The Red King and the Witch

The Long Awaited Conversation pt 1

Tommy was walking quickly, head down, eyes focused on the ground ahead of him.

His hands were trembling, his breathing heavy and quick as took another deep breath through his nose but it was no use, his hands still shook.

Ripping his cigarette tin from his coat pocket, he shoved past the drunks walking about the street, ignoring their apologies and picking up his pace, muttering a stream of curses beneath his breath as he directed his feet towards Watery Lane.

There had been many times in his life that Tommy wished for something different, wished for something more than what he and his siblings had been dealt.

Born and raised in the slums of Birmingham, being of gypsy blood, he learned that life was never fair to anyone but those with money. From a young age he saw that it was the rich who ruled and the poor who labored day and night for them, until they wound up dead on their backs before fifty.

Witnessing the inequalities and injustice between that of the officers and enlisted men, or rather the upper and lower classes, only added more ammunition to the driving force that fueled his ambition to grow and expand his family's company into a successful, legal, legitimate business.

After the war he'd assimilated and accepted that in order to grow, improve, and better his family's place in this world, he would have to resort to new radical methods in order to obtain the necessary leverage and power to bring his vision of Shelby Company Limited to life and the only fooking thing standing in his way of that accomplishment were Shelby woman.

For weeks Polly and Esme had made more than a few complaints about the company's imminent expansion into London, his Aunt dismayed that they were moving the company too fast, his sister in law perturbed by the unknown dangers of the London outfits and the territory wars between them, even Ada refused to cooperate and come home.

She'd also suffered an attack by Sabini's men but still refused to return; he suspected she was still upset at him for 'showing off' at Freddy's funeral.

Tommy had considered the warnings and complaints given by the women in his family but he had stopped short when they started involving their witchcraft.

Both Polly and Esme forewarned him of the dangers of attacking Sabini under a full moon; using their influence and knowledge of all things superstitious to try and get him to side with them.

Unfortunately for both women he'd expected their warnings, they were the same arguments they had every quarter, both women still clinging on to the old ways, trying to predict their luck by the tide and waning moon, the leaves, the cards, or fooking dreams; forever searching ahead for unknown enemies and danger that awaited them.

Tommy believed, but he only trusted in gypsy magic so much, he found the old ways too unpredictable, but he kept the faith if only because his Aunt's words of wisdom and caution had yet to steer him in the wrong direction.

He'd waited and pushed the date of invasion back, and instead of taking Sabini's territory on the evening of All Souls, he'd found and rescued a girl from the Cut, and since then his fookin' luck had turned for the worse.

Campbell, the war-shy Irish cunt, had returned limping back to Birmingham on special assignment.

The backward blooded scum traitor wanted something and he was having him fookin' followed.

The bastard knew about the Irish business, he'd found Emmon Duggans body and he'd somehow saw him carry the girl home the night she ran off.

If Campbell was watching him, it meant he had eyes looking out of windows and ears on the street with the coppers.