"The Widow" Bertha

"Now I understand, it's not acting," Marco said with a sneer, "but you have political backing."

"So what?" asked Bertha, turning her head to one side.

The strong smell of blood came to the face, and Bertha could almost feel the temperature from the Italian.But she just lowered her eyes and looked into Marco's eyes almost contemptuously: "Aren't you scared, Marco?"

The Italian raised a thick eyebrow.

He straightened his spine again and opened the distance: "It's a pity, ma'am, political backers can't guarantee that your people will not have problems. Today there are traitors from the Truth Society, and tomorrow there will be a Bourne family rebellion-who doesn't want peace and legality ah?"

As he spoke, he spread his hands.

Behind the thin man is the cold factory and the bloody ground, all the cruelty should be manifested.

"Before the Sicilians came to London, London had its own gang power, and which one was really peaceful and legal?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the crying boys on the ground.

"Under the peace you have carefully concealed, there is such a riddled appearance."

Bertha followed his instructions and glanced at the ground, then turned her head and gave Thomas a wink.

Without her saying anything, Thomas waved his hand and asked the boys who followed him to stand up the three "traitors" who were so frightened that their legs were weak.

"Marco," said Bertha with a mock sigh, "it would be a nuisance to pursue a girl like this."

"It hurts me so much, ma'am."

Marco pouted: "I'm helping you solve the problem. If you want peace, I have a solution. If you want to keep your hands clean, I have a solution."

The way is to hand over the Whitechapel area to him, and give him all the power and finances, and become an appendage of the Italians, and then Bertha will not have to do all the things in person.

This is indeed a way.

"Tommy," Bertha called to Thomas, "take the man away first."

"Are you going to let it go like this?" Marco asked.

"The traitors in Thames will naturally be dealt with by Thames," Bertha said. "It's not up to outsiders to intervene. It's the same for you, Marco."

"nature."

Marco put on a gesture of respect for Bertha: "It's just ma'am, don't send people to Scotland Yard anymore. Do you know how gangs in other districts view Thames Office? Colluding with the police."

With that said, he put back the gun he had taken out.

It's just that the man's blood-stained face is still full of threats.

"You say you respect rules, so let's talk about rules," he said. "Whatever conflicts between gangs and gangs, that is our own business. But whoever has an affair with the police ... that is the public enemy of all gangs."

"Thanks for reminding."

Bertha raised her chin, then smiled.

"I also advise you, Marco."

"Please, madam."

“It’s nice to have expensive Italian clothes,” she said, “but getting someone else’s blood is the same as getting your own blood.”

Marco Esposito laughed out loud when he heard the words. He raised his hand and touched his face, leaving a few bloodstains on the skin.

"Don't worry," he returned, "I have plenty of clothes, ma'am."

***

As soon as he walked out of the factory, Thomas couldn't help swearing under his breath.

Bertha's reaction was much calmer.

She walked up to the carriage with her skirt in her hand, and she did not forget to tell the driver: "Open the window, I want to get some air." The bloody smell on the Italian's body seemed to have never dissipated.

Thomas: "Ma'am, he did it on purpose."

Bertha: "Of course he did it on purpose."

From the perspective of gangs and gangs, all of Marco Esposito's behaviors have not deviated.

It was not Bertha Thames he was looking at, but the whole Whitechapel district behind Lady Thames.

"The Italians are right," Bertha said calmly. "If it weren't for the fact that everything we do is based on destroying the Truth Society, they wouldn't be eyeing the Whitechapel area because of it. It's nothing more than from the perspective of other gangs. Thames Affairs The established name is not justified."

"Don't listen to him, madam."

Thomas' face was very ugly: "What kind of backer, which gang has no backer? He Marco is not backed by Sicilians, which gang has never bribed the police?!"

Bertha sneered: "It's all about finding an excuse."

It is normal for gangs to intimidate each other, find trouble, and even have small-scale frictions.

Marco did this kind of thing because he was threatening Bertha, saying that her foundation was unstable—one day he could catch people from the Truth Society, and tomorrow he could instigate people from the Bourne family to deal with her.

If Bertha is persuaded and obediently becomes his wife as Mark wished, then the Italians will be able to take the Whitechapel District without a single soldier; , They are still afraid that the "mud legs" in Ma Ke's mouth will not succeed?

In the final analysis, the power in the Whitechapel area is not as good as that of the Italians, so the other party is unscrupulous.

"Don't worry," Bertha said, "I know what to do. I'll send someone to the Diogenes Club to tell Mike that the Italians are investigating him."

"These people..."

Thomas cast a bitter look at the three boys who had been caught.

Bertha boarded the carriage, and she still didn't forget to look back at the "traitors" who were brought out, and said coldly, "We'll talk about it when we go back to the office."

Strictly speaking, these three boys are not considered "official employees" of the firm. They are nothing more than running errands and acting as thugs.

And two of them are usually Sykes' little followers.

Now something went wrong, and Bill Sikes looked very ugly.As soon as Bertha led the people into the gate of the office, Sykes rushed over on the spot——

"You wait."

Bertha raised her hand to stop Sykes who was about to rush over to hit someone.

Sykes didn't dare to move forward, but he didn't give up. He was a gangster and his veins burst out of anger: "Let me kill these two bastards!"

Bertha: "It's not your turn yet."

As she spoke she looked up at Ned.

It was also a traitor among his subordinates, the little accountant's reaction was much calmer - although his face was not good-looking.

Knowing that he was in trouble, Ned met Bertha's eye, and brought a chair for Mrs Thames himself.

That's more or less.

Bertha sat down slowly, adjusted her wide skirt, and crossed her legs very bluntly.

She looked down at the three boys who were thrown on the ground, and asked calmly, "You three all live in the Whitechapel area?"

No one dared to speak.

It was Thomas who kicked the youngest boy next to him: "I'm asking you something!"

The boy said immediately: "Yes, yes, ma'am!"

Bertha: "In this case, you should know more about gang rules than I do. Italians punish traitors by beating them to death. Isn't that too much?"

The boy shook his head: "No... not too much."

Bertha: "Knowing that the Society of Truth has offended me, I gave you a chance to accept that letter and regard you as traitors, isn't it too much?"

The boy hurriedly defended: "I didn't intend to betray—"

"To shut up."

Bertha interrupted him rudely.

She frowned: "You don't intend to betray me, but tell me, what are you planning to do after receiving that letter and going to the old laboratory site of Dr. Lang En?"

It's nothing more than thinking that the Truth Society still exists, and they get paid for helping out.

The boys also had no access to the higher echelons of the firm, they had seen neither ledgers nor met Mrs Thames much.Knowing very little, so selling the news will not affect the gang's actions, but can make a fortune for itself.

Harmless, but there is oil and water to fish for.

This is the idea of ​​going to meet after receiving the letter.

"This is because I know that there are really no people in the Truth Society," Bertha said coldly, "If I didn't know, how much more decent do you think your fate will be than the Italian traitors?!"

No one dared to speak.

"You're lucky to have the Italians," she said, "and you're not Thames boys from this day on."

"lady--"

The boy who had been scalped immediately looked up.

He also seemed to want to defend himself, but when he met Bertha's dark golden eyes, he didn't dare to say anything.

"In no time all of Whitechapel will know that I carved the word 'Traitor' on your arms and was expelled from the gang," said Bertha, "and that you three hold a grudge against me and will do anything to avenge my humiliation. For the price, you can even go to the forces outside of the White Church."

Bertha's words fell to the ground, and the youngest boy immediately reacted.

He looked up: "Even Italian."

Bertha hooked her lips.

"I don't tolerate traitors," she said, "but I don't tolerate people counting on me even more. Italians see me as a weak person who will contact the police, but you better remember to me, don't kill people, don't call the police, I have plenty of ways to make things difficult for you, too—but that's after I've dealt with the Italians."

The implication is that she is going to send the three boys as undercover agents.

If you do well, you will make up for your mistakes.

If they didn't do well, the Italians would naturally take care of them.Even if they really held a grudge, the word "traitor" carved on their arms would certainly cut off their other paths.

People who struggle in the slums actually have few choices. If they don't belong to gangs, they can become thieves and gangsters.But no matter what kind of line of work, the most hated is the betrayer.

Once the words are engraved on their bodies, they will never be separated from Mrs. Thames.

Under the protection of Bertha, the meaning of the word "traitor" is the loyalty that endures humiliation; without Bertha's wings, they are the mice that everyone shouts and beats.

As for whether it is worth this protection, it depends on whether they can survive.

This was already the greatest kindness Bertha could show.

The three boys naturally understood.

The two older boys almost cried, gratefully thanking Bertha for the opportunity.

The youngest boy paused, and said with difficulty: "We will take good care of Miss Kitty."

Bertha: "..."

She remembered that it was one of the children who had been working with Ned.

"What's your name?"

"Phoenix, ma'am."

"Last name?"

"I don't have a last name," he replied, "I grew up eating a lot of food."

"it is good."

Bertha nodded: "If any of you can protect Katie well, when you come back, your surname will be Thames."

The hoarse words fell to the ground, but they weighed as much as a thousand catties.

The whole office fell into silence.

All three young boys were beaten.After suffering from hunger, cold, and lack of sleep, I was frightened like that again.They could hardly stand anymore, but after Bertha said this, the youngest boy stood up with trembling legs.

Gritting his teeth, he dragged the two older boys beside him from the ground.

"Is that true, ma'am?"

"really."

"it is good."

Phoenix personally took off his tattered red scarf, took off his red gloves, and rolled up his sleeves.

When he looked up, there was unprecedented hope in the eyes of the slum dwellers.

"Let's engrave it, Thomas," the boy said. "You promise that when I return Miss Kitty intact in a few days, please write my name on my tombstone as Phoenix Thames."

Thomas looked at Bertha.

She took a deep breath.

"Go," said Bertha, "call Nancy here, I have other things to arrange for the girls in the red-light district, and tell Mickey to take a few coachmen to watch Sherlock Holmes' block, To save the Italians from trouble with him."

"Only Sicilians with the surname Esposito are members of their family, but any orphan without a surname can have the surname Thames."

"I'm going to make the Italians pay," she said.

***

At the same time, the Diogenes Club.

Mycroft Holmes nodded when he saw the message brought by the postman. "I see."

Mr. Postman waited for a while, and seeing that Mycroft didn't speak anymore, he asked, "Do you need me to reply, sir?"

Mycroft asked without answering: "How is the preparation for the gift for Madam?"

Postman: "On the way."

Mycroft: "Let's go, then."

"……gentlemen?"

The gentleman got up, and slowly adjusted the buttons of his coat: "Go to the Whitechapel area."