The first thing that Spot did when he got of the train in Brooklyn was to head to Duchess' new hideout. Rather than knocking on the door, he stormed into the warehouse.
Duchess' head shot up and she narrowed her eyes. "Just what do you think you're doing here this time of night, Conlon! Barging in too! You could be dead right now!"
"You are the one who could be dead right now! Where are my kids?"
"What do you mean? They should be back at your place!"
"I went back there. Rae hadn't seen them. Now stop playing games and tell me where they are!"
"I told you! If they aren't there, then I don't know where they are!"
"Where are your goons that took them?"
"I haven't seen them since I sent to take your babies back!"
Spot stomped in frustration. "Then where are they now!?"
"I don't know!"
"Well you ought to know!"
"Get out!" She yelled pointing toward the door.
"No! Not until you give me my children, Duchess! I want them back! It's tearing my family apart!"
"How many times do I have to tell you? I didn't send my boys to take them! When I found out I sent them right back to your place! I have no clue where my boys are now!"
Spot growled in frustration, turning and slamming his fist on the wall. "I'll be at Mississippi Wayne's new place. Find me there once your boys return."
She snickered, "If I don't kill them first."
He nodded gravely. "Fair enough."
"Can I have my hideout back please?"
"What?"
"Leave!" she said, shoving him toward the door.
"Okay! You don't have to push..." And he left.
~*~
Chris walked into the study to check on Rae. She hadn't gotten off the couch since they had gotten back last night. After Spot had left, Chris went to check on her and found her sound asleep. Early this morning Chris had been forced to tell her that Spot had left again. She had taken the news worse than he had thought. All she had done was stare out the window, where she could see the tree covered drive. "Rae?" he said, shifting James in his arms.
And she just stared. He fully expected her to start ranting or crying or... something... not this nothing! Sighing, he placed James in her arms. The little guy started squirming. As if in slow motion, she looked down at him. When James clutched her blouse, Chris slipped from the room.
"Where's Momma?" Annie asked Chris.
"Sitting in the study... Just sitting." He shook his head.
"Why is she just sitting there?"
"Mad, I guess."
"Who is she mad at? Me?"
"Why would she be mad at you??"
Annie shrugged. "Maybe 'cause Andy runned away."
"That's not your fault, Ann."
She sighed deeply and sank onto the bench in the hallway.
"What's the matter?"
"I want Andy back...and Daddy...and Julie...and Momma..."
"Your momma didn't go anywhere..." But he thought he knew what she might have meant.
She pulled her feet up and rested her chin on her knees. "She won't get off that couch...and she won't talk to me..." A single tear rolled down her cheek.
Gently, he placed his arm around her. Now he too was getting annoyed with Rae. He understood her pain, but she was pushing everyone else she loved away! He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few coins. "Why don't you and Ginny walk into town and get some candy..."
"O-okay," she sniffled. Standing, she wandered off to find her friend.
Chris growled as he stood. This was getting to be too much. If only he could leave as well. No wonder Andy and Molly had left...
"Ch'is!" Sam called from upstairs.
He looked up. "What is it?"
"Annie won't let me go."
"Won't let you go...? Oh... Why not?"
"She said I a baby."
"I think the girls would like to be alone... Would you like her to bring you something back?"
He nodded. "Candy!"
He smiled and watched as the girls came down, obviously not happy as they expected him to make them take Sam with them. "Girls... Could you bring back Sam some candy, please?"
"Yes," Ginny said, shrugging on her coat.
He smiled. "Thanks."
He scooped the little boy up in his arms. "Come on, Sammy. Let's go get a snack."
"Snaaaaack!" he crowed.
A few minutes later Chris knocked on the door of the study. Just when he thought she wasn't going to answer he heard a soft, "Come in."
Opening the door, he peeked in. James was cooing as Rae played with his feet. Chris came in and sat in a chair opposite her. "I sent Annie and Ginny into town for a little while."
She nodded a little. "Probably for the best that they get out for a while."
"It wouldn't hurt you any either."
"Maybe not..."
"I noticed an empty store front in town...it would work great for the bookstore..."
"Bookstore... yes..." Rae rubbed her eyes and looked at him. "I could... I could start that up..."
"Give me James...you go clean up a bit...and we'll meet the girls in town and look at that storefront."
"Right..." She gave him James and offered a wavering smile. "Thank you, Chris."
"You are most welcome."
With that, she slipped from the room.
~*~
"Wake up, boy."
Andy swatted at the person shaking his shoulder. "Go away, Annie," he muttered.
"That ain't my name, boy."
He opened his eyes to see a girl about his age standing above him. "Who are you?"
"Name's Skeeter."
Andy made a face. "What kinda name is that?"
"It's mine, gotta problem with it?" she said, waving a small fist in his face.
He drew back. "No," he said, rolling off the other side of the bed.
"What's your name?"
He hesitated. "Pup."
She plopped down giggling.
He put his hands on his hips. "What are you laughin' at?"
"Your... your.. your nick!" she gasped.
He huffed. "That Snipes person gave it to me."
She just kept on giggling.
Growling he lunged at her, but before he got far someone lifted him off his feet by the beltloops of his pants. "Not so fast, little man."
"Heeey! Put me down! Put me down!" Andy yelped.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to hit a girl?" his captor asked.
He scowled.
"I see you've met your new selling partner," Snipes said, striding into the room.
"Not her!" Andy protested, pointing to Skeeter.
"Not just yet. Les here has got to train you first."
"I don't want to sell with her!"
"You have no choice."
He scowled.
Snipes looked at the boy holding Andy. "Think you can handle both of these rats?"
He grinned. "Of course."
"Get the Pup some other clothes...those he has on are too nice..."
"Sure. Come on kid." The older boy motioned for Andy to follow him.
"But Momma just made me these clothes!" Andy protested.
"We'll save 'em for later then. No one is going to sympathize with a kid in nice clothes. You'll sell less papes."
Andy made a face and followed Les from the room, but not before sticking his tongue out at Skeeter.
Skeeter promptly stuck her tongue out at him.
Les popped Andy on top of the head. "I can make the two of you hold hands..."
"Ew!"
"Then be nice."
"Only if she is."
Les sent her a pointed look. "I can always take you back to Brooklyn, Skeet..."
She paled slightly.
"Scared of Brooklyn, eh?" Andy said.
"Shut your trap!" she yelled, running from the room.
"Uh... what'd I say?" Andy said, looking up at the older boy.
"She moved here from Brooklyn. Sippi Wayne found her and brought her here to us."
"But... I don't get it."
"One of the first things you have to learn about newsies. They don't like to talk about what happened before they became newsies."
He sighed. "All right..."
Les opened the door to a small room. "Find you something that fits...works best if they are a little big," he said, motioning to the piles of clothes.
Andy wrinkled his nose a bit, rummaging through the clothes. Why all this change just to sell newspapers? Ten minutes later he followed Les and Skeeter out the door.
"Is she new too?" Andy asked Les, jerking his thumb at Skeeter.
She hit him on the back of the head. "I been here a month. But Snipes has a stupid rule about us little kids always having a partner."
"Hey! Don't hit me!" Andy snapped, thrashing at her a bit.
She hit him again.
Scowling, he pushed her back.
Les pulled them apart. "Stop it, you two."
"She started it," he grumbled.
"And I'm stopping it."
They both sighed, agitated.
A few minutes later they reached the distribution center. "Do you have any money?" Les asked Andy.
"Snipes took it."
Les nodded. "I'll get the money from him later." He handed Andy a coin. "This is two bits. Now go to the counter and tell the man that you want fifty papes. Make sure you count them before you leave. Can you even count that high?"
"Of course I can," Andy said, insulted.
"Then hop to it!"
He went over to the distribution window. "I want fifty papers, please."
"I need to know your name, kid," the man said gruffly.
"... How come?"
"Because we like to keep track of which newsies are selling for us. Now give me your name or get lost."
Andy made a face. "Pup," he muttered.
The man scratched the name in his log book. "Fifty papes for the Pup," he hollored over his shoulder.
When the stack was slammed in front of him, he set to counting them.
"We don't have all day, Pup," Les called.
"I'm coming..." he said, lugging the papers off the desk.
Skeeter followed a few minutes later with her smaller stack of papers.
"How come she gets less papers?" Andy whined.
"You got mine and yours," Les replied taking half the stack.
"Oh..." he said, turning a slight shade of pink.
"Why don't you just watch Skeeter and I for a while and see if you can catch on."
He nodded slowly. "Okay."
~*~
Spot was sitting on the porch steps when Sippi left his house to go to work. "What are you doing back?" Sippi asked.
"Duchess' morons never brought my children back..."
"I think now would be the time to go to the cops."
Spot frowned. "There are a few problems to that- one, I'm probably still wanted by those jerks and two, I don't know who or where they are."
"Then go home and let me do some investigating on my own."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
With a sigh, he glanced up at him. "I'm too annoyed with Rae right now..."
"May I ask why?"
"She's driven off parts of our family! You saw how Molly came to find me saying she's going to stay here for a while- well, Andy ran away too, saying something about her not caring anyway in his letter."
"Look...I've been working for the Pinkerton Agency for two months now. Go home and let me handle this."
Spot scowled. "Oh.. oh, all right."
"I promise that I will send word to you as soon as I know anything. About Robert and Lizzy or Andy."
He clapped Sippi's shoulder. "Thanks."
"Go back home to Rae."
"Mph." He pulled himself to his feet. "Back again."
~*~
Rae looked through the windows of the empty storefront. "I think you're right about this building being perfect for our bookstore. It needs a little work, but you could solve that."
"Just me? Aren't you going to help?" Chris asked.
"I will...but I can't fix those bookcases now can I?"
"Well, of course I'm going to help too... I just wanted to be sure you'd get out of the house as well."
She sighed. "I'm out now aren't I?"
"Don't start that again, you were actually pleasant to be around on our way up here," Chris moaned.
She dropped James in his arms. "I have to go to the bank and sign the papers. Take the boys and go find the girls."
"All right, all right." He shifted James into one hand and used the other to grab Sam's hand.
"Come on, let's go find Ann and Ginny."
"Get candy?" Sam asked as they walked toward the store.
"We'll see what the girls bought you."
Sam gave a little cheer. He smiled and ushered him into the grocery shop.
"Annie! Ginny!" Sam called.
"Yeah?" they called simultaneously, popping out from around the corner.
"Have you decided what you want?" Chris asked.
"Yes." They held up two small bags of tootsie rolls.
He grabbed a couple of pieces of rock candy and paid the clerk.
Sam tugged on his pant leg as they left the store. "Candy!"
Chris led them to a bench just outside the store. "Sit here."
"'Kay," the three of them chimed.
While they ate their candy, Chris paced the sidewalk, trying to quiet the fussy James
About half an hour later, Rae turned up. "It's ours," she said with a grin.
"What's ours?" Annie asked.
"That store." She pointed across the street to the old storefront.
"It's old and ugly."
"We'll fix it up and make it pretty again."
"When?" Ginny asked.
"It will take a while, but it will be soon."
"When Daddy gets back?" Ann questioned.
"I hope..."
Sam tugged on her skirt. "Where Daddy?"
"He went back to Brooklyn..."
"Why?"
"He went to look for Robert and Lizzy."
"When he come back?"
Slowly, she shook her head. "I don't know."
"I want Daddy!"
"He'll be back soon."
Sam made a face."
She ruffled his hair gently. "He'll be back soon..."
"Let's go back home," Chris said, handing James to Rae.
She gave the shop one last glance before nodding a bit. "All right... Let's go."