Heaven On Hold | Peaky Blinders

No Ordinary Life

Immediately Ada grabbed the little crying boy and the two women where as happy as a kid buying candy. I on the other hand just smiled at the scene and felt a hot tear running down my cheek. Michael afterwards stepped inside and it looked like he wasn't alive anymore, he didn't blink nor make a sound. He just stood there, tears botteling up in the corner of his eyes and staring at the wall.

My mother had noticed it too and leaned with her forehead against his jaw, trying to comfort my brother who had killed his enemy in cold blood. He had excepted the feeling of comfort for awhile, but quickly walked away to my side to completely ignore me and walk off to another room.

~~~

Sitting with half of the family and friends of our business before Tommy's desk in his own mansion, Tommy was leaning over it with an stressed, but cold hearted face. I sighed not knowing what to feel about what was about to happen, but I stayed calm and did as Tommy planned because he had asked me to. "Before I begin I want to let you know I made a mistake. I made a mistake and I want to apologize to all of you. Arthur, you warned me against getting involved in Russian business. And you were right."

"Mmm." It was the only answer Tommy received from the furious brother so he continued.

"I doubted you wife. For that I'm sorry. Linda, I have added £3,000 here in the hope that you'll forgive me." A big pile of money was thrown on the desk that belonged to Arthur and Linda's name and Linda immediately rose to her feet to grab it.

"Apology accepted." Linda walked silently back to her seat and kept her mouth shut with the money in her hands.

"Esme, I doubted you as well." Tommy pointed out.

"Now John's got innocent lives on his conscience. Ordinary working men-.."

"Yeah, all right, Esme. Got it." John cut her off which I was grateful for because the only two women I had a big hatred towards were Linda and Esme and I was happy they both had shut their mouths because of how grateful they were with the money they got.

"No, she's right. And you and Arthur are gonna have to share that burden. But I hope the house that you can buy with this can become a place of contemplation. Perhaps redemption." Tommy did the same with John's stack, throwing it onto the dark wooden desk. "Charlie, for lost tools, dangerous goods and Curly's wise words. Johnny, for board and lodgings. Lizzie." Tommy watched the woman slightly open mouthed when she threw it back to him, clearly not wanting the money he offered.

"Michael, for the killings. £5.000 for the cutting and £5.000 for the shooting-..."

"No, Tommy..." My mother suddenly interfered.

"What?! TELL ME, eh! This is who I am! And this is all I can give you for what you given me. Your heart and your souls. Yesterday I nearly lost my son. You should fucking understand that. For what, eh? For what? For this? For this?" The man had calmed down a bit and lowered his voice while softly chuckling. "And I know you all want me to say that I'll change. That this fucking business will change. But I've learnt something in the last few days. Those bastards, those bastards are worse than us! Politicians, fucking Judges, Lords and Ladies."

Glancing at my mother who backed off a bit, I understood she knew Tommy was right. "They are worse than us. And they will never admit us to their palaces no matter how legitimate we become. Because of who we are. Because of who we fucking are, because of where we are fucking from. Isn't that right, Ada? Our Ada knows. She got smart about the revolution. And she knows you have to get what you want your own way. Lizzie, I want it known that money was for you because some nights it was you who stopped my heart from breaking. No one else." Tommy walked a bit to the right to stand probably behind his desk and I took a deep breath.

"And the rest of you, you took the king's shilling. You took the king's fucking shilling. When you take the king's shilling, the king expects you to kill. Right, Arthur? Yeah. That's how it works. Right, John?" Micheal suddenly stood up and shoved the money from the desk into his hand.

"That's right."

"That's right. Pol. That's fucking right."

"Tommy, you've had a bad time." My mother smiled while shaking her head unbelievably before pulling the money out of Michael's hand. "We understand. So at an alternative time, when we have all recovered, I would like to put before the family an alternative view of the future of the Shelby Company Limited. A more hopeful view."

"Which I, for one, would quite like to hear." Ada stated.

"As would I."

"As would I." Tommy stared at the ceiling before glancing at me and I nodded back.

"Come one, Arthur." Linda tried to command Arthur to come with her and he did listen. "The train for the dock leaves in one hour. Then we get the boat to New York and it'll all be in the past." Almost everybody stood up while shaking their heads and were pretty confused I didn't care about all of it. Still sitting down, Tommy as well took his seat and exhaled heavily, the smoke leaving his lungs.

"You can go, but you won't get far, Arthur." I confirmed while standing up to position myself next to Tommy.

"Uh... All right, Rio."

"Tommy spoke to Moss last night. He told us that the Chief Constable of Birmingham has issued a warrant for your arrest. Murder, sedition, conspiracy to cause explosion. John, they're coming for you as well. Murder, conspiracy to cause explosion. Me brother..." That's when Hell broke lose. My mother grabbed Michael by the arm, trying to keep him with her while not believing what I had said and I could never forget the face expression she had giving me while Linda pushed the heartless Tommy from the spot he was frozen on.

"What the fuck?"

"For the murder of Hughes." Tommy finished what I started and I sat down onto his desk. "Polly-..."

"Wait a minute. What the fuck are you talking-..."

"The murder of Chief Chester Campbell. The people we betrayed last night, they want to bring us down. They control the police... they control the judges, they control the juries, they control the jails. But they do not CONTROL THE ELECTED GOVERNMENT. LISTEN TO ME! Tommy yelled as everybody lost their fucking minds.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US BEFORE?!! YOU ARE MY BROTHER!!"

"LISTEN TO ME!! So I've made a deal... in return for giving evidence against them."

"WE'LL FUCKING HANG!" Nobody listener anymore and tried to instead find a way out to nog get caught.

"It's all taken care of. Lizzie, collect up the money and bring it to the cellar. You will all get your money in due course. When the police get in, do not resist. You go with them, you do not say anything. Arthur, we have made a deal with people even more powerful than our enemies. Trust me and Rioney." Both we stayed watching the cops arriving and pushing our family against the walls along side one another to arrest them. Without blinking I stayed silence and glared at the people who once declared me as family, fading away in the distance.