Queen of New York {Newsies Fanfiction}

~ Twenty Three ~

The ride to Katherine's summer home was long, but, boy, it was worth it.

I was very close to sitting on the same side as Jack and Katherine, but luckily, Race and Finch made sure I wasn't anywhere near their romance for a while. I finally made amends with Davey, so his company was much more pleasant than I thought it would be.

We pulled up to the large house in Brooklyn. If you stand in the driveway, you can see the Brooklyn Bridge. I stare up at the house, it looked dark and abandoned. I guess there was no use for it after Katherine lost her mother. I step down from the coach and onto the gravel road. When I look up at the sky, I notice the gray clouds and strong wind. This should be fun.

I'm followed by Finch, Race, and Davey. We wait for Katherine to lead the way for us. Jack steps down and holds his hand out for her to hold as she hikes up her skirts and steps out from the coach.

"Here we are," Katherine sighs and begins to step up to the porch. We follow her up to the house and wait as she takes a chain from around her neck and finally uses the key on the end of it to unlock the door. The door creaks open, she takes a step inside and we follow.

All is quiet. The only sound is the echoing of our boots on the fancy, hardwood floors and the steady breathing, only coming from Katherine; we all held our breath.

We near a door with a brass doorknob. Katherine takes it in her hand and slowly turns it. Behind the door is a narrow staircase. She pulls a string and a light bulb begins to glow above the stairs, it doesn't provide all that much light, but just enough to see where we step. After we step off of the stairs, Katherine opens another door to view a basement filled with printing equipment. Katherine pulls another string to turn on a light. The light is faint but it's much better than the one over the stairs.

"Wow," Race breathes.

"Ya sure he don't use this stuff anymore?" Finch asks, obviously worried.

"Of course, I am," Katherine reassures him. "There's nothing to worry about."

"How are we supposed to print a thousand papers on this little thing?" Jack asks and taps his fingers on the printing press he stands next to.

Katherine scans the room. She spots a hallway leading to more doors. "If I remember correctly, there should be another press in one of the rooms here," she walks down the hall. We follow behind her as she peeks her head into each room.

"A lotta rooms," Jack mutters as we walk behind Katherine.

"Aha!" Katherine exclaims and walks into the room on the left side of the hallway. "Here it is. Come on in, guys," she motions us into an old, dusty bedroom. The printing press stands on a floral rug in the middle of the room. I graze my fingers across the side of it, catching dust on my fingertips. It's even more elegant than the one outside.

"So, what's the plan?" Davey asks once we're all inside.

"I'm thinking after we place all the letters on the trays, we roll do five–hundred in here and five–hundred out there," Katherine explains.

"Sounds good to me," Jack agrees.

"Cory and I can get started on getting the words onto the trays and inking the etching presses," Katherine suggests and waves the folder holding the Children's Crusade article.

My stomach drops. I'm not sure that's such a good idea. I'm still mad at Katherine for not telling us about her father. I'm still heartbroken about her moment with Jack on the rooftop.

"All right... The boys and I can set up the trays out here then," Davey smiles.

"Whatta we standin' 'round for?" Jack asks. "Let's get goin'!" The boys follow Jack as he runs outside to set up.