Author's Note: This was another seriously fun chapter, but then again, most of them are for me. Thanks a thousand times to Austra and Narniafan96 for their rock awesome reviews that brought a beaming smile to my face when I read them. :)
Chapter 10- Crutchy
I might let you down
But I won't let you go
~All That Matters: Addison Road~
The group of newsies surged through the gate, all but trampling the ones stupid- er, brave?- enough to try buying papers. Jack, David, and Al were near the back, but the group parted for them so they could move to the front. Jack took charge, as usual, while Al and David stood beside him at the steps leading down from where Weasel and his boys were situated. A few of the more intimidating boys sidled up behind the ones in line, giving them dark looks as they hovered.
Skinny was the first boy to buy his papes. He started down the steps and realized the other newsies weren't planning on letting him through. He was a good kid, Al thought, and she hoped he would back down. Sure enough, he took one long look at Jack and dropped his papers. Jack shook his hand and he slipped into their ranks.
A fair amount of boys gave up without a fight. Of course, none of the newsies who stayed in the Lodge were dumb enough to even bother trying. This was mostly because all the Lodge kids were unerringly loyal to her older brother, but she didn't doubt that it was also out of self-preservation for the any who still doubted. They'd much rather take on a bunch of scabbers with Jack than get soaked by him.
The next figure stepped down with narrowed eyes and Al sighed. Shifty would choose to defy them. He'd never openly ousted Jack, but had never been afraid to voice his dislike for Al and hint at disapproval of Cowboy.
He stepped right up to Cowboy and looked him in the eye. He stood half a head taller than him, making him tower above most of the newsies seeing as Jack was one of the tallest. Al had to look up to scowl at him, seeing as barely reached his shoulders.
He turned and started to push past Racetrack and Mush, who shoved him away, hurling a couple of insults as they did. He tried to turn and push between Al and Blink. The latter grabbed his collar and shoved him back in without Al even having to move. Shifty turned to head back up the stairs, but two more guys got in his face, so he turned back to Jack. All the while David was trying to keep the crowd under control. He still wasn't sold on the violence bit.
"Jack, just don't-" David started to say, but Jack brushed him off and slammed his hand down on Shifty's papers without losing eye contact. The taller boy's papers hit the concrete with a smack! and Cowboy's eyes begged him to try picking it up. Al tugged on her brother's sleeve. She could see by his deeper-than-usual scowl that it was personal. It always had been with Shifty- ever since he'd give her a black eye last year. She'd kept her brother from going after him with Specs, but he'd been waiting for the kid to make one wrong move ever since.
Jack looked at her as Shifty bent to retrieve his stuff, but she couldn't communicate anything because just then, both she and Jack were shoved into the people behind him. He ran past Itey and tried to make a break for it, but he didn't make it and Cowboy was in full swing now.
All hell broke loose as the newsies surged forward and some of them found rotten produce to throw. Suddenly, shreds of the papers were floating through the air in mass quantities. Some of the boys started tearing into the stacks on the wagon after overturning it.
Most of the opposing boys had been smart enough to make a run for it when the fighting broke out and the rest were quickly cleared out, so now it was only the strikers in the small courtyard. Al saw her brother making faces in the window above Weasel's counter, since they'd closed it off, and she rolled her eyes fondly before looking for Les. No doubt the kid was having the time of his life. She wasn't proved wrong when she found him tearing up newspapers with unrestrained glee.
David came up beside her as Morris and Oscar came running out with a vengeance. More than one of the kids decided to make the Delancey brothers their personal targets for tomatoes and stacks of newspapers until the boys scrambled off.
Al turned to David, "See it, it wasn't too bad." she nudged.
The other boy gave her a smile, slightly reluctant, but broad. "Yeah, I guess we did it."
Just then, the unmistakeable police whistles started blowing and their eyes went wide.
"Jack!" the two cried in unison. He wasn't far from them and turned before his grin diminished.
"The bulls!" he yelled over the uproar. "Hey, cheese it! Cheese it! It's the bulls!"
As one, the group went running. David jumped over a freshly tumbled stack to grab his brother's hand and shot off like a gun with the Kelly siblings beside him.
They were just out of the gates when Al caught sight of Denton, the reporter they'd met yesterday. He was looking past them with an apprehensive gaze that made foreboding boil in her gut. The police were closing in, thankfully not bothering to chase after kids they couldn't catch and heading straight for the courtyard they had just trashed.
"Crutchy!" Racetrack's voice pierced the air from just behind her. "Scram! Scram!"
Al couldn't help but turn around, the gnawing sense becoming overwhelming. She saw Crutchy stumble up from where he'd been sitting, tearing at papers, and stagger through the shredded paper that made it hard for him to walk. His smile instantly gone, he now wore something that looked dreadfully akin to fear and a sense of helplessness.
Without thinking it through, she sprinted back toward him, ignoring the tell-tale sound of Jack panicking and David calling out to her. She couldn't stop now. She went barrelling toward her longtime friend without hesitancy. She couldn't leave him behind.
She came to a skidding stop and grabbed his arm. She didn't have to look to know that the police were too close. They would have to find a different escape. The two whirled and Al felt her heart drop into her stomach as the Delancey brothers got a hold of them without giving them the slightest opportunity to run. Oscar kicked Crutchy's crutch out from under him and punched him in the face while Morris knocked the wind out of her and fisted the hair exposed at the back of her head left exposed even when her cap was on. She cried out as the two boys shoved them into an alleyway.
"We'll give ya to the police when we're done with the two of yas." Oscar sneered as Morris shoved her into a brick wall. "We got a bone to pick with ya brother, Ali."
How they managed to figure out her hated nickname, she didn't know. It was probably a lucky guess. All she knew was that she and Crutchy had to get out of here before Snyder showed up and took her out.
"We ain't gonna be your messengah boids, you trash." she hissed, elbowing Morris in the stomach, even as Crutchy got a well-aimed kick in with his bad leg.
Al knew it was hopeless. Crutchy had spirit, but he was no fighter and there was no way she could take on the Delancey brothers herself. Still, she wasn't going to just let them beat on her without doing anything about it. A Kelly never gave up without a fight, Jack always told her, even if they knew they were going to lose it. Suddenly she heard a set of running feet pounding the pavement and David came barreling for them. He tackled Oscar without hesitation, causing the Delancey boy to hit the ground face-first with a sickening thud. Al got another punch to the gut from Morris, but using the distraction to her advantage, countered it this time with a kick to the groin and a knockout punch to his temple.
"Thanks, Davy." Al said, relief evident in her voice. "Now let's get clear o' here before the bulls come lookin'." Sure enough, the sound of hooves cantering in their direction had all three moving as fast as they could. Crutchy might be a cripple, but we was also a newsie, which made him a fair match for nearly any runner if necessity called for it. His labored breathing came in huffs as he hurried after them, the tap of his crutch pounding rhythmically.
The three headed down a perpendicular alley that dead ended in both directions, making the way they'd come the only ground route exit.
"You're kidding, right?" Al threw up her hands in irritation.
"Over here!" David hissed. The other two followed his lead and the three crammed behind a high stack of crates left haphazardly leaning across the wall. The space behind it was cramped, but when Crutchy pulled a few loose crates to cover the opening, they were entirely concealed from view. Their heavy breathing filled the enclosed space, making Al want to choke from breathing everyone else's breath.
The horses clopped their way through the alley the three had just come through. Oscar's voice was they first they heard as he tried to brown-nose his way into their confidence. Knowing him, he was probably hoping he'd get a reward for trying to capture some of the newsie strikers.
"They ran this way." The cocky smirk was evident in his voice. "Those three are dangerous, sir. They need to be locked up."
Al grit her teeth, none of them daring to even shift so they could see what was going on. No, it was better to listen and stay still. It was crucial that they didn't screw up their escape now.
Multiple voices broke through as the clopping of horse hooves grew louder. Al felt sweat roll down her spine and tickle the small of her back. She was hunched awkwardly, her back leaning slightly against David, one knee touching her chin and the other rapidly falling asleep as it was curled under Crutchy's body. He was laying in an almost fetal position facing the crates as he held tightly to his upright crutch. She couldn't tell how David was situated, but she hoped he was more comfortable than she. Al made an effort not to lean too much on him, both for her benefit and his. It was too hot for how crowded the three were. As it was, she could feel David's silent breathing tickling the back of her neck.
She began to see spots and realized she'd stopped breathing. She sucked in a quiet, but greedy breath, shaking off the paranoia that the police had super hearing.
What would they do if they got taken to the Refuge? She tried not to think about it. Snyder would inevitably find out she was Jack's sister and use it against her and him. David's family wouldn't have anyone to support them, though they might be able to bail him out. Crutchy wouldn't be able to fight back against the abuse she knew the guards weren't shy to inflict.
"They aren't here." Someone growled. "They probably got up the fire escape and we barely missed them."
The sound of flesh hitting flesh resounded in the quiet alley. Someone had just been slapped. Oh how she hoped the recipient was Oscar.
"Next time, leave the law enforcement to us!" the commanding voice yelled, presumably at the boy. "You're the one to blame for their escape!"
Al couldn't help but grin. It was great to see- or hear- one of the Delancey brothers get hit without the ability to hit back.
Maybe it'll knock some sense into that thick head of his. she thought, then decided against it. She, her brother, and a couple other Manhattan newsies had been trying that tactic for years. They'd finally come to the conclusion that there was nothing in beetween that boy's ears to knock sense into.