Camden Town. Its canals looked a lot like the Cut in Small Health, especially there where Alfie Solomons' distillery laid by the water. It had only changed slightly since Tommy had last laid his eyes upon the building, but it had certainly gotten a cleaner and more organized appearance, even with the ships steaming by and the men working on the docks.
He managed to walk as smoothly as possible, but knew he could not significantly hide how beaten up he was. He needed this to go well. He was not going to back down from trying to enter the London theatre, but now that Sabini had made notice of him, and was after him, he needed to get his affairs in order. It was time he got his family back together, especially now that it would present an opportunity to get a foot in the door in London.
Tommy was halted by a bloke once he was already inside of the distillery
'Who are you?'
'Tommy Shelby coming to see Mr. Solomons.' The somewhat young man with black curls and a kippah looked at him with a surprised but slightly distressed face.
'He's not expecting you, Mr. Shelby.'
'I know that, didn't have the time to announce myself.'
'Well, he-'
'Put him down, Ollie!' Alfie's voice was easy to be heard from afar. 'Put him down, mate. He's only little.' Tommy watched him approach them. He'd gotten broader in those years he hadn't seen him, and picked up the tiniest limp, either during the war across the canal, or the war he'd been fighting in his own country for years now.
'You on your own?' Alfie asked as Tommy lit himself a cigarette and nodded. 'Well, you're a brave lad, ain't ya?' Alfie immediately turned back the way he came. 'You wanna take a look at my bakery? Been growing it out over the years.' Tommy walked with Alfie along the pathway between the barrels and barrels of rum. 'Did you know we're baking 10,000 loaves a week now, can you believe it? We bake the brown bread, we bake the white bread… we bake all sorts.' Alfie turned around to look at Tommy. 'Would you like to try some?' They halted by a table stacked with bottles of rum.
'Alright. I'll try the brown.'
'Brown, alright.' Alfie had one of his lads pour them two glasses, and Tommy tried it, while Alfie watched him closely, and didn't touch his own glass at all.
'Not bad.'
'Not bad, eh? Not bad?' He looked at Tommy silently for a second. 'Fucking awful, that stuff. That fucking brown stuff is awful, it's for the workers, yeah. The white stuff, now, that is for the bosses.' He gestured for Tommy to follow him. 'Come have a look.'
He led him to his office and offered him the chair across from his desk.
'So why the fuck are you here then, hm?' Alfie asked once both of them sat comfortably and he had crossed his hands before him on the desk. 'Please spit it right out because you look like you've got a fucking bullet still stuck up your throat, mate.' They looked at each other silently, and Alfie spoke again before Tommy could. 'I can't get my head around why that wop didn't just fucking kill you off.'
'He tried to. Then the coppers showed up,' Tommy replied. Alfie smirked.
'So you've been scared back out of trying to stick your greasy fucking gypsy fingers into the crevices of London, aye?'
'No.'
'No?' Alfie replied with a raised pitch, feigning surprise, and then he paused for a second as he studied Tommy and came to a conclusion. 'Please, do tell me I'm wrong to presume that's why you're here.'
Tommy took the liberty of lighting himself a cigarette before replying.
'Not exactly.'
'Oh, fuck off, Tommy, don't insult me by making some wild collaborative proposition with you Peakys, the answer is no. Categorical. There's a limit to the amount of Shelby one can deal with, best not to cross it.'
Although it didn't seem that Alfie was joking in the slightest, a hint of an amused smile did appear on Tommy's face as he leaned forward to tip the ashes off his cigarette into the ashtray on the desk in front of him. He cleared his throat as he leaned back into his chair again and then straightened out his face.
'How is my sister?' he asked, continuing on the subject of Shelbys Alfie dealt with.
Alfie seemed somewhat surprised by Tommy's question and pensively stroked his beard before replying.
'Your sister?'
'It's been a few years.'
'Yeah, it has,' Alfie confirmed in a slightly accusatory manner.
'I hear you've been keeping her busy.'
That remark made Alfie grin, widely.
'I have,' he then confirmed once more. 'Your sister is a rare specimen of a woman, as you well know, if I hadn't given her something useful to do she might've pulled a similar stunt like she did in Birmingham.'
'So I'm supposed to thank you for braiding her into the fabric of the operations of London's Jewish gangs, eh?'
Alfie decided to pretend not to notice that Tommy's commentary was dripping with sarcasm, raising his eyebrows and pulling down the corners of his lips as if to agree with his proposition.
'Why not? Your sister found herself in a favourable spot with its leader and was able to carve out a high-ranking position for herself sooner than you could even think to try to expand your gypsy business into London. Because that is why you are here, isn't it Tommy?'
'A favourable spot, is it?' Tommy leaned forward again to tip the ashes off his cigarette. He noticed a hint of provocation in Alfie's eyes, accompanying his ever wider growing grin.
'Of course, Tommy. Our families have known each other for such a long time, after all.'
'You talk as if you helped us out of friendship. If my memory serves me right you owed us a debt.'
Alfie's grin suddenly disappeared from his face. 'Yes, a debt it was. More than paid for I reckon,' he replied. 'And I haven't had the need for peace with you gypsies ever since the war ended. The Jewish gangs have grown far larger and more powerful than you Peaky fuckers, you've not kept up to speed, have you, Tommy?'
'Then why didn't you send her back?'
'And let her get the noose for rightfully killing scum? I don't think so, mate.'
Now it was Tommy's turn to grin. 'Are you saying you've come to care about some gypsy rascal?'
'Oh please, Tommy. If you thought I'd condemn a little girl to the gallows whenever it came to suit me you wouldn't have sent her to me in the first place.'
'She's no little girl anymore, though, is she?'
A smirk reappeared on Alfie's face, even more vexing than the last. He assumed no words needed to be added; Tommy clearly had some people around London and Camden giving him information about whatever their eyes had been able to catch, and it almost seemed like Tommy was trying to interrogate him about it. He decided not to engage.
'Listen, Tommy. If you're here for business, either lay it out on the table or fuck off, will ya?'
Tommy sighed and killed his cigarette.
'I want our families to work together.'
'Fuck off,' Alfie spat back, repeating his earlier reply to such a proposition.
'And I want Agnes to come back home,' Tommy continued. 'The coppers in Birmingham are as of now on our payroll, and many of them never even knew the one she killed, or care to remember that she did. There's no further need for her to reside in Camden Town.'
Alfie let out a sarcastic, almost sinister chuckle. 'I see how it is, Tommy. You're here to try to pluck the fruits of the seeds I planted. How long has it been since you last saw her? Six years? Seven years? You think I run some fucking boarding school you can surrender your murderous gypsy child to just to pick her back up when she's been all straightened out?' He was starting to sound angry. 'You didn't fucking look back 'round for her until you realised I made her into something useful, did you?'
Tommy remained quiet for a moment. He couldn't deny to himself that Alfie was at least half-right. The stories of the ruthless female right hand of the London Jewish gang's boss had reached the rest of England's gangs quite a while ago, back when it was still hard to imagine the Peaky Blinders growing anywhere outside of Birmingham. And the last time he'd seen Agnes was shortly before him, John and Arthur went off to the front, when they came to visit Camden Town. She'd been only sixteen then, and although Tommy knew her ferocious nature, he did not think she would ever find herself in a position such as the one she apparently had been in since a few years now. Admittedly, she would be an asset to the Peaky Blinders, especially now that they were trying to expand into London. But the other truth of the matter was that he'd dearly missed his sister, and that her family wanted to see her, as he would presume she wanted too.
'She's a Shelby, Alfie,' Tommy then calmly replied. 'She's family. Surely you don't plan to keep her hostage.'
Alfie tutted, reluctantly confirming that he would never do such a thing.
'So state your fucking business, mate,' he then said, as if he had been forcibly warmed up to the idea of him and the Peaky Blinders potentially working together. Tommy lit himself another cigarette before he started to explain.
'It seems that you're losing your war with Sabini; I want to offer you a solution. He's been running all your bookies off your courses, and closing down premises that take your rum, and people don't trust your protection anymore. With my help, all that can change.'
'What, you think a Birmingham razor gang can edge out Sabini?' The proposition seemed to genuinely amuse Alfie.
'I think together we can. I can offer you a hundred good men, all with weapons, and a new relationship with the police. Your bookies will take back their betting spots, and you will take back the territories that Sabini has stolen from you.'
'And what is it that you want?' Alfie looked at him from across the table with narrowed eyes.
'I plan to expand on import and export business. For that I'll need a foot in the door in London in order to make use of the docks.'
'A foot in the door in Camden Town, that is.'
Tommy nodded to confirm Alfie's suspicion. 'A secured warehouse, and a hundred of my men working in your bakery.'
Alfie seemed to think for a second, considering the offer that had just been made to him. It certainly wasn't a preposterous one, even for someone like him who would despise working together with some Birmingham razor gang. Then again, there was an unanswered question that had remained on his mind.
'And what of your sister?'
Tommy looked back at him as if he was annoyed with his focus on her, but also had to admit that it was an important unanswered question.
'With your blessing, she will overlook Shelby Company operations in Camden Town for the time being.'
Alfie chuckled again, as sarcastically as before. 'You'd have my right hand working for another organisation right under my nose? You wound me, Tommy.'
'Well, Alfie, if you agree, our families will be working together for a long time to come. Agnes has a foot in both camps, apparently; let her be a token of peace and goodwill.'
This time, Alfie full on laughed, as if Tommy had just cracked a joke.
'Agnes a token of peace and goodwill, aye?' Alfie asked. 'I'm sorry, mate, I don't mean to laugh at your proposition, it's just… Well, we both know that's fucking fanciful, innit?' He let out another chuckle and then decided to divert from the subject as he opened his desk drawer. 'Anyway. Rum is for fun and fucking, right? But whisky, that's for business.' He got out a bottle of whisky and put it down on the table.
'Where is she, Alfie?' Tommy finally asked before closing down any deal. He hadn't seen her outside at the docks, nor in the distillery, nor where he had learned from his insiders her desk was supposed to be, across the hall, visible through the glass windows that made up most of the walls of Alfie's office. Alfie narrowed his eyes at him, and then got out three glasses from his desk drawer, pouring only two of them.
'At the shops,' Alfie answered shortly. Tommy grinned as he took a prolonged drag from his cigarette.
'Agnes Shelby at the shops, eh?' he replied incredulously. 'Come on, where the fuck are you hiding her?' Alfie didn't have to respond. Both of them heard the door at the end of the hallway shut loudly, and footsteps coming their way.
'I got your tea and milk. Got biscuits too 'cos I'm fucking starving.' Although it had changed somewhat, and her Brummie accent was no longer as heavy as he had known it to be, Tommy immediately recognised his sister's voice coming down the hallway, as his eyes remained set on Alfie's grinning face. Tommy looked up when he saw her shadow move past the office windows, but she didn't take notice of him, not bothering to look into Alfie's office even once. She placed a paper bag on the small table in the hallway, took out a packet of fresh biscuits, and immediately dunked one into her mouth. With the biscuit stuck between her lips she walked into her own office where she took off her long dark brown coat. She wore a loose, dark green blouse, and loose black trousers that were kept together tightly at her waist by the one thing Tommy noticed immediately. The dark brown leather belt going through the loops of her trousers and over her shoulders, holding a holster at her left side, containing what looked like a Webley revolver.
'Agnes, come on in here, will ya?' Alfie called out. Agnes looked up and through the windows of their offices, immediately spotted Tommy, and took the biscuit out of her mouth again without even taking a bite. The smile that suddenly appeared on her face seemed almost child-like, a rare sight, one that Tommy had missed.
'Tommy.' She walked across the hallway as Tommy stood up so that she could embrace him. She had grown. Not only in height, but in figure, and face. Although it was to be expected, it still felt odd to Tommy to see the scrawny little teenager he'd left behind had grown into a proper woman. She let go of him after a while and looked at this face.
'What the fuck has happened to you?' she asked softly, looking concerned at the blood circling around his right iris and the bruises on his face.
'It's alright, Agnes.'
'Yeah, it's alright, Agnes,' Alfie interrupted, taking her attention away from Tommy. She turned to him and noticed the whisky standing on his desk.
'Are we doing business?' She'd initially asked the question directed at Alfie, but turned back to Tommy before he could reply. 'Are you here to discuss business?' Her voice almost sounded accusatory, and not exactly unrightfully so. She hadn't seen her brother in seven years and now that he was finally here, it seemed he wasn't even here for her.
'Take a seat, yeah?' Alfie said reassuringly as he gestured for her to take the chair in the corner and bring it to the long end of the desk to sit down between them. 'Tommy,' he then said, to allow him the turn to speak. Tommy seemed to have trouble putting what he was going to say into the right words.
'Agnes, it's been so long…'
'Yes, it fucking has,' Agnes muttered.
'But I'm here to ask you to come home. We've had the Birmingham police on our payroll for a little while now, it won't be unsafe for you to enter the city.'
Agnes turned her head from Tommy to Alfie, who gave her an indifferent look, back to the bottle on the table.
'So what's that for?'
'Your brother has asked for my help to move the Peaky Blinders onto the London theatre,' Alfie replied before Tommy could. Agnes looked back at Tommy again.
'Really? London? The Peaky Blinders?'
'We've grown, Agnes. It's time for our next move.'
'What, did you want my help for that too?' She sounded somewhat angry still, so Tommy decided to take a more personal turn, leaning forward in his chair to speak more closely to her.
'Agnes… You've been missed. We've missed you, all of us. And we're sorry it took this long. We want you back at home with the family.'
Agnes looked at him suspiciously and then reached behind Alfie's desk to open a drawer and take out a pack of cigarettes. She lit one with a lighter that she got out of her trouser pocket.
'As in, that's got nothing to do with this?' she asked after taking a drag from her cigarette, and she gestured to the bottle of whisky.
Tommy remained quiet for just a second as he assessed her. Although he knew the kind of person she was, as a child he may have told her a little lie here and there to smooth the situation over. But this time he assumed rightly that such a thing was impossible; she would be able to tell if he lied.
'It does. I want to place a hundred of my men in Mr. Solomons' bakery and install a Shelby warehouse in Camden Town. You've apparently made a name for yourself here, you know how these kinds of things run. I was thinking you could oversee Shelby Company operations from London, if that's something you'd be up for.' He explained it to her practically like he would explain any business strategy to a stranger, even. He felt he needed to be straight with her. Agnes sighed as she looked at Tommy pensively, and then turned her head to Alfie.
'And you're alright with this?'
Alfie raised his eyebrows indifferently.
'Tommy says he'd assist me in getting back into Epsom and the territories stolen by Sabini.'
Agnes raised her eyebrows as well, but sarcastically rather than indifferently.
'Which you're in dire need of,' she remarked as she tipped the ashes from her cigarette.
Tommy noticed how Alfie only needed to raise his leg slightly to correctively kick her feet. He hadn't noticed earlier that their legs had been this close together the entire time.
'I will not sit here and listen to either of you telling me I'm losing my war to some fucking wop,' Alfie grumbled.
'But you will sit here and consider working together with the Peaky Blinders?' Agnes asked, not meaning to be as provocative as she sounded. Alfie looked at her somewhat menacingly, and without taking his gaze off her he reached into another drawer and got out a different bottle. This one was rum. He poured the third glass he'd put on the table earlier, and then set it down in front of her. Agnes looked back at him, and then quickly switched her gaze to Tommy, before looking back at Alfie again. Tommy watched both of them with a puzzled expression on his face. It looked as if they were talking in some unspoken language, although he wasn't sure exactly how much actual meaning was being exchanged between the two of them, and how much they were just having some sort of stare-off. They did seem to reach a silent conclusion, however, because Tommy noticed the tiniest reassuring nod from Alfie to Agnes, after which he inhaled sharply as he turned back to Tommy.
'It's 'cos she doesn't like whisky,' Alfie said in response to Tommy's confused facial expression, pretending that the different bottle was the part that he was most confused about. All Tommy remembered was the comment about rum Alfie had made earlier when he'd taken out the bottle of whisky. Something fishy was going on here, but he wasn't sure just how fishy. 'So, do we drink to business then?' Alfie grabbed his glass from the desk and raised it. Agnes grabbed her glass too.
'To the Peaky Blinders,' she stated, smirking as she looked at her brother.
'And to Mr. Solomons,' Tommy added. All of them downed their drink in one go.
'So, Agnes. Why don't you come home in the meantime? It'll be a week or two before we can get started up here, when you come back to London I'll have a flat sorted for you, somewhere in town, somewhere central,' Tommy then said. The last part seemed to come as a surprise to Agnes.
'A flat?' she repeated.
'Yes,' Tommy replied blandly as he noticed Agnes' eyes wander off to Alfie again. Alfie did look back at her, but soon focussed his gaze back on Tommy.
'Alright, I'll… have to pack some stuff, though. Give me some time to get ready,' Agnes then replied somewhat softly. Tommy stood up from his chair making ready to leave.
'Of course. I'll be going now then, I have some business to take care of.' Agnes stood up with him, but Tommy didn't exactly wait to give her an opportunity to properly say goodbye to him before giving a nod to Alfie, then her, and then leaving the room, leaving the two of them behind.
