Within the hour almost every man on the Shelby payroll had been called in and put to work; some men were being sent to London to scope out where Lillian could possibly be held, others were scouring the streets of Birmingham for William Brown and the other Silver Fang members loitering the streets, whilst the Shelby family and Pearl hauled up in the betting den trying to decipher their next move.

"We should just go in there full force, we're not scared of no cockney - we'll beat the bastard to hell and back" John stated, sitting on the table in the centre of the room with his feet resting on a chair, toothpick dangling between his teeth.

Pearl shook her head from where she stood beside the stairs, scribbling on a piece of paper, "No, that'll never work. He'll see you coming from a mile away. Besides you'd be outnumbered ten to one at least"

For the last forty-five minutes everyone was throwing in any idea they could think of and each and every time Pearl shot them down. Always finding a kink in their plan, a hitch that could go wrong, or an unexpected aspect which could bring every single one of them to their knees. No, this had to be just right and so far she was coming up blank.

"So we'll sneak in? Element of surprise" Arthur suggested.

"No chance. The place Lili's hidden will be a fortress and from what I've heard you've all spent very little time in London - you'd never be able to get in or out. Even if you could, I doubt you'd be able to navigate the streets before Grenfeld found you"

"But you can?" Polly asked with a quirk of her brow.

There we are. Finally an idea Pearl liked.

"Yeah... I suppose. If I knew where she was being held"

Pearl handed the piece of paper to Tommy who was pacing in front of her, "These are all the places I can think of that Grenfeld would hold a captive. I want your men to check every single one and once they find her..."

Tommy stopped and glanced at Pearl, completely deadpan, "You're staying here. I don't care how well you think you know your way around, we'll find another man for the job"

"Fuck you, Tommy! I am the man for the job"

His expression never faltered and it only seemed to rile her up more.

"She's my sister and I'm far more experienced than any man you have in London. You forget who I am"

"Trust me... I haven't forgotten"

Pearl searched Tommy's eyes for any kind of sympathy or understanding that she could latch on to to allow her to go but she could see the pain etched faintly into his features when he thought about her leaving. Pearl groaned and dropped her face into her hands. Once again her gender was impeding her from doing something she believed she was perfectly capable of.

Man for the job my arse.

"Tommy, why don't you consider that Pearl might be the only one suitable enough for this" Polly proposed, being the only one able to say to Tommy what they were all thinking.

Pearl's head raised slightly from her hands and she looked at Polly in awe. Tommy, however, was quick to turn around with his finger pointed at his aunt.

"Don't you dare. Don't you fucking encourage her" he snapped with quick strides towards Polly.

"Y'know she's right Tom" Ada's voice piped up from where she sat at the table, "No one knows the area as well as Pearl. If anyone had a real fighting chance of getting in and out, it's her"

Pearl couldn't see his face but she noticed the rise and fall of his shoulders as he sighed. Tommy pressed his fingertips against his closed eyes and spun slightly on his heel, "How can I get it into all of your thick heads that we're not sending her"

Polly scoffed and shared an exasperated look with Pearl.

"We haven't got a chance without her. We've no allies in London, haven't even dipped our toes in the water over there - there's no backup, no plan. We'd be sending our men blind into a massacre"

"So what, Pol? You'd rather send Pearl in blind?" Tommy seethed.

John roused from his seat and walked across the room, "She'd hardly be going in blind, Tom. She grew up down there - she'll know it better than any map"

Tommy turned his glare to John who in turn put his palms up in surrender and took a few steps back.

"He's right, it would be easy for me. It would be just like one of you trying to get to Charlie's yard and back. Grenfeld would hardly keep Lillian outside of his territory and I know those streets like the back of my hand"

Despite everyone's support of Pearl, Tommy was unyielding and showing no signs of ever changing his mind. He simply looked at anyone who dared approach him with a venomous glare which prevented the rest of the group from trying to utter another word against him.

"This is a waste of time" Pearl announced strutting out of the betting den leaving the Shelby family to squabble amongst themselves.

She swung open the green doors and made her way towards the front of the house, however she barely made it out of the kitchen before a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off of the ground. Tommy spun around and placed her down so that she was now facing away from the front door and with quick reflexes Pearl turned to face him with a stubborn glare.

"You're not going" Tommy reiterated.

Pearl tilted her head teasingly, "On your orders, Mr Shelby?"

Tommy let out an agitated huff and walked to the green doors, closing them firmly to give them some privacy from the rest of his family, "Yes, on my bloody orders. We have no idea what the situation is like down in London"

"Exactly. We have no clue what's happening to Lillian right now. Fucks sake she's fifteen, Tommy! She's not like me, she can't handle it"

"And we're doing everything we can to get her-"

"It's not enough!" Pearl burst out, falling to sit on the edge of the kitchen table behind her.

Tommy closed the gap between them and lowered his head so that he was level with Pearl. He rested his hand against her cheek and guided her face so that she was looking him in the eye.

"I know you're the best we've got but we need to be strategic. You going in there guns blazing isn't going to make things any better, it'll just get you killed" he spoke in a low murmur and she felt the vibrations of his voice radiating in her bones.

"We haven't got time to be strategic. The clock's ticking and both yours and Lillian's life is on the line - it's too big a risk, I can't spend anymore time waiting for a plan to form. You have to let me go, Tommy"

She watched as Tommy processed her words, a rolodex of emotions passing through his eyes; and she could see them all. He was plotting, thinking and planning, playing out every possible scenario within the space of a few seconds.

Pearl removed his hand from her cheek and held it tightly within her own as she tried one more time to get him to see this her way.

"I can do this. Why don't you trust me?"

"I trust you... I don't trust them" he said in reference to Grenfeld and his men, "They're ruthless"

Pearl's hands dropped to rest on her knees, a determination settling on her face.

"Well so am I. My ledger is stained with blood, I damned my soul a long time ago and I did all of that by following the orders of a man I despised. Now imagine what I would do for my sister and the man I-"

She caught herself before it was too late. Before she said something she couldn't take back. It worried Pearl how naturally those words were about to slip out of her mouth. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as she held her tongue and Tommy stepped back, knowing where the sentence was about to lead. It seemed neither were ready for that word to hang in the balance, neither would know what to do with it. So, Pearl refrained.

Tommy's eyes never left her but something shifted, there was a sense of something final which sat deep within the icy blue of his eyes.

Pearl stood with a huff and started to mutter under her breath, "I don't need your fucking approval, I'll go whether you like it or not"

She started to fuss around as though she was getting ready to leave, which she was. Tommy rolled his eyes and took a hold of her wrist so that she was forced to face him.

"You're not going alone, we're coming with you"

Despite the circumstances a small smile crept onto Pearl's face, "The more the merrier"

Pearl had gone to collect her gun from her house... Myrtle's house? Fuck if she knew anymore. Stepping across the threshold sent chills down her spine, the room still reeked of death; not that she could pinpoint it to a certain smell but she'd been around enough bodies to recognise the scent. The first thing her eyes landed on was a grotesque amount of blood dried into the carpet around the fireplace. Pearl's eyes flicked between her hands and the blood, she wiggled her fingers slightly as though if she stared hard enough the stains would reappear all over her skin. They didn't, of course, and Pearl tried her best to push those thoughts to the back of her mind so as to stop distracting her from the task at hand.

She made her way up to her room and retrieved her gun from the draw in her bedside table; she hadn't hidden it any better because she hadn't thought she needed to at the time. Pearl placed it on the bed and then pulled her trunk from underneath, she opened it and removed the false bottom - revealing her prized collection. Half a dozen knives glinted before her eyes, each one immaculately polished and sharpened to the point that even the lightest touch threatened to break skin. Her fingers hovered over each one, eventually deciding on one dagger with a black engraved hilted and a jagged blade. It had been her fathers favourite when he was alive, due to the blade inducing maximum pain on both insertion and removal. Alongside the knives was a garrote, all only useful in close combat but Pearl didn't want to leave anything to chance.

Pearl laid the weapons beside her gun and made her way over to her dresser; she knew the skirts and blouses she wore day-to-day were inappropriate and would restrict her movement far more than she liked.

After a few minutes of rifling through her dressers she landed on an article of clothing she hadn't worn in a few months and knew straight away that it was perfect. She lifted the peaky cap from the draw and inspected the haphazard way she'd sewn in the razor blades to match the men who so often prowled the streets in the same uniform.

Pearl changed into the white shirt, grey pleated trousers and single-breasted blazer - opting out of the waistcoat, for a shoulder holster instead. She placed the gun and knife within the holster and then dropped the garotte into one of the inside pockets of the blazer.

God, she was jealous of the size of men's pockets, you could hide a hand grenade in one and no one would suspect a thing.

Pearl used a ribbon to tie her hair into a low ponytail and tucked the remainder of her blonde locks inside of the jacket. Her attire gave her an inexplicable air of confidence, if she wasn't sure she could've done it before she definitely was now.

She began to fiddle with the buttons on the ends of her sleeves as she started to concoct a plan. It was hard to think within the confines of the Shelby's betting den, all of the voices and ideas being flung about all getting muddled within her head. No, she'd always worked better alone. During the war all Grenfeld had to do was give her a name and location of her target and it was up to Pearl to work out the rest.

Pearl pulled out a few sheets of paper, a pencil and a cigarette, allowing her mind to wander through strategies and imagine every possible outcome whilst her hand tried its best to keep up.

About twenty minutes later Pearl heard a light knocking on the front door. She approached cautiously and slowly opened the door. At first she saw no one standing there, until her eyes flicked down and landed on Finn.

"They've found y'sister. Tommy wants you back at the house right now"

Pearl nodded as a light ball of hope started to grow in her chest and locked the door behind her. Finn bolted back through the streets not caring to check if Pearl was following along behind. She moved a little slower, ducking her head so the cap covered her eyes, not wanting to be noticed.

Once she made it to the Shelby residence the door was already open, Pearl assumed it was due to Finn who had just run in a few minutes prior. When she walked into the kitchen she noticed Polly and Ada were no longer there and had been replaced by two rather burly Blinders and a shorter man. The short man approached Pearl with an outstretched hand and a smile.

"Hello, Pearl. I'm Johnny Dogs"

Pearl took his hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you Johnny"

She was distracted by a wolf whistle coming from behind her and turned to see John and Arthur leaning against the wall sharing the same Shelby smirk as they inspected Pearl's appearance.

"What the bloody hell are you wearin'?" Arthur chuckled.

Pearl rolled her tongue against the side of her cheek and narrowed her eyes playfully "You don't like it?"

John stepped up beside her with a grin and placed his hand on her cap and shook her head slightly, "You're well and truly one of us now"

Pearl shared his smile and flicked her eyes over to Tommy who was standing on the opposite side of the table wearing the same smirk as his brothers, except his eyes held something a little different. Rather than teasing there was hunger as his eyes raked over Pearl's silhouette. It caused a tingling sensation to run down her spine and she forced herself to focus back on John.

"Right, enough with the fucking about. Where's my sister?"

Johnny placed a map on the table and pointed to Soho, "She's in a townhouse, around 'ere, rather beat up is the buildin'. Thirteen Golden Square, I believe. I know the area pretty well myself, spent a few years in Lambeth, so I did"

"I know it well too..." Pearl nodded and her voice dropped to just above a whisper, "What a sick bastard"

The giddiness that had been in the room moments ago faded quickly as Pearl looked at which building Johnny's finger was hovering over.

"What's that love?" Arthur asked as he stepped closer to the table, not being able to make out her mutterings.

"It's uh... Yeah, um that's my house" Pearl rubbed her knuckle against her nose to try and gain some appearance of nonchalance, "Well... was my house. It's where I grew up"

"Well, that's great I suppose. You'll know the place back to front" Johnny quipped, he looked to the other men but they were not sharing his smile.

"Are you sure?" Tommy asked, finally joining the group around the table, "From what they'd told us that place is completely derelict - there are no signs of anyone having lived there for years-"

"Five years. No one's lived there for five years. And yes I'm sure, I'd know the house I spent sixteen years living in. I never thought Grenfeld was the sentimental type but I didn't think he'd go and batter my home when we left" She stared longingly down at the small square on the map but quickly snapped herself out of it, looking back up at the men with a new sense of tenacity.

"So, what's the plan?" Tommy asked.

Pearl couldn't help the small smile that crept onto her face as he relinquished control over to her.

"So, Argo wants the guns and that's exactly what we can't let him have. With those kinds of weapons he'd have too much power, it doesn't even bare thinking about. Besides, your negotiations" she nodded to Tommy, "aren't over yet and without the guns you wouldn't have a bargaining chip. So... we're going to use the same plan we were going to use on Campell. I'm going to give the location of the guns to William Brown and then you're going to steal them on the roads. But you'll need a lot of men, Argo is desperate for these guns and he's not going to let them go lightly - you need to be prepared"

Tommy turned to the two burley men, "You go and round up ten-"

"More" Pearl cut in.

"Twenty men and send them down to the same cut off point as previously discussed"

The two men wasted no time in exiting the house to go and do exactly as they'd been told.

"Once Argo believes he's got a hold of the guns it'll be easier for me to get to him, his guard will be down and that's what I'm relying on to get Lili out. We'll need men blocking here, here and here" she pointed at three different roads on the map around her house, "Those are the only ways cars can get out and there's no chance any of Grenfeld's men will be risking it on foot. If it all goes south they'll want a quick escape and we can't let that happen. I'll go in-"

"We'll go in" John added as he placed a hand on Pearl's shoulder and looked between his two brothers. They all shared a nod in agreement that Pearl was not to do this alone.

"We'll go into the house but you three need to stay back. If he thinks in any way that this is an ambush he won't hesitate to hurt my sister. So I'll find Argo and you three get to Lili and get her out - I don't want her nearby when..."

Pearl trailed off and glanced down at the table, biting on the inside of her cheek.

"What? What is it?" Arthur asked. His eyes flicked between Pearl and Tommy hoping someone would answer his question.

Tommy stared at her for a few moments with a furrowed brow, he was putting the pieces together in his head, trying to fill in the gaps Pearl had left. When realisation dawned on him he blew out a breath.

"This isn't a rescue mission is it? It's a coup?"

Pearl refused to look up at him as she wasn't able to gauge his reaction. As she continued to stay silent Tommy slammed his hands down on the table.

"Isn't it!?"

His voice boomed through the room and caused both his brothers and Johnny to flinch slightly. Pearl stayed strong and her eyes flicked momentarily to Tommy's and she gave him a small nod.

He shook his head fervently, "No. No chance, not now"

"If not now then when?" Pearl shouted as she pushed herself off of the table and her arms flew up beside her.

"There's already too many risks. If you go for Grenfeld-"

"If I go for Grenfeld he's not coming out alive. That's the one thing I'm certain of. He's controlled my life for far too long and I ca- I can't let it continue" Pearl's voice trembled with rage as she thought about everything she'd had to endure under Grenfeld's 'reign' so it were, "You've always known this is what I wanted, you always knew it was coming. This is happening, there is nothing you can do to stop that"

Tommy sighed and rubbed his hand against his forehead as he scrunched his eyes shut, for perhaps the twentieth time today. John and Arthur excused themselves from the room and pulled Johnny along with them as they headed out the front door, sensing that this was becoming a somewhat private conversation. Once the door had shut and the boys were gone Tommy strode across the room and grabbed Pearl's forearms.

"So that's it. You're leaving?"

Pearl scoffed and shook her head, "I'm hardly leaving Tommy. You knew-"

"Yes, I knew this is what you wanted, you already said. What about what I want?" His expression was bordering on desperation and Pearl could not work out why, "I want you Pearl. You can't do this"

"And you have me Tommy" She placed her palms against his chest and felt his rising heartbeat beneath her fingertips, "I don't understand. You said you were planning an expansion to London. Those were your words. You said that we'd both be in London and that this could work. What changed?"

Tommy's eyes softened and he released his tight grip on her forearms so that his hands rested around her waist.

"That's because I didn't think you'd go after Grenfeld so soon. I thought we had time..."

"Stop saying that" She tried to smile but it didn't reach her eyes, "We have all the time in the world. What difference does it make?"

"Pearl, if you're the leader of the Silver Fang... you and me, if people knew it would put you in danger"

Her hands started to rub up and down on his chest, in an attempt at soothing but she couldn't hide the way his words started to panic her, "What danger? Tommy you're not making any sense"

"You have peace treaties up there. The Sabini's? The Soloman's? They may not be your allies but you're not warring with one another. That's what's keeping your gang safe"

Pearl blinked slowly, "Yes..."

"Well in order for me to get solid footing in London, they're exactly who I'd have to go after. Now if they knew about us... it would make it look like you've declared war. They'd all come after you and it would be because of me"

Pearl's hands dropped from his chest and her eyes became hollow. He was right. It couldn't work... not if she wanted to keep the peace. The entire future that she'd dared to let herself imagine all came crumbling down before her eyes.

She'd known from the very beginning that it wouldn't work with Tommy and she cursed herself for ever thinking otherwise.

"Tommy... you can't make me choose-"

"I know, I know" he hushed as he rested his forehead against hers, which caused her cap to tip up slightly, "I know what you have to do. I just wished we had more time"

Pearl felt tears prick behind her eyes and she forced them shut. She'd done enough crying for a lifetime in the past twenty-four hours and she couldn't let herself be weak... not now. Not when Lili was in danger.

Tommy placed his hand underneath her chin and connected their lips. Pearl's brow scrunched as she kissed him and tried not to let herself think about the possibility that this could be the last time. They'd wasted so much time bickering when this was what they should have been doing all along.

As though they were sharing the same thoughts Tommy pulled her in closer and the kiss deepened. His hands on her were firmer as though he was never going to let her go - and in that moment Pearl was sure that he wouldn't.

But then a crash through the front door tore them apart and John came stumbling through the entrance with Polly close behind.

"You've got to go, now. The coppers are looking for Pearl, they want to arrest her for murdering Myrtle" John panted once he reached the kitchen.

Tommy's grip tightened on her waist and she looked up to him with panicked eyes.

"Arthur's trying to stop them but you haven't got much time, they're on their way" Polly added, "Get to the car now! You need to get to London, if Pearl's locked up this will all fall apart"

John stepped forward and grabbed Tommy's arm, "The men have already left. They're all getting in position, Tom, don't worry-"

There was another loud bang at the door as the police tried to barge in but Arthur and a few other men were blocking them.

"Go!" both Polly and John shouted.

Tommy grabbed Pearl's hand and dragged her out of the back door. As soon as they stepped into the alley a group of four coppers rounded the corner and spotted them.

"It's her!" one yelled to the others.

Pearl and Tommy broke out into a sprint in the opposite direction, their hands never disconnecting. Shots started to be fired from behind, zipping past their heads and hitting the fences beside them. When a bullet landed a little bit too close to Pearl's leg Tommy's pace increased.

At first they were running on pure adrenaline but after a few minutes the pain in Pearl's thigh started to reappear and she slowed down.

"Come on! We're not far now" Tommy called over his shoulder.

Pearl's speed meant that the coppers started to gain on them. The pair quickly turned a corner just as a bullet hit a brick beside them and sent small pieces flying.

They made it to the car and Tommy pulled the cover off of the top, flinging it to the floor and getting in whilst Pearl hopped into the other side. Tommy floored the accelerator and the car sped into motion whizzing down the crowded streets. It seemed all the police were on foot but they were crawling all over Small Heath and whenever the car passed them they would pull out their guns and start firing.

"Get down!" Tommy pressed his hand on the top of Pearl's head and pushed her further into the seat.

Just after she ducked two bullets hit right where Pearl would've been and shattered the windscreen. She let out a sharp gasp thinking about how that would've been her, if Tommy's reflexes weren't as quick as they were. Tommy eyed the broken glass with worried eyes and started to drive even faster.

They rounded the corner and drove past the Garrison, where Campbell and about six other coppers were stood. He noticed Tommy straight away and pointed his fat finger in their direction.

"Get your guns out men. Hurry up! We can't let them leave!"

His voice was a call to action and all six men started to run after the car, guns drawn. Tommy started to swerve, doing everything he could to avoid the bullets. As they carried on down the road Pearl saw a group of Peaky Blinders appear from one of the alleys and shoot at the coppers. It slowed them down enough that Pearl and Tommy were able to drive far out of their reach. She tried to sneak one last glance behind her but as she did Tommy shoved her head back down.

Thanks to whatever deity was up there looking down on them they managed to make it out of Small Heath unwounded and lost the police. Pearl sat back up and tried to calm her pounding heart as she watched the smog filled factories turn into lush, green fields.

Now her only thought was on Lillian and she wasn't going to let herself get distracted.

a/n

oh my it's all getting tense now!!

I just wanted to say thank you so much for 20k reads, all of the support you guys are giving this book means so much to me and I really appreciate it <3

and special shout out to the people who have started a scooby doo train of comments a few chapters ago because it's honestly my favourite thing.

I know that I definitely want to do a part 2 of Infiltration but i'm undecided if I should post it as a whole separate book from this one or just carry on publishing within Infiltration. I'm going to take a little break from this book once I've finished part one but I just wanted to ask if anyone had a preference :)