𝓡𝓔𝓥𝓔𝓡𝓘𝓔 - 𝓟𝓔𝓐𝓚𝓨 𝓑𝓛𝓘𝓝𝓓𝓔𝓡𝓢

15

A man shouting at Scudboat draws Maura's attention away from the papers she was reading. She takes her feet off of Tommy's desk before walking into the main room causing a hush to fall over the occupants.

Maura grabs the man by his collar and yanks him down to face her as she presses her small blade to his throat.

"Is there a problem here Scud?" Maura asks before turning back to the man in her grip. "I don't like problems"

"All right, all right, I'm off. I'm off," The man says.

"Come again!" Maura calls.

"It's a good day."

"Where's John?" Maura asks, glancing at Tommy and Polly.

"John's in The Garrison," Polly says. "Says he wants a meeting about a family matter"

"After he's said his piece, he'll come back and take his place with Scudboat," Tommy says.

"Scudboat, John will be here in ten minutes," Polly says.

"All right,"

"Five," Tommy says.

"I'll stay," Maura says. "I already know what he's going to say anyway and I'll leave him to deal with Polly. Although I would like a written record of what is said"

Maura and Scudboat were flicking small pieces of paper at each other when a loud thud distracts them both.

"John?" Scudboat calls.

Maura raises her gun only for the men of the Lee family to burst through the doors of the betting den.

"Put that down!" Erasmus points his large shotgun at Maura and she tosses the gun to the side. "This is for Cheltenham"

Erasmus hits her with the butt of the gun, sending Maura stumbling back into Scudboat who catches her. He moves in front of Maura as the Lee boys surge forward.

"We're just taking back what's ours. There's loot in here, search everywhere!"

Maura kicks Erasmus in his stomach and when he kneels over she punches him in the bloodstained part of the bandage which was haphazardly wrapped around his head.

The man howls in pain as Maura runs up the stairs of the house, Erasmus hot on her tail.

Maura slams the door to Tommy's bedroom shut, pressing her body against it as Erasmus slams his body against it. Maura fumbles with the lock but the door is thrown open and Maura falls back, quickly scrambling away from a grinning Erasmus.

Erasmus grabs a fistful of her hair, pulling her up harshly. Maura shouts in pain as her scalp burns.

"Not so powerful without your big brothers here to protect you," Erasmus sneers, using his grip on her head to hit her head on the doorframe. "Not fun is it?"

"No, but this is,"

Maura stamps her foot down onto his before slamming her head against his nose. She grabs the lamp from Tommy's bedside table, smashing it over his head. She grabs one of the shards ignoring the slicing feeling against her fingers. She stabs the shard into her attacker's shoulder before kicking him back from her.

Maura grabs Erasmus' leg, dragging him down the stairs. The loud thuds draw the attention of the raiding Lee boys as Maura lifts Eramus' shotgun in the air, pointing it at them.

"Which one of you wants to die first?" Maura asks.

They all look at each other, raising their hands in the air.

"Drop the money," Maura says. "And you can have good old Raz here back, if not"

Maura lifts Erasmus by his hair and the man groans.

"If not, his blood will be staining the floors which quite frankly is an inconvenience," Maura says. "Then Polly will try to make me clean it up which I don't fancy doing so drop the money. Now"

The Lee men drop the bags to the floor and Maura keeps her grip on Erasmus as they filter out of the door. Maura drags Erasmus by his hair before kicking his body out of her front door, slamming it closed.

Not even a minute after the door closed, it is swung back open. It slammed the wall so hard that Maura could have sworn she saw cracks on the wall. Or it could have just been the consequence of her head being smashed onto a doorframe.

"Maura?"

The young woman feels hands on her face but her eyes were dazed. She could register the tapping feeling on her cheek and her eyes blinked rapidly.

"Tom?"

"How you feeling?"

"Like my head got smashed on a doorframe. That reminds me, you need a new door for your room"

Tommy chuckles and Maura decided it was best she didn't mention the small tear she saw on her brother's face.

"It was the Lees, all of them," Scudboat says. "Cousins, nephews. Even the bastards. They were going to take anything they could lay their hands on. But Maura stopped them"

"You?" John snorts.

"Fought with Erasmus," Maura says. "Threatened to kill them all and they left"

Arthur and John roar with laughter as Maura grins proudly.

"They left these," Polly says.

"Wire cutters?" Maura asks, squinting at the object in Polly's hand. "Why-"

"Nobody move," Tommy says. "I think our friends are playing the game"

"What game?" Polly asks.

"Pol, don't, don't touch anything," John says.

"Erasmus Lee was in France," Tommy says.

"Shit," Scudboat hisses.

"When we gave up ground to the Germans, we'd leave behind booby traps set up with wires," Tommy says. "Then we'd leave wire cutters. It's part of the joke"

"Can you just tell me what the fu-"

"Somewhere in here there's a hand grenade," Tommy says.

"Holy Fuck,"

"Attached to a wire. Don't move any chairs. Or open any doors"

"Go easy, John boy, easy," Arthur says and Tommy shakes his head.

"Boys, no, there's nothing here," Tommy says. "If it was in here, it would have blown by now. It was my name on that bullet Erasmus sent. He set up a trap all right. He set it up just for me."