Autumn just moved to Birmingham with her fiance for a better life. Leaving all the troubles in the past, she decided it's the best way to start over. At least that's what she thought. Their lives are never going to be the same after they meet a myst...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Everything is going according to plan. Autumn has captured Thomas's attention as she planned and she's really proud of herself. However anger bubbling inside is hard to control. How could he ask that? She doesn't look like a prostitute at all. Thomas Shelby is not what she expected him to be. He was supposed to be ugly and frightening, but the man she's facing is nothing like that. He is handsome, fit, his eyes the brightest blue she has ever seen, and his face... Autumn finds it difficult to concentrate on the plan because of that face.
Don't judge a book by its cover
Johnny's voice is echoing through Autumn's mind. He was right. Thomas Shelby is a living example to that truth. Behind a beautiful face there's a devil. She experienced his coldness on her own skin and she didn't like it at all. His presence stirs a darkness she's successfully suppressed her entire life; a darkness she cannot afford to release now.
Autumn couldn't ignore Thomas's subtle stares. However, it wasn't only him sending glances her way. Across the pub, a man sat concealed behind a newspaper had been observing her throughout the evening. Initially, she believed he was just one of the many hungry men, but now, as the commotion settled, his eyes remained fixed on her.
"Why do you have to ask that every fucking time Tommy" John laughs, kicking his brother's chair.
"Right Tommy, You sure know how to offend a woman," Arthur chimes in, joining his younger brother.
"That, I know," Tommy says calmly, placing a cigarette between his plump lips and lighting it. The corners of his mouth are slightly up. He takes a deep breath of smoke into his lungs, exhaling it deliberately in their faces.
For some reason, Tommy felt a guilt. A feeling he was not familiar with. Autumn's offended face was imprinted in his mind, but admitting it in front of his brothers would surely undermine his authority. He struggled to acknowledge it even to himself.
"A woman in the Garrison. Who the fuck is she?" With that excuse, Tommy pushes up, heading toward Autumn who's looking over her papers.
Autumn's heart began to race when she looked up to meet cold blue eyes staring down at her. She didn't expect him to come so early.
"Who the fuck are you?" Tommy asks in a calm voice, clenching his jaw in anger.
"Prostitute, obviously," Autumn spits with a frown before directing her attention back to her work.
Tommy doesn't let it slide,he's forcefully pushing a pile of papers from the table as he takes a seat across from her. Autumn is watching him in a mix of surprise, fear, and anger as the papers are swirling around them and scattering onto the floor.
"Now I have your attention" Tommy smirks at Autumn who's grappling with a bubbling rage building inside her stomach. Thomas studies her face, observing the changes - the scrunching of her nose when she's angry, the biting of her bottom lip or avoiding his eyes intentionally. Thomas hates to be ignored and she could sense that. The weapon she could use against him.
"What do you want from me? I apologized" she barks, looking down at the papers scattered on the floor. How can she gain his trust when he's acting like an idiot.
"I don't care about my suit" he scoffs, not letting his eyes slide of her.
"What do you want then?" Autumn asks, genuinely curious but happy, that she managed to pull him in so quickly.
"Why don't I know you?" he asks, eyeing her up and down.
"I just moved here from London" she replies curtly, not breaking an eye contact.
"Do you work here?" his face cold as usual.
"Yes, I'm a bookkeeper," she smiles softly, lighting a spark of curiosity in Tommy. Who is she really? Why would she choose to move to this hole of all places?
"My name's Autumn Thompson, by the way," she adds, extending her hand to Tommy with a gentle smile.
Tommy rose from his seat, watching her with a freezing cold eyes, ignoring her outstretched hand, he didn't bother with a handshake. Autumn scoffed at his arrogance but Tommy stayed silent. Wondering who she really was and why he felt so intimidated by her. After what felt like hours, Tommy turned away without a word, storming out of the pub and ignoring his brother's protests as he brushes past them.
Autumn decided to gather the scattered papers from the floor, feeling Shelbys eyes on her as she bent down to collect them one by one. All she wanted was to finish her work here and get back home to wash this day off.
As the men started to dissappear from the pub, Autumn felt a sense of relief settling in. Arthur and John left, leaving only one man hanging in a pub. A man that eyed her all night. A gut feeling told Autumn that he was one of the men assigned to watch her, ensuring she carried out her duties.
Purposely, she locked eyes with him, to let him know that she was aware. A man winked at her as she glared at him, her eyes flickering with anger. He began to gather his stuff from a table, letting her know he's leaving. Just before pushing the door open, he turned to cast one last look at Autumn, lifting his hat from his head in a silent farewell.
"Who was that?" Autumn rushes to Harry, who's cleaning now empty tables.
"I have no idea" he replies truthfully, shrugging his shoulders.
"Come on Harry" she pushes, grabbing empty glasses from the table to help with the cleaning.
"They give me as little information as possible. My part in this was just to employ you" Harry says, walking back behind a bar with an empty glasses. Autumn following him, hungry for information.
"Harry, we're smarter than them. We can get out of this" Autumn breathes out, watching him wash glasses with anxiety on his face.
"Autumn no! You don't understand. They're dangerous men. You'll get us killed" he yelps as he begins to wash faster.
"Who are they?" she asks in a low voice, watching Harry's anxious cleaning.
"Italians...Mafia" Harry gives her a quick look before turning back to cleaning. "Go home Autumn. You did a good job today. Be here at 5pm tomorrow" he pats her shoulder friendly before walking away, leaving her stand there speechless and terrified.
~
Autumn sank into a warm tub, letting the water wash away this challenging day. Finally alone with her thoughts, she lets herself cry. Alone and scared of what's coming next.
~
Tommy settled into his office with a whiskey in his hand. There's a file on the table with Autumn's name on it. He couldn't wait until tomorrow so he pulled some strings, and now, the entire life story of the mysterious girl lays at the reach of his fingertips. The power he held was intoxicating, much like the whiskey he swirled in the glass before downing it. He swipes his finger across a picture of Autumn at the top right of the file before opening it.
Name: Autumn Thompson Race: White Birthday: - - - Age: 24 Place of birth: London Religion:Atheist Family: - - - Height: 5'2 Weight: 99lbs Hair: Dark brown Eyes: Brown
Tommy's frustration boiled over as he smashed his hands against the table. The absurdity of it all left him seething. This file is collection of blanks and rests, offering no information about Autumn. Pouring himself a second drink, he downed it in one gulp. This is not what he expected. It was obvious - Autumn was a spy. But what is he going to do about it?
