In which a girl attempts to outrun her past only to catch the attention of the ruthless leader of the Peaky Blinders.
or
In which the arrival of the new brown-haired barmaid at the Garrison should have been the canary in the coal mine for the trou...
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Tommy
Tommy always knew that he was destined to die young. Death had always been just around the corner, an unavoidable threat he had been running from. And while he was not afraid to die, he wasn't ready. After the war, he couldn't have cared less about what happened to himself, he was a shell of a person that was prepared to sacrifice every part of himself to put the family in a decent position. And it had worked, the Peaky Blinders had made a name for themselves, and after today he reckoned their power would rival the big ones. But somewhere along that journey, he had found something, or rather someone, that gave him a reason to live.
Tommy let out a deep sigh as the car slowed down before coming to a complete stop. The doors opened to reveal an empty field, a peaceful place as any to die he supposed. He climbed out observing the pre-dug grave in front of him, there was no point in fighting. It was three armed agents against him unarmed in the middle of nowhere, every situation he played out in his head led to the same outcome, his dead body in the grave.
"Any of you boys in France?" Tommy asked as a heavy silence fell over the group. "Allow a man a cigarette?" He continued. If this was the end he wanted it on his own terms. He just wanted a few more moments.
"The Somme. Black Woods." The blonde-haired man across from him finally responded, meeting his eyes.
"The Somme, the Bulge," Tommy replied.
"Smoke" the man allowed as Tommy pulled out his cigarettes, selecting what would be his final smoke.
"So fucking close." Tommy breathed out as he tried to grapple with his impending fate. "So fucking close," he said again. The plan was so close to going perfectly, the life he wanted just out of grasp. So many things he would have done differently if he knew this would have been the ending. So many goodbyes he didn't get to give.
Tommy stared at the sky breathing in another smoke. Closing his eyes, he pictured Elena so clearly that it almost felt like she was with him. "Oh... And there's a woman. Yeah. A woman...who I love...who I was going to give the world"
Elena's mirage disappeared as he opened his eyes, the anger finally bubbling to the surface. "We nearly got fucking everything!" Tommy yelled thinking of the life he and Elena would never get to share.
He took a deep breath as he heard the guns click behind him, his time had come.
"Oh, what the fuck?" Tommy said throwing down the cigarette. No point in delaying the inevitable "Get it done, boys" he said as he came to stand next to the grave.
"Comrade, we have our orders, you know how it is." the blonde said solemnly.
"I know how it is." Tommy breathed out as he grasped the ring box in his pocket. He had planned to give it to Elena tonight if she would accept it. He had bought it just months after meeting her, he had always known she had been the one. And he carried it with him nearly everywhere always looking for the perfect time to give her the proposal she deserved. It was a shit excuse but life had gotten in the way and at some point Tommy had convinced himself she would be better off and safer if he didn't propose at all. So years passed, and he still carried the ring box, always ready but never used. That all changed when she had been taken and he realized how stupid and vulnerable he had left her. So while they were married on paper he was going to officially ask her tonight if she wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Fate had a shit sense of humor as Tommy would die with that ring box still in his pocket never having asked the question. It offered him some comfort as he clenched it knowing that while he was moments away from death, Elena still lived.
