Chapter 28
There was no time to scream before the hand clamped down on her mouth. Pinned to the stranger's body, Tricks panicked. She thrashed wildly, trying to rip her arms from the person's grip but it was no use.
"Relax, dollface," the stranger whispered in Tricks's ear, just as she was about to bite down on his hand as a last resort.
Dollface? There was only one person who could get away with calling her dollface. Spot.
Tricks relaxed, realizing the hands holding her back were friendly, not dangerous. Spot dropped his hand from her mouth, placing it on her upper arm to keep her from darting away again. The Delanceys and their two cronies ran past the alley, shouting to keep looking and that she couldn't have gotten too far. Their voices slowly faded into the night as they moved uptown, and away from the alley that was Spot and Tricks's refuge.
"Always seem to be in some sorta trouble, don't ya, dollface?"
Tricks yanked her arm out of his grip and spun around to face him, eyes burning with anger.
"Christsakes!" Tricks fumed, swatting at Spot's shoulder. "Ya don't go grabbin' people like that!"
Still smirking, and seemingly amused by Tricks's anger, Spot leaned casually against the brick wall. "Seems like ya should be thankin' me," he retorted as thunder rumbled overhead. "Ya can't stay outta trouble, Tricks Kelly. I like that."
Tricks rolled her eyes at Spot's smirk, wishing that her ankle wasn't injured so she could high-tail it away from him and back to the bunkhouse. But with her ankle slowing her down, and the thunderstorm that was now rolling in, having Spot along for the walk was better than Tricks was willing to admit.
"I need to get back," Tricks said irritably as lightning flashed across the night sky. " 'fore Jack sends out a search party. Think those creeps are gone?" Tricks stuck her head out of the alley and looked down the dim main road. It was completely deserted, a ghost town.
"They gone for now," Spot replied, joining Tricks at the top of the alley. "Probably not a good idea ta be walkin' 'round alone. Sides, Jackie Boy would have me skin if I let ya wander off wit that bum foot."
Tricks winced noticeably at Spot's words; she'd tried to put pressure on her foot, but was unable to due to the sharp pain that radiated out of her ankle with the added weight.
"Fine," she relented, obviously in pain, "let's just get goin'."
" 'Ere, might make it easier." Spot handed Tricks his cane and they made their way out of the alley and started the walk to the Lodging House. Tricks tried desperately to not think of the pain in her foot, but each step was agony. Every third or so step, she took a sharp intake of breath and paused, in an attempt to mitigate the pain.
"Hurt bad?" Spot asked with concern, about two blocks away from their destination. Tricks knew that despite her best effort, her ragged, slow, breathing was betraying the amount of pain she was really in.
"I'm fine," Tricks insisted through gritted teeth as she hobbled along the street, leaning heavily on the cane for support. "Just keep walk-"
Spot scooped Tricks into his arms, feet dangling over one forearm and her back pressed against the other, before she had a chance to finish explaining that all she wanted to do was keep going.
"Grab me neck," Spot insisted.
"Told ya, I can make it there walkin'!" Tricks protested as a loud rumble of thunder rolled across the street and the rain began in earnest.
"Youse walkin' slower den the old man I stole dat cane from. Just grab onta me neck, will ya?"
Realizing that the rain would make it nearly impossible for her to walk without slipping over the
cobblestones, Tricks relented, wrapping her arms around Spot's neck. Though Spot seemed short and slight, he was surprisingly strong, easily carrying Tricks the remaining two blocks.
"Guess that was a liddle faster," Tricks relented as the yellow light from the bunkhouse door appeared down the street.
"Ha!" Spot laughed, his feet moving noticeably faster and jiggling Tricks's ankle more intensely. She bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out, knowing not only would it hurt Spot's feelings, but also that they were within hearing distance of the bunkhouse and her shouts would likely cause an uproar.
The boys were still in the bunkhouse; Tricks could see them all gathered in the entryway, waiting to receive orders from Jack. Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating Spot and Tricks's rain soaked figures. Inside the bunkhouse, Skittery pointed to the street and yelled for Jack.
"Oy!" Spot shouted over the rain, "I got 'er!"
Hearing Spot's shouts, the Newsies ran to the doorway and spilled out into the night, relief washing over Jack's face as he realized his sister was safe. Looking tired and pale, Racetrack leaned against the door frame, as a curly-haired figure nearly bowled him over in an attempt to make it out to the street. Mush ran down the steps, putting his arms out like he wanted to grab Tricks from Spot.
"Move!" Tricks yelled at Mush, just wanting to get inside and on solid ground as quickly as possible. Her ankle was aching terribly, and she wanted to stabilize it, not have it jostled around as she was passed from arms to arms. Mush and the rest of the Newsies parted, allowing Spot a clear path inside.
"Put 'er on the counter," Jack said, clearing all of Klopman's paperwork and various other junk out of the way with a sweep of his arm. Spot deposited Tricks on the countertop, and she scooted back to rest against the wall as the boys started to crowd around her. Jack nimbly jumped behind the counter, appearing at his sister's side in moments.
"Ya alright, Tricks?" he asked, his brow furrowing as he leaned close to his sister.
"Been better," Tricks said, trying to smile through the pain. "Four 'gainst one ain't really a fair fight."
"Who hurtcha? The Delanceys?"
Tricks nodded vigorously, realizing that she must look rougher than she felt. Her shirt had been ripped and tattered, not just by the henchman's hands but also by the ladder that caused Tricks's ankle injury. Above her right eye was an abrasion, caused by her head not completely clearing a brick wall she was ducking around. The rain had caused the blood from the wound to stream down her face; she was distinctly aware of the taste of blood in her mouth. She was sure there were other scrapes and bruises, in addition to the general, downtrodden nature of being absolutely soaking wet.
Mush unbuttoned his teal shirt, removed it and placed it tightly around Tricks's shoulders. Grateful, she smiled and slipped her arms through the sleeves, pulling the shirt across her chest and hugging her arms to warm herself.
"Delanceys," she said weakly, closing her eyes against the pain. "And the two udder guys that followed me and Mush in Brooklyn."
"What happened to ya foot?" Mush asked softly, as Jack looked at the injured limb.
"Don't!" Trick s screeched, pulling her leg out of her brother's grip. She let out another yelp of pain as her foot banged against the countertop.
"Don't take the shoe off, it'll just make it swell more. Jumped off a ladder and landed wrong. I heard a pop; don't think I broke it though."
"Should get someone to look at it," Jack said, leaning against the counter. Once again his brow furrowed as he tried to think of who he could possibly call on to examine Tricks's injured ankle. Tricks hated seeing her brother so upset, but hated it even more when she was the cause of his anguish.
"Denton," Tricks said through gritted teeth as she gingerly put her leg back down on the counter. "His neighbor's a doctor."
XXXXX
The wall behind Tricks's head felt cool as she relaxed against it. Jack sent Skittery out to rouse Denton and, hopefully, return with a doctor to examine Tricks's foot. Now there was nothing to do but wait for them to return. With all the drama surrounding Spot's heroics, Tricks had not realized that running for twenty blocks (the last five or so with an injured foot) made her absolutely exhausted.
Jack offered to help her to her room and her own bed but Tricks adamantly refused, knowing that the counter provided a better examination area for the doctor...and that the wheels in her brother's head were turning at record breaking speed as he decided how to handle the situation. Tricks wanted to be near enough to talk him out of whatever hair brained scheme Jack came up with. Spot and Tricks couldn't say with certainty where the henchmen headed, it was approaching midnight, and the thunderstorm overhead was increasing in intensity with each passing minute.
And then there were three other people to think about: Racetrack. Spot. Mush.
Race was currently sitting on the floor against the wall, pale-faced with his head down between
his knees as Jack berated him for forgetting to pick up Tricks. Mush had left Tricks's side and was standing a few feet away from Spot, who was casually leaning against the bunkroom staircase at though he owned the place. Mush was openly glaring at Spot, and Tricks knew he would only be able to hold his tongue for so long.
"Whaddya even doin' in Manhattan, huh?" Mush finally asked, accusation dripping through every word he spoke.
"Didn' know I needed an invitation ta cross a bridge," Spot replied coolly, barely giving Mush a sideways glance. "Maybe ya ain't noticed, but Manhattan's got some good lookin' goils-"
"Can you two just shut it for five minutes?" Tricks said irritably, not wanting to open her eyes.
"Cause right now, this 'good lookin' goil' just wants some peace and quiet."
"Hey, ya liddle friend 'ere started it-" Spot chimed in, but Tricks cut him off before he could really pick up steam.
"Mush?" Tricks said faintly. Within seconds he was by her side, asking Tricks what she needed.
"Can ya get me some water? I feel like I'm gonna die of thirst before Denton gets here."
Jack momentarily looked up at Tricks, his signature scoffing smile on his face as he realized she'd managed to distract the two boys and end an argument in less than thirty seconds.
Tricks closed her eyes again and sighed. "An' Jack, give Race a break," she said seriously. "Nona this woulda happened if was smart an' waited for someone to show up at Medda's."
Jack considered Tricks's statement and walked over to her, leaving a relieved looking Race alone. "If there's one thing the Kellys ain't, it's smart," Jack replied with a grin. "Spot, ya stickin' around tonight?"