Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies.
If you had told me that something would happen that afternoon, something that would change my life forever, something that would alter my perceptions of everything and everyone I knew, I wouldn't have believed you. After all, I'm just a newsie- why should anything interesting happen to me? I hawk the headlines: I don't take part in them.
Though it didn't make the headlines when Swifty Li crumbled to the ground, eyes wide and hands clutched over the ugly exit wound the bullet had torn in his chest.
But the event didn't need to be plastered all over the morning's papers for us to realize that our world would never be the same.
----
The second crack, the crack of Swifty's head against the cobblestones, was what brought us out of our frozen stupor.
We had just been walking down the street: Swifty, Pie and I laughing and joking, with Snitch and Skittery in front of us, rolling their eyes at whatever idiotic joke Swifty had just cracked.
We were no more than a hundred feet from the lodging house door- no more than a minute away from our home. If we had headed there a minute earlier, or a minute later, Swifty would still be walking with us, not crumbling to the ground like a marionette abandoned by a puppeteer.
With that second crack, Snitch jumped, then took an involuntary step backwards, crashing into Skittery. Pie, however, dove forward-
"Swifty"
----
I opened my mouth, with every intention to echo Pie Eater- after all, the three of us were best friends, weren't we?
But, despite the fact that at that very second I wanted nothing more, I wasn't able to utter a syllable- only a ragged croak was able to pass through my lips.
Why?
Only when my companions' eyes turned to me did I realize I had overcome my spell of silence and spoken.
I decided that I had to be able to do it again. "Snitch." I said, slowly, clearly.
But the younger boy was frozen again, eyes fixed on Swifty. "Snitch."
He jumped again, stepping backward onto Skittery's foot. As he swore, I continued.
"Snitch, go to the Lodging House! Get Kloppman."
He paused. "Go!" I repeated, and he took off.
Racetrack turned the corner and stopped, an odd expression on his face as he surveyed the scene.
"Race!" I had already started giving orders, I was on a roll now. "Racetrack! Go get the bulls!"
Race raised an eyebrow, most likely astonished that I, Snoddy Baxter, had given him an order. I swallowed down the lump of embarrassment that was rising in my throat. Well, if he doesn't like it, screw him. It's an emergency!
"Race, go!" I snapped, turning back to where Swifty and Pie were. I heard his boots hitting the cobblestone ground as he ran back the way he came.
My eyes met Pie's. "Snoddy," he said, then swallowed. "Snoddy, do something, help me-"
Do something? What was I supposed to do that someone else wasn't already doing? And what could I do for Swifty when he was so obviously-
"Dead." Pie's eyes widen as he stares at me. "Pie, he's dead."
----
That night, after the police took Swifty's body to the morgue, very few newsies slept. Most sat on their bunks, several- Pie and me included- sat on the floor, staring at the boards, still stuck in veins of disbelief.
"Why," Snitch started, then swallowed. "Why would someone kill a newsie?"
Kid Blink put out his cigarette angrily. "The stupid bastard probably didn't mean to- probably aiming for someone else or just firing for fun."
Mush sighed. "Really, Blink, you can't think-"
Blink cut him off. "What, Mush? Like Snitch said- why would someone kill a newsie? We don't have money, we don't have power, we don't have prestige- we're nothing."
The room falls silent for a second, then I hear Pie Eater whisper, barely audible: "Why would someone want to kill Swifty?"
I sigh, and lean back so that only Pie can hear my response. "I don't know. But, goddammit, I'm going to find out."
Pie's quiet for a second. "And I'll help. It's a pact. We'll find out who killed him."
"Or die trying." But hopefully not, I add silently. Grim-faced, Pie Eater nods slightly, agreeing, his dark eyes shining in the inch of light from the stairwell.
For some reason, I look past him, and my eyes meet Racetrack's, whose face holds the same odd expression it held when his eyes passed over Swifty's body.
The odd expression that didn't hold an ounce of surprise.
I'm actually fairly happy with that! I haven't really been happy with anything since I started up writing again!
Woo!
This is a multi-chapter story, as we follow the exploits of Hardy Boys!Pie and Snoddy as they try to find out who killed their friends.
And I am mucho excited about this!
-Tabloid, Princess of Lurkdom
(Seriously, Sita, you never should have called me that- it amuses me way too much).