Realistic or Modern Gangs of Birmingham - IC Thread [Open & Accepting]

[neverbackdown]

The Walker Residence
- Edgbaston, Birmingham, England -

Thomas Walker
​

Thomas listened intently and silently as his father relayed the horrific ordeal he had gone through in Casablanca. It almost felt like he was listening to his father reading out a war novel and it was hard for Thomas to keep in mind that this was his father's life and experiences. As his father had started to go into more detail about his stay in the cell, Thomas looked down towards his clasped hands, afraid that his feelings may show on his expression and distract his father or cause him to stop sharing. Even though he knew the ending, especially with the giant spoiler being his dad telling him the story, he still couldn't help but feel worried for his father in that cell, afraid for him and his life and what he was going through and then the anger hit. He just couldn't understand how a person could do things like that to another human being, to treat another person so horrifically and cruelly as to torture and maim. He couldn't help but wonder if Charles had even gotten to hear this story and maybe that was what made him so ruthless.

As Robert concluded his story, Thomas looked up towards him a mix of emotions playing on his expression. "I'm so sorry you went through all that" he said sincerely "I always knew you were a strong man but to survive that everyday is something else".

As Robert commented on training them to think fast, Thomas frowned as he squeezed his own hands tightly, his eyes falling to look at his knees. "And I froze" he mumbled at slight tone of distaste at himself was present in his tone. His eyes closed for a moment as he tried to stop his racing mind that seemed to be filled with self doubt and hate in that moment. "How did you overcome fear? how did you keep going?" he asked as he slowly looked back towards his father.


**************
Int;-
Misty Gray - Robert

 

[Misty Gray]

The Walker Residence
- Edgbaston, Birmingham, England -

Robert Walker​

Robert sent a gentle smile Thomas' way when he said he said he was sorry about what he'd gone through. "I didn't think I was strong until I was thrown into that situation. A couple of years before I wasn't too far from the age you are now and I never imagined I'd be fighting in a war, never mind that that I'd be subjected to that torture." He looked his son in the eyes. "My own life aside, I had something else to fight for. Back then, it was your mother and Charles who helped me survive."

Robert knew he was guilty of being strict and pushing his children, but hearing Thomas mumble about freezing during the gala attack caused him to quickly shake his head in disagreement. "There's no shame in that, Thomas. You were thrown into a situation you weren't prepared for. I'm grateful you got out of there unharmed rather than if you were hurt rushing into action without knowing what you were doing."

Asked how he overcame his fear, Robert thought for a time. "In a way, the war benefitted me. I went in with something of a naivety but those years in the war made me come out stronger; physically and mentally. I pray you will never have to fight in a war, but that doesn't mean you can't be trained to deal with similar situations. Locked away for those two months, there were times I wanted to just give up and die. However, Caroline and Charles were what kept me fighting. If you can't stay strong for yourself, then think of the people you love," he assured him.

Robert knew they were entering tough times. Had it been the Fletchers behind the gala attack, he was sure he could easily deal with them. However, the mystery of who was behind it and the fact they would be confident enough to attack the two most dangerous families in Birmingham and kill a political figure was concerning. "I'd rather you didn't have to be thrown into such situations as I was. And the determination to protect your loved ones isn't the whole battle. We can get you trained to fight and react, if that's something you want to do," he suggested. "But essentially, it's your path to decide," he told him. Despite always wanting his kids to support the family business, he was growing to realise he couldn't control them. Charles devoted his life to the family business and no doubt died because of it, so Robert didn't want to push Thomas in that direction if his heart wasn't in it.

neverbackdown (Thomas)

 

[BasDorcha]

The Crown Pub

- Small Heath, Birmingham -​

Alfred Walker

Graciously his sister gave him a little redemption, but in his new state of being higher than a kite, he couldn't help being a little less observational. He would have to get with her later and have a real conversation. He looked her over after he cleared his nose and watched, wondering what she thought about her brother having just snorted down a massive amount of cocaine right in front of her. He had never let his family see him party before, much less one of his sisters. He wanted to keep an a certain image up, even if it already wasn't the best one, so they would never lose faith in him. He loved his siblings the most in life despite not always getting on with them as well as he wanted to. When his words reached Jon, he watched as a smile blossomed across her face and it brought a more gentle and natural smile to his. He felt like he had passed some kind of test with her and passed. She returned to business as easy as breathing and he slowly was starting to see her in a new light - she just might pull this off without to many of the immediate issues he was fearing but there was still a lot to cover.

Looking up at Russo, he saw the man smiling as well. He had apparently impressed him with his move to take the drug without question and down it like a shot at a frat party. The resounding cheers lingered in his head, though the men had all fallen silent once his move was over. Alfie nodded, agreeing that it was in fact 'good stuff'. As Russo resumed talking after Sully took his own bump of the powder, Alfie's good mood began a slow disintegration. A feeling of dread began to form in his stomach that he carefully managed and did not allow to reach his face. He keep the professional and now some what high induced smile painted across his features. Russo proceeded to essentially force him into being the main person he wanted to deal with. The feeling in his stomach solidified as he realized that Felicity would never forgive him now. He looked between Felicity and Sully, a quick apologetic look in his eyes. This was not something he even wanted to do.

A hesitant thanks crossed his lips as Russo expressed his approval at his business skills, comparing him to his father. Shit… I meant to channel the old man but not like this… A sigh escaped him at first chance of no one looking, the only sign that he was not as excited about this prospect as he was pretending to be. He watched as Russo rounded up his crew and loaded them into the box van as he said his goodbyes, shaking each of their hands. "Sure, see ya Russo." Finally the door closed again, locking the three of them in the warehouse in privacy. Instantly an image of aggravation and irritation, bordering on rage, formed over his face as Sully mounted on him like a predator tracking his prey. When the man laid hands on him, Alfie instantly snapped as his adrenaline raced through his body encouraged by the drug that was amping it up. His hands caught Sully as he turned towards Felicity, hand grabbing his wrist and jerking him back around to face Alfie with ease.

"One, you do NOT put your hands on me, ever. I will snap you like a tooth pick. Secondly, you do not raise your voice at Felicity or disrespect her because then you'll wish you were just the tooth pick. Understand me?" Alfie gave the man a menacing look as he waited for him to give his affirmative response. Once he did, he released the man, stepping back to start pacing before the two of them.

"Of course she didn't know, I didn't even know I would be here before tonight. I seen you two idiots at the pub and wanted to find out why my sister was with a Fletcher. What the hell were you two thinking? Are you trying to get yourselves killed or just your families? You both are making moves without family approval I'm sure, at the very least Felicity I know you are. There is a reason things like this have to go through the heads! You're essentially trying to start running against the people who already control these things, which happen to be your own families! Sully, you of all people know what happens to those people normally. Felicity, I expected better from you. There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. This? This is not the right way. Why didn't you come to me? I know Dad isn't exactly the one to give you what you want, but you never even gave me a chance to help support you on something like this! In the past I couldn't do much as Charles was the golden boy, but you should have known that with the power shift his death caused I would be able to do more in the future. You couldn't just bide your time could you? You had to throw in with him. HE'S NOT EVEN ONE OF THE GOOD FLETCHERS, FELICITY!" His words grew louder and hotter the more the talked, the drug bringing on his anxiety.

His hands pushed into his hair as he tried to process everything going on around them, everything he had just witness and the situation they were now in. Turning to look at Felicity, he shook his head as he calmed back down, taking a deep, shaky breath. Standing still now before them, he shoved his hands back into his pockets, glaring at them both. "You realize I have to tell dad about this right? We are going to have to find a way to move twice the product we've ever moved and in an insanely short time line. To say we are going to need help is an understatement. And you," he looked at Sully, his gaze darkening menacingly, "You are going to tell Tony what the hell stupidity you got my sister into, as well as yourself, and you are going to make him work together with us on this. We are going to likely need both families to get us out of this mess. I'll talk to my father. Maybe we can work out a temporary truce to all the other bullshit already going on to handle this." There was venom in his words, professional as they may sound.

Misty Gray BeyondDandy

 

[Misty Gray]

The Crown Pub
- Small Heath, Birmingham, England -

Felicity Walker​

Felicity somehow managed to remain stone-faced when Russo switched from telling her she was capable of handling the operation to saying he believed in Alfie more. Even though he wanted both of them and Sully working the operations, he decided Alfie would be leading on it. The evaluation that her brother was like their father was another kick in the gut. No matter what she did, it would always be about the men in her family. When Charles had been alive and was Robert's chosen one, Felicity still worked hard for the business. She worked overtime to prove her commitment whilst Alfie partied and fucked random women. It was becoming clear to her that hard work and commitment would never be enough.

Felicity shook Russo's hand, despite there being no thought or feeling behind the hollow gesture. Her eyes never broke away as she watched him approach his truck before climbing into it and eventually driving off. Only when it was just her, Alfie and Sully did she relax her gaze.

Sully proceeded to express his anger, demanding to know why Alfie was there as he shoved him back. "Hey!" she yelled and took a step towards them. When Sully then turned his attention on her and asked if she knew her brother was following them, she clenched her fists and was about to snap at him, but Alfie spoke before she could. There was a theme emerging from the evening and it was infuriating. Alfie lectured Sully not to touch him and not to raise his voice to her. "What he said. I didn't have a fucking clue he was following us!" she asserted to Sully.

Felicity scoffed when lectured about making moves without family approval. "Dad wouldn't have given me a chance and you know it! Nor would you have. Dad, Charles, you... You're all the same. I've been biding my time for as long as I remember. Everything I've been told to do, I've done. In fact, I did it all better than was expected of me, but I was still left festering in that hotel." When he said Sully wasn't even one of the good ones, she let out a frustrated laugh. "So who is? That cocky bastard, Tony? Their gobby little sister? Sully is the only one remotely intelligent enough to know the benefit of us working together."

When Alfie said their father would need to be told, she subtly nodded. "I know." He pointed out that they would need Robert's help and Tony's to shift all of the drugs in time. She slammed the brick down on the workbench next to her before reaching into her coat pocket. Now their father would be involved, she knew she would no longer have any part in the business at hand. "You're going to need these. Don't forget to lock up," she said, shoving the warehouse keys into Alfie's hand. "Nice doing business with you," she coldly remarked to Sully as she walked away, deciding to make her own way back home just has she'd got there to begin with.

BeyondDandy (Sully) BasDorcha (Alfie)

 

[Misty Gray]

Unknown Location
- Birmingham -

Aidan Jones​

That evening...
In the large, windowless gym, the basement room was quiet, other than the sound of iron plates being stacked on the rack which housed the weights. Aidan, the only man in the room, reached for his white towel and used it to mop up the sweat from the back of his neck. He then took a seat on the nearby bench as he seat about removing his fingerless lifting gloves from his hands.

The sound of the door clicking open when soon accompanied by footsteps as the large man approached. "Is now a good time?" the guard asked, a sense of uncertainty in his tone.

After glancing at the wall clock, Aidan cracked a smile as he got to his feet. "You're right on time, Rhys. I suppose I got carried away with tonight's workout and missed our timeslot. What have you got for me?" he asked, his face now more serious.

"I've had confirmation both David and Rowan are both dead," Rhys assured his boss, speaking of the men who had killed the Mayor and shot Rory, respectively.

Aidan smiled and nodded his head. "I suppose that's what happens when people cross the Walkers and Fletchers," he knowingly remarked. Of course, he was the one behind their deaths, not Robert's or Tony's sides. The longer David and Rowan were breathing, the more likely they were to start squealing. "Now. Speaking of loose ends. Bring me that other waste of space."

Rhys did as instructed and soon after returned to Aidan with Jude by his side. Jude had been the one to shoot Richard and eventually flee the scene without being caught. "It's good to finally see you again. Thanks for helping me hide out from the pigs," Jude greeted Aidan with an overly keen handshake.

"Don't thank me," Aidan told him. His tone wasn't a friendly one, instead coming across as unsettling and somewhat threatening. "I could hardly have you leading them back to me, could I? After you failed so miserably to complete your task and then left your partner to fend for himself." As soon as he could see Jude was about to speak, Aidan turned away and carefully draped his towel over the metal rack which housed the dumbbells.

"Just give me another chance and I'll make sure I get both of them, and I'll hit them where it counts next time!" Jude spoke of Robert and Richard.

Aidan shook his head before turning back to face him. "Come here," he said, beckoning him closer, whilst Rhys remained out of the way. "My dad hesitated. He kept Richard alive and gave Robert time to act, which ended up getting him killed. He wasted time thinking mercy would favour him. All it got him was dead. God rest his soul." Aidan sighed. "I won't wasting time and mercy on someone as useless as you've been." Jude hadn't noticed Aidan grip the cast iron dumbbell. So by the time it struck the side of his skull, it was too late to react.

Rhys watched on as his boss hit Jude a second time, knocking the man unconscious. Even when Jude was out cold on the gym mat, Aidan continued delivering a series of controlled, heavy blows to the man's skull. The dumbbell crushing his head and face into a bloody mess. Just as calmly as he'd been throughout the violent attack, Aidan set the weight down by the now dead man's shoulder before standing up straight. "The others will help you clean up this mess," Aidan told Rhys. He retrieved his towel so he could wipe the sprayed blood from his hands and face, as casually as if he were still drying off from his workout. "Join me upstairs for drinks when you're done here," he instructed him.

End of Chapter
​

 

[Misty Gray]

Chapter 6 - Resolutions
- Friday 9th January 1976 -
Evening - Cold, Dry, Clear Skies
...3 weeks later..

***************

The Walker Residence
- Edgbaston, Birmingham -

Robert Walker​

The last three or so weeks had been chaotic and in a way had felt like far more time had passed than actually had. After finishing up his heart to heart with Thomas, the evening had taken a far from relaxing turn. Alfie had done the right thing in heading straight over to inform Robert of the mess Felicity and Sully had gotten themselves tied into with Russo. Despite the quiet arrangement Robert and Sully had been forming, he had never intended on Felicity being dragged into it. Much to their own frustration, both he and Tony had to step in to ensure Alfie and Sully could shift all of the drugs in the agreed two week period. In this business, people didn't make deals they couldn't keep!

That hadn't been the only bombshell to land in the Walker household in a short space of time, as in the early hours of the next morning, they received a call from one of Caroline's sisters informing her of their father's death. Robert's father-in-law's health had been declining over the last year, but in the end, it had been a heart attack that finished him off.

With Edward's death and the Russo problem both making their mark, it had been difficult to even think about Christmas, but the Walkers managed to all get together at home for at least the one day. Then, as agreed, the Walkers and Fletchers just about managed to shift all of the drugs in time for the deadline on New Year's Day.

With the exception of Christmas Day, Caroline had been in London since her father's death. Had her father not died when he had, she'd been intending on having it out with Robert about him needing to forget about his Fletcher daughter and think about his real family. Although that conversation didn't happen in the end, the fallout of her father's death only made her feelings grow more hostile towards Robert. Despite having three daughters, Caroline had always been the one Edward saw as most capable where business was concerned. It was no surprise that he left his estate and business to Caroline, with her sisters instead receiving a large sum of money each. Given that her father made his wealth in the oil business, the amount that was left behind was huge - exceeding even Robert's wealth. That was were the real kick had come in, with the will stipulating that Robert wasn't to receive or have any control over the Reynolds' inheritance. It had caused friction between Caroline and Robert, but not because he cared about Edward's money, but because of the sentiment behind it. 30 years ago, Edward had been the one to push Robert deeper into the organised crime business he now controlled in Birmingham, and the two men had got along for many years. But it was when Edward found out about Robert's adultery that he cut him out of his will completely. Whilst he commended Caroline's loyalty and commitment to Robert, Edward believed his daughter deserved better.

With her father's will and sentiment about Robert at the front of her mind, Caroline hadn't returned to Birmingham with Robert and the kids after the funeral. Instead, she wanted time to think - time away from Robert and the Fletchers!

The funeral had been three days ago and Robert hadn't seen or spoken with Caroline since she told everyone to go home without her, two days ago. Content her sisters were there to help her with her grief, Robert had no choice but to do as he was told and give Caroline the space she needed. He wished he could just switch his mind off where Rory was concerned, but since losing Charles and then everything that happened at the gala, it was no longer so easy to pretend she wasn't his daughter.

Still, that wasn't the only thing on his mind as his family and the Fletchers were now also bound together where Russo was concerned. It was only a matter of time before the man showed up wanting more gear shifting and seeing as they'd managed it once already, Robert knew the only way to do it again was to keep working together. With his own contacts and Tony's associations with groups the Walkers couldn't tap into, it was logical to maintain the partnership Sully and Felicity had dragged into existence. If it was going to work, the men involved needed to get along. Alfie had been tasked with managing the situation, so he had to find a way to work with Tony and Sully. Push past their hostilities to make it work. Yet another matter that angered Caroline.

Another matter that needed addressing was happening this evening. As it had happened, everything going on over recent months had made it too easy for Robert to avoid reconnecting with Dean. However, he couldn't put it off any longer, so had agreed for Richard and Dean to come to the house for drinks that evening. With Thomas out, it would give the three men - old squad buddies - chance to catch up without interruption.

With the mini bar fully stocked, Robert sat back and read the newspaper as he waited for the two men to arrive. He wasn't sure how he would approach Dean, but at least it was a distraction from waiting for Caroline to call or returned home. The stress was written all over his face, so he hoped his two guests weren't going to sour his mood any further.

When Richard and Dean arrived, they would be able to freely enter the house having made it past security without needing to be giving the once over.

ReverseTex (Richard), BasDorcha (Dean)

Electric Lounge
- Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham -

Tony Fletcher​

Tony had not been happy when he found out about the business Sully and Felicity had ended up wrapped up in. Nor was he thrilled to learn Sully had been going behind his back to make an arrangement with Robert. Unfortunately, the situation had dictated that he couldn't do anything about it other than cooperate with the Walkers to make the Russo problem go away. Only, it didn't seem like that was going to be solved after one successful business transaction and until they all figured out a way to make Russo fuck off, they were going to have to continue working with the Walkers on this job.

Christmas hadn't been the best, but he'd still made sure to bring the family together at his house for the day. It was difficult knowing in the back of his mind that Marco was holed up hiding away on his own and Penny was unhappy as a result of that. However, as the Mayoral election day quickly approached, so did the day Marco would have to hand himself over to the police. Tony still felt uncomfortable with the whole thing, but Marco remained firm in doing what had been agreed with Richard.

As it happened, the Walkers seemed to have enough on their plates over the last three weeks, so Tony didn't have to go too overheard with his efforts to keep them distracted. Still, he had gone ahead with throwing some chaos and challenges on the streets for the Walker soldiers to deal with. Robberies, vandalism, and anti-social behaviour on the doorsteps of the Walker businesses and those of their snooty associates. Nothing too destructive or severe, but enough to keep them too distracted to think about Charles and being led towards Marco.

Todays meeting had been arranged in a neutral location, with a private function room in a nightclub booked out just for the meeting to take place. Their relevant security would stand guard outside the door.

The first to arrive, Tony and Sully took their seats at one side of the table as they waited for Alife and Lewis to arrive. "So, remind me, what were you hoping to achieve by involving Felicity in this? Not only a Walker, but the bloody Junior Ice Queen," he scoffed, letting out a laugh as he turned to face his brother. "Now we've got to work with Alfie and have Robert breathing down our necks about more shite. Whatever we did over Christmas in shifting that gear, we're going to end up having to do all over again until we figure out how to cut this Russo prick loose. Have you got any bright ideas on that front?" he asked.

Despite his tone and Sully's betrayal, a part of Tony liked working with his brother after he'd been gone for so long. He just wished it hadn't happened this way and that they weren't now having to be civil with Alfie to get out of this mess.

BeyondDandy (Sully) BasDorcha (Alfie)

Cedar Grill & Lounge
- Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham -

Jennifer Murray​

As part of Tony's campaign to apparently wind up the Walkers, he'd sent some of his gang members out to cause trouble around one of the fancy Walker restaurants where some important meeting between various overseas business associates was taking place. The orders were simple: to cause enough fuss to wind up the guests so word got back to Robert. Make some noise and lower the tone for the fancy rich folk!

Out in the car park, a group of Fletcher gang members had congregated, blocking part of the car park entrance as they sat around drinking and smoking. A couple of cars and a few motor bikes belonging to them had also taken up some of the space in the lot.

Jenny had agreed to help out on this job and had dragged Rory along with her. She had another plan in mind that didn't just involve loitering outside, but instead, she'd reserved a table for herself and Rory inside the restaurant.

For now, she was content smoking a cigarette as she sat on the wall next to Rory. They had a little time before her reservation, so she was happy enough having some fun with the Fletcher men who were standing their ground against the restaurant security guards who wanted them to leave.

"How's the shoulder doing?" Jenny asked Rory before taking a drag from her cigarette. "I haven't seen you since the gala, but that shit sounded wild." She blew out the smoke, which appeared thicker in the cold winter air. "Tony seems a bit serious these days. And he needs to shave. Tell him to get rid of the beard," she remarked. "And what's happened to Marco? He used to be all over this kind of troublemaking but I haven't seen him in weeks."

neverbackdown (Rory)

Active Cast: Misty Gray BasDorcha @Bella:D BeyondDandy neverbackdown purplecowdutch ReverseTex

 

[ReverseTex]

The Walker Residence
- Edgbaston, Birmingham -

Dr. Richard Finley
Misty Gray BasDorcha ​

Campaigning wasn’t for the weak. Since Richard’s meeting with Tony and Marco, it felt like his entire life had been consumed by the mayoral election. With the quick turn around of the special election, there wasn’t time to waste. Nothing but phone calls, dinners, organizing, and a plethora of unplanned headaches. But he had to keep faith in his cause. People were depending on him and willing to vote him into a position to enact real change… With the previously approved leave from work for his injury, Richard didn’t have to worry about maintaining a curriculum. But with the slew of holidays, he was surprised to see his students turn out to volunteer with the campaign. In a way, it was a reflection of his impact on these students. But it also showed he had the youth vote as well, despite being well older than them. Having to convince city elites in Robert’s circle to vote for Labour was the primary uphill battle. While he developed his own reputation, he knew he’d always be tied to his brother by association. That meant plenty of explanations and convincing for upper-class snobs. But with all of that said, the campaign was looking in his favor.

The holidays with the family this year felt glazed over, even though he turned up per usual. With his own issues—campaign and leg—he felt half-present. Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one. Edward’s death was a minor ripple in his world, but seismic for Caroline. He knew the man well enough over the years but had no reason to attend the funeral. On top of that, Robert had his own issues to deal with. In normal circumstances, he would have tried to corner his brother to talk about what bothered him. But he couldn’t put himself in a position to divulge anything that came out of his meeting with Tony. He had to keep himself an arm’s length away.

When Richard received the invite to come over, along with Dean, he couldn’t help but be a bit annoyed with the timing. Sure, the reunion between them was fine with Caroline, but old wounds didn’t heal quickly. Dean was nowhere to be found after the gala, during the worst part of his recovery. So, he knew better than to place his faith in him like he had years ago. Plus, with the campaign, he couldn’t be caught engaging in such behavior. Despite the difficulties, he made sure to carve time at the end of his week for the reunion.

Mindlessly, he entered the house, knowing it like the back of his hand. In a weird way, it was also home to him as well. He spent periods of his life living here, through better and through worse. But it was equally his home, even if he didn’t reside here daily. He suspected finding his brother in the living room and wasn’t surprised to see his guess correct. Richard limped in with a playful smile, still getting used to traversing without a crutch. “Quite a bachelor pad you’ve got.” He joked lightheartedly, taking the other chair on Robert’s side rather than the couch. Dean deserved the hot seat tonight. “Carol still down in London?” He asked, not wanting to pry but to have a civil conversation before Dean’s arrival.

 

[BasDorcha]

Chapter 6 - Resolutions

- Friday 9th January 1976 -
Evening - Cold, Dry, Clear Skies
...3 weeks later..

***************

The Platinum Lounge- Birmingham -

Vinny McConnel​

The events around the Walker family since the Gala has been piling on like bad habits. Vinny, an ever silent bystander in it all, had witnessed it all as if it were a movie playing in front of him while remaining silent on the sidelines. Vinny was not the type to step in unless one of two things happened: Robert said to, or it was for his own personal gain. During the Gala he had jumped into action in the background, and once Robert had found him in the crowd, followed the instructions given to him. During the weeks that followed, just when things seemed to be settling back down, it only got worse. Felicity had drug them into a deal that involved the Filthy Fletcher's and now had caused them to have to work in cohorts together.

The thought left a sour taste in his mouth. The Fletcher's were disgusting street trash. They had no class to them at all, and that was one thing he hated the most. Even tonight as Vinny felt underdressed and unkempt, one might call him still business presentable. This could not be said for that family and their gang of rift raft. The look on his face said it all as he thought about them and his distaste was written across his brows. Growing up, Vinny had started in the slums, his grandparent's hadn't been rich but he had always hated it. He got up and out as fast as he could, never looked back. From a young age, Vinny had known it wasn't the life for him. Turning his mind away from the rats that were trying to work their way into the wealthy part of town, he thought about Caroline and her father's death. It didn't affect him and he really had no feelings on the situation, but he could tell it was putting a stress on his boss and that meant it could impact business. Out of forced sympathy he had offered to keep an eye on Caroline in London, but Robert had brought him home instead, which Vinny preferred and was even glad that his offer wasn't accepted.

Tonight he sat at the Platinum Lounge, a bourbon in his hand, swirling it slowly as he stared into infinity. It had been a while since he had to get his hands dirty, and the urge to vent the pent up building of emotions was starting to grow to a level he couldn't ignore. He had the night off since Robert was staying home and he knew both Richard and Dean would be there. He doubted he needed Vinny around to manage the two, and Vinny knew the three men could handle themselves if anything came up. After all, the three had seen more in their life than he had and were as deadly as himself in their own ways. So, with nowhere to go, and no specific instructions to follow, he had found his way over to the bar. Did he specifically like going to bars? Not really, but then again he wasn't really a man who did anything he liked or disliked - he didn't really have emotions for things like that. Instead, he did things that made him appear normal, functioning, human as he had practiced his whole life. As a young man, he quickly learned that men went out on their nights off, and so it had become a routine for him on his evenings away from Robert to occasionally throw in a night of light drinking at a local dive.

He had been sitting there for a while, his mind thinking of ways to solve for the feeling within him. Usually Robert would intervein with a job that would allow him to quiet and quickly unload the feelings without an issue, and Vinny had never had to speak about the urge within him. Lately though, things had been a little off and he hadn't had a way to vent the pent up frustration. As his eyes looked up and around the bar, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Jackie - apparently he had arrived sometime after him. He wasn't sure how long, it could have been just moments before he looked up he wasn't sure as he hadn't been tracking the time or the room. Internally a malicious grin cracked the surface of his mind. He knew exactly what was going to happen to relax him before this night was over. Jackie was the easiest bait in the world, and he wouldn't even have to antagonize it, Jackie was going to start it leaving Vinny open to follow through, putting all the blame on the weak sheep in front of him.

Vinny picked up his drink and turned his back to the bar, leaning against it with both elbows on the counter top, he right ankle propped on his left knee, a deft and sexy appeal facing towards the crowd of the room. Within a few blinks of an eye, one tall and curvaceous woman was making her way over to him, seeming to pick up on his open invite for anyone to approach. It really didn't matter who, but the fact it was by societal standards a gorgeous woman would make it even more effective. A few minute's passed as she sidled up to him, light touches on his arm as she slid between his hand and his body, though his elbow never left the counter. He lavished attention on her, broad, cocky smiles, lustful glances, fingers brushing her hip and lower back. Common, Jackie Boy, I know how jealous you can get. Go ahead, take the bait.

As if to trigger the response he wanted, when the woman asked what he did for work, he raised his voice just loud enough to carry across the low hum of the room to where Jackie sat, "Why yes, I do work with Robert Walker. I'm sure you know who he is right? You do, good girl… Well I'm his right hand man" The goo-goo eyes he got after that would get him exactly the reaction he wanted. Vinny had zero intention of taking this woman home or entertaining her for her purposes. Right now, he was going to use her for what he wanted, and just as quickly, she'd be discarded afterwards.


Misty Gray - Scott
purplecowdutch - Jackie

 

[BasDorcha]

Electric Lounge

- Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham -​

Alfred Walker

Time had flown by in the blink of an eye. Since the night with Felicity, it had felt absolutely non-stop. In fact, things had been so busy he had only been to the Vixen once a week for mandatory obligations. That meant he hadn't seen Bonnie which was killing him, he had pent up energy and frustrations he was normally able to relieve, and he was exhausted at the same time. Still, on the outside he was calm, cool and collected as he channeled his father day in and day out. The more he did it, the easier it got. His father had handled him coming to him much better than he expected, truth be told. He had been ready to be screamed and yelled at, reprimanded like a child he had so often been on the receiving end of before, but instead his father had treated him like a trusted equal, listening to what he had to say and working with him without a hint of anger at him directly. It made him feel more grown up, more respected. Was this what it was like for Charles? Is this what had driven him to cocky levels of arrogance? He constantly reminded himself that no matter what, he was just the replacement, and that balancing reminder kept him down to earth and feeling himself for now.

Within what seemed like record time, Alfie, Sully and Felicity (who Alfie forced to keep participating as it was her great idea to get them involved) had split the shipment and worked with their respective families to move the weight. Alfie forced Felicity to work with him, and was the go between for the moment between her and their father. He planned to make their father see sense and understand that he intended to make Felicity responsible for this as it was her actions that cause it. Until that time came though and the two had time to sit down and sort their shit out, he was dealing with being stuck between Russo, Robert, Tony, Sully, and forcing his sister to not walk away from her own project. He always knew that Felicity had it in her to do anything she put her mind to, and he got why she didn't think things would be different with him, but they seemed to still have a lot to put to rest between them as well. Felicity needed to see that he was not Charles or his father. Alfie - never having lived like Charles did - was his own man. He didn't have the preconceived beliefs for his sisters that the other men in the family did. In fact, Alfie owned a club that empowered women to embrace their own control in life and do what they wanted. None of the women who worked for him felt it was because "a job was a job, anything to stay alive." No the women who worked with him were those who danced because they loved it, because they were treated well, because Alfie didn't treat them like their bodies were his to use to fill his own pockets.

Besides all of this, their grandfather had died, the holidays had passed, everything had felt empty and broken and forced for every event. It was wearing and emotionally draining. Something had to give. His mother wasn't coming home, not that he blamed her with their way things had been with her husband lately, but it still made him sad not being able to see her. Alfie loved his mother very much and hated seeing her hurting. Robert was distracted and dealing with his wife, along with things Alfie wasn't privileged to yet he was sure. His siblings each were buried in things their own way. It hadn't felt like Christmas even though they had all gotten together for it. He hadn't even seen Uncle Richard around later, which struck him as unusual. Still, with so much going on, Alfie didn't give himself too much time to think about all the unimportant things. He focused on the issues that could be resolved quickest and with the most importance and would solve for the rest after.

Now that the first shipment was sorted and they had some time to meet, Tony and Alfie had figured it was time and set an appointment. Alfie and Lewis had left out for the meeting a few moments ago with Alfie driving. As they pulled up outside the nightclub, a vehicle pulled up behind them and parked as well. As they stepped out, Alfie recognized the follow up car as his security detail - something he hadn't adjusted to having yet. With a nod they followed them inside. "Lewis, you'll be inside with me. I need a second since Felicity isn't here to help me rectify this mess."

When they finally reached the room inside, Alfie knocked briefly, paused to allow them to prepare themselves then entered. As he did, he gave them a friendly and easy going smile as he stepped through the door way with Lewis in tow. The other two men stayed outside the door without being told. "Tony, pleasure to see you. Sully." His eyes had the briefest dimming of sparkle in them as he looked at Sully, still pissed that the man had drug his sister into some half-brained idea that gave them all more hassle and more work to deal with in an already tumultuous time. As quickly as it came, it passed though, Alfie being someone who had a hard time holding long term grudges. He offered a hand across the table to each of them, turning to introduce Lewis. "This is Lewis. Lewis, Tony and Sully Fletcher." With a natural smile he took his seat, setting a bottle of expensive and old bourbon in front of Tony. "A token of appreciation for you being able to help me out this last round. I know things aren't great with you and my dad, but something everyone needs to learn including my sister, I'm not my dad and I'm not holding grudges for things our parents did before we were old enough to even be involved."

He grinned, sitting back in his seat somehow looking professional and mature but also relaxed and almost optimistic. "Don't get me wrong, I'm never going to be caught at one of those peace rally's in the street like some hippy, but I am under the impression that between me and you, we can make good business decisions together in the future." This was something that no one had seen expressed from Alfie before. In the past, his opinion never mattered and Alfie had gladly kept himself away from any of the political drama between the families. It didn't make him an angel, he just didn't care as long as his family was safe and he could live his life. Alfie had spent some time watching the drama from afar and had come to have a sort of professional respect for Tony. Tony took care of his people. He loved his family. He looked out for the little guy. Alfie, while coming from a rich family, had never been one to abuse his family money and had made it a point to build up his business and his personal money himself. Was it easier for him because of his family? Sure. Nothing he could do about that, but he did try to do as much as he could on his own without help.

In this respect he felt he could relate a little more with those who didn't come from money like they did. There was plenty to not like about the Fletcher's, about Tony, about the business between all of them, but at the same time, Alfie wasn't known for keeping anger around for what he called stupid reasons. Instead, he had started to dream up a future where the families worked together, established some professional boundaries, and rules the city together and kept the bloodshed to a minimum - at least between them. It would make his future easier, and ensure their families future didn't repeat what happened with Charles.

Alfie had been keep this a secret in his head since Charles died. It was time to start putting his plan into action. He never thought Felicity would be the one to jump start it.

Misty Gray - Tony/Lewis
BeyondDandy - Sully

 

[purplecowdutch]

View attachment 1158764Jackie Walker - scott's bar - vinny , scott neverbackdown

Every time Jackie hit rock bottom, it wasn't the bottom. Not even near.
The whole accident with Beth got him even more isolated, his skin was looking pale and sickly with big dark circles under his pretty blue eyes. The boy who was once filled with life and inspiration was now delved under misery of death, insecurities and more death.
Aunt Caroline's father had died and if it wasn't for Caroline, Jackie would rarely even see his uncle. His father always told him about Robert, well, when he was drunk. Glasses would break and walls would be punched but whenever the two would actually meet, not a lot of words would be spoken. Although, as far as he could remember.

Lately Jackie had been remincising a lot more about his father and what Richard once told him but Jackie believed Richard would never choose his father over Robert and that pained him. Why would he ever care about Jackie if he didn't even care about his old man?
Maybe he was just too distrusting but something was off. He wasn't able to turn off his feelings or numb them like they normally would. He would have shot Tony, easy. He did enough cocaine to ruin his life right then and there but why did Beth know the shooter?

Luckily, there was always one remedy for too much thinking and Jackie had put it in his right pocket of his grey suit pant that he had been wearing with a casual blouse, he had picked up from the drying rack too early and was filled with wrinkles.
Scott was waiting for him at what he liked to call his bar but felt more like a big laundry scam with prostitutes. Nothing wrong with that, Jackie loved it there. Him and Scott were business partners but Scott was a lot less impressable than Thomas could ever be. He thought about things too long and Jackie often thought he could use a drink, or five.

He also stopped supplying him, something about bad business. Robert had took him off the job, what a surprise. Jackie had no trouble finding someone new although sometimes his name was an issue. Word spread fast.

Jackie embraced the warmth when walking into that familiar, dark room. Lights were always dimmed and it was hard to see anything but when it came to the ladies, Jackie would gain a nightvision super power whenever he walked in.

The bar was mostly empty, holding a few seats in between the people already sitting there. Jackie spotted Scott a mile away, he was standing right there talking to the barmaid. He had a very certain type and seemed to like the girls he'd have to actually put effort in because why would he otherwise? He was charming, young and succesful. The guy could get any girl he wanted.

Jackie greeted Scott by putting his hand around his back and coming a little too close for some people's standards while he immediately stole his beer and took a big gulp. 'I would call this the opposite of an Irish goodbye,' he joked as he took a place on the seat next to him, being able to eye what was going on behind him at the bar. He had been eyeing a few girls here and there. Jackie wasn't planning on sleeping with them but some attention definitely wouldn't hurt, Beth was ice cold and she wasn't going to give him any sort of second base, not even for trying to save her father who was dying, mind you.

The barmaid Scott was talking too was pretty, her eyes had a sparkle to it but she wasn't Jackie's type. Maybe that's why it was easy for him to dismiss the conversation and ask for an Old Fashioned and two shots of whiskey. Jackie wasn't greedy, not with alcohol.

'Cheers to old times,' he said, rubbing his nose to not leave any trace behind for Scott to turn this evening around but apparently that wasn't even necessary. Vinny walked right into the bar, it wasn't necessarily crowded so he had to feel a couple of eyes burning as he paraded straight through, right next to the two gentlemen. Jackie could hardly hide his surprise, his face clearly annoyed by the presence but shifting his eyes from the barmaid to Scott and the drinks. Knocking back the shot without even touching glasses.

Vinny didn't like bars, matter of fact, Jackie
thought he didn't like anything that was considered fun and that's exactly what made Jackie so suspicious when he walked in here. So arrogant and. . . Jackie rolled his eyes, trying to keep his focus on Scott but couldn't help nod towards the man so Scott could see what all the fuss was about.

Jackie fidgeted with the felt between his fingers, watching the man turn his back to the bar and being approached by a woman and not just any woman. No, of course not. Vinny would do anything to get on his last fucking nerve, he would pick Stacy. Stacy was blonde, blue eyes and liked her men a little obsessive. Jackie fell for her too, one of the benefits of coming to visit Scott a little too often and then that was it. Then a fight happened, there was a lot of screaming and it was sort of painful how the similairity to his father shortly entered his mind but not long enough as the thought of her picking Vinny over him was even more painful.

'Scott, he's taking the piss with me. You know Vinny, why else would he come here if it's not to mess with me and you?' Jackie ranted on as he tried to overhear the conversation going on between Scott and Stacy. She was laughing way too hard and Jackie broke the felt in between his fingers and tapped Scott on the shoulder as he got up and dragged him along ending up breaking the conversation by putting his hand out and a fake smile. 'Vinny Mcconnel,' he was able to bring out with his anger boiling, no regards to Stacy still standing there. Her blue eyes staring right through his soul.

'What would be your business here, tonight?' He asked, straight to the point, taking in a new place leaning against the bar and nodding towards Scott. 'You know Scott? He owns the place. We don't really talk work here,' Jackie said, ticking his fingers onto the bar. 'You want a drink?' Jackie then asked, let's play the long game, he thought. Get him drunk, anything for him to say anything incriminating about Robert.
Was it a bad idea? Yes. Was he going to pull Scott into this? Also yes, but he was sick of these stunts and knew there was no getting rid of Vinny with giving him a dire fist to the fact although it was really, really appealing. .

'Maybe you could tell him about the woman here, Scott?' Jackie added, not knowing when to shut his mouth ever as he looked at Scott with a teasing sparkle in his eyes. 'Same shots sweetheart, make it three.'

 

[BeyondDandy]

Electric Lounge
- Small Heath, Birmingham -

SULLY FLETCHER
​

The last three weeks had passed in a flash. Days blurred together, bleeding into one another. Sully hit the streets every single night, selling Russo’s product to his own community - poisoning them with arena blanca. He was exhausted. Black circles grew under his eyes, he'd lost a couple of pounds from stress and his charisma decimated with any hope of continuing this venture. But he had no choice. Russo had them all by the noose, ready to kick the chairs from under their feet if they didn’t perform.

Sully sat to his brothers left, enjoying a cold glass of water. He’d stopped drinking. Condensation dripped on his dry hands as he cupped the glass with both hands. It felt nice. It felt real. His elbows were perched on the table and his eyes wandered between the ice cubes of his drink. He wasn’t in thought, he mind just drew blank. This was the first time in a while that he had a chance to breathe and relax.

There was an awkwardness between he and Tony. The two had not spoken very much since Sully opened up about his situation. Russo’s deal impacted his family’s own drug distribution. Cutting it down over fifty percent. Sully didn’t divulge the whole truth to Tony, but enough to draw his brother to act on the matter. Tony couldn’t know the real reason behind his partnership with Russo - Sully feared he would kill him if he knew. Trying to bury their father’s legacy and Tony’s business wasn’t something Sully would nonchalantly bring up in conversation. So instead, he kept his lips shut. But as the situation was getting out of control, they needed all hands on deck.

Tony’s question drew Sully back into reality. He snapped out of his trance with a few blink la and deep breath. He didn’t face his brother but answered his question.

“I thought she could help,” Sully stated simply.

Sully felt terrible for Felicity. He hadn’t seen her since their meeting with Russo and hoped she was treading okay. He knew she was out there figuring things out as well. Planning. Organizing. Trying to stay one step ahead of everyone else. If Sully was feeling pressure, she was feeling it twice as hard. He regretted getting her involved, but was somewhat glad she was in it with him. For some reason or another, he believed Felicity would be the one to get them out of it. Like Tony said, the Ice Queen.

Three weeks into distribution and arena blanca was leaving a dim impact on the streets. People were falling dead because of the drug’s potency, which started to catch the attention of Pigs. This created yet another problem for future business and for the families - especially the Fletchers. Sully could have never imagined these issues when he signed up for this. He felt that an oversight like this would eventually cost him his life or that of someone he loved. So as Alfie made his entrance, he hoped the man had a plan that could get him out of their situation. Or at least something worth saying.

Of course, he didn’t. Sully didn’t acknowledge Alfie or his friend Lewis. Instead, he zoned out again and looked at the bourbon the Walker had gifted Tony. He wanted some, but had cut it cold turkey. He could taste it in the back of his throat. Reminiscing on his days as a chef. He would spike meatballs with bourbon and make a mean Italian inspired dish. It was a favorite at the restaurant. At that moment, he wished he would have never left London.

Back in the conversation, Sully heard something along the lines of working together as Alfie leaned in his seat. It confused him as a few weeks ago he wanted nothing of the matter. What was the play?

Sully looked up at him, taking a second away from business to ask him, “How’s Felicity?”

Misty Gray
BasDorcha

 

[Misty Gray]

The Platinum Lounge
- Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham, England -

Scott Ashworth​

Since being relieved of the drugs-related duties, Scott had been focusing more on the club and managing the sex workers. It gave him more free time, but didn't quite fulfil his ambitions and desire to climb higher in the Walker business. Hell, he'd even had to offer up more of his knowledge to help the Walkers and, shockingly, the Fletchers, shift a lot of drugs. He was still waiting for his reward. Or, at his lowest, a better offer! For now, his trust and loyalty remained with the Walkers, but he wasn't sure how long he could wait for his good faith to pay off.

This evening, there were no VIP guests or private functions going on, so Scott could afford to be more lax on who entered the club. Without any important clients to impress, Scott was able to relax for the evening too. As such, he'd taken to leaning on one end of the bar as he spoke with one of his barmaids. Since his unsavoury meeting with Robert, Scott had decided to back off where Diana was concerned, unless she came to him. The less the old Walker boss had to hold against him, the more chance he had at been given better work. So, for now, Scott was happy to find distractions in other women. The barmaid, Chloe, was a classy lady and certainly held her own. The challenge made things more interesting, even if he could tell she was enjoying making things difficult for him.

Just as he was about to make a risky but flirty joke, Jackie's hand on his back killed the moment. Scott had been about to lash out and punch the guy before realising it was Jackie. "You're lucky we don't have a guest list tonight. We're letting just about anyone in, so you can stay," he playfully joked, at Jackie's expense.

Scott soon noticed Vinny had caught Jackie's attention, with the man's expression shifting from surprise to annoyance. Scott was indifferent about Robert's bodyguard, but Jackie clearly had negative feelings about him. With Jackie's nod in Vinny's direction, Scott nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. As long as Robert wasn't close behind for some kind of meeting, he didn't feel he needed to care that the bodyguard was present.

Apparently, Jackie didn't like seeing Vinny flirting with Stacy. When Jackie said the man was trying to wind them up, Scott turned to Vinny and studied him for a moment. "Maybe it's just for your benefit as it's not bothering me. And... well, the worst you can do is rise to the bait," he drily remarked, seeing Jackie was already doing exactly that. Without warning, Scott was tapped on the shoulder and Jackie pulled him towards Vinny. He curiously raised his eyebrows as Jackie addressed Vinny, questioning why he was at the club.

"We're aware of each other," Scott pointed out, but it seemed like Jackie was already going off on one. "There's nothing to tell about the women here. All perfectly respectable ladies," he assured them, sending Chloe an acknowledging smile. Whilst he couldn't control what any of his staff or customers got up to, the whores he employed elsewhere certainly wouldn't step foot in this club. When Jackie requested the shots, Scott nodded to confirm for Chloe to go ahead. "On the house," he told the barmaid, confirming she didn't need to take payment for the drinks.

"Has the boss given you a night off?" Scott asked Vinny. Whilst it was small talk, he also needed to make sure Robert wasn't about to come waltzing in, especially when he knew the man already had issues with Jackie's past behaviours.

BasDorcha (Vinny) purplecowdutch (Jackie)

 

[BasDorcha]

The Walker Residence

-Edgbaston, Birmingham-​

Dean Walters

It had been a few busy weeks since he had been able to talk to Richard, and he hadn't had a chance yet to see Robert and that had been weighing heavily on Dean. Trying to get settled into Birmingham again, get his business set up and running, finish with restoring the house so it was updated with modern materials and necessities it was all a bit overwhelming. He had tried to call Richard a few times but missed him and he wasn't confident enough to leave a message yet. Things had gone well the first time, but he still had a lot of insecurity when it came to the whole situation. As he was pacing around his home waiting for the last moment he could leave and be on time. He didn't want to show up to early, and he didn't want to leave a minute late either.

"Honey, you're going to walk a hole in the floor." Alice told him.

Dean stopped pacing and looked at her, giving her a weak smile. "Sorry, just nervous." She came over to him, placing her hands on his cheeks and directing his head down for a light kiss as she comforted him. "It's going to be okay. You're only in control of your actions, you can't control anyone else's. Just take a deep breath, get your gift for them, and go, it'll feel better once you're there and facing them." She handed him the two small packages and kissed him on the chin before pushing him out the door, their son Theo running around their feet eagerly trying to participate. He leaned down and hugged the small child bye before putting him in his mothers' arms and leaving the house.

The drive to Robert's wasn't a long one and before he knew it he was sitting in front of the Walker Residence nervously gripping the wheel. His knuckles turned white with the strength of his grip before he finally released both his hands and the air he was holding in his lungs. Pushing out of the car, he headed to the front door, standing their awkwardly wondering if he could let himself in. A few minutes passed after a light knock that went unanswered, he finally tried the handle and found it open, letting himself in. It had been a long time since he had been here, but he still remembered it well. Setting he head on straight, pushing out his mood, he made his way to the living room. As he entered, he gave a lopsided half smile, clearing his throat. "Casanova, Rich… Sorry I'm late. I wasn't sure if I should let myself in, so I stood at the door like a right sod before I came in. Oh, right, these are for you…" He looked at the two small boxes in his hand, moving to set them in front of their respective new owners.

Inside was a pocket watch for each of them. The cover side had their squad emblem carved in great detail, while the inside of the cover had their nicknames scrolled in it. "Casanova" on Roberts, "Richy Rich" on Richards. The backs had a single date - the date they all met. A chain that looked suspiciously similar hung outside of Dean's pants, leading to his pocket. Dean had requisitioned their creation years ago, with the hopes of fixing things, but never gotten around to actually following through. Roselyn had encouraged him and found them during the move - at least Robert and Richards as Dean always had his on him - and gave them to him just in time for him to bring them tonight.

"Heard about some scuffle a few weeks ago… I hope everyone is alright? I was back in London at the time closing out things there. Sorry I wasn't able to come check on you then." He tried his best to seem relaxed and his normal self, but the truth was, faced with these two at the same time, his confidence has dropped dramatically.

Misty Gray - Robert
ReverseTex - Richard

 

[Misty Gray]

Electric Lounge
Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham

Tony Fletcher and Lewis Ramsey​

Tony sighed when Sully explained how he thought Felicity could help them. "Seriously? If you're going to use one of the Walkers to our advantage, you should have gone for an easier one to crack. She's nearly as bad as her mother and that woman is hard to shake off," he pointed out. "I assume the overall plan was to use her to put a dent in the Walker business?" he remarked.

Before he could further probe, the door opened and the two Walkers joined them...

---​

Lewis was more familiar with working on the streets organising shipments and transactions, rather than needing to attend meetings such as this one. It did occur to him that Scott would have been better placed at Alfie's side, or that even Felicity should be in attendance given this was half of her mess. However, he wasn't about to question orders from his superiors and figured his direct street knowledge would be useful to all parties. "No problem," he told Alfie as they entered the club. "I'll do what I can."

When they entered the meeting room, the two Fletchers were already inside. He remained standing tall as Alfie and the two men greeted each other. Once Alfie then introduced him, Lewis outstretched his arm to give Tony and Sully a handshake each. He tended to lay low in his work so neither would know much about him, but he knew plenty about Tony. It was hard not to. "Good to meet you, gents," he told them. He watched on as Alfie presented the Fletchers with a bottle of bourbon.

Tony studied the bottle as Alfie presented it to him as a gift. "Of course. Me an' Sully we're mostly saving our own skins too, but thank you. Much appreciated," he said, accepting the gift with a genuine smile. He listened on as Alfie assured him he wasn't the same as Robert. Having for a short while hung out with Charles back when they were children, whilst things were civil between Robert and Norman, Tony was sure Charles wasn't like his father early on either. Not immediately. "Glad to her it, Alfie. Careful, mind you. If you spend long enough in the man's shoes and in his seat, you may well become him," Tony commented.

As Alfie went on to speak optimistically about their abilities to work together and make good decisions, Tony nodded in agreement. He wasn't sure how much he could trust from a Walker. Sure, they needed to work together and trust each other right now, but it was always there in the back of his mind that they would eventually double-cross him. It's what he'd do, if he had enough power to beat the Walkers. Hell, he still believed everything Alfie was saying and doing right now was on Robert's instruction. For the moment, he had no choice but to go along with it in order to solve their mutual Russo problem. It was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down again and the truth about Marco killing Charles came out. That was sure to reignite the rift between the two families. "I agree. We all need to share our knowledge on this one so we can send Russo packing. I have no doubts we can get this sorted between us."

When Sully asked how Felicity was, Tony managed to maintain a neutral expression. Really, he was wondering why his brother even cared how the stuck-up brat was doing. That was a question to ask later so he instead listened as Alfie answered his brother.

Once the pleasantries were out of the way, Tony sat forward with an eagerness to get to business. "Alright, so let's get to the point. It's only a matter of time before that Russo prick shows up again demanding we shift more drugs. I already had a good system going, with business growing by the day, and I worked my balls off getting it to where it was. Now this shit has taken a dent in my business," he firmly told the others. "I want to know what bright ideas you three have to sort out this mess. Did the Ice Qu-- Did Felicity give you any pearls of wisdom before you got here?" he asked Alfie, figuring it was her fault more than his.

BasDorcha (Alfie) BeyondDandy (Sully)

 

[BasDorcha]

The Platinum Lounge- Birmingham -

Vinny McConnel​

Like clockwork things fell into place. Out of his peripherals Vinny watched as Jackie shit his metaphorical pants and blew up internally at Vinny being relaxed and enjoying a good time, paying him zero mind. Instead he focused on the woman next to him who told him her name was Stacy.

"Stacy… What a pretty name for such a pretty face." He lifted the hand that wasn't around her and brushed her cheek, pushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. She giggled and tried to nuzzled closed to his arm, pinning herself between his left arm and his body. Vinny may have been the epitome of uninterested in his mind, but his body, his actions, his appearance showed zero signs of it. From an outside perspective, one would think he was totally absorbed into the woman that was lavishing attention on him. They laughed and flirted, holding each other's gazes until they were so rudely interrupted.

Vinny looked at Jackie's hand but did not move to take it. "Jackie Walker. Scott." He offered Scott and easy smile, his hand still on Stacy's waist and caressing gently. She basically purred as she laughed and leaned into him. When Jackie ordered shots for them, Vinny looked up at Chloe and gave her a sweet smile, "Make mine bourbon please. Also, can you bring something for Stacy here? Whatever she wants, it's on me." She nodded and left to get their drinks, bringing them back a moment later. Vinny looked back at Jackie and Scott, relaxed and calm, listening to the moron ramble on at a mile a minute about shit he knew nothing about. When Scott pointed out they already knew each other, Vinny chuckled softly, looking at Scott with a can you believe this guy? look on his face. It went to show how little Jackie actually knew about the real world of the Walker's that he thought him and Scott were not well past the point of introductions.

Ignoring Jackie and his pitiful attempt at getting a rise out of him, he grinned at Scott and nodded, "Aye, the old man did in fact give me the night off. He's got some things going on at home, so that left me free to come by and check in on the lovely ladies of the Platinum and have a drink. I wasn't looking for a boys night, but this could be fun! We should make an evening of it. What do you think?" This time he made sure to turn his smile for both of them, handing out the shot glasses, and Stacy her drink as well. She was completely enamored with Vinny, and with the practiced ease of a veteran, he easily kept her attention. His hand never stopped stroking her, like the little lap pet she would be the rest of the night. This night might just end up perfect. Fucking with Jackie, he might even be able to get him in a fight before the night was over, a quick romp in the hay with a one night stand, and he'd be back to normal. Hopefully Stacy could handle it.

"It's been a while since I had time to really have a full night off, what with everything going on at the Walker home, the Gala, the death of Caroline's father. I think this might be just what the doctor ordered." Gotcha, Jackie. You fell right into the trap. How much can you take before you snap like the twig you are? Let's find out.

purplecowdutch - Jackie
Misty Gray - Scott

 

[Misty Gray]

The Walker Residence
- Edgbaston, Birmingham -

Robert Walker​

It was clear from the sound of the limping footsteps that the first man to enter the house was Richard. Granted, Robert had unconsciously expected to hear the sound of the crutch, but when his brother walked into view, it was clear his recovery had now going beyond needing the walking aid. "Evening, Rich. I see the recover is coming along well," he commented. He hadn't seen much of Richard over recent weeks, but given the election campaign and the many issues he was facing himself, he hadn't thought to dwell on it. "You just make sure to keep playing on that injury until the campaign is done. People easily forget, so it's good to remind them of your heroics," he pointed out.

He smirked at the joke about his bachelor pad, despite the severity of the situation with Caroline. "Isn't it just?" he remarked. "I'm glad you could come over. I could do with a distraction from business, and the rest." Leaning forward, he opened the lid of the small wooden box on the coffee table and plucked out one of the cigars. As if confirming Caroline still wasn't home, he didn't hesitate to light the cigar and take a long, concentrated drag from it. He then blew out a trail of smoke before nodding his head. It was common knowledge to Richard that Caroline was very strict when it came to smoking in the house, which especially included in the main living room, with her pretty much banning it. Richard would by now know he could help himself to a cigar if he wished, especially given the lid of the box had been left open. "Come on, you've seen the mansion in London. Now that's a bachelor pad! She always did miss London," he said of Caroline's birth city.

Robert took another drag from his cigar before balancing it on the edge of the crystal ashtray and sitting back for a moment. He turned to face Richard, now allowing the gravity of the situation to reflect on his face. "I think this is it, this time. She's angry and hurt. By me giving Rory a second thought; my supposed inaction over Charles's killer; and our family having to work with the Fletchers now," he said, stopping short of blaming Felicity for the last point. "But Edward's will was the final nail, if this is the end. He certainly managed to get the last laugh on that one. He's known about my affairs since Caroline told him 20 years ago, but he kept out of it because it suited him. After all, I kept quiet about his own philandering back in the forties. I don't care about his fortune, but him dropping a grenade in the middle of my marriage was a low blow. Not that I should be surprised having seen all of that man's faces when he was alive."

Robert was soon drawn out of his woes when he heard Dean approaching the living room. Reaching forward, he took his cigar and placed it in his mouth again for another long drag. Once again balancing it in the ashtray, he looked to the doorway in time to see Dean standing there with a smile on his face. "Dean," he greeted him, "What's a few more minutes after so many years?" he remarked in response to the man's apology for being late.

Robert offered Dean a seat on the sofa across from him and Richard. All the while, he took in the man's appearance, noticing he hadn't changed much since they'd last seen each other. When his old friend handed him a small box, Robert accepted it. "Help yourself to a cigar," he offered him. In the meantime, he proceeded to open the box. Lifting out the pocket watch, Robert's focus appeared transfixed on the squad emblem as he looked at it, along with his nickname. The date was when they had first met. A time before everything had rapidly gone to hell. Recent events had stirred a lot of memories and nightmares from his time in the war; ones that had for some time plagued his soul. As those traumatic thoughts threatened to surface again, Robert consciously forced them out of his mind and instead directed his thoughts onto the subject at hand. "You know..." he began, stopping as he took in a deep breath, not realising he'd been holding it in. "I do remember that day very well," he reminisced with a smile in his face, as he still held the watch in his hand. "Thank you, Dean. A marvellous gift. It's much appreciated," he said, sending him a nod as he carefully placed the watch back into its box for the time-being.

As Dean brought up the scuffle, Robert set about finishing his cigar as if he was running out of time to. Quickly stubbing it out in the ashtray, his head snapped up to face Dean as the man apologised for not checking on them sooner. "Why break the habit of a lifetime? Is there always going to be an excuse as to why you can't be here when you're needed the most? I'm honestly surprised you haven't already packed up and left Birmingham. It's certainly why I didn't rush to catch up with you. I expected you'd manage a few weeks and be gone by the new year." Robert wasn't sure if his frustration was for himself or more on behalf of Richard. Given what he knew about his friends' history together, he couldn't help but feel annoyed on Richard's behalf.

ReverseTex (Richard) BasDorcha (Dean)

 

[neverbackdown]

Cedar Grill & Lounge
- Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham -

Victoria "Rory" Fletcher​

Rory had been cooped up in the house since the Gala and to say her patience was wearing thin was an understatement. Between her siblings and her mother checking in on her she found herself barely ever alone during her healing period, granted she knew the revolving door of visitors was probably her mother or maybe even Tony's way of keeping her in the house and out of trouble but there was only so much boredom a girl could take.

She was finally out of the sling and was beginning to have full range of her shoulder again, except for a slight twinge of pain on certain movements she was practically back to normal and ready to get out into the world again so when Jenny contacted her, Rory was more than excited to partake in her plan.

Rory took a long drag of her smoke as she watched the chaos unfolded around them, amusement clear on her expression before she turned her attention back to Jennifer as she flicked her cigarette out. "Ah its ok yeah to be honest the boredom of the last few weeks was worse than the shoulder" She laughed before nodding in agreement" yeah the gala was insane, the attack definitely made it more exciting I thought I was going to fall asleep just before it just full of dull speeches".

When she mentioned Tony and Marco, Rory bit her lip in thought before a chuckle escaped her lips "I've tried with the beard but he won't do it, I even tried to convince Julia to shave it off in his sleep but unsurprisingly she wouldn't do it or allow me too" amusement was clear in her tone and expression but suddenly dropped to a more serious tone "yeah I feel like something is happening or has happened, its just been weird, Tonys not really himself and Marco is barely around anymore, something feels wrong and I can't explain it". Realizing she might have gone a little too doom and gloom there, Rory shook the bad feelings of her before motioning around them with her good arm "although maybe its just planning all these annoyances that are keeping them buzy?" she mused.

"How are you keeping? everything going well in the shop?"

**************
In;-
Misty Gray - Jenny

 

[Misty Gray]

Electric Lounge
Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham

Jennifer Murray​

Jenny couldn't help but grin when Rory said the attack had made the dull gala more exciting. Thankfully, Malc had got out of the whole thing unscathed. And with Rory doing well and able to joke about it, Jenny could see the humour too. She knew their world was dangerous and she'd signed up for it with such risks in mind.

"I feel that too," she said when Rory it felt like something was going on. Tony was no fun to be around and Marco simply wasn't around at all. It all felt off. And with the Fletchers and Walkers having to work together with shifting a load of drugs, Jenny wasn't sure where the two families stood. She'd hoped Rory would have been able to shed more light on it. "Well, I'm not going to complain about jobs like this. It stops me from getting bored," she remarked.

"Oh, I'm keeping well. There's been no more trouble at the shop since my brother shut that copper up. There's always plenty of business coming our way, especially with all the dodgy shit your Tony is involved with," she lightly teased.

After looking at her watch, Jenny pointed to the restaurant entrance. "Come on. Time to cause a stir at the dinner table," she commented. After flicking her cigarette butt onto the floor, she led Rory towards the main doors where they were soon intercepted by the hulking, bald-headed security guard.

"I don't think so, ladies," the man gruffly told them as he blocked their path and looked down on them. "You're not coming in," he said, glancing to the group of men still perched on the wall causing a disturbance.

"Excuse me. We have a reservation," Jenny protested, folding her arms in a matter-of-fact manner. "Check the guest list!"

The security guard looked over his shoulder, seeing the hostess away from her post at the entrance in that moment. "What're your names and I'll ask the hostess to check the list when she comes back?"

neverbackdown (Rory)

*****

Aidan Jones​

In the front passenger seat of the car, Aidan looked out of the window as his driver cruised through the city. In the back of the car sat two more men, both dressed all in black and looking ready to spring into some kind of action.

The car pulled into an empty spot across the street from the restaurant car park, giving Aidan time to study the scene through his blacked out window. "They're still pulling their punches," he spoke up as he observed. He'd been made aware of a few recent occasions of the Fletchers causing trouble for the Walkers, but it never seemed like they were trying hard enough. Considering both sides were capable of dealing heavy damage to each other, Aidan had to wonder why the Fletchers were playing it safe. "Enough is enough. Let's give them a helping hand with starting the party." Pointing up ahead, Aidan instructed the driver set off moving again.

Once they'd driven a short distance away and out of sight of the club, the vehicle stopped to allow the two men in the back of the car to get out. Carrying a jerry can each, they walked quickly through along the dark backstreets towards the rear of the restaurant and its car park. The car then pulled away, with Aidan and his driver heading to their next destination.

 

[neverbackdown]

Cedar Grill & Lounge
- Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham -

Victoria "Rory" Fletcher
​

Rory smirked "yeah I am more than happy to do jobs like this, after all chaos is my middle name" she winked as she swung her legs lightly, her heels bouncing of the wall underneath her in a satisfying rhythm. When Jennifer mentioned the copper, Rory's eyes widened for a moment in realization "Oh man, I had completely forgotten about that" she gasped as she looked towards Jennifer "I wish I was there, I heard Malc gave him exactly what he deserved" she mused as she thought back to the details Julia had given her.

As Jennifer checked her watch, Rory placed her good arm on the wall and used it to gently slide herself off the wall and back onto the tarmac cautious not to use her injured shoulder more than necessary. It was her first day out of the house and doing stuff she enjoyed but that didn't mean she wanted to be lying in bed tonight in agony unable to sleep due to over use of it. Once down, Rory rubbed her hands together in an almost evil villian gleeful manner as a mischievous smirk played on her lips. "Lets do it" she muttered before looking at the men around them "have fun now all" she commented amusement clear in her expression before she turned and walked towards the restaurant.

A low groan escaped her lips as the wanna be hulk stepped in their way. Raising an eyebrow Rory looked up at him before following his line of sight towards their men on the wall. "This is discrimination" she commented in the most appalled tone she could muster "are you just assuming we are with them?" a look of shock played on her expression as she looked towards Jennifer and back to the man in question. She knew that he had definitely see the girls over at the wall but she had to at least try.

Biting her lip, Rory pushed back all of the insults that came to her mind when he offered to have the hostess check the name when she returned. It took her a moment but she realized that commenting on the mans lack of ability to read a list of names probably wouldn't have been the most approved method of getting into the establishment. "Thank you, Its under Fiona and Debbie Gallagher".

After making an almost extravagated show of checking her watch, Rory crossed her arms and leaned into the door frame as they waited for the hostess to return. Tutting almost like a clock under her breath but just loud enough so that the man would barely hear her, Rory had her back to the carpark. She could hear them still laughing and shouting to each other, the sound of glass bottles clinking together and it took everything in her not to smile at the antics but then surprisingly it went silent.

Raising an eyebrow, Rory stayed still for a moment as she listened intently, it felt like the silence lasted for hours but in reality it must have been a few seconds before the sound of shouts filled the air. Slowly Rory turned around to face carpark and her eyes widened in surprise as they landed on two hooded men in the corner and then all hell broke loose "what the fuck" she exclaimed shock clear in her voice as she looked back towards Jennifer to gauge her reaction.

Had someone really gone this far off plan...? Tony was going to .... scratch that i am going too....

***********
Misty Gray - Jennifer

 

[Misty Gray]

Electric Lounge
Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham

Jennifer Murray​

The two hooded, darkly dressed men walked behind the parked vehicles, pouring the petrol over the cars as they walked from the rear of the building towards the front. "This is a damn shame," one of them spoke up as he admired the expensive cars that were about to go up in flames. "I swear just one of these costs more than my house did."

"And we're definitely sure he didn't want us to pinch one for good measure, but just forgot to mention it?" the other man joked about Aidan's instructions.

As they reached the front of the car park, they crouched behind one of the cars to each stuff a rag into the opening of their jerry can. After using their lighters to ignite the exposed ends of the fabric, they tossed the jerry cans onto the cars further down the lot, immediately engulfing one of the cars in flames. Looking across at the Fletcher men hanging around near the entrance, one of Aidan's men waved to get their attention. "Get outta here, lads!" one of the hooded men shouted, to try further implicate them rather than caring about their safety. The two men then jumped over the wall and sprinted off in the opposite direction.

*****​

The large bouncer laughed when Rory complained about discrimination. "Call it what you wish, lass. My assumptions are correct," he flatly told her. "Alright, Gallaghers. We'll stay put right here until the hostess returns to her post," he firmly told Rory and Jennifer.

Jennifer stood facing Rory, watching with a smirk on her face as her friend leaned against the doorway and acted impatiently for the bouncer's benefit. A silence then caused Rory to looked back to the lads in the car park. Jennifer didn't immediately look, instead not wanting to take her eyes off the bouncer. However, Rory's exclamation, followed by sudden footsteps pounding on the ground, caused Jennifer to look towards the car park. The bright flames illuminated the area as they rapidly sprung to life, spreading quickly from one car to the next as the petrol rapidly fueled the fire. "Oh shit!" she gasped, shocked. This wasn't part of the plan. Certainly not one she was aware of! "Who the hell did that?!" she asked. Tony had been clear with his orders to the group and she doubted he would have given anyone their own set of instructions, not for something so big.

With the ladies within reach, the bouncer grabbed Rory by the arm - luckily her good arm - and pinned it behind her back before slamming her face first into the wall of the building. "Hey, asshole!" Jennifer protested as she grabbed at the bouncer's arm in a futile attempted to force him to let go of her friend. As more security began to rush into view, Jennifer waved for the Fletcher men to run. The fewer of them caught, the better. This was a Walker business, so she could only imagine what would happen to any Fletcher soldiers caught destroying the property of any associates of Robert's.

Maybe they'll at least go easier on two women. A thought that quickly passed as another security guard approached and dragged Jennifer down onto the ground, pinning her face down into the gravel. "You ladies are staying put until the coppers get here!" the bouncer firmly told them. "You'll need a lot of pocket money to pay for that mess."

"Let go of me, you fucking piece of shit!" Jennifer shouted as she tried to wriggle free. With so many witnesses around, the men knew better than to deliver the usual kind of punishment they'd give to Walker enemies. There was no choice but to leave this one to the Police. Despite customers being led out of one of the building through a fire exit, there was no concern about the flames reaching the building, so no urgency to ease up on restraining Rory and Jennifer.

neverbackdown (Rory)

 

[neverbackdown]

Cedar Grill & Lounge
- Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham -

Victoria "Rory" Fletcher
​

Rory watched on in a horrified silence as the carpark went up in flames, car after car igniting in a domino effect as the flames swirled around the car park at an alarming rate. However, her attention was purely on the two hooded men who had set the chaos in motion.

Tony would not have authorized such a move and Rory knew that. While she wasn't against hitting the Walkers harder than they were she understood that things were delicate between the families and had to be done in the right way. After all, its why Tony was in charge of the family and not her, he knew what he was doing and if he told them the best way was to hit them small initially then thats what they would do.

As she looked at Jennifer, it seemed to suddenly dawn on Rory that this was not a Fletcher attack nor a rogue Fletcher associate annoyed with the lack of action rather it was more than likely an outside source but what she didn't understand was who wanted to attack the Walkers but implicate the Fletchers?

Before she could think further into what had happened, she noticed the hooded men beginning to run away. Her blood boiled in anger and without hesitation, Rory moved to run after them, fully intent on finding out who they were and why they did this but a strong grip on her arm stopped her from getting very far.

A shocked and pained moan escaped her lips as she smashed into the wall and her arm was twisted uncomfortably behind her. Moving her face so her cheek was against the wall, Rory tried to look back at the bouncer. "what the fuck man, it clearly wasn't us" she argued trying to remain as calm as possible in the situation but when she heard Jennifer get tackled to the ground, she found herself in a blinding rage unable to hold it back any longer.

Positioning herself into a better position, Rory managed to get her free arm against the wall placing the palm against the wall to give her leverage before she pushed back into the bouncer behind her with all her might. While she managed to move them away from the wall, her attempt was futile in loosing his hold and she quickly found herself pushed back into the wall with a surprising amount of force that took her breath away for a moment. If only she could turn around and get her arm free

"I know your a bit slow so let me explain it to you alright" anger was clear in her tone as she slowly emphasized every word "we were standing beside you when that happened, we didn't light the cars on fire" At her last word, Rory again tried to break out of his hold but in this position she had no leverage and found that it only resulted in her arm being twisted harder and her body being forced more into the wall in front of her. As she winced in pain she found herself for a moment being happy that noone could see her expression but the anger still welled inside her. "I swear to god when i get out of this your a fucking dead man" she muttered viciously quiet enough so to not be heard by the customers leaving the restaurant but so only the idiot holding her would hear her.

It didn't take long for the sound of sirens to fill the air around them, a sense of urgency overtook the air around them as a firetruck pulled up to the car park to control the blaze and several police cars followed suit. As footsteps began to fall towards them, Rory groaned in annoyance. Great just great.

"This is assault, we were coming for our reservation and they attacked us" she shouted towards the police as they approached. She knew as soon as they saw her face the game would be over but Rory was not about to go down without a fight.

**********
Int;-
Misty Gray - Jennifer

 

[Misty Gray]

Electric Lounge
Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham

Jennifer Murray​

When Rory pointed out that she was next to the bouncer when the cars were set on fire, the man shrugged his shoulders. "That doesn't mean a thing. Just because you weren't seen lighting them up, it doesn't mean you're not involved. You were probably up here acting as a distraction!" the man reasoned. He tightened his hold on her whilst she attempted to break away. When Rory went on to threaten him, he let out a deep sigh. "You're lucky there's witnesses around here, else I'd have snapped your arm by now. I'm not scared of some random little thugs the Fletchers send out here to cause trouble," he assured her, evidently unaware she was Tony's sister.

Whilst most of the Fletcher men had rushed off to try catch up with the two hooded men, one of them had stuck around to keep his eyes on Rory, but he'd found himself being held back by security too.

It wasn't long before the Police showed up, being stationed close to the restaurant and no doubt on Robert's payroll. Leaving their cars across the street so the fire engines could get access to the raging fire, police officers flooded towards the scene in pairs. The security guards soon fed the police information about the Fletchers' supposed involvement in the fire. Already pinned down on the floor face first, Jennifer's hands were cuffed behind her back before she was dragged to her feet by two officer. "We haven't done anything!" she angrily asserted. "Get your bloody hands off of me!" she demanded as she was dragged towards one of the police cars.

Rory, meanwhile, was approached by two more officers. Any chance of them believing her protests of innocent were soon wiped out when one of them stopped close and got a good look at her face. "This is Fletcher's kid sister!" the cocky-looking policeman informed his colleague and others around them. He forcefully grabbed her wrists and pulled them behind her so he could restrain her with handcuffs. "I don't believe a Fletcher would be dining here without wanting to cause trouble. You know damn well this place belongs to the Walkers."

"She was sat on the wall causing trouble with her grubby friends before trying to get inside. There's no doubts she and the rest started those fires," the security guard assured the cops without a shred of doubt in his tone.

"Miss Fletcher, you're under arrest on suspicion of loitering, arson and criminal damage," the office told her as he dragged her towards his police car.

*****​

A few hours later...

Birmingham Central Police Station
Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham

Robert Walker​

Robert hadn't appreciated having his evening interrupted to attend to the restaurant for the lowdown on what had been going on there. He was just grateful he hadn't knocked back too much alcohol beforehand. After being given a briefing of what had happened with the Fletchers causing a nuisance before the cars were set on fire, Robert had his driver take him to the Police Station. Three of the Fletcher lot had been arrested and were being kept in separate holding cells, but it was Rory's arrest that had led to him making his way over there.

Having many of the city's cops on his payroll, it was easy for Robert saunter into the station and be given access to the detainees. Rory had been moved to the cell at the end of the corridor. Robert had his bodyguard and the cops guard the corridor to make sure nobody would follow him. Given the business and known personal issues between the Walker and Fletcher families, it was easy for all parties to assume why the conversation Robert intended to have wouldn't be for anyone else's ears.

The cell Rory was being held in had a toilet in one corner and a narrow metal bed topped with a thin blue mattress in another. There was a small barred window which was placed too high up the wall for anyone to see out out of. Other than the bright light from the bulb hanging from the ceiling, the cell was bare and with nothing for entertainment.

The hatch on the door was briefly opened, with the man on the outside commanding Rory to stand against the opposite wall. Once the door was unlocked and pulled open, she saw Robert enter the cell, pulling the door closed behind himself. A brief look around the cell was more than enough for him to see. He made sure to focus on the situation at hand rather than allowing his past suffering whilst locked up in a cell to resurface.

Making sure to stand between Rory and the door, he folded his arms in front as he looked at her. Were she just some other thug, like Jennifer was to him, he wouldn't even give Rory a second thought at this moment in time. But the fact she was his daughter made it impossible for him to ignore her situation. If not for himself, he knew he had to intervene for Dorothy's sake. It was the very same reason Tony was still walking around in one piece. Robert had slaughtered men for much less than what Tony had done against his business. But he couldn't put Dorothy through that. Just like he didn't want her to have to suffer with Rory locked up in prison.

"Here we are again," the told Rory, referring back to the night he'd stopped her and Sully facing punishment for attacking Mick. "And just as I've said before, don't you have anything better to do with your life? Your brother does you a great disservice giving you tasks befitting of a petty street thug."

Robert rubbed his chin for a moment. After a sigh, he outstretched his arm to draw her attention to the four walls she was confined within. "Those cars that were destroyed all came with a huge price tag. Best case scenario, you can hope for 18 months behind bars. However, given the disorder the Fletchers have been known to generate against Walker businesses, the charges you're facing will be deemed as having aggravating factors. You'll be looking at years in a cell worse than this one. Is that what you see for your future, Rory?" he seriously asked her.

neverbackdown (Rory)
Mentioned: @Bellz (Dorothy) - Her unruly child #2

 

[neverbackdown]

Birmingham Central Police Station
Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham

Victoria "Rory" Fletcher
​

It has been a long time since Rory had managed to get herself placed into a cell and as she looked around at the all too familiar four walls encasing her she couldn't help but smirk at the memories that it brought back. Those fun nights when getting arrested didn't have too many consequences and rather was more of a cool story to tell. Now, however, Rory knew the consequences were a lot more serious, now as an adult she could actually end up serving time rather than just being released into her family's custody and what annoyed her the most was that she hadn't committed the crime.

"Hello old friend" she muttered, lowering herself onto the awful paper thin blue mattress as the metal beams creaked underneath her from the weight. Lying on her back, Rory stared up at the ceiling as she gently rubbed her left shoulder, the forceful way the police officer arrested her had caused the pain in her shoulder to flare up but she had a feeling she would be laughed at if she asked for meds and so instead she would just have to bear through it.

Her mind cast to the incident and the two hooded men who had started the fire as she tried to figure out who they could be and why they wanted to implicate the Fletchers. She remembered how the man who had shot her had tried to implicate Tony in the shooting and deduced that whoever organized the gala attack must have organized todays incident also. Biting her lip, deep in thought Rory tried to think of any other gang who may be trying to take over but her mind came up blank, any other gang she could think off wouldn't have the balls to try and take down the Walkers and Fletchers and she knew this so it must be someone new to the game. She needed to tell Tony of her ideas but as her mind cast to her brother she wondered if he even knew where she was but it was unlikely, besides he didn't even know she had gone with Jennifer.

As she began to think about her friend and wonder if she was ok, the hatch on her door opened and a voice commanded her to stand against the wall. Rolling her eyes, Rory sighed loudly as she stood up slowly and made her way to the opposite wall. An unimpressed and bored expression played on her features but quickly turned to shock as Robert walked through the door. Raising an eyebrow, Rory watched as he closed the door behind him as her body tensed ready for a fight.

Was he here to punish her himself? She hoped he realized that if he attempted to hurt her she would have no issue with hurting him.

When Robert began to speak to her about her future and her life, a look of confusion played on her features and she quickly looked him over but upon seeing no obvious weapons she allowed her body to relax a little. She didn't pin Robert down as the type of man who would beat up a girl who was locked in a cell but unfortunately Rory had learned in her years that no-one can be trusted and so she kept her guard up a little just incase.

When Robert mentioned the jail time she was actually facing, the hardened facade she carried fell away as she defeatedly lowered herself onto the bed to sit down. "Tony doesn't give me tasks of a "petty street thug" like you think, he didn't know I was there and probably doesn't even know I'm currently here" she muttered with a sigh. She rolled her shoulder gently as the pain twinge again but it thankfully was getting less with each passing minute.

She finally looked up at Robert again, a rare honest expression on her features "You don't have to believe me but we weren't behind the arson attack, yes we were loitering and causing a scene but that fire wasn't started by our men they came from a different side and besides why would I, a Fletcher, be present if the plan was to set a load of cars on fire?" She didn't know if he would believe her and besides its not like the Courts or Police would believe her either, Rory had already accepted that this was going to be pinned on her and she would be facing the time she just hadn't accounted for how long that time would probably be and that's why she was being honest rather than her snarky self.

"Why are you here?" she finally asked as the confusion was becoming too much to bear "and if your here to deal out your own punishment why talk to me about my future first?" she questioned him calmly and somewhat indifferently, her usual fighting demeanor missing under the dark situation she was currently in. If he was going to teach her a lesson she hoped he did it fast rather than lecturing her over her life choices.

********
Int;-
Misty Gray - Robert (mentions Tony and Jen)

 

[BeyondDandy]

Electric Lounge
- Small Heath, Birmingham -

SULLY FLETCHER
​

Sully had always been the quiet one, the one who kept his cards close to his chest, but lately, he found himself playing a dangerous game. The London streets had taught him survival, but nothing could prepare him for the treacherous path he was walking now.

Sitting in the dimly lit Electric Lounge, Sully glanced at his brother Tony, who was nursing a drink with a weary expression. Across from them sat Alfie Walker, a man with connections that ran deep into the underbelly of Birmingham. The tension was palpable, each man lost in their own thoughts, trying to figure out how to navigate the storm they were in.

Tony had asked him earlier, a hint of suspicion in his voice, "I assume the overall plan was to use her to put a dent in the Walker business?"

"Yeah," Sully had replied, his tone nonchalant. "Guess it didn’t work."

But the truth was, Sully's intentions were far more complex. Partnering with Felicity Walker and her family wasn’t just about business - it was about breaking free. Free from the shadows of their father, locked away in a prison cell, yet still casting a long shadow over their lives. Free from the drug empire that had become a noose around Sully's neck lately, suffocating him day by day.

Russo, the American mafioso, had his hooks deep in Sully, and Sully knew that one wrong move could spell disaster. But the idea of Russo controlling his fate was something Sully couldn’t stomach. He needed a way out, a plan that would sever Russo’s grip on his life, and if it meant destroying his brother’s drug business in the process, so be it.

Now, in the murky haze of the lounge, the three men brainstormed, trying to piece together a way to stop Russo before he crushed them all. Sully kept his true motives hidden, knowing that if Tony discovered the real reason he’d teamed up with Felicity, it could tear them apart for good.

But Sully was done living in the shadow of his family's past. He would find a way to break free, even if it meant burning everything around him to the ground.

“What if we find Russo someone else to sell his product?” Sully proposed.

Misty Gray
BasDorcha

 

[Misty Gray]

A few hours later...

Birmingham Central Police Station
Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham

Robert Walker​

As he often did in business and with his family, Robert held back from interrupting or giving Rory any further cues. Instead, he allowed her to speak up as much as she wanted or needed to. It often allowed him to assess how much others were willing to divulge without his insistence, but also allowed him to see what they would say without too much leading on his part. She finished by asking him why he was there and questioning why he'd be warning her about her future if he was there to punish her. Of course, he knew why he was there, even if nobody else did. Just as he'd been concerned about her injuries at the gala, he was also worried about her future and ending up locked away in prison. Even if it was a secret he'd had to keep for all of her life, she was his daughter and deep down her cared. Hell, those early years of seeing another man - Norman - bringing up his child had been a torture in itself. Caroline had never been able to understand that and always believed it was easy to pretend Rory was nothing to do with him. In more recent years, it had become easier to do. Recently, however, it was proving much harder. Caroline put it down to his grief over losing Charles making him become sentimental about his "bastard daughter".

"I'm not here to punish you," Robert bluntly told her. "That's the job of the legal professionals and then the prison service" he pointed out. Despite his words, he didn't answer her question as to why he was there.

Rory had cut out her usual defensive and provocative attitude, which suggested to Robert that she was taking this seriously, as she should be. She was like Tony in that regard, putting on an act and not really thinking about the consequences of their actions. Still, he saw in Tony the potential of a leader, especially as recently the younger man had been forced to take matters seriously and was realising this business wasn't to be taken lightly. "You said Tony didn't know where you were tonight and that makes things worse. To be a leader in this business, he has to have control over his employees, and before anything else, he should know where his family members are." Still, he knew Tony couldn't be expected to account for everyone, especially not when Felicity herself had recently gone behind his own back. "Tony needs to get a grip on this and assert his authority more. But on top of that, you and your siblings can't go behind his back in reckless pursuits." This time, he was referring to both Rory and Sully.

Robert hoped his words would get through to Rory, not really for Tony's sake in the business, but for his own and Dorothy's piece of mind. Despite his lectures, Robert didn't for a moment believe Rory had been involved in those fires, nor was he convinced the Fletchers were behind it at all. Even Tony had more brain cells than that. "As it happens, I do believe you. I doubt if you were involved in the plan to set those vehicles on fire, you would have gone up to the bouncer and shown your face, never mind stayed close enough for him to have you restrained. I don't even believe your brother was behind it," he admitted to her. They still hadn't found out who had arranged the gala attack and Robert was more inclined to believe tonight's attack was linked.

"It would hurt your mother to have you locked up, especially for something so petty and reckless. I don't want that either. For any of my kids. I mean. I already lost Charles and imagining losing any of my other children, be it through death or incarceration, well that's extremely difficult to bear. Your mother doesn't need that either," he assured Rory. Clearing his throat, he straightened his posture and forced himself get his head back in the game before he spiralled too far down the path of sentimentality Caroline had accused him of having for certain members of the Fletcher family. "I can easily make all of this go away. All charges dropped and you home before Dorothy needs to worry."

neverbackdown (Rory)