When The Boys Are Away

Part 38

Harlow sat back sedately beside Polly and Ada on the large sofa, watching intently as the Wentworths and the Shelbys crowded around a detailed map of London. Dale marked three important points on the map with a clear, black star, careful not to smudge the ink across the street names. 

"Sabini has three main clubs down in London; The Eden Club, The Lotus Bar and The Golden Bell. If we split, and hit them in sync, we're guaranteed a pretty clean run." Dale explained, pointing at each market location in turn before glancing up at Tommy who nodded in agreement. 

"We enter at the exact same time, 8pm on the dot." Tommy added, twisting to face John when he spoke up, "Alright, who's going where?" 

The men looked at each other thoughtfully, nobody daring to make a suggestion and Harlow couldn't help but roll her eyes. Two of the most feared gangs in the country, and they were acting like school children.

"Here," Harlow announced, pushing herself off the sofa and reaching out to take pencil that sat neglected alongside a clean notepad. "Thomas, Arthur, Marvin and Callum take the Eden Club. It's the biggest, so you'll need to have each other's backs. Follow Tommy's lead, he's been there before, he knows what to expect." 

Harlow locked eyes with Tommy as he watched her scribble down the names interestedly. 

"Dale, Jack and John take the Lotus Bar. You need to look out for coppers, they patrol the boundary between the Solomon's and Sabini's territory, and you'll be very close to it. That means no violent outbursts that can't be contained in the bar." John smirked, as the brunette narrowed her eyes at him, clearly directing her statement to the unpredictable boy. 

"Jay, Levi and Nick, you take the Golden Bell." She peered up at the men, expecting some kind of resistance, but surprisingly everyone was satisfied. "Michael, you're with me. If we're taking Sabini down, we need to talk with Alfie Solomons and keep some kind of peace down there."

"Are you sure you two will be alright with Solomons on your own?" Dale questioned with slight concern, watching Michael sceptically. The Wentworth's hadn't dealt with the London gangster like the Peaky Blinders had, and they were right to be cautious. Nonetheless, Harlow knew he wouldn't harm her without reason, it was the Shelby brothers who he had a slight problem with. 

"We'll be fine, we've dealt with worse than Alfie Solomons." Harlow smiled, handing the piece of paper containing the arrangements back to Dale who gave them a quick once over before passing them to Levi. 

"Like who?" Marvin challenged, raising an eyebrow as he leant his elbows against the table. 

"Like Arthur with a hangover." Harlow grinned, waiting for the eldest Shelby to shoot her a death glare, which was a little delayed by the large quantity of alcohol still in his system. 

Ignoring the joking comments between the pair, Tommy took control; something he felt he'd been lacking recently. "We travel down to London in two days. Be ready for five, we'll be in the capital by eight. If this is going to work, there can't be any hesitation from anybody. We work together, watch out for each other and we don't leave a man behind." 

The surrounding men nodded, the Wentworths were especially keen of his words. They knew if they wanted to take down Sabini, they needed to pledge their full trust to the Shelbys. It was a difficult thing to do, but they were getting there slowly. 

"Once we're down there and the clubs are ours, I've got thirty men ready to follow us and remain in control of the properties until we can get rid of Sabini for good. I have a property on the outskirts of London, we'll meet there after we're done. If something goes wrong, go there and wait for the rest of us. Finn and Theodore can be stationed there, so if you can't get out for some reason, call that house. That's all we can do." Tommy finished sharing a glance with Harlow who reassured him with a hurried nod.