An unexcepted arrival at the town of Birmingham leaves a strong impression on its residents.
He was not familiar with someone like her, and she neither him.
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"There is this new doc in town, acts like a real one but from the east" The last word was spoken like a slur, which in these parts it did leave a stain.
"But she don't speak like one, couldn't understand what them Chinese were saying to her down at the market. She doesn't act like she around here at all. Like she got full rights." The dirt faced irish factory worker spit onto the wet bucket on the floor.
"But John, didn't she fixed up that lady next to ya when her face was hurting?" Said the older man next to him.
"Sandie? Yeah she did. Women wouldn't stop raving about her afterwards either; eating rock carrots right in front of me to spite me, that bitch. Won't stop talking about how not even one of her patients ever died in her care. She's booked up now. People fighting to get to her. Its only been a month 'esus"
The older man who was washing down his scotch only laughed, "Your just angry you got that later appointment, you will die before you see her."
"Shut your trap Mclan, you're only a couple weeks before me."
This was not the first time about hearing about the new chit that came into town. A supposed real learned women after the rumors of her Chinese witchcraft died down. I saw her walk down the lane the day before the last. She looked young, like a girl who should still be following her mam instead walking the streets alone. I thought she was one of the whores in the market before I got a look at her face. She walked straight and gazed looked up the sky and not around her. I still haven't made the decision if that was foolishness or confident.
"Tommy, a new one for you sir?" I didn't need to glance up to know it was Bill with his white apron and swiping a cloth along the glasses.
"No, got places to be today." I slammed down the glass mug I had before leaving the Garrison. There were some ruffians some streets over that did not quite understand that this whole city was under the Peaky Blinders control and I planned to remedy that.
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It was a week later, that I saw her with a dark circle around one of her eyes. But she still waked straight, head held high. She only glanced down to avoid the puddles. For some reason it may my eyebrows furrow, and it took me a second to realize that it was because of anger. Someone touched her. But men were heavy handed in this area. In really, all areas.
So I kept still leaning against the wall, watching the street until I saw some men approaching her. The way they were snickering and throwing their elbows around spoke volumes. I saw it plenty of times before, she was going to get robbed and at best shoved around.
I exhaled the smoke from the cigarette as I watched what happened next.
She did not cower, choosing to step aside them. Spitting words that made them men still before one had a look in his eyes and made to grab her.
He only had her for a second before my feet were eating up the distance between us and my fist was flying onto his face. And as he stumbled and cursed at whoever threw the punch, I took advantage of this grab his coat and throw him down. Giving him a kick onto his stomach with my new loafers. Enjoying the dirt and mud that were caked on him.
I started to hear the voices around me. "That's Tommy, you fool! Get the fuck up Gerrick, it's the Peaky Blinders!" It appeared his cohorts realized who exactly I was and I looked around to see a crowd gathered.
I looked around the see the startled gaze of the Asian girl. She had dark eyes and surprisingly her height almost matched my own.
"Look here, I did not realize I needed to say this on my turf. Thought hitting women was something I didn't need to teach, but this girl here is in protection of the Peaky Blinders. I don't want to see any more disrespect."
I spoke this while gazing at her confused face. I heard the crowed murmuring an asset, while the man with Gerrick pulled him up harshly while nodding towards me and hastily dragging him off.
She looked much younger in person. And it only took one second to realize that she was not some common whore without a grain of sense. Her eyes were sharp but not in a vindictive way the women here grow up as they realize the world around them. But in a way that seems to catalogue information, but she looked kind. Looked pure, even with the marking on her face that looked like purple paint blotted on.
"Thank y-" I interrupted her, "Where did you get that from?" I didn't need to clarify.
She grimaced before answering, "A man who caught me unawares in the alley next to the bar. Stole my purse too."
"Well you won't need to worry about that anymore. Not here at least."
She tilted her head, "Thank you sir. The help is very much appreciated. But I assume there will be a catch coming soon."
Ah she was quick to know help was not always free.
"I am interested in your services." A dark look clouded in her eyes and I could almost feel her winding up.
But I quickly deflated this by continuing, "-I heard you know something about healing."
And then she smiled and it made me lose my train of thought for a second before I snatched it back.
"Yes I do. I am a doctor specializing in oral medicine. And I will be quick to mention I am not some red powder blowing quack. I have two degrees spanning from 8 years in higher education including my doctorate in dental surgery in America."
That was her accent. American. She didn't speak the irish brogue or had the curving of the words like the Chinese. She spoke clearly if not a bit sharp. What in bloody hell was she doing here?
But more importantly, "A women with a legitimate license?" I placed my trust in the response her patients had, not in her phony license. A women in that field? She needn't bother to embellish the truth if she wanted to be taken seriously.
And from the look in her eyes it seemed she was tracking my thoughts quite accurately. "Well I suppose around here, the facts are in the pudding. From the rates I am charging, it should make no difference if I am as qualified as you think I am or not if the outcomes are the same."
"Well if what I hear is correct, the rate is not the matter, but that waitlist you have."
She wearily nodded, "I can only see so many people each day. If you want things done right, proper preparations must be in order and precisely don't you know."
"I see. But since I saved you from this mugging and the future ones as well since I placed you under my protection. I think we could make a good beneficial relationship."
"And pray tell, what would that entail?"
"You will be our private doctor. When we need you, you will come and in exchange you won't have to nurse anymore black eyes."
She gently touched the bruising on her face while biting her lip. Looking too young. And she quickly turned to me, searching my eyes. Not many had the galls to eye me up in such as manner.
After a moment she spoke, looking content at what she found. "I will not be your corrupt lapdog doctor. I will still serve the public, as is my duty. I will come during emergencies. But do not think I will be abandoning lives at your whim, every patient is equal to me."
"Even those?" I gestured towards the scum that had tried to mug her.
She nodded solemnly, "Even those. I made an oath."
She was one of those. I refrained from rolling my eyes. It was good practice for a person in the medicine I supposed.
"Fine. Looks like we have a deal."
I was about to walk away when she cleared her throat. I looked at her, and her pointedly looked down at her hand stretched out to me.
A handshake.
I indulged her. Ignoring how soft her fragile her hands felt on mine. These were not the hands of a coal miner or anyone that worked with their hands.
And she spoke in the odd accent she had that cut right into me. "In the animal kingdom, researchers call animals that have a beneficial relationship to each other mutualism. The ones where one feeds off the other is accordingly parasitism. Let's strive for the former, shall we?"
She looked pretty as she smiled and I dropped my hand away from than this longer than accustomed to handshake.
I spun my heels and walked away. I had plans that needed to be acted upon.
And it took me until the night when lighting my opium stick, that I realized I did not even know her name, but she was in my dreams.
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The next time I saw her there was a bullet in my chest. Arthur was shouting around me and holding a rag to my heart. I supposed it missed my heart, seeing how it been a few minutes and I was not dead. It was a close call. Billy Kimber. That fucking cockney speaking bastard.
I wheezed out, "Get the fucking girl."
"What Tommy?" Arthur shouted right in my ear. I was weak but not weak enough to shove his face away and say, "Get that Asian doctor, right now Arthur you goddamn idiot."
She had been only a street away. And she came into the house in a flurry. Taking one look at me bleeding on the table surrounded by my brothers who were holding graspers before cursing and shouting instructions.
"Boil some water! Right now on high." As she threw some of her own tools into the pot. "And give me those things." She angrily grabbed the tools my brothers were holding and looked at them with disgust before chucking them away.
It looked like she had some pre- ripped fabric on hand. Pulling out pure white cloth from her bag that soon stained crimson as she pressed it against my wound. Throwing the bloody rag that was there before away onto the floor.
She had a canteen with her. And she poured some on my wound. Before replacing it with a clean cloth and putting pressure on it.
I distantly watched her grab John's hand to replace it with her own as she quickly pulled my face into her hands pointed my face towards the windows.
"What the bloody hell are-" She shushed me. Looking at me intently. At one of my eyes as she pointed my towards the light and then away while she mouthed out a count as one hand was resting on my throat. I realized she was checking my pulse. She looked satisfied, giving a nod.
"Bring me the tools in the pot and a bowl of water." Even prideful John followed her orders. While Polly and Ada were in the corner. Polly whispering some prayers while holding her cross.
She leaned me back. Saying some words about gravity and to let tissues spread to get to the bullet. Her hands were completely steady and that's when I realized how much I was at ease to let her take over and essentially hold my life in her hands. Arthur could take out the bullet, we were in war together. We took it the shrapnel with our fingers. But I was not stupid in letting him operate on me than letting this girl with her shiny instruments, even if I did think her license was a quack. Especially since Arthur's hands were shaking so much after I had been shot he dropped a bottle when we got in the house.
She pushed something into my mouth, and I automatically drank down what she gave me.
Her hands never stopped moving, but she continued to talk to me. "That is my own homebrew for the pain. It wont help now, but it will in an hour when your shock wears off and you feel all of this."
"Who has the most steady hands?"
"Polly or John" I grit out. Breathing through the bout of pain as the wound was prodded open.
Polly stepped forward.
"Now this is to open the wound, I need to be able to see clearly. Try not to stretch more than how I show you, and do not lose your grip."
"You hold him shoulders down. He may start thrashing and you must keep him still, what I am holding is sharp." She had pointed at John.
John came and clamped a hands on my left shoulder as Polly hovered over my right where the bullet had entered and had not exited.
"No one touches the wound except me. I do not know how clean your hands are" She said, her almond shaped brown eyes that were alight and narrowed.
I heard Arthur muttering something in the background about how clean her hands could be.
And then she opened to wound to which I grunted. But it soon turned into a shout as I felt her piercing me open.
"Arthur hold his legs down." Polly shouted.
I was pinned down by the collective force of my family. And although I should be appreciative, I felt bloody mad.
But it lasted only 29 seconds. Although each second felt excruciatingly long as the pale faced girl was prodding at my insides.
I felt the distinct clatter of the bullet falling into a dish and my strength left me as I laid there lax on the dining room table.
I watched as John and Arthur looked on with impressed face while Polly send out a thank you prayer while wiping a cloth across my brow.
Then I focused on her. I had not noticed that she had such long hair. Even when tied at the top of her head, it resembled a pony's tail. Long and brown and silky. And the owner of such hair was pushing away Arthur who was holding a half empty whiskey bottle.
"No, we will not be using that to sterilize. I have something of my own." And it was clear but smelled extremely pungent.
She poured it liberally onto a cloth before quickly placing it over my wound. And I shouted something hoarse, as I felt the burn encompass me. Wheezing when she let off pressure and opening a jar with green paste. I looked at it even more dubiously.
"The hard part is over now, this is going to help heal and soothe. No stings. I promise."
I looked up at her sharply. Indignant at her tone especially towards the end.
"I have been through worst, sweetheart. And seen worst in the war."
"To which I have no doubt, Sir. Now please lay still." She said in a quick fashion. She rubbed the cream around the wound and it smelled like herbs. Before binding my chest tightly but not too tight to where I could not move.
"You did not stich it up." I accused. Wondering if she forgot.
"Yes well I have been experimenting, and your wound is quite lateral. If I tie in such as fashion and you do not move around, the wound will stich together quite soundly. No need for needle and thread. But I will bring it out if I think you will disobey my orders and starting walking around."
I was being threatened. Tommy Shelby was being threatened and nobody in the damn room was saying anything.
I looked sharply at hot headed John who never abided by any insolence towards me. John shrugged his shoulders and looked to Polly who just raised an eyebrow to me.
I let out a breathe. I always did hate the needle the most when it came to any recovery. So be it.
"John you are in charge for the next two days of the office, work out the schedule with Arthur and keep me informed."
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I woke up to a cloth being rubbed on my head. My eyes flew went open and my hands grabbed at a skinny wrist. Before the pain struck and I groaned. Blinking to get the dust out of my eye, and then I saw her. Hair up in a pony tail, wearing dark breaches this time. What odd sense this girl had.
"Well at least you are awake. You had a slight fever, which can only be expected. It's a way your body copes with this sort of trauma."
"You need to eat but more importantly drink. You lost quite a bit of blood. And I was able to dribble some down your throat when you nodded off. Its better if you drink what I made."
I looked to my bedside table where a steaming cream type soup lay.
I spoke to her slowly, "You do this to all your patience?"
She smirked, "Only to the ones I like. Now do I need to spoon feed you?"
I gave her a dry laugh. "Will not be necessary, although sweet of you to ask darling."
I saw her roll her eyes her face losing the hard edge I saw yesterday when she had rushed into the kitchen and operated on me.
I slowly spooned the soup into my mouth. Rolling the flavor across my tongue. It was decidedly not English soup. It was not bad, but it was different.
"Do you like it? Its not something you eat for pleasure. It has many nutrients that will help you recover. A special blend passed down from my mother."
I looked towards the window. "I am grateful."
"Well I am as well. People are treating me much differently around here. I suppose it is all thanks to you and your protection."
"Mutualism." I spoke frankly.
"Yes indeed, mutualism. Anyways, I do have other appointments today. But first I will have to change your dressing."
As she carefully unwrapped me. Taking special care in making sure the wound did not open. I asked her, "What is your name?"
She looked up sharply which put her face in close proximity to mine. I could count the lashes on her heart shaped face how she had natural flush to her. Not any powder or rouge covering her cheeks.
"You can call me Shinal."
"Not Doctor Shinal?" I said jokingly to her.
"Not unless you want too. I spent many years earning my degrees, but I did not do it to force people to address me with that title."
"Then you can call me Tommy instead of Sir."
She smiled, and I could see than even in this trodden world, even her knowing the ugliness in people, she still smiled so easily.
"Then its agreed. Tom." And she held out her hand for another handshake.
And I didn't have the urge to correct her as I gripped her hand lightly.
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"Where are you from?"
I was all patched up now after a week had passed since I had been shot. I let her have a blank check when it came to the Garrison, but she never ordered anything other than hot cider and tea. She sniffed her nose when it came to beer and alcohol.
And currently she was again infuriatingly in men's trousers and a buttoned white shirt while holding a warm cup to her hands.
"From America, I believe I told you this."
I waved a hand at that. "Yes, yes you are supremely educated in those colonial states, but what are you exactly." Were pants normal in that culture?
She blinked, " A women-" she meant a girl "-a doctor, a person, an American-"
"Don't be dense with me." She let that innocent mask flutter off before laughing.
And I couldn't help but watch her as she crinkled her eyes and gave a wide smile while swaying slightly. She was the type to be free and unreserved, I realized that early on.
"Fine then Tom. I am not Chinese. But something else. I will let you guess. I know there is a pool going around on this subject."
That was true and Polly and Ada were in on it. As was everyone else in the Peaky Blinders. She had became there number one gossip after she pulled the bullet out in under half a minute. Men were placing down future instruction that they wanted the new girl to take care of them if they get shot and that they didn't want anyone else's grubby hands on them. Women or not, she had skill. It did not take long for the men to realize they rather have a pretty little thing looking after them then the drunk Dr. Segert who haunted the bars. Four people had died in his care just in the last year.
I saw Polly rounded the corner in the bar, giving a pointed glance at the girl than at me. Polly was betting on Korean and Ada said Japanese. Arthur had taken a look and stated it must be both, but he in a moment of not complete idiocy placed a small bet on this assumption.
Although the girl was not what Polly had in mind when she had started introducing the topic of marriage earlier this year. It did not take long for her to make her opinion of Shinal clear.
She is a good girl Tommy. Not many like her. She has brains and look at what she can do. I heard about her, before you gave her your protection. She is kind to the people. They all like her, and I will not allow her to go to any of those IRA or factory scavengers. A damn bloody waste.
I took another look at her while she sipped her brew. Her eyes at that kind of clarity that could look right into your soul. She gave off a distinct aura. Kind but definitely not the kind of girl you can take home for the night. It would be akin to asking a women of the cloth. But she was progressive or odd wearing pants while all the other women in the city wore dresses and skirts. Still much better than me and my dark heart.
I downed the cup of whiskey I had much to the distaste of the women seated next to me.
I saw her watch me with a disproving look. "You will kill your liver and keel over before you start to even worry about old age"
I spread my hands wide as I got up from the chair and headed to where the boys were in the back waiting for another haul tonight.
"And that is only if the bullets don't do me in even earlier than that."
She didn't find that funny. But for some reason I found her scowling face even more adorable. That revelation of which had over the course of the week with her had stopped surprising me. But I would never tell her so.