The Girl and The Gangster
Summary: After being turned down from every secretarial role in Birmingham, Alice becomes desperate. Unable to provide for her sick mother, herself and more importantly, her young child, she takes a chance on joining the Shelby Company ltd. But when she runs into a familiar face, her whole world comes crumbling down around her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
She stared down at the body that was still tied up to the chair, the blood dripping onto the concrete floor and his open eyes glazed over and cold. Alice let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to collect her thoughts; a year ago, Alice would've been disgusted by this, but now it didn't even bother her. She turned to Michael as he wiped the blood from his face with a rag and pushed her hair back, out of her face.
"Who is he and why was he in our house?"
"He was IRA and he was going to blow us up."
Her bones were trembling with rage; she was stupid to think that Danny wouldn't target her children. He wasn't on her side and as much as he argued that he was, it was all lies.
"How did he get into this house?"
"He said that Mrs Adler hired him, but I don't think she did; I think he prayed on her age and stole her house keys. No doubt she's been using the spare set thinking that she's misplaced her own." He moved the rag from his face and glanced at the dead IRA man. "I need to call Tommy."
She placed her hand on her chin and regarded the pool of blood. "Yeah, no doubt if these rats are getting into our house, they'll be trying the same elsewhere."
He backed up towards the staircase, keeping his eyes on his wife. "Are you okay? I'm sure this was the last thing you wanted to see."
"I'm fine." She nodded and turned to him. "I was just thinking that he," she pointed at the body in the chair, "was lucky he ran into you and not me because his death would've been more painful. No one else is going to get into the house where are two children sleep. You tell Tommy that I want people here at all times until Danny and the IRA are dealt with."
He had never saw this side of Alice and instead of fearing his wife's anger and determination, he embraced it; he always knew that she needed to be a little tougher to keep her head above water and to survive in his world and now he had no doubts. "I'll let him know, lock up the cellar when you leave; I don't want Mrs Adler walking in on this mess."
She watched Michael ascend the stairs and thought carefully about what she was going to say next. "I think you should go to the races, I wish I could go with you to make sure you're safe," she folded her arms across her chest and bit at her bottom lip, "but you better come back unharmed."
"I promise that I'll come back, no guarantees that I won't have a few cuts or bruises." He gave her a small, comforting smile and when she returned it, he left her to come to terms with the body in their cellar.
"Looks like someone's been let off their leash." Arthur beamed happily as he threw his arms around Michael, patting him excitedly on the back. "How come Alice let you out to play?"
"Didn't Tommy tell you?" when Arthur just raised a brow at him, Michael rolled his eyes and glanced at his watch. "Someone from the IRA tried to blow us up last night."
"Shit, they're everywhere then?" Finn went a little pale as he stared off into the distance. When he snapped himself out of it, he looked between his eldest brother and his cousin and raised a brow. "What're we going to do about it?"
"That's all up to Tommy." Michael answered before looking around the group of men that waited outside of Tommy's office with their guns. "Where is he anyway?"
"Your friend Paul has been a bit of a thorn in Tommy's side." Arthur had a smirk on his face as he said it.
"And why does that entertain you?"
"Because your Polish friend is irritating and now, I know why you get on so well together." When Michael laughed at him sarcastically, he continued, "He wasn't impressed that you weren't there to retrieve him and he's been demanding time with Tommy since he got to his hotel, so Tom's gone round to discuss plans before the race."
"How did you manage to get on so well with him?" Finn asked curiously.
"We bonded over our hatred," Michael shrugged a little and placed his hands into his pockets, "if you got to know him, you'd like him too."
As he finished his statement, Tommy's car came into sight along with a few others just behind him. He got out of the car, his eyes exhibiting how stressed he was; he wasn't even finished his first cigarette when he took out another.
"Michael Gray, how I've longed to see you again." Paul said with a laugh as he got out of his car, strolling towards him with his hand out. When Michael took his hand, Paul pulled him into a brief hug then held him at arm's length. "How is Alice? I heard she had the baby."
He could see Arthur's eyes roll from the corner of his eye and he couldn't help but smile a little. "Alice is fine, we had a bit of a home invasion last night but both her and the kids are healthy."
"I had heard, I hope you're ready to worm out these Irish as much as I am." Paul turned to Tommy and folded his arms across his chest. "Do they know the plan?"
"I'm going to tell them the plan now." He replied as he lit up that second cigarette. "Two of Paul's men to each of our bookies and three of ours at each entrance to the race. The rest of us will be watching the race, situated throughout the stands and all within eyeline of each other so that if we come across any Irish or Danny Finlay, then we can dispose of them." He let out a breath and glanced at Paul. "Make sure your guns are loaded at all times and don't let anyone fool you. They've got men and women so everyone with an accent is a suspect."
"Are we ready to get this show on the road?" Paul asked impatiently, tapping his foot against the floor.
"Let's head off," Tommy gripped Michael by the arm and nodded to his car, "you're coming with me."
"I had a feeling you would want to talk to me." He replied as he got into Tommy's car.
"We'd have to at some point."
Tommy kept his eyes focused on the road as he tried to find the words he wanted to say. He couldn't stop thinking about the way he had left things with Michael and Alice that day at his house. Perhaps Michael was right when he said that Tommy was going to be the one to destroy this family and he didn't want that prediction to come true. He could already see the splits starting to form and he had to patch them up. Starting with Michael.
"I was in the wrong, I haven't been sleeping much or thinking clearly lately. I didn't mean to cause you or Alice any harm."
"I just don't get why you would target my wife as harshly as you did, she's been nothing but kind and supportive towards you. She did everything you asked her to do and that was how you repaid her?" Michael looked at the side of Tommy's stoic face, he couldn't tell if he was being sincere or not. He was so hard to read at times.
"I thought that maybe Danny got to her. He was getting somewhere with her before that party and I started to distrust her. That had been playing on my mind and then she showed up at the docks and he made that stop," Tommy clenched the steering wheel a little tighter and tipped his head back, "I was clearly wrong, Michael. And, I apologise. With the way we left things, you didn't have to help us today and you didn't have to give me that warning about the IRA targeting our homes."
"Unlike you, I've got loyalty."
Tommy let out a sigh, he knew he deserved Michael's cheap shot, but it didn't make the sting any less painful. "I'll apologise to Alice personally, I'll fucking kneel before her feet if she wanted me to," Tommy finally met Michael's eyes, "we're family, Michael."
"I know we are. We've got blood and that's why I can accept your apology." He watched Tommy relax a little and looked towards the passenger window. "But Alice, she's going to take more work than that and you know she speaks her mind and you might not like what she has to say to you. Will you be able to keep that temper of yours under control when she comes back at you?"
"I can keep calm because I know myself that what she's got to say is what I need to hear."
"Then if we both make it out of this, I'll make it happen. And, regardless of what you said, when it comes to this, I've got your back. As long as you have mine."
It was easy to blend into the crowd; Danny knew how to dress fancy from time to time. With his hair slicked back underneath his flat cap and his hands in his swanky, pressed trousers, he moved easily through the crowds without drawing attention to himself. He glanced over at the Peaky bookies and noticed how guarded they were, it didn't surprise him, but he was surprised when he heard their Polish accents; no doubt Paul was lurking somewhere, waiting on him to make his appearance. He kept his head ducked and stepped towards his favourite place at any event, the bar.
With a pint in his hand, he took the corner chair that faced the doorway, he needed to keep his eye out for anyone that might recognise him. He leaned forward and peered out the window, watching the eager gamblers take their seats on the stands and he started to notice a pattern; there may have been two to a stand, refusing to sit. One of them turned to look in his direction, even though he hadn't spotted him yet, Danny's blood ran cold. He wasn't expecting Michael to show up and if he spotted him then it was game over for him. He downed his pint and rushed out of the bar, heading towards the back of the stadium hastily.
Before he descended into the boiler room, he looked around for anyone that could be watching. He stormed through the narrow corridor and bust into the room, making his acquaintances jump and aim their guns at him.
"Fuck Danny, it's you." One said as he lowered his firearm.
"Where's Mick?" he closed the door behind him and took off his blazer.
"Through there," they nodded at the door behind him, "what are you doing here anyway? Thought he told you to be lookout."
"That's what I was doing, now I'm here to report what I saw." He stepped towards the door.
"You better not have led anyone here." The other said with a shake of his head.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Danny stared at the back of their heads for a moment before he headed through the door. He watched Mick fiddle with the wires of the bomb for a second before clearing his throat.
"What?" he didn't take his eyes from his work.
"The Peaky Blinders are here, so are the Polish."
"Great, is that it?"
"Michael Gray is here too."
Mick raised a brow and took his hands away from the wires. "And why does that matter?"
"I can't make my sister a widow, she's just had a baby... I hate him, but he's not the worst of them."
Mick rose to his feet and wiped his hands on a cloth. "Either you do what you've been instructed, or I make your wife a widow." When Danny put his hands in his pockets as a sign of resistance, Mick clenched his jaw. "Listen here, gypsy boy, you do what you're told, or I pay a visit to your sister personally. So, pick one to die, Alice or Michael."
Danny let out a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, alright, I know what I've got to do, just make sure you have that set up right or you'll make an ass of yourself."
"Get the fuck back out there, Danny." He shook his head in annoyance and prepped himself back in front of the wires, his eyes lingering on Danny as he left the boiler room. "Fucking gypsies."
He took the entrance closest to the racetrack and looked up at the crowd hoping to lock eyes with Michael or Tommy. All he needed was for one of them to follow him. He stopped in the middle of the arena and rested against the railings lazily, he had to think if he was doing the right thing; if this worked out well, he was going to have to disappear. He needed an emergency exit and he had to find it fast; Michael had finally spotted him and the Peakys were following behind. He jumped over the railing and ran towards the locker rooms, pushing the security guards out of the way as he made his way into the narrow corridors. He tested every door on his way past until he found one that was opened. The open-door lead into a garage, presumably where the jockeys parked their cars. He crouched behind one of the cars and took the moment to catch his breath.
"He's in here." Arthur said as they walked into the garage. "He has to be."
"Check behind and under every car." Tommy said as he took the right wing of the garage. "Michael, stay by the door."
"No need to look for me," he stood up with his hands raised in surrender, "There's no need for violence."
Michael took a few steps forward, but Arthur held him back. "Why shouldn't I shoot you right now?"
"Listen to me for a minute, alright? Right now, some men from the IRA are planting a bomb in the boiler room and they plan on blowing this whole place up. Not only are you Peaky bastards here, but some well to do people like the Prime Minister and his secretary. This would be a big claim for them if they can pull it off."
"I thought you were working for them. Why would you tell us this?" Tommy took a slow step towards him, investigating every worried crease on his face.
"I worked with them, not for them and I didn't agree to the bombing. All I wanted was for you lot to be dealt with, not for innocent people to get hurt with you."
"How noble of you." Michael scoffed as he fixed his jacket.
"Why should we believe you?" Tommy took Danny's attention away from Michael and folded his arms across his chest.
"Because you of all people know that this is something that they would do. Don't believe me, we'll all be blown to smithereens. I'm a dead man anyway."
"What's the harm in checking it out, Tom?" Arthur asked lowly.
"Michael, you stay with Danny. Don't let him leave. Arthur and I are going to see if this bomb is real."
Michael drew his pistol, keeping it gripped tightly. "I don't plan on it."
It had felt like hours, Michael didn't say a word and he kept that gun pointed at his head. He was starting to feel his skin crawl, he needed to get out of here as quickly as he could and be on the next boat to Ireland. But his brother-in-law was the only one standing between him and his family's freedom.
"You've got to let me out of here Michael, I gave you three IRA men so please give me my chance to get the fuck out of here."
"After everything that you've done, you really think that I'd let you leave here alive?" Michael took a step forward and Danny stepped back. "You sent someone to plant a bomb in our house, where Johnny and Rose are." He could tell by Danny's face that he wasn't the one that sent the IRA to their door, he looked just as angry as him.
"I told them that Alice and the kids were off limits. When did they send someone?"
"Last night."
"Fucking bastards." he looked up at the ceiling and laughed a little. "That's why they plastered me full of drink, so that I wouldn't notice if someone left." He ran his hands along his face and looked at Michael. "Are the kids okay?"
"They're grand, I got to him before he got to us. I don't even get why you're pretending like you care, it became obvious that you're full of shit when you sold those guns to the IRA."
"You can think what you want of me, it's not your opinion that I care about."
"Alice hates you even more than I do, you've burned your bridges with her."
"Well, then it looks like I've nothing keeping me here," he closed the gap between himself and Michael, trying his best to grab the gun from him, "make this easier for the both of us."
During the struggle, Michael's gun went off before it fell onto the floor. The two men punched and kicked at each other as they tried to reach for it. Just as Danny was about to grab the pistol, Michael hit him square on the jaw, knocking him onto his back. He retaliated with a hard stomp on Michael's knee, the crack that came from the impact was deafening. He gripped onto his knee and tried to push it back into place, but it was too painful. He turned his attention back to Danny, trying to grab his legs as he crawled towards the gun. It took three kicks to Michael's face before he let go of him and once the gun was in Danny's hands, he got onto his feet and aimed the barrel at Michael.
"You could've just let me leave, instead you had to make this difficult."
He heard the shot and before blacked out; all he could feel was searing pain. He failed.
A:N Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, sorry it took a while to get this out but I've been going back and forth with the outcome of the chapter and my vision's finally came back to me. Thank you for reading!