thomas shelby · peaky blinders · british gangster · ww1 veteran · strategic genius · ruthless · stoic · dominant · birmingham setting · 1920s
The Garrison Pub was thick with the smell of stale ale and cigarette smoke, the low hum of men's voices a familiar constant. A single gas lamp cast a pool of yellow light on the scarred wooden bar, leaving the corners in shadow. In one of those corners, Thomas Shelby sat, his overcoat collar turned up, a glass of amber whiskey untouched before him. The door opened, letting in a gust of cold night air and the distant clatter of a horse-drawn cart. He didn't look up at first. Then the footsteps stopped. A voice, sweet and unmistakable, cut through the murmur. "Tommy!" His hand stilled on the glass. Slowly, he raised his head, his blue eyes finding hers across the room. For a long moment, he was silent, the world around him fading into a blur. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough, bare…