𝙘 𝙝 𝙖 𝙥 𝙩 𝙚 𝙧   𝙨 𝙞 𝙭

The chaos that had ensued in Small Heath after the night in Charlie Strong's yard had seemed to increasingly get worse and worse for Adelaide. The guns, first of all, had been moved to someplace that Adelaide could not trace. The Shelbys' horse had won the race, not a good thing keeping in mind that Billy Kimber might've soon been in their tail, and Inspector Campbell had raided the local church, as well as many family homes in search of both the guns and the communists that were etched onto their lists.

Pubs had been hit too. The same pubs that the Peaky Blinders were paid to protect. It was all a set-up, of course. A perfect plan blamed on the Birmingham gang. The Inspector was a clever man when he wanted to be if these hits were anything to go from. Adelaide herself would have been delighted at such chaos, had it not meant that he was getting closer to her goal than she was. Working at such rate, he was bound to find the guns and be rid of the Peaky Blinders, while she herself had nothing to go on.

As for her encounter with John Shelby, his Aunt and then his brother, Adelaide had not told Harry or the rest of the men or women she met with for business. There was no need, she tried to convince herself. Her vulnerability that night had not put them at risk. If anything, they were now closer to the Shelbys than ever, and that must have been good- beneficial, even. Or, at least, that was what she told herself when she fretted over it.

It was when she was sitting with Harry and Rob, that thoughts of the three overtook her. She'd woken late enough, for them to prod at her, but the silence of thoughts had certainly not helped. Her brother watched her with a humoured glance. It made her angry.

"So what now?" Harry asked as she finally slid her empty glass across the short, wooden table, beckoning for another drink.

Adelaide pulled in a heavy breath. "We distract them, bombard them with enough problems that their grip on the guns will slip under the pressure."

"So what do you suggest?"

"The horses. He did the powder trick, Tommy Shelby. He's fixing a race. No one foxes a race without the approval of Billy Kimber," she said, smiling slightly as realisation set upon Harry's face. "Set a war with Kimber and he'll have much more to think about."

The plan, in theory, would work. The Peaky Blinders held enough on their plate without an out of town threat. But Billy Kimber was a tricky man, in that he liked to think himself more intelligent than he truly was. No matter the bargain, there would be something in the side with him, even with how little the Newcastle Gang would come into contact with him. Emilio Smith would deal with him, though with his power, perhaps it would not be well enough.

It was already late when she left her brother with Robert and headed to the Garrison. Winter nights were shortly cutting into the minimal light of day. The permanent thick, black smog didn't help.

The pub was quieter than the last time she'd visited. Grace stood behind the bar, delicate hands shoved into a glass with a towel, her blonde curls pulled over one shoulder. When Adelaide sat at the corner of the bar in front of her, Grace's head lifted, a small smile gracing her pink lips.

"Afternoon, Grace," Adelaide said as she pushed her bag to the bench. "Thought I'd bless you with my presence. With the promise of a drink, of course."

Grace let out a chuckle. "Whiskey or gin."

"Whiskey," she said, nodding to the end of the shelf. "Irish."

As Grace reached for her drink, Adelaide leaned forward against the bar. "How've you been?"

Grace let out a sigh. "Alright. It's the same each day, really," she said, then her head turned, eyes zoning in on something before Adelaide could even reply.

She'd experienced something like this before. The same quietened hush used to follow her father. Now, as she turned, her eyes landed on the Shelbys. The moment of silence was quickly disbanded, however, and the noise returned as swiftly as it left. The three brothers- John, Arthur, and Tommy- walked toward the bar where the two girls sat, and it wasn't until John was standing right beside her, that he recognised Adelaide.

"Alright girls, we're having a bonfire down Watery Lane this evening. We'd like it if you'd come. Won't we, Arthur?" John said as he looked between the two, eyes lingering on Adelaide, making it clear he could not forget her face.

"A bonfire on Watery Lane? Not what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?"

Adelaide let out a sharp laugh and brought her drink up to her lips. "Nothing you want to know."

With a raised glance and a cheeky grin, John knocked his head and motioned her way. "Grace. Set her a drink. On me."

Adelaide raised her glass in thanks. "I'll be there tonight," she said, then looked to the barmaid. "Grace?"

She didn't look up from the beer glass she was cleaning. "I'm not sure. I have plans."

Grace was abnormally quiet for the rest of the time that Adelaide remained by the bar. After a long hour, she grew bored and collected her coat and bag from the stool to her side, pushing away from the bench. Noticing the girl's blank look, she gestured down to the glasses John'd left at the bar.

"Here, I'll take these on my way out," Adelaide said, and Grace nodded briefly.

"See you later," she said quietly before disappearing through the back door, glass and towel still in hand.

With a sigh, Adelaide collected the three glasses and pushed her way to the door to the private room, not bothering to knock before she kicked the door open. Tommy's head was last to turn to face her, his gaze bored as his eyes landed on her figure, dragging up and down. But John grinned, somewhat vainly, and rubbed a thumb against his chin.

"You forgot your glasses," she said, then noticed the half-empty whiskey bottle and John's drunken expression. "That didn't stop you."

Tommy was completely sober though. "I can't speak for my brothers," he said, motioning again to the bottle.

"Tom! I know her," John shouted, reaching out to grab her wrist, pulling her into the seat beside him. Arthur let out a bark of laughter.  "Oi, sit down! Come on. I didn't catch your name."

"Adelaide Davis."

Though Tommy Shelby already knew that. He inclined his head, as if in greeting, though a small, smug smile played on his lips.

"You know, Tommy, Adelaide has a killer kick."

"Is that right John?"

"Almost knocked a man out," John said, and Adelaide fought the glare that was threatening to spill onto her face.

"They were drunk."

"Never heard of a woman doing that," Tommy said.

The bite she held on her tongue broke. She knew he was taunting her, playing with her, waiting for the cat to bite, but Adelaide couldn't help herself. She gave in.

"And I've never heard of a man properly estimating a woman's capabilities," she said quickly, chin up. "I guess we've both been disappointed."

Tommy smirked, amused.

"So Tommy, how's the horse coming along. The one from the Lees?"

"Good, John."

"You have a new horse?" Adelaide said, filling in the quietness.

"Our Tommy should show you it sometime. Best breed of horse I've come by."

Adelaide and Tommy shared one glance before she stood again, brushing John's arm from her shoulder.

"I'll be leaving now."

"See you tonight, Adelaide," John called after her.

"Hopefully sober," she said lastly, leaving through the door.

❦
𝐸𝐷𝐼𝑇𝐸𝐷- 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡