Whatever became of:
Jack Church
James Charles Church turned away from the Window and looked across the silent Drawing Room. As usual it was darker inside his Soho House than the London Night outside. He saw the Shadows of his patrolling Guards and heard their quiet Voices. Despite long Years working on his various Ventures he remained restless and, at Times, haunted by past Sights & Deeds. The Hands pulling him down from the Roof remained the worst…
As a young Man Church had worked as Handyman, Steeplejack & jobbing Builder by Day. While by Night his Trades had been less savoury. However, his foot-padding & housebreaking were long since behind him. He had People for those kinds of things now. People he could trust, People who were reliable. Not like his Family…
He still missed his Mum – she had been the family Rock. But had faded right away after Dad died. Stabbed by Old Ralph Richardson in the George Inn in a Fight over the earnings of a tuppenny Tart. His two brothers Ron and Reg had been young when it happened. And they had been right little Terrors even then. If anything, their short spell as Recruits made them wilder when they came out, than before they took the King’s Shilling. James remembered trying to stop their fighting, but it had been difficult, especially dealing with Reg. When he had a Temper on he couldn’t be made to listen to Reason. No matter how bad it was for the Business. And Ron would always back him up. Church hated those vicious little Shits and didn’t miss them one bit.
His thieving had always been opportunistic, till he got his big score with Foppingham, Ezra and the rest of that crew. That had set him up good and proper. He’d split the Earnings between Kirk & Co.’s legit Plots of Land and new Building for the London rich, while expanding his other business Interests. There’d been Resistance, of course. Specially, Fights with the Richardsons from South of the River. Ron and Reg had been useful then, but they couldn’t keep the Violence down. They fell in love with their own dandy Reputations and would have got the Drop for their Crimes, if Church hadn’t been able to put the Fix in… that had cost a lot and they had still both been Thumb branded & transported for Life to the American Colonies. He’d sorted them for Money, of course, but heard no more. No doubt the Virginian Colonist looking for a pair of biddable Farm Workers had got more than he bargained for…
In the Years since, Church had kept going with both Kirk’s building and his other Businesses: there wasn’t a Tart, Beggar or Foot-pad in Westminster, Soho, Cheapside or Southwark who didn’t pay his Taxes. He kept his Distance from those Businesses now. Unless someone really needed sorting out. If they did he would have some of his People put the snatch in and then he tried to keep it civilized – no Torture or anything Arcane. Just a quiet Word & if that didn’t work a quiet End.
When Things got too much he would still go and talk to his Friends-Up-Top and even sometimes visited a Night Market if one was on. They knew he collected special & arcane Things, though he’d never got beyond being a talented Amateur when it came to making his own Items – which he didn’t because he knew just how dangerous it was to be a Decanic Amateur. They usually knew what was going on around the City and some of the less savoury could always be brought in if there was more work to be done than his own People could handle…
JCC