This Ain't Just Newsies No More ~ Sprace & Javid

8 | A Hard Choice | Jack

"Yeah? Well, right now I'm only thinking of one future, and that's mine."

Pulitzer raises an eyebrow. Then he lowers it, and continues calmly, "So am I, boy. I have the power to see you stay locked in the Refuge."

"And I have the power to break out again," Jack tells him confidently.

"Or, I have the power to release you from all charges and make sure you walk out that door with money in your pocket, and the ability to leave this town, go wherever you want," Pulitzer says.

"Are you bribin' me, Joe?" Jack asks.

"No."

Jack looks at him, not buying it. "Ok."

Pulitzer sighs at him. 

Good, Jack thinks. Whatever game he's playing, I'm not.

(A/N There's gonna be some homophobia coming up :( a lot of it is hinted at and internalized homophobia and just acknowledging that homophobia was a part of life back then)

"There are many things you need to learn in life, boy," Pulitzer says. "You've had opportunities--granted, wasted opportunities--since you were born. Being born in America is a blessing itself. But coming from somewhere else? The Americans come first. You have to know how to work up in the world. You could have the world in your hands in the future, boy. You just need to get there. And where you are currently heading isn't going to get you there."

This man is truly crazy. Jack doesn't see any point of staying. He stands up. "Yeah, it's been fun, but I better get going--"

Pulitzer shoots up. "Now, you listen to me. Shut up and listen. SHUT UP AND LISTEN FOR ONCE!" he shouts in Jack's ear. Jack just stays silent. He knows a lost cause when he sees one. And a crazed man when he sees one. A man with power, unfortunately. One of the closest things to a god that New York has. "I offer you money and you turn me down! You could walk out of here a free man! Instead you scoff and think of the Refuge as merely a temporary holding. Well, some aren't as skilled at escaping as you are. There's a gimp locked up there, isn't there? The one you all call Crutchie?"

Jack stiffens. How dare he mention Crutchie. Crutchie, the nicest newsie ever, the one who Jack has sometimes thought of as a brother. "Leave Crutchie out of this."

"There are others," Pulitzer continues, knowing full well that he has struck a nerve. "The gambler, Racetrack? He can't bet his way out of the Refuge, now can he? What about the one with one eye, and his friend? What do you think will happen to all of their smiling faces in the Refuge? Or what happens if it's found that they have secrets to hide?"

He can't know, can he? Jack's heart is beating quicker. He doesn't want his friends locked up. He doesn't want Blink and Mush, already scared enough inside the lodging house, to be exposed to cruel men higher up, the ones that would not tolerate their love for each other. Jack knows Race is like him and them too; in love with someone neither of them can have. Jack falters now. If this were just about him, he'd be strong and unbending. He knows it. But Pulitzer is stronger.

Now for the last straw. "I understand you also have a selling partner. David, yes? With a little brother?" Jack was looking away, but now he whips his head towards Pulitzer, whose blue eyes are shining with triumph. "What would the Refuge do to them?"

"Now listen here," Jack says, not caring that his voice cracks a little. "Leave Davey and Les out of this, ya hear? They've done nothing wrong, nothing. Do whatever you want to me, just...just...they stay out of everything."

For a few moments, there's silence. Jack feels the blood rushing in his ears, his heart pounding. He's standing his ground. He's beyond afraid. Nothing can break us, no one can make us, give our rights away. Jack is living by those words right now. I hope I can stay true to them.