I hate this place so much. These Harlem newsies are the worst. The boys give out worse 'punishments' than my boys ever did in Manhattan. But I can finally admit it now. I miss Manhattan. I miss the Lodging House. And I miss the boys. Yes, I miss the boys. They will always be my family no matter what. They can hate me as much as they want, but they will still be my brothers.
Of course, I think that they stopped considering me a part of their family. I don't think that they would even come to rescue me. But it would be stupid if they did. Giving up Manhattan? For me? The traitor? That is the last thing that I want them to do. It wouldn't be fair for them to cause them to lose their home and their means of living because of me, so I can't do that to them.
Besides, why would they even come for me? What use could I possibly be for them? Maybe they need their punching bag again. Or that they just want to make my life miserable to make themselves feel better about themselves.
"Rise and shine, Kelly". Speaking of making my life miserable. "Today is the day where it will be decided on whether you live or die. Either way, I have finally won"
"Look, Slingshot. I had enough of this. You can do whatever you want to me. I don't even care if you kill me, but just leave my boys alone and let them live their lives in peace"
"It is funny and kind of pathetic that you still care about them, despite the fact that they ran you out of town. Not to mention the fact that they are leaving you to die"
"It doesn't matter! They are still my brothers and I still care about them!"
"Sure, if you want to die believing that, then be my guest. Just don't be surprised when it is 8'o clock and no-one shows up to come for you"
"We will see about that"
"I guess that we will"
Racetrack Higgins' POV
Here we are: Harlem. The worst place in New York. It is time to get our leader back. Hang on, Jack. We are on the way. I just hope that this plan will work.
"Race, are you sure that this plan is going to work out?"
"Of course, it would! You helped me think of the plan in the first place and you are the smartest newsie that I know, so it has to work"
"Well, let's just keep our fingers crossed... for Jack's sake"
"For Jack". Crutchie, Davey, and I walked into the Harlem Lodging House and confronted Slingshot. "Alright, where is Jack?!"
"Wow, you guys actually came for that pathetic street rat? I am surprised about that"
"Enough with the games! Where is he?!"
"Surrender Manhattan, then we give you your leader"
"I want to see Jack first"
"Fine. Boys, bring me our prisoner". A couple of the Harlem newsies walked into the basement, then came upstairs with a person with a bag on their head in their grip. They roughly threw the person down onto the floor. "There, now you see him"
"How could I possibly know if that is Jack? Pull the bag off of him!"
"Playing hard to trade, I see. Very well". He pulled the bag off of the person's head and it was Jack, beaten up and gagged. He looked at me, Crutchie and Davey with a confused and shocked expression. Did he really think that we wouldn't save him? "Ok, now you see your leader. Now, give me what I want!"
"But how can I trust that you would give Jack back to us if we do trade?"
"You are a real piece of work, you know that? But smart kid". He picked up Jack from the ground and threw him toward Davey, who caught him. "Alright, now that you have what you want, give me what I want. And before any of you run away with the street rat". He snapped his fingers and a couple of the boys guarded the door. He has been prepared for this, but unfortunately for him, so have we.
"Smart, but not smart enough". I whistled and Spot Conlon and his newsies, along with some of our newsies, busted though the door, then proceeded to beat down every single one of the Harlem newsies. In the meantime, I carried Crutchie on my back while Davey grabbed Jack and we ran all the way toward Manhattan and into the alleyway near the Lodging House.
After a while, we waited for Spot Conlon, his newsies, and our newsies to come back to the Lodging House, once they did, we all signed in relief.
"Ok, that went easier than expected"
"I know". We heard some muffled screaming and we realized that it was Jack. Oh, right. We forgot to untie him. Davey and I helped to untie him and Jack took the rag out of his head. "Hey, Jack. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Race. I have never been better", he answered sarcastically. "No, really. It was really fun to be attacked in the middle of the streets, kidnapped, tied up, gagged. beaten up, and held for ransom. Thanks for asking!"
"Jack!"
"But... thanks for saving me"
"Yeah... it is nice to see you again, Jack"
"Wish I could say the same thing to you. The last time that we saw each other wasn't exactly a good one". Yeah, he is still mad about the art book incident. Not that I blame him. "Well, I guess that we should be going now"
"Wait, Jack! I... would you like to come back to the Lodging House? For dinner, I mean?"
"Why would I do that? Last time I checked, I am still a traitor"
"I know that we all treated you badly, and that there is nothing that we can do or say to make it all go away, but I guess that I just wanted to believe that we could make amends. Never-mind, it is stupid. I never should have asked". I was about to walk back inside, but Jack stopped me.
"No, it was fine. I will come by, but the moment that anyone tries anything, then I am leaving"
"Deal! See you tomorrow". I could have swore that I saw Jack smile at me a little bit, but I think that it was just my imagination. Regardless, I just got Jack to agree to come back to the Lodging House. At least just for dinner, but it is a start. I think that we might get our leader back.
YOU ARE READING
The Disgraced Newsie: Part 2( Rewritten)
FanfictionThe sequel to The Disgraced Newsie. A few months after Jack, Crutchie, and Jojo left for Santa Fe, Jack decided to go back to New York to visit Davey and his family, but runs into a few familiar faces that he never wanted to see again. Will Jack e...
