Only Time Will Tell - A Peaky Blinders Story

Chapter 16 - Billy Kimber

"Ha! I win again!" John yells as he does a little victory dance. Cass rolls her eyes playfully. "You know, John, just because you're winning streak is now at 4 doesn't mean you're gonna win next time" Arthur retorts, slightly annoyed. "Right then, someone shuffle up and I'll get us some more drinks" Cass says as she leaves the table to go to the hatch.

"There's no need. I've brought some." Grace says as she enters the room with a bucket of mild. "Oh, thanks." Cass says quietly as she sits back down, secretly eyeing the suspicious woman. "Did you want whiskey as well?" Grace asks. "No." Tommy says bluntly. "No whiskey, Tommy? Are you expecting trouble?" Arthur asks, squinting his eyes in confusion.

"Bloody hell, Tommy. What made you decide to let them sing? Sounds like they're strangling cats out there." John says, changing the subject and focusing on the noise outside the room. Cass doesn't miss the small look Tommy and Grace share, instantly answering the question, and apparently neither do her brothers. "Well, it's about time Tommy." John says with a smirk as Grace leaves the room. "Time for what?" Tommy asks with a small smirk as he notices his brother's amusement. "Time you got yourself a woman." John reiterates, making Cass's heart stop for a minute. She can't let Tommy fall for her. Not until she knows Grace's true intentions. It's bad enough she's still getting over the engagement of Ada and Freddie.

"You stay as you are, Tom." Arthur starts with a smirk, "Remember what dad always used to say? Fast women, and slow horses..." he continues. "Will ruin your life." John and Arthur finish in unison, making Cassie huff in annoyance at the memory. Their dad was never one to talk to his children appropriately.

Just then, a car pulls up outside. Its lights blare through the windows, illuminating the lack of concern on Tommy's face. "Coppers?" John asks, slightly skittish. "No." Tommy replies plainly, his eyes never leaving the window. "Who is it then?" Cass asks, dreading the answer. "Just bring your wits." Tommy replies, standing to make himself more presentable.

The doors to the pub are flung open, silencing everyone's singing in the bar. "I'm looking for a member of the Shelby family." Someone yells from outside the door of the snug. A gunshot rings through everyone's ears, making Cassie flinch. "I said, I want the Shelby family. Now can they please make themselves known or God help their little shithole of a pub." The voice yells again, prompting the three Shelby brothers and their sister to swing the snug doors open.

Tommy stalks over first. "Everyone out. Go home. Now." He says as he eyes the man demanding to speak to them. "Harry, get these men a drink and then you're free to go." He then says as he walks into the centre of the room, allowing John and Arthur to set up a table and chairs for them. "You," He says to his sister, "go home." he adds, pointing his finger in her face. "You must be having a laugh, right?" she retorts, rolling her eyes and studying Tommy's face to see if he's serious. He takes a slow deep breath. "Fine, you can stay. But keep quiet. Help Grace bring those drinks over." He says gesturing to the bar.

Cass walks over and picks up the tray of glasses, letting Grace carry the bottles of alcohol. They walk over to the table to pour the men their drinks. "I've never approved of women in pubs." The man says looking her up and down. "But when they look like those two..." he says licking his lips as Cass turned away to walk and stand behind her brothers, letting Grace go to the back rooms alone.

Tommy clears his throat. "You said you wanted members of the Shelby family, you've got 4 of them. What can we do for you, Mr Kimber?" he says calmly. "Right. I hadn't heard of ya. Then I did hear of ya. Some little Didicoy razor gang from Birmingham, I thought to myself 'so what?'. But then you fucked me over and now you have my attention." Kimber says calmly, rarely taking his eyes off Cassandra. "Now, which one am I talking to? Who's the boss?". "Well I'm the oldest." Arthur says dryly. Kimber chuckles in response, "Clearly". "Are you laughing at my brother?" John says, moving forwards in his seat. "Right. You're the oldest and you're the thickest. I'm told the boss is called Tommy. That must be you since you're looking me up and down like I'm a fucking tart!" Kimber yells.

Cass already knew that people thought Tommy was the boss. She feels bad for her oldest brother in situations like these. What must Arthur think if he's seen as the one who couldn't live up to their name?

"I want to know what you want." Tommy says bluntly. "There were some suspicious betting patterns at races of Kempton Park. Monoghan boy won a length twice and then finished last. £3000 was placed as a bet on him altogether." Said the man who was sat next to Kimber. Cass though he looked just as slimy as Kimber. "Which one are we talking to? Which one of you is the boss?" Tommy says before taking a drag on his cigarette. "I'm Mr Kimber's advisor and accountant" the man says. "And I'm the fucking boss" Kimber says, standing up. "Right. End of parley. You fixed a race without my permission. You fucking Gypsy scum! It's now my duty to resolve that. So I'm gonna fucking shoot you against a post." Kimber yells, pointing at Tommy then turning to leave.

"Mr Kimber, wait." Cass yells as she fumbles through her brother's coat pocket, suddenly more involved in the conversation. She knows exactly why Tommy is doing what he is. After all, he asked for her help when he thought of a plan.

She manages to find the bullet off the Lees and throws it in Mr Kimber's direction. "Look at it, Mr Kimber. It's from the Lee family." She pauses as he inspects the engraved bullet. "You're also at war with the Lees aren't you?" She then says, stepping around the table and swinging her hips to tease him. She needs him to think that it's more than just business. "The lees are attacking your bookies and taking your money. Your men can't control them." She adds sending I side look towards her brother. "You need help" Tommy chimes in, understanding what she is doing and joining her round the other side of the table.

"Perhaps we should listen to them, Mr Kimber." The advisor says discreetly, causing his boss to walk closer to the siblings, who were standing their ground. Maybe the advisor is the advisor for a reason. Cass might have judged him too quickly. "You have 3 minutes. Go." Kimber spits in their faces. "The Lees are doing a lot of talking at the fairs. They have a lot of Kin. They've been bragging about the fact that the racetracks are easy meat because the police are busy with strikes." Tommy starts. "We have connections, Mr Kimber. We know how they operate. You have muscle. Together we can beat them, divided? Absolutely not." Cassie continues from what Tommy was saying.

"Maybe we can strike a deal, Mr Kimber?" she says, stepping slightly closer, ignoring the hand that Tommy placed on her arm when he sees the playful glint in her eyes. "It would be an honour to work with you, Mr Kimber. Perhaps we can set up a second meeting?" Tommy says. "Nobody works with me, people work for me." Kimber retorts, looking the Shelby woman up and down. Kimber then throws a coin at Tommy, who lets it fall to the floor. "Pick it up." He says in a mocking tone. Tommy and Cass share a look before he bends down. John and Arthur protest but are muted by a single look off Tommy.

Once Tommy has picked the coin up, Kimber speaks again "It's for the ceiling." He says to Tommy with a triumphant smirk. Kimber then turns to leave with his entourage, forcing swagger as if to show off. "Thank you, Mr Kimber." Tommy and Cass yell in unison as they leave. "We will be at Cheltenham." The advisor says. "So will we." Tommy replies, watching him walk out of the door.

Once the doors close, there is a thick silence between the siblings. Cass and Tommy are looking at each other with proud faces. Their plan is working exactly as they wanted it to. "So you picked a fight with the Lees on purpose." Arthur says after downing his drink. Cass isn't too sure how this will go between her brothers. All of them have the same internal need to know everything about everything all the time. Tommy and Cass went behind everyone's backs on this. "Tommy, we can't mess with Billy fucking Kimber." Arthur then says, his tone becoming more agitated.

Tommy sends his sister a look of amusement before turning back to their brothers. "Get yourselves decent haircuts. We're going to the fucking races." Tommy then says with a smile, prompting everyone else in the room to smile too. "I'm so glad that worked." Cass says, standing next to Tommy. Her smile is literally beaming from ear to ear. "You knew about this?" John says in slight shock. All Cass does is shrug her shoulders sweetly, knowing that her brothers won't be too mad at her for long.