Chapter 26) Interlude
.-.-.
Polly didn't know if she should kill her nephew herself or leave the Italian's to do it for her when she was informed about her nephews whereabouts.
One of their men had spotted Tommy, ramming one of Russo's Chryslers straight into the red brick wall of Birmingham General Hospital. The crash had caused significant damage to the entrance of the Hospital. No doubt the Blinders would have to pay profoundly for compensation.
His fucking nerve… It was beyond Polly that Tommy dared to steal and crash one of Russo's prized cars. He must have been utterly drunk too. And if that little wench had anything to do with this, she'd cut her a smile.
This was the absolute limit. What Tommy did was beyond repair and there would be serious retributions by the hands of the Italians.
But maybe they could reduce the hostility by signing the Shepard back to Russo. It would be a convenient thing too, the whole place reaked of crime and shady business. Even with coppers on their payroll a chique brothel was the last thing Polly wanted to add to their business.
Unfortunately no-one shared her opinion on the matter. Arthur was in seventh heaven with his new status as the owner of the largest whorehouse in town. John, understandably, shared his older brother's joy. But honestly, Polly thought Tommy would remain the smarter one and not play with fire.
'Instead of playing with it, he burned the whole fucking house down,' Polly bitterly thought to herself. She'd taken Arthur and John with her to the hospital. One, she needed a driver. Two she needed both of them to stand between her and Tommy once she got her hands on him.
The front entrance of the hospital appeared out of a warzone. A truck was towing the wreckage of the stolen Chrysler out of the hallway when they arrived.
'Oh Tom what have you done you bloody idiot', Polly thought staring at the damaged car. The bonnet was destroyed and oil leaked out of the engine. Shards of glass rained down on the floor as the truck drove backwards, the front window had smashed during the collision.
The Chrysler was a wreckage and a total loss.
Her resentment towards her nephew started to turn into worry. The car must have rammed into the building with great force. If this was what the car looked like, she could only pray that Tommy had been able to brace himself at the moment of impact.
Less furious and more concerned, Polly and the two Shelby brothers walked over to the reception. And elderly nurse was busy brushing glass and grit together. Moping underneath her breath the woman looked up from her task as the three late night guest appeared at her desk.
"What brings you lot here at this ungodly hour?" The nurse asked, plucking out a piece of glass of her white tier.
"Word got around that Tommy Shelby has checked himself into this hospital," Polly replied sarcastically, cocking her head into the direction of the damage done.
"You're his family?" The eyes of the nurse narrowed behind her thick glasses and Polly knew this was going to be about money.
"Listen," she dug her hand into her red velvet purse to take out her wallet, "that idiot that demolished your front entrance happens to be my nephew." She tossed down a hand full of coins on the counter and shoved it towards the wrinkling hands of the older woman. "Be so kind to lead us to his room so I can slap him into next week's Sunday."
Eagerly the nurse scraped the money together, that was the moment Polly was waiting for. With one hand she pinned the veiny wrist down and reached over the reception.
"Listen, we are the Peaky Blinders. Do not fuck with us. If we come back down and this place is rizzling with coppers, one of my nephews here will shove each of those pennies down your throat."
Watching her words struck fear in the poor old woman, Polly slanted back, curling her lips into a tight lipped smile and snapped. "Now where is he?"
To give Polly's threats a little more grandeur Arthur stepped in cracking his knuckles.
"Where's my fucking brother, old hag?" He spat roughly over the counter, banging his fist on the wood.
Color drained from the nurse's face, turning as palled as her uniform.
"I'll speak with his doctor, I'm not sure… i-it's wise to have more visitors." The nurse mumbled, rubbing her sore wrist.
"More?!" Polly proclaimed, exchanging an alerted gaze with Arthur and John. An unsettling feeling started to submerge through her anger. For all she knew they were the only ones informed about Tommy's whereabouts.
"Yes miss, his sister's with him." The nurse explained unaware of the panic she struck.
Polly stared at her two nephews in horror, they'd left Ada at the house to look after Finn. Who was claiming to be family?
"Take us to 'im!" John intermingled the conversation.
The poor woman behind the counter seemed to shrink two sizes. Duteous to her profession she pitched in. "Please, I have to consult his doctor first-"
"The hell with it!" Arthur lost his patients with the elderly lady. Pushing Polly and John aside he pulled his gun on the nurse. "We're here to see our brother and you'll bring us to 'im right now!"
Instandly the nurse jumped into action and without another word led the three troublemakers to the third floor, into the recovery ward.
Polly assumed the nurse wouldn't be stupid enough to ring the coppers but whispered into Arthur's ear that they needed to make an appointment to the director of the hospital first thing in the morning. Their family needed to make a huge donation to tarnish their poor entry. But this matter really wasn't imported right this instance. Tommy was all that mattered.
The patient's room counted five unoccupied beds. The sixth and last one in line had it's curtain railed around to give the patient more privacy.
Without losing another second Polly flung the curtain open to expose Tommy's mysterious visitor.
It was Maria. Polly was shocked and surprised to spot Tommy's personal voice at his bedside, but it was a most welcome surprise. For a second she'd feared that the Italian's had slithered their way past the reception (which clearly was child's play).
Her relief didn't last for long as she sized the young woman up. A long cut marked the girl's forehead, specks of dried blood decorated her face as crimson freckles. Her dress was caked with the red substance and her horrified gaze told them she'd seen hell itself.
With two bloody hands clenched around Tommy's wrist she seemed to be collecting all her courage to speak.
"It was Russo, he did this." Maria blurted with a thick voice.
Her revelation and the sight of Tommy's swollen, bloody and bruised face was enough to make Polly's hairs stand up.
"That fucking meatball did this?" John cursed, intensely swaying at his older brother's unconscious body. "That bastard will pay!" Upset he kicked against an iron cart filled with bandages. The cart crashed into an empty bed and its content dropped on the floor.
The noise alarmed the unconscious patient, causing him to shift and moan in his sleep.
Polly exchanged gazes with Arthur, who's veins pulsed in his neck from anger.
"Arthur, I need four men at our house. Two on the front and two at the back. When you're done, go to the Garrison to spread the word. Right now Russo is the most wanted man in Birmingham. He will bleed for this." Polly ordered, directing herself to John.
"John, you go pick up Maria's mother and sisters. Take them to our house."
"You want those Gorgers back at our home?" John exclaimed, nearly choking on his toothpick.
"John, look at her!" Polly snapped back, "get her family safe!"
Maria's eyes grew the size of saucers, clearly the realisation of her family's endangerment hadn't occurred to her yet.
Polly directed herself at the nurse. "You, get us a doctor, I want to know every goddamn detail!"
The nurse immediately jumped into action, probably thrilled to leave the room. John stalled his mission, leaning onto Tommy's iron bed frame. Concerned, he nibbled on his toothpick and glanced at his beaten brother.
"John, go," Polly pressed, "he's asleep, I'll stay with him. Now please, do what I asked you to do. When you are at the house, inform Ada to stay inside and lock the door."
She moved close to Arthur and whispered in his ear. "Find that son of a bitch before he flees the country!"
Arthur nodded and grabbed his younger brother by the shoulder and both went off to fulfil their duty.
As soon as the Shelby duo left the room, Polly allowed herself to sink down at the seat next to Tommy's bed, facing Maria. The girl seemed to be carrying the weight of the world, watching through tearfilled eyes how Tommy's chest moved gradually up and down.
Polly granted Maria a half-hearted smile, stepping over the grudge she felt towards the young woman ever since she managed to brightened Tommy's life in ways Polly failed herself.
'Stupid boy, what have you gotten yourself into?' She thought, watching her nephew's eyes roll behind his lids. The notorious Blinder devil looked like a disfigured broken doll, pale as porcelain. His right arm was wrapped in a sling. An IV maintained his antibiotics and painkillers. It was a sinister trip down memory lane, although the previous time he had a tube down his throat. For a long time the only sound noticeable was Tommy's breathing.
"Who's blood is that on you, love?" Polly asked soft-spoken.
Maria slowly looked away from Tommy's swollen face and stared at her hands as if she only noticed now that she was covered with it.
"Russo's, Tommy's. Not sure what's from who,"carefully she reached for her forehead and winched when she touched the nasty cut, "some is mine I guess. I think this one's from the car crash. The glass cut me pretty bad."
She swallowed hard and her chin was shaking. "Russo tortured him. And he made me watch." The girl revealed with a rigid expression. Without a tremble in her voice Maria started to report what happened the moment they were ambushed by the Italian's after Tommy's hospital appointment. How they knocked Tommy unconscious and then threw them into the back of a truck and taken them to Russo's mansion.
"For a while I feared they'd cracked his head," Maria spook soft, "he kept throwing up in the truck and he wasn't responding to anything I said."
In detail she shared how they'd been at Russo's mercy down in the basement. How he had one of his men slowly dislocate Tommy's shoulder and used his own foot to break his cheekbone.
Polly stared at the horrendous state of Tommy's face and could feel her stomach joilt and her blood run cold.
Maria used that time to collect courage to continue. Ashamed she revealed that she'd been forced down on her knees to serve as Russo's whore.
"But I cut him," Maria added with venom and satisfaction, "I cut him good."
She filled Polly briefly how they'd managed to reach the garage and how eventually Tommy, at the absolute end of his wits, drove them straight into the hospital.
"He needs to be alright," Maria sniffled, rubbing roughly through her face to wipe away some tears, "he needs to."
"He will be alright," Polly promised, more to herself then to the girl, "he's a Shelby. They're all blessed with thick skulls and nine lives."
Maria nodded with a downturned gaze, ironing Tommy's sheets with her hands to occupy herself.
Polly sighed deep, studying her nephews steady breathing. It was a twisted deja vu. When Tommy returned from France, Arthur had been back for about a week. The oldest brother had gravely informed their family about Tommy's heroic efforts, saving the lives of others. He'd paid a high price. He suffered from major head trauma and had been in surgery for several hours. In which the surgeons had drilled a hole in his skull to relieve the pressure on his brain. He'd been in a coma for three weeks and suffering from brain damage. How severe? No-one could tell.
When he'd finally been fit enough to be transported, he slept an entire day at Birmingham's General Hospital. For the first few weeks he hadn't been able to lift his chin up or control his bladder. Lights and voices over-stimulated his brain and gave him horrible migraines. Sitting up was a challenge, walking had been out of the question.
Polly had seen it in his eyes, he didn't want to be alive. Not like this.
"What about my mum and sisters?" Maria suddenly exclaimed. "What if-"
"-John's making sure they are safe. I promise you that they're safe," Polly interrupted her, "once either Arthur or John's back, you'll be taken to Watery Lane. You lot will stay there until that bastard's caught."
Maria nodded dully and sank back into her seat, then added. "But what if Tommy wakes up, I'm his speaker it's my job to-"
"-If he wakes up his family will be here, that's what he needs right now, kin," Polly empathized, "besides you've done enough, you should get some rest."
Maria narrowed her eyes, unpleased by Polly's orders but didn't object.
A doctor came in and introduced himself as Dr Graves. The man appeared nervous and stuttered, the words of Arthur pulling a gun had spread rapidly through the halls of the hospital.
Polly listened to the doctor, wondering how much money it was going to take to stifle the whole affair.
Loosening the tie around his neck, Dr Graves filled Polly in with the details. As Maria had mentioned, Tommy suffered from a concussion. It was too early to tell how severe and since the patient wasn't conscious, they weren't able to perform any tests. His cheekbone was broken, but wouldn't be needing surgery. His dislocated shoulder had been set back and he had to be wearing a sling for a couple of weeks. A nurse had disinfected the scrapped open skin on his temple and stitched the wound on the back of his head. The moment he'd been placed under Dr Graves care they'd fetched him up with a high dose of painkillers and antibiotics, to minimise the pain and the chance of a possible infection.
Polly's eyes must have shot daggers along the way, because dots of sweat started to form on the balding head of Dr Graves as he finished up the status of his infamous patient.
"Is he in a coma?" Polly asked pragmatically.
"No miss, it's just the morphine doing it's work. He's fast asleep and won't wake up until tomorrow morning. I suggest you lot do the same-"
"-The hell with that, I'm not abandoning my nephew." Polly spat to the physician, determined she wrapped her arms over each other and craned her head back to Tommy. "You can leave."
The footsteps of the doctor rapidly retreated to the hallway, the man was probably very relieved to be leaving.
Tommy's eyes moved rapidly behind his lids and a groan escaped the back of his throat, for a moment his fingers twitched before his whole body slumbred back into relaxation.
Polly vengefully made her nephew a solemn promise. That the Italian bastard was going to pay, with blood and broken bones.
.-.-.
From the moment she left the hospital, escorted by Arthur who'd informed her that her family was safe, she'd forced herself to keep her face in shape. The oldest of the Shelby brother's drove her home, asking about a thousand of questions. Aware her words were key to capture Russo she tried to answer everything by the best of her ability.
It was not the time to let her emotions run free, besides she highly doubted Arthur would be able to comfort her. She summed up basically the same facts she'd given Polly, leaving out the part in which she nearly served as Russo's sex slave. Honestly, the thought of the scene made her get sick inside the car. For the second time she threw up inside Arthur's car, luckily in time to reach for the door handle and empty her stomach on the pavement instead of the upholstery.
Throwing up had a positive side effect, it made Arthur's inquiry pause and put on hold. The rest of their swift car ride her driver spent mostly cursing.
Her mother materialized utter distress. When they'd arrived at Watery Lane the flock of frightened women immediately rushed up from their seat. Maria's sisters wept and threw themselves around their older sibling. Ada ushered Finn to get the kettle hot and hugged her older brother briefly.
Maria's mother walked to her oldest daughter with trembling features. Grazing her daughter's blood spattered chin, as if she didn't believe Maria was right in front of her.
The embrace from her mum had been so tightening it hurt, but Maria welcomed every second of it. She'd give anything to be a young child again. Memories of the countless times her mother held her during her childhood, kissing away small pains and hugging away childish fears. At their farm, her parents would always make all the hurt and monsters go away.
But these monsters would not fade by the caressing touch of her mother's arms. The sight of violence and torture, just for the sake of revenge and entertainment, it was etched into her mind and soul. The utter, maddening and blinding rage that coursed through her body had been so alien. The gratification of slishing into Russo's flesh gave her a sickening rush, Tommy's screams of agony still ringing in her ears.
Maybe she could tell others the devil made her do it, but deep inside she was completely aware she got a kick out of it. Watching Russo's face morph from self indulgence to a mixture of pain and fear, had been fulfilling beyond measure.
From the moment she'd stepped out of Small Heath's train station, an ulcer had feasted itself inside her soul. And everytime she was subjected to violence, maltreatment and the feeling of being completely powerless, the ulcer grew. It grew and grew. And this times it bursted and the puss rushed out, as the blood gushed through Russo's hands.
Would her mum's arms still hold her so caringly, if she knew her daughter was turning into a monster?
Arthur had gone back to the hospital, notioning that there were four of their men guarding the place. The moment the door slammed shut Ada spit out a list of questions. Maria told her to ask those questions later, to either Arthur or Polly. During the ride to Watery Lane she'd been ordered by Arthur to keep her mouth shut to everyone. Especially to Ada and Finn, who didn't need to be bothered by their brother's horrible ordeal.
Ada had pleaded, whining and eventually cursed her for being a lousy friend. Maria honestly couldn't care less, gave her a vacant stare and retreated to the solitude of the bathroom.
In there she finally broke down. The mirror showed her no remorse, the reflection of her blood splattered face and glazed eyes startled her first. But her paralyzation evaded when her fingers ran over the droplets of blood, that decorated her face.
Her hands, smeared with crimson, rushed to get the water running. While lukewarm murky water drizzled down the first sobs escaped her lips. Tearing her bloody clothes off her body she stumbled into the shower and sank to her knees.
Pink water ran, along her feet, down the drain. A colorful token of her trip through hell. It was right then and there were her detachment perished and made place for lament.
It wasn't just for Tommy, no it mostly was for herself. Innocents lost by the hands of a mad man. Mind tainted for good and deflowered from childish trust in the goodness of the world.
God went North the moment He took her brother and father away from her. And God clearly made no effort to find His way back to her.
Small Heath must be close to the mouth of hell, because she surely had seen the devil in Russo's eyes. And in her own.
Her body grew limp, slowly sinking down onto the wet tiles. With her back pressed against the wall she scrunched her legs up and sobbed softly against her knees.
Later, when she dried herself off and wrapped the towel over her body, she did not bother to go back downstairs. Instead she walked in a straight line into Tommy's bedroom. A fortress of blankets and pillows was made for its sudden guests and she allowed herself to curl down onto the floor and search comfort in the softness.
The distinctive scent of Tommy overwhelmed her and she reflectively squeezed the pillow into her cheeks.
He saved her.
He even had been willing to sacrifice himself to save her. Throw himself in front of blood thirsty lions, to save her. Even though he found out first hand how sadistic Russo was, he'd been willing to undergo another round of Russo's macabre game to save her.
Swallowing a lump that didn't go away she squeezed her eyes shut. Pretending to be fast asleep as her two siblings and scooped aside her, she repeatedly tried to swallow the thickness that blocked the back of her throat.
Maria waited until she hear her mum softly go to bed and waited a little longer until she heard her mother's steady breathing.
Slowly she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Her mother's fear of the dark left enough light to shine through the crack of the door, showing the features of the wooden ceiling.
Tommy needed to be alright and wake up. Because she had an awful lot to tell him.
He needed to know how brave he'd been. That she was aware of the huge sacrifices he'd been willing to make for her. And that she wouldn't tell a single soul about that atonement. That partly was self prefortation too, she honestly did not want anyone to know she'd pulled a gun on herself to coach Tommy back on his feet.
He needed to wake up, because she needed to tell him that he mattered. A lot, to her. He'd given her miserable mediocre life purpose. Sure, joining his path would only cast her further away from the road of righteousness. But in all honesty, that bridge seemed to have been burned down long before Tommy interference.
Softly, she rolled on her side and wilted her body around that of her younger sister May. Her sibling stirred momentary and reflectively drew her arms around the neck of Maria.
Her family was safe underneath the roof of the Shelby's and that was what mattered. There was no more room in her life for black and white. Yet, since today the color red smeared through her grey. And she would remember that, she wouldn't be able to forget todays horrible event anyway.
Feeling her sister's warm breath she kissed the young girl's forehead and buried her face into Tommy's pillow.
.-.-.
A/N: I think this chapter speaks for itself. Things are building up. Good things and bad things. Let use all keep our fingers crossed that Tommy wakes up, so I can continued this slow-burn.
Make my weekend, leave a comment:)
Xoxox Nukyster
