The Queen Of Small Heath

Derby.

Tommys POV

"You ready, love?" I ask Aurora. Today, the two of us are going to Camden Town, to talk to Alfie about a certain deal. "Yeah, I'm ready." She tells me and we walk out to the car, climbing in on our sides. "You got the contract, right?" She asks and I nod. "Yeah, I got them baby." I tell her as I drive to pick up an associate who's coming with us.

****** 

"You don't do or say anything I haven't told you, alright?" I ask the boy, as we walk towards Alfie's bakery but he doesn't answer me. "Alright?" I ask again and he nods. "Yeah." He says. "Hello, Ollie." Me and Aurora greet Alfie's right hand man, who's leaning against the wall. "Wait, hang on." He says stopping me and Aurora from walking through the door.

"Just you two, yeah? He stays out here." Ollie says, pointing at the boy. "You stay here." Aurora tells him, as I throw my cigarette away before me and Aurora follow Ollie through the bakery. Halfway through, I stop beside some barrels, kneeling down to pretend to tie my shoelace. Ollie shakes his head as he leans against the wall, writing on his paper. I discreetly place a grenade behind one of the barrels before standing back up.

We continue to walk to Alfie's office and I discreetly nod to Aurora, telling her it's done. Ollie knocks on Alfie's door before walking in. "Aurora. Welcome back, darling." Alfie greets, nodding at her. "Hello Alfie." She greets, taking a seat as I sit next to her. Alfie sits in his chair, his feet up on his desk as he reads through a paper and I glance at the phone on his desk.

It starts ringing but Alfie doesn't look up. "That'll probably be for you, won't it?" He says calmly and I stand up, picking up the phone. "Hello? Arthur?" I say into the phone, hearing Arthur's voice on the other side. "You out?" I ask him and he tells me he is before I put the phone down, sitting back in my seat.

"Right. So that'll be your side of the street swept up, won't it?" Alfie asks, flicking the papers. "What you got for me?" He asks, leering his legs and Aurora hands me the contract. "Thanks, baby." I take it from her gently. "Signed by the Minister of the Empire himself." I tell him as he takes the paper from me. "Yeah?" He murmurs, putting his glasses back on.

"This means you can put your rum in our shipments, and no one at Poplar Docks will lift the canvas." Aurora tells him, as I glance at Ollie. "You know what? I'm not even gonna have my lawyer look at that." Alfie says. "No, no. It's all legal, Alfie." Aurora tells him and he nods at her. "Darling, I trust ya. That's that. Done." He says, tipping his hat at us.

"So..." He starts, reaching down and grabbing a bottle. "Whiskey." He says placing it on the table. "There is one thing though that we do need to discuss." He tells me as I take a drag of my cigarette. "What would that be?" Aurora asks him. "This says here...twenty percent payed to me of your export business." He says, scratching his beard.

"As you agreed on the telephone." Aurora reminds him. "No, no, no. See- see I had my lawyer draw this up for us, just in case." Alfie pulls out a sheet of paper as me and Aurora share a look. "It says, here, that a hundred percent of your business goes to me." Alfie says, laying the contract in front of me. "I see." I say blowing out smoke.

"Don't worry about it, right, because it is totally legal binding. All you have to do is sign the document and transfer the whole lot over to me." He tells me, leaning back in his chair. "Sign just here, is it?" I ask. "Yeah." He nods. "I see. That's funny, that is." I point at the paper, taking a drag of my cigarette.