Disclaimer: The Usual Suspects, as always, belong to Disney and whatnot;
Title: homage to The Godfather, of course.
An Offer She Can't Refuse
Moira Scarlet O'Flaherty walked into Tibby's Restaurant and sat in a booth. She sat and waited for her friend that she was meeting there that day for lunch. As she glanced at the clock, she noticed she was ten minutes early, a rarity for her, and decided to check her reflection. Opening up her compact, she was met by her green-gray eyes, never completely one color or the other. Her hair was a medium brown, thick with curls and reddish-gold highlights when the sun caught it, and she had a figure that worked great for her chosen profession. She had moved to Brooklyn from Ireland at the age of seven, and now about ten years later, had a job of a singer at a hall owned by a friend of her mother's, Medda Larkson. Medda was very close to Moira, having been the first person her mother and she had known when moving to America, and in the past year when Moira's mother died, Medda had become a second mother to her. Medda was the only family Moira had left. Moira closed her compact and fixed the bodice of her dress. It was an all white dress, a bit lacy, form-fitting, and low cut, but Moira found this also was one way to get ahead in her career choice.
"Excuse me Miss, but uh, is this seat already taken?" asked a smiling tall young man, who had brown hair, laughing brown eyes and a thick New York accent.
"Jack Kelly! I haven't seen you in ages! How are you doing?" she exclaimed, jumping up to hug him. In the ten years she had lived in New York City, she hadn't really picked up the accent, though she was known to fake it for the richies that came to Medda's. She could never figure out why the upper class had such a thing for slumming it.
"I been doing pretty good, after the strike, people's been buying me papes more," he said, looking at her. "And look at you! I've heard about the new and very charming little brunette at Medda's, Miss O'Flaherty," Jack teased her. "You better watch out. I got enough to do without chasing the bums away from ya."
"I'm sixteen, nearly seventeen, Jacky. You don't have to worry about me anymore," Moira laughed, knowing he thought she looked a little provocative. He had always been slightly overprotective of her. His father was a friend of Medda's for as long as Moira had been here, and probably longer. Jack laughed.
"That's the whole reason I'm worried, Scarlett," he said, calling her by her middle name and nickname. When they were younger, her temper had the habit of getting the better of her, Moira's mother would say, "My goodness Moira, a temper as scarlet as your middle name!" in her musical Irish accent, and it would usually make Moira calm down and laugh. They both laughed, sitting down in the booth again.
"So how's you've been yourself? The job going okay? Nobody's getting fresh with ya, are they?" Jack asked as they ordered lunch. Moira gave him a pointed look.
"No, don't worry, they know they'll get fired by Medda and then soaked by the famous Jack Kelly," she drawled sarcastically, smirking a bit. Moira had wanted to sing and dance on stage for as long as she could remember, and after a year of being a cigarette girl and cocktail waitress, she was getting a shot at it tonight. She was a bit more nervous about it than she let on.
"Good, good. You've made me real proud, Moira, and I knows your mother probably would be feeling the same," Jack said quietly, patting her hand. Moira was quiet. She missed her mother so much, and Jack knew exactly how she felt because his mother had been dead before he could remember her and had looked at her mother almost as his own.
"So, why did you ask me to come meet you here for lunch? Do you need money?" asked Moira, knowing he had a favor to ask her, smiling expectantly.
"Moira Scarlett O'Flaherty! How can you accuse me of just asking you to lunch just so I can get money? Is that what you think I am; a lousy bum? I just wanted to see one of my oldest and dearest friends," said Jack, pretending to be offended, but Moira could see the smile in his eyes.
"Jack, you know that all you gotta do is go down to Medda's to see me, and my apartment's only in Brooklyn anyways. C'mon, don't try to pull anything on me, what do you need?" she laughed.
"Well, now that you mention it, Scarlett," he started, "I've got an offer for you. Ya see, there's this one newsie, he's one of my old friends, Spot Conlon. You might have heard of him, he's the leader of the Brooklyn. But lately, Spotty-boy's ego has gone up quite a few notches, and it's pretty big enough to begin with, and all we other newsies ain't liking it. Me and the boys have been thinking, and you know what's the biggest thing Spot's full of himself about? The women. He's got at least half the female population chasing him, and already been with the other, and he knows it. So I'm sitting here in this very restaurant, with my boys Race and Blink, and it comes over me. What if, for once in his life, Spot was the one chasing the girl? It would kill 'im! So I'm thinking as hard as I can, and what girl do I know who's quite a looker, has an attitude I know will drive Spot crazy, completely irresistible, sweet, generous, kind, always thinking of others, and I trust my secrets with? And you know who I come up with, Moira?"
"Who, Jack?" Moira said, rolling her eyes. She knew what was coming.
"You, of course!" Jack laughed. "So, the question is, would you be willing to pull this off? It would mean a lot to me and the boys if ya would, please, Spot is really getting unbearable!" She sighed.
"As you're my brother almost, Jack Kelly, I guess I will. What exactly am I doing, though?"
"All's you gotta do, is get Spot to fall head over heels for ya, and then break his heart!" he said, like it was the easiest thing in the world to do. Moira sighed.
"Sure Jack, because that's as easy as falling off a log. I'm not so sure. That's playing with serious fire-not to mention it's not right," Moira said hesitantly. "I can understand a little flirting and then shutting him down in the lowest way possible, but actually break his heart? That's a lot of work right there." Working at Medda's, of course she flirted around for a nice tip. She'd had her share of boyfriends and flings, but refused to settle down. Why should she be in love with one person when the whole world was in love with her? There were already too many guys at Irving Hall begging for a piece. Letting boys fall in love with you was one thing, but when you're in a relationship with one when he loves you could be lethal. Not only that, but... "Besides, I know when you say leader of Brooklyn, you just don't mean the newsies. You forget I live in Brooklyn, Kelly, and I know about the underground. I have my own little birds filling me in on the latest happenings around town. Is this really the kind of boy you'd want me getting involved with?" she asked cynically.
"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm sure," Jacke answered evasively.
"Uh-huh. I'm not so sure..."
"Trust me, you meet this boy, you will want to do this...I've never known you to walk away from a challenge, and this kid would be fun for you to sharpen your claws on," Jack wheedled coaxingly. Moira quirked a brow at him.
"You know, for a guy who threatens to beat the hell out of any guy who gets fresh with me, you certainly don't min my minipulation of the male psyche when it suits your needs.
"Aw, c'mon Moira. Think of it like a joke on Spot! It'll be fun, a good time!"
"Well, okay. I guess I will. But we can't do this too long to him, all right?" Moira conditioned.
"Yeah, yeah. Now tonight, you've gotta meet Race and Kid Blink, cause they said they wanted to meet the girl I found, so where can we meet ya?" he asked.
"Come to Medda's tonight. I'm singing, and I'll meet them after the show," Moira suggested.
"Okay. Sounds good, we'll see ya there. Besides, tonight's ya's first night singing, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Jack said, getting up, grinning at her. "Well, I gotta get back to work, so I'll see you tonight. Thank you Scarlett, this means a lot to me and the boys!" he added, giving Moira a hug and a friendly kiss on the cheek as they left.