Brooklyn~~ Spot Conlon x OC

Chapter Nine

"All rise, all rise. Court is now in session," some guy yelled who I couldn't care less about. "Judge E.A. Monahan presiding." The judge looked over at the lot of us.

"Are any of you represented by counsel?"

We all looked around to see if anybody even knew what that meant. None of us did.

"No. Good, good. That'll move things along considerably." I scoffed under my breathe and rolled my eyes.

"Your Honor, I object," Spot said. I hit him in the chest and he just smiled at me.

"On what grounds?" The judge questioned.

"On the grounds of Brooklyn, Your Honor." Everyone started laughing. I covered my mouth to choke back a chuckle or two.

The judge bangs his mallet. "I fine each of you five dollars."

We all stopped laughing.

"Or two weeks' confinement in the House of Refuge," he finished. I looked down, not knowing what to do. What I would give to see Crutchy again, but I can't give up now. And I most certainly can't give in to these sons of bitches.

"Whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, we ain't got five bucks. We don't even have five cents," Race protested. "Hey, Your Honor, how 'bout I roll you for it? Double or nothing." I hid my face in my hand. How do I tolerate these idiots every day?

Just as the judge was about to throw us in the refuge, Denton and Dave came through the gate.

"Your Honor, I'll pay the fines. All of them." I sighed in relief. At least one person cared about us. "Look, we gotta meet at the restaurant. Everybody. We have to talk." Spot and I glanced over at each other and for the first time, I see a hint of worry in his eye.

Suddenly, we saw Jack being brought out in cuffs. Then I saw Snyder. Dammit. Jack's toast.

"This boy's real name is Francis Sullivan. His mother's deceased. His father's a convict in the state penitentiary. He's an escapee of the House of Refuge where his original sentence for three months extended to six months for disruptive behavior."

"Like demanding we eat the food you steal from us."

"Followed by an additional six months for attempted escape."

"Attempted? Last time wasn't an attempted escape. Remember, Snyder? Remember me and Teddy Roosevelt and the carriage? Remember Roosevelt and the carriage?"

"Therefore, I ask that he be returned to the House of Refuge."

"Away for my own good, right? Move along," Jack said turning to the judge. "For my own good and for what he kicks back to you."

This was getting harder to witness by the second. He lied to me. He lied to all of us for years. How am I supposed to feel about that?

"And that the court order his incarceration until the age of twenty-one in the hope that we may yet guide him to a useful and productive life."

"Oh, those sick bastards," I mumbled under my breath. Spot must've heard me because he set his hand on my shoulder.

"So ordered," the judge called.

"No!" Les and I shouted at the same time.

And with that order, we all watched as they dragged Jack away.

We were all sitting in the restaurant waiting for Denton. I was sitting off to a corner, not wanted to talk to anyone. I saw Spot turn around and see me. He started walking my way. I was going to tell him not to, but I didn't want to. He slid into the booth next to me and pulled a piece of his hair behind his ear, or tried to.

"Are you alright?" he asked me.

"I'm perfect," I answered sarcastically.

"Lynnie."

"He lied, Spot. His parents aren't waiting for him down in Santa Fe, his mother's dead, his father's a convict. His name isn't even Jack. I feel so stupid."

"You ain't stupid, Lynnie. He lied to us all, but not about the important things."

"How can we know that?" I paused for a second. "How could he not tell me his mother died?" I started to mess with the necklace around Spot's neck. "I would know a thing or two about that."

Spot grabbed my hand that was still holding onto the key. "Lynnie—"

"Denton!"

Both of our heads snapped over to the door. Denton had walked through, but he looked distracted.

"Why didn't The Sun print the story," Dave questioned him.

"Because it never happened.." Denton said.

"What do you mean, it never happened? You were there!" I said, getting up from the booth.

"It's not in the papers, it never happened. The owners decreed that it not be in the papers, therefore...anyway. I came to tell you fellas goodbye." We all knew what that meant. Denton was leaving us just like everyone else did. Was it so hard to just have one person the newsies could rely on?

"What happened? Did you get fired or something?" Dave asked.

"No, I got reassigned back to my old job as The Sun's ace war correspondent. They want me to leave right away." I didn't care to listen to anymore of what he had to say. He was just rambling to try and let us down easy.

"This is bullshit," Spot muttered to me. Denton left after he gave Dave the story of the rally. As soon as the doors closed, everyone froze. "This is bullshit!" Spot repeated.

Dave looked at him, then to the rest of us. "We get Jack out of the Refuge tonight. And from now on, we trust no one but the newsies."

"What about Crutchy?" I asked.

"We already tried to rescue him once, Jo. He didn't want to come."

"His leg was beaten bad, Dave. He's my brother. I have to get him outta there."

Dave looked around. Everyone was waiting for him to say something until Race finally looked at me.

"We'll get him back, Joey."

I smiled at him and Spot smiled at me. This might just work out.

Dave decided to try and use the same tactic that we used to get Crutchy. He pointed to a window.

"That's where we saw Crutchy," I said. Suddenly, the doors opened and whistles blew. We all crouched down to hide. I looked over and saw Jack. Snyder was throwing him in some carriage.

"Where they taking him, Jo?" Mush asked.

"Only one way to find out," Dave said. "I'll meet you guys at the square." And with that, he ran after the carriage.

We all started to walk back and let Dave do his thing. I was clearly upset that we weren't going to get Crutchy out tonight.

"Hey, Jo, you alright?" Mush asked me.

"I'm fine. I just hoped to see my brother tonight."

"You saw mine," Les said, trying to make me feel better. I got down to his level and smiled at him.

"Eh. You're the better brother anyway," I told him, while ruffling his hair.

"Crutchy's tough, Joey. He'll get through. He may not need you for this part," Race said. That was weirdly inspiring.

"I know he's probably fine. Maybe hungry but that's nothing we haven't delt with before. I just want him to need me."

"You've been protecting him ever since you lost your folks when you were what, six? You need to let him live a little, too." Race told me.

"For once, Race is right, Jo." Blink said.

"Yeah, you guys lived on the streets for years, he should be okay," Boots agrred.

"I know, guys. But I was always there with him. When I'm not, I get scared."

"We get it, Jo. We understand. Crutchy will pull through. I promise," Les said, looking up at me.

"Thanks little one."