The Queen Of Small Heath

You Crossed A Line!

Auroras POV

We arrive at our meeting place and my eyes shoot open from the long drive. I look around as Tommy moves his arm from around me. "Go back to sleep, love." He tells me and I shake my head, rubbing my eyes. "No, Tommy, I'm coming with you." I tell him firmly. Sighing, Tommy rolls his eyes but his face held a small grin.

Michael had disappeared to stand out for us as Tommy moves around to my side and opens my door. I step out and Tommy walks in front of us as Michael walks beside me as we approach Alfie and his bodyguard, halfway through the open hall.

Alfie smiles at me and I give him a small smile, not letting Tommy see before Alfie frowns, looking back at Tommy. "I asked you to come alone and unharmed." Tommy speaks first. "Yeah, well, alone I ain't ever gonna do, am I? And as for the cane, don't worry about it. That is just my sciatica. It always plays up around the winter and the summer solstice. Don't look you're alone either. Not that I mind Aurora being here." Alfie rambles. Tommy crosses his hands over his stomach as me and Michael share a look. "What have you got for me, Alfie?" Tommy questions, ignoring Alfie's ranting.

"Why did you bring me out here for?" Alfie asks. "It's on the way to somewhere I need to be in a hurry. What have you got for me?" Tommy asks again. "Well, seeing as you was prepared to pay such an exorbitant amount for this information, I decided to give you value for money. So here are all the names of the men in England whom I might approach if I had a Fabergé egg for sale." Alfie says as he hands Tommy a small sheet of paper.

"And then, here's all the men on that list, you know would who buy the old Fabergé egg, even if they knew that item was stolen." Alfie adds then hands another small sheet of paper to Tommy. "And here comes your curious fucking gyppo question. I won't ask but uhm, here's the list of men who would buy a Fabergé egg because of their wives obsession." Taking the last slip of paper from Alfie's hand, Tommy reaches into his pocket and pulls out a big, thick roll of cash as I furrow my eyebrows.

"Oh yes. Thank you Mr Shelby. Lovely doing business with you." Alfie says as Tommy turns around and nods his head at me. I walk closer and look at the lists with him as he unfolds the paper. "Tom, there's a name missing." I tell him and he nods, glancing up at me before he pulls out his gun and points it at Alfie. His bodyguard does the same instantly and points his gun at Tommy.

"You left a name of the list, Alfie." Tommy spat. "Did I?" Alfie asks calmly. "Yeah. I've already spoken to my people in my jewellery quarter, experienced dealers. They tell me there are only three men in Britain whose wives are obsessed with Fabergé eggs. Makes them good customers. You missed the richest one on the list." Tommy points out.

As Tommy spoke, I feel myself zoning out and becoming dizzy. I look outside trying to see the weather, I see it's not raining anymore but it's cloudy so I'm guessing it around noon. I wonder what exactly Tommy is going to do here, how exactly he is going to get Charles back without making us all wind up dead. Snapping back to reality, I glance at Tommy. "You crossed a line, Alfie. You crossed a line. They're using my boy!" Tommy roars.

A silence falls and I can see the tears that sit in Tommys eyes as he clenches his gun that is still pointed at Alfie.  "Did you fucking know?" He hisses as he asks. "Yeah I knew, you know. But damned as I am, it made no fucking difference to me, mate." Alfie spat and Tommy lunges for him, both men falling to the floor as Tommy begins to strangle alfie.

Alfie's bodyguard pulls Tommy to his feet just as I step forward and kick him, making him fall down to his knees. He gets up and goes to hit me but a gunshot rings out and I see a bullet hole pierce through the man's head. I glance behind me seeing Michael holding the gun as his hand shakes.

"Oh for crying out loud, the fuck is going on?!" Alfie shouts, hobbling back up to his feet and I hand him his walking stick. "Thanks darling." He breathes. Tommys gun never falters from it's direct target of Alfie's face. "What is the matter with you, Tommy, eh? You got fucking angry, didn't you?" Alfie shouts, walking into Tommys face. "Yeah, I got fucking angry." Tommy roars, clinking the gun into the side of Alfie's face.

"It's in your fucking head, mate!" Alfie yells. I sigh watching as Michael pushes the two men apart, grasping Tommy by the shoulders. "I know this bastard deserves it! I fucking know! But if you kill him now, the truce with the London outfits will be blown to fucking pieces, alright?" Michael yells at Tommy.

"Don't you worry about that truce kid, right, cause it fell apart. You got nothing to worry about when it comes to the old scary London boys." Alfie muses, waving his hands. "Which fucking side are you on, Alfie?" Michael asks. "I do not give a fuck right now, kid, right? I don't not want him to spare me because of some fucking peace pact!" Alfie yells, pointing towards Tommy. "I want him to acknowledge that his anger is un-fucking-justified! I want him to acknowledge that he who fights by the sword, he fucking dies by it, Tommy. So what they took your boy, did they, eh? They took your boy?"

Alfie walks closer to Tommy. "And what fucking line have I supposed to have crossed?" Alfie roars as I look between them. "How many fathers, right, how many sons, yeah have you cut, killed, murdered, fucking butchered, innocent and guilty, to send straight to fucking hell, ain't ya? Just like me! You fucking stand there, you judge me, stand there and talk to me about fucking crossing some line. Look at what you did to her!" He yells, pointing at me. "How many fucking men has Aurora killed for you without second thought? She kicked a man twice her fucking size down to his knees! An armed man."

"You know, you don't deserve her. I mean, you get her stabbed, beaten and shot. Then you let her son, her first born, get taken by a bastard. What kind of a husband does that? 'Cause you see, if Aurora was mine, I would never put her in the firing line. I would protect her. You can't do that, mate, which makes you a mug for not treating her like how she should be. Do you know how many man wish for a woman like her? No, you don't because you're fucking lucky." Alfie growls and Tommys fists clench.

"If you pull that trigger, right, you pull that trigger for a fucking honourable reason. Like an honourable man, not like some civilian that doesn't understand the wicked way of our worlds mate." Alfie adds.

"Tommy. Killing Alfie Solomons isn't going to help. It'll be very bad for business." Michael says. "Michael, go and call inspector Moss. Tell him it's Palmer." Tommy demands. "Well said Alfie. Well said." Tommy nods. Alfie glances at me before he leans towards Tommys ear. "I did not know about your boy though." He says lowly. "I know. I saw." Tommy tells him and I walk away, shaking my head.