𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 ᵖᵉᵃᵏʸ ᵇˡⁱⁿᵈᵉʳˢ

21

"Curly, you left the gate open" Charlie told him as they heard a disturbance. "No i locked it, i pinched myself when i did it"

"Get this stuff under cover" Charlie instructed, looking out at the gates. "Who goes there?" he asked, holding a gun.

"Tommy?" Curly asked, looking at the limping man. "Curly, get that oil you put on when they go lame,"

"Are you fucking mad" Charlie asked.

"They yellow stuff, go on"

"they said you'd be in for another three weeks" Uncle charlie leaned on the wall. "I need to get on a boat to London, tonight"

"You discharge yourself?"

"I'm a sitting duck in there Charlie" he whispered, "Sabini could send a man in at any time. I need to get some things done"

"Your burning up" Charlie touched Tommy's face.

"Oh Tommy that stuffs for rubbing into fucking horses" he tilted his head as Curly held the oil.

"I am a horse"

"If you were a horse, they'd shoot you with these many broken bones"

"Get the black powder curly. Go, the black powder" Tommy told the bald man. "You pay for a bloody hospital and your using witchcraft" Charlie asked.

"I need to sleep in the open air and feel the boat under me Charlie"

"Oh Tommy, you're just like your mother" he whispered. "Do you have a boat here?" Tom asked.

"Only the January , she's heavy, London would take four days"

"That'll do, can you spare Curly? He'll be my doctor"

"I saw Delilah the other day, she came by the stables" Charlie changed the topic as Curly laughed. "And hows she doing" Thomas asked.

"Seems a lot more like herself" he nodded.

-
3 days later

"Fucking hell lads, calm down" Alfie scolded as the fire burnt high whilst he walked down the corridor. "Put him down, Ollie," he said, "put him down mate he's only little"

Tommy turned to him. "You on your own?"

"Seems so" Tommy nodded. "Well, you're a brave lad ain't you" Alfie laughed. "You want to take a look at my bakery?" he offered, walking back the way he came.

"We bake all sorts here, mate, yeah. Did you know we bake over 10,000 loaves a week" he asked Thomas. "Can you believe it. We bake the white bread, we bake the brown bread, we bake all sorts. You want to try something?"

Tommy stayed quiet, looking at him. "Bread? Yeah?" Alfie said. "All right," Tommy agreed.

"Well what would you like, brown or white" he asked. "Try the brown"

"Brown, right" he picked up a bottle of the drink and poured some. Tommy sipped it, looking at the glass.

"Not bad"

"Not bad, eh?" Alfie asked, "Not bad?" he repeated, "it's fucking awful, that stuff. The fucking brown stuff is awful, it's for the workers. Yeah" he told Tommy.

"The white stuff, now that is for the Bosses, come look"

Tommy cautiously looked behind him before following the man into his office. Alfie sat down.

"Well i've heard very bad, bad things about you Birmingham people." he tutted. "You're Gypsies, right"

"So what do you live in a fucking tent or a caravan" he mocked.