Stray on Strike

Crazy Old Man

"Do you know what I was doing when I was your age?" He waits for me to answer him and I don't. "I was fighting in a war."

I speedy cut him off. "-And you think I'm not. This is the children's crusade. You tried to walk all over us and now we are stomp all over you." I say taking two steps towards Pulitzer.

"You have a big mouth on you." He says looking at me up and down.

"So I've been told." By the Delanceys and my father. You are not the first. Trust me on that.

"You backing a hopeless cause I hope you realize that. Now I could offer you a opportunity  to work in my editing department. I've received word that you think my writing is bland. Now you could leave the strike here and now. You'll be better off. And you know it too." He says. He looks me dead in the eyes.

Now when I was with my father I would do anything to have a chance like that. But now I'm a part of something so much better. "Yous scared. You're scared that we are going to win. And you should be. Why else you talk Jack down."

"That Jack Kelly boy did his job. He spoke out against this hopeless strike. He'll receive his payment." Pulitzer say smirking and picking up a cigar. It's quite possibly the nicest cigar I've ever seen. Race probably has dreams about a cigar like that.

"You paid him to say those things?"

Pulitzer lets a light laugh. "Oh, yes. And I mean my word with it too. No price raise for two years of you disband that so called 'Union.' Now for the boy, my guess is that he took the money and he's well on his way to some shiny small town in New Mexico right about now." Santa Fe. He would never leave without me or Crutchie. We promised each other with that right before I was carted away to the refuge.

"Enough about Jack. He isn't here....but I am!" I snap at him, which probably isn't a good idea since he is Joseph Pulitzer. Plus I don't even want to hear those type of things about Jack. No way those things are true. They can't be.

"So talk." Is all he says.

"For days. I have wanted to yell at you. Tell you how much of a jerk you are. But now that I'm here, I can't. Because you already know that information. So what I am going to tell you is that we are not going to go down quietly. And that the newsies of New York have united to defy against you. Now you maybe think you can handle this, but the stress is going to break your back. Because no matter how many people you lock up in that Refuge or you buy off. We'll have a hundred more waiting on the wings. So I'm just going to warn you Pulitzer."

"All this for a few pennies?" He questions me.

"This isn't about pennies. It's about respect."

He walks away from me and sits in the red velvet chair. He props his feet up on his desk.  Joe lights the expensive cigar and puffs it for a few seconds. He doesn't answer me for a while. But then he finally speaks up.

"You talk a big game. For someone who has everything out on the line. Now are you willing to risk your pal Davey. He has a little brother. Now how would they both stand in the refuge. Not very well I suppose. And that crippled boy. Do you have someone 'waiting in the wings' for him?" He did not just say that about my Crutchie. Pulitzer used my own line against me. He has crossed the line.

"That crippled boy....He has a name and its Crutchie. And I know for a fact that he has more character in his pointer finger than you have in your entire body." I say this walking towards his desk. Joseph looks at me crossing his eyebrows. I was very defensive when I said that.