to celebrate peaky blinders s5 returning tonight

                                                                                               III  

                    LOST in the depths of the file, Elizabeth had sat for hours at her table pouring over all of the information in front of her. She had tossed and turned all night, the excitement stopping her mind from fully resting and so naturally it was her first thought when she woke up. There was so much lurking behind Small Heath that she hadn't expected to find – suspected IRA leaders, communists and gangs of ruthless criminals.

The communists seemed to be rife throughout Small Heath, having the skill to be able to hide from authority yet still spread their message and encourage strike after strike at the factories. Freddie Thorne was mentioned multiple times throughout the file as a communist agitator and spokesperson. It was also mentioned he was a potential connection to the 'top dogs' and therefore someone to be monitored.

The suspected IRA men hid deeper under the surface of Small Heath and subsequently the amount of information on them was limited. A few names were mentioned as suspected members, along with a couple of pubs that seemed to be IRA hotspots, but aside from this the file contained barely any information on this group.

There were a few organised gangs of criminals, but the most prolific of the file was The Peaky Blinders, run by the Shelby's. They were the most interesting part of the file to Elizabeth, who was appalled at the amount of crime these men seemed to get away with. Their crimes seemed endless: racketeering, fraud, bribery, bookmaking and a whole list of violent crimes. Elizabeth questioned how it was possible to commit all of these traceable crimes without being arrested, unless, of course, they had police officers on their payroll. Elizabeth suspected that might be the case.

The file also told her about the ammunition that was stolen from the BSA factory in the depth of the night. 25 Lewis machine guns. 10,000 rounds of ammunition. 50 semi-automatic rifles. 200 pistols with shells. Some detail was lacking: it didn't state whom the guns belonged to or what they were to be used for. It wasn't clear who stole them but it was suspected that one of the three groups from the file was responsible. Elizabeth shuddered thinking of the consequences of any of those groups getting their hands on such powerful ammunition. Elizabeth's job, as instructed by the file, was to collect as much information as she could, with subtlety, so that the guns could be recovered safely. Feeling the weight of the situation on her shoulders, she knew her job here was an important one.

She got ready for work unable to keep her mind from wandering, trying to create schemes and ploys to gain as much information as possible. It was going to be a struggle; she had no contacts in the area and no idea where to start. She was a great believer in fate and as she walked to work that morning she trusted fate to give her a helping hand.

That morning had been a strenuous one, and Elizabeth wasn't sure she could cram anymore information in to her brain. Who knew there was so much to learn when it came to selling sweets? She'd been successfully shown how to serve customers, weigh up and price sweets, conduct stock take and Tom had shown her some of the paperwork that had to be done during her shifts. Luckily, the morning had been a quiet one so she'd been able to learn with almost no interruptions.

As the hours passed, Elizabeth grew more confident in serving customers and Tom had certainly noticed her natural ability with the public. "You're a natural at this," he grinned. "Do you mind staying out here while I quickly pop to the back to do some stock take?"

"Of course not." Elizabeth smiled politely. Being in the sweet shop had made her feel like a child all over again and she was in her element. Seeing the children's grinning faces as she handed over the paper bag of sweets had fulfilled her in ways she hadn't expected and she had felt more joy in the past few hours than she had in a long time.

"I'll just be out the back if you need me." Tom called over his shoulder, already shuffling in to the back room. Elizabeth took to tidying up the front of the store; turning the big jars of sweets so that they faced the right way, wiping up all the sugar crumbs with a hessian cloth and sweeping the floor. A few customers came and went, and the time seemed to be ticking by quite quickly.

Rowdy voices from outside suddenly snapped Elizabeth out of her daydream. Two children entered the shop, the bell overhead ringing to signal their presence, though the bell was dulled by the roaring of voices and the starting of motor engines outside. The children were dressed up in little suits, donning tiny waistcoats and flat caps. They were a complete opposite to the people she'd been serving all morning Elizabeth noted. Their wealth was radiating from them from the way they were dressed to the confident strides they made up to the counter.

"Quarter-pound of lemon sherbets." The lad who Elizabeth assumed to be the eldest ordered. She studied him briefly: a fairly clean face splattered in light freckles paired with light coloured hair. She was certain he was a child from a wealthy family.

"Of course," she smiled. Shovelling the sweets in to the paper bag, Elizabeth carefully weighed them out. Once satisfied with its weight she twisted the top of the paper bag to seal it, and turned to the other child. "And for you?"

The boy shifted nervously, eyeing up the fair-haired lad to his left. He had darker hair and while he was suited in a similar style, he didn't seem to have the air of confidence his elder had. "The same please." Elizabeth nodded and turned back around to grab the jar from the shelf, only to hear the fast padding of heavy shoes and the jingling of the bell as the door was torn open. It took her a second to realise what had just happened.

"Oi!" She shouted, running from behind the counter and out of the shop. As she got out on the street she saw the two lads run towards one of the sleek black vehicles, getting in to it quickly. "Come back here!" She shouted, jogging over to the car. She tried to ignore the stares she was receiving from all the suited men around the cars. As she approached the car she eyed the boys sternly. "You need to come back to the shop and pay for those sweets, please." She demanded firmly.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed someone slowly walk towards her and she turned her head, wondering if it was one of the boy's parents. She took in the expensive suit of the man before her and the short cut of his hair, noticing the sides had been shaved down completely. The glinting of the gold pocket watch caught her eye and she instantly became more agitated – these boys clearly had the money to pay for the sweets without it so much as denting their fortune, so why were they choosing to rob a poor shopkeeper? "Is there a problem?" The slow Brummie drawl of the man in front of her broke her from her inward rant. He lifted his arm to rest on the black vehicle, peering briefly inside to spot the two boys sat scoffing their stolen goods.

"Yes, there is actually," she altered her stance, pushing her shoulders back to try and look more confident than she felt. The icy blue gaze she was under was quite intimidating, but she wasn't going to be put off asking for Tom's money. "These two boys," she gestured to the two boys hiding silently in the back of the vehicle. "stole some sweets from the shop." She could feel her face becoming red under the stares of the people around her.

Tom came out of the shop, and froze in the doorway when he saw who Elizabeth was confronting. He shook his head subtly, trying to tell Elizabeth to stop. Ignorning him, Elizabeth's pride stopped her from backing down, and she stood staring at the man in front of her, waiting for a response. She watched as he retrieved a slim cigarette from a silver case, his lighter another reminder of his wealth.

"Right," he nodded slowly, inhaling a drag from the cigarette. "Is this true, boys?" he asked, turning to look at them again. The fair-haired lad nodded once, removing his hand from inside the brown paper bag.

"Yes Tommy." he mumbled.

"Apologise to the lady, boys," he demanded, turning his gaze back on to Elizabeth. His face was stern and unmoving, no trace of an emotion on his face. Elizabeth couldn't tell whether he was surprised by their behaviour, but she supposed his face wouldn't have changed even if he was. It seemed to be almost set in stone. Both of the boys managed to croak out an apology, though it went almost unheard by Elizabeth. Tommy dug in to his jacket pocket, retrieving a few coins. She heard the clinking of the metal in his hands, and felt the heat of her face radiating. She wasn't sure what was unnerving her the most – the stares from everybody around her or the intense gaze of the individual before her.

"It was a six-pence." She declared bravely, holding her hand out for the money. She saw Tommy's eyebrows raise – the first noticeable change in his facial expression - and nearly lowered her hand but as she glanced over at Tom's nervous face, her determination only grew. Tom seemed to swallow down some of his evident fear and walked towards the pair.

"It's okay Mr. Shelby, boys will be boys. It was just a mistake." He reasoned with a forced chuckle. Elizabeth's stomach flipped and her breath caught in her throat. Shelby. Instantly she looked up to his flat cap, spotting the twinkling of razor blades she'd been pre-warned about in the file. What were the chances? "Forgive Elizabeth, she's new here. I hadn't got round to telling her..." Tom's ramble trailed off, realising he was potentially making the situation worse. Tell me what?Elizabeth thought sarcastically. To let these criminals get away with stealing from you?

Coins were placed in to Elizabeth's hands. "For the trouble." Tommy said simply, nodding once at the pair of them. Not having the courage to count how much he had placed in her hands in front of him, Elizabeth simply closed her hand around the money and withdrew.

"Thank you, Mr. Shelby. Have a good day." She smiled shakily and turned to retreat back to the shop, her legs feeling like complete jelly underneath her. How they were managing to hold her weight she didn't know. Tom tipped his hat and bid his goodbye, following Elizabeth in to the shop with quick strides. Elizabeth was almost breathless with excitement, in disbelief at her luck. Without even meaning to she'd managed to meet a member of the Peaky Blinders. She felt completely exhilarated from the tiniest encounter.

As Elizabeth turned to see Tom's pale, sweaty face she felt her exhilaration be flushed out by the swirling of guilt in her stomach. She was sad to see the distress on his face, caused purely by her attempt at catching thieves. "I'm so sorry Mr. Brown, I just didn't want anybody to steal from you." She apologised innocently, watching as he dabbed his sweaty upper lip with a handkerchief.

"That's quite alright, you weren't to know," he reasoned. "But if you see any of the Peakys- if you see any men dressed like that in here, just let them have what they want. We don't chase them for thieving." She nodded and agreed, not daring to question him while he was in such a fragile state. She picked up the hessian cloth again, moving to the counter to clear up the remaining sugar crumbs. "Well, you've had a very active morning, you can finish now if you like and I'll see you again tomorrow morning." It was phrased as an choice but Elizabeth knew it was more of a command. The poor man probably needed time to gather himself without an audience. Guilt nipped at her insides slightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow then Mr. Brown. Thank you again. And I'm so sorry about just now." She flashed him a small smile, removing the pinafore from around her neck. As she left the shop she was slightly deflated to see an empty street: the vehicles and the men that had surrounded them were nowhere to be seen.