𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐘 ➵ M. Gray

Chapter Five.

It felt weird being by herself in the office without Michael giving her funny stares or making snide remarks. Although they had started to get on better before he was arrested. So Liz thought anyway. 

"Liz, Come on" Tommy shouts as he walks past the doorway. She quickly picks up her coat and purse before running off after him. "Where too?" she asks, following swiftly behind, but Tommy says nothing. She didn't expect anything less from him. The car ride to their destination was completely silent. Tommy kept his eyes on the road, occasionally glancing out of his window, where as Liz just took in her surroundings. They finally turned up to a tall building, get out of the car and walk in, Liz falling just behind Tommy. 

"We had a deal!" Tommy starts to storm down towards a man sat in a pew with a newspaper. "Hey!" he shouts again as the man ignores him. Liz walks close to Tommy, and when they come to a stop, she stands a little taller, trying to acting like nothing was going to faze her. "We had a fucking deal!" he shouts again.

The man with the newspaper looks up at the pair. "I think you would moderate your language in a place of worship" his thick Irish accent filled the air. Tommy snatched his newspaper out of his hands and chucked it on the floor. "We had a fucking deal" he points in his face. 

"Mr Shelby. If you read the papers, you might have seen that the home secretary has got himself into a bit of a fizz about certain moral issues" The man had a smirk on his face. Tommy starts to pace back and forth. "prostitution, protection, racketeering, drinking, cocaine and of course...gambling" he comes to a stop, taking a breath. "And he has demanded results" 

Liz didn't have the slightest clue what half of what was happening, mostly because she had only been back to small heath for less than a week and trying to piece together the business and anything going on was proving difficult. "You offered me protection" Tommy huffs. "You promised me protection"

"Well, no, you see, it was Mr Churchill that made you that promise, and the Home Secretary outranks him so..... and I can hardly be blamed if our demented brother decided to go on some sort of blood orgy during dinner" 

Liz glares at the man. Surely he didn't mean Arthur? She knew he had a meeting with Alfie Solomons but surely nothing happened? 

"Don't lie to me! do not sit here in your fucking church and lie to me!" Tommy is panting with anger now, she puts her hand on his arm but he shrugs it off. 

"You will need to contain your emotions, or this meeting is at an end" Tommy backs off. "So, let us review this new situation. I have your brother in a prison cell, charged with the murder of Billy Kitchen. The case against him is strong, and I have no doubt that his destiny is to Hang" the Irish drawl goes straight through Liz making her squirm. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes, but did her best to keep them from falling. Arthur? hung? that cannot be. 

"and then there is Polly's son Michael, he has already admitted to helping Arthur burn down the Marquis pub. Oh, he was a tough nut to crack that boy but crack he did" Liz couldn't handle much more. She turned away.  "Something the matter dear?" the man looked in her direction for the first time.

"Who are you?" she asks. He merely responds with his name and title. Major Campbell. The Irish bastard Polly was telling her about. She glared at the man, before turning on her heel and walking out to the car to wait for Tommy, not wanting to hear another word.

***

Polly is pacing back and forth outside the doors of the prison. Liz decided to go with her for emotional support. She watched her as she looked nervous, her fists clenching and un-clenching. Liz felt nervous also, unsure as to why. Maybe she believed Michael wouldn't actually want her there to greet him out of prison. The door to the prison opened and out he came. Michael squinted in the sunlight. He kept his face emotionless and stared at the ground, putting a cigarette in his mouth. He didn't make eye contact with either of the women. He lit his cigarette and walked up to Polly, still not looking her in the eye. Polly felt a lump form in her throat from the sight of her son, bruises and cuts all over his face. Liz stood there watching the pair, unsure of what to do. She had a horrible feeling in the bottom of her stomach.

"You need cream on them cuts, or they'll get bad" she spoke.

"The screws told me why I'd been Freed" Michael looked up. "They told me what you did" Now it was Polly's turn to look away. 

"Polly..?" Liz moved forward and holds onto her forearm, unsure of what Michael was on about. 

"They thought it was funny" he continued "maybe it is" 

Liz, for the first time since he walked through the doors saw Michael up close. He looked fragile, hurt. He looked defeated. It wasn't until he started to walk away that Liz realised, she hated seeing him this way and her heart ached for him, the pain he was in. All sarcastic remarks, all snide comments, all hateful glares were out of the window. Seeing the vulnerable side to Michael changed her thoughts towards him. 

She realised she was starting to like him more as a person.