xx
Tommy
His car had broken down. His fucking car had run out of gas in the middle of the countryside and now he wouldn't be able to check on his horse's progress. Even without stopping to see the horse, with this delay, he would be much later than expected returning to Small Heath. As he walked the ten kilometers back to his car, petrol in hand, he felt like this was the universe's way of paying him back, at least partially, for his actions towards Elena. Truly he deserved a lot more from the universe for his actions.
Taking a quick glance at his watch he saw it was already five in the afternoon. Given the distance he still had to walk and then the long drive back to Small Heath he reckoned he wouldn't even arrive back until past midnight. He doubted anyone in Small Heath would even notice his late arrival back. The more he withdrew from Elena, the more distant he felt from the rest of his family. Once he returned he would have to give May a call to explain why he didn't stop by, not that he minded avoiding the obnoxious flirtatious looks but he still had to keep it civil so she looked after the horse properly.
"I said six fucking cans of petrol not four" he cursed Curly as he continued walking, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. He had ditched his jacket several kilometers back, it was simply too hot to wear or carry. As the late afternoon sun beat down on his back, the promise of seeing Elena was what kept him going at a steady pace. She would no doubt be asleep when he was back but perhaps that was for the better so he could check in on her freely.
"Fucking Curly" he cursed again.
xx
Tommy's car pulled up outside his apartment. It was three in the morning and Small Heath was eerily quiet; most of the drunkards had already stumbled home and the first morning shifts had yet to start.
"'Morning Tommy" Scudboat called leaning on the building across the street while smoking a cigarette as Tommy climbed out of the car.
"Is Daisy givin' you trouble again?" Tommy asked with a chuckle as he rummaged for his keys. It wouldn't be the first time Scudboat had slept on Tommy's sofa because of his donkey.
"Nah Daisy's been good recently. I'm here because John ordered an extra pair of eyes on the apartment, at least for tonight " he replied finishing his cigarette. His words made Tommy suddenly stop, why would they need an extra night watch? He had guards on Elena during the day but either Finn or him was always at the apartment at night so it wasn't a worry. Unless something had happened.
"You better start explaining. Are Elena and Finn upstairs?" he asked harshly coming to cross the street to face Scudboat.
"Jesus you are cranky this morning, should have just held my tongue," the man said not wanting to meet Tommy's intense glare.
"Scud" Tommy warned.
"Alright Alright. El, Michael, and Isaiah had a bit of an altercation at the Marquis. They're all alright, they held their own. But Arthur and John took care of the collateral, if you know what I'm saying, so in case there was any retaliation, they wanted an extra pair of eyes on El. I told 'em nobody would be that stupid to act after the state of the Marquis but you weren't here and John can be quite scary when he's mad so here I am" Scudboat explained pulling out another cigarette.
"What do you mean an altercation?" he pressed. He didn't even understand why the three of them were at the Marquis, to begin with. It wasn't Peaky territory and they knew that.
"John wouldn't tell me but he was fuming. Did tell me that everyone was okay, well you know besides the stitches and normal bruising" he said taking a drag.
"What stitches?" Tommy demanded. Trying to get a clear story out of Scudboat was like trying to decipher Morse code while tone-deaf.
"Oh, El's hands. It was pretty gnarly looking and don't even get me started about her eye. She's gonna have street cred for a few weeks looking like that, that's for sure" Scudboat answered casually while Tommy felt himself grow more panicked at each word.
"Fuck Scudboat, you said El was fine, stitches aren't fucking fine" Tommy swore as he took off jogging across the street to the apartment and quickly unlocked the door. Taking the stairs two at a time he made it to the second floor in record time as he quickly opened the bedroom door.
El was curled in a ball fast asleep, facing away from the bed. Tommy faltered for just a second before he walked over to the bed, crawling on top so he could see her face. He needed to wake her and ensure she was fine. What if the stitches had broken open or she had a concussion that they didn't properly check?
"El darling please wake up" he pleaded as he gently shook her shoulder. As her eyes fluttered open he could see the dark bruise surrounding her left eye. Given the color, it wasn't major but it would be dark for at least a couple of days. A quick scan of her face told him that there didn't appear to be any other major markings and that her pupils appeared normal, ruling out a concussion.
"Tommy?" she asked clearly still half asleep.
"I'm so sorry I'm late. Let me see your hands" he pleaded.
"Why are you late?" she said sitting up.
"El please let me see your hands" he demanded.
Sending him a small glare she placed her bandaged hands in his. He made quick work of the wrapping and as he reached bare skin he was greeted with a splattering of cuts all varying in size. As he turned them over he noted that five of the cuts had stitches, those would no doubt leave permanent scars. She was most definitely not fine.
"I've seen worse," she said pulling them from his grasp.
"You need to keep them wrapped for a few days so dirt doesn't get in them. And you probably shouldn't be typing as it could tear them back open" he said firmly as his mind whirled thinking how it was all his fault, if he was back on time perhaps he could have prevented this.
"I'm surprised you care," she said softly as she started to re-wrap her hands in the bandage. Noticing she wasn't getting it tight enough, Tommy grabbed her hands again and started methodically wrapping them.
"Of course I fucking care. Who caused this? What are their names?" he demanded with clenched teeth. Despite his anger he still held her hands lightly, not wanting to cause any more damage.
"John and Arthur already took care of it. I doubt the world will miss Stan and Paddy" she said quietly as she watched him work on her hands. They hadn't had this close of physical contact in over a week.
"Good," he said finishing wrapping but not letting go of her hands "Why would you even go to the Marquis you know better than that, you know it's not Peaky property"
"Oh so now it's my fault?" she asked tearing her hands from his grasp. Recently he always said the wrong thing. "Why don't we talk about where you were all night? Keeping May's bed warm?" she continued.
"No, I ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere so I had to walk to the nearest town, there and back. I didn't even make it to May's, I didn't want to run any later and have to sleep in the car again. I should have fucking been here El, I'm sorry" he replied honestly.
"You swear on it, Tommy. You swear you ran out of gas?" she asked with tears in her eyes. Fuck he had done this, he had made her cry. She clearly believed that he was late because he was spending time with May. Elena was never the jealous type but clearly, he had pushed it too far, even if he had never done anything like that with May.
"I swear on my life El. I swear to you no matter what I would never do that to you" he fiercely protested. Despite the promise he had made to himself to pull away he wouldn't let her believe that. She meant too much for her to even think for a second that he would be stupid enough to cheat on her.
"You know what they called me today? A whore. Tommy's assistant, Tommy's whore, but never Tommy's wife so maybe I shouldn't know what to think" she said tears streaming down her face.
"El I - " he started. She had to understand, this was all for her.
"And maybe this makes me an idiot but I believe your car broke down," she interrupted him. "And I believe that in your head you think you are doing the right thing pushing me away for whatever reason. And despite everything I still believe you, I still trust you. But I'm so fucking tired of having to question that trust. You want to know what I did the last two days, I waited by the phone in the office like a hopeless fool waiting for you to call. And like a fool, part of me thinks that because you are talking to me tonight that you won't ignore me tomorrow and that things will be different. But we both know that's not true."
Tommy remained silent as he struggled to find the words. All the things he wanted to say but couldn't.
"So you need to leave because I can't keep being the fool, Tommy. Because until you figure out what it is that is causing you to push me away, you aren't going to stop and I can't keep having my heart broken" she said as tears continued to flow.
"I'm sorry El" Tommy said standing up, he shouldn't be here.
"I know" he heard her mutter sadly as he walked out of the room. She was right he couldn't stop pushing her away until he figured out the assassination. He had no choice.
xx
Tommy stormed into the church. He hadn't slept in well over a day and the last person he wanted to be talking to was Campbell, not that he had a choice. After leaving Elena, Tommy had gone to the office. He had planned to get a few hours of shuteye on the sofa but he was too worked up about their conversation to sleep. He had spent hours going over Henry Russell's file. The odds may be slim but he would give it his all to come out of this alive, if not for him then for El.
Tommy continued walking until he came to stand next to Campbell. Between leaving the office and coming here, Tommy had tracked down John and learned the full story of what had transpired at the Marquis. If lack of sleep didn't put him in a bad enough mood that certainly did and Tommy found himself letting out a big sigh as he waited for the inspector to say something.
"The date has been set. Three weeks from today. You checked out his house?" the Inspector asked finally.
"There's coppers all over it. You'll take care of them?" Tommy questioned.
"No. That would arouse suspicion. You'll have to deal with them yourself" Campbell responded. Tommy knew that was going to be his answer, knew that he was ultimately on his own to get the impossible job done.
"And if a copper gets killed?" Tommy asked.
"There will be no consequences for you, I have given you my word," Campbell said a hint of annoyance in his tone. Tommy didn't believe his word for a second. If a copper was killed by Tommy's hand, he would face the gallows.
"Which I know to be worthless. That is why I have been settling my affairs in the event of my death" Tommy said finally turning to meet the Inspector's eyes.
"And making your peace with God, perhaps?" Campbell asked with a chuckle, "Well, good luck with that"
"I have made arrangements with men I trust. If I should die, then you will die" Tommy said with an empty smirk. "Know that" he promised before walking out.
Just as he was ensuring everyone was financially set up in the event of his death, he would also ensure they did not have Campbell hanging over them. This would be the final job between Tommy and Campbell and only time would tell if neither or one of them made it out alive.
First, however, he had to visit his horse and ensure she was race ready. Race day was coming up fast and then this all would be behind them, one way or another.
Elena
Elena stared at the letter in her hands for what felt like the hundredth time. The letter was from Tommy explaining that he had business to attend to in London and that he had to check in on the horse so he would be gone for several days. He had barely been in Small Heath for twenty-four hours and now he was gone again. She had found the letter two days ago sitting on her office desk and she had spent the last two days desperately trying to distract herself with work.
Truthfully it was the last two sentences of his letter that had invaded her thoughts since reading it. Keep your hands wrapped, don't wait for a call and I promise I will stay true to my word. I still wish you had named the horse. It felt like a glimpse into the old Tommy, her Tommy, but it also felt like false hope. Ultimately all he was promising was to not blatantly cheat on her and told her not to expect a call. But the last sentence...she wished they were in an alternative universe where she had named the horse too and Tommy had never decided to be bullheaded and cut her out.
Pushing the letter aside, Elena looked around. It was well after sunset and the office had cleared out. Scudboat was waiting outside to escort her once she left but for the first time in a long time, she had the legal office completely to herself. Which meant now was the perfect time to do some of her own investigating.
She had already checked all of Tommy's things at their apartment and his desk at the betting hall only to come up empty-handed. She knew he was hiding something from her and that something was likely why he had distanced himself from her. Her top guesses were a threat from her father or a threat from the IRA. Regardless, she figured if she could learn what he was up against and potentially solve the issue on her own then maybe she could have her old Tommy back.
Despite the office being empty she still carefully walked into his office and made sure to leave the lights off. The last thing she wanted to do was answer questions about what she was doing. The desk surface was largely barren not that she expected differently, Tommy was the tidy person in the relationship and hated clutter when he was working. She did, however, note that he still had her picture up on his desk, so that was a positive sign for their relationship at least. She really was desperate for anything positive at this point.
Moving on to the drawers, Elena gave them a gentle tug only to find them locked. Pulling a clip out of her hair she got to work on the locks. She and Finn had spent all last summer learning how to pick a lock to pass the time during the heat wave. Under normal situations, she would just ask John to help as the expert locksmith but she doubted he would be keen on breaking into his brother's personal belongings.
"Come on you son of a bitch" Elena cursed quietly as she attempted again. Maybe her lessons hadn't been that effective. Elena struggled for a few more moments before she finally heard the click of it unlocking. She gave a little cheer as she slid the drawer open. That happiness however quickly dwindled as she realized the drawer was empty. Tommy's ultra-tidy ways were proving to be unhelpful to her investigation. With a frustrated sigh, she turned to the drawer on the left side of the desk, she made quick work of the lock, getting it open in record time. This time the drawer was not empty, it had a stack of papers.
Elena quickly pulled out the papers and made fast work of sorting through what was Peaky business and what was out of place. By the end, all that she was left with was a large pile of normal business documents and a single piece of paper with a scribbled-down address in London. It wasn't a lot to go off of but it was something.
xx
"How are your hands?" Elena heard Polly ask snapping her out of her trance. Polly had been kind enough to invite her to dinner with herself and Michael, and Elena was so bogged down in her own mind she could barely focus on the conversation. Since finding the address yesterday she had spent all day today researching various theories. All of her work today only resulted in the name of the owner of the house, Henry Russell. Besides him being a field marshall, Elena couldn't find much on him. What led to the question, why was his address on Tommy's desk and what did it have to do with everything?
"Doing better, I'm hoping I can get the stitches out next week so I can get back to typing" she answered with a small smile. Having to delegate everything she needed to be written down to Finn had truly been a nightmare for both of them. Between Finn's atrocious spelling and both of their lack of patience, it had been disastrous.
"Good. Do you not like the chicken you have hardly had a bite?" Polly asked sternly. This conversation was quickly becoming an interrogation.
"Oh no, it's quite excellent. I'm just a bit distracted, I'm sorry" she answered before taking a bite to appease the woman.
"I think you've lost weight and not in a good way," Polly said suddenly causing Michael to cough on his food at his mother's bluntness.
Elena only stared in response as she felt her face grow warm from embarrassment. Truthfully she had noted her dresses were getting looser as well. She hadn't looked this unhealthy since she had come to Small Heath over two years ago. The stress of everything made her stomach hurt to the point where she didn't feel like eating much of anything. While she tried to put a happy appearance to everyone else she truly felt each day she was slipping into a darker and darker hole.
"Just a sensitive stomach, don't worry Pol. Michael, how's the second week going?" Elena answered trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.
"Bullshit" Polly interrupted before Michael could respond. "I swear I'm going to murder Thomas myself if he doesn't get his shit together. One look at you shows me the damage he has done. Where is he anyways?"
"London and I've just been a bit stressed that's all" Elena responded, taking another bite to appease Polly. She really didn't want to talk about Tommy and despite her feelings for him at this point, she wasn't going to let Polly bash him.
"I think you need to -" Polly started when the door busted open. Elena could barely process what was happening as five police officers stormed in.
"Michael Gray, you are under arrest" one declared as he grabbed him roughly.
"What the fuck is this about?" Elena exclaimed standing up. Polly just stared in shock at her son as another officer grabbed his other arm.
"Arson" the police officer declared as they led Michael out, Elena followed quickly not wanting to miss any information. The only arson they could be talking about was the Marquis Club but what evidence did they have to peg it on Michael? As they exited the house Elena made eye contact with Inspector Campbell leaning on the car with a giant smirk on his face, of course, he would want to be here for this.
"Michael! You can't take him away again, you can't take my son away!" Polly screamed as she ran after them. Elena watched as she pushed aside a police officer who was trying to slow her down.
"Michael don't say a word. I swear to you we will get you out" Elena said quickly to the boy as he was placed in the car. Michael only nodded wordlessly, panic clear on his face. He was just barely eighteen and never arrested, he would be eaten alive in there.
"Don't you fucking touch him! Get off him! Don't say anything! Tommy will get you out!" Polly yelled as she reached the car. Polly barely had her hand on the glass when Campbell ripped her away.
"Get your fucking hands off her!" Elena yelled as another police officer came to grab her preventing her from intervening. Elena thrashed against the arms holding her as she watched Campbell shove Polly harshly against the car. She would make Campbell pay for this, for arresting Michael and harassing Polly.
"Look at the mighty Peaky Blinder women contained," he said with a smirk. "You both should have stuck with women's business". Elena just glared in response.
"And you should both know, that as of this night, Tommy Shelby is finished" Campbell declared.
Shit.