It was no longer a cold evening, just a busy one. On the grey streets of Birmingham walked five men. All strapped in their tattered coats, making their way down a rather empty street. Smog and horseshit polluted those quarters, both natural covers for Rain's gambling corner. It wasn't raining that night, so this called upon a larger crowd, more than her usual guests.

Her corner stood under a withering streetlamp beside the Shelby pub, which almost completely failed from illuminating the action down below. A few boys were already hitching cards from their hands onto the concrete. Money was being passed around from man to man as the fallen cards raved the calamity in their voices. Dice were being rolled, and cards shuffled, and money counted from the swift hands of Rain Kingsley.

The picture was odd, yes. All these howling men surrounding a young lady dressed as a common street boy: suspenders, cap, and all. She stood in a staggering stance with a lit cigarette perched between her lips. Her black hair was cut short, to her ears, and dirt scattered across her freckled face. It was as if the only preposterous sight amongst the gambling men was the fact that the frail one, holding the money, appeared to be one of Zhang's men.

It's true, Rain was part Chinese, and it was hard enough to live with that on her shoulders. But masquerading as a boy was the best decision she could ever have made in her life. No one looked twice once she placed her hat slightly over her eyes, and the coppers paid no attention to raggedly dressed boy . . . unless, of course, he were orchestrating a crowd of gambling men.

"Gentlemen!" she bolstered in a rough voice, "We must all lower our voices if we wish to continue on playing!" The crowd of men instantly lowered their rioting into a slight howl. "That's better!" she stood with her legs spread apart, a few hundred pounds in one hand, cigarette in the other. "Now who's leaning on Smith? There's a ten pound starting fee for this bloke!" she called out to newcomers.

Fools, she thought. They were all half-drunk men coming out from the backdoor of Thomas Shelby's pub. Most of these men were under his employment, which meant they were handsomely compensated for their line of work, which also meant Rain was about to make good business tonight.

Smith was the bearded fellow on the right, rolling the dice and claiming a few victories here and there, which urged the surrounding players to bet on his final win. However, Rain was fully aware that Jim was the real threat, and only a few men were betting on his triumph. She had been eyeing the cards that were distributed from the start of the game.

Each shuffle, each draw, each discard; Rain effortlessly analyzed and calculated the shift from card to card, roll to roll, all the while, handling the money and urging Smith's name in winnings. Numbers casually strolled through her conscious as the game went on, until finally . . . the last draw.

In that moment of dear silence, the alley behind the Shelby pub was, in fact, frozen in time. Rain herself, did not hesitate when she placed her bid on Jim. It was all there, right in front of her.

"Fuckin' Hell!" a bidder shouted in the night. Many others groaned and fell away from the game as Jim slammed his final hand on the wet concrete.

"I lost?" Bearded Smith shamelessly sat in a puddle of his own misery as the crowd began to disperse in agony.

The few winners cheered in delight, along with Rain, who stood utterly neutral between the two competitors.

"You did your best, Smithy. But, sadly, it wasn't enough!" she began to split the money accordingly, handing, a happy, Jim his winnings. "Now run along, and come back to win it all back next time. Go on, the missus is waiting at home, she must be worried sick!"

"Fuck off, Rain." He uttered, slouching away into the street filled with miserable losers.

"And for you three, you lucky bastards." She handed the young boys their share and pocketed the rest: a staggering sum. "That was quite the game, ey?!"

"Wish I was here to see it in full action." A voice appeared from behind Rain.

She was quick to swiftly jump ahead and turn to see who had so quietly snuck up behind her during the quick descent of the high from winning. The light from above remained dim, but was fully capable of recognizing a well-dressed man as part of the Shelby Organization.

Rain stood with her hands in her pockets, sleeves rolled up, as she eyed the young men who stood only a few paces away from her.

One stood almost perfectly straight, like a gentleman who was attempting to appear a bit less . . . straight? His structure was nice and fit, he had certainly been pampered as a child, but Rain gathered there was something behind his almost perfect face and posture. There was something hiding in those green eyes.

Now, the young man who stood next to him was a bit more convincing. There was nothing but fire in his black eyes and he sported a dangerously playful grin. His slightly darker skin almost glowed under the light. Rain was completely sold on his intense gaze as something dangerous.

"You're one of Zhang's boys?" Intense asked, as if he were accusing Rain of something. She felt slightly offended.

Rain scanned her clothes. "Do you think a whoring boy would be out on the streets at night collecting cash from other men- oh wait, I see!" she laughed, "I set myself up for that one. Why? You want a taste of some Chinese?" she toyed.

Intense grew closer, along with the other.

"Did you manage to collect a Gaming License while you were shouting out your biddings behind a Shelby establishment?" Green Eyes questioned.

"You know, about that-" and Rain quickly dashed off into the night in mid-speech.

"He's the one, Michael!" she heard Intense call out behind her as she whirled into a dark alley.

There was nothing but darkness ahead of her and a slew of voices behind her. She couldn't tell if there was more than those two running after her, but knowing that those two were behind her was enough to get her running up to speed. The cool wind felt like ice as she twisted and turned, occasionally jumping over drunken men. If this were a sport, she'd be ace in any competition.

Rain wondered if there were any shops open at this hour, but the voices behind her deemed her hunger unimportant. Her heart raced as she did so on the dark streets. The only visible light came from the stars. Even the moon was hiding from all this nonsense, but the stars were there to guide her.

Just one more corner and-

"Fuckin' Hell!" she groaned as a body slammed right into hers. The force threw both of them into a shadowed, wet alley. Rain lay on the ground with the wind knocked out of her after a rough crash, but she struggled within his grasp. It was Green Eyes who brought her to the ground, he held her firmly by the shoulders. Rain regained control and lunged him off of her bruised body, only to roll him under her. In the process she had lost her hat, her hair was soaked from the puddles of water, it trailed down her dirty face.

Rain's guttural protests filled the vacant alleyway as Green Eyes gripped Rain's throat while she forced her knee firmly over his windpipe. She could tell he was in much more pain, than she, for his green eyes began to well up and redden. Rain rapidly shifted the position of her knee, allowing him to breathe, rendering her throat free. It gave her a chance to throw a series fists at Green Eyes' pretty face, grunting in exhaustion.

Once Rain felt his grasp on her weaken, she bolted for the exit of the alleyway.

With a groan, Green Eyes managed to shift from the ground and pounce up to wrench Rain back onto the wet ground, slamming her skull on the stones. He crouched on top of her, his legs straddling her torso, hands clenching onto her wrists over her head. She was completely botched by Green Eyes. The worst thing was, she could no longer see the stars in this dark alley with him hovering over her like a deranged dog with blood running down his beaten face. Rain imagined she looked just as appealing.

"Your head," Rain managed to speak, though her mind and body were both fatigued, " . . . it is extremely huge, my friend." She laughed, her normal girlish laugh that only appeared for she was dazed from the blow to her head. It would probably be the last time she would do so if Intense were to show up.

Green Eyes cocked his head, his breathing heavy. "You're a girl?"

"Feel free to make sure of this accusation while you have the chance, before your friend gets here." Rain snapped as she panted. Rain had run from this wickedness for so long, it was only a matter of time before the devil had caught up with her and took what many men thought they owned. The painful part was that Rain wasn't even drunk to endure such torture.

A few seconds of silence passed by as Rain remained under Green Eyes' grasp. His breathing had slowed down, but that look of confusion prevailed. Rain shook her head.

"Well!? Go on with it!" she spat.

"The Card Counter, the one who runs illegal gambling in Birmingham is a girl?" he breathed, almost as if he weren't speaking to Rain.

"Awful name, isn't it?" Rain inquired.

Green Eyes snapped back into focus, Rain felt the grip on her tired hands tighten. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you could've been in if some other group had found you?"

"Can't say I do." Rain shrugged.

He refrained from speaking any further. Rain could see the thoughts running through his mind. She saw it in his eyes, how badly he wanted to deliver her to his boss, and yet, he hesitated. That doubt plagued his sensible, green eyes.

Rain felt him release his grip on her wrists. He carefully pushed himself off of her body and backed away. At this, she cocked her head, but said nothing. She struggled to pick herself up. Every bone in her body ached, but she managed to balance herself up without crying out in pain.

"Michael!" someone was yelling in the distance. It was Intense.

A sense of urgency sparked through Rain. His voice was getting closer.

"Go!" Green Eyes waved her off. "Now!"

And so she ran.