Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own anything from the "Newsies" except for all original characters…

R/R please…all comments welcomed!

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Chapter One:

The Proposition

Spot Conlon, the Brooklyn Newsies' leader, walked down the docks, swinging his cane and none too happy with the world. Racetrack and Mush were with him and their unexpected visit had put Spot on edge. Ever since the rally the year before, Spot and Jack had a little agreement that the war between the two boroughs should be slimmed down some, however Spot wanted a heads up when Jack's newsies were coming to visit. And this was certainly not a heads up. It was downright irritating in fact.

"So," Spot said, stopping to turn and look at both of them. "Who do I owe for this damn pleasant visit? Better yet, what do you want?"

Race and Mush shifted uncomfortably. "Well," Race said, speaking up. "We don't know how exactly to explain it really."

Spot looked at them both, a smirk coming across his face. "Cat got ya tongue?" He laughed at them. "Just tell me. I ain't waiting for Jack to get here. I'll be two years older if I had to wait for him."

Race stuffed his hands into his pockets and cast a sidelong glance at Mush before looking back to Spot. "Well, ya see…Jack…he ain't coming."

Spot's eyes widened at this news. "Whatcha mean he ain't coming? I thought this was his proposition."

"It is, doncha worry." Race said, holding his hand up. "He's just, wells, he's 'protecting' the proposition, so's ta speak."

Spot's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, protecting the proposition? This proposition a person or something? What the hell's goin' on Race?"

"Well, yeah…the proposition…well see it's a girl," Race said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Jack's cousin to be exact. On his father's side or something. A Sullivan."

"She needs protection," Mush finally spoke up. "She's no longer safe in Manhattan, at least that's the way Jack looks at it."

Spot shook his head, he knew it was a stupid idea to let them talk. He didn't like entering into propositions that would put the blame on his head should something go wrong. And by protecting one of Jack's cousins, hell if anything went wrong he'd sure as hell be the one Manhattan would point the finger at. And if Manhattan pointed the finger at Brooklyn, the Bronx would turn on them too. Manhattan and the Bronx had this sort of distorted allied thing going, Spot wasn't sure where it stemmed from but he sure as hell wasn't about to get on the wrong side of the Bronx. Brooklyn's power was one thing, but he was the only one really feared in the borough. The Bronx itself was feared. You didn't got into the Bronx alone and you certainly didn't want to cross them because you'd be coming out unconscious. "Hey I ain't in the business ta protect none of Jack's relatives. Why does he want her protected anyways?" Spot asked, crossing his arms.

"Delancy brothers," Race said. "We can't count on the Bronx to protect her; they'd know she went there. So Jack said the only other option was you. No one would think that she'd have gone here. Better yet, the Delancys know better than to come here snooping around."

Spot leaned against a barrel while he stared at the two of them. He knew if he didn't help Jack, Manhattan would turn on him and he wasn't about to let that ally go. Especially since they were connected with the Bronx.

But to take in Jack's cousin, a female nonetheless, would spell trouble for Spot. He didn't want his own Newsies to think he'd gone soft and that he felt as if he had to protect the girl. But he also always liked pissing off the Delancys and if he could do it without getting his own Newsies into a few scraps, he was happy about it But he still didn't want other boroughs to think he'd gone soft by taking her in. But, in a manner of speaking, he had no choice. To deny Jack would make himself look like an ass and would Bronx on his bad side. No, he didn't need his newsies roughed up by the Bronx's lodging house. And he could certainly use all the brownie points he could get with Marty and his Bronx newsies. "Alright, bring her down her…with Jack. I'll take her in for a week or two, see what happens. Then if it don't work Jackie boys on his own. Oh, and she better be willing to work. I ain't having no one staying here on free rent, if you know what I mean."

Race smiled and punched Mush in the shoulder. "You won't be sorry Spot. Trust me. She's an angel, you'll love her." He and Mush then turned and walked back the end of the docks to get Jack and the girl. A few minutes after they left one of Spot's closest friends, Ricky, came up to him. Rick was also one of Spot's most trusted and loyal Newsies.

"Hey, um…Spot man. These rumors goin' 'round…are they true?" Ricky asked, slightly above a whisper.

"Don't know Ricky…what's the rumors?" Spot asked.

"That we's taking in a girl? One of Jack's girls?" Ricky asked, glancing around. "Everyone's talkin' bout it."

"Oh, are they now?" Spot said, becoming annoyed. "Well, it ain't one of Jack's girls, because Jack's only got one girl and that's Davie's sister, Sarah. 'Sides, it's his cousin. We're takin' her in for hiding for awhile…doing Kelly a favor. Why…you concerned bout it?"

"Well, no offense Spot, but why's we takin' her in? Could ruin our reputation ya know."

Spot rolled his eyes. "Ya think I only got half a brain. I thought about that. It could help our reputation, show that we ain't gonna back down on no alliances…make people trust us more. 'Sides, it's about the damn Delancy brudders and no one likes them, so it'll help us show we ain't afraid of them." Inside his mind, Spot knew that sounded like a bunch of poorly thought out excuses, but Ricky just nodded. "Ricky," he said looking at his friend. "By taking her in we also score with the Bronx. We don't need to get on Marty's bad side by denying Jack's cousin. We don't need that crap right now."

Rick nodded. "Totally understand, Spot. But we just gotta be careful. I'll tell the boys about it and everything and tell them to keep their traps shut. You know the Delancys have connections all over. And we gotta make sure no one in the printing building knows about it either. They're all goodie-goodies who'll be happy to run off to Oscar to tell him who we have here."

Spot looked offended. "Yeah, man I know that. We can handle 'em. Besides, it might do good for us to have a girl around here. Make us act all noble and stuff…"

Ricky laughed. "Yeah, just make sure ya keep an eye on the rest of the guys…girl might do good for spirits, but it could be dangerous."

Spot straightened and looked Ricky in the eye. "Ricky…I know how to run this here territory. Just leave the business dealings ta me. No one's gonna touch her when she gets here. Go on, tell the other the rumors are true, but tell them if they lay a hand on her they'll have to answer to me. Then most likely the Bronx, and they won't want that. Actually, nevermind; tell them if they mess with her or make her angry or any of that, they'll be answering to the Bronx and Manhattan."

Ricky smirked, knowing that threat would shut the boys up real quick. Manhattan was a danger to some of Spot's newsies, but the Bronx, with their fighters and all, would just be deadly to them. Patting Spot on the shoulder, he jogged over to where a majority of Brooklyn sat, either playing cards or talking, to tell them the news and to deliver Spot's little threat.

Spot started walked towards the lodging house. He needed something to eat before Jack got there and he needed to mull over what had happened. He sure as hell hoped that he didn't make a mistake agreeing to keep Jack's cousin under his protection.

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A/N: (5/24/09): Okay, so I just kinda fixed this up and all. I need to re-write some things in all the chapters so I'll be doing that and all that jazz. It's a little short, but hopefully you all liked it!!