My Sweetheart -Newsies Racetrack Higgins-

[5]

The next morning, Jack Kelly and a few other newsies leaned on the gate to The World Distribution Center.

"Is anyone else coming?" Davey asked Jack, agitation clear in his voice.

"I got no clue." He huffed, answering Davey for the third time in the past ten minutes.

Racetrack heard them, and walked up to Jack. "Hey, well, you've seen Spot Conlon, right?" He asked, taking the cigar out of his mouth.

Jack sighed, but didn't answer Racetrack.

"What? What'd he say?" Racetrack asked, more desperate this time.

"Yeah, sure, we seen him." Jack answered slowly.

"Him and about 20 of his gang." Davey added, talking at the speed of light.

Les piped up from behind his older brother, refusing to be left out, "and them Brooklyn boys is big."

Davey rolled his eyes. A few days out of school, and Les seemed to forget how to talk properly.

"A-And I gotta say, Spot was very impressed." Jack added, watching Racetrack as he popped the cigar back into his mouth. "Wasn't he?" Jack turned to Davey.

"I'd say." He nodded furiously.

"All right, so, their with us?" Racetrack prodded, a smile grazing his face.

"That all depends on how you look at it." Davey said simply, making Jack roll his eyes and groan. "If you look and see Brooklyn, then their with us."

Jack scoffed, "Yeah, they wanted proof we weren't gonna fold at the first sign of trouble."

"Are we?" Finch walked up to Jack.

Jack rose an eyebrow. "We are not! No!" He turned to face a few of the newsies that had crowded around him. "There's us, there's Harlem-" but Jack was cut off.

"Not so fast boss, Harlem wants to know what Brooklyn's gonna do." Buttons sighed.

"What about Queens?" Jack asked Specs as he walked up.

"Queens will be right here backing us up." Specs threw his arms over Buttons and Racetrack's shoulder.

Jack nodded and breathed out in relief, "are you serious?"

"As soon as we get the nod from Brooklyn." He added.

"I got the same fish-eye in Midtown." Another newsie grumbled.

"Say, Oscar," Morris Delancey smirked at his brother. "It looks like we got bum information about a strike happenin' here today." He said, making Jack scoff. Oscar unlocked the gate, and let the newsies through.

"Not that I'm complaining." Oscar laughed, "I know my skull-bustin' arm could use a day of rest." He hit his fist against his hand.

The Delancey brothers laughed, and walked away. Les stepped inside the Distribution Center and watched them saunter away. "Are we doing the right thing?" He asked. Davey's heart broke at the sound of fear in his brother's voice.