"I'm gonna be taking off for a few days." As the words fell from her mouth, Ice finished packing the small sack that was laying on her bunk. She turned to gaze at the girl standing a few feet away. "Would you mind lettin' Spot know so he can have someone else cover my usuals till then?"

Becka raised her hand as if she were trying to ward off some evil, "Absolutely not. He don't believe in that sayin' 'Don't shoot the messenger'. You're one of his precious birdies, so you tell him."

Running her hand through her straight, blonde hair Ice Reily gave the taller girl a piercing look with her blue-grey eyes. "C'mon Becka, you know I'd do it for you."

Almost immediately after the words were said, Becka sat back on the bunk behind her, her short hair bouncing because of the laughter coming out of her mouth. "Ice Reily do something to help others?"

Her body continued to shake with laughter and the louder she become the more irritated Ice became but she didn't let it show. She never let any emotion show through her features or eyes, that's how she earned her nickname. Many newsies from both Brooklyn and other boroughs felt as though she was a girl carved from ice. Her features frozen solid, touch her and you'll receive an icy burn. A lot of kids from Brooklyn learned to mask their emotions at an early age, Ice stood out only because she didn't even let her happier emotions show through.

"Shut it, Becka." Although the tone of her voice hadn't changed, Becka knew when her friend was being pushed too far. "I don't have time to wait here for Conlon. I have things needin' to be takin' care of."

Becka was curious to know what exactly was so important to make Ice want to leave so quickly but she knew she wouldn't get an answer to that question. Ice wasn't exactly the most talkative and open person around. All the newsies kept their past to themselves and many didn't talk about current problems they had.

"Alright I'll do it, but if Spot breaks up with me I'm gonna wring your scrawny little neck." Becka emphasized by making motions with her hands. Ice just kept her thoughts on that statement to herself. Spot was likely to be looking for a reason to break up with Becka anyway, but she hoped it wasn't this that set him off. Spot didn't date seriously and Ice felt that Becka was a little naïve to believe she was more than his flavor of the month. It wasn't that Ice disliked Becka, but she felt by now the girl should know that Spot changed women more than most of the male newsies changed underwear.

Ice nodded slightly, pulled her hair beneath her hat, and walked out. She looked around and then decidedly turned in the direction of the Bronx, mentally thankful that she tucked her hair up. The sun was blazing down and she knew that her hair would've begun to stick to her neck. That was much more irritating than even her clothes sticking to her body. Walking with determination in her step she began the pain in the ass walk to the Bronx. She had a lot to discus with her former leader regarding her recently deceased brother.

According to the good authorities of the borough of the Bronx, her brother Conner "Temper" Reily had committed suicide in the Bronx refuge. They had told her he had been arrested for assault on an officer. Ice had a different theory after talking to a few old friends from the Bronx. The story seemed to be that Temper had been fighting in the street when some dumb pig cop tried breaking it up. Apparantly the cop had taken an elbow to the face and arrested Temper, but the other kid had gotten away. After talking to a few more people she found out that the other kid had been Ace Capora, a newsie in the Bronx.

The minute the name came up she kenw what had happened. Temper had finally picked the wrong person to get into it with. Not that she was justifying Ace, but once anything starts between him and another newsie he's either going to finish it or die trying. Many newsies in the Bronx has also suspected him, especially since he hadn't been seen since Temper's death. Ice wanted to go there and speak with the leader, Rascal Phillips. She wanted to confirm what she'd heard and make sure there hadn't been any new developments with Ace.

Temper had been all Ice had and with him gone she wanted revenge. She wasn't stupid though, she'd seen people throw their entire lives away seeking revenge. She was going to learn everything she could about Ace over the next couple of weeks and then she was going home to form a plan before attacking him. She figured he wouldn't stay away from the Bronx for long and by then she should hear something about him.

She knew Conlon would have it out for her when she got back for not making sure it was okay for her to leave. Conlon was a good, strong leader but her had to learn that not everything was his decision. He didn't hold Brooklyn in the palm of his hand but rather in the palm of his fist. He had a tight reign over his newsies which helped him become the leader he that's how she knew she was gonna get it. She'd broken the chain of command and it was worse because she was a "birdie". Conlon wasn't going to let it go without an explanation but she wasn't willing to give one. He'd just have to kiss that up to God when the time came.

Ice walked a good five hours before stopping in front of the Newsboys Lodging House of the Bronx. As she finished her cigarette, she glanced up and down the road looking for any signs of trouble. This was one borough she couldn't be in as one of Spots birdies because she was a newsie here before she left for Brooklyn. She wished now that she had forced her brother to join her instead of letting him stay here. She had left when Rascal began to show more of an interest in her then just friendship. At the time she had been thirteen years old to his fifteen and not interested at all. It also hadn't helped that one of the other female newsies, Flash, had been his girl at the time and had let her know it would be in her best interest to leave.

Flash had been deeply in love with Rascal and they'd been dating for years before Ice had shown up. A couple of months after her arrival Rascal broke things off with Flash because of his interest in Ice. Although Ice didn't return the affection, Flash didn't see it that way. Flash believed that Ice had seduced Rascal into leaving her and being the girl she was had picked a fight with Ice. Flash wasn't the best fighter but her experience made her a better fighter than Ice. After being thoroughly soaked Ice decided she'd had enough of the Bronx and told her brother of her plans to leave.

Temper told her he wanted to stay and she could find no reason to deny him. A few days after the incident with Flash, Ice began the walk to Brooklyn and ended up meeting a pair of female newsies from the area. One, Fighter Mallory, became a good friend of hers until her departure to Manhattan they had been inseperable. Although it'd been three years since Ice left the Bronx, she knew she should still be wary. Flash, at fifteen, hadn't been one to let grudges go and Ice didn't see that changing anytime soon.

According to Temper, Rascal and Flash had gotten back together a couple of months after Ice left. This apparently made Flash feel she was right when she thought the younger girl had been the reason Rascal broke up with her. Over the past few years Ice had never set foot in the Bronx because she'd wanted to avoid confrontations with Flash. Once she went to Brooklyn she'd learned how to fight from her friend and was without doubt a better fighter than Flash but that didn't mean she wanted to deal with the crazy girl. Tempers death had of course ended that. She was now willing to do whatever it took to find out what had happened and to make the guilty party pay for what they had done.

The door behind her opened, but she didn't bother to turn and see who it was because Rascal was the only newsie here she was concerned with and she doubted highly he would be back already. "Hey, you! Move…you're in me way."

Ice turned and gazed at the tall, thick form of the boy who said this. His curly red hair gave him away as Frogger, a good friend of her brothers. "Hey'ya, Frogger, you guys still eat at Mona's?"

Frog blinked, not recognizing her for a moment and Ice saw the recognition dawn on him a moment later. "Yeah, course…" He trailed off, obviously wanting to say some sort of condolence about her brother but unsure of what exactly to say. Finally deciding against it, he smirked and threw his arm around her. "I'm going there now so it'd only be right of ya to let me escort you there. Gotta show up with the most gorgeous girl on me arm. Good to see ya again, Icey-poo."

He knew the nickname irritated her to no end and his smirk grew. "You're luck I like you, Frogger, cause otherwise I'd have to deck you for using that name."

Frog just laughed as they began the short walk to the common hangout for the Bronx newsies. Although Ice hadn't set foot in the city since the day she left, her brother and his friend had been frequent visitors to Brooklyn. She had grown fond of Frogger from his visits and thought of him as another brother in some ways. "It's a surprise to see you back here, I was planning on paying you a visit tomorrow. I didn't think Spot would let you come here, especially alone. I figured you'd be shadowed…" Frogger trailed off once again and looked around.

Knowing he was making sure his senses weren't off, Ice let an easy smirk slide into place. "No need to worry, Froggie, I wasn't followed. Besides Conlon knows better than to place a shadow on me, I'd lose them within an hour."

She didn't bother to tell him she hadn't cleared her absence with Spot. Frogger laughed and picked up the pace, "I forgot Conlon used you as a shadow for awhile. Guess it would be harder to track someone who spend the better part of two years doing that. Flash ain't gonna be happy to see ya, but Rascal's been thinkin' you might pay us a visit, just didn't expect you so soon."

"Oh, is that why you were coming to visit me?" Ice knew Rascal well enough to know he would've sent a friend of hers to try and keep any problems from arising that may. He would've thought she would be looking for trouble and would've tried using her friendship with Frogger as a buffer against her anger towards the Bronx.

"Ah…well, Rascal seems to have forgotten how different you and Temper are. If roles were reversed what d'ya think Temper would've done?" Frogger had a point there, if Temper was in her place he would've gone into a rage against Brooklyn. Ice wasn't her brother though, she handled problems with a cold calculation. She found the where the blame was to be laid and she wreaked havoc for that person.

"Yeah I can see why he might wanna stop something like that before it happened."

"I tried telling him he shouldn't be worried but that crazy bint of his has his thinking off."

Of course, Flash had made him want to send Frogger. She probably thought it would keep Ice from coming to the Bronx. Well she was in for a sad surprise then. As they approached the restaurant, Ice could hear loud voices and laughter coming from inside. It was like they hadn't just lost one of their own, but then again it was nothing new for a newsie among their ranks to die. Starvation, sickness, suicide, and murder took many year after year. They had to learn to get on with all this sadness surrounding them and most newsies just settled on ignoring it.

Frogger held the door open for her and she walked through her eyes quickly scanning the room for Rascal. She saw him in a booth in the corner with a few newsies she didn't recognize and Flash in his lap. She quickly started making her way through ignoring Frogger who followed right behind her. A few newsies lifter their heads to watch her, curious as to who she was and what she was doing there. As she reached Rascal's table, Flash lifted her head and any trace of a smile that had been there disappeared. Rascal, noticing the change in Flash lifted his eyes to Ice. "Well, well, well…lookie what Frog brought with him."

He moved Flash from his lap and told the other newsies at his table to clear out, he had business to take care of. Flash glared at Ice from her place beside Rascal for a moment before standing as well and brushing past Frogger to go to a table with a few other female newsies. Ice sat across from Rascal and Frogger to a seat next to her. Before Ice could say anything, Rascal waved a waiter over and motioned for her to order. "I'm sure your hungry after the long walk from Brooklyn."

Rascal said Brooklyn as if it burnt his mouth. Ice had forgotten all about his contempt for the city and its infamous leader. Apparently they had history but neither brought it up and she didn't care enough to ask. Ice ordered food and a water before turning her attention to Rascal once again. "So…any news on Ace?"

Rascal's eyes turned somber, "Not since the day before Tempers death. You know the bulls think it was a suicide, right? You ain't gonna get any help from them."

"I don't need their help." Ice paused as the waitress brought her and Frogger their waters. Once she walked away, Ice gave Rascal a calculating look and sipped her water. "What do you think about my brothers so called suicide?"

Frogger watched the exchange silently, knowing Ice had become irritated by Rascals comment. "I have my suspicions and I'm sure you have the same ones. We both know Ace doesn't take well to being humiliated by a fifteen year old kid getting the better of him in a fight. I didn't think he would've taken it that far but him just up and disappearin' like that is certainly suspicious."

Ice nodded and began drumming her fingers on the table, "Yeah it is. Did he say anything to anybody about where he might be going?"

Rascal opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Flash walking back to the table. She smiled condescendingly at Ice as she rested her hand on Rascals shoulder. "So sorry to hear about your brother, Reily, I never took him as someone a few loose in the head. Then again maybe he was just real lonely since you left. Been what?...three years since you've been back. Too bad it's on such bad terms."

Frogger felt Ice stiffen and shook his head slightly at her. He knew Fighter Mallory had been the one to teach Ice to fight and she hadn't earned her nickname for nothing. Her uncle had been Shawn Mallory a well renowned prize fighter who passed everything he knew onto his niece before he passed. Frogger knew Ice would most likely come out of most fights the victor and he knew she had hate towards Flash already and if anything began it would be likely she would seriously injure Flash. Of course, this wouldn't help her in her search for Ace and would likely put her on Rascal's bad side.

Luckily enough Rascal said something before Ice got the chance. "Show a little respect, girl, her brother just died. You got papes to sell anyway, get to it." Flash glared at Rascal and then turned her hatred towards Ice, but before she could say anything further, Rascal grabbed her chin and turned her gaze back to him. "Careful what you say, Flash, insult Reily or her brother again and I'd say anything she does is fine by me. Newsies don't insult the dead in front of their loved ones, especially not my newsies. My newsies also don't cross me, understand?"

Flash pulled away from Rascal, glaring at him. "Understood," she grabbed her coat and turned on her heel leaving.

Ice smirked at her retreating form as her food was set in front of her. She took a bit of the burger before focusing back on the conversation. Rascal was silent for a moment watching Flash's retreating form from the restaurant. "I'm gonna hear it later." He said it quietly but both Ice and Frogger heard, though neither really sympathized with him. It was after all his girlfriend, "So what were you saying?"

Frogger spoke up, realizing Ice may want to eat since she'd walked so far. "She wanted to know if he mentioned anything to someone that may have surfaced about where he went."

Shaking his head, Rascal snagged a fry from her plate. "Not to any of my newsies. Froggie here will tell you that Ace wasn't real popular and Temper….well nobody had anything bad to say about him."

Ice just nodded and finished eating in silence, her thoughts twisting round and round in her head. She wondered where he would have gone. Thinking about it, it didn't make sense for him to go to Manhattan because of their friendliness with Brooklyn and he definitely wouldn't have had the balls to go to Brooklyn itself. Maybe Queens but the smarter move would be Jersey City or Hoboken. Neither of them were too far away but they were far enough that he could feel safe knowing that no one there talks to Brooklynites or Bronxers. It was time to start spreading the word to the friendly boroughs, maybe she would come across someone who'd seen or heard from him.

As Ice finished eating she gulped down her water and threw her napkin on her plate. "Wasn't he seein' some girl in Queens awhile back?"

Frogger nodded, "I don't think they've been together for awhile now though."

"Yeah, but maybe he mentioned something to her about he place he may go should he ever need to." Ice pulled out some money and dropped it on the table. "Thanks for the chat, boys, either of you remember her name?"

Frogger shook his head but Rascal smirked, "Oh yeah…her name is Doll. Quite a looker that one, she was a server at Medda's for awhile."

Ice raised an eyebrow at Rascal but he just smiled, he'd always had an eye for a pretty girl. "She still work there?"

"Couldn't tell you, but she lives in the Ravenswood lodging house."

"Wordly, ain't she? Lives in Queens, works in 'hattan, dates Bronxers."

Rascal laughed, "Couldn't guess about Queens or 'hattan, but us Bronx boys are irresistible. When are you gonna realize that, Icey-poo?"

Shaking her head at him, Ice pushed a piece of hair out of her face. "I gotta get going if I'm gonna make it to Ravenswood before dark."

Frogger frowned, "We got extra bunks in the girls room, you could stay the night."

"Yeah, you should get a little rest. Who knows if they even have a bunk open. I wanna go with ya anyway but I gotta get the afternoon addition out."

Ice sighed, but knew both the boys well enough to know they wouldn't let it go. "Fine, but it's probably a better idea if Frogger goes with me. Considering that your girl don't like me and all."

At first Rascal looked like he wanted to argue with Ice, but decided against it. "Yeah, she's gonna be pissed enough about earlier." Standing, Rascal lifted a hand at them. "See you tonight."

Frogger nodded and Ice turned to look at him, "Feel like showing me where my brother is? I got some goodbyes to say." Frogger sighed and nodded before dropping money on the table and taking Ice to the government cemetery that housed all the bodies of dead "criminals". He then begged off feigning the need to buy cigarettes but really he knew she needed this time to herself. She'd yet to let her wall down, he just doubted that she'd be able to keep it up once she saw that he really was dead and buried.

A.N. Okay so here's the first chapter…I know I've written a story with these characters before but I've completely changed it so doesn't it relate to the other. I feel that this one is easier to read and will go further; I just didn't feel like making up new characters so using these was convenient. Let me know what you think and if I should keep going.