imagines-fandom-backup

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Chapter 2.1

Masterlist

Warnings- Usual PB violence, swearing, allusion to SA at the very end

2 years later

All of us were gathered around Freddie's casket. Tommy stepped forward. "I promised my friend, Freddie Thorne, that I would say a few words over his grave if he should pass before me. I made this promise before he became my brother-in-law, when we were in France, fighting for the king. And in the end, it wasn't war that took Freddie. Pestilence took him. But Freddie passed on his soul and his spirit to a new generation before he was cruelly taken." The service ended right after that.

I took a little walk with Thomas and Ada. 

"We thought now that Freddie's gone, you might come back to Birmingham."

"We really miss you, Ada."

"God, do you know how funny it is that Tommy's got chauffeurs in uniform now?"

"It's just for the occasion."

"Do you know how unfair it is that you have 4 Bugattis when half the country's starving?"

"So now they've made you ashamed of us, eh?" We stopped walking.

"Sometimes when I think about how I used to be, it makes me embarrassed." Tommy and I glanced at each other. 

Polly walked up to us with a smile. 

"Karl is with his cousins. I caught them trying to pinch flowers off a grave. Ada, are you coming home?" 

"I'm going home."

"We make her embarrassed," I mumbled. 

I looked at Ada who rolled her eyes. 

"That's not what I said."

"There's another reason we want you home. We're planning an expansion. I'm taking premises in London."

"Tommy, it's a funeral. Business can wait."

"Polly, if Ada was weeping, then I'd stop. But she's not. The expansion means it's gonna be dangerous to be a Shelby in London for a while."

"Yeah. Well, I'm not a Shelby anymore. And I'm not a Thorne now either. I'm free. I've got to get Karl home." She walked away. 

She left the 3 of us standing there. Polly turned to look at Tommy. 

"I told you to let me do it."

"It's alright. I'll have some men watch her house till the danger passes." We watched a man on a motorbike ride up to Arthur. 

He quickly whispered something to Arthur. Arthur waved Tommy over as he started walking toward us. Aunt Polly leaned over to me. 

"Till danger passes."

"That'll be the bloody day." She nodded as we walked towards the crowd. 

Tommy, Aunt Polly, a few of our men, and I went to the Garrison. Someone had blown it up. We walked underneath the chains to get a better look. A copper was already there waiting for us. "It happened at exactly 7:00 a.m. Nobody saw anything. Our patrols were not in the area. Mr. Shelby, you got any idea who might have done it? I'd say it was something to do with the gas." 

We both know that's not true. We knew exactly who did it and why. He handed money to the copper. "Just been fitted." Aunt Polly walked inside. "Madam, the structure hasn't been declared safe. Madam," he yelled after her. 

She bent over to pick something up off the ground. ​​"This is all over the place." She handed some to Tommy. It was green confetti. What the hell? Tommy nodded to the copper.

"You can go."

"Right." He walked away. 

We stood there looking at the building. "Who? Who did this to us," Aunt Polly asked. Tommy and I went to a pub to find the people who did this. "Whiskey, Irish. None for her." He flopped his hat down on the counter. The bartender poured him the drink. Tommy put the money on the counter only for it to be pushed back to him. 

"Heard there was a bit of a bang in your part of town."

"Gas and electric don't mix. Who would've thought they would, eh?"

"How's business otherwise, Mr. Shelby?"

"You know something? In these times of hunger and hardship, business is surprisingly good." He turned to lean against the counter. 

He took a swig of his drink. A little boy walked down the old wooden steps. His heavy footsteps echoed through the small building. "Which one is the Peaky Blinder devils?" Tommy downed his drink to follow after the little boy. I was right behind him. We followed the little boy through backyards and alleyways. 

We had no idea where he was taking us. We walked inside a warehouse with one pig hanging up on a metal hook. It was naked and gutted. 2 men grabbed us from behind. They stripped us of our hats, guns, and coats. They put bags over our heads before pulling us along. They sat us down on wooden chairs before taking the bags off. 

We were sitting in a tiny room. A man and a woman sat across from us. There was an old table separating us. There was barely any light in the room. The only light was from the spaces between the boarded-up windows. 

"Thomas and Anna Shelby."

"You blew up our pub."

"Anger defeats fear. Good."

"You blew up my pub." 

"Tommy has a reputation to uphold," she looked over at her partner.

Her partner looked Tommy up and down. He finally spoke. 

"A reputation for not being scared of anything."

"In all the world, violent men are the easiest to deal with," she seemed to almost laugh.

Tommy glanced at me then back to them. "So tell me, which brand of rebel are you...eh? I read somewhere that you Paddies started fighting amongst yourselves now. The king offers you a peace treaty and you start a war about it. That's funny, don't you think? A war about peace." It went silent as the 4 of us stared at each other. 

"So are you for the treaty or against the treaty? Forgive me, I get confused," he leaned back in his chair. Her partner slowly reached for the gun. He got up from his chair, dragging the gun on the table as he walked over to me. The lady crossed her arms over her chest.

"You are one decision away from your deaths, Mr. Shelby." 

"So stop fucking smiling," her partner snapped.

I cleared my throat as I shifted in my seat. "Your name is Irene O'Donnell. You have a son at the Cherry Wood Road School in Harborne. He has irons on his legs. His name is Sean. He comes last in every race...poor boy. Poor boy, race is important. If you know what I mean, Irene." The gun was cocked and held to the side of my head. 

It was cold on my temple. Her partner didn't seem too smart. "Oh, she speaks. There are other ways of carrying out this mission. Please allow me to put the bullet in the scum tinker's head." Irene watched as she waited for my reaction. She wasn't getting one out of me. 

She still stared at me. 

"No. They research their enemies. That's why they've been chosen."

"We are chosen," Tommy asked. 

I looked at her partner. "I'm chosen."

"Can the chosen one smoke," Tommy asked again. 

The gun was taken from my head. Tommy reached in his pocket for his cigarettes. 

"A vacancy has appeared and you are going to fill it."

"Chosen by whom?"

"An informed consensus."

"We have things to do. So perhaps you could tell the chosen ones what we've been chosen for."

"From now on, you shut your fucking Gypsy mouthes and listen to your instructions." We were ushered out of the room. 

Our jackets and guns were hanging on the hooks next to the naked pig. We didn't say anything to each other as we got dressed. "Fuck," Tommy yelled as he knocked over some boxes. I stood aside as I watched him. Why can't anything just be normal? He wiped his mouth with his hand before putting on his coat and hat. 

I went home as Tommy went to his office. I guess the look on my face told Aunt Polly that I didn't want to talk about what happened. She could hear it from Tommy. We had a family meeting soon anyway. We sat around waiting for Tommy to get here. Finn was pacing back and forth. "Sit down, Finn," Arthur snapped. 

Finn finally sat down next to me. John looked at Aunt Polly who was staring out of the window. 

"Where the bloody hell is Tommy?"

"He is on his way."

"Alright then, while we're waiting patiently...Whiskey. Left over from the explosion. Good stuff." He put a crate on top of the table. 

He started pouring us all glasses. After the day I've had, I wasn't going to say no. John cleared his throat. 

"Right, before Tommy gets here, I think there are a few things we need to get straight between the rest of us."

"You think?"

"Yes, Anna. I want to know...when did we take a vote on this expansion south?" He waited for an answer. 

Aunt Polly turned around, walking closer to the table. 

"You have anything to say, you wait for Thomas."

"Polly's fucking right," Arthur agreed. 

"I see all the books. Legal and off-track. So stuff you don't see-"

"I see the books too, John-"

"And in the past year, the Shelby Company Limited has been making 150 pounds a day. Right? A fucking day! Sometimes more. So what I wanna know is why are we changing things? Polly, look what's happened already. Haven't even set foot in London yet, they've already blown up our fucking pub."

"Who said anything about Cockneys," Arthur asked. 

"Who else," Esme asked. 

"Do you know who did it," I asked as I turned to look at her. 

"No, she doesn't know who did it," John interjected. 

"I'm told only family is allowed to speak." She looked back down at her book. 

Tommy walked into the room. No one saw him until he spoke. "Everyone is allowed to speak. On your feet, Esme. Let's hear what you have to say." John cleared his throat. He stood up a little straighter as he planted his feet firmly on the ground. 

"I speak for your household. So could-"

"John, this company is a modern enterprise and believes in equal rights for women. On your feet, Esme." Esme looked at John as she put her book aside. 

She slowly stood up. 

"I'm not a blood member of this family. But perhaps indeed because I'm not a member, I could see things in a different light. So I'll get to my point."

"That would be nice."

"Aunt Pol," I whispered as I gently nudged her. 

She shrugged as she lit her cigarette. "As my husband said, Shelby Company Limited has become very successful. But London...I have kin and Shepherd's Bush and Portobello. It's more like wars between armies down there. And the coppers fight side-by-side with them. And there are foreigners of every description. And the use of bombs is the least of it. I have a child. Blessed with the Shelby family's good looks. I want John to see him grow up. I want us to someday live somewhere with fresh air and trees. And keep chickens or something. But London is just smoke and trouble, Thomas. That's all I have to say," She sat back down. 

Arthur stared straight ahead. "That was a lot of words. A lot of words. Wash them down with a nice drink." He handed Tommy a glass of Whiskey. "Thank you, Esme." Tommy finished his drink. 

He lit his cigarette. 

"Firstly the bag in the pub had nothing to do with London, understood? The bang is something I'm dealing with on me own. Secondly, we have nothing to fear from the proposed business expansion as long as we stick together. After the first few weeks, nine-tenths of what we do in London will be legal. The other tenth is in good hands. Isn't that right, Arthur?"

"That's right."

"Some of you in this room have expressed your reservations. Fair enough. Any of you who want no part in the future of this company, walk out the door. Right now. Go raise your chickens. For those of you with ambition, the expansion process starts tomorrow." Tommy walked out of the room. 

The next morning, I was invited to go on a holiday with the boys. Arthur and I waited outside of John's house for Tommy to get the car and for John to come outside. I called up to his window. 

"Tommy's here."

"Alright, hold on." Tommy got out and stood next to the car. 

"John," Tommy yelled this time. "I'm coming!" John's voice sounded louder this time. 

Arthur took a swig out of the bottle he was holding. Tommy looked over wondering what it was. "Seven o'clock, twelve, ten if I'm still sober. I got it from the doctor." He handed it to Tommy. "It keeps me nice and calm." Tommy smelled the brown liquid. 

He pointed it at Arthur.

"Same thing they gave us in the trenches, stop us fucking wanking."

"Polly said it's good for me temper. It slows me down. "

"Arthur, there are some things Polly doesn't understand." Tommy turned the bottle over to pour it out. 

"Tommy," I shouted. 

He shook the bottle to get the remaining drops out. "I need you fast, not slow." He tossed the bottle to the side. John finally came out of the house.  "She wouldn't let go of me fucking leg."

"I bet that's not all she wouldn't let go of," Arthur laughed. 

"You know she's against this, Tom. She's got opinions."

"Nothing wrong with opinions, John."

"Get in the fucking car."

"Shut up!" We all climbed in. 

I sat in the back with John as Arthur climbed in front. "Peaky Blinders are going on fucking holiday," Arthur shouted as he stood up. "Sit down, you mad bastard." John pulled him back into the leather seat. We drove until we hit the field. The boys got out to take a pee break. I got out of the car to stretch my legs. 

They were making jokes about raising chickens and living in the countryside. As we walked back to the car, Tommy ripped up a tarp from the very back seat. There was a body in the back.

"Who the hell is that?"

"It's Irish business. I thought it'd be best to deal with it meself."

"I was sitting that close to a random dead guy? I'm not helping." I hopped into the front of the car as they buried him. 

We finished our trip to London by night. We walked into a crowded club. It was full of drunks and druggies. The music hurt my ears. The people dancing around us were giving me a headache. John seemed to like the atmosphere. I did not. 

We found a table in the middle of the room to sit at. They brought out a bottle of booze. "Isn't this Sabini's club," I yelled over the music. Tommy nodded as the waiter put the bottle down. 

"Jesus Christ. Everybody in here is a fucking face."

"Just the lieutenants, John. No sign of the officers." 

"Let's line 'em up," John smirked as he lined up the glasses. 

He started to pour us all a drink. A different waiter walked over to our table. 

"There has been a mistake. I'm afraid you are going to have to leave."

"We just bought a fucking bottle," John shouted.

"A couple of the men know you from the tracks in the north."

"We get that a lot."

"They say you have no business coming south of the line without prior agreement."

"What line would that be, my friend?"

"They say, this is provocation."

"Right, well, you tell them we're on holiday," I smirked as I held up my drink.

I took a drink as did Tommy. "You're breaking the rules. They say you are the Peaky Blinders." A glass was thrown at our table. It shattered everywhere. "Peaky scum," someone shouted. Tommy immediately turned to that person. 

A giant fight broke out. We fought until a gun went off. The waiter was pointing a gun at us. "Get out," was all he said. We had no choice but to make our way outside. "We came here not to make enemies but to make new friends. Those of you who are last will be first. You know where to find us," Tommy announced on our way out. We took the bottle of booze with us. 

We walked back to the car. Arthur reached into his mouth. 

"I think I lost a fucking tooth. At this rate, I won't have any. Some fucking holiday this is."

"Yeah. You lost without your fucking medicine now, Arthur?"

"Here, this'll fix you."

"Give me that." He took the bottle of Whiskey from Tommy. 

Tommy pointed to John as we walked along. 

"You John-boy, eh? How are you? Or should I ask your fucking wife?"

"Give over!"

"No more talk of chicken, you hear me?"

"Fuck the chickens," Arthur slurred as John broke out into a fit of laughter.

Tommy walked a little further ahead of us. "Got 50 quid in my pocket. Let's go paint the town, eh?" That's exactly what we did. We didn't get back home until late morning. We were all exhausted and drunk. It was a miracle that we made it home in one piece. It was the most fun any of us had in a while. 

I sat with Tommy in his office late at night. He sighed as he looked up from his paperwork. 

"Polly is pissed at me."

"Why's that?"

"I poured out Arthur's medicine and this came in an hour ago." He handed me a slip of paper. 

'Let's break bread.' It didn't have a name but it came from Camden Town. I sighed as I put the paper down. "Do we go see Alfie?" He shrugged as he took a drag of his cigarette. After he finished his drink, we made our way out to the garage. We didn't feel like walking home in the rain tonight. 

I flinched at the sudden cold raindrops. Luckily, we didn't have to walk far. I sighed in relief when we made it under. I put my hand on the cold door handle. The back door creaked open. A man with a gun pointed at me stepped out. I held up my hands as I backed up. 

Another man came out, then another. We tried everything to keep them off of us. They just kept coming. Tommy and I were both on the ground in seconds. They were punching and hitting us as if we were trash. I had no idea how many men there were now. I didn't even care at this point. 

I knew one or both of us were going to die. I was drifting in and out of consciousness as I lay on the wet ground. They were still working on Tommy. I wished I was unconscious. I was surprised I already wasn't. The pain was too much. "Get her over here," one of them screamed. 

They pulled me away from Tommy as I screamed. I couldn't move. Fire ripped through my body every time I did. I couldn't fight them anymore. I got a glimpse of Tommy. It was almost too dark in the garage to see. He was lifelessly laying there.

I was barely above the surface as they pulled me up. The last thing I felt before everything went dark were hands on the buttons of my pants. 

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Would anyone be interested in a Steddie x reader fic?? I've been dying to write one but I fear it might be too long of a series for Tumblr. I'd probably post it to Wattpad or AO3 (probably both lol)

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Up in Smoke- Chapter 1.6

Masterlist

Warning- Usual PB violence and swearing

Within the next few days, Arthur had returned back to normal. At least for now. Tommy walked into my room. My nose was too busy in a book to realize he had walked in. I finally glanced up.

"Hey, Tommy." 

"Check your gun."

"Why? What's going on?"

"We're doing it today."

"Doing what today?"

"Family meeting, half ten." He walked out. 

I walked down to the kitchen to sit with Aunt Polly and Ada. She was finally speaking to us again. We talked as her baby, Karl, was asleep. Aunt Polly smiled as she looked down at Karl. 

"Mine were terrors for the tit. Both of them. You girls never knew my children, did you?"

"I was a child myself then."

"No. Why don't you ever talk about them?"

"Never had a reason to. My heart breaks even when I think about them." She walked away from the basket Karl was sleeping in. "But today, I do have a reason to. Sit down, Ada."

Ada sent me a look as she sat down. I shrugged as we both turned our attention to Aunt Polly. "They were three and five years old. Sally was three, Micheal was five. Well, two weeks away from being six. It was Sunday morning. Uh, I was at church. 'You are not forgiven,' this pinch-faced bitch said to me. 'You are not forgiven.' You see, some sheets I had washed and hung on the line had the name of a hotel on them. They'd been stolen in a robbery and they said some porter at the hotel had been coshed. A woman from around here told the police about the sheets. Jealous, you see, of the new sheets. When the police came, they found a spirit still...making a few drops of gin." Her eyes started to gloss over. 

Her eyes darted around the room. She started to break down. "And for that, they took my children from me. They never told me where they took them. They did it because they could and because I was weak. But they will never take your baby away from you. Do you know why? Because Tommy won't let them. Tommy will not let them walk all over us. Tommy has brought strength and power to this family. Cause he knows you have to be as bad as the above in order to survive. I'm telling you this because I want you to forgive him."

"How can I? My Freddie is rotting in jail because of him."

"Ada, Tommy had nothing to do with this. He didn't tell the police he was here, I swear." I said as I looked over at her. 

Aunt Polly looked over at me, unsure if she'd believe us. "There's something about today you need to know." Aunt Polly went on to tell Ada what was going on today. We had to break away from this conversation here in order to get to the family meeting. Everyone was inside when we got there. Tommy stood in the front of the room with his hands deep in his pockets. 

He looked around the room at all of us. "I've brought you all here today because this is the day that we replace Billy Kimber. This is the day we become respectable. The day we join the official National Association of Race Course Bookmakers. But first, we do the dirty work. We've all known this day has been coming. I just haven't told anyone the date." He turned to look at the board behind him. 

"We're going to the Worcester races. The track opens at one. We'll get there at two. Now, Kimber thinks we're going there to help him to fight the Lee brothers. But thanks to the efforts of our John and his lovely new wife, Esme, the Lees are now our kin. So it'll be us and the Lees against Kimber's boys. We take them out but leave the bookies. I expect a swift victory which will send a signal all the way to London that we believe in letting legitimate businesses run peacefully."

"What about Kimber himself," John asked. 

"I'll deal with him. Any more questions?"

"Yes," Polly said as she walked towards the door. "Does anybody object if I bring a newcomer to the meeting?" 

I smirked as I watched them confusedly look at each other. Polly opened the door, "come on." She whispered to Ada who was on the other side with Karl. "I'd like to introduce the newest member of the Shelby clan." Ada walked through the door with Karl in her arms. Arthur started clapping when she walked toward the crowd. Everyone joined him. 

Tommy smiled as he watched them. 

"Welcome home, Ada." 

"We named him Karl. After Karl Marx."

"Karl Bloody Marx," Arthur joked as he walked towards them. "Let me get a look at him." "Here we go," John shouted. 

Arthur put his hat on Karl before holding him up. Everyone laughed. "Hey, look. He looks just like me."

"That's his ass that looks like you, Arthur." John joked. 

"He's all right. He's a Shelby." We all started to walk out of the room with him. 

We made our way to Garrison to have a few drinks. Well, the boys were going to drink. I preferred to stay sober for this. I had to watch out for Finn. Tommy seemed to be in a really good mood. He was even helping Grace pour drinks for everyone. 

"The next family meeting, I'll make sure you're there." 

"If I were family but I'm not."

"That could change."

"Tommy-"

"We'll talk about it more when I get back. Alright?"

"When will you be back?"

"Oh, is this how it's going to be? You waiting at home for me saying 'what time do you call this?'" He smiled at her as he chuckled. 

"The barrel needs changing." She walked to the back room. 

What the hell just happened? I thought they liked each other. He just told her he wanted to be with her. One of Tommy's friends, Jeremiah, walked into the pub. "Two vans are driving up Stratford Road. An old corporal of mine said he recognized some of the men. It's the Kimber boys, they're heading this way." My stomach turned as he stood there. 

None of this made sense. Someone betrayed us. Now, we were outnumbered. The Lees were on their way to the races. Tommy took off to tell Ada and Aunt Polly to get ready for anything. The phone in the pub rang. It was Aunt Pol. 

They had made the realization that Grace was working for the other side. She had been betraying us the entire time. Aunt Polly was going to deal with her. We had to get ready to fight Kimber and his boys. They were going to need everyone they could. Tommy walked up to us. 

"Alright men, you were mostly in the war so you know the battle plans always change and get fucked up. Well, here it is. Things have changed. We fight them here. Today. Alone. Now they're gonna come for the pub. They're gonna try and break us up for good. We'll have no help from the law today. That pub there is called the Garrison. Well, now it really is one. And it belongs to us, right?"

"Right!" All the men and Finn screamed.

"How many are there?" Arthur asked.

"Jeremiah says two Riley vans. I reckon we're outnumbered three to one."

"Fuck," I mumbled as I looked at the ground. 

"It's us, boys. It's us. The Small Heath Rifles. We haven't lost a fight yet, have we?"

"No!"

"All right. Jeremiah. I know you vowed to God to never pick up a weapon again. Can you ask him from me if you can help us today?"

"God says he doesn't deal with Small Heath, sir."

"Good man. Arthur, Scudboat. You'll take the flanks. Just like St. Marie."

"Curly, if any Shelby's die here today, you bury us side by side. Alright, we have about 10 minutes. Make your peace with whoever." I talked with John and Arthur for a few minutes. 

I headed into the pub to finish off our minutes with Tommy. He put his drink down on the counter to hug me. He rested his chin on the top of my head. I listened to his heartbeat as we stood there. "Tommy," I whispered. Tears started to prick my eyes. 

"If anything happens, I want you to know how good of a big brother you are."

"Don't get all sappy on me now."

"Whatever." I looked up at him with a smile. 

Finn bursted through the doors. "Tommy, they're here." Both of us headed outside. We made sure our guns were ready and loaded. The men came from the opposite end of the street. We were severely outnumbered. We started to walk toward each other. 

They all started to hold their weapons at us. They were showing us what they had. Once the groups got close enough to each other, they stopped. "All guns and no balls, right, Billy Boy," John shouted. It went quiet. "What do we do now? Just give the order," Arthur mumbled to Tommy. 

We were all waiting for something to happen. 

"It doesn't have to be like this Kimber."

"Too late for all that. You bit off more than you can chew, you little toe rag. And now I'm gonna take over this shit hole."

"Well...if we have to use guns, let's use proper guns." Danny and Freddie walked out of the garage next to us. 

Freddie looked like shit. He had a giant machine gun in his hand. "Sergeant Thorne reporting for duty, sir." Tommy looked back at Kimber. "You were saying something about being out-gunned?" Everyone held their guns up at each other. Well, everyone except for Tommy and Kimber. 

"Move," Ada's voice came from the back of Kimber's group. She pushed her way to the front. She was dressed in all black. She was pushing Karl in a buggy as she walked between us. Freddie shouted, 

"What are you doing?"

"I believe you men call this no man's land."

"Ada!"

"Shut up and listen."

"Have you lost your mind?"

"I said shut up!" Kimber turned to look at his men. 

He was just as surprised as we were. "Now most of you were in France. I've got brothers, a sister, and a husband here, but you've all got somebody waiting for you. I'm wearing black in preparation. I want you to look at me. I want you all to look at me! Who'll be wearing black for you? Think about them. Think about them right now. And fight if you want to, but that baby ain't moving anywhere...and neither am I." No one said anything. 

Freddie and Ada stood there staring at each other. I didn't think this would end things this easily. I did like the effort though. "She's right, you know." Kimber looked around at all of his men then ours. "Why should all you men die? It should just be them who's caused it." 

A gunshot went off. I felt a pain rip through my right shoulder as I nearly flew onto my back. I fell to my knees as everything turned into a blur. I slowly reached up to touch where it hurt. My whole hand was red. It took me a minute to process what was going on. I was shot, Kimber shot me. 

Another gunshot went off. I looked up to see both Danny and Kimber laying on the ground. Tommy's voice echoed through the street. "Kimber and I fought this battle one-on-one. It's over. Go home to your families." After collecting Kimber's body, they left. 

Tommy ran to me, carrying me into the pub. My body was numb. Well, it was numb until they started to fish the bullet out. They sat me down on a table before stripping off my jacket and half of my shirt. "I'm so sorry," Tommy looked into his eyes. Jeramiah took the end of a spoon to the wound. They all surrounded me as I screamed and wiggled in agony. 

They all cheered me on. "Come on, An. You can take it." After a minute or 2, he got it out. "There. I still have the knack." He smiled as he put it in a glass. 

"Have a drink," Arthur handed me the bottle. I took a swig before handing it back to him. "Deep breath." Before I realized what was happening, he was pouring it on the wound. I screamed as he held me still. "It's done, it's done," he took a step back. I took a few deep breaths as they wrapped it up.

Aunt Polly and Ada came into the pub. Aunt Polly was not happy. We all gathered in the private room to say goodbye to Danny. His body lay on the table. The only one who was crying was Curly. The boys all kept their composure. 

John lowered his head.

"We can bury him properly. In the grave, we dug for him."

"Yeah. It's high on a hill. He'd like that." Tommy held up a bottle. "To Danny Whizz-bang. May we all die twice." They all passed the bottle around to say their goodbyes. "Come on, the day is ours. Let's celebrate." We all left the room.

The pub started to get crowded as our party started. I had to sneak out for a second to breathe. Tommy was actually standing out there. None of us said anything for a second. I asked, 

"Do you think he shot me to get to you?"

"He knew my biggest weakness."

"Biggest weakness and pain in the ass." He laughed as he lit his cigarette. 

I headed back to the pub to finish parting after standing there for a few minutes. Slowly everyone started to go home. The only ones left in the pub were Aunt Polly, John, Arthur, and me. John and Arthur were too drunk to go anywhere. They were passed out together in a booth. The door opened and Tommy walked in. He went to see Grace before she skipped town. 

He walked into the pub with his head hung low. 

"There he is."

"Tommy," John called out.

"Drink?" Polly offered.

"Not whiskey. If you check behind the bar you will find a bottle of champagne."

"The one she bought." Aunt Polly placed it on the table. 

"Today was a good day. All of Kimber's men were busy here. The Lee boys took all their pitches at the Worcester races. It couldn't have gone better even if we planned it. Shelby Brothers Limited is now the third-largest legal race track operation in the country." He started to walk over to John and Arthur. 

"Cheers," Arthur and John drunkenly cheered. "Only the Sabinis and the Solomons are bigger than us, boys. And all my family is here to celebrate." He popped open the bottle. 

"To Shelby Brothers Limited."

"Shelby!" Arthur cheered before groaning. 

Tommy put his head on the counter. I rubbed the back of his head. 

"There will be others." Aunt Polly soothed. 

"To others."

"To others." The 3 of us clinked our glasses. 

He walked out of the pub without another word.

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Up in Smoke- Chapter 1.5

Masterlist

Warnings- Usual PB violence and swearing

Before Tommy started his day, he walked up to me. The look on his face was nothing like I've ever seen.

"I didn't tell the coppers, I swear. I don't know who did it. I don't know how they knew."

"Then who did? He knew he was coming?"

"I don't know. Anna, you have to believe me." He took a drag of his cigarette. 

A few weeks passed by. Ada wasn't talking to anyone. She was pissed at everyone. I didn't blame her. I had just gotten back from talking to Ada through her door. I walked into the room to see a man sitting at the table. He had a deep scar on the right side of his face. 

It took me a second to realize who the man was. The man was our father. Arthur walked into the room with a sandwich for him. "Thank you. You're a good boy." He started to pray before he ate. I didn't remember him ever doing that. 

Polly rubbed her temples. 

"Jesus Christ."

"Please, woman, not in vain.

"Finish your sandwich and sling your hook."

"Pollyanna, I'm the guest of the head of this family. So why don't you tend to your mangle or your scuttle?"

"The head of the family isn't here." I snapped as I looked at him. 

Our dad turned to look at Arthur. Arthur didn't know what to say. "Tommy, uh, he sometimes helps with business." The front door opened and closed. The footsteps got louder as they reached the kitchen. "Well, Speak of the devil," our dad stood up. Tommy stood in the doorway. 

His mouth fell open. 

"How are you, son?"

"Get out."

"Come on, son. I'm a changed man."

"This family needed you 10 years ago when you walked out on us. Not now. Get out of this house."

"Tommy, he's different-"

"Shut up, Arthur." 

"It's alright. I never stay where I'm not welcome. Quite something you've become." He looked over at Tommy. 

On his way out, he stopped next to Finn. "Bye, son." He ruffled Finn's hair. Finn peeked into the hallway to watch him walk out. John pulled him back towards him. It was silent in the room. "He's out dad," Arthur mumbled. Tommy sighed as he shook his head. 

"He's a selfish bastard."

"You're calling someone a selfish bastard? That's a bit rich, Tommy. I mean, thanks to you, we're down a bloody sister."

"You want to see him, Arthur? You wanna see him? You go with him." He pointed towards the door. 

Arthur actually got up and left. Finn left with him. I couldn't believe they both did. I don't know why they still cared. Finn might have gone because he didn't know any better. He was just a baby when our dad left. Tommy bursted into my room at 11 at night. 

He was dripping wet. 

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"I'll explain when we get there. Bring your gun." He left the room. 

I got dressed in whatever clothes I saw. I put my gun into the holster on the way down the stairs. Tommy was waiting for me outside of the house. He hurriedly walked us to the Garrison. He banged on the door a few times. As soon as Grace opened it, he barged in. "Leave that open," he commanded as he grabbed a chair. 

He set up a table as if someone was going to sit there with him. Grace went to pour him a glass of whiskey. 

"No."

"Are you expecting trouble?"

"Yes."

"At this hour?"

"Midnight is as good an hour as any." He put his gun on the counter. 

Grace looked at me with a confused face. 

"What the hell is going on?"

"I have no idea."

"When St. Andrew's bell strikes midnight, two IRA men are going to come through the door. When they have what they want, they plan to kill me. It's both of your jobs to stop that from happening."

"You could have given us a better warning."

"Yeah, he came into my room dripping wet."

"I just got the message. They want to meet here alone."

"Barmaids and your little sister don't count?"

"No, they don't. Grace, you're gonna be in that back room. Anna, you're gonna be tucked away under the counter. I'm gonna be sitting there. When I make a toast, you both are going to come out with your guns raised. You don't shoot, you just point. I'll do the rest."

"Sounds like a plan." I walked over to my spot. 

Grace grabbed the gun off the counter. 

"Will you kill them?"

"No, the police want them alive."

"They know about this?"

"Look, just hold it up." He showed her where to point it. 

When the bell rang, we all got in our spots. The door creaked open. 2 men walked into the building. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. My whole body was numb. Tommy poured the men their drinks. 

"Lost your thirst, eh?"

"Just show us where."

"Give me the cash." The cash was put on the table. "You're going to need a shovel." 

One of the men chuckled. "You thick fucking tinker." I could hear the sound of a gun being raised. 

"Did you think we'd let you live?"

"Make your peace, Mr. Shelby."

"I will make peace my own way. To barmaids who don't count." I stood up from my spot. 

Grace came out of the back room shooting the gun. What the fuck? We were only supposed to point. She successfully shot one of the men. The other one went after Tommy. Grace was knocked to the ground while they were fighting. I ran over to help her up. 

Tommy had no choice but to kill the other man. It wasn't pretty. Tommy walked over to us. He looked at Grace disappointingly. He was on the verge of tears. 

"Why did you shoot? Why did you shoot, Grace?"

"I didn't know I had it in me like that."

"Now you've seen me."

"And you've seen me. I'm sorry." I rolled my eyes as they stood there hugging.

"Not to ruin the moment or anything but what are we going to do about the bodies?" The door behind me opened. 

The coppers walked in. They took a look at the bodies. Tommy stomped over to them. 

"You were supposed to come on the sixth chime! You were supposed to come on the fucking sixth chime!" He leaned against the counter as he was trying to keep his composure. 

"They refused to surrender. They fought well, they were brave men."

"Well, he looked like he was killed by a wild fucking animal. Still. This never happened and they were never here. Who cares?"

"Get the bodies out of here."

"Are they making the ladies uncomfortable? I'll leave you three to it, eh?" They walked out of the pub with the bodies. 

I didn't wait around. I went right home. This was never to be spoken about again. A few days later, I sat with Aunt Polly in the kitchen. Arthur walked in with a lost look on his face. Aunt Polly didn't look up from her paper. "Where's your father?" 

He didn't answer her. "I'm assuming he's fritting away the 500 you took from us and put in his thieving, whore-groping hands." She glanced up at him. "What were you thinking?" He flinched when she put down the paper. Seeing him like this hurt. He was only doing what he thought was right. 

She glared at him. 

"How dare you do something like that without talking to Thomas or me!"

"Does Tommy know?"

"No. But you're going to tell him." Arthur walked out of the house. 

He definitely wasn't going to talk to Tommy. Tommy called the house from the Garrison. He needed me to meet him there as fast as I could. I barely got my shoes on as I ran out of the house. He was in the back room when I got there. 

"What's going on?"

"They found the guns."

"Who found them? How do you know?"

"I took a walk with Finn. Danny's fake grave was all dug up. I'm probably going to have to go away for a little while."

"Where are you going?"

"I have no idea." Finn threw the door open. 

"The police are in the lane, Tommy!" He and Grace ran out of the pub. They were most likely going to her house. Campbell and 2 coppers walked in a half-hour later. He looked at me sitting on the stool. He put his gun down next to me as if it was supposed to scare me. 

"Where is Thomas?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since the last time I saw him."

"When was that?"

"The last time I saw him? It was definitely the time I saw him last." Harry tried to contain his laughter as did I. 

"Perhaps I should ask that question again. On your knees." One of the coppers behind Harry pushed him to his knees. Campbell held the gun to his head. 

"Understand this, barman. I don't care if you live or die."

"I don't know."

"Where did they go?"

"He left with the barmaid. He left with Grace. I think they went to her place." He took the gun from his head. 

They all left the pub. I ran around the city looking for Arthur or John. I couldn't find either of them. When I started asking around, people saw Arthur going to the boxing warehouse. It was no longer in use since they left today. When I got there, I pushed open the big door. It was completely empty. 

I looked around in hopes of seeing Arthur. When I turned the corner, I halted. Arthur sat on the old dusty floor. His sobs were shaking his shoulders. A knocked-over stool and broken rope lay next to him. I slowly walked over to him. "Oh, Arthur." 

I kneeled down in front of him. I wrapped my arms around him as he sobbed. "You were only trying to do the right thing. Everything is ok," I cooed. It took everything in me to not break down alongside him. 

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Up in Smoke- Chapter 1.4

Masterlist

Warnings- Usual PB violence, swearing and Ada giving birth

A few days later, there was a scuffle in the shop this morning. It doesn't happen too often. Usually, a man gets mad about the betting being close. That's exactly what happened. It was taken care of before it could escalate. 

The shop was going to be closed for a little while. John called a family meeting the Garrison for a quick family meeting. Scudboat was going to stay behind to keep an eye on everything. Him and Arthur were already waiting for us in our room. 

"Alright John, There's only one man guarding the house. What's troubling you?"

"Polly, you know what it's been like since Martha died."

"God takes the best first."

"Truth is, my kids have been running bloody rings around me. Running barefoot with the dogs until all hours."

"Pol, give him ten bob for some new shoes. Is that it, John?"

"Tommy, let him speak." I snapped as I tried to listen to John. 

"Yeah, Tommy. It would be better to do this without you. Now what's your point?"

"What the kids need is a mother. So that's why I'm getting married." Tension grew in the room.

He's getting married? We didn't even know he was seeing anyone.

"Does this poor girl know you're marrying her or are you just going to spring it on her all of a sudden?"

"I've already proposed and she said yes."

"I think there's a shell about to land and go bang." No one said anything. 

"It's-It's Lizzie Stark." Everyone broke out into a fit of laughter. 

"John, Lizzie Stark is a strong woman and I am sure she provides a fine service for her customers."

"I won't hear the word. Understand? Do not use that word."

"What word is that, John?"

"He means whore."

"Anna!" I held my hands up in surrender as I sat back. 

"Everybody can go to hell."

"He could mean prostitute. How about that one?"

"Right. I want it known, if anyone calls her a whore again, I will push the barrel of my revolver down their throats and blow the word back down into their hearts."

"Men and their cooks never cease to amaze me. John, Lizzie never did a day's work vertically."

"She's changed. People change. Like with religion."

"Lizzie had got religion, eh?"

"No! No, she doesn't have religion, but-," he harshly stood up, "well she loves me." 

He turned to look at Tommy. "Now listen now, Tommy. I won't do it unless I have your blessing. But of all the people in the world, I-I want you to see it...as brave."

"It's brave alright." Arthur and I snickered. 

"Brave is going where no man has gone before. And with Lizzie Stark, John, that is really not what you'll be doing."

"Listen, Tommy. Welcome her to the family. As someone who's had a hard life. Because I need someone. The kids need someone." The door swung open. 

Finn stood breathless in the doorway. "Tommy! We've been done over!" All of us ran back to the house. All the Lee's broke in to destroy the house. They took anything they could lay their hands on. I knew something like this was coming. 

Everything had been quiet. Tommy walked in front of us with wire cutters in his hands. 

"They left these."

"Wire cutters? Why?" I asked with a puzzled face. 

"Nobody move."

"I think our friends are playing the game."

"What game?"

"Polly, don't touch anything."

"Erasmus Lee was in France."

"Shit."

"Will someone tell the ladies who weren't in France what the hell is going on?"

"When we gave up ground to the Germans, we'd leave behind booby traps, set up with wires. We'd leave wire cutters as part of the joke."

"Somewhere in here, there's a hand grenade. "

"Holy Jesus."

"Attached to a wire. Don't move any chairs or open any doors. Go easy, Johnboy."

"No. No, boys. It's not here."

"If it was in here, it would have blown by now. It was my name on that bullet Erasmus sent. He set up a trap all right. But he set it up just for me." Tommy ran out of the house. 

We slowly started to clean things up. We were hoping Tommy was right. We didn't need the shop blowing up while we were in it. Sure enough, they rigged something of his. They put the grenade in the car door. He wouldn't know about it until it was too late. When he checked the car, Finn was sitting inside. 

He was pretending to be Tommy. It nearly blew up with poor Finn in the car. Luckily no one was hurt and the car is ok. A couple days later, Kimber and his accountant walked in. What the hell was he doing here? They walked into Tommy's office. He called in John, Lovelock and Scudboat. 

Were we in trouble? They walked out without another word. All of us were confused. Tommy walked to the front of the building. "Gentlemen and ladies, in my hand I have a legal betting license. It's issued by the board of control. The Shelby family has its first legal racetrack pitch!" All of us cheered and hugged. 

We really did it. The next day, Tommy sat down next to me. He took a drag of his cigarette. 

"John isn't marrying Lizzie. I offered her some money and she said yes."

"Tommy-"

"I was making sure that life was behind her. Seems like it's not. I have other plans for John."

"Such as?"

"The Lee family has a girl who is wild and needs to be married. John is the man for her."

"When's the wedding?"

"2 days. Don't tell John. He won't go with us if he knows."

"You're tying the families together?" He nodded. 

Those 2 days went by fast. We were all hiding it from John. We told him there was going to be a war between the families. He would for sure go to that. We met a group of our men around the corner from their new camp. 

"Ready, boys? John, ready?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Have a drink." Arthur passed a flask at him. 

He took a swig. "What? What are you all looking at me for? What?" We all dropped it and moved on. John was confused at his point. "Tommy, what's your plan? We are in shotgun range." He turned to look at John. 

"John, before you go into battle, there's something you are going to need." All of us took out the white flower from our pockets. I couldn't help but laugh at his horribly confused face. "What are you bloody doing, Tommy?" Tommy put his hands on either side of John's face. 

"Smile, John, it's a wedding."

"Whose bloody wedding?"

"Your wedding. We knew if we told you, you wouldn't come." He turned around to glare at me. 

Tommy explained to him what was going on. He hated it more than anything. He was ready to run if we didn't hold him down. He only liked the idea of the families being united. It did make sense to do it. All of us walked in their camp after we calmed down John. Her mom took a look at John before we proceeded. 

"He'll do." We all cheered. We waited a few minutes before gathering around. Johnny was going to marry them. As things were getting started. Polly and Ada walked up. I hugged Ada tightly. 

She was ready to pop at any second. We linked arms to stand together. When John's wife moved her vail, John smirked back at us. I guess he liked what he saw. After the ceremony was over, the party began. It was weird getting along with the Lees. There was dancing, singing, drinking, games, and shooting. 

It was like we were an actual family. I got to talk to John's new wife, Esme. She was really nice and not what I expected. When I heard wild girl, I was thinking something completely different. She was prettier and calmer than I had pictured. I sat with Tommy at a table when the conversation was over. I watched as Ada had the time of her life. 

She was dancing with Arthur who had a giant smile plastered on his face. Polly walked over to us. 

"You should tell Ada to slow down."

"You think she'll listen?"

"I tried stopping her, but she's been drinking."

"I at least got her to stop drinking."

"Thank you, Anna. She's been stuck in that little basement for weeks. She's going off like a firecracker. Oh, Christ, Tommy, please." Arthur seemed to beat us to it. 

We could hear him telling her to slow down. Tommy still walked over there. 

"Come and look, Esme! Come and look at the family you've joined. Come and look at the man who runs it. He chooses his brother's wives for them!"

"Ada-"

"He hunts his own sister down like a rat, and he tries to kill his own brother-in-law." She harshly shoved Tommy. 

"Ada, that's enough." Arthur snapped as he walked over. 

"And now he won't even let me have a fucking dance! Not even at a fucking wedding!"

"Sit her down." She started to hyperventilate. 

"Calm down, Ada. Ada, calm down." A rush of water fell to the floor. "Holy shit. Water."

"Not now, Ada. Bloody hell, you do pick your times."

"Arthur, shut the fuck up. A whole baby is about to come out of her." I pushed Arthur away from us. 

We rushed her back to the house. Esme, Polly and I were going to deliver the baby. The men were going to get drunk. I got her out of her dress and not something more comfortable. Esme checked the position. The baby was in the wrong spot. We had to stand her up if we wanted things to go alright. 

Gravity was going to do its job. I hated hearing her scream in pain. I didn't like seeing anyone I loved in pain. Eventually the baby came into the world safe and sound. I cleaned up the baby as Esme and Polly finished off with Ada. I looked at the beautiful baby boy. He was perfect. 

When Ada was sitting up, I handed her son to her. A giant smile grew on her face. I stood there to admire them. There was a loud knock on the door. Freddie ran into the house. I was glad Tommy let him come. Tommy did have a heart after all. 

I set down tea in front of Ada as Freddie held the baby. There was a harsh pounding at the door. "Open up! Police." All of our smiles fade. Police? How did they know he was here? 

They busted into the house. They dragged him out of the house. All of us were shouting about something. I took the baby away from Ada as she sobbed. We didn't need her dropping him when he was hours old. Polly stormed out of the house with pure rage. Did Tommy really snitch? 

He wouldn't have. He couldn't have. 

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Up in Smoke- Chapter 1.3

Masterlist

Warning- Usual PB violence and swearing

Day's had passed since we talked to Kimber. Tommy wasn't too pleased with my random outbursts. Tommy had a meeting with 2 men this morning at the Garrison. I wasn't allowed to go with him. I knew he'd tell me about it when he got home. Polly walked into the kitchen with a nervous look in her eyes. 

"What is it?"

"Ada is getting married today."

"So Freddie did come back?"

"No one told you?"

"No. I'm the forgotten child."

"Oh shush." She smirked as she sat down with a cup of tea. 

Tommy walked into the kitchen a couple hours later. Polly glanced at me then to him. 

"Are you armed?"

"No."

"Then I'll tell you. Ada and Freddie Throne were married today. They defied your orders, they haven't left the city." He walked around the room. 

He grabbed the back of the chair he stood in front of with a long sigh.

"I'll deal with it. Thomas, I'll deal with it." 

"Where are they?"

"Freddie's comrades have safe houses. Why do you want to know?"

"I want to send them flowers. Why do you think?"

"Would it be so bad if they stayed?"

"I promised I'd run Freddie out of town."

"Promised who?" I asked as I stood up.

Polly closed the doors to the shop. 

"I told the coppers Freddie wouldn't come back. It was part of the deal."

"What bloody deal? What happened to family votes? What happened to meetings? If you let me deal with Ada and Freddie, it'll end in peace. Christ knows you have had your fill of war." It was dead silent for a moment. 

Tommy took a step closer to Polly. "You get Freddie out of town, Pol. Or else I'll deal with him myself." He walked out of the shop. Polly went to talk with Freddie hours later. She was going to give them two hundred pounds. She also booked them tickets to New York. 

I would love to go to New York. Or America in general. Anything to get out of Small Heath for a little while. Tommy and I walked to the suit shop. We were picking up our free suits. Kimber walked up behind us. The man helping us grew nervous. 

"Please, gentlemen and lady. No fighting in here."

"It's alright. I come as a friend." The man ran off. 

Tommy looked at the rack of suits then back at Kimber. 

"You're collecting your suit for Cheltenham, it's very nice."

"How the bloody hell do you know?"

"I know a lot of things, Mr. Kimber. As I told you before, I know the Lee brothers. And I know they're going to be at the races as well. "

"Yes. They're going to lose a lot of money on fast women and slow nags."

"No. They're planning on showing up in numbers and robbing your bookies. Running chalk and rafflers."

"You think I can't handle the Lees?" He scoffed as he glared at Tommy. 

"Just a word of warning from a friend. That's all." We started to walk away. "See you at the races."

"I'll wave at you from my box. Bring that pretty barmaid of yours."

"Alright invited," Tommy shouted as we walked out. 

People were everywhere in the street. They nearly knocked both of us over. We were walking past the Garrison when John shouted to us. When John walked up next to us, Tommy asked, 

"What the hell's been happening?"

"The police just raided a rally at the factory. You think Freddie Thorne is back?"

"I know he is and he's with Ada. How hard can it be to find the only girl in Birmingham with four-inch heels?"

"She's with the commies. They have rat holes all over the city."

"I just want to know where she is."

"One of you'd best have a word with Arthur as well."

We all stopped walking, "what happened?"

"He's got the Flanders Blues again." 

"I'll go talk to him. Is he in the church?" John nodded before I walked off. 

I walked into the empty church to see him sitting alone. The only source of light was the burning candles. A bottle of booze sat next to him. I slowly sat down next to him on the pew. 

"People keep asking me questions that I don't know the answer to. Is it true your Ada got married? I say, I don't know. Where is she living now? I don't know. Arthur, who killed Paddy from the Black Swan. I go, what Paddy? They say, is it you Peaky Blinders who stole the guns from the BSA?" My eyes grew wide as I looked at him. 

Tommy never told him. 

"What guns, Anna?"

"After your beating, Tommy thought you needed a break."

"What bloody guns, Anna?" I flinched at his sudden outburst.

I softly put my hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"Arthur, we were going to tell you."

"You were gonna tell me." He tried pulling away from me. 

I grabbed tightly onto his other arm. "Arthur, please. Listen to me. You boys have had a hard couple years. We all know you have. You need to rest. Tommy says we had some luck. It fell right onto our laps. All you need to know is, it's us that had the machine guns now. And it's them that's in the mud. Alright?" I let go of him. 

He looked away from me. He put his head down. "Come on, we have a surprise for you," I stood up with a smile. He stood up too, grabbing the bottle of booze. We walked to the Garrison with our arms linked together. When we walked in, Tommy was waiting for us. We walked up next to him at the counter. 

Arthur looked around the room. 

"A surprise? Where is she?"

"What is it you've always wanted, Arthur? Eh? When we were in France you used to say, when I get back to England I want to own me own pub. Well..." He held his hands out, motioning to the building. 

"Now you've gone soft. You've gone soft, Tommy. How do we know it's for sale?"

"Everything's for sale to us. We're making a lot of money these days. We need a legitimate business to pass the money from the shop."

"I wouldn't know what to do."

"You spent two-thirds of your life in pubs. Just pour it instead of drinking it."

"But I can still drink it, right?"

"Your pub, you do what you want." I smiled at their happiness. 

"Congrats on our pub," I cheered as I hugged Arthur. Harry walked out from out back. "Ah! Sorry, gentlemen and lady. I didn't hear you come in. What can I get ya?" Tommy turned around with a tiny smile creeping up on his lips. Within the hour, the pub was Arthur's. 

I took the whole day off of work the next day. I needed time to relax and do nothing. I finished 2 books throughout the day. I was going to need something thicker to last me. I was sitting in the living room with Finn and Polly when Tommy walked in. He talked to Freddie earlier today. 

They weren't leaving the city so matter what. They wanted to stay here. At least, he wanted to stay here. I don't think it mattered what Ada wanted. He walked out after flopping the money and the ticket on the table. My bedroom door opening woke me up. I had no idea who was coming into my room at this time of night. 

When my eyes adjusted, I could see it was Tommy. He was slipping off his boots by the door. He laid down next to me on my bed. 

"Danny just left. I couldn't get back to bed."

"How is he doing?"

"His normal self." He looked at the ceiling. 

Danny was Tommy's war friend. They both were diggers. Danny's PTSD was far worse than the boy's. He would go into these violent episodes. I've witnessed a few of them. During one of his attacks a few weeks ago, he killed a man. Tommy made a deal with him. 

He was going to 'kill' him. He shot him in the back of the head with a bullet full of sheep's brain to make it look real. It was a perfect idea. Now Danny was doing work for Tommy in London or something. 

I looked over at Tommy. 

"What's wrong, Tommy?"

"Sometimes I lay awake at night, staring at the wall. I can hear the shovels and picks getting closer and closer. I wait for them to break the wall down and kill me."

"Oh, Tommy. You're safe here. Those men are far from you." He looked up at me with teary eyes. 

After a little while of talking, we both fell asleep. We had to be up early in the morning for the races. I woke up before he did so I made 2 cups of tea. I brought them back to my room for us to enjoy when he wakes up. I didn't think he would drink it but I definitely needed it. I sat in a velvet chair in the corner of the room to read some of my books. I figured now I had the time so why not use it. 

Tommy woke up 2 hours later after stirring for a while. "Good morning, there's a fresh pot of coffee made." I said without looking up from my book. I looked up when I heard what sounded like a sob come from him. I closed my book to walk over to him. He was sitting at the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. I softly sat down next to him. 

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He held him there for a while. "Everything is going to be ok, Thomas. You are going to be ok. I promise you that," I mumbled. He didn't say anything back. When he stopped crying, we both got up. 

I had to start getting ready for the races too early in the morning. I was barely even awake as I was putting my makeup on. John, Finn, Arthur and I met up with a group in Charlie's yard. John walked over to us with his arms open to show off his suit. I groaned as I looked at him, 

"John, I told you I was wearing grey."

"Well I look better in it."

"You wish, sweetheart." He nudged me as we stood there. 

Arthur hopped on a box to talk to everyone. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. 

"This is known as your final briefing before going over the top. Sixty miles down that road is Cheltenham racetrack. John, what is our mission, boy?"

"To stick it to the Lee family, Arthur!" I didn't share their excitement. 

There was nothing to be excited about. We were going to be possibly killing a man and taking his money. We were then giving it to a man all of us hated. Arthur started speaking again. 

"That's right. The Lee's are skimming money off the legal bookies. Running chalk, selling rafflers, then beating them up as they won't buy. But today, we're going to stop them."

"What about Kimber's men? I thought he had his own protection."

"He let his troops go rotten. They're on the take from the Lees to look the other way. We're gonna show Kimber how it should be done. Now take what you're good at. Those of you with guns, keep them out of it. Unless a gun is pulled on you. We want this done quietly."

"When do we share half the cash?"

"We don't. We aren't keeping the cash." 

"Anna's right. No keeping the cash. You're in Tommy's army now, boys. Trust only kin." All of us packing into the truck. 

I sat in the back of the truck with everyone else. I had to keep an eye on Finn. I was surprised he was coming with us. I didn't mind it if he stayed out of trouble. I guess he was just happy to be involved. We located the man we needed in the men's bathroom. Everyone but Finn and I went inside. 

We could hear screaming coming from inside. Arthur came out with the bags of money. I was going to help him get them to Tommy. He was going to give all the money to Kimber. He was with Grace today. They were sitting with Kimber and his assistant. Tommy was on the other side of the door when we opened it. "We chased the Lees across the track and down to Devon road. We got every penny back." We hurried off before anyone noticed what was going on. 

We had a little bit of time to enjoy ourselves. We stood with the others to have a fancy drink. It was nice that Tommy bought us all drinks whether he wanted to or not. 

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Up in Smoke- Chapter 1.2

Masterlist

Warnings- Usual PB violence and swearing

Today, we were going to the fair. It was just going to be the boys and I. We were all ecstatic about getting away from Small Heath for the day. All 5 of us crammed into one car. John and I took it upon ourselves to annoy the hell out of Arthur for most of the way there. He was ready to reach into the back seat to strangle us.

When we left the city, the air felt so much lighter. The air was crisp. The country had open fields and trees. I was sick of seeing buildings and smoke. Tommy took a couple wrong turns leading deeper into the fields. We pulled up outside of a Gypsy camp by the river.

"I thought you said we were going to the fair?"

"We have business first, Anna."

"Here?" Tommy got out of the car.

John was close behind him. "What business," Arthur snapped. "That's the Lee family," John clarified. A man stood up with his arms out.

"Tommy!"

"Johnny Dogs."

"How the hell are ya?"

"All the better for getting the city smoke out of me lungs." Tommy walked away with him.

The 4 of us slowly followed behind.

"I thought you became a bit too grand for us."

"I've been busy."

"I'm riding with the Lee family now."

"I heard. Myself, I'd rather live among pigs."

"Come on, Tommy. No disputing. So, your first fair since France?"

"What do you know about France, you war-shy Gypsy bastard?" Tommy nudged him before going to check out the horse.

There was a boy no older than Finn brushing her down. It was a beautiful white horse.

"So this is the horse?"

"And that's the car." Johnny walked over to take a look at the car.

Arthur looked up from the ground.

"Wait a minute. You're not swapping the family car for a bloody horse."

"Of course we're not swapping it. Huh? That would be mad." Johnny walked back over to us.

Tommy dug into his pocket. "We're going to play two-up." Johnny dug in his pocket for a coin. They tossed the coins into the air. When they hit the ground, they inspected them. Tommy won just like he always does. They spit on their hands before shaking them.

Tommy handed Johnny the car keys.

"I knew it. Tommy, you bloody idiot."

"Shut up, Arthur, I won."

"Good."

"I promised Johnny I'd let him have a spin in the car if he lost."

"Alright." 3 of the Lee men erupted into a fit of laughter.

Tommy took a drag of his cigarette as he glared at them. "Are you Lee boys laughing at my brother?" Their smiles quickly faded. They started to walk over to each other.

"Are you? Eh, I asked you a question."

Tommy, let's go," I whispered.

"Tommy! Tommy, come on!" Johnny put himself between Tommy and the men.

He started pushing Tommy away. "Come on, it's just a craic. Get your family out of here and go enjoy yourselves at the fair before they start a war. Huh?" He turned to the 3 men. He was speaking Romany. "Go on, go. They're from good people. Their granddad was a king. Their grandad was a king!" Tommy started to walk away as did Johnny.

We needed to go enjoy ourselves at the fair. There was nothing but trouble here. One of the fat men had to make a comment. He spoke to us in English. "Yeah, but his mother was a Diddicoy whore." Tommy stopped walking for a second. He grabbed his cap as he turned around.

He swung at the man's face with it. John and Arthur joined in with him. I ushered Finn to the car. I didn't want him seeing any of this. He didn't need to see men being blinded or badly cut. The fighting was over just as it began. We were going to pick up the horse on our way back from the fair.

It turned out to be a really good day. All of us were in a good mood despite what happened at the camp. We were sad that we had to return to the loud city. The streets leading up the garage were a mess. Things and people were everywhere. "What the bloody hell had been going on here?" We rushed home to find out what's been going on.

We had a quick family meeting. There was a bucket of beer waiting for us. Polly stood at the table.

"The coppers told everyone Aurthur had agreed to it when he was arrested. They said the Peaky Blinders had cleared out to the fair to let them do it."

"I never said anything to that copper about smashing up bloody houses."

"Alright, which pubs did they do?"

"The Gins, the Chain, the Marquis. All the ones that pay you to protect them. Only one they didn't touch was the Garrison. Make sure people think we were in on it. He's smart, this copper. So go on. Drink your beers, get out. You'd better show people you are still cocks of the walk." I smirked as I sat back in my seat.

As everyone started to talk out, Tommy said,

"Hand out some chas to the landlords of the pubs. Lay some veterans to fix the places up."

"What about you and Anna?"

"I have to go to Charlie's to stable the horse. She looked footsore in the box."

"I'm going with him." When Arthur walked out, Polly closed the doors dividing the house and shop.

She turned to look at Tommy. "We know what they were looking for." She sat down in the chair.

"You don't read the papers?"

"Racing papers."

"So let me tell you the odds. I reckon it's three to one, there'll be a revolution."

"I wouldn't bet on that."

"That copper is betting on it. He's not going to let it rest till he gets those guns back." Tommy sat down in the chair across from me.

He took a drag of his cigarette.

"Did he talk to you, Pol?"

"In the church."

"Did he try to find Ada? Or ask about Anna?"

"He knew Anna was with you boys. Ada was sleeping." He huffed when he heard that.

He looked over at Aunt Polly.

"Where was she sleeping?"

"I thought you didn't care for women's business. He knows you're the boss. He wants to meet you. Will you talk to him?"

"No. You don't parley when you're on the backfoot. We'll strike a bow back first." Tommy and I left to stable the horse.

Days later, we had a bonfire on our street. We paid everyone to burn their picture of the king. It was only to send a harmless little message. Everyone was laughing and cheering. They seemed to be having a good time. As we stood with the boys, a man walked up to Tommy. We knew that it was our que to walk away.

I walked back up to Tommy with a cup of beer for him.

"That was a reporter. He's going to write about everything he saw tonight."

"He didn't seem too confident."

"He'll do it." Tommy looked back into the fire.

I went home when the fire started to die down. When I got into the house, I filled up the tub. I needed to scrub the scent of smoke out of my hair and skin. I tossed my clothes in a pile in the corner of the room. In the morning, I was enjoying a cup of tea. Polly was reading the paper in the chair next to me. Ada walked into the room.

She had been acting odd lately. I set down my cup.

"Good of you to join us."

"Where have you been all day," Aunt Pol asked as she looked up from the paper.

"In bed. Couldn't sleep then I couldn't wake up. Then I was cold and then I had to go for a wee. Then I was with this bear on a boat, but that was a dream. Then I was hungry." She sat down next to us with a slice of bread and jam.

Polly told us about what was going on in the papers. Everyone is on strike and the IRA are killing our boys. Nothing out of the ordinary. Polly studied Ada as she was eating. I knew exactly what she was thinking. Ada finally caught on.

"What?"

"Stand up."

"Why?"

"Just stand up." Ada confusedly did as told.

Aunt Pol walked around her. "Side on." She grabbed onto Ada's boob. Ada shoved her off.

"What are you doing?"

"Ada...how late are you?"

"One week." She saw the look Aunt Pol was giving her. "5 weeks. 7 if you count weekends. I think it's a lack of iron. I got tablets.

"But they didn't work?" Ada frowned as she sat down.

She shook her head. That night, Aunt Pol took her to the doctor to find out if it was true. There's no way it couldn't be. Aunt Pol was right about stuff like that. I waited up for them. Aunt Pol nodded as they walked through the door. Ada had tears in her eyes.

She was keeping it no matter what. Freddie was the father which Tommy would be enraged about. Freddie had to skip town due to everything going on. Aunt Pol wasn't sure if he'd ever come back. Ada knew he would. Aunt Pol thought maybe hearing it from me wouldn't make his reaction as bad. He has a tendency to take things lightly when his littlest sister tells him about them.

I didn't see him until the next afternoon. When Tommy walked into the kitchen, I could feel my palms grow clammy. I didn't know why I was so nervous. It wasn't like I was telling him I was the one expecting his rival's baby.

"You wanted to see me?"

"How was your ride this morning?"

"Fine. Grace asked me if they could sing one night a week."

"Did you say yes?"

"I did. And I asked her to come with me to the races."

"Did she say yes?"

"I didn't wait for an answer."

"Did you see Autumn?"

"Yeah. Curly said she's still eating like a horse." I smiled as I looked up at him.

He went to walk into the betting shop.

"Wait, I need to tell you something." "Sure."

"Ada's pregnant."

"Who's the father?"

"You better talk to her about that." He put his hand on my shoulder as a tiny thanks.

He stormed out the door to find Ada. He was gone for quite a while. He didn't look too happy when he came back. He sat at the table counting all the money from today. Monaghan Boy lost just as Tommy wanted. There were stacks and stacks of cash on the table. I went to sit with Ada for a while.

She was overly stressed about all of this. After a bit of hearing Polly and Tommy bickering, Polly walked into the room.

"The longer you leave it, the worse it gets. Believe me, I know. I was 16 and I didn't dare tell anyone."

"Aunt Pol, Freddie will come back."

"In the end, I did it myself. I did it to myself. I almost died. And he didn't come back. They don't. Why should they? You know the words. 'You're a whore, the baby's a bastard.' But there's no word for the man who doesn't come back. One day, on your wedding day, you'll have a good man on your arm and you'll say, 'Polly, thank you for common sense.' This woman is in Cardiff. We'll take the train tomorrow. Go to the castle afterwards for a treat." They both had tears in their eyes.

Aunt Pol walked out of the room without another word. I don't think anything she said stuck. Tommy was still in the betting shop when I walked past. I walked in there to talk to him. "Tommy, I know I'm only 13 and don't know shit about stuff like this. Doesn't Ada's happiness rule out whatever is going on between you and Freddie?" He didn't say anything as he took another drag of his cigarette.

He wasn't going to listen to anything I was going to say. Not about this. When I walked into the betting shop, Tommy looked to be in a bad mood.

"What's wrong?"

"I had to put down the horse from the Lee's. She was cursed."

"God dammit." I sighed as I sat down.

I was invited to play cards with the boys the next night. The pub was filled with drunk people singing. It was the happiest this pub has sounded in months. We sat in our little room. Grace carried in a bucket of beer. Arthur handed the cards to John to shuffle.

"Do you want whiskey too?"

"No, whiskey."

"Why no whiskey, Tommy? Are you expecting trouble?" Arthur sat there waiting for an answer.

We could hear the singing echo through the building. "Jesus Christ, Tommy, what the hell made you let them sing? They sound like they're strangling cats out there," John laughed. He earned a laugh from everyone in the little room.

Arthur glanced down at his cards, "Alright, twenty is the play. Come on. What made you change your mind, though, Tommy?" We watched as Tommy watched Grace walk out of the room. John smirked,

"It's about time, Tommy?"

"Time for what?"

"Time you took yourself a woman."

"Just play the bloody hands."

"You stay the way you are, Tommy. Remember what dad used to say. Fast women and slow horses will ruin your life." John and Arthur said in unison with a smile on their faces.

John kept trying to look at my hand throughout the whole game. I nudged him as he glanced over again. Headlights filled the room. John glanced over at Tommy.

"Coppers."

"No."

"Then who?" I asked as the singing outside slowly started to fade.

It came to a stop. It was completely silent. "Is there any man here named Shelby?" A gunshot filled the air. A few people screamed. "I said, is there any man here named Shelby?" Tommy swung the door open.

Billy Kimber and 2 of his men stood outside. Billy Kimber runs the races. We knew exactly why he was here. "Get these men a drink. Everyone else, go home. Including you." He looked at me.

I nodded as I walked to the door. Kimber put his arm out in front of me. "She stays." Arthur's jaw tightened as he pulled me away from the man. I helped serve the men drinks. Grace put the tray down in the middle of the table.

"Go home."

"But Mr. Fenton said-"

"I said, go home." Grace walked away to get her stuff.

Kimber looked Grace up and down.

"I've never approved of women in pubs, but when they look like that-"

"You said you wanted men called Shelby. You've got 3 of them and a Shelby girl."

"I'd never heard of ya then I did hear of ya. Some little Diddicoy razor gang. I thought to myself, 'so what?' But then you fucked me over. So now you have my undivided attention. By the way, which one am I talking to? Who's the boss?"

"Well, I'm the oldest." Kimber chuckled.

"Clearly."

"Are you laughing at my brother?" I questioned.

He looked at me with a surprised yet confused face. He looked between the 4 of us.

"Right, he's the oldest, you two are the thickest. I'm told the boss is called Tommy and guessing that's you 'cause you're looking me up and down like I'm a fucking tart."

"I want to know what you want." The man next to him started talking.

"There were suspicious betting patterns at Kempton Park. A horse called Monaghan boy. He won by a length twice and then finished last with a 3,000 pound bet on him."

"Which one am I talking to? Which one of you is the boss?"

"I am Mr. Kimber's adviser and accountant."

"So you're his bitch." John nudged me as he tried to stifle his laugh.

Kimber harshly stood up.

"And I'm the fucking boss. Okay, right, end of parley! You fixed a race without my permission. You fucking Gypsy scum. What, live off the war pensions off these poor Garrison Lane widows! That's your level! I am Billy Kimber, I run the races! You fixed one of them, so I'm going to have you shot against a post." He walked away.

Tommy started to stand up. "Mr. Kimber." Both of his men held up their guns. I looked at the man on the right. "What the hell is that guy going to do? He's like a 100 years old. Look at him, his hand is shaking!" I pointed at him.

Kimber looked at the man, then back at me. Before he could say anything to me, Tommy tossed him something. "Look at it." He took a look at whatever it was.

"That is my name on it. It's from the Lee family. You are also at war with the Lees, Mr. Kimber, am I right? The Lees are attacking your bookies and taking your money. Your men can't control them. You need help."

"Perhaps we should listen to what Mr. Shelby has to say. Before we make our decisions."

"Right. The Lees are doing a lot of talking at the fairs. They have a lot of kin. They're saying the race tracks are easy meat because the police are busy with strikes. Now, we have connections. We know how they operate. You have muscle. Together, we can beat them. Divided, maybe not."

"Mr. Kimber, perhaps we should take some time for reflection, possibly make arrangements for a second meeting."

"I admire you, Mr. Kimber. You started with nothing and built a legitimate business. It would be an honor to work with you, Mr. Kimber."

"Nobody works with me. People work for me." He tossed a coin onto the ground.

"Pick it up, pikey." No one moved. Tommy stared at him. Tommy started to bend down to pick up the coin. John got up to pick up the coin too. "Sit. Sit down," Tommy snapped.

"It's for your ceiling."

"Thank you, Mr, Kimber." His accountant walked up to Tommy.

"We will be at Cheltenham."

"As will I." They all walked out.

Tommy finished the last of his drink. He locked up the doors after them.

"So you picked a fight with the Lee's on purpose. Tommy, we can't mess with Billy fucking Kimber."

"Get yourself a decent haircut, man. We're going to the races."

[imagines-fandom-backup]

I often wonder what happened to authors of unfinished fanfictions.

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Up in Smoke- Chapter 1.1

Masterlist

Warnings for this chapter- mention of nightmares, being chased, and usual PB violence.

It's been 2 months since the boys returned from war. Arthur found his voice again, John still continues to be his warm self, Tommy is colder and more closed off. It might take him more time to return back to as much normalcy as he could. One thing that hasn't changed is our closeness. I don't think anything could come between that.

I was halfway through my new book when footsteps thudded up the stairs. There was a small knock on my door before it swung open. Tommy peaked his head into my room.

"I'm going to do a ritual tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?"

"You know Arthur is not going to be happy about that. I don't know if it's worth getting yelled at by him."

"It'll bring in more money."

"Or trouble."

"It means you'll get to ride Autumn." Autumn is my horse that I've had since I was 5.

She lives at my Uncle Charlie's metal yard. She has a nice little stall towards the back of the yard. His best friend/employee, Curly, takes care of her for me. He is the best horse person we've ever known. When you first meet Curly, it's hard not to notice his slowness. We think he might have been kicked in the head by a horse when he was younger.

"I'll go," I glanced up at him over my book. He smiled as he closed the door. I read a few more chapters of my book before my eyes grew heavy. I turned off my bedside lamp and set the alarm clock. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I walked down the dirty streets of Birmingham. There was talking and fires booming.

It was as if it was a normal day. Yet something about it wasn't. As I walked further down the street, I stumbled across a giant crowd of people. It was unusual for a swarm to be directly in the street. As I walked through the crowd, the talking became muffled. The faces blurred. I turned on my heels as I looked at everyone around me.

The panic set in. Something wasn't right. "There she is," I clearly heard from behind me. A tall slender man stood pointing at me. Several men came out from behind him. They all started sprinting towards me. I dug my heels into the ground as I took off. I pushed my way through the laughing mingling crowd.

It seemed as if every second I ran the more people showed up. It was never ending. I briefly looked behind me to see the group of men still hot on my heels. There was nowhere for me to hide. It was just me, running for my life from men I didn't even know. My legs were on fire as well as my lungs. I could feel the sweat building up on my forehead.

How long had I been running? I could start to feel my legs numb underneath me. I needed to keep going. I couldn't stop now. "Arthur, Tommy, John!" I screamed hoping my brothers would hear me. I screamed over and over again until my throat burned.

I heard Tommy's voice call back to me. The sea of people parted. Tommy stood there in front of me with a smile on his face. I turned back and sure enough the men were still there. When I turned back to look at Tommy, he was further away. I would get closer to him only to have him become further. I tripped over my own 2 feet which sent me to the wet hard ground.

I shot up in my bed covered in sweat and tears. The door practically flew off the hinges. Tommy rushed to the side of my bed. I looked into into his ocean blue eyes that were full of concern. He pulled me into his warm chest. He cooed as he held me.

"I'm here, Anna. It's ok, it's just a dream. They aren't going to hurt you."

"I-I was running from a pack of men. I couldn't see who they were. I saw you in the crowd but every time I got close, y-you ended up further and further away."

"I'll always be there to save you."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Do you want me to stay until you fall asleep?"

"I don't think I'm going back to sleep."

"Let's go get some tea. Maybe you'll feel better." I nodded as he helped me out of bed.

We slowly padded downstairs. I headed to the couch as Tommy walked into the kitchen. When it was finished, Tommy joined me. I whispered,

"I had nightmares about you and the boys while you were fighting in France."

"We all came back in one piece."

"I keep trying to remind myself of that. I guess my body got used to being worried all the time."

"I never took you for a worrier."

"I never took you to be a sappy big brother."

"When you were little, who did you come running to when you scraped your knee or someone was bullying you, eh?"

"Usually Arthur."

"Funny." He laughed as he rolled his eyes.

Ever since I learned to crawl, I followed Tommy everywhere. When I started to walk, it got even worse. He didn't mind it only because I was his favorite. I liked seeing him in this sappy funny mood. The tea almost instantly made me tired.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock beeping. Tommy must have carried me back here. I swung my feet over the side of my bed. The cold air made the hair on my arms stand up. I made my way to the bathroom to get my day started. I filled the tub up with hot water. It was far too cold this morning even to take a quick cold bath.

I would surely die of hypothermia. I sighed in relief as I sat in the hot water. I took my time to wash my long brown hair and scrub my body. The lavender soap smelled amazing. I soaked in the bath until the water turned cold. I quickly dried myself off to change. I walked back to my room to pick clothes out for the day.

I usually wore the same thing every day. 3 piece suit, laced boots and a newsboy cap.  Depending on the weather, something I wear a heavy overcoat. The clothes women wear now are way too uncomfortable. Plus it was my work uniform.

I walked downstairs to see Polly was already awake. She was reading the paper and having her morning tea. I joined Polly at the table. "Anything worth reading," I asked after taking a sip of tea. She put the paper down next to her. "There never is anything good," she replied. Tommy walked into the house to pick me up.

We both made our way to Charlie's yard to pick up the horses. It was too early to fully get the horses ready. We rode them bareback. When we rode into the small neighborhood, everyone started running. They hid anywhere they could as if we didn't see them. We wanted no trouble with him. We waited as 2 people ran towards us.

An older man and a girl my age. She was the one who tells fortunes and does rituals. She poured red powder into her hand. She stood there whispering to it. When she was done, she blew it into the horse's face. The ritual should get the horse to win the races. The 2 of them ran off once it was done. "The horse's name is Monaghan Boy. Kempton, three o'clock, Monday. You ladies have a bet yourselves but don't tell anyone else," Tommy yelled to the hiding people. We rode back off into the city.

We took the horses for a spin around town. The horse was surprisingly calm with all the explosions. It was a beautiful horse. We dropped the horses off back at the yard to get to work. Well for Tommy to get to work. Ada and I took Finn down to the nice part of the cut. The cut was the canal in this city where all the cargo goes through.

There is part of it that has grass and trees. Majority or it around here is mud and rocks. I was indulged in my book as Finn played by himself as he does often. Ada was keeping an eye on him as she read her own book. "Where the hell did you get that," Ada yelled. I closed my book down to look at both of them. Finn stood there with his eyes wide.

In his hand was John's loaded gun. He found it on the table at the betting shop. His 10 year old self couldn't keep his hands off of it. We went straight home once she took it away from him. Polly was going to rip John a new one the next time she sees him. "There's a family meeting at 8," Polly reminded us. Ada and I took a walk around the little shops.

We needed something to pass the time. We stopped at the bakery for lunch.

"Any boys that you have your mind on?"

"My brothers chase away all the boys around here."

"Maybe it's a good thing. They're a good judge of character."

"No one wants to date a Shelby girl. Well Freddie does." She smiled widely.

Tommy's best friend since school, Freddie, has been sneaking around with Ada since they got back. Oddly, things have been rough between him and Tommy. It's not that they're enemies, they're just difficult men with their own ideas. At 8 o'clock, we all met in the betting shop. 2 of our men were there too. Arthur stood up in front of us.

"Right, I've got some very important news. Scudboat and Lovelock got back from Belfast last night. They were in a pub on Shankhill road. There was a copper in the pub. He was handing out these." He handed out a flyer for us to see.

We all took a minute to read it over. John passed the flyer to me.

"If you're over 5 feet and can fight, come to Birmingham," John questioned.

"Thank you for reading aloud, John. Why do they need men," I asked.

"They're recruiting Irishmen to come over as Specials," Arthur confirmed.

"He's gonna try cleaning up the city," I questioned as I looked up from the flyer.

"Yeah. He's the chief inspector. For the last few years, he's been clearing the IRA out of Belfast," Tommy answered.

"How do you know so much," Arthur angrily questioned.

"Cause I asked the copper on our payroll."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm telling you now." It went silent for a second.

Polly spoke up,

"Why are they sending them here?"

"With the strikes at the BSA and works. Now the papers are talking about sedition and revolution. I'm guessing he's after communists. "

"So he's going to leave us alone?"

"There are Irish in Green Lanes who left Belfast to get away from him. They say catholic men who crossed him used to disappear."

"Yeah but we aren't IRA. We fought for the king. Anyway, we are Peaky Blinders. We're not scared of coppers. If they come for us, we'll cut them a smile each," John smirked.

We all went our separate ways after that. Finn wandered into my room.

"What does sedition mean?"

"What did I tell you about listening to family meetings?"

"What does it mean?"

"Sedition means to conduct or speak to people to rebel against authority."

"Thanks." He left without another word.

I finished my book within the hour with nothing else to do. I read everything I have, twice. I padded down to the kitchen for some tea. I was hoping it did the trick again. I had just sat down when Arthur walked in the room. He sat down in front of me.

"Sometimes it's like you went to war with us."

"Huh?"

"You are more closed off than you used to be. You weren't like that before."

"I don't know what's going on with me. I can't sleep and when I do I'm having nightmares."

"Tommy told me about the nightmare last night. Ya know we'd do anything to protect ya."

"I know. I just can't help what goes on in this brain." I took another sip of tea.

We both went to bed when my cup was empty. In the morning, I got up extra early. I headed over to the local pub to help Harry open. Today was going to be an insanely busy day for them. I figured I'd help out here and make a little more cash. The doors swung open. I looked up to see a blonde lady in an all green outfit.

She walked in with a smile on her face.

"I'm Grace. I'm here for the job as a barmaid."

"Do you know about this place," Harry asked from behind me.

"I saw it in an ad."

"Job's been filled."

"It was in yesterday's paper."

"I'm doing you a favor."

"I'm not asking for favors, I'm here for a job. I have references." Harry took the paper from her.

She watched me doing things behind the bar.

"How come you are working here? You can't be any older than 14. Aren't you scared to work in a place like this?"

"13, actually. I'm a Shelby. People around here know better than to mess with me."

"Do you work here all the time?"

"Just for the day." I smiled as I went back to work.

Harry looked up from her papers.

"What part of Ireland are you from?"

"Galway. I worked in Dublin."

"You're too pretty."

"Just watch." She put her hat and purse down.

She wanted to prove to us that she could do it. She walked around the bar, cleaning and singing. Harry was in awe of this woman.

"My singing would stop the men from fighting. "

"I hope you know a lot of songs."

"I do." I cocked an eyebrow at him.

He hired her based on that? He didn't even want to watch her make drinks? There was something about her that I didn't like. I couldn't put my finger on it. As soon as the doors opened, people filled the bar.

"Is it always like this?"

"No. They are all going to St. Andrew's."

"To pray?"

"Funny. It's a football ground. The blues are playing today." A few minutes later, I heard my name being called.

A smile grew on my face when I saw it was Tommy. He was standing at the window connected to our private room.

"Hello, Tommy."

"You need to come home. Something's happened."

"Is everything alright?"

"I don't know. I'll wait for you outside." I nodded as I took off my apron.

I rushed out the door. When we walked into the house, everyone was in the kitchen. Arthur was sitting at the table covered in blood. I stumbled back over to John. "What the hell happened?" Arthur looked around the room at all of us. "He said Churchill sent him. National interest, he said. Something about a robbery. He wants us to help him. He knows about our war records. He wants us to be his eyes and ears. I told him we'd take a vote at the family meeting." Tommy didn't say anything.

His answer was already no. We could see it in his face. Ada and Polly tended to Arthur's wounds as Tommy, John and I stood back. We didn't want to interfere. The rest of the day passed on as normal. No one mentioned the robbery or voting. I don't think anyone even wanted to think about it.

The next night, I went with Tommy to the docks. We were going to get rid of the guns before they found them. We stood right off the cut with Charlie.

"We can take them out to the turning point beyond Gas Street. We would just leave them on the bank. They'll be found by railway men first thing. Is that the agreement?"

"I've changed my mind."

"What?"

"I have an alternative strategy." I looked over with him with furrowed eyebrows.

I didn't even hear about this.

"Tell Curly to take her out to the old tobacco wharf. There's a lockup mooring we used to keep cigarettes. He knows it. When the boat leaves your yard, it's no longer your concern.

"Have you lost your fucking mind? Have you not seen the streets? They've sent a fucking army to find these things."

"That's right. They've shown their hand." Charlie scuffed as he looked at Curly.

He turned his attention to Tommy.

"Their hand?"

"If they want them back this bad, they'll have to pay. That's the way of the world. Fortune drops something valuable into your lap, you don't just drop it on the bank of the cut."

"You're blood, Tommy. I've always looked out for you like a dad. You're going to bring the holy hell down on your head. This copper takes no prisoners."

"I'm told he didn't serve. Reserves occupation."

"Is it another war you're looking for, Tommy?"

"The tobacco wharf. By order of the Peaky Blinders." He handed Charlie a key before we walked off.

I didn't know if this was the right thing to do. I wasn't going to fight Tommy on it. I knew he wouldn't listen to me anyway. We didn't need any more trouble. Everything just started to get back to normal. Arthur's voice filled the house. I knew he was looking for Tommy.

I knew it was about the ritual.

"It bloody won. Monaghan Boy bloody won!"

"Yeah, it won. And word will spread. So the next time we do the powder trick, it won't just be the Garrison that'll bet on the horse. It'll be all of Small Heath. And you know what? The horse will win again. And the third time we do it, we'll have the whole of Birmingham betting on it. A thousand quid bet on the magic horse. And that time, when we are ready, it will lose. Think about it."

Tommy walked out of the shop.

[imagines-fandom-backup]

You’ve heard of one shots, now get ready for none shots! It’s when you think of an idea for a fic and then don’t write it

[imagines-fandom-backup]

I fucking hate Tommy this season. Leaving your daughters funeral ten minutes after it’s began? He’s become a nightmare and I’m sort of glad this shits nearly over.

This is your doing Steven Knight, you’ve shit on your own creation- again. Also imo, the last thing Tommy needs is another child, especially a son from nowhere with two episodes left.

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Up in Smoke Masterlist

Chapter 1.0

Chapter 1.1

Chapter 1.2

Chapter 1.3

Chapter 1.4

Chapter 1.5

Chapter 1.6

Chapter 2.1

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Up in Smoke- Chapter 1.0

Masterlist

Warnings for this chapter- mention of violence

I was 9 years old when my 3 brothers were sent off to war. At that age, I didn't understand a lot about war. I didn't know why the war began or when they were going to come back. The only thing I did understand was they might not come back. Thank god I didn't have much time to ponder it. I had to help my Aunt Polly and my older sister, Ada, run the betting business. Sure the betting was technically illegal, but we needed to make money somehow.

Even with the war going on, business was still doing well. I was no longer playing with my friends, going to school or wearing dresses. I was running the books and wearing pantsuits. I felt like an adult. I was treated as an adult. I guess I didn't mind growing up fast.

My younger brother, Finn, was still off doing god knows what. He had no interest in running the business. I don't even think he could sit still to do anything here. As time went on, my brothers and I wrote to each other as much as we could. Of course, they kept all the bad things out of the letters. They wanted me to have my innocence as long as they could. I did steal Aunt Polly's letters to see what was really going on which was never anything good.

By the time I was 13, the war was officially over. The boys were coming back to us in one piece like I hoped they would. They weren't the same as they were when they left. They were tired, numb and slow. Aunt Polly warned Finn and I of this days before. They left their old selves at bootcamp.

Thomas is the most changed. His once bright blue eyes are now dull and damaged. He wore a stone expression. I could tell how he changed from his letter. In the beginning, he would write funny things or memories to make me smile. As the war went on, those diminished. His letters only reminded me that he was alive.

John's smile still remained bright even if it is fake. He still cracks jokes and has the same laugh. He is now going to have much more responsibility. His wife, Martha, died while he was away. He now has to care for his kids full time. We aren't sure if he has the patience for that.

Arthur is quiet which was unusual. His loud voice isn't echoing throughout the house anymore. He only talked when he had to. I found myself asking him questions or trying to get him to at least say something. He was desperately trying to hold onto the confident man he used to be.

Ada slowly started to back out of the business when the boys came back. She had her own ideas of her own. She was off doing her own thing. Even if it was with Tommy's now enemy. Finn was still being a kid, not noticing a difference in anything or anyone. He was 10 so what did he know?

Of course, Aunt Polly is still in charge of everyone. I don't know how that force of nature raised the 6 of us for the last 10 years. She is also still helping the boys run things around here. She's slowly easing them back into the life they once had. So far, she's doing an amazing job.

As for me, I still want to be a part of this business. I helped run it for 4 years and will continue to do so. I thought of myself as a successful businesswoman. At least, that's who I saw in the mirror.

[imagines-fandom-backup]

Up in Smoke

Since my main acc is cluttered asf, I'll post my Peaky Blinders fanfic on here so it's easier to find. Of course, it's a Shelby!reader one since I love writing those.

Anna Shelby is the second youngest sibling in the Shelby family. She is around 13 when the story starts. She is played by Adelaide Kane. Each chapter is one episode long.

It is already out on Wattpad if you'd prefer to read it there. The first chapter will be up tomorrow morning!!

Wattpad link

Masterlist

[imagines-fandom-backup]