Created by the devil

Non colombelle.

Around 7 a.m., Tommy left his uncle's yard to go home, where he was met with his brother Arthur. Arthur is sitting next to the coffee table, smoking a cigarette. Tommy walks by him, ignoring his older brother, to go to his room. 

"It bloody won! Monaghan boy bloody won!" Arthur states. Tommy stops and rolls his eyes. His brother is obviously wasted, which makes his mood only worse.

"Yeah. It won. And word will spread. So the next time we do the powder trick, it won't be just the Garrison that'll bet on the horse. It'll be the whole of Small Heath. And you know what? The horse will win again. And the third time we do it, we'll have the whole of Birmingham betting on it. A 1,000-quid bet on the magic horse. And at that time, when we are ready, the horse will lose. Think about it." Tommy declares quietly with an irritated look on his face.

Arthur keeps quiet before standing up on his wobbly legs and going after his brother, who's in the kitchen now. "Where were you?" Arthur asks while leaning on a wooden chair. "I made a deal with someone. She will have protection from us in exchange for information." He informs his brother, not answering his question. Tommy takes out the kettle and makes himself some tea.

"And who might she need protection from?" Arthur asks with a crooked brow, seeming irritated about the situation. "Mario Changretta." Tommy answers, not realizing how crazy it might sound to his brother's ears.

"What did you do, Tommy?" Arthur leans back from the chair and takes two big steps towards Tommy. "This is the bloody Changretta family. The fucking New York mafia You do not fuck with them." His brother slams his hand on the table. 

"Calm down, Arthur; I dealt with it, and Mario won't do anything. He wanted Danny dead for the killing of his comrade, and that happened." Tommy explains while finishing his tea. Mario might not have the best contact with the rest of his family, but he's still a Changretta.

"You did what?" His brother seems even angrier. "Calm down, brother; it's not what you think. I dealt with it; the problem is gone now. So, don't waste your time being concerned about it." With that, Tommy stands up from leaning against the kitchen counter and goes into the betting room to work. That's everything he's been doing since he came back from the war in France: work.

Once Gia was back in her house, she knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep again that night. She stares at her dog and mumbles, "You have been here for 2 days, and I still haven't given you a name." She pets the dog and sits down next to it. "Stella. Black Stella." She smiles slightly when her dog looks at her after she first says her name.

"Stella means star in Italian." She explains it to her dog. She then stands up to go to her room, where she puts on some music. She looks at her options when her eyes settle on a song her mother used to sing practically every day, 'Non colombelle'. 

It might be her favorite song, because even if she did come to Birmingham to hide from her position in the family, she likes thinking about what her family could be doing. Even if she hates what they do, there is a part of her that misses them, which she hates even more.

She takes a cigarette and lights it. With the smoke escaping her lips, she sits down in front of her mirror. She fixes her red lipstick and goes on to relax to the music playing on the music player.

After half an hour of Gia dancing to music and forgetting about what was going to come, she sits down. And there she sat on her chaise longue, thinking about what was going to happen, because you don't get to step out of line without being punished for it.

Around 9 a.m., somebody knocks on her front door. Stella immediately starts to bark and show her teeth at the door. Gia doesn't hesitate to grab her gun and walk to the door.

"Stella, Fuß." She orders her dog, who implies the woman's wishes. Gia opens the door and is met with the blue eyes she saw that night. The owner of those blue eyes is none other than Thomas Shelby.

Tommy looks down at the dog, who is still showing her teeth. "Goodmorning Tommy. Would you like to come in?" The woman asks the man to be polite. "I wasn't planning on staying." He mumbles. "Sure you don't want to stay for tea?" She asks meeting his eyes again. "Euh sure." He mumbles as she moves out of the way to let him pass through.

She smiles when she sees that he isn't sure about what the dog will do. "Don't mind my dog, Tommy. Female dogs are always more protective of their families. She won't do anything if I don't order her. So unless you give me a reason, there is nothing to be scared of." She explains with a grin playing on her lips. "Why would I do something? I'm a man who drinks tea." He truly smiles, making her smile in return.

"Was that German?" He questions while looking around. "Yes, it was. It's a safety precaution. Why did you come to see me?" She asks while he follows her to the kitchen to make tea. "To say that I put some men of me to stand for your protection." He answers. "And?" She asks with her back turned to Tommy. "And that I took care of your information that you gave me." He stops looking around and settles on her.

"You didn't kill him." She says it out loud while turning around and sitting at the table she motioned for Tommy to sit at. "I know you would've figured out a way to not let him die. And the best explanation is by fooling my cousin. I must say, he isn't that difficult to fool." She explains while serving out the tea.

"How are you so sure I didn't kill him?" He doesn't deny her allegation because, for some reason, she can read people the same way he does. "I saw it the moment I opened the door. It's written all over your face. Women are just really good at making assumptions, I guess, and then you didn't bother denying it." She brings the cup of tea to her lips.

"You're not the only one who likes to think of all the options available." She puts her cup of tea back down. "What will happen between Mario and you?" He questions genuinly being interested in their ways.

"Italians don't take betrayal well, or at least my family doesn't. Which I didn't do in my eyes, but it's all about what they see. Disputes are bad for business, so perhaps this will be just a normal family fight that might end in a week or two. But there is always a chance of it being worse." She explains. 

"I heard that you weren't a man with many words, but since I've met you, you've only been asking questions." She states, not knowing if she should keep on going or if he truly does live up to the expectation of being a mad man.

"You are a very secretive woman." He reasons with her as he leans back in his chair. "I got my reasons." She stares into his eyes. For him, it felt like she wasn't only staring into his eyes but rather into his soul. It makes him uncomfortable because nobody has ever done that to him.

"How do you do it? The business." He asked, thinking she would dodge the question. After a little silence, she speaks up. "Unions, you need to have unions. Hospitals, transportation, pubs, restaurants all kinds of unions. Cause if you control the unions, you will control the city and society, and then eventually the country." Gia normally wouldn't answer questions about power, but when her life could possibly be in his hands, she would rather not beat around the bush.

"I didn't think you would answer my question." He tells her honestly. "Why did you think that?" She asks while finishing her tea. "I don't know; it was a feeling. Why did you?" He asks her another question. "You look like a man I can trust." She answers.