𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈.
strangers and strange things
❝ WE'LL STEAL THE REST. ❞

BIRMINGHAM,
ENGLAND 1925

♜ ━━━━━ TOMMY AND ARTHUR were discussing the new deal with Aberama Gold and his boxing son, Bonnie. Tommy wanted to go for it, 'course he did, while Arthur wasn't so sure. This would just be something else to add to their pile. Something else to put on their shoulders. Another stressor. Another responsibility. But Tommy had a plan, 'course he did.

"We control him. On the book, control the odds, like a horse. Control when he wins, when he loses." Tommy explained to his older brother, the sounds of the factory muffling his voice, "Alfie Solomon runs a fighter, says it's f—ckin' money for nothing, fighting's been good for us, better if you know who's gonna win."

Arthur wasn't so sure, "Hm, but we got a lot going on though, Tom."

"Yea. That's why it'd be good to have the kid around." Tommy's voice was nonchalant, simple and straight to the point, "We take the f—cking kid on, one day he may end up f—cking taking a bullet for you..."

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On a frigid Tuesday morning, Della'd been summoned by Tommy to go to his legal office. It'd bothered her, of course it did, but what bothered her even more was how quickly she went. Stupid little fool, always going back, asking for more. At least she was allowed into her father's legal office now, but.

Take the shite with the sugar, Del.

Just as she walked into the building, Tommy was walking out of his office. He did not see his daughter as he strode angrily over to Lizzie's desk, shoulders rolled back and already looking ready to snap. Del nearly rolled her eyes. It was barely nine in the morning. He yanked the cigarette from his mouth as he came to a stop before his secretary's desk, scowling down at her.

"The f—ck was that about, Lizzie? Eh?"

The brunette didn't even look at him, "Have a guess."

Del raised an uncomfortable brow, twisting her fingers into her pleated skirt.

"You know what," he seethed with a sigh, "I can't even guess anymore."

"Tommy?" Della interrupted awkwardly, "You summoned me, yea?"

Tommy turned and took in the sight of his daughter, frowning round his cig, "You're late."

"Not by much." The girl shrugged an unconcerned shoulder, turning her attention to her da's secretary, "Hi Lizzie."

"Hello Della." The woman smiled a bit tiredly, "How're ya?"

"Survivin', I s'pose. And you?"

"Much the same," Lizzie shot a sharp look up at Del's father.

Tommy ignored them both, more so telling the room when he announced, "I'll be back at 4:00. Let's go."

Del nearly had to jog to keep up with his pace, turning swiftly and moving for the door.

Lizzie called after them, sounding very unhappy, "Why's she still 'ere?!"

The girl didn't bother lookin' back to see who the secretary meant by 'she'.

Della didn't think she'd care to know.

The two Shelby's cut through Watery Lane, past the Bullring, and finally to the big boxing gym, which seemed even fancier than it once did now with the company funds. The father and daughter stopped beside one of the blue rings to watch one of the fights. Della's da seemed intent on showing her the one lad boxing an endless supply of big b—stards. He was smaller that everyone he was fightin' and yet he kept taking 'em down one—by—one.

F—ckin' impressive, it was.

She ignored the men speaking business 'til her father turned to her and said, "Della, this is Mister Aberama Gold and his son, Bonnie."

The Gold's? Oh bloody hell. She'd heard about that family while on the road. Apparently, they were thieving, lying, no—good vagabonds. They weren't even welcome at the fairs, which were always open to every gyspy family — travelling and not. Not overly popular, the Gold's. She said none of that, of course. She kept her mouth shut and her face blank as Tommy'd taught her to do.

He turned back to the Gold's, saying, "This is me daughter, Adeline."

She understood what he wanted from her — he wanted to show her off for his new gyspy business partners. Sometimes it felt that was all she was good for. Like a glass trinket, or a special Christmas ornament plucked from its box and placed on display one time a year. Still, Tommy had insisted poor old Frances wrangle Della into this straightjacket of a dress so the least she could do was actually manage to smile at a few people. If only out of pity for sad—eyed Frances.

Straightening out her dress and pushing back a loose coil of hair, Del glided forward with all the grace of a queen.

Politely, she nodded, "Devlesa araklam tume." It is with God that we found you.

Traditional greetings and proper manners were necessary when it came to meeting new gypsies, those welcome at fairs and not. Both Polly and Zilpha Lee taught her that.

Mister Gold inclined his head, "Devlesa avilan." It is God who brought you.

The older Mister Gold, he'd the look of a shark. Sharp features and even sharper teeth when he bared them into a smile. He'd a tweed suit and a hat over his greying hair that reached his shoulders. His son, the lad named Bonnie, he'd dark hair, half a foot on Del, and a pair of fists that looked worn and weathered. He looked fit but; he was a fine boxer, she knew one when she saw one. Della was impressed and strangely pink—cheeked.

She asked, "What's your record, then?"

She startled all the men by asking by the looks of it.

Bonnie adjusted first. He answered her swiftly, giving all the proper details, "Twenty—five, bare knuckle, all knockouts. Five, with gloves in pastures, all knockouts."

One brow arching, Del nodded appreciatively, "So that's why they won't let ya in the fairs no more. You just keep winnin'."

Bonnie smirked, pleased.

"Ah." Mister Gold bared that shark—tooth smile and dipped his head at her father, "You've got yourself a smart one, Mister Shelby."

"That I do." Tommy agreed, glancing at her from the corner of his eye 'fore looking back at the lad, "Now tell me, when you step in the ring, Bonnie, who do you see across the canvas, eh?"

"I see myself. Forty years old having done f—ck all, except tramping the lanes. I see my life wasted. I won't let it happen." Bonnie answered with a confidence so strong, she couldn't help but believe, "Me? I'm going to be a champion."

Yea. Del liked the sound of that.

Tommy did as well, nodding in approval, "Fight out at Camden Town. Boy's name is Goliath."

Strangers kept on coming.

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The next morning, something very odd happened.

It started with the honk of some motorcar horn. Once. Twice. And then endless.

Already in the kitchen, shovelling in a mouthful of toast, Del looked up from her book with a confused scowl on her face. The horn kept honking, it was barely nine in the morning, and nobody was doing a single thing 'bout it. She was so tired of being the backbone of this d—mn family. With a huff, Della shoved out the front door to find a group of bearded men in the street, staying round a fancy motorcar. One man was hanging from the side of his car, with a hat upon his head and a cane in hand, pushing down on the car horn endlessly.

The sound was so atrocious that Del couldn't help but yell, "F—cking hell! What is your problem?"

The man mercifully stopped honking the horn. He straightened from the motorcar, set the cane on the road and then took the few steps that now separated him from her. Del stood as tall as she could, a frustrated scowl on her little face.

"Right, hello." The man peered at her for a long moment 'fore snuffing and scratching at his scraggly beard, "Oh, I know you..."

"No."

Maybe Grace had been right. Maybe Del was obstinate.

"Yea, yea, I do, right. Those big f—cking eyes and an attitude that'd get you f—cking shot through. Yea... Yea, you're Tommy Shelby's firstborn."

No point in denying it. She sighed, "What's it t' you?"

"What is to me, you ask? What is it to me? Quite a lot, Miss Shelby, quite a lot. I'm waitin' for a meeting with your father, right, but it seems like everyone's in f—ckin' bed in this sh—thole,"

"F—ck off."

It seemed only right for her to defend her home, like it was her duty.

The man paused, brown eyes going wide in genuine surprise 'fore saying, "Very rude, that is, very rude..." He got over it quickly, "Now I find myself standing here, looking at this little version of Tommy f—cking Shelby, who keeps starin' at me like she's thinking how in the f—ck she's going to gut me like a f—cking fish. That takes real Chutzpah, it does."

Della had no idea what that meant, she was guessing that was good but.

He must have seen her confusion 'cause he went on rambling.

"What I mean to say is that I am intrigued," the man paused a moment, brows furrowing nad looking thoughtful as he ran a hand over his beard again, "Yea, that's right, I'm intrigued, by the little Shelby who not only looks like she's gonna castrate me but also has the audacity to tell me to f—ck off..."

They lapsed into an uncertain silence.

Finally, Del raised a brow, "This is good so?"

"Yea, it's good, innit," the man clapped her on the shoulder so hard she nearly fell over.

"Morning, Alfie."

Del jumped and twisted round to find her da approaching, hat pulled low and near—scowl in place. He paused right beside them, blue eyes darting swiftly between the man and girl with a complicated expression on his face.

"Yea, it is. It is." The man, Alfie, grinned with his hand still on her shoulder, "This girl is something else here, Tommy."

"Is she?"

Tommy glanced down and Del only shrugged.

"If you ever decide you don't want 'er or she's too much a problem, feel free to send her my way, yea? Clever girl'd be a real f—ckin' asset to my operation down in London, right."

Del wasn't sure whether to be chuffed or offended.

With another shrug, she said, "London sounds grand."

Alfie grinned his scraggly smile, "Ah, right. See there, Tommy, she's already in agreement."

"That won't be necessary, Alfie." But Tommy's voice was tighter than she expected, though Alfie looked mildly smug. With narrowed eyes, her da glanced over at the monster of a lad over his shoulder, "So this must be Goliath."

Despite herself, Della's eyes widened. If that monstrous lad was the one Bonnie was fighting, he had quite the fight coming. It was going to be a good show, at least. Del couldn't f—cking wait.

"Right. Let me introduce you to David."

Tommy motioned them onward, with everyone followin' him, but when Del also went to go along, he quickly stopped her with one sharp glance.

"Trot along, Adeline."

Adeline did trot along, throwing one last glance over her shoulder to hear Alfie ask, "I assume that David's out of bed?"

Della wandered back inside number six, confused and a bit uneasy. It was a strange thing; Tommy seemed almost... jealous? She didn't think she'd ever seen him jealous before. Not once, especially not about Adeline herself. He did but. He seemed jealous of this stranger's easy interactions with his daughter. Del wasn't sure whether to feel pleased or annoyed. Mostly, it just made her stomach hurt. 

Strange and stranger.

Polly smiled when Del returned to the kitchen, sitting at the table with her hands folded round a cuppa. She kissed her cheek and eased back into her chair, poking at the crust of her toast. She didn't feel like reading anymore. She'd too much on her mind. Sighing heavily, she tipped over and dropped her head on the table to peer up at her aunt with tired eyes. Pol arched a curious brow.

"Morning, my Lamb."

"Mm... morning Polly."

Her aunt seemed to sense her less than cheerful mood 'cause she asked, "Will I read your leaves?"

Del shrugged a little.

"No?" Pol was surprised, and fair enough, "You used to beg me 'til my ears bled. I'll make it a good one?"

Della scrunched her nose a bit accusingly, "You said you don't have control over what you see."

"I'm contrary, Adeline, I'll do as I please." Her aunt sniffed and lifted her chin a bit higher, "Now pour the f—ckin' tea."

Della huffed a fond sigh and smiled to herself, she knew better than to argue but. In the quiet of the kitchen, the girl poured the f—ckin' tea from the pot. Swirled the tea in her cup. Polly told her to think 'fore she poured the tea back into the pot. Then, with the tea leaves laid, she slowly pushed over her cup so her aunt could have a look. For a while, they simply sat in amiable silence as Polly studied and observed. 

Finally, her aunt murmured, "Ah, here we are. There's a line here... Which means soon you'll go on a journey — a short one, mind, from the straightness of the line."

"Oh?" Del smiled softly, folding up her arms and wrapping her arms round her shins, "Will it be a nice one so?"

"Mmm." She hummed, "I see a journey by road, with many heartbeats in your motorcar, but whose I cannot tell. You won't reach your destination, but it's better that you don't..."

Pol suddenly fell silent, her brows suddenly furrowed, and her lips pinched.

After a moment, Della asked, "What?"

Her aunt shook her head and set the teacup down rather harshly for being such fine china. It was her grandmother's and all throughout her childhood, she and Finn had been threatened within an inch of their lives should anything happen to it. To see Polly so rough with the bloody thing was not a good sign.

"It's just a silly thing, isn't it."

Del arched a brow, "Polly..."

Pol's lips thinned, tilting the cup for her niece to get a glimpse, "There's a cross, you see?"

Della did see. Leaning forward to get a look for herself, the girl felt her heart start to pound. Amidst the mess of clumps of green leaves, after the line that was indicative of some mysterious journey, there were a definite cross. She had no idea what that was supposed to mean but.

"What's it mean so?"

"A cross is... a sign of trouble and delay or even death."

Del bit her lip. Her aunt reached 'cross the table and took her hand, squeezing it tight. She couldn't feel it but, her slender fingers cold and numb in her tight hold. Pol gently touched her chin and lifted her face so they'd hold each other's gaze, two pairs of complicated eyes staring back.

"Could mean anything, Lamb."

"Yea." The girl whispered back, her empty voice rising to the ceiling and hitting it with a soft ting, "Could mean anything at all."

Polly watched Della leave in silence.

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The next day, the men were out 'fore she woke up and gone when she went to bed — Tommy, Arthur, Finn, Isiah, and Johnny Dogs. Del wasn't waiting up for him. She wasn't. She just couldn't sleep and she was just listenin' for when he came home. Round midnight, she heard the front door swing open and slam shut, and the sound of him trompling through number six. He'd come home in a terrible mood, and she was ready to send him back wherever he'd just come from.

Still, Della couldn't stop herself from cautiously venturing downstairs, feet cold against the floorboards. He was in the kitchen this time round, his back to her when she slipped in. His shoulders were coiled up tight, sighing and pouring himself more than a finger of whiskey. He was looking on the verge of f—ckin' murder. It'd been a bad day, so.

Preparing herself, Del drew in a slow breath and stepped through, "What're we drinkin—?"

Tommy jumped a f—ckin' mile, reaching for his gun and whirling round with the barrel aimed high. The girl shrieked and dove behind the nearest piece of furniture which was only an ancient—looking chair and would do very little to save her from a hail of bullets. Such a shame. She was too young to die.

At the sight of her, Tommy's body slouched against the wall with a heaving exhale, "F—cking hell... what're you on about, Adeline?"

"Dunno..." She peeked over the top of the chair, "You gonna shoot me?"

"Not right now, I'm not." Her father heaved another sigh and ran a hand over his face, "Why're you awake, Della?"

She didn't answer that exactly, carefully stepping free of the chair, "Can I sit with you a while?"

She surprised him twice in one evening. He cast her a cautious glance 'fore nodding just once, "Orright."

Della decided not to let herself think too much about it. She climbed onto a chair by the table, folding her legs to gain an extra boost so they were more eye—to—eye. Tommy rubbed his forehead when he eased down beside her, rubbing his thumb and forefinger into his eyes. Del watched him take a slow sip of his whiskey, and when he was finished, she swiped the glass from his grasp 'fore he could resist. Tommy snapped round to stare at her, properly bewildered as she took a sip. It burned all the way down. The girl stared straight at her da as she pulled the glass from her lips and set it back in front of him with a solid thunk.

Tommy begrudgingly said nothing.

Del was thrilled.

Her da simply went back to drinking, he kept a tighter grip on the glass but. The girl hid her pleased smirk in the crook of her arms where she rested them on the table. For a while, she studied his pale features, the sharp edges of his nose and jawline. In the dark of the kitchen, she began to think about what that man Alfie said, his offer to take her off her da's hands, if she proved too much of a problem. It worried her.

Della squinted up at her da, "Am I a problem t' you?"

Humming, Tommy considered this and shook his head, "Not much of one. At most, one I can usually figure out." He winked at her, and she rolled her eyes with a small begrudging smile 'fore he continued, "Don't worry 'bout botherin' me. I don't mind you much the way you are. I've got other problems besides."

He was confiding in her. She couldn't believe it. She wasn't sure what to say to make him continue, to avoid scaring him off. She swallowed hard and softly ventured, "Yea, Tommy?"

"Mm." He rested the cool glass of his whiskey against his forehead, like this might spare him the headache, "No one f—cking listens, Del, and everyone keeps secrets from me. We don't have what we need."

Del hummed thoughtfully, shifting to wrap her arms round her shins, "That's 'cause you don't know the story of Vano Doe, do ya?"

Tommy raised a dubious brow, "Is this a real person, or a Della—imaginary person?"

With a massively big huff, Del decided to ignore him and proceed with her story, "He was the king of the travelling Doe's, see, a big man, nearly seven feet tall, he was. Everyone'd round the travelling families knew of the Rom named Vano Doe in those days; infamous, he was. An ugly devil, clever as anything but."

Tommy was watching her, looking relaxed, neither uninterested nor distracted but. It felt as exciting as it was terrifying, to have all his attention on her — she'd need to make good use of it. 

"Anyway, they'd been down on their luck, the Doe's, poor and starving and sick, and they were at war with one of the other powerful travelling families. They'd killed his firstborn in cold blood, and Vano, he was distraught, of course. He loved his firstborn, see, more than anything, more than life."

Tommy was staring at Del so intently now, chest barely moving at all — slow and unsteady.

"And everyone was waitin' to see what Vano'd do. For a man once so clever, they thought he was losing his mind and they were starting to doubt him. Then but, one day, when they were passing a nearby city, he insisted that the whole family stop at the local parish. No one figured him a religious man, see, but Vano got down on his knees 'fore the cross and prayed, sayin', 'Oh Lord, give me health and give me strength..." Her little lips smirked, "We'll steal the rest.'"

Her da was amused, she could tell, "So?"

"So, we've health and strength, Tommy, let's steal the rest."

And Del couldn't believe her eyes when Tommy f—cking grinned.

━━━━━━ annie speaks ━━━━━━

ahhhh! okay, this one was a shorter one, but we met two very important people this chapter. we finally got a del and alfie interaction and i hope it didn't disappoint! I was so excited while writing it; i feel like they would absolutely love each other and cause so much chaos. tommy would be stressed. i love it. we also met bonnie this chapter. ah bonnie, my beautiful boy. i love him... there was also some good foreshadowing in this chapter, hehe. can ya figure it out?

we have some good tommy and del time this chapter; they're slowly growing back together again, maybe even better than before one day? who knows...

also, i know i said THIS was the rough one and that was my bad, sorry y'all, lol. that's NEXT chapter, whoops. who is ready for a massive blow out? we have a couple in the next few chapters and one fo the big ones is coming... i'm so freaking excited!

pls comment with your thoughts and theories! i'd love to hear them!