tables and you took the opportunity to look around the place. The ceiling was very high in the middle, but all the way around the room was a small platform with multiple stairs leading up to it. A few gentlemen stood on the platform and looked down at the table as they talked. Another butler disappeared through one of the many doors on the platform, and it made you wonder if Mick King might be hiding behind one of those, or if this place had the main office hidden away from plain sight.
"It is right down the hall. Women's restroom is on the left, men's on the right if your... security needs it." The proud butler looked up and down at the gorilla sized men and walled away. You stood in front of a beautifully decorated hall with a lot of painting of various lords and ladies you had never heard of.
"Hey, can you two look if anyone is coming? I'll check some of the rooms." The two men stood shoulder to should in the hallway and made it almost impossible to see you. You opened door after door to reveal a lot of different empty rooms with no windows. Most of them were used as storage room for extra chairs and decorative pieces. You passed the restrooms and saw that the hallway continued to the right and you kept going until you saw the emergency exit with the fire instructions hanging on the side. You looked around to make sure no one was there and you opened the door slightly and looked out.
You snorted when you saw a few of the peaky blinders outside, trying to pry open the lock on the door. They looked at you blinking, not believing their luck. There really wasn't a lot of security at the place. King must have lost most of what was left of his men in the last stand off with the Blinders.
"Is there a pro..." A voice was suddenly muffled behind you and you turned to see Andrew with his arm around the neck of the butler that had escorted you to the restroom. With his other hand he tried to cover the man's mouth but he was struggling a lot and suddenly bit down into Andrews's hand. He was about to raise his voice in a yelp, but stopped himself. Peter hurried to help him and got there in time to pry a small handgun out of the hands of the butler. He most have hidden it away under his clothing. That just goes to show that he wasn't a normal butler either.
"What do we do with him?" Andrew said while tightening his grip around the man's neck and the man's face became redder and redder by the second.
"Knock him out and throw him in the women's bathroom. " Peter suggested and without further discussion he hit the man on top of his head with his own gun, and the man went limp as a ragdoll. The two men dragged him into the bathroom as the newly arrived Blinders got inside.
"Where is Tommy? Does he have a plan?" You asked one of the men.
"He's with some of the others. He said he might know where the office was on the second floor. We had to cover all possible ways the bastard can escape." He explained. Right, so he did as he said, but that didn't tell you where he was in the building.
"I'll leave to the main room with Peter and Andrew. You stay here." You told the men and it kind of felt good when they did as you said.
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You sat down next to a middle age drunk man who was staring at the spinning of the roulette like it was magical. The dealer said that you had to wait out for the next round and you just smiled at him and nodded politely. That gave you time to look around to see if any of the Blinders were visible or if there were any sign of King.
"Are you missing something, miss?" The dealer asked you, as he noticed you looking around.
"No no. I'm just admiring the room. It's very neatly decorated." You simply said and made a show out of looking to the chandelier right above you. You knew that the dealer was suspicious of you now, so you opened your little handbag in your lap and kept your hand on the gun. The dealer finally asked for your bid and you found some cash in your purse to throw on the table. The dealer looked at your companions and sneered. He knew something was up. He threw the ball into the roulette anyway and as your eyes followed the ball around like the other players at the table; you saw something move in the corner of your eye. You looked to the second floor platform and saw a group of men approaching a heavy wooden door hastily. They clothing didn't fit the casino club so there must be something wrong, since they went in where the guests could see them. Did they figure out that the Blinders surrounded the place and was already inside?
Suddenly everything happened in a blur. As you were looking to see who would open the dark wooden door, the first gunshot rang through the building and the Blinders you had let in only a few moments before spilled out in the casino and made the guest flee as best they could while drunk out of their mind. The dealer in front of you reached for something under the table and you didn't think at all when you finally grabbed the gun you had had your hand on all this time. The moment after he was gasping for air and fell over the table and stopped its spinning. Another mans life on your conscience.
It was already chaos around you. The guests were hiding under tables or ran out. The Blinders were fighting with the few security guards, who were soon knocked to the ground and bleeding from different fatal wounds. So sorry, Miss Finch!
You ran towards the stairs to the upper floor. Your senses told you that Mick King was in that room and you had to get to him, before he could fortify himself in the room. Your shoulders slumped and you relaxed a little, as you saw Arthur and not long after John. They were fighting with each their member of the staff and you saw the raw anger in Arthurs eyes as he threw they guy on the floor and stumped on his head until the skull gave in. You had to look away from the gruesome scene and feel the luck of having Arthur on your side.
"Where is Tommy?" You asked, as the brothers moved further in. John shot a man to your right as he approached.
"I thought he was already inside. He's here somewhere." John shrugged and moved on.
"I think I know where King is hiding." And that caught the attention from the brothers.
"This way!" Arthur yelled and gestured for you to go first. A few of the Blinders came with you and you all walked up the stairs. The fight was almost over underneath you as you stepped towards the door you had seen the men.
"I saw at least five men go in there." You mentioned but the brothers already checked to see if it was locked and commanded a few men to force it open. You stood back as the men stepped back and tried to ram the door with their bodyweight. After a few attempts they finally got in and the man in front was immediately shot down. The Blinders scattered to each side of the door and John shot around the door frame and hopefully hit whoever was in there. You heard the screaming from inside and knew the Blinders were winning. When it grew quiet again a few men took the chance and ran in. It seemed that the enemy had run out of bullets and they were throwing chairs and hit with police clubs.
"Y/n." A familiar voice came from the stairs.
"Tommy, where were you?" You said a little worried, as you saw the blood stains on his clothing. You ran a hand over his chest.
"Not mine." Tommy simply said and kissed your temple.
"All clear." John called out from the room. You frowned. That couldn't be. Where was Mick King?
"What do you mean all clear? Is the bastard dead?" Tommy disappeared into the room and you followed. Your eyes quickly scanned the huge office. Paper were scattered everywhere and Kings men was laying in pools of their own blood, but there was no sign of King himself.
"Search the place. He has to be here somewhere. The rest of his men were here for a reason." Tommy muttered and people were scattering around. You too looked over the room. While others looked in closets, under the desk and started to leave the room to search elsewhere, you started to look around if there were any things out of the ordinary. You have had a lot of training with observations the last few year, as you hadn't talked with anyone but just been in the room and analysing everything that could potentially harm you or where you would wind an escape route of needed. Your eyes went over the dark wooden desk, the papers that included a large amount of unpaid bills with red writing on them and the decoration on the walls. You looked into a closet that someone else had already checked. It was a small closet, not much wider than the door that let into it, but the light from the room and the windows didn't reach in there. You moved some of the jackets on the hangers to the side and looked if there were anything behind there. Of course there wasn't but... A strange light came from under the wall... Under the wall? The back wall of the closet didn't reach all the way down to the floor and the crack showed you that there was light on the other side of it.
You made a decision that would either make you look really stupid or really smart. You stepped out of the closet and ran towards the back wall. You were caught by surprise when the wall swung open easily and you tumbled to the floor on the other side. You only get to get up on your knee as someone grabbed your arm and dragged you to your feet. You were pressed against a man's body with his arms around your arms so you couldn't struggle. You could feel something could and sharp against your throat, so you stopped struggling and stood completely still. Tommy was the first to enter the room through the closet and behind him, came his brothers and their men. They all pointed their gun at you and King.
"You let your whore go in first? How noble of you!" King spat and you could feel the sarcastic laugh in his cheat against your back. It made you sick.
"Let her go, King." Tommy said in a firm voice.
"Why did you bring a woman with you? To make sure she would be killed? Or is she important to you?" He teased again. He tightened the grip around you and in a smooth motion you could feel the blade cut through your skin. It stung so badly but you tried to keep yourself calm. If you started breathing harder, you might accidently make the blade go deeper. When you felt the first blood run down your cheat, Tommy had fire in his eyes and he stepped closer.
"Aha so she IS important. I wouldn't step any closer if I was you. She might lose her head."
"You wouldn't dare." Tommy said with clenched teeth. He pointed his gun at King's head but the man just moved you in front of him and made it impossible to hit him without hurting you.
"Women are useless creatures, aren't they? They are weak, don't know how to do business... Just see Lady Finch. She doesn't know what is good for her business. Letting you and your dogs into Manchester. She will come to regret when she sees the mess you made her. Scaring her customers away. And now look at this one! She can barely figure out how to stay alive! Weak." The last word was only meant for your ears, as King whispered it in your eye and let his tongue leave a wet trail on your earlobe. This man was so nasty and vulgar that you had a hard time hiding your disgust. You needed to get out of his grasp or else you could stand there all day, but it was very risky while he had his knife against your throat. But if you did it right...
"I'm starting to feel dizzy." You said with a weak voice and let your eyes close. You leaned on King heavily like you were about to faint and go unconscious. If he thought women were so weak, you should give him weak.
"Useless woman." King muttered and tried his best to keep you upright. You dangled in his arms like a doll and relaxed in all your muscles. You could feel the knife glide up against your throat and scratching your chin. His grip on you was slipping and he stepped back to not fall, when you didn't support your weight on your legs anymore.
"Y/N!" Tommy said concerned, but you had to keep going.
"Don't get any closer!" King shouted strained and leaned back to slowly let your body glide down. He knew that the second your body didn't cover him, he was a dead man and you would feel the panic in him. He finally fell backward and dragged you along with him. You landed on top of him and saw that as your cue to move again. You grabbed the knife out of his hand and he tried to get a grip on you again. But you turned in his arm and with one smooth movement you let the knife slide through the skin, tendons and muscles in his neck. His mouth formed a surprised O and his eyes wide and he stared directly into your eyes. The blood gashed out of him and you couldn't make yourself move as the flood of blood was spilled all over you.
Finally someone dragged you away and got you up from the floor.
"Are you alright?" Tommy stood between you and the bleeding man and looked you over. His hand ran over the wound on your neck ever so softly.
"Handkerchief? Anyone?" Tommy roared and one of the blinders handed him a grey cloth.
"Hold it to the wound." He told you. You nodded, still beside yourself. Tommy walked to Kings body on the ground. The man was long gone but Tommy still aimed him gun at the man's head and shot him twice.
"Just to make sure." He explained and wrapped you up in his arms.
"That was bloody brilliant, my love." He said and kissed your temple. When you left the secret room you saw how some of the Peaky Blinders were already doing some cleaning. Bodies of Kings Men, the last members of the Scuttlers gang, were piling up in the middle of the room. Tommy followed your glance but didn't try to hide it from you. You had just proven that you were more than capable to manage the view.
"We need to get you cleaned up and rested. We will figure out what to tell Lady Finch another time."
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Authors note:
Sorry the absolute total and very horrible wait for this chapter! I've been away from writing so long that i almost didn't know how to anymore. But now i have 3 weeks vacation and time to sit down and do stuff again. So i did.
Ps i also gratuated and is now officially a graphic designer!