The Disgraced Newsie( Tommy Boy Alternate)

CHAPTER XII

JACK KELLY'S POV

"Here is some more money for you, Jack. Unfortunately, that is all I have." Crutchie handed me a couple of quarters. It wasn't as close to what we needed to ensure Tommy's safe return, but every little bit of it helped enormously.

Race, Jojo, Specs, Davey, and Crutchie were the only ones who willingly pitched in to help out. Well, mainly Race, Jojo, Specs, and Crutchie. I always complained to Davey that he should use his money to provide for his family, but he still contributed about a percent of his earnings. Katherine definitely would have contributed to helping out Tommy if I had informed her of the situation. Besides, it is not like I have a way to tell her about the emergency anyway, as she went on vacation with her father, and I have no idea when she would return to New York. Ms. Medda would have also helped, but I never liked to request money from her. I understand we are in the middle of a nearly revolutionary crisis, but sometimes, my pride is too much for me to control or handle.

So far, we have five dollars, which is not even close to sixty dollars. How is this ever going to work? Tomorrow is the day that Slingshot will want his money or Manhattan, and there is no way he will extend our time. What are we going to do?

"Thanks, Crutch."

"We still don't have enough, don't we?"

"Not even close."

"So, what will we do?"

"I don't know, but no matter what, I am not surrendering Manhattan to Slingshot, and I will not let Slingshot drown Tommy in the East River."

"Of course, we will never allow that to happen. Or at least some of us who still care about Tommy will never allow it to happen, but what else can we do? Tomorrow is the deadline."

"I think I have something that might help." Crutchie and I turned around and looked at Finch, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Crutchie stared at Finch, confused, while I looked at him with annoyance and frustration. Finch harshly treated Tommy the worst; he was the most insulted by Tommy's actions. He even willingly confessed that he shoved Tommy down the staircase. What idea could Finch possibly have? If he is anything like the other boys, he might be attempting to convince me to forget about Tommy and let Slingshot do whatever he wants with him. Like that will ever happen.

"What do you want? Look, if you are making an effort to convince me not to rescue Tommy, then- -"

"No, that is not what I am trying to do. I want to help you. I want to help Tommy."

"What would you want to do that? Haven't you constantly said that you hated Tommy and never wanted him to return? But then again, why would he want to return in the first place? Even if the Harlem Newsies hadn't kidnapped him, Tommy would never have considered returning. You demonstrated to him that you didn't care about him anymore. After all, you unregretfully pushed him down those stairs, which provoked him to leave in the first place."

"Crutchie! That is enough! But he has a point, Finch. What made you suddenly start caring about Tommy now?"

"I never... I never stopped caring about him. After all, he is still my brother."

"Well, you certainly made that clear to him," Crutchie remarked sarcastically. I frowned at him, but he shrugged his shoulders at me.

"So, what is this plan of yours? For Tommy's sake, it had better be a promising one."

"Well, it is not some rescue strategy. I have something that we could sell that should make up enough money to save Tommy. How much do we need again?"

"Sixty dollars; we have five dollars."

"Then these items will have to do." Finch took out a gold-chained necklace and a silver-colored ring. I never knew that Finch owed these objects. "Before our mom passed away and our dad gave up all of our money for liquor, we were pretty well off. After our mom passed away, our dad sold everything that she owed to satisfy his drinking problem, but I managed to keep safe the only items that we had of her. I always meant to hand them over to Tommy when he was older, but this is more important."

"Finch, you really shouldn't need to do that. These items are too meaningful to you."

"Well, Tommy means more to me! I wish that I could have told him more often and never allowed my emotions to get the better of me. The least I can do to make it up to him is to ensure no one will hurt him, just like I always promised."

"Are you sure about this? You know that once you sell these items, you can never repurchase them."

"I understand, but I don't care. Tommy is worth way more than these items."

"That is... Incredibly selfless of you, Finch."

"Yeah, even I am impressed."

"Get my brother back. I don't want to hear any more of this sappy talk." Finch handed me the objects, then instantly rushed down the staircase.

"I would never have thought he would do that for Tommy. I suppose he still cared about his brother after all."

"Yeah, I guess he did."

FINCH CORTES' POV

Well, that just happened, but it was a decision I will never regret for the rest of my life. I would have suggested accompanying Jack to his meeting with Slingshot. Still, I don't think Tommy would take it that well if I suddenly started caring about him, especially after how poorly I treated him. Tommy certainly would not believe Jack whenever he told Tommy I gave up Mom's necklace and ring to rescue him.

But it doesn't matter. At least Tommy would be safe and sound at the lodging house. That is if he wants to stick around. I would not blame him if he didn't want to stick around. We were all supposed to be his brothers and stick by him no matter what, but we failed him. I failed him. I owe him so many apologies, but I am confident that the one thing he would want is to alienate himself away from everyone except the ones that treated him kindly from the beginning.

I doubt that he will ever trust me again. I suspect that he will never want to be near me ever again, but that doesn't mean I will not try to make amends with him. That doesn't mean I will not attempt to get my brother back. It will be so much work and effort, but it will be worth it if Tommy ever wants to accept me as his brother again.