Things in Birmingham had never been safe. A Shelby run Birmingham was never going to be safe, but as things stood, it was the safest place to be for the family, away from the large houses they occupied, back to where they came from. Where they knew well. Cliona Burgess stood at the grimy window of the old house of Thomas Shelby, peering out onto Watery Lane, imagining Luca Changretta smashing the window with a round of bullets from a machine gun. Her twisted thoughts interrupted with a presence followed by a familiar smokers cough, as she turned around continuing to stick pins into her hair, the action she was doing, before she was distracted. It was a common thing, for her to disappear, within her paranoid head. The Italians were everywhere. She never wanted to look at Changretta again, but she knew she'd have to, to protect those she cared for, and being scared only impowered her more.
"It was a decoy?" She pondered as the man walked through the door, heaving a weary but undefeated sigh, nodding slowly.
"They went after Michael. At the hospital. He's okay" Was all he spoke as he sat down, deep in thought, as she walked over to him, placing the final pin in her hair, before her gloved hands fell upon his shoulders.
"Should I go?" Cliona questioned cryptically, waiting for his order or conformation.
"Do what you have to" Was all he spoke, and that's all she needed to hear.
"Aberhama Gold, I don't believe we've formally met." Cliona Burgess spoke as she crossed the grassy terrain at the side of the dust filled road, looking at the older man with shoulder length hair. He acknowledged her, with complexity.
"I know who you are" He nodded his accent thick and odd, in contrast with her own Irish lilt.
"Did Mr Shelby send you?" Cliona only nodded with pursed lips. He was always telling her what to do now a days, since everything happened. Come to think of it, she didn't really know where they stood, but she slept in his bed, and that had to mean something. He treated her like something of a secret weapon, maybe because she was underestimated because of her sex or because she had a fire power not unlike his own, but if she had to be honest, one day she'd burn out. One day she'd be outsmarted, and then she'd be dead. Her irises rose to the road where a wagon was upturned, suggesting an accident, with a police car, with two men within it, behind it. They got out as another black shiny car approached, and Cliona and the gypsies were nowhere to be seen. All was quiet.
"There's an accident, gentlemen, 20 minute wait" One of the policeman spoke, as a unsatisfied grunt came from the car, before everything fell silent once again. 10 minutes past when Luca Changretta emerged from the car with another man, perhaps going to move the wagon themselves. That is, until they realised that it was a gypsy wagon, and that could only mean one thing. His back turned to the wagon, before unexpectedly, a knife swung through the air, knocking his hat clean off his head. Upon turning around, his eyes took in Cliona Burgess standing upon the upturned wagon, a pistol aimed between the two men.
"Y'said I'd be hard to find, Mr Changretta. Saved you the bother" Her lips upturned slightly, as the man only let out a hearty laugh, like he'd won already.
"You will not put me down with that, woman" A toothpick, swivelled across his teeth as the two men took her in.
"Probably not. But then again, I wasn't trying to" Two shots fired, as she ruined the cars two front tires. The man looked at his car, before looking at the wagon, that was missing a Cliona on top, for she was already in the trees. Shots fired across the road, the Italians, now firing, trying to take cover. Luca Changretta had been caught off guard.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Back at the Bookmakers, Cliona appeared through the door, shivering from the cold air of the night outside.
"Hello Lizzie" Cliona chimed to the woman, typing upon a typewriter, whom completely ignored, the friendly welcome. "Hello Cliona, How are you Cliona? Oh, grand, thanks for asking" The woman comically continued confused at the woman, who she thought she was friends with.
"Polly, what's wrong with Liz? " She questioned upon walking into Thomas's old office sitting down, her legs aching slightly from the effort of the day, Polly placing a cup of tea in front of her.
"Ha" The older woman placed a cigarette between her lips "Wouldn't you like to know. What's wrong Lizzie? Fucking her. Where's Tommy? Fucking her." Cliona's stomach flipped within her body, at the mentioning of her personal life. Not that it was some big secret, but it was outrageous, what would people think of her? They'd think she waited for her sister to be killed to steal her man. She closed her eyes at the thought, she'd make herself go mad, thinking like that. "Don't worry. I called for it to happen, and I'm never wrong. Here, I'll read your leaves" The woman lifted Cliona's empty cup up, studying the patterns within it, as the girl watched, reminiscing of a happier time, when Polly would read her leaves, and nothing bad would come of it. She hadn't done it in ages. Polly's eyebrows lifted up, only making Cliona frown. "Go talk to Thomas" Was all the woman spoke, putting the cup back on the table .
"What, Why?" She laughed at the woman's obscurity, watching her as she placed her coat around her bodice, taking a drag from her cigarette.
"Go talk to Thomas" She repeated "And tell him about that baby in your tea leaves"
