Hello and welcome to the product of my lack of control…

So, I've been watching the Peaky Blinders recently and had the urge to write something for the show. I will be using historical inspirations for my OCs, as well as doing my best to use resources to keep it accurate. Still, it's a bit AU, both show and history-wise.

This story is rated M for: language (courtesy of lovely Thomas Shelby), violence and shameless smut. I mean, have you seen the show?

Do let me know what you think about it :)

I present to you:

Chapter 1: A note and a tanner

Tommy Shelby arrived at his office with a purpose to his step and an exhaustion in his eyes. He took off his coat, cap, hung them both on the tall wooden hanger by his window and dropped into his seat with a sigh. He was exhausted. All of it had him exhausted. He rubbed his eyes, feeling the telltale sting when he closed them. He hadn't slept in hours, and there was still more to be done. There was always more to be done. Whether it was because he didn't want to go to his room, look at that wall and hear the shovels or whether it was because there was actually work to be done… it had all mingled together. He craved the buzz of the opium which pulled him to sleep. But, not yet. His agenda was still rather full.

Tommy opened his eyes and looked at his desk only to find something he hadn't left there. Sitting, so innocently, in the middle of his letter writing equipment. A single paper, which looked like it had been torn out of a ledger or diary of some kind with a tanner on it. He carefully picked the note up, reading the cursive, but neat writing.

Sorry.

He looked at the tanner. He looked back at the single word note. Then, Tommy jumped up from his seat, rage rushing through his veins. Someone had been in his office. Someone had stolen into his office. He quickly checked all the drawers of his desk. Still locked. Then, he went to the safe behind the innocent-looking paysage on his wall. Still locked. He opened it and rummaged through. Everything was in place.

Tommy rushed out of his office, into the main room where Polly and Arthur were sitting. His aunt was drinking tea, smoking, as always and Arthur had a glass of whiskey in his hands, the slip from the races in front of him.

"She did good for the first race, but she always has a good start in the sea- Tommy?" Arthur glanced up at the stomp of footsteps and instantly spotted the wild look that must've shown in Tommy's eyes. "What happened? Is it the Italians? Lees?"

"Someone was in the office," Tommy didn't stop moving, he went to the wall where they kept their other safe, checking it, too. Nothing stolen. "Someone was in this fucking house while we were away."

"What?" Polly set her tea down and stood, eyes wide. "Who would dare?"

"I don't fucking know!" Tommy was going out of his mind. Nobody would. That was the thing. Nobody would dare. If there was one thing that was known in Birmingham, it was that you didn't cross the Peaky Blinders and get away with it lightly. And yet, there it was, that innocent note and a tanner on his desk.

"What did they take?" Polly asked, following Tommy as he left the saloon and headed for the servants quarters. They only had one man serving at their residence, and he had been with them at Watery Lane for what seemed like ages. Since before Tommy could remember.

"I don't fucking know!" he said, bellowing, "Jonas!"

"Then how do you know someone was in here?" Polly was still trying to keep up with his long strider, the clank of her heels at his back.

"They left a note," Tommy whirled around. "A note and a fucking tanner on my desk."

"Is it some kind of a weird challenge?" Arthur asked, his hand going through his hair.

"How the fuck should I know?" Tommy was beside himself. "Jonas!" He went down the stairs, vanishing from the view of his family. Polly turned to Arthur.

"Gather the boys," she told him. "There's going to be hell to pay."

Tommy sat in his chair, behind his desk, like a king would sit on his throne. In front of him, the room was empty. Soon, it wouldn't be so. Soon. It had taken him a month to track down the little mouse who'd snuck into his office, leaving that note and a tanner. He had to admit, it was a ballsy move, for any thief. But, since he'd begun his investigation, he'd realized that only one organization had thieves of that skill. He had never required their services, but they were a popular underground organization which handled anonymous requests and payments for all sorts of thieving jobs. Tommy, he had his own men. Those who didn't, they paid for the jobs. It had been a true hassle, getting the name of the person responsible, but, he had managed. They had managed. Bribing here, extracting information through a few broken fingers there, and finally, the day had come.

The doors of his office opened and a body was shoved into the seat in front of him. The bag over the thief's head was torn off by one of his men and he saw the bravely stupid person for the first time. Tommy had to admit, it wasn't what he'd expected. He'd expected a man, for starters. A poor man, not from around there, who had nothing to lose and knew nothing of him. Yet, there his thief sat.

A small girl, barely twenty by his estimate, looking defiantly, yet curiously, at her captors. She didn't struggle in their firm hold, but just sat there. Then, she looked at him. She was pretty, in a rather European way, with her reddish blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Her cheeks were filled out with some of that childhood fat, still, making her look like a pouting brat as she gave him a cool onceover.

"You could've just asked, you know?" The girl huffed, crossing her legs. Trousers. She was wearing trousers. Tommy was tempted to laugh at the ridiculousness of the picture in front of him. A slip of a girl being held tight on one side by John and on the other by Billy. He nodded and they let her go. Instantly, she looked from one to the other and then got more comfortable on the chair, sitting a bit to the side. "What can I do you for?"

"Miss…" Tommy trailed off, looking for her to supply her name. Despite his long search, he hadn't been able to get a name, just a number assigned to his little thief. A number he'd had her tracked by.

"Anna," she supplied, leaning back, tilting her chin up. "Anna… Smith."

"Miss Anna," he addressed her obvious conjuring of a surname on the spot. "Welcome to the office of the Peaky Blinders," he paused, watching her for a change. Nothing. She seemed unperturbed by the name of his establishment. "I trust you know your way around it already." The girl sighed.

"Is this really necessary?" She uncrossed her arms to gesture to her two guards. "I'm a thief, not an assassin. We can have a very civil conversation, I assure you, Mr. Peaky Blinder Boss."

"Thomas Shelby," he corrected, motioning with his head for the two to leave. John gave him a questioning look, but soon enough, the door closed, leaving Tommy alone with Anna. "It has come to my attention that you were in my office without my permission recently."

"Work," Anna shrugged, uncrossing her legs only to cross them the other way around, right over left. "I'm sure you know how it is."

"Work," Tommy repeated, his eyebrow raised. "You will tell me exactly what you took and who hired you to do so." It was an order, not a question. Tommy leaned forward, watching the girl. She shrugged.

"Can't help you there, sorry," Anna replied. "I'm bound by the rules and regulations of the guild not to reveal such sensitive inform-"

"You will tell me, or I will find other, more creative ways to get such sensitive information out of you," Tommy cut her off, his voice biting. Most people would've cowered by then. Most would've spilled their guts in his very presence, without prompting. But not this little thief. She didn't cower. Didn't sweat. She just stared him down.

"You don't understand, Bossman, I can't," Anna crossed her hands at the wrists in a dramatic performance. "My hands are tied. I spill to you, I lose my job. It's just business."

"Have you heard the story of the Gordian Knot, Miss Anna?" Tommy was quickly losing his patience with the girl, but he did his best to appear indifferent. He felt like this girl would only become more of a hassle if she knew how much she vexed him.

"Alexander the Great Gordian Knot or colloquial?" She frowned at him. Tommy had to admit, it was the first time he'd met such and eloquent and educated thief.

"Alexander the Great," he said.

"Are you implying that you'll cut my hands off?" Anna raised her eyebrow.

"If necessary," Tommy leaned back, watching her carefully for a reaction. Still, she seemed unperturbed.

"Look here, mister," the girl sighed after a moment. Tommy raised his eyebrows at the new nickname. It was definitely a first. But, she ignored him and kept talking. "I know you understand business, so let's talk business," she leaned over, grabbing his glass of water and drank deeply from it. "Sorry, the trip here has my throat so dry it could be a desert. Growing cacti."

"Would you like some tea, then?" Tommy offered. Nobody had ever called him anything but a gentlemen when ladies were concerned. Thief as she might be, Anna was still a lady.

"Would be great," the girl nodded, drinking more water from the glass. Tommy stood, walking around her chair and asking John, who was still lingering in the hallway, for some tea to be brought up. His brother gave him a curious look, but left to fetch some. When he settled back in his chair, he found the empty glass sitting back on his desk.

"Let's talk business, then."

"I can't tell you a lot, due to my contract," Anna began and then put up a hand to stop his interruption. Tommy shut his mouth, teeth gritting. "Don't mistake this for defiance, it's just rules and regulations. There's really nothing you could do in order to make me talk. You're welcome to try, but there's really little you'll get out of me with torture, and killing me would defeat the purpose of this whole shindig."

"I assume you have a way out of this situation, then?" When she nodded, he gave her a glare which clearly said to get to it.

"There are loopholes," Anna smirked. "I love loopholes. So, here's the deal. I can tell you what happened, but I can't mention any names. It will be just two odd strangers-turned-acquaintances talking about their day." Tommy mused for a moment. She seemed eager enough to cooperate.

"So, Miss Anna, what were you up to a month ago?" He casually asked, reaching into his drawer for cigarettes. He took one out and lit it with a match. Then offered her the box. She shook her head. He tossed them back into the drawer, taking a deep breath of smoke.

"I had a little job up in the country, nothing interesting, but then I got this big one while I was on my way back south," she conversationally started. "It was curiously annoying, because it came from someone who knew a bit too much about me for my liking and was using it to pressure me into taking the work. They told me to steal something, anything, from this famous Birmingham bookmarker, just to show off my skills."

"Anything?" Tommy raised his eyebrow. That was an interesting job, indeed. People were usually very specific in what they wanted stolen. He expected them to be especially meticulous in what they wanted stolen from him, particularly. "What did you do?"

"I didn't really like being forced into a job, you see," Anna smirked devilishly and he got the impression that this thief was more of an ally than he'd previously thought. The mischief on her face told him he would've liked to have met her under any other circumstances. They would've gotten along, Tommy thought. "So, I decided to be nasty right back to the client," Anna shrugged. There was a knock at the door and the girl whirled around.

"That would be the tea," Tommy told her. "Come in," he called out a little louder. Jonas walked in, carrying a tray. He placed it on the desk, picking up the empty cup and glass from before. Then, he bowed and left. "Milk, sugar?"

"Both," Anna said. Tommy served the tea to them both, extending her a cup. She took it and he noticed her fingers. Delicate, small, slim, perfect for sneaking into a man's pocket.

"Do continue," he nodded, taking his own cup with a spoonful of sugar. The girl sipped, unbothered, before continuing her story.

"I snuck into the office, by methods which shall not be named," Anna smirked. "And decided to take the least useful and valuable thing I could find. Ended up locating a pair of dirty socks in the corner," she motioned her head to where Tommy had fallen into a habit of leaving his clothes when he changed at his office. "So, I stole one and left a note to the robbed party. And a tanner. I mean, don't want the poor man to have only one sock of the pair. I hate it when I lose one of my socks. Or one glove. It really upsets the balance of the set, you know?"

"How did… the client," Tommy chose to use the same word she had, "react when he saw what you'd stolen?" He couldn't help the twinge of amusement that went through him. He could only imagine, whichever of his enemies had sent her, upon receiving her plundered goods. One would think there were so many things to take from his office – documents, money, valuables, but she'd chosen a sock. A dirty sock. Tommy found himself invested in the rest of the story, his curiosity and amusement getting the better of him. He hadn't been that entertained in a while.

"I don't think they understood or appreciated my sense of humor," Anna squinted, shaking her head a bit. "I mean, I got it all officially packed and everything. Made it look all fresh, like I'd stolen the damn Mona Lisa. When they opened it," she motioned with her hands like she was opening a parcel. "The shock and the horror! Lo and behold, it's a sock!" Tommy found himself chuckling, unable to hold back anymore. Anna smiled at him, for the first time a real smile, before laughing with him.

"Not a fan of practical jokes, are they, your clients?" He asked, shoulders shaking.

"It's not that funny, they shot at me!" Anna defended, but she was laughing, too. "I see you understand my kind of humor, my new acquaintance," she grinned. Tommy shook his head slowly, managing to get ahold of himself. He sipped his tea, snorting through his nose when he thought of the probably ridiculous situation his enemies had found themselves in. All because of this little thief. Tommy appreciated a good practical joke, especially when it was unexpected and unwelcome. But, there was more business to attend to.

"You will give me their names," he said in a cold tone, watching the girl carefully. She shook her head, swallowing her tea before answering.

"I can't," Anna huffed. "Goodness, you're so impatient, Bossman," she squinted at him again. "Let me get to the good part, alright?"

"There's a better part than your choice of spoils?" Tommy was impressed. He really was.

"There's always a catch," she smirked. "Say if you would be willing to enlist me for a job," she shrugged, setting her cup down on his desk, "I'd gladly go and do a little job at a certain, unspecified client's home." Tommy was quickly catching on to her loopholes. She cheekily continued. "Get you a bit of information, for a price, of course." She smiled that mischievous smirk, getting up from her chair and leaning forwards plucking her tanner from his desk. "This should be enough, don't you think?" Tommy couldn't help the smile on his face. Cheeky. Defiant. Mischievous. His little thief was proving a handful. A cooperative handful, but trouble nonetheless.

"I believe we have a deal, Miss Anna," he stuck his hand out to her and she shook it. A firm grip, he liked that. Not like the other womenfolk he had ever had dealings with. Anna's handshake was strong, he felt callouses from some kind of work on them, but he didn't know what kind. "Will you be needing any supplies or funds?"

"All covered by the guild, Bossman," she told him. "I sometimes get jobs on the side like this, sometimes I have to investigate my target all on my own. I'm fine with a few crumbs and the crumbs in this case are sufficient." She let go of his hand and turned to leave. Then, she stopped, whirling around. "I will need a few days to get the job properly registered. Don't be alarmed if you don't hear from me for a week, that's an estimate on the time I'll need to get it done." Tommy nodded.

"I trust you know your way out," he said, motioning with his hand that she was dismissed.

"All the ways in and out," Anna smirked and left through the door she'd come in. He heard her greet John in the hallway cheerily, before sauntering off. His brother came through the open door.

"We're letting her go?" He raised his eyebrows high in disbelief.

"We're employing her."

A week passed. And then another three days. Tommy was beginning to wonder if he'd been too hasty. Too hasty to deal to a thief who'd double-crossed her client in front of him in a mere second. Too hasty to understand her annoyance and anger at being manipulated against her will. Too hasty to accept her words as truth. Too honest to trust her. He'd trusted her.

He sat in his office, sipping his whiskey, thinking back to the events a week and three days ago. Something about her manner, about the way she didn't tremble or buckle under his glare had made her seem honest. An honest thief. He was a damned bloody fucking fool, that's what he was.

"Isn't it a tad early for a drink?" Tommy's head flew up. He hadn't even heard the window open. He hadn't even felt it. In the dark of the early morning, before first light, there was Anna, sitting on his window sill like it was the most comfortable place in the world. She was dressed all in black, looking more like a boy than like a teenage woman, her hair neatly stuffed under a dark hat.

"It's evening somewhere," he bit back. She shrugged, swinging her legs and hopping into his office over the small drawer that was in front of the window. She landed without a sound. "You're late. Three days."

"You can file a complaint with the guild," she waved his anger off, ignoring the piercing glare which would've sent men cowering. "I needed the extra time."

"For?" Tommy did his best to be as calm as possible, but his annoyance was quickly turning into anger due to her flippant attitude.

"Memorization," she shrugged. "This vault isn't what it used to be," she mimicked knocking on her head with a laugh. She had a girl's laugh. Not a woman's. "Paper?" He rummaged through his drawers and gave her a paper and a pen. Anna sat down in the chair in front of his desk and pushed the whiskey tumbler and the pictures of his family he kept there further into the desk to make space. She then leaned over the empty paper with full concentration, scribbling.

"Tea?" Tommy asked, lighting a cigarette. She nodded mutely. He stood, leaving her alone in his office, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop her leaving and entering anyways. He went through the house to the kitchen and made tea. Then, he took it upstairs. Jonas wouldn't be in for another two hours and Tommy wasn't a slave driver. He liked making his morning tea on his own. It was very domestic and somehow calming. The calm before the storm and a good time to settle his thoughts.

When he came back into his office, Anna was right as he'd left her, writing. The paper was full. He spotted a few paragraphs at the top and then a lengthy list. Without a word, he tossed two spoons of sugar and poured a bit of milk into her tea and stirred two spoons into his. Then, he sat back down, calmly smoking. The birds chirped outside. There was the sound of the first cars in the street, men going to work. He almost forgot that she was sitting in front of him until her head suddenly shot up, the paper extended towards him.

"This should be enough, I think," Anna told him. "If you need more, I'm game." Tommy took the paper. There were dates, names, locations, plans, everything. Thorough. The woman was thorough. Late, but she did her job impeccably.

"Fucking Kimber," he growled, spotting the name on the list. It was at the very top.

"Seems he wasn't too happy with your interest in racing that horse of yours," Anna shrugged. "Looks like a fine racer to me, but hell do I know about racing. Never was my interest." She then quickly turned to him. "I could learn, of course, for a price." Her smirk told him everything. He was getting a good read on the girl. Tommy was still immensely amused by her sheer boldness, but he was getting a good read on how her logic worked.

"I'm satisfied with your work, Miss Anna," he told her, pocketing the paper. "I would like to keep your services on retainer." His brothers would give him hell for it, Polly probably, too, but he didn't care. She was good. Too good to pass on.

"No can do, Bossman," Anna stood, taking her hat off. Her reddish golden hair spilled down her back in curls. It made her look much younger than when she'd had it up. She took the tea, downed it in one go and smiled. "Feel free to put a request through the guild, but I don't do retainer. This was a one-time deal, since our interests were aligned." Tommy stood, walking after her towards the open window. It was getting noisy outside.

"Miss Anna-" he began.

"No can do, Bossman," she grinned. "You don't have anything to cage me with," she hopped onto the sill with her front to him, holding onto the sides of the window. "I'll slip any shackles you try to put on me."

"I'll make you a good offer," he promised, walking towards her. They were so close, his thighs touching her knees. Still, she smiled.

"Sweetheart, I'm the most expensive thing you'll ever see," she haughtily replied. "See if you can get the guild to fetch me for your jobs, but don't keep your hopes up." He hated her many nicknames for him. Especially the new one. He supposed it showed, because she became even more smug when she said her final goodbye, swishing her legs through the window and then hopping over the edge of the sill. Tommy rushed forward. They were on the second bloody floor! But, when he peered out the window, he only saw the smug little girl waving to him cheerily as she skipped away down the street.

"Fucking hell," Tommy cursed, reaching for another cigarette. He would have her as his personal thief, one way or the other, he decided then and there.

That's all folks, let me know what you think :D