smoke storm. peaky blinders

𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲

𝙘 𝙝 𝙖 𝙥 𝙩 𝙚 𝙧   𝙛 𝙞 𝙫 𝙚

No amount of planning could fix a broken opportunity.

Fortune was fickle- Adelaide had always known such words. It had all seemed too good to be true. The lost guns would provide the power she sought, and to find them with such little effort made it feel as if they were falling into her lap. But luck had swiftly run out, it seemed, before they'd even stepped into Charlie Strong's yard.

The plan was told simply without anything left out, so simply that no questions were asked as Adelaide directed the small group she'd finally collected out of the room. Though in privacy, Harry had of course shared his worries. They mainly consisted of fear for the future, as they always did, and Adelaide too responded as she would any other time. he would not need to concern himself with fear of the future when she'd so carefully planned it out.

Her planning had not been as careful as it should have been.

It was close to midnight when the five men were led to the yard under Adelaide's watch. No moon hung in the sky, leaving only a black void up ahead. It was a trickster's delight, this unending darkness to hide behind. It was not only Adelaide who knew this.

She held a hand for them to halt behind her. "Spread into a circle. The crates should be at the north end of the yard, by the water."

They followed her instructions and snaked around the very edge of the yard, nearing the canal that broke through the centre of it. It was there, that they should have found the two crates, hidden behind a meagre waterproof sheet. It was there, that fortune should have rewarded her. It was there, by the canal, that the yard broke into a vast empty space of slick mud and an abandoned cover.

Upon seeing it, Adelaide broke from her position to sprint into the centre of the clearing, circling on the spot, scanning the entire area. There was nothing, not even a single dropped item to prove it was there. But it had been there. Adelaide could feel it, and the harder she stared, willing it to suddenly appear as if she was missing something, the more the hints of its existence appeared and the angrier she became. The crates had left marks in the dirt where they'd been and the mud was smudged where it's been dragged to a boat on the water, which too was long gone.

Adelaide let out a screech as she spun on the boys behind her, wild eyes landing on her brother.

"Too fucking late!" she screamed, making Harry's eyes widen. "Always too fucking late!"

"Maybe they've moved them to the opposite end of the yard. We should at least look," he said, using his arms to plead with her to be quiet.

"Don't be ridiculous," she snapped, watching as he pulled away from her sharply, jaw clenched.

"Luck places a crate of guns at your feet, what do you do? Leave them rusting by the edge of a canal?" Adelaide said, pulling a sleeve across her mouth. "They're not stupid. Not weak. We're too late. They're long gone and hidden."

They watched her as she turned, fists clenching at her side.

"Go. There's nothing for us here."

"Adelaide, be reasonable," her brother said as he reached for her again.

She shrugged him away, letting her shoulder slip from his reach.

"Go. Leave me," she said as she began to walk away. "I'll meet you at home."

Her actions were not admirable, even for the standards of a leader of the Newcastle gang. She left her men behind and they did not dare to follow. The streets were pitch black, not blessed by the silvery light of the moon; only dull lamps paved her way through the roads. The walk was made difficult by her shoes, ankles snapping to the side as she stepped one wrong way.