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-Five
If they were going to win against all the forces against them, the Shelbys and the Polish were going to have to work as one team; every one of them had to know what was going to happen and there was no room for errors. To save Michael from having to drive into the city in his condition, every meeting was going to take place in their home and Alice was going to step up and take Michael's place while he was healing; she wouldn't be able to do everything that he could, she lacked the experience but there were doors that she'd be able to open.
She didn't want to be a liability and with Michael still being so weak, Alice was going to have to learn to take matters into her own hands. One of them had to protect their kids, and for now it would have to be her. There were guards outside the house, but she knew Danny better than any of his enemies and he was a slick serpent; if he wanted inside their house, he would find a way. Thinking about their situation kept her awake and her sleepless nights weren't made any easier by Michael's snoring; she was tempted to take one of his sleeping pills just to get a bit of rest but she couldn't risk it when there was a baby in the house. Alice got out of their bed, tiptoeing towards the pile of his clothes that lay on a rocking chair and lifted his jacket, placing it onto her person. She checked the pockets for his gun and once she felt the cool metal against her fingertips, she lifted her boots and left the room. Once she was downstairs, she buckled up her boots and unlocked the door that led to the garden.
"Mrs Gray, what are you doing?" their guard, Milos asked as he lowered his gun.
"I can't sleep, thought I'd take the chance to go into the fields and practice." When he furrowed a brow at her, she showed him the gun. "I haven't shot a gun in years and Michael wasn't keen on the idea of me carrying one at all times."
"And you thought you could do it in secret?" he asked with a smirk.
She wrapped the jacket around her a little tighter and looked off towards the open land that lay beyond their garden. "I would rather he didn't know, and I feel like it could be therapeutic for me."
As Milos watched her face, he could see that something was bothering her, he had had some dealings with Alice since he had been placed at their home; he had saw the kind and caring side to her but now he was seeing something completely different.
"Do you want to talk about it Mrs Gray?" when she looked at him, he relaxed his stance. "Sometimes it's easier speaking to someone that isn't close to you."
"How can anyone enjoy a life like this? Are you married? Have kids?" when he nodded, she continued. "And does your wife like the dangerous side of the money?"
"My wife is very different from you, Mrs Gray. She grew up around gangs, drugs and war."
"I had a very sheltered life, but my father was very like Danny in his younger years, but he left it all for the quiet life and I had hoped that Michael would offer that to me when we had Rose. I have to admit that when I rekindled with Michael, the idea of being with a gangster excited me in a way I had never felt before; the woman in me thought the danger was sexy and I was swayed by the money but the mother in me was repulsed by it." She looked away from Milos and stared blankly into the distance. "I'm just filled with so much anger and hatred; I hate my brother for what he's done to Michael, I hate the IRA for targeting this family and I'm angry for the life that I've sacrificed to insure my husband's happiness."
"Have you spoke to Mr Gray about this? I'm sure he wants a quiet life as well." When she didn't respond, he placed his hands in his pockets and paced on the spot. "I've saw the way he behaves around the children, there aren't that many men that are willing to be so involved with raising their children."
"I'm lucky that he loves the kids as much as he does, but a quiet life isn't for Michael. It's for no one in this family. He tried in New York, he really did, and I could see it, but he wasn't happy until Paul grabbed him and that's the sad reality of it all. But what scares me the most is the fact that I'm starting to change my morals. When I saw that IRA man in my cellar, this rage, like nothing I've ever felt, filled my body and if I was locked alone in a room with him when he was still breathing, I'm almost certain that I would've killed him too. The woman I was when I married Michael a year ago, would never have dreamt of sneaking out of the house to shoot a gun. It's crazy how things change over a short period of time." She laughed a little and ran her fingers across her chin. "I guess my dad's words were true for me, a gangster's wife isn't a happy one."
He felt sorry for Alice; he knew all too well that it was hard to survive in the world of crime and only the strong survived. He didn't know how strong Alice was, he imagined that she would eventually crumble. "How about I accompany you into the field, teach you how to shoot the gun properly?"
"Who will keep guard?"
"There's two at the front, wait here and I'll inform them of your plans Mrs Gray, we wouldn't want them leaving the house to investigate the noise."
She nodded and watched the man walk around the perimeter of the house, it felt good to get her thoughts out of her head; for so long she had kept it all bottled inside in fear of upsetting or angering Michael. She may not have been entirely happy with the life she was dealt but she was going to do what it took to thrive in it.
Morning came like no time had passed and with all the medication he was on to keep his pain under control, sleep felt non-existent. He got out of bed and got himself ready for the day ahead; his family and the Polish were coming to work out what to do with the Irish and he had to keep his mind sharp so he would have to go without the painkillers. Just until they were gone. He got himself washed and removed the bandage from around his chest, glaring at the puncture in his shoulder as he cleaned it with disinfectant; the sting almost driving him mad. He gripped onto the sink until it passed and threw a bit of cold water around his face. "Pull yourself together." He muttered to himself before lifting his head to get one last look before a new bandage went on. It was going to be a while before he could get back into the action, all this sitting around wasn't doing him any good.
When he left his room, he peered into the nursery, expecting Alice to be there but instead, it was Mrs Adler cradling their daughter. He stepped inside and took Rose from their help. "Where's Alice and Johnny?"
"Mrs Gray wanted to make breakfast this morning, Johnny just had to help too." She explained.
"Has Rose been fed?"
"In the early hours, but she's due a feed whenever Alice is ready. I've bathed her and changed her just before you woke."
"Thank you, Mrs Adler, it seems like a beautiful day, why don't you have a break in the garden? I'll have some of the breakfast brought out to you." He gave her a small smile before making his way downstairs. "Where is that mummy of yours?" he cooed as he inspected the dressed table on his way to the kitchen. When he stepped into the room, Johnny was sat on the countertop adding ingredients into Alice's mixture as she stirred it up. She looked over at Michael with a tired smile; it looked like she hadn't got any sleep.
"Morning dad!" Johnny exclaimed as he wiped the flour from his hands onto his trousers.
"What's going on in here?" he peered into the mixing bowl and raised an eyebrow.
"Johnny and I are making pancakes. We've already got a walnut loaf in the oven." She said as she wiped her hands on a rag.
"How long have you been up?"
"A few hours." She glanced at Johnny and helped him get off the counter. "Your son woke me up. Didn't you?"
"Mumma was sleeping on the sofa when I got up."
"Why were you sleeping downstairs?"
"I don't think you realise how loud you snore when you're medicated." she took the mixture over to the hot pan and poured a little into it.
"I'll do that, Rose is due a feed." He handed their daughter over carefully and lifted a spatula. "Do you want me to sleep in the spare room?"
"It's fine, Michael. I haven't been able to sleep that well so there's no point moving you out of our room. She grabbed a stool and sat down. When Rose latched onto her, she lifted her head and watched Johnny run to his father's side, watching him flip the pancakes.
"Is everything okay?" he glanced over his shoulder.
She could hear the worry in his voice and tried her hardest to put on her best face. "I'm fine, Michael. Your family is going to be here soon, do you mind finishing those off while I get ready?"
"I thought the meeting was tonight?"
"No, they're all coming for breakfast. I'll send Mrs Adler in to give you a hand." Alice kept Rose on her chest and patted Johnny on the back of his head. "You need to get dressed too, I'm afraid."
Michael couldn't help but notice the way Alice was acting, she was planning something, and knowing Alice as well as he did, he already had a fair idea of what she was going to do.
"There was no need to put on such a spread for us," Paul said as Alice helped Mrs Adler serve everyone their breakfast, "but it is greatly appreciated."
Tommy looked over at Michael as he sat rigidly in his chair. He had barely said a word. "How are you feeling? Are you starting to heal?"
"I'm getting there. Finally got a bit of pink skin around the bullet hole." When Alice got to him and placed everything that he liked on the plate, he looked up at her, hoping to catch a smile but she seemed to be distant. Nervous or anxious. He wasn't sure.
"At least you're starting to heal." Arthur said with his mouth full. "This is really nice bread, Alice."
"I'd like to think so, it's fresh." She sat beside Michael and rested her head on top of her clasped hands.
Michael glanced at her empty plate and raised a brow. "Aren't you going to eat anything?"
"I'm not hungry." She looked at him and gave him a small smile.
"Right, well how about we get straight into this?" Paul chirped as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. "For the past couple of weeks there's been radio silence from Danny Finlay and the IRA. Until last night."
"What occurred?" Tommy decided to ditch the breakfast and opt for a cigarette instead.
"Last night a few of my scouts visited a small Irish bar in Twickenham and before they even had the chance to order a few drinks, they were kicked out by a couple of gypsies."
"Gypsies? Are you sure?" Michael asked as he buttered a slice of bread.
"Well, they weren't sure until they saw Danny Finlay through the crack of the door as it closed behind him."
"How can you be sure that it was him?"
"Because they waited for the bar to close and for Danny to come out. They followed him to a row of houses a few streets away, my scouts believe that this is where the IRA are hiding out."
"But how can they be sure of that? What if it's his wife and kids that he's got hiding there?" Alice was intrigued; she wanted to know where her brother was more than anyone.
"They're still keeping a watch of that house, there's no kids inside, just more Irishmen."
"Then I think a couple of our men should pay them a visit." Arthur looked over at his brother, hoping that he would give the nod of approval.
"No, we've got to be smart about this. They could be on to the scouts and could be better prepared for an attack. I'm due to be back in Westminster next week and if my suspicions are correct, which they most likely are, then my secretary has informed them of my schedule."
"You're going to need a new secretary. One you can trust." Paul replied candidly.
"There's only one person that I can trust." He glanced at Alice then looked at Michael.
"What about Lizzie?" Michael didn't want Alice to go to London, if the IRA and Danny were in London, it was too dangerous for her. They had already taken aim at Tommy once; nothing was stopping them from doing it again.
"Lizzie hasn't got a head for books like Alice does. And, she's got the kids to look after."
"Alice has our kids to look after. Rose isn't even a month old."
"You're out of action and I've saw you with your children, you're more than capable."
"Rose is breastfed, unless I have the capabilities to grow a set of tits myself, then I can't really feed her, can I?" he looked to Alice for back up, but she just stared at the table.
"I think she can speak for herself." Paul looked expectantly at Alice.
"I'm not going to London, not because I don't want to and not because Michael isn't capable of looking after our children, but because they're not going after Tommy. It would be too obvious. The reason the IRA is in London is because no Peaky is there, if they were in our home, they'd be found within an hour. London is full of Irish, Chinese, Americans and other Europeans; it's a big place to get lost in." she tied her hair up, clipping it into place. "And Danny is only there because they're going get their own revenge on him, he's just too arrogant to think that they aren't going to punish him."
"What are you talking about?" Michael sat back in his seat with a groan.
"Danny told Tommy about the bomb that they were planting without having to be tortured and left with barely a scratch on him. They probably let him in when he told them that he shot you, but they aren't going to forget that he sold them out."
"She's right, if one of my men double crossed me like that, he wouldn't be alive to tell the tale. They're going to toy around with him." Paul looked at Tommy and could see that he was taking in what Alice was saying. He had to have been able to see that she was right. "You know yourself, Tommy, if someone sold you out, you'd get your payback."
"So, what should we do?" Tommy nodded at Paul then looked at Alice.
"The IRA know that you're going to go to London because you have to and they're going to anticipate you bringing as many men as you can to protect you and then they're going to come after one of us. They might come to try and finish Michael off," she shared a look with him for a moment, she really wanted to be wrong about that guess, "but my best bet is The Polish. They're the ones that intimidate them. And it makes sense, cut away at our allies and leave us weaker."
"It does make sense, but we can't be certain that this is the play they're going to make." Tommy replied. "We have to take into account that Danny, at the moment is alive and kicking and isn't the fool that most of us think he is. He is going to try and win back their loyalty."
"I don't think he joined them willingly, his ties to them aren't that deep. The second he works out that there's trouble in his waters, he's going to run. There's one place that I know he will be before he makes his escape and when he gets there, it'll be me that he's going to come face to face with."
"Alice, you are not going anywhere near him." Michael protested, but her will was stronger than his. She was determined to make Danny pay. He could see it in her eyes.
She turned to him and spoke a little quieter, more softly. "I almost lost you, Michael, because of him and I told you that I was going to be the one to put an end to him. I am going to do this, whether you like it or not."
"How do you know that he'll be there?" Tommy interrupted.
"Because he's going to run while they're distracted by you. Only some will stay in London so take Arthur and Finn with you, but the majority will be in Birmingham and he'll take that opportunity to grab his family and go."
"Then we'll prepare for a war, we'll send notice out to the people that live near our warehouse and make arrangements for all of our men to be prepared." Tommy got onto his feet and buttoned up his blazer. "I hope you're right about this Alice, because we'll have the upper hand if you are."
"I'm very certain, I've been thinking about this since the night Michael was shot. It's the only thing that makes sense."
"When you do catch Danny, make sure you shoot him right between the eyes." Arthur looked at Alice, wagging his finger at her. "Don't let him get the better of you."
"He won't. Not this time."
What Alice was planning on doing, it wasn't sitting right with him. She had never taken someone's life before, never mind her own flesh and blood's; he thought back to the first time he killed; the moment he shot that priest changed his life forever. He became different, colder and it took him a long time to find himself again. He stared into the crackling fire with a half-drunk glass of whiskey in his hand and tried his hardest to get on board with her wishes, but he couldn't; he didn't want Alice to change. Her softness and caring nature are what made him fall in love with her all those years ago. He blamed himself, he brought her into this madness. Now she was letting it infect her.
"I know that you're mad with me, but we need to talk about this." She said as she came down the stairs. Michael had barely said a word to her since his family left their home.
"I'm not mad at you." He took a sip of his whiskey and took a cigarette from his top pocket.
She sat across from him at the other end of the sofa, her legs pulled underneath her body as she watched him smoke. "Then why haven't you said anything?"
"Honestly?"
"Honestly."
He turned his head carefully, looking at her square in the eyes. "I'm scared."
"Why are you scared?"
"For so many reasons, Alice. I feel like I've ruined you, if you never came across me, if you never married me, you would never have thought of taking your own brother's life. You'd probably be married to some posh git, living the quiet life you always talked about."
"You haven't ruined me. I'm still me and yes, now I am thinking about killing Danny but that's not because of you, it's because of him. And it was me and me alone that stumbled into this world when I fought for that job at Shelby Company ltd. I just didn't leave it because I found you." She reached for his hand, stroking the palm of his hand with her thumb when he finally gave it over to her. "I don't enjoy this life, and I want the quiet life with you and our children, but I want you to be happy and I can deal with this world for a while, but not forever."
He looked back to the fire, this was what she wanted, and Michael knew that Alice wouldn't be at peace until she dealt with her brother. It had to be her, even though he didn't want it to be. "You're positive that this is what you want? It will change you."
"Of course, it'll change me, I can finally move on from all of this and focus on our little family instead of wasting my energy on hating Danny."
"Look at what he did to me, Alice. You've never been in a fight never mind shooting someone. You couldn't pull the trigger the first time, and it'll give him the chance to," he paused for a moment and took a breath, "I don't want you to get hurt."
She moved closer towards him and allowed him to pull her onto his lap with his good arm. She held his head close to her chest and kissed the top of his head. "He won't hurt me, if he could, he would've by now. I will come back from all of this better than the woman you married." She placed her fingers under his chin and tilted his head towards her. "I'm not going to be terrified of your world, I'm not going to be consumed by hate and I'm going to be stronger. It means when we get our quiet life, I'll appreciate it more and hopefully you will too because I'm trying to fit into this world for us."
He ran his fingers along her face, from her forehead to her chin and realised that he was beat. There was nothing he could say that would convince her otherwise, he just wanted her to be right about all of this. "We will get our quiet life, I promise you. Just give me time." When she nodded, he placed a loving kiss on her lips and pulled her in to his arms, letting her rest her head on his shoulder even if it hurt. He just wanted to be with her and forget about everything that was happening, just for a little bit.
A:N I wanted to get this chapter out before I go back to work tomorrow and I'm hoping to find the time to get more out while we're still self-isolating. Alice and Danny are finally going to have their showdown and I can't wait to write it. Hopefully it'll give me the drive to find a bit of time to write. Stay safe and thank you so much for your kind words. Hope you enjoyed!