Devil | A Solomons

FORTY TWO - ANOTHER BULLET

Saying goodbye to Irina was the single hardest thing Alfie had ever had to do. He had taken the lives of many men, told many women he could not love them, lay his mother to rest, and yet still, he held saying goodbye to Irina for what could be the last time in his life at the top of his list.

It was a deceitful pain, having to look into her eyes and promise he that he would see her again soon, when he knew that his words could in fact not hold a flame to a true promise, knowing not what the next hour or day would bring.

He had seemingly fallen more in love with her than he could comprehend, the thought of not seeing her again almost pulled every single string of his heart together at once, squeezing every ounce of love that he hadn't yet felt and drawing it to the very centre of his mind, making him unable to think or feel about anything else but her.

Alfie had been working hard the past few weeks to find out as much information as possible of Joseph Levy and his men. He'd had the help of Thomas, for which he was very grateful, knowing that he probably couldn't have done everything by himself in truth.

It was nightfall and the sky was black and cloudless, a mirage of sparkling stars that reminded Alfie of the diamond ring hung around his neck, touching it with his fingers for a brief moment as he walked down the street.

It had turned colder over the past few weeks but Alfie had tried his best to not see a change in the weather as foreshadowing, attempting to keep his thoughts as positive as possible.

Walking towards the street corner in South London, Alfie nodded in greeting to the men stood waiting for him, flat caps and all.

"Evening, Alfie. How are you?"

Thomas threw his cigarette to the ground and tilted the peak of his cap upwards. He looked tired, his face as miserable as usual, but his eyes were ready.

"In the mood to kill someone, you?"

"In the mood to help you."

They shook hands, looking each other in the eye as they did so. The men had been friends for longer than either of them had known Irina Zakharov even existed, but although she had driven a wedge between them at one point, albeit not by her own faults, they had now overcome it.

Tommy had brought six men with him down to London, and although he was confident that it would be enough, Alfie's heart was still racing as they made the journey to Levy's warehouse.

Thomas' men had been tracking Levy's every move for the past three weeks, and so it became easy to spot a routine in his days, being able to pinpoint a day, time and location that would be best for them to put an end to things.

Alfie cracked his knuckles when they eventually reached the warehouse, listening as Thomas explained to each of his men what their job was. Part of Alfie felt like he hadn't done enough, like he should've brought his own men to help out. Though Thomas had been keen to cross Joseph Levy off the list from the very first time Alfie mentioned him, stationing his boys down in London before Alfie could say a word against it.

It didn't matter in the end, really. As long as Alfie was the one to put a bullet in Joseph Levy, he would be satisfied.

"You ready, brother?" Thomas said, placing a hand on Alfie's shoulder and shaking him slightly.

He cleared his throat, nodding, "Yeah, yeah I'm ready."

"Alright, let's do this."

Thomas nodded reassuringly at his friend. He could sense the nerves in him that weren't usually there, though he knew why. There had never been so much at stake for Alfie before. In previous altercations, Alfie could've died in front of his very eyes and deep down, he would've made peace with it. Though that time, Alfie had his entire world at stake, finally, for once in his life, he had a reason to make it out alive.