His Thing

Chapter 9

"What are we gonna do?"

Jack sighed as he walked back and forth in front of his boys, crossing his arms.

"We can't just leave him there", Race adds, staring at Jack. He had an arm wrapped around Albert, who was barely listening. He kept glancing at JoJo, who was practically glued to Mike's side. "I mean, it's Elmer."

"Can't we just go get him?" Romeo crossed his arms. "I mean, he's on our turf-"

"Yeah, and the cop on our turf has managed to kidnap Jack, a few Bronx newsies, two Queens newsies, and a Brooklynite", Blink adds, staring at Romeo with an accusing look. "If you like those odds, we should commit you to a padded room."

Specs glared at the angry boy, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend. "Watch it."

Jack stopped his pacing. He rubbed the space between his eyes tiredly, closing his eyes tightly. He had stayed up all night with Albert, trying to get the story straight, get him to stop crying, and get him to eat something. It was a rough night, to say the least.

Race stood up, sniffling and placing his hands in his back pockets. "I'm headin' to Brooklyn", he declares, patting Albert's head. "I gotta...tell Spot-"

"Yeah", Jack nodded, smiling at him briefly. "Go."

Race practically ran out of the theater, leaving everyone to wonder. "So-"

"We can't go chargin' in there, boys", Jack sighs, running a hand through his hair. The boys erupted into disapproval. "Listen!"

They all got quiet. "These cops...they's fucked up, okay? If we all go in there, we's all in the can."

"I don't care", Albert spoke up, saying something for the first time since this meeting. "I want him back. Today."

Jack sighed tiredly. "Al-"

"To. Day." Albert walks away from the group, JoJo following him quickly. The boys watch as they walk away, a tense silence in the room until the theater doors open.

"Hey, guys", Davey greets, a grin on his face. He was holding three boxes. "So, I-I scrapped up some allowance money, and I figured you guys might be hungry, so I bought some doughnuts-"

Jack ran over to his boyfriend and kissed him roughly, grabbing him by his waist and pulling him close. Davey let out a sound of surprise before melting in the taller boys arms.

When they pulled away, Davey felt his face to be similar to a fire. "Well, hello, nurse."

Jack hugged him, leaving Davey to look around in confusion. "Did I...miss something?"

Blink sighed, crossing his arms. "We 'ought to catch you up."

———

"So", Davey starts, his hand on a glass of water, "you guys are basically in a "turf war" with a police officer, which can lead to a large scale war with other Burroughs?"

Blink processed what he said. "Basically?"

"I know this is hard to understand", Jack sighed, looking up at Davey, who was sitting in his lap. He was feeling a bit clingier than usual, and something told him to not let Davey go. "But that's what's been goin' on. And I probably got a meetin' tonight-"

"Can I go?" Blink and Jack looked at Davey in surprise. "I just...I'm kind of curious."

"You don't wanna-"

"You sure?" Jack turned to Davey with furrowed brows, ignoring Blink's look of shock. "It can get pretty", he paused searching his brain for the right word, "serious."