Chapter 1 - The Powder Trick
Two fingers chopsticked a cigarette to a flame. A puff of exhaled smoke faded an unknown person into view, a woman in a black veil. She spoke something softly in his first language.
"Can I help you?" he said from a distance as took another drag from his cigarette watching her. She reached for something hidden in her veil. His coat flicked back ready to unholster a gun. However, she retrieved a leather pouch. The cigarette tucked itself away in his lips.
"Who are you?" he said this time in Romani. The woman put her right hand in the bag pulling out a red dust, which she quickly blew in his face. It stung his eyes. His gun whipped into view, but she was no where to be seen as the red dust dissolved in the air. The cigarette had fallen from his mouth. For the first time in a long time, Thomas Shelby was uncertain.
Grace waited for her new fiance at his residence. She left her previous husband in a nasty divorce. Thomas opened the door. "Hello hello," he greeted her happily. He came up from behind her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, his arms caressing the small bump resting at her hips. "You're home late," she said.
"We got held up in London for a bit. Nothing to worry about," he reassured her. Turning around to face him, she noticed some red soot on his nose. "Tommy, your eyes are red," she said worried. "Are they?" he said going over to a mirror to investigate. "Did something happen in London?" she asked. He sighed while looking in the mirror. "Grace, there's nothing to worry about. Nothing happened, just business," he said coming back to hold her again. "You never tell me what the business is," she replied, "I thought you were trying to become legal …"
"We are, it just takes time, and loose ends that need tying," he said. "What loose ends?" she asked. Tommy paused. "Grace, the less you know, the better. You are going to marry a gangster. What did you expect?" he said. She held his embrace. "We'll talk more in the morning, aye?" he said softly. "Alright," she said. They got ready for bed. Darkness blanketed them.
The sound of familiar shovels mixed with an unfamiliar scream woke Thomas. Grace was in distress. He rushed to find a light source.
"Grace! What is it?! What's wrong?!" he asked frantic.
"I think it's the baby!" she panicked. Her hand was on her stomach. Pain etched all over her face. Thomas pulled back the covers to find red in the bed. A remnant feeling of fear pricked at his heart.
"We need to get you to a doctor," he said as he practically scooped her up. Thomas started the car, drove her to the nearest hospital, and waited. He would have prayed if he could, but instead, he hoped.