Stepping off the train platform, your suitcase beside you as you reach into your pocket pulling out a pack of cigarettes and taking one out the box then putting it between your lips. You put the box back in your pocket and bring out your lighter flicking it open and pressing your thumb down on the lighter, so your cigarette will light. You shake your lighter and put it back in your pocket before grabbing the cigarette in between your fingers and blowing the smoke out.
"New start." You murmur to yourself before putting the cigarette back in between your lips and grabbing your suitcase. You start walking around Birmingham, finding a place to stay. You come across a run-down apartment place before you enter the building you throw the remains of the straight onto the ground then walk up to the receptionist who smiled at you.
"Hello, how can I help you?" She questions with a kind smile.
"Am I able to rent out an apartment?" You question as she looks at a sheet then looks back up at you.
"You may, we have only three apartments available. Circle the one you are wanting." She requests putting a sheet in front of you. You circle the very top and she smiles
"I have the money, can I rent it now?" You question
"Of course, that'll be £300 each month for rent." She informs as you nod putting £300 on the desk in cash. She's a bit surprised but covers it up with a smile. She passes you the key and you nod before grabbing the key and grabbing your suitcase. You walk to the elevator and wait for it to open. Once opened you walk into the elevator and press the top floor. You walk out the elevator and reach your apartment, unlocking it and closing the door behind you.
"Not bad for a run-down building. Bloody expensive though." You talk to yourself with a grunt as you unpack. You have a king-sized bed, a bathroom and a kitchen. You also have a small lounge room with a fireplace and an amazing view of the place which actually wasn't so amazing. Once everything was unpacked you leave your apartment. Taking out another cigarette and lighting it in between your lips you walk out of the building. You walk down the path blowing smoke until you come across a bar
The Garrison Pub
You grin as you walk closer to the door, flinging your cigarette out of your hand and entering the bar. Quite a few turn to you as you walk over to the bar completely ignoring the disturbing stares as you stand waiting to be served.
"What's a lady like you doing in a place like this?" A man questions coming up to you.
"Scram." You spit out as he grumbles before leaving. The bartender comes up to you
"What can I get for you?" He questions
"Whiskey." You immediately reply as he nods pouring the glass in front of you. He pushes it towards you as you push the money towards him. You nod as a thank you as you take a sip from the harsh liquor. A man throws there hat next to your drink and you raise an eyebrow at the action. You turn your head slightly to see who threw the hat and immediately locked eye contact with the man. He looked away as you also looked away and continued to drink.
"On the house, Mr. Shelby." The bartender states putting down the bottle and the drink. The man known as Mr. Shelby puts money down anyway as he tokes on his cigarette. You pull out your box of cigarettes taking one out and attempting to light it but your lighter had randomly gone faulty.
"My luck." You grumble rolling your eyes.
"Need a lighter?" The man next to you questions as you turn to him
"If you wouldn't mind." You accept his offer as he hands you a lighter which you happily accept and light your cigarette before giving it back to him
"I haven't seen you around here. You recently moved?" He questions once more
"Yeah, today." You answer vaguely as he hums
"How you finding the place?" He continues to make conversation
"Good." You answer quickly
"You aren't a talker, are you?" He asks intrigued by your answers
"Not really." You answer once more with a forced smile as he chuckles
"What's your name?" He questions
"That's none of your concern." You simply answer finishing your drink
"A name won't hurt. Mines Thomas Shelby. I assume you've heard of me." Thomas introduces himself
"Never." You admit as he raises an eyebrow surprised
"That's interesting." He hums as you shrug. A man comes up beside Thomas asking for a drink and using the money Thomas put out to pay for it making you furrow your brows as Thomas tilts his head and moves it back to normal place while toking on his cigarette, you doing the same then tapping the ash into the ashtray that you and Thomas are currently sharing.
"Cheers, Thomas, good health to you. The crown of a prince. Soon to be king, I bet." The man starts a conversation with Thomas as you listen in not saying anything
"You don't bet." Thomas snaps back
"No, but these past few days I've been speculating." The man admits
"About what?" Thomas sighs out
"One of my Union comrades has a sister who works in the telegraph office at the BSA factory. She says, over the past week they've had messages coming up from London to the brass, from Winston Churchill himself. Something about a robbery. 'A robbery of national significance,' it said. She found a list of names left on the telegraph machine. And on that list was your name, a woman's name called Y/n and my name all together. What kind of a list would have the name of a communist, a random woman and the name of a bookmaker side by side?" The man questions as you freeze hearing your name come up in the conversation. The robbery of the guns, you know exactly what he's on about but you're not involved. So why has your name showed up?
"Perhaps it's a list of men and women who give false hope to the poor." You speak up as they both look at you. Thomas with a raised eyebrow and the man with furrowed brows. You shrug as you toke your cigarette and look away.
"The only difference between you, me and that girl, is that sometimes my horses stand a chance of winning and I assume the girl has something that's more beneficial to her then it is to you, Freddie." Thomas states as you grin with the compliment. You now learned that the man's name is Freddie.
"You know, there are days when I hear about the cuttings and beatings that I really wish I'd let you take that bullet in France." Freddie warns
"Believe me, there are nights I wish you had." Thomas chuckles as the door of the pub gets slammed open. You raise your eyebrows a bit in shock as Freddie and Thomas both go to stop the man. You lean on the bar with now only one eyebrow raised. The man flipped tables, chairs and smashed a lot of glass bottles. A piece of glass cutting your cheek as you frown, putting out the cigarette in the ashtray. Blood trickles down your cheek as Thomas and Freddie manage to get the paranoid man down to the floor. You listen into Thomas's comforting words.
"Danny. Danny. Danny, you're home. We're all home in England. You are not in France. You're not an artillery shell, Danny, you're a man. Hey? You're not a whiz-bang. You're a human being, Danny. You're alright. You're alright. You're alright." Thomas comforts
"Up! Up!" Freddie shouts as they both lift the boy up who was now calmed down but his breath still uneven
"It's alright. It's alright." Thomas whispers
"Ah! Hell! Did I do it again?" Danny questions
"You did it again, Danny. You got to stop doing this, man. It's alright." Thomas orders as he puts his forehead against Danny's
"Oh, God! Mr. Shelby, I'm sorry." Danny cries
"It's alright. You go home to your wife now, Danny. Try and get all that smoke and mud out of your head, eh?" Thomas suggests walking Danny to the door
"Yes, Mr. Shelby. I'm sorry." Danny apologises as Freddie holds the door
"Go on." Thomas rushes as he pats his back and Danny exits the pub.
"Mr. Shelby, you have to do something about him." The bartender complains
"Damn right, Harry. You pay the Peaky Blinders a lot of money for protection. You're the law around here now, Tommy, aren't you? Maybe you should put a bullet in Danny Whiz-Bang's head like they do with mad horses. Maybe you'll have to put a bullet in my head someday, too." Freddie tries to persuade as Thomas throws you a handkerchief and puts on his hat before leaving. You furrow your brows but then remembering you had a bleeding cheek. You roll your eyes and shove the handkerchief in your pocket and leave to walk back to your place to have a shower.
You make it back and decide to walk up the stairs as there was a lot of people crowding around the elevator. Eventually you make it up and unlock your door. You open it turning round, shutting and locking it. You walk into the bathroom and undress yourself. You then turn on the shower letting the hot water hit your skin, a relaxing sigh escapes your lips as you wash yourself off, the blood mixing into the water making it slightly go red.
You turn off the shower and grab a towel. You don't bother treating the cut as it isn't a life-threatening issue. You get dressed into some loungewear and grab some files you've been meaning to fill in. Grabbing a pen you start to write and sign the files.
Hours pass and nightfalls. You yawn leaning back on the sofa stretching your arms. You put the files you have finished into a briefcase and the others you haven't on the counter waiting for you sign. You pull out another cigarette, lighting it with the stove and opening a window. You look at the streets to see men throwing up and fighting.
"Pleasant." You comment rolling your eyes and continuing to smoke until you finished. Throwing the cigarette out the window and grabbing your jacket once more. You head out of the building and walk around the streets once more. Looking down at the ground and not paying attention you bump into a man. Stumbling back you look up to see the man in the bar...Thomas Shelby.
"What do I owe the pleasure." He jokes taking a toke from his cigarette and offering you it
"Fancy seeing you here." You hum happily accepting it.
"How's your cheek." He questions swiping his thumb across the mark as you push his hand back.
"Healing." You answer after taking your tokes and passing it back.
"Can I get your name yet?" He questions
"I'll keep that a mystery for now, Mr. Shelby." You wink at him as he chuckles
"You sure are something, Mystery girl. I hope to be running into you again." He waves off as you both walk your separate ways. You finally reach your destination. You climb through the window, sneaking into a room where you see a man completely covered in blood as three are surrounding him.
You've been wanting to find out how people work around here. What's the business that had been going on and you knew this was the right place to go. You crouch down and listen to the conversation
"Arthur Shelby. Lead pack dog of the Peaky Blinders. Look at me." He demands as he punches Arthur square in the nose.
"Thomas Shelby's brother, eh?" You whisper to yourself as one of the two men standing behind Arthur passes the other man who seems to be the boss
"Bastard!" Arthur yells
"Your uniform? Terrifying, I'm sure. Did he have a gun?" The leader questions
"No gun. Knife in his sock. Cosh in his belt." The other man informs
"Now, Mr. Shelby...I want you to see this as me introducing myself to you. Understand? In all of the world, the only thing that interests me is the truth. So...what do you know about the robbery?" The man questions. You furrow your brows as this is what Freddie was going on about in the pub
"What robbery?" Arthur questions as the man grabs his finger bending it backwards
"I will ask you again. What do you know about the robbery?" The man repeats
"I swear to God, I don't know what you're talking about. What fucking robbery?" Arthur yells out earning his finger to be snapped. He groans loudly as the man grabs his shirt
"After 35 years of dealing with animals like you, I can tell just by sniffing the air whether or not you are lying." He warns
"I'm not fucking lying! Alright? I'm not fucking lying." Arthur spits out glaring straight into the man's eyes as it remains quiet for some time
"I know. I see nothing of interest behind the blood in your eyes. And no blood in your veins that could carry even a trace of cunning or guile. But understand this. It is well within my power to have you and the rest of your scum family face down in the canal before the year is out. On the other hand...we can help each other." He states before walking off. You sneak back out confused as ever. The robbery having been mentioned twice...you having run into another Shelby but he was not respected. The Peaky Blinders. You're actually finding an interest in the place.
You walk back to your place, taking the elevator this time and entering your apartment. You change and get ready for bed. Once done, you flop onto your bed, closing your eyes and immediately falling asleep.
The sun rises once more and you yawn pushing yourself out of bed. Half-asleep you walk into the bathroom and take a shower. After the shower and brush your teeth you exit the room and change into your clothing. You dry and style your hair before exiting the place with a cigarette in between your lips. Entering the pub you first went in, you attempt to walk to the bar. That was before a familiar face steps in front of you. The bar more busier than usual. You look up at the one and only Thomas Shelby.
"Mystery girl, care for a drink with me. I'll pay." He offers as you shrug not wanting to miss the opportunity of a free drink.
"Sure." You accept the offer as he takes you into a room in the pub. He walks to the window bit with you and opens the window as a girl serves him which shocks him a bit
"Hello! I need a bottle of rum." Thomas states
"A whole bottle?" The girl questions
"Yeah." He murmurs looking down to the little money he gives for the drink even though it's free for him
"White or dark rum?" She questions once more
"Don't care." He waves off as she goes to get the bottle
"What took you by surprise?" You question as he turns his head to you
"Haven't seen her before." He answers
"Hm." You hum not knowing how to reply
"Harry said it's on the house." She informs as she places the bottle down and gives an awkward smile
"Are you a whore? Because if you're not, you're in the wrong place." Thomas warns and takes the bottle, he walks off with you by his side. You roll your eyes at that encounter.
"Where are we going?" You question being led out of the bar. You walk into a house with him and you furrow your brows as he walks into another room with a bunch of people. You freeze seeing Arthur there.
"Let me see him. Well, have this. You're alright." Thomas mumbles giving Arthur and drink and getting a wet cloth to wipe the blood off of Arthur.
"Who are you?" A much older women questions you
"Friend of mine." Thomas answers before you could and she simply shrugs it off and looks back to Arthur
"He said Mr. Churchill sent him to Birmingham. National interest, he said. Something about a robbery. He said he wants us to help him." Arthur informs
"We don't help coppers." A boy with a toothpick intervenes
"He knew all about our war records. He also rambled on about a girl. Y/n L/n. Said she came from London and she's down here and wants to know what she's up to. He said we're patriots like him. He wants us to be his eyes and ears. I said...I said we'd have a family meeting and take a vote. Well, why not? Mmm? We have no truck with Fenians or communists or any relations to this Y/n L/n girl. What's wrong with you? What the fuck is wrong with him lately?" Arthur questions frustrated that Thomas hasn't said anything apart from look partially guilty.
"If I knew, I'd buy the cure from Compton's chemists." The older women grumbles as Thomas leaves, grabbing your wrist
"Sorry, I knew it was bad but I didn't know it was going to be like that." He apologises
"No worries, where are we going now?" You question
"Pub." Thomas answers as he continues to drag you. The Peaky Blinders following behind and what you believe is another one of Thomas's brothers. You all enter the pub as you heard singing but it died down to only the barmaid as you all entered. Thomas taking off his hat and letting go of your wrist as you stand beside him.
"Can't you see him standing there? Waving his handkerchief. As merry as a robin~ that sings on the tree"
Thomas's face remains blanc as the singing stops. He continues to stare at the woman with his jaw clenched. Thomas what you assume brother comes up to you with his hand out and a smile.
"I'm John Shelby, you're the first girl Thomas has actually spoken to and is taken places. What's your name?" John questions as you put your hand in his. Thomas facing you now, wanting to hear your name.
"My name isn't anyone's concern, I'll say when ready. But pleasure meeting you." You deny to say your name making Thomas more curious about you. It entices him that he needs to actually try just to get something so simple out of you. You've definitely caught the man's interest in such short time.
"We haven't had singing in here since the war." The bartender chuckles as Thomas only moves his eyes to him, his face showing visible anger.
"Why do you think that is, Harry?" Thomas rhetorically questions as everyone remains to stay in an awkward silence.
You drank with Thomas, John and few of the Peaker blinders. Night came by and you were first to leave the pub. Thomas offering to walk you home but you denied and walked off. You entered your apartment, getting into comfortable clothing. Flopping on your bed once more, you switched off your lamp and got comfortable in your duvet. You close your eyes wanting to fall asleep but it took longer than you expected but eventually, you had fallen asleep
Word count: 3290