In My Blood // Alfie Solomons

Hello Mr Shelby

Meanwhile in Camden Town...

After being mugged by sabinis men and fleeing from the hospital long before medically necessary tommy had made his way to camden town to meet alfie solomons. Tommy had heard things about this man. Tommy pulled the door open only to be greeted with a confused man.

'What am I going to wear?' livy said as she was ushered out, tommy looked back at her as she left.

'Well you letting me in or not?' Tommy barked at the baker.

'You dont look too good.' ollie remarked coming back inside.

'Yeah well I have had a rough few days. Am I meeting mr solomons or not? Ollie looked tommy over, before patting down tommy for weapons.

'Put him down ollie hes only little.' Alfie said, ollie obediently listened taking a step back. 'You must be mr shelby' alfie limped towards him yet he stood tall and intimidating.

'That's right,' tommy said, assessing mr Solomons.

'Come on then.' Alfie lead tommy down through the bakery. 'Alright' he clapped once, 'You want to try some bread?'

'Sure,' tommy agreed.

'We make all kinds of bread brown bread and white bread you want to try? Did you know we bake over 10000 loaves a week?'

'impressive mr solomons.' tommy said looking around the bakery.

'yeah, you want to try some?' He gestured to the liquor on the counter

'The bread?' Tommy questioned

'The bread' alfie repeated with a smile. 'Which you want? Brown or white'

'Brown' tommy said.

'Brown' alfie said nodding pouring tommy a glass. 'So what do you think?'

'Not bad'

'not bad?' It down right tastes like shit. Brown is for the workers while white is for the bosses'. He gestured between him and tommy. Alfie then lead tommy to the office. Sat down opposite him and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

'alright Rum is for fun and fucking but whiskey is for business'

'Id rather talk first'. Alfie made a face at tommy and scratched his beard starting to put the bottle away. 'well ive heard some very bad, bad things about your Birmingham people... tsk tsk eh?' Alfie said 'Youre gypies right?' Alfie asked. 'so what you live in a fucking tent or a caravan?' Alfie chuckled. Tommy didn't say anything but his eyes drifted to a rose hair clip on his seat. He picked it up, putting it on the desk. Alfie snatched it away. 'They say you had your life saved by a police man.' Alfie began.

'I have policeman on my payroll.' Tommy said

'well I don't like policemen, because policemen they cant be trusted.' Alfie informed tommy, leaning back in his chair.

'Mr sabini uses police all the time that's why hes winning the way in London and you are losing it.' Tommy told him.

'a war aint over till its over mate.' Alfie replied clenching and unclenching his fist. 'you were in the war.' Slowly Alfie opened his desk drawer. Tommy saw but didn't flinch. 'I once carried out my own personal form of stigmata on an Italian. I pushed his face up against the trench. Shoved a six inch nail up his fucking nose and I hammered it home with a duckboard...'alfie informed him 'It was fucking biblical!' Alfie grinned. 'so don't come in here and sit there in my chair and tell me I'm losing my war to a fucking wop.

'that war was a long time ago.' Tommy said slowly. 'you need to be more... realistic.' Tommy knew he was pissing off the bear but he never was good at playing nice.

'realistic yeah? Realistic?'

'well if you weren't losing the war, then you wouldn't have sent me the telegram.' Tommy said lighting a cigarette.

'really? You forget you fucking telegram. The telegram just said hello... its very simple. You want to sell me something. What?'

'we join forces-'

'oh fuck off!' Alfie said, 'no. categorical. Fucking ridiculous.'

'mr solomons.' Tommy began again 'your distillery provides one tenth of your income. Protection is another 10% and the rest you make from the race tracks... I know you keep a gun in the drawer and I know you keep it beside the whiskey. I know you offer a deal or death.... I know what I'm saying makes you angry. But I'm offering you a solution.' Alfie thought on that as he scratched his chin, opposite hand still in the drawer, fingers grazing the gun. 'you see, mr sabini, is running all your bookies off your courses. And he is closing down the premises that take your rum. And people don't trust your protection anymore...' tommy needed to be smart, Alfie pointed an accusatory finger at tommy.

'you are the bloke who shot Billy kimber right?' he waited but tommy didn't say anything. 'you did. You fucking shot him. That's you.' Finger still pointed at tommy. 'you fucking betrayed him mate. So it will be entirely appropriate to do what I'm thinking in my head to you right now...'

'I can offer you 100 good men, all with weapons.' Tommy went on carefully. 'and a new relationship with the police.'

'intelligence.' Alfie spoke calmly hand no longer in the drawer. 'intelligence is a very valuable thing, isn't it my friend? but usually it comes far too fucking late' he pulled the gun from behind his back and pointed it at tommys head. 'lets say I shot you already right in the fucking face.' Tommy leaned back distancing himself. 'and the bullet goes bone mush bone cabinet over there... which is a shame isn't it? Because that cabinets fucked now and I got to get shot of it... so what I do is this. Its fucking simple mate.' He cocks the gun ready to make the kill but tommy's nose starts bleeding, tommy sits perfectly still waiting, this will be the day that he dies. Alfie puts the gun down on his desk though and tommy can breathe. 'I cut that cabinet in half, don't i? I do.' Tommy wipes at the blood running into his lips. 'literally, I just cut the cabinet I cut...' Alfie tosses him a rag for his bloody face. 'I cut the cabinet literally in half mate. And I take one half of the cabinet all right and I put it into a barrel and I take the other half of the cabinet and all its pieces and I put that into another barrel, right? And I send this barrel off to mandalay. And the other barrel off to somewhere like... I don't know... Timbuktu. Have you ever been?' Alfie rested his hands on his chin.

'no.' tommy said stiffly.

'no? would you like to go?'

'no'

'I always thought youd have a great big fucking gold ring in your nose.' Alfie said excitedly. He leaned back with a smile. 'I'm sorry go on.' Alfie said grinning. 'tell me your plan.'