Running with the Firm

chapter five~

My family got really close to the Krays and ended up getting inside the inner circle of the Firm. It was a very small group of people that would meet up, just us (Sarah and I), our dad, Ian Barrie, Albert Donoghue, Teddy Smith ("mad" Teddy), and Leslie Payne that would be there and we would get to know things that other regular members didn't get to know. Many nights we would meet up Violet's house for tea and dinner.

Reg would give us the rundown of what was happening and what he needed us to do. Ron would occasionally step in with some of his thoughts and point of views but for the most part Reg handled the meetings. He was just better at talking about plans then Ron. He was more ready for Brute force at any given moment. He was very impulsive which caused some problems to raise later on. But Reg would always be there to clean up after him and make sure everything was seamless. 

To have it seamless, that's where Sarah and I came in. We were used to get information from our sources then we would report it to our dad or one of the Krays. Then they would get Teddy, Ian, and Albert to clean it up very silently. While Leslie Payne made sure everything was squared away on the legal end. It was a cracking good way of running things. And to be honest, that's what made the Firm so invincible. The Firm was the go to for protection of any sorts. We had the trust of the people while the coppers and anyone else betrayed them. That's how we stayed on top of the underworld.

Les ended up joining us when he was fifteen (I was seventeen and Sarah was nineteen) and became the muscle for us. We didn't really need anyone around at the bar once Les started guarding us. He was just like our dad, very small but could kick anyone's ass in a minute. By this point he was a professional boxer, so not a lot of people wanted to fuck with us. The three of us made a name for us in the underworld.We were known as "the Conelly trio, the muscle for the Firm." It was the best thing ever to happen to us.

Our family was living in peace every night. We didn’t have to fight for food, we didn’t have to worry about our lights getting turned off or our water. We were safe on money because of the Krays. I will personally be forever grateful for them and what they have done for us. Being in the gang world was hard for us at first but looking back now it was all we could do at the time for ourselves. If I’m being fully honest, I wouldn’t change anything. It brought us closer and made us stronger for many years. It also taught me that loyalty will get you very far in life.