After leaving the Garrison that morning, Thomas walked back toward the Betting house. His mind replaying the meeting he just had with the two IRA men. It concerned him that someone told the Irish about the stolen guns. He hated when people talked. Thomas would have to investigate who talked. Thomas knew which pub the Irish spent their time in and resolved to send someone on the inside to find out the information he needed. However, he conceded someone could have noticed the missing crates and blamed the Peaky Blinders, anyway.
Grace's offered surprised him, but he expected it. The woman slowly pushed her way into his line of vision, offering to go to Cheltenham with him. Thomas still didn't trust her, but he kept her offer in the back of his mind. Maybe if she fulfilled her duties for Cheltenham, he might consider letting her work for him. A secretarial position, perhaps. He indulged in the idea of owning his own company.
The long line from earlier that morning was gone, leaving the men inside to count money and direct it to the correct horse. He entered the house a second later, pulling his hat off and shoving it in his coat before tossing his coat on the back of a chair. There were several of his men lingering around, talking instead of working.
Pushing past the men, he entered the Betting shop and snuck into his office. As he took a seat, he sighed, leaning back into the chair. The knowledge about the IRA wanting those guns worried him still as he sat down and glanced over at an unopened ledger. At the moment, the Irishman assumed Thomas and the Peaky Blinders had the guns.
He fished his pocket watch, checking the time, and realized it was past noon. Sighing, he reached for a ledger he abandoned earlier this morning to deal with the meeting and opened it up. With Monaghan's Boy last run and loss, it would press him to find another horse. This time, with buying another horse, he would stay far from the Lees.
But the issue with the guns came first.
The issue with the guns worried his mind as he closed the ledger, sliding it across his desk. There wasn't a way for him to get any work done. Sliding his hands over his face, he thought quickly. It bothered him he didn't know something. He wasn't sure how the rumor got started that the Peaky Blinders stole a crate of guns. As Polly said before, he knew everything that passed through the BSA. Now he would have to station a few men around the paint shop.
Springing from his chair, he left the office to hunt down someone who could give him answers. If he couldn't garner answers from someone, maybe a point in the right direction would help move this mystery along.
"Where you going, Tommy?" John asked, coming into the Betting shop.
"I'll be back," Thomas said, grabbing his coat from the back of the chair and sliding it on.
Leaving the house, his mind raced through the men that worked at the BSA and hoped they had kin that could find out who ratted the Peaky Blinders out. As he strolled down Watery Lane, he passed several of the wives of some of his men. He normally wouldn't speak to the wives, but this was important.
Accosting one woman, he watched as she quailed at seeing him. It amused him that people were afraid of him. He found out that her husband would be at the Garrison after his shift. Before he could say anything else to her, she scampered away, clutching her basket close to her.
Partially satisfied, Thomas walked toward the Garrison for a drink. He completely ignored that he was there earlier and worked needed to be done at his office. As he walked, his mind raced over what needed to be done next. The guns needed to be moved immediately. He would visit Charlie tomorrow and talk to him about moving the guns to a safer location. Just because he and Charlie knew about the tobacco wharf didn't mean that someone else could find it. Anyone nosing around could find the crates.
Thomas heard his name being called from behind him. Slowing his pace, he turned slightly to see his brother Finn coming toward him. Waiting patiently, he checked his watch to see the time. It was late in the afternoon. Finn wouldn't be in classes right now. He looked up to see Finn standing there. "Polly wants you at the house," his younger brother said before turning to sprint back towards the house.
Giving a rapt nod, he followed his brother, watching his brother from afar, until they reached the house on Watery Lane. He hadn't realized he'd been gone that long. There were things that needed to be done. Instead of entering through the front door, he entered through the back. Polly was standing there alone, and he could sense something was wrong.
"Are you armed?" she asked him, setting him on edge.
He twisted to look at her and noticed that she looked….. nervous. "No," he answered slowly, rolling his hat up, making sure not to cut himself. He placed his cigarette in his mouth and waited for her.
"Good. I'll tell you," she said, gripping her glass tightly in her left hand. Polly inhaled sharply and looked at her nephew and Head of the house. "Ada and Freddie were married today. They defied your orders and they haven't left the city."
Thomas exhaled sharply, anger building in him at the defiance of his orders. He didn't want his sister to marry the Communist. It would paint a large target on her back, especially if the Inspector got wind of it. Campbell already knew Ada went to the chemist for iron tablets. He strolled around the small kitchen, placing his hands on the back of the chair.
The slowly building anger spiked at his sister's defiance. Ada was always a willful girl and now she went and did something incredibly stupid. Thomas didn't hate Freddie Thorne, but it wouldn't make him sad to see a bullet go through him. Rolling his neck around, his eyes flashed as he looked at Polly, who stepped closer to him. She kept to the opposite side of the table.
"I'll deal with it," she offered, examining him. She knew her nephews were prone to anger and violence when things didn't go their way. When it seemed he didn't hear her, she tried again. "Thomas," she said, trying to calm him, "I'll deal with it."
"Where are they?" he asked slowly, anger lacing his tone.
"You know they have safe houses set up. They could be at any of them. Why do you want to know?" she asked impatiently.
He stared at her incredulously. He needed to know. If Ada was going to do something stupid as to marry Freddie, he had a right to know. It was bad enough, his sister was going to have the man's baby. "I want to send them flowers," he snapped, gripping the back of the chair tightly as he looked at his aunt. "Why do you think I want to know where they are?"
"It wouldn't hurt if they stayed, would it?" Polly asked, trying to keep Thomas from killing Freddie. She knew if he did, Ada would leave and never speak to anyone in her family again. Honestly, Polly didn't want her niece to leave, nor the child she carried in her womb.
He leaned further onto the table, his eyes slowly shifting to amber the longer the conversation went. Thomas felt the telltale signs of an impending headache. With Freddie staying in Birmingham, fucked a lot of things up for him. He needed Freddie and his sister out of town. It was for their safety and the safety of the baby Ada was carrying.
"I promised I'd run Freddie out of town," Thomas snapped, his anger slipping a little. It wasn't fair to Polly that he took it out on her, but she was there giving him the news.
Polly narrowed her eyes at her nephew, her own anger bubbling to the surface. This was one of those moments that he went behind their back, promising things without telling the rest of the family. Setting her drink down on the table with a loud clunk, "Promised who, Tommy?"
Thomas twisted, seeing the double doors open to the den. Polly understood that what he was going to tell her next didn't need other ears listening in. She walked around him sharply and closed the doors to the shop. It didn't matter to her if someone was there counting money and marking in the ledger.
"I told the coppers that Freddie wouldn't come back," he mumbled harshly. Her short walk helped eased his anger a little. "It was part of the deal."
"What fucking deal?" Polly asked, standing in front of him, wondering what in the fuck he did this time. She reared back as if slapped when he glared at her heatedly. It seemed that her own nephew didn't trust any of them anymore. "What happened to family meetings and votes?" she demanded, her voice rising.
She eyed him warily, his eyes slowly shifting back to their pale blue as he tried to calm himself down. "If you let me deal with Ada and Freddie, it will end peacefully," she promised him, hoping he'd say yes.
Realizing he needed to compromise with her, "You get Freddie out of town, Pol, or else I'll deal with it myself." He didn't want to be a bastard, but sometimes a situation called for it. Anger coiling at him like a snake, he left Polly standing there alone in the Betting house. He resisted slamming the door behind him.
Per Thomas' instructions, Polly was to make sure that Freddie and Ada left the city, if not the country. She sighed as she rose that morning and dressed for the day. She wasn't sure when Freddie and Ada would be home, but she would wait all day and night if she needed to. The problem was that she didn't know where they were living.
Discreetly, she made inquiries about their location, but no one would give up an address, even to someone like Polly Grey. Too many of Freddie's comrades knew about the tension between Freddie and Thomas. It made them wary of talking to her. It angered her that no one would confess. Frustrated, she would have to wait until she saw Ada. Unlike her new husband, Ada would understand the implications of leaving.
Polly found Ada alone at the market in town a day later. The city was busy with people going in and out of shops. She quickly maneuvered her way through the throng of people to find her niece standing in front of a fruit stand.
"I need to talk to you," Polly said, coming to stand beside her niece.
Ada sighed loudly and turned her head to her aunt. "What do you want?"
"We have to talk," she reiterated, looping an arm through Ada's. "But not here."
"Tommy will be angry if he sees you with me," Ada protested.
Polly ignored her words and hauled her niece down the street until she knew they wouldn't be interrupted. She ignored the stares coming from the people as she led Ada away from the busy marketplace. Securing their privacy a few minutes later, Polly let go of Ada's elbow and stared at her niece.
"Tommy is the one that sent me," Polly whispered harshly, looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to them. "He wants you and Freddie out of Birmingham."
Ada sighed, crossing her arms over her ample belly. "Freddie will not leave without an incentive."
"Doesn't fucking matter. You both need to leave." Polly insisted, wondering how much she should tell her niece.
"That's not enough and you know it," Ada replied.
"Fine," Polly sighed, looking around again before looking back at her niece. "Tommy made the coppers a deal. A deal that Freddie wouldn't be in Birmingham. He's trying to protect you."
Ada stared at her aunt for a minute, tapping her shoe as she did, and wondered if Freddie would leave Birmingham. All this time, she wanted to believe that her own brother wanted to kill Freddie. That he wanted them gone because he hated the man she married. Ada worried her lower lip as she thought about her aunt's words. She knew Polly wouldn't lie to her, yet the woman would omit sensitive information. She knew the man she married was stubborn and refused to be intimidated by anyone... especially her brother.
Polly looked at her imploringly. "Fine," Ada conceded. "You can talk to him."
"Good," Polly said, nodding her head, happy Ada was going to give it a shot. "Where do you live?"
Ada told her the address before they parted ways. As Ada slipped away and back into the throng of people, she hoped she was doing the right thing.
Polly slipped into Tommy's office later that day and snuck behind his desk. Taking a seat, she leaned over and pulled on the last drawer to her left to find it locked. Cursing, she reached into the pocket of her coat and fished out a key. Looking up, she hoped no one noticed what she was doing.
Sliding the key into the lock, she turned it until it clicked open. Jerking the drawer open, it revealed a locked box. Using the second key, she unlocked it and smiled, seeing stacks of money. She counted out two hundred pounds and shoved them in an envelope that she found on his desk. Locking everything back up, she shoved the money stuffed envelope into her purse and left the office.
As Polly walked out of the Betting house, she knew that just giving Freddie and Ada the money wasn't enough. There would have to be a bigger incentive. Going into town, she stopped by the Cunard's office. There she opened a book to find which cruise liner would ship them as far away as possible. Her tired eyes scanned the book for a minute until she found one that went to America.
America wouldn't be too bad. At least they spoke English and were open to taking in people all over the world. A small part of her was jealous that Ada would leave England and see more of the world. Standing in the Cunard's office, Polly realized she would die in England, having never seen the world.
Nodding to herself, she realized this would be their ticket out of England. Purchasing two tickets, she gave the man behind the counter a raised eyebrow when he looked at her curiously. The ship would set sail in a week. Now all she had to do was convince Freddie.
Later that afternoon, Polly was standing in front of the door that led to Ada's new home. Polly cursed when she realized she didn't have the key. Luckily for her, she knew how to open locks quickly without keys. She heard the lock click, and the door swung open, revealing a hovel. Inside was cramped and dark. Hardly any light shone into the one room sleeping quarters.
At least they had a fireplace to keep them warm during the cold months. There was a small kitchen to the side, but it was nearly bare. Her heart ached for her niece and the situation Ada found herself in. She could shoot Freddie for being so damn stubborn. If he didn't accept the money and tickets, she might shoot him anyway.
Walking further into the room, she saw a few photos on the wall and stood waiting by the fireplace. She hoped she wouldn't be there too much longer. Half an hour later, she heard the click of the lock and Ada and Freddie talking as he pushed the door open.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Freddie snapped at Ada lightly.
"Two hundred pounds." Polly handed him the stack of money without explanation. When he didn't take it, she scoffed, setting the money on a small nightstand beside the bed.
Freddie looked at her curiously, but refrained from kicking her out of his home. "Where did you get that?"
"Family fund," Polly snapped quietly, eyeing him. It wasn't any of his business where the money came from, just that it was there for the taking.
Freddie scoffed at her as he sat down on the rickety bed and reached for a cigarette. He snapped the match roughly, creating a large flame and lighting the cigarette.
"What's the money for?" he asked, looking at the women as his eyes glanced toward the large stack of money.
"It's for us," Ada spoke up finally. "It's honeymoon money…. A new life, Freddie." Ada continued, trying to convince her husband.
Freddie scoffed at them again. He didn't want to leave Birmingham. This was his fucking home. He would not be ran out of his home by coppers and Thomas fucking Shelby. Freddie paused, thinking he should have not taken the bullet for Thomas during the war. The man didn't know when to fucking quit. Quit and leave him and Ada alone to be husband and wife and to raise their child.
"Tommy will not let this go. You need to leave the city." Polly said, fingering the boat tickets from the Cunard's office deep inside her purse. She was beginning to see that Freddie would refuse to leave the city. Polly wouldn't tell him about the deal Tommy made with the coppers. Freddie would see it as a challenge to avoid the coppers, something fun… until they caught him. Thomas's way meant Freddie wouldn't be arrested the second a copper spotted him.
"And you think I can't handle Thomas Shelby?" Freddie asked incredulously, glaring at Polly.
"You can't. I'm having a hard time these days and I'm twice the man you are." She snapped at him and opened her purse, pulling out a small white folder. Polly opened it, skimming it before glancing back at Freddie. "I went to town this morning, to the Cunard's office. These are tickets from Liverpool to New York."
Ada's eyes widened a fraction at the destination. "It's America, Freddie. At least they speak English. It's a way for us to start over." Ada tried again to convince her husband. Anywhere but England suited her. She wanted away from the crime of the city.
Freddie looked between the women again, realizing they had spoken previously. It angered him that his wife and her aunt conspired in this ambush. He wanted to rage at them for their duplicity, but knew it wouldn't do any good. A part of him wanted to run away from this city and start over where he and his wife and child could live without fear, but the other side of him was determined to not give into the temptation of running. Once you ran, you never stopped.
Evading the coppers and Thomas Shelby would be exciting. He could feel his blood pumping vigorously in his veins at the thought of the game he was about to play.
"Can you ladies let a man sleep on it?" he asked, buying some time. He knew, deep in his heart, that he wasn't going to leave because Thomas Shelby said so.
Polly estimated this was the best she was going to get at the moment. She sat the tickets down on the side table beside the envelope of money. Before she stepped out the door, she gave Ada a light squeeze on her upper arm before leaving. Her part was done. Now it was up to Ada and Freddie.
She just hoped they left.
An hour after Polly left, Freddie walked out of the one-room hovel he called home, locking the door behind him. Ada had tried again to convince him they should leave the city. America sounded far better than England. As he snuck out of the building he lived in, he looked around to see about coppers. When the coast was clear, he began his walk to wherever his feet led him. No one but his comrades, and now Polly knew where he lived. It was almost time to find another place to hide. He didn't know that Maze Hawthorne had access to his small home, too.
The fear of being caught by the coppers and hung for his crimes excited him, yet terrified him. On top of the coppers chasing him, his former best friend wanted to run him out of the city without giving a proper explanation. Freddie was sure Polly knew the reasoning, but wouldn't tell him. Ada possibly knew the reasoning, but left it out of her pleading. Before he found out, he was going to be a father; he wouldn't have cared what happened to him. Now, it was enough to keep him awake at night.
Mazella watched from a distance as Freddie left, hoping his errands would see him gone for at least an hour. In her arm, the heavy basket swayed gently. She carried small parcels of food and supplies for Ada and the baby. Earlier, she snuck out of her house and away from Jimmy's prying eyes. Maze understood the need for security, but once in a while, she wanted to run errands alone.
She glanced down at her wristwatch and waited another five minutes, hoping he would be gone before she snuck around to the building that Ada and Freddie were staying at. Slipping inside, she wrinkled her nose at the smell and wondered how Ada Shelby (now Thorne) could live like this. She suspected one would do anything for love.
Walking quietly down the hallway, she sidestepped a pile of trash and a water puddle. Knocking on the door that Ada said was their room. It took all her skills to convince Ada to tell her where she lived. They were close friends and Maze told her she needed to know in case something happened to Ada. Eventually, Ada caved. She waited patiently for a minute before the door unlocked. Ada dragged the door until she saw it was Maze.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed, opening the door wider to let Maze inside.
Maze stepped in quickly, hoping no one saw her. "I'm here to check up on you," she said, coming into the small room. She set her basket down on the small eating table.
"Tommy will be angry that you're here."
"He doesn't know," Maze said, looking at Ada. "And I don't intend on telling him."
"You know he'll go mad with rage if he finds out you're here," Ada protested, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'll be fine, Ada." Maze assured her. "Now let's check you over."
Fifteen minutes later, Ada shimmied her dress back on as Maze rummaged through the large basket, emptying it. Maze took her time and checked to make sure nothing would spoil until she could make another run here. She wasn't even aware that Polly had been here earlier that day.
"I'll have to hide this stuff," Ada said, coming over to Maze and taking a seat.
"I know." Maze said quietly, thinking of an excuse. "Hmm, you could say that someone dropped this off anonymously."
"I've told him that. He's not happy that we're receiving goods like this."
"Not that he lets you completely out of the room," Maze muttered.
"I'll be fine, you know that." Ada whispered.
"I know you will be. I worry."
"You always worry," Ada replied distractedly.
"Baby's heart sounds good by the way and you seem healthy," Maze informed her gently, closing her black bag. "Are you having any issues?"
"I have to go wee a lot and I'm hungry all the time," Ada said, giving her a half smile.
"That's normal. Have you felt kicks yet?"
An enormous smile broke out over Ada's face. "I have. It's wonderful."
Maze smiled gently at her, "Yes, I can imagine it is." She looked at her wristwatch. "I have to go. I'm sure Freddie will be back shortly."
Maze gathered her things and walked toward the door. She gripped the handle, giving it a twist, but turned to Ada. "If you need anything... anything at all, you know how to get a hold of me."
"I know," Ada said, nodding her head.
With that, Maze left Ada's and hurried down the hall and out of the building. Her basket swayed in her arms as she gripped her black bag. As she walked out of the area, she never noticed eyes on her.
A reverberating knock on her front door later that night pulled Maze from her upstairs office. She closed the laptop quickly and pushed it into the carrying case, shoving it under the desk. Her chair scraped the hardwood floor as she dashed to the open portal and tapped the code to seal it. Maze threw herself into her desk chair and opened the side drawer to retrieve her Webley revolver. She popped open the chamber, making sure she had bullets in it. Whoever it was, apparently, wasn't in the mood to wait for her to open the door.
She waited patiently behind her desk, her gun ready to fire at whomever kicked her front door open. As Thomas walked into the office, she raised an eyebrow. He stopped short, seeing her gun aimed at his chest. Maze scowled at him, lowering the gun and setting it gently on the desk. He was lucky he was the only man to come into her house without her inviting him inside. Didn't help that he fashioned a spare key to her front door.
"Can I help you, Thomas?" Maze asked, walking toward him and wondering what he was there for.
"Where were you today?" He asked abruptly, crossing the room to stand in front of her. He ignored the gun sitting on her desk.
"Busy," she replied vaguely. Maze didn't want to listen to a lecture from him.
He rubbed his hands together, glaring at her. Thomas watched as she shifted from one foot to the next. "You're lying to me."
Maze scowled at him, crossing her arms over her chest. She walked away from him, feeling his eyes follow her. She wasn't in the mood for a spat to end her evening, but Thomas was in the mood to lecture her.
"Maze?" he pressed, crossing the room and gently grabbing her by the elbow. He spun her to look at him before glaring at her for a second before schooling his face. He needed her to know how dangerous it could be for her to wander around without Jimmy's presence.
She huffed, but relented. "Fine, I went to visit someone."
"Who?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
She eyed him speculatively. Maze tilted her head a little and looked up at him. "You already know, so why ask me?"
He didn't answer her. He tried to be angry with her for going to see Ada, but couldn't find it in him to do so. It was her nature to help people. "Just tell me."
"Fine," she snapped softly. "I saw Ada. Who told you?"
"One of my men."
Her eyes widened at his high-handedness. "Who? Jimmy?"
"I don't want you going back to see her," he ordered, ignoring her question.
"Thomas! She's pregnant. She's not seeing a midwife," Maze protested.
"Doesn't matter," Thomas snapped. "You're not going back to see her."
"But!"
"Maze!" he snapped, his eyes flashing.
"She's your sister, Thomas." she tried cajoling him again. When he glared at her, she huffed. "Tell me why I can't see her and it better be a good explanation."
Thomas sighed, flicking his eyes towards the heavens as if he was going to get an answer. Rubbing his hand over his face, he lowered his head to look at his mate. "The coppers are here looking for Communists. Ada is married to one."
Maze understood his point, but she needed more from him.
"If the coppers see you with her, or around her, they will bring you in. You saw what they did to Arthur?!" He threw his arms wide, staring at her, hoping she would get his reasoning. "It's the reason I've told Ada and Freddie to leave the country." He sighed, lowering himself onto the sofa in her office. "If this was any other time, I wouldn't care, but please stay away until it's safe."
Maze sat down beside him. She wanted to rest her head on his shoulder, but was wary of the intimate contact between them. He went from being angry with her to sounding tired, almost pleading with her. She realized as odd. His behavior lately swung back and forth like a pendulum. She wanted to ask him about it, but felt it was dangerous territory.
"I'll stay away, but when she goes into labor, I want to be there." Maze finally offered after a few minutes of silence.
Thomas turned his head around to look at her, an eyebrow raised at her compromise. He sighed and looked down at the tips of his boots. He wasn't used to compromising with people. Most of the time, people did as they were asked or ordered to do. His mind warred for a minute, remembering that she was his mate and not someone who worked for him.
He still hadn't told her about taking Grace to Cheltenham. A small part of him felt like he was betraying his mate by taking another woman, but Thomas knew what kind of man Billy Kimber was. He would not subject Maze to a man like Kimber.
"You best not be seen," he told her finally.
