Wear Iron//Thomas Shelby

three

I pile into Tommy's too small car with him, Arthur, John, Theo, and Finn. We're on our way to the fair. But in true Tommy fashion he seems to have gotten side tracked. He pulls the car over by a group of caravans.

"Why are you pulling over?" I ask Tommy.

"I thought you said we were going to the fair," Arthur protests.

"We have business first." Tommy opens the door and steps out of the car. "Come on. Bring your wits."

"What business?" Arthur asks.

"That's the Lee family," Tommy tells us.

John finally moves to get out of the car. Theo, Finn, and I follow suit with Arthur reluctantly stepping out after us.

"Tommy!" a man shouts.

"Johnny Dogs," Tommy says.

"Tommy, how the hell are you?" Johnny asks.

"All the better for getting the city smoke out of me lungs," Tommy tells him.

Johnny shakes Tommy's hand. "I thought you became a bit too grand for us."

"I've been busy," Tommy tells him.

"I'm riding with the Lee family now," Johnny informs Tommy.

"I heard," Tommy assures. "Myself, I'd rather live among pigs."

"Come on, Tommy. No disputing," Johnny warns.

"So, your first fair since France?" Johnny asks.

"What do you know about France, you war-shy Gypsy bastard?" Tommy remarks. He turns to look at a rather nice white horse. "So this is the horse."

Johnny admires the car we drove up in. "And that's the car."

"Hang on a minute," Arthur protests. "You're not swapping the family car for a bloody horse."

"Of course we're not swapping it. Huh? That would be mad," Johnny insists.

"We're going to play two-up," Tommy explains.

I shake my head in disbelief. There is no way I am walking back to Small Heath if Tommy loses this car.

Johnny and Tommy both flip a coin at the same time. They lean over and look at them as they lay on the ground. They pick the coins up and spit shake on the outcome.

Tommy hands the keys to the car over to Johnny. "Here you are."

"I knew it. I knew it. Tommy, you bloody idiot," Arthur remarks.

"Shut up, Arthur, I won," Tommy tells him. "I promised Johnny I'd let him have a spin in the car if he lost."

"All right," Arthur says as he calms down.

Four men standing on the river bank start to laugh.

Tommy steps up to them. "Are you Lee boys laughing at my brother?" Their faces harden as they step towards Tommy. "Are you? Eh?"

"Tommy! Tommy!" Johnny shouts.

"I asked you a question!" Tommy states.

"Tommy, come on, it's just the craic," Johnny says. "Get your family out of here and go and enjoy yourselves at the fair before they start a war. Huh?" Johnny turns to talk to the men in Romani. "They're from good people. Their granddad was a king. Their granddad was a king."

"Yeah, but his mother was a Didicoy whore," one man says.

That's enough to set Tommy off. He grabs his cap off of his head and slashes the man across the face. Of course Arthur, John, and Theo have to get involved as well. Taking their own caps off and using them as weapons against the other three men. I pull Finn back away from the fighting. Over my dead body will he get involved. He's far too young.