bitter (michael gray.)

THIRTY SEVEN.

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"Get this down you." Polly handed Liv a small glass of the Shelby Company gin. The remaining members of the Peaky Blinders were assembled in a gin cellar, presumably Tommy's.

"How is it?" He asked her as she downed the drink.

"I'm not exactly connoisseur Tom but it's alright I guess." She shrugged, still bitter about his decision to send Michael away.

"I think it's shit." Finn added his input.

"Yeah, well, your opinions irrelevant." Tommy turned away from the people, staring at the doorway.

In he came. The man of the moment, Luca Changretta. He had a large back up team trailing behind him, all armed with guns and weapons. Tommy refrained from mentioning that when he invited Olivia over, simply telling her he needed opinions on the drinks.

"Look at them." Luca laughed at his own Italian comment, the Blinders unaware that he was mocking them. "All that's left of the Peaky fucking Blinders."

Olivia felt vulnerable. It was only Polly, Tommy, Finn and herself. The guns on the other side were intimidating enough by themselves, never mind the men behind them. As far as she knew, no one there was armed enough. Polly didn't have her bag so wouldn't have her gun, Olivia had nothing on her, Finn potentially hand a handgun, as would Tom, but they would be a drop in the ocean compared to the Italians. Luca squared up to Tommy, staring the man down. A quick snap of his fingers called one of Luca's men over with a briefcase.

"I've had my lawyers draw up these papers. They cover every enterprise in your possession." Luca spread out the sheets on the table. "Bars, restaurants, warehouses... every fucking thing that you've taken all these years to gather together. You will sign them all over to my family." Luca approaches Tommy slowly. "Or you're going to die, right here."

Tommy didn't say a damn word. His facial expression didn't even faulter, he kept the icy glare.

"I would've buried you all. But my mother, she knows you. She said it'll be worse for you if it let you live, and take away everything that you have. Search 'em." Luca instructed.

His back up men quickly got to work as Luca confiscated Tommy's gun.

"Especially don't trust this bitch." Luca ripped open Polly's shirt, igniting the hate fire inside Olivia.

Finn and Polly were both patted down, Tommy was being searched by Luca himself. A man not much older than her started to pat down Olivia.  His hands ran up her legs, far too high for her liking. His fingers brushed over her chest, groping her slightly. The smirk on his face was turning her stomach.

"Touch me like that again, mate, and I'll knee you in the bollocks." She whispered.

"Don't even know what that means." He laughed as he pulled her hair.

"Lovely. Makes it all the more exciting." She smiled politely. He seemed to understand suddenly, the smirk dropping and he walked away.

"So, sign." Luca held the pen ready for Tommy to take now he was certain no one was armed. "Every fucking one of 'em. You can sign them on your knees, on the floor." Luca pushed and pushed.

But still Tommy said nothing. The silence finally got to Luca, he flipped the table over in anger.

"Get on your fucking knees and sign!" He screamed.

Tommy moved finally. Olivia was becoming more and more convinced that he'd solidified. He got down on his knees slowly.

"As a friend of mine once said, 'big fucks small'.  So I had to find someone bigger than you. Now,  you may know there are two families in Brooklyn who want to take over your monopoly on the import of liquor into New York." Olivia's heart dropped at the thought of New York, Michael was there already.

"But if they moved against you in New York they'll start a war between the families." Polly added.

"But if you were to die in a vendetta, with some fucking bookmaker in Birmingham, they could take over your business without a war." Tommy was smirking, he had control.

"We also contacted a business man in Chicago. He's also interested in moving into the liquor business in New York." Polly chipped in once more.

"His name is Alphonse Capone." Tommy stated.

"You been talking to that fat fuck?" Luca looked almost stunned.

"See all the blood relatives you brought with you from New York, they're all dead Mr Changretta. And these men here, they work for money, for the highest bidder. They now have new orders." Tommy happily revealed his plan.

"Is that right?" Luca turned to his men. "Is that right? Daniel? Matteo?" He pointed at the man that searched Olivia. Matteo's a cunt.

Luca seemed to reflect for a few moments, nodding ever so slightly. "Hey, very fucking-" Luca started but pulled his gun out to shoot Tommy.

Tommy knocked the gun out of his hand and stood up swiftly. The two men ended up in a fight, Tommy head butting Luca, Luca beating Tommy with a stick. Finn pushed Olivia behind him, but no one dared move. Tommy slammed Luca's head repeatedly into the glass shards on the table.

Finn took a deep breath as his eyes widened. There in the doorway, was his oldest brother. Arthur fucking Shelby. Olivia's heart skipped a beat, the smile creeping onto her face as she hid behind Finn.

Arthur raised his gun in his hand and stared Luca in the face. The blood stained man collapsed as the bullet hit him straight between the eyes.

Luca was dead.

"Tell your people in Chicago that Michael Gray will sign the import license to New York. 300 barrels of English dry gin a month.

"Leave. All of you." Arthur commanded. "Tell your boss what you saw here today. And tell him, you don't fuck with the Peaky Blinders."

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a/n: arthur the fucking legend. x