Chapter 1

The Marvelous Misadventure of Ada and Micheal

WARNING: This story contains disciplinary spanking/ corporal punishment of minors by a young adult.

The drive home from the station was long and painfully quiet. As they neared the house, the pit in Ada's stomach deepened. She was not ready to face her brothers tonight… or ever. Even in the car with just John and Micheal, the tension was so heavy, it weighed down on them the entire trip. She knew she had seriously messed up, for John, the soft soul that he was, to be so noticeably angry. As the car slowed to a halt, she turned to him, despite his obvious mood, and tried to negotiate her options. He could take them to his house for a few days, help to keep Tommy at bay while he calmed down, she said.
"Don't you dare." He whispered angrily. "Don't you dare put me in that position, after all the anxiety you have caused"
"But John I-"
"Shut up, Ada" John turned to the other troublemaker "Go on, Micheal. Get in the house, eh?. We're right behind you. Good man."
Micheal walked over, and with a nod of encouragement from his brother when he glanced back, he slowly entered the house."
John angrily scolded "I cannot believe your fucking audacity. And you took Micheal along! Polly would've had all of our balls if anything happened to him. Micheal is a child. Hell, you're both children.
"Micheal is only a year younger, and you were only a few years older than him when he went to war"
"How many times, Ada? How many times do we have to tell you both to stay out of the dirty business? You should be grateful that you don't have to do it"
"I'm as much a Shelby as any of you! Why shouldn't I participate in the family business?"
John ripped his cap off his head, frustrated with his stubborn sister. "Let's just go. You and Tommy can have this conversation"
"I can't go in there, John. You don't understand." Ada's voice dropped low, as if she feared that Tommy would hear them. "He's going to kill me"
"I do understand, sister. I understand that you fucked up and you don't have the balls to own up to it. You're out here running around trying to be a peaky blinder, but you won't face consequences. We're an army, Ada. Tommy tells us what to do, and we do it. When we mess up, there are consequences, and we take them. You know very well that I was on the other end of Tommy's belt far more often than I'd like. So don't tell me I don't understand!"
"You at least have to talk to him first. You're his favorite brother. He'll listen to-"

From the ground floor of the house, she heard a racket, followed by her cousin begging, "No, Tommy no!" There were five loud lashes with a belt, punctuated by Tommy's angry voice. When the short walloping ended, Tommy's voice demanded "WHERE THE FUCK IS ADA?". The door swung all the way open, slamming into the wall behind it, and Tommy stood in the doorway looking like fury itself, hair tousled from having run his fingers through for hours, his top buttons loose, and by far the worst indicator of her impending death, his sleeves rolled up to his elbow. Only a few things ruffled Tommy enough that he would compromise his love for his impeccable fashion. Even in the face of death, he would find time to straighten his necktie, or dust lint off his coat. When he gave a spanking, however angry, he always ensured his sleeves were folded up extremely carefully, by the time he unrolled them after, they were still crisp and creaseless. In his hand hung a heavy leather belt she hadn't seen in years. Tommy had never used it on her. It wasn't for girls, he would say. Ada could not be sure he still believed that at this moment.
Tommy's voice roared from the doorway, "IF YOU, ADA SHELBY, DO NOT GET YOUR SORRY ASS. IN. THIS. HOUSE." He shifted on his feet, and jabbed a finger at the inside of the house "RIGHT FUCKING NOW. I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL COME OUT THERE, PUT YOU OVER THAT CAR, AND GIVE YOU THE HIDING OF YOUR LIFE"
Through the door, she could see her cousin rubbing his bottom, with aunt Polly laying into him with a wooden ruler, despite his hands in the way. She had the waist of his pants in one hand, and he twisted and turned to try to avoid her wrath, driving them both around in a circle. Ada felt bad for him. Tommy would still punish him especially for touching those guns. Polly was just his warmup. Tommy didn't yell at his sister often. His threats were conveyed through his eyes. A single side glance, and she knew she was overstepping her boundaries. Sometimes all he did was say her name.

But even more terrifying than the strap in his hand, at the sight of these roughly folded sleeves on what she recognized to be his favorite shirt, the most idiotic manifestation of the fight or flight impulse came over her. She could definitely not fight Tommy. And there would be no escaping him once he got hold of her. But she could run. She often outran her brothers as a young girl, needing to be faster and slicker than them to avoid unsolicited tickling sessions and rough games.

John glanced at his brother's angry frame in the doorway briefly and started to talk to his sister. "Okay he's mad, but he only because he's worried. Just don't give him any lip. Once he remembers to be relieved that you're alive, he'll-" he glanced back to his sister's seat as he heard a creaking sound "Ada?" he barely caught her slip out of the car, and dart out into the street through the door on her side of the car. "Son of a bitch" he grappled with his own door handle for a few seconds "Ada!" John took off after her, but he was seconds behind her and knew he stood no chance. She would run to Freddy Thorne's apartment, she thought. Her brother's friend spoilt her more than all of her brothers combined. Even with Tommy's access to whispers, it would take a day for him to find her. She could give him a couple of days to calm down, and eventually go home to receive her punishment from a more rational version of her brother. By then Tommy would have allowed relief to set in, and with a well-worked out sob story, he could be persuaded to remember his tendency to spoil his only sister.
Tommy never moved to chase her. He turned back and slammed his office door, rattling all the windows. As expected, Ada had outrun John, and shaken him off her trail. But when she arrived at Freddy's no one was home. Realizing now, as dusk crept in along the edges of the sky, that she was out on the streets of Birmingham, a lone Shelby girl. She had taken her gun but had been out of bullets for hours. Nobody would hurt her, she thought. Except for her brother's enemies. And Tommy had no shortage of enemies. She could stay out here, in front of Freddy's door, and hope he came home tonight. But he could be in London, or anywhere for that matter. If she did sleep outside and her brothers ever found out, she could not even conceive of the wrath she would incur by further endangering herself. She slid to the floor, her back against Fred's door, and cried hot heavy tears for what felt like ages.

Half an hour later, she got up and dusted off, resolving to find her way to John's house, and only go in after midnight. It would be too late by then for Tommy to come and get her. As she reentered the stairwell, she heard two sets of footsteps coming up. She pulled her hat down over her face, intentionally avoiding meeting their gazes. It would not do to be spotted out alone at night. As she crossed their path on the landing, one of their voices said her name "Ada? You poor thing. Have you been crying?". She breathed a sigh of relief. Freddie was home. She turned to him, embracing him tightly. "Oh Freddie, I've done the stupidest thing. You must let me spend the night here or Tommy will have my hide"
"We can agree on that"
Her blood ran cold in her veins. She tried to release herself from Freddy's hold, but he had already known Tommy would spook her, and held her shoulders tight. "Calm down love." He said. She trembled when she looked up at Tommy, impossibly more terrifying than before. "Are you calm, Ada?" She nodded fearfully, eyes darting around looking for the exit. Tommy scoffed and shook his head. Fred looked a little annoyed. "Come on mate, back up a bit. You're scaring her."
"She should be scared. Stealing my gun and my money, my fucking car. Taking our cousin with her!" He threw his hands up, frustrated "to conduct business behind my back with people who would gladly kill us all. Running away from punishment"
Fred huffed. "Will I need to take this child in tonight, Tommy?"
Tommy replied an indignant no.
"Then get your temper under control."
"Look at me, Ada." She took her eyes off the floor and looked up at Freddie. "I'm going to let you go now. But if you run again, by God, you'll have more than just Tommy to deal with"
He let her go, and Tommy stepped forward and took her arm in his'. She tugged her arm back halfheartedly, only testing the allowance of his hold. Tommy was not having it. He turned her around, pinned her to his side, torso slightly bent, and swatted her six times. Hard. This was not one of the days when she had several layers of skirts on. For her misadventure, she had worn a pair of pants she acquired from Tommy, whose hand swung up as high as his ear before striking her.
The first meaty smack caught her off guard. It was not often that a first smack stung this badly. Each strike propelled her to her toe tips, she hadn't protested the first two smacks, but the third one, she was not expecting. Her brother tended to max out on public punishment at two swats. By the sixth, she was truly terrified that he would deliver her full punishment here on the staircase to Freddy Thornes's apartment, and within view of her long-time crush. "Tommy?" She said it in a small voice, fearing angering him further by protesting. He swatted her a seventh time, "Tommy please" she pleaded as she covered herself with the palm of her hand.
"Move your hand Ada"
She whimpered and did nothing but stamp her feet in protest.
"Move your hand, or I will move it for you" Tommy didn't raise his voice. He lowered it instead, the underlying threat apparent. She shakily removed her hand. The eighth smack was like nothing she could've imagined. Searing pain bloomed across her backside. She instinctively reached back, but stopped herself at the last second from rubbing. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry"
His hand was already in the air for the ninth when Freddy interrupted. "Come on Tom, that's enough". Tommy delivered the ninth and then one more, before letting her up. He took her hand firmly in his' and turned to Freddie.
"Thanks for your help Freddie, we will be leaving now." Fred nodded curtly at him, then turned to Ada "For God's sake Ada, be good for your brother, eh?" She sniffled, hoping Fred would attempt to intercede. Deep down she didn't want to be alone with Tommy. She didn't put it beyond him to bend her over the car downstairs or turn her over his lap in the car. It took every ounce of self-control not to beg Fred to come with them.

It was not fair, the way Tommy was treating her like a child. He did far worse things far more frequently. His life was perpetually in danger, and nobody checked him for it. But here he was, giving her ten whole swats in front of Freddy fucking Thorne. Tears stung her eyes as they went down the stairs. Ada allowed herself to be led out, Tommy's hand firmly gripped hers. She didn't have a choice. He took her first to the passenger's door but did not go back around immediately. He squeezed her palm and she looked up. Their eyes met and there was an exchange. He was disappointed. He had been worried sick. He really thought something had happened to her. He felt so guilty. His own life choices were putting everyone in danger and he hated himself for it. Under all of this, he was still extremely angry, and in his mind, he no doubt saw the little girl he had sworn to protect, the same one he'd left behind to go to war. He still saw the little girl whose tears brought him to tears during her punishments, whose forgiveness healed him. She had the same stubborn streak that he did, the same fierce spirit, the same aggressive independence. He respected her for it some days. This was not one of those days. No. Today, he would hand her ass to her. She was almost too old for a spanking. At 16 years, she would probably be married were she not a Shelby. In turn, he saw anger, at his audacity spanking her, a grown woman in the presence of Freddy Thorne. He saw fear in her eyes, of her punishment, he had been harsher than he had meant to be, and she was well aware that his patience was long gone. There was still adamance, she would not be deferring to him immediately. They would still argue over her punishment when they got home. She was resigned to her fate, but would not go down without a fight. With his eyes, he told her, "Behave". She nodded almost imperceptibly. He returned a curt near-nod.

As he closed her door and walked over to his side, pulling his keys out of his pocket, he found that his hands were shaking. Whether from relief or anger, he could not tell. He got in the car, careful not to slam his door. She was already aware of his mood. There was no need to stress the point.
They drove wordlessly up to the house, in what turned out to only be a light shower of rain, and after he parked he asked "Are you calm?"
She was. But only because she was numb with fear. She nodded. Tommy came round to her door and let her out. They walked into the house, to greet a tense group of her literal entire family. She was mortified. Arthur was waiting to greet them at the door, and instinctively, Ada covered her bottom as she passed him, praying he would not swat her too. He mercifully didn't, just scolded her as she walked by. Tommy sent her up to prepare for dinner, meeting her eyes to give her a wordless warning against any ploys she might be hatching to escape.