Once and for All
Following Jess's directions, David, Jack, and Jess reached Denton's home. Jack stepped up to the door and quickly knocked. The door opened to reveal Denton, but Jack didn't give him a chance to speak. "Did you mean what you wrote here: about all these sweat shop kids listenin' to me?"
"I never write anything I don't mean," Denton said simply. "Well, come on in. I was just packing a few things. I see you found my daughter."
"More like she found me," Jack laughed.
"I was just goin' to say goodbye to the boys when I ran into the Delancy brothers beatin' on Kelly," Jess explained.
"I should've known I could never keep you from them," Denton laughed, hugging her. He closed the door behind David. "So yes I meant it," he said returning to his conversation with Jack. "The city thrives on child labor…a lot of people make money that way," he added with a glance at Jess. "They're terrified that the Newsies' strike will spread."
"Well there ain't much chance of that so long as they've got the power," Jack said bitterly.
"Sometimes all it takes is a voice," Denton said, "one voice that becomes a hundred and then a thousand…unless it's silenced."
"Speakin' of which," Jess said slowly turning to Jack, "why're you dressed like a scab?"
Jack opened his mouth to answer, but David cut him off. "It doesn't matter anymore, Jess," he said quickly. "It was just a misunderstanding."
"Oh…ok then, if you say so," Jess said, confused.
"Why can't we spread the strike?" Jack asked in an attempt to bring the topic of conversation back to the strike. "Have another big rally and get the news out to all the sweat shop kids, why not?"
"What are we gonna do, put that in the newspaper?" David asked skeptically.
"No we'll do better than that; we'll make our own paper!" Jack replied. "We tell 'em they've gotta join us. Isn't that a good idea?"
"Yeah it is," Jess said with a smirk. "But what do we know about printing a newspaper?"
"Well, nothin', but our man Denton…" Jack began slowly.
"But I think our man Denton," David replied with a sigh, "has something more important to do. I mean, he's going to be an ace war correspondent. Right Denton?"
Denton laughed slightly, and Jess beamed when she realized the look in his eyes. "Alright," he sighed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Where do we start?"
Everyone moved to sit around the circular table in the center of the room. "Right we gotta work fast. We'll need the Newsies to circulate," Jack said.
"There's something else we'll need; we'll need a printing press," Denton added.
"It just so happens…I know a guy with a printing press," Jack said with a small smile.
When darkness fell, Jack led them quietly down through the basement of The World until they reached the room he had been sleeping in the past few nights. As he raised the lantern to light the narrow stairs, he turned to take Jess's hand so she wouldn't fall and had to repress a laugh at the expression on her face: it was just as he had imagined it.
"You've been living here?!" Jess hissed in utter disgust. "I've seen alleyways cleaner than this place!"
"Shhhh…" Jack whispered, repressing his laughter. "They're right above us, and if Weasel catches us then we're all in the slam."
No one else said a word as Jack pulled a highly dusty sheet off a large piece of machinery.
"Alright," Denton breathed excitedly. "A Platinum Press…looks like old man Pulitzer never threw anything away."
"Will it work?" David asked skeptically.
"It better," Denton replied. "We have a deadline."
Thus began the longest night any of them had ever had. David and Denton worked together creating the articles and getting them ready to print. Jess and Jack were in charge of running the press.
"Now I know why I'm a Newsie…" Jack muttered, wiping his forehead with his sleeve.
"Hate bein' inside, huh?" Jess teased crossing over to him and leaning her chin on his shoulder.
Jack chuckled. "Nah...it's more that I hate feelin' like I'm trapped."
"I know ya do, Kel…I know," Jess soothed.
"I guess it's almost over now, huh?" Jack asked.
"Yeah…this should tip it one way or the other," Jess agreed.
"Well," Jack smirked, "let's make sure it tips our way then."
By the earliest rays of daylight, the four had finished their work, and hundreds of the Newsie Banner now sat tied in stacks ready to be delivered. Jack took his place at the delivery window and handed out the stacks to the Manhattan Newsies who arrived either alone or in groups of two. When all the boys had stacks to pass out, Jack, Jess, David, and Denton left the basement and went their separate ways.
Denton had run off to speak to someone important while David ran off with Kid Blink and Mush. Jack and Jess ran around Manhattan together getting rid of one stack. When only one stack of papers remained, Jack looked desperately at Jess. "What do we do now? There ain't nobody else to give 'em to."
Jess's eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. "Gimmie the papes, Kelly!" she said excitedly. "Wait here, I'll be back soon!"
"Jess!" Jack called in confusion. "Where are ya goin'?"
"To get some help! I'll be back before anythin' important happens!"
Jack stared after her with a mixture of confusion and admiration. He then turned back to the Manhattan Newsies that had begun to return from their deliveries.
Jess ran as fast as she could towards the place where the Newsie girls lived. She had avoided bringing them into the strike up until now, but they desperately needed numbers in order to win. She ran full tilt through their gathering until she saw Kara.
"Whoa, what the heck is up with you?" Kara asked when she saw Jess. "You look like you're runnin' for your life!"
"I need your help!" Jess panted. "We need your help."
"What's goin' on?" Kara asked.
Jess put up a finger indicating she needed a moment. When she had caught her breath, she began her story. "The strike is almost over. We're launching one last attack on the gates of The World itself, but we need a lot of people. I haven't asked before because I know how dangerous this is for ya, but it's now or never."
"Wait…" a girl behind Kara began. "You're askin' us to charge the gates of The World and risk gettin' caught? They'd send us back to that factory so fast…I'm sorry, Jess, but I ain't riskin' it."
Many of the other girls muttered their agreement, but Kara suddenly called out over everyone. "HEY!"
Everyone fell silent.
"This is crazy!" Kara yelled. "You're tellin' me that you can look at Jess, the girl who risked everything to get us outta that horrible place and give us a chance to live, and tell her you ain't gonna risk it?!"
"Yeah!" Allie piped up, coming to stand beside Jess. "She's done everything for us, and you scaredy-cats won't do this one thing for her?"
"We've always been lookin' for adventure," a girl named Claire added moving to stand beside Allie. "This is our chance, so let's go!"
"Jess didn't worry about gettin' caught when she busted us out," Kara continued, "and now it's time we paid her back for that!"
The girls all cheered at these words and ran to get ready. "Kara!" Jess called, beckoning her over. "I need you to go get Spot and Brooklyn."
"No problem," Kara said, and made to hurry off, but Jess seized her arm.
"Kara…I think it's time you let your hair down," Jess said with a smile.
"Ya…you mean tell him I'm a girl?" Kara asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," Jess said. "I know ya like him…and I think he'd like you too if he knew you was a girl. Just trust me and go for it!"
"But…" Kara bit her lip in uncertainty, "what if he doesn't trust me after I tell him? I don't wanna lose him as my friend."
Jess put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Trust me. If I know Spot, and I do, he's gonna be more excited to find out you're a girl because that means he can date ya. Spot loves himself a pretty girl, and they don't come prettier than you."
Kara smiled and nodded. "Thanks Jess," she said with a smile. Turning away, she tore through the alley and within seconds, she had disappeared on the road to Brooklyn. Jess turned back to the other girls who were all ready to go.
"Alright ladies," Jess said with a smirk. "Let's go show Pulitzer exactly who he's messin' with!"
With a cry of agreement, the girls began the trek back to Manhattan and, hopefully, to freedom.
Almost there everyone! Two more chapters should do it for this story, but I was thinking about writing a series of one-shots after this is done. Would any of you be interested in reading more? They could be about anything you wanted. I know you don't know how this story ends yet, but just let me know if you would be interested in there being more so I can get some ideas going. Thanks all!
