seventeen
and the snakes start to sing
The day came around far too quickly
Anna had woken up that morning with a pit in her stomach. The night before, Tommy had gone over in great detail what she would have to do. His words were tumbling around her head, getting muddled but always with the same ending 'and then you shoot'. There was so much that could go wrong but this was a right of passage not only to the blinders but to herself as well.
"How are you feeling?" She looked up from her makeup table to see Tommy stood in the doorway.
"Good." She nodded.
"There's still time to pass the job onto someone else."
"No Tommy, I need to do this."
"I understand." Tommy walked over to her, kneeling down in front of where she was sat. "But if you at any point change your mind, you get out of there. The blinders that will be outside are more than willing to take him instead." Anna closed her eyes as he spoke, not being able to look into his eyes. She wanted nothing more than to make her cousin proud, to prove she could be trusted in all aspects of the business.
"I know Tom." She whispered. He stood, taking a deep breath.
"Good luck."
"You too." They shared a look which said way more than either of them ever would. It said 'I need you alive and I don't want you to risk this.' Without saying another word, Tommy left Anna alone in her room once again.
***
Hours had passed and Anna didn't know what was going on with any of the other blinders. She sat in Tommy's office, checking every five minutes that her gun was still loaded and her backup knife was still in her boot. Her heart and head pounded in unison as she waited for two ex soldiers to pick her up and deliver her to where Charlie was being held.
Once she had seen headlights fill the driveway, she stood from her seat, straightening her dress and coat, checking one last time for the bullets and the knife. When she left the office, she saw all the house staff in the foyer. She was the last person left in the house other than them and so they really had no business left. None of them knew what was happening, they just knew it was big.
"You're all free to go, don't wait up for us."
"Yes Miss." one of the more senior staff spoke for the group. Taking one last look around the house, Anna headed out to kill a man.
"One of us will be stood outside the building, the other just outside the door. If we hear a fight, we will intervene. Tommy's orders." One of the men explained.
"Okay." Little did Anna know that she was actually being told lies. There was an alternative plan which she didn't know about, and she wouldn't know about it until it was too late.
Anna stepped out of the car. She removed her gun from her coat, instinctively checking the bullets once more. She walked up the stairs with the two men following close behind her. Just as suspected, there was no one waiting outside to stop them. One man broke off as explained. Positioning himself at the front door while the other two walked around to the back.
Slipping through the open window of a bathroom, Anna and the blinder stepped extremely gently to ensure they made no noise which would alert the priest to their presence. Once out into the hallway, almost at the door, Anna stopped in her tracks, covering her mouth to prevent a sob from escaping. The sound of Charlie's cry.
As if suddenly possessed, Anna's heart and head stopped pounding as she saw red. A motherly instinct washed over her and her need to save the child overpowered any fear she previously had.
She left the other blinder behind, slipping into the room. The priest was crouching at the other end of the room with his back to her. Perfect, she could shoot and be done with it once she was close enough. Unfortunately, Charlie was facing her and upon seeing the woman he had grown familiar to, he stopped crying. Staring up at her, he pointed and laughed, attracting the priest's attention. Keeping her gun hidden, she put on a fake smile to the priest.
"Anna Gray, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I think you know what I want father." Just as planned, she revealed her gun but didn't point it at him yet. "And I plan on taking it whether you like it or not."
"Oh Anna, that won't be necessary will it." As his footsteps drew closer to the woman, she held the gun up at arm's length, aiming it at his head. Their eyes were locked as he began begging for his life. "Please Miss Gray, I'll do anything."
Pressing her finger firmly on the trigger, she shot just as the priest launched at her, moving her arm so that the bullet went into the floor. Before she knew what was happening, Anna had been pinned to the wall, her own gun being pointed at her. Not knowing what to do, she began screaming, trusting that the men outside would come intervene. But they didn't. The priest was talking but Anna couldn't concentrate on the words enough to know what he was saying. She began wriggling in his grip, attempting to reach for the knife in her boot.
Just as she could feel the knife against her fingers, a shot rang out, silencing herself and the priest. Had he shot her? She stared straight forward as the grip on her loosened. She heard a thud on the floor before the sound of a child crying once again rang out in the room.
"Anna." Michael's voice rang out. Turning around, she first saw the priest laying dead on the ground. She then saw Michael stood a few metres away with a gun in his hand. Anna was feeling so many emotions she didn't know which to show. Her body decided for her as she began to cry. Immediately, Michael rushed to embrace her as the blinders Anna had come with came into the room to take the priest's body.
"Why are you here?" Anna asked between sobs.
"Never mind that, it's over. He's dead, Charlie's safe."
"Don't leave me Michael." She whispered into his neck. "I need you."
"I'll never leave, I promise."
*****
"Anna." Polly's voice rang through the headache which had embedded itself firmly in Anna's head. She rolled over in bed, groaning as her mother walked in the room. "Jesus you look a fright."
"Thank you mother."
"You'll have to get up, family meeting." Slowly rising from the bed, Anna sat on the edge with her head in her hands as her mother laid out clothes for her to change into. Once she had placed them all on the bed, Anna forced herself up so that she was standing. When she turned back to see her mother's expression, it looked as though she had seen a ghost.
"Mum?"
"Oh my god." Her mother looked happy yet frightened as well.
"Mum? What is it?"
"Anna, when was your last period?"
"I don't know, they're irregular." It was only when Polly placed her hands on Anna's stomach that she caught on to what her mother was suggesting. "No, no I can't be." She pushed her hands off, shaking her head.
"Shall I get Michael?"
"No."
"Why, is there someone else?"
"What? No, of course not. But I'm not..." she couldn't even say the word out loud.
"You need to get dressed and come to this meeting but afterwards, you need to tell him." Polly walked out of the room, leaving Anna in a cold sweat. How could she be pregnant?
Walking down into Tommy's office, she took an empty seat next to Michael.
"I need to speak with you when we're done here." She whispered to him, earning a smile and a nod. He had no idea that she was about to flip his world upside down. Anna turned her attention over to Tommy, who looked even worse than she did, and she's most likely pregnant!
"Before I begin, I want to let you know I made a mistake. I made a mistake and I want to apologise to all of you. Arthur, you warned me against getting involved in Russian business and you were right. I doubted your wife and for that I'm sorry. Linda, I've added £3000 here in the hope that you'll forgive me."
"Apology accepted." Linda waltzed over to where the money was, taking it before returning to her seat.
"Esme, I doubted you aswell."
"Now john's got innocent lives on his conscience. Ordinary working men."
"Yeah alright Esme." John interrupted.
"No, she's right. And you and Arthur are going to share that burden. But I hope the house you can buy with this can become a place of contemplation."
Anna was only partially listening to what was happening. All she wanted to do was leave this room and talk to Michael. She hasn't fully comprehended or accepted that she could be pregnant but the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. As irregular as her periods were, she hasn't had one in some time. It would also explain the sickness she had been feeling and the motherly instincts she had towards Charlie recently. In terms of actually getting pregnant, it would be hard to pinpoint one interaction.
"Michael and Anna." Tommy continued, dropping a pile of money on the desk in front of them. "For the killings."
"No Tommy." Polly interjected.
"What?" He bellowed back. "Tell me. This is who I am. And this is all I can give you for what you give me, for your hearts and your souls. Yesterday, I nearly lost my son. You should fucking understand that." He looked over to Anna, seemingly trying to hold back tears. "For what? For this? And I know you all want me to say that I'll change but I've learnt something. Those bastards are worse than us."
Anna felt a sickness rise in her stomach. She suppressed it best she could, tuning out the shouting that continued. Michael noticed this, turning his attention solely to her.
"You okay?" He whispered over the yelling, placing an arm around her shoulders. She nodded in response, leaning into him. She just wanted this to be over so she could start her life properly without killing and illegal business.
Arthur rose to leave, Anna remaining in her seat. It was only at Tommy's next words that she perked up again.
"You can go but you won't get far Arthur. I spoke to Moss last night. He told me that the chief constable of Birmingham has issued a warrant for your arrest. Murder, sedition, conspiracy to cause explosion, John they're coming for you aswell, Michael for the murder of Hughes." Anna's world stopped. She broke out in a cold sweat, a million thoughts danced in her head. Tears involuntarily sprang from her eyes. She jumped up as Michael had, gripping onto him as if they wouldn't take him if she was holding him.
"It's going to be alright Anna." Michael reassured her but they both knew that wasn't true. He leaned down and kissed her hard, as if it would be the last time they ever would. She tried to push him away and tell him then that she was carrying his child but her mind wouldn't let her speak. As they held each other, an officer came, dragging Michael out of the room but Anna wasn't close behind.
"No." She managed to yell out, once again gripping his jacket. Another officer grabbed her, pinning her to be wall beside Michael.
"Get off her." Polly yelled, being forced out of the house by another man. "She's pregnant." Michael turned to Anna with shock in his eyes.
"What? Anna?" She couldn't speak, the tears were too overpowering. She watched in horror as the father of her unborn baby was taken away in a police car. The officer released his grip on her once Michael was out of the house, allowing her to fall to the floor in a pool of tears.
Minutes passed before she could bring herself to move. As she comprehended what has just happened, she marched into Tommy's office, slamming the door behind her.
"Anna, I-"
"No, Tommy. You've said enough, it's my turn to speak." She walked over, standing over him at his desk. "You did it on purpose. You made sure I wouldn't kill Hughes so that you could arrest Michael instead of me."
"That wasn't the plan An-"
"No, maybe not. But that's what happened. He killed Hughes to save me and now he's going to be killed for doing it."
"I won't let him be hung." Tommy sat helpless as she sat in the chair opposite, breaking down once more.
"You promised me, Tommy. You promised me that if I let him in, what happened to Grace wouldn't happen to him. And now I've just had to watch as the father of my fucking baby was taken away from me to be hung for a murder I should've committed, that I nearly did."
"What?" Tommy shook his head, his eyes wide with shock and fright.
"I'm fucking pregnant Tommy."
"No. No, you can't be." Tommy realised what he had done. Tears sprung in his eyes for the first time since Grace. Truth is, it was the plan to have Michael kill the priest so that it couldn't be traced back to Anna. He had done this to her.
"You did this. You've taken the love of my life away from me." Anna had never admitted that before. And yet here she was, carrying the child of a man she may never see again. A man who she loved, a man who would die for his crimes never knowing she loved him back.
"I love him, Tom."