Bill woke up to a commotion down on the pub floor. He knew it was uncommon because it sounded not like anything of the usual he'd normally hear morning or night, so he moved the woman's arm from atop of him and got up quickly getting dressed and headed down the stairs. He saw five men in official black outfits all now looking up at him since he was still on the stairs to the lodgings, two pointing a pistol at him.
They all had bowler hats, trench coats shortened and nice shoes stained from the ground outside the pub. That street had a distinct muddy trail no shoe nor boot could hide. The gunmen were built big, whilst the rest were fighter sized, one of the smaller men stepped forward.
"good morning Mr Rodney, or should I say Mr blackjack Hatchet" the man took great emphasis on the latter title keeping a stone dead face," why don't you join us for a drink, we'd hate to concern your lady friend upstairs on men's business"
Bill stepped down silent wanting to know how he knew of Belle and how she was there, he looked the room over and saw in the reflection of the pub mirror the morning barman was dead behind the counter. There was already a bottle of whiskey on the table set out with six glasses on the table neatly and deliberately placed. This made him think the whiskey was poisoned and it was a game of roulette of sorts. The four silent men were spread out in the room still close enough to get to him before he could get to the man offering the drink. As he sat down the bigger men put they're guns away giving him enough time to check the type of handgun they were using. It had a clip at the bottom near the handle going into the body of gun with the handle ninety degrees perpendicular to the body of the gun as well. Putting the evidence of the outfits, the discipline and the firearms they were in fact high ranking police.
He was about to speak when one pulled a gun and the chatty man sat down,"mr Rodney we don't like to play formalies here, so I'll cut to the chase" the man leaned in showing he did not fear him nor cared about retaliation, "I am captain Mosley chalk of his majesties police and you are being held for the theft of a government airship now missing"
"my people were sent to track it but they are missing too" captain Mosley nearly laughed at that line,"so you'll give it back and the consequences will be minor or the latter and you'll never see daylight ever again. We've made lesser nuisances disappear for less so don't tempt me"
"now you may speak" the captain motioned by hand as well.
"so a government airship goes missing and you look to the lads army-" bill hated being interrupted.
"no we turn to you, you sent the gypsies with you and your misfit bastards so you are on our scope" The captain was quite sure Bill was responsible for the airship.
"and you couldn't just lift me and let the lads and the gypsies kill each other?" it made sense to Bill that the gypsies and the lads army would blame each other over his sudden disappearance and fight for leadership.
"you'd martyr and send them looking through hell itself for you, we know your recent exploits. By the way you should pick wisely on which gypsy lass you keep with you, they're like cranes and mate for life" captain Mosley occasionally averted his eyes to pour the glasses of whiskey.
"what are the consequences you speak of?" bill asked.
"I'm glad you asked, if it's minor you do jobs for his majesty through me" he paused to drink down two of the whiskey shots, now bill knew the whiskey wasn't poisoned, "the big time consequence is we put you in a black cell with regular beating until you don't respond to oxygen whilst we burn down your empire one house and horse at a time"
"so you don't care if we kill each other but as long as your not affected by it minus the benefits... In the trenches there was a name for that. Typical fucking officer" as Bill said this he felt a sudden push on his head lunging it into a glass on the table.
The pain was sudden and made his head spin a little.
"be polite to your betters mr Rodney" captain Mosley pointed as he spoke.
"You'll give my offer some thought, toss a drug lad into the cut and we'll know your with us" captain Mosley got up from the table finishing the last three shots.
Before he could get up he felt his head land into the table again but this time with more force, as if the attacker had put his bodyweight behind it. What followed next was a series of kicks and punches before he left on the ground of the pub to hear footsteps leaving his establishment. He got up, fixed the pub where he sat and called in a few lads to get the dead barman out of the pub via the back. He then went back upstairs Belle still asleep in his bed naked. He sat in chair by door tried to remember everything said downstairs, he heard toss some drug lads into the cut or lose everything.
He then took notice of Belle, that stunning psychotic gypsy girl he fell for killing the top kid. That look in her eyes as they both shot him in the face sent a feeling through him he'd never felt in a long time. The way her hair lapped over her face and how the blanket both covered and complemented her figure, she still snored loudly on her back.
She woke up to seeing him looking at her wriggle around, the blanket still hiding and complementing her figure as if to tease.
"you should not stare like that, it'll make you perverse" she slowly rose from the pillow keeping most of the blanket on rubbing her eyes.
This didn't stop him from looking.
"couldn't sleep so I went downstairs, then went back up" bill said keeping the fear of Mosley knowing of him and Belle, even his last name which he never told a lad.
"What you wanted morning action? " she used her finger to gesture him closer which brought him from the chair nearly on top of her.
They shared kisses of which she interrupted by gently grabbing him by the chin," I'm not in the mood, I'll meet you downstairs "
Bill went downstairs all the same and looked to see the mess cleared and the body along with the blood gone, which helped him breathe easier. The pain in his head subsided, although it was sure to bruise soon. He could easily put it to a fight with a lad or gypsy which would make sense. He had to keep the police in the pub a secret, or else his whole world would burn whilst he shared a black cell with rats til the beatings killed him.