Kings ||Peaky Blinders||

3| The Family Meeting

The next day, Mollie May was in her own office. She sat counting the money she had made from her newest business deal; five small grenades and a 30x60cm bomb. In total it would be £800, £100 each for the grenades and £300 for the bomb. It was a cheap deal.

After counting the money, she put it in her safe along with the order. Everything was disguised, of course. The names of the people were fake and the bombs had code names of clothing and household items. To any passerby, Mollie May simply appeared to be a saleswoman who was trying to make a living.

She locked the safe and walked over to look out of the grimy window which showed her a second-floor view of Birmingham. She noticed a boy enter through the main door below and heard his footsteps echo through the crooked stairwell, as he made his way to the second floor.

Finn stopped outside Mollie Mays office and knocked. The door slid open. The door knob had fallen off on the inside so the door was never closed.

"A family meeting's been called." Finn spoke but didn't go in. Mollie May turned to him and smiled when she seen him.

"I don't know what about. Probably something to do about the expansion." She hushed him immediately and pulled on her long coat, cloche hat and picked up her bag.

Finn was pacing the room. Up and down, up and down, his shoes making a steady rhythm. John stood at the table, his arms behind his back, as he chewed the toothpick in his mouth. Arthur sat at the top of the table, stretching his knuckles. Polly stood behind him.

Esme sat on the stairs reading, Curly and Charlie also close by. Mollie May leaned against a second table further back, her arms folded.

The fast-paced rhythm continued.

"Sit down, Finn." Arthur spoke up and Finn stalked over to a chair and sat down with a sigh. The clicking rhythm stopped, the room and all its occupants were plunged into an icy silence.

John checked his watch and then crossed his arm, "Where the bloody hell is Tommy?" "He's on his way." Polly replied harshly before John had even finished his sentence. Her face emotionless.

Arthur jumped up, "While we're waiting patiently...Whiskey." He lifted a crate of bottles onto the table and everyone took one eagerly. Arthur opened his and drank, "Left over from the explosion. Want one?" He offered one to Mollie May who shook her head and politely smiled.

"Its good stuff as well." He concluded and took another swig of the whiskey. Everyone drank in silence. Mollie May could feel the awkward tension that was building.

"Right," John stood in front of her as he started his speech, arms folded behind his back. She had to give it to him, at least he was trying. "Before Tommy gets here, there's a few things we need to get straight between us." Finn looked at him confused. Polly broke in, "You think?"

John looked at her pissed, "Yeah. Yeah, I do. I want to know, when did we all take a vote on this expansion south?" Nobody answered.

Polly walked towards him, her arms crossed, her heels clicking on the wooden floor was the only sound left in the room. "You have anything to say, you wait for Thomas." She spat.

"Polly is fucking right." Arthur croaked from his seat with his whiskey still in hand. But John kept going. "I see all the books, legal and off-track. So, the stuff you don't see." Mollie May looked at him with pity, it was sort of like a rebellion. She supposed that after all these years of being second best to his brothers he had had enough.

But here? Why could he not talk to Tommy about this?

She shifted uncomfortably behind John. Charlie seemed to have had enough too because he took out a cigarette and started to smoke. She would have loved one too but didn't want to have to walk all the way over to her coat to get one from her pocket, it was awkward enough without having someone walking around the room.