Keeping it Safe
Chapter Five: What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
I woke to silence. There was not a sound throughout the bunkroom, but that was probably because there was not a soul throughout the place either. I slid to the floor with a groan and a hand to my aching head, where a stabbing pain was developing behind my eyes. I took a deep breath and moved my other hand to my chest.
"I think I broke a rib," I said.
"Maybe two," the doorway answered. Pie-eater stepped forth. "You alright? I regret leaving you alone, now."
"I'm fine," I sighed. "And don't regret it. No one bothered me when I got here… though it would've been nice if you'd bothered me this morning. How late is it, and why didn't anyone else wake me up?"
Pie shrugged. "I told them not to. You were tired, hurt. You could use a day off."
"I don't want one. I thought it would be obvious that I, like most newsies, need money."
"It's about nine now, by the way." Pie liked to ignore me. He was good at it, too.
I grumbled something unintelligible and moved into the washroom, where a sink full of invitingly cold water called to me. I stuck my whole head in, wincing again as I bent over. I straightened and let the water droplets run down my shirt, back and front, and blinked. My headache persisted. Another figure had joined Pie where he now stood, leaning against the washroom door, and I began to feel nauseous. Maybe Bumlets had done more damage to me than I had thought. Maybe…
"Hey, Jacklyn," I said.
"Morning, sunshine," and she giggled. Pie grinned.
"Laugh at my pain," I muttered and brushed past them back to my bunk. "Leave me in peace!" I cried. "And don't expect me to pay tonight's lodging fees either."
Pie just laughed, and left with his girl close in tow. I heard them both snickering as they went downstairs and rolled over. It promised to be a strange day, but just then all I wanted to do was sleep.
+
Racetrack came in whistling an unfamiliar tune.
"Hey, sunshine," he said from the right side of my bunk. The pet name was beginning to get tiring.
"And how's my favorite rain cloud?" I said, my eyes still closed.
"He's fine. The afternoon edition will be out in about ten minutes, if you want to get out of bed and do some real work."
"How did Pie let you up?" I asked. My eyelids hadn't moved.
"Eh, he's gone. I think. Either way, Snitch picked the lock. That's not the point, we should…"
Race continued to ramble on but the sound of my pounding heart seemed to tune out his words. Snitch? This made me open my eyes. Race was alone.
"You're quite friendly today," I said. I sat up.
"It's been a good morning. Let's go, I'm supposed to get you up, and I want to get some papes too, so don't be late."
"Who sent you?"
But he was already out the door. My eyes stung from the smoke trail that was left behind by a familiar smelling cigar, almost as if he had vanished with a 'poof' like in the stories I remembered only vaguely.
I slid into the washroom for the second time that day, looking to inspect my bruises before venturing outside. I had just turned on the water when a faint scratching noise came from the behind me, I glanced up into the mirror and saw Snitch's reflection next to my own. A startled yelp escaped from my mouth, but I didn't turn. Snitch remained almost motionless, staring at the mirror with no readable expression on his face. An anxious feeling wormed its way from my head through my limbs, but I didn't turn around.
"Still raining?" I asked with a calmness that surprised me. He inclined his head slightly. "Great," I sighed, and then left the washroom without a look back. I could hear no hint of him moving as I made for the bunkroom door, but that's not to say he didn't follow. Snitch is a sneaky one.
I trooped downstairs and noticed Pie, alone, reading something in his office. I stuck my head in.
"Hey, I'm out."
He looked up glumly. "Hey. Good luck, then."
"Where's Jacklyn?"
"She had to go work. Said she should be there on a dark day like this." He shrugged. "I dunno."
"Alright. Have fun with whatever you're doing. I'll try to stay out of trouble."
He didn't respond, so I left without another word. I hunched my shoulders against the sudden onslaught of rain and walked slowly along the slick cobblestones. Selling was the last thing on my mind, but I didn't want to be alone. I hurried along to the Distribution Center in time to join what would become of the middle of the line. I felt safe there, with Specs humming to himself in front of me and Itey laughing despite the rain behind, shielding his mess of curly hair with a thin newspaper. Itey was a cunning one, if he bought a stack of papers when the headlines were good, he would create two papers from one, adding a section here taking a section there. If he was quick enough in selling them and disappearing, he might earn a few extra pennies - if not, he came back to the Lodging House with a silly grin to sport a few broken teeth. But it wasn't this thought which made me turn to give him a second glance. Itey was almost always with Snitch.
"Where's your pal?" I asked when he caught my gaze.
"Hmm?"
"Snitch. Where's he been?"
Itey frowned. "You know, that's a good question," he said, and shrugged. "He went off the other night, and, sayin' the truth, I haven't seen him around much since." He must have interpreted my look for one of concern, because his next sentence seemed out of place. "Shouldn't worry about it. Snitch'n take care of himself."
I turned away and closed the gap that had widened between Specs and me. The rain seemed to be letting up, but I knew it was just my imagination. I bought my papers and tucked them under my outer shirt like those before me and clambered down the stairs and out the gate, moving quickly in hopes of grabbing a spot under an awning of a general store or market. Anything to shake the cold from my head and heart.
-
It's hard to say if I was surprised or just annoyed when I bumped into Swifty on Broadway street. He himself looked relieved to see me.
"Crazy kid, why can't you have a regular selling spot like everyone else?" He grumbled in way of greeting. I tipped my hat and offered him a paper. "No thanks. Listen, when's the last time you saw Pie?"
"He was in this morning, making fun of me."
Swifty's face was emotionless but his eyes moved quickly. "His girl?"
"She was with him, yeah, but…" I hesitated, remembering earlier. Pie-eater's sad face. She had to work. And now Swifty, with his odd manner and desperate-toned questions. "Yeah," I finished. "She was with him."
Swifty sighed. "Listen, when you go back - are you going back soon?"
I nodded, and it was true. Anything to get out of this weather.
"Ok, well, uhm… ok, make sure he sticks with her, ok? I think she may be in danger tonight. It'd be good if he was around."
"Alright," I said, frowning inwardly. Things were just too weird.
"Great," Swifty said. He left immediately, and as I turned to answer someone's request I caught a flash of familiar wet black hair as Bumlets fell in stride beside him.
Things were just too weird.
-
"Hey, Pie. Jacklyn still gone?"
"Yep." Pie-eater licked a battered looking envelope and added it to a heap on his desk. "She'll probably be back tonight. Why?"
"Dunno. Had a strange conversation with Swifty…" I stopped and took in Pie's suddenly alert gaze. "Anyway, I think you should stick around here tonight."
He didn't pressure me. "Why's that? Oh, here, want an apple?"
I accepted the food. "Thanks. And… well…"
"I'm here most nights," he continued. "I have to be."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But you've been with Jacklyn lately. Which is great, I mean," I added quickly. "But tonight. Stay here. Play some poker."
"I'm horrible at poker."
"Ok, watch some poker. Just stick around. Please."
Pie-eater pushed his chair away from the desk. "Is that what Swifty talked to you about?"
His was a hard face to lie to.
"Yes. And no. I mean… no." I stopped with a sigh. Pie-eater stood up and grabbed a stray chair from the edge of the room.
"I feel old saying this, but… sit down." I did. "Now, tell me what's happening," and he sat on the edge of his desk.
Still I hesitated. By not telling him the truth about Jacklyn, I was letting him be fooled. But if I told, it would crush him… if he even agreed to believe it. And he thought Swifty was loyal to him… right? Hell, I did. I had. Until I had seen him walk calmly away with a certain Hispanic boy whom he was supposed to hate.
"I think Swifty wanted you gone tonight, for whatever reason," I said. "He told me that if I saw you I should tell you to hang around with Jacklyn… he didn't know she had already left. So there, I've said it, I said what he wanted me to. Stay with Jacklyn. But now, again, I'll say what I think. I think you should stay here… and away from her."
Pie played with an apple in his hands, polishing it, inspecting it, polishing, inspecting. When he was satisfied he put it out of easy reach and met my eyes.
"I guess I still don't understand why you want me to stay. I'll stay, if it's that big of a deal, but mainly because I now own this house and I should be staying. Not just because you're begging me to."
I stood up. "Well, thanks… is Jacklyn still going to come back?"
"This is the part I'll do for you," Pie said with a wry smile. "I'll keep her away, for tonight at least. Are you just going to be here until everyone else gets back? Can you look after things?"
I faltered. "Uh, yeah, why?"
"Well, I need to tell Jacklyn to make her own plans, of course. Don't worry about it, I've been looking for an excuse to give her these flowers." He smiled and waved my gaze to a bouquet of a flower I couldn't identify. Apparently they had been there the whole time. Nobody ever called me observant.
The weight which I thought was being taken off my shoulders crashed back down. "Wait -- where does she work again?" I managed.
"Some factory… I got an address. Not from her, mind you, she'd probably be too embarrassed to tell me. But I know this guy who's seen her go someplace on her lunch break…" His sentence continued to cheerily enter one ear and go out the other as I stared. No. No way. Jacklyn couldn't have a regular day job, it didn't fit in with anything I had believed. "…here, I have it written down. Recognize the place?"
I glanced at it numbly and shook my head. "Nope."
"Well, anyway, if I hurry I'll make one of her breaks. See you tonight." He grabbed the flowers, his coat and hat, and was gone. I took a second, closer look at the scrap of paper holding the address, wondering if it was one of the small shops or bakeries that I sometimes saw young women at, breaking during a hard day's work. It was a restaurant alright, judging from the name scribbled at the top. "Sweeney's." I couldn't place the name, though it stirred something in the back of my mind. Something dark.
The door opened and I heard the scratch of pen on paper as the first of the boys began to return and sign in. I meandered to the office doorway, still clutching the paper. It was Mush. He looked up and nodded almost amiably, so I took a few more steps forward and smoothed the paper out in front of him.
"Recognize this?" I asked.
Mush paused, then frowned and looked at me. "Yeah… yeah, of course I do. You don't?"
Now I was at a loss. "No… no, I don't," I admitted. "It's so familiar, but…"
"Maybe you didn't see the sign," Mush said, and shifted his weight uncomfortably. "That's Swifty's hideout. He took us there to ditch Kloppy… unless you don't remember that either."
The weight ground down again. "Yeah," I said softly. "Yeah… thanks." Mush disappeared upstairs and a bigger group of kids, younger, entered and pushed around me to reach the book. I took the paper back and returned to Pie's office, staring at it.
Respectable day job… and you believed it, I berated myself. Fool. Always looking on the bright side. I floundered where I stood, unable to think of a course of action. But something had to be done, or else Pie-eater was in for a harsh awakening.
And I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get any help from Swifty.
-
With the address to aid me, I quickly found my way back to Swifty's hotspot. I had only ever been there in the pitch dark, cold and lost, and I found that the sight of the small door in the rainy dusk was only a little less bleak. High above the actual door I could barely make out a faded sign that read something along the lines of "McSwe n 's." I blinked the raindrops from my eyes and stepped in.
The atmosphere was bright and lively and none of the activity even took a breath as I closed the door behind me. A robust looking woman greeted me at the door and tried to direct me to an empty seat but I shook her off my hand and instead moved closer to talk in her ear. She heard out my request, smiled coyly, and pointed to the same staircase I had ventured up before.
"Second door on the left," she said over the din. I nodded my thanks and moved quickly. There was a queasy feeling developing in my stomach and the silence that reigned on the second floor did nothing to help it. My steps towards the barely open door were slow and deliberate, my breathing shallow. I heard a stifled sob and broke into a sprint, pounding away the last few yards and slamming the door against the wall as I burst into the room.
Disaster met my eyes.
On one side of the room was a rickety bed, sitting on which was Jacklyn, her knees drawn up to her chin, a bunched sheet covering her body and tears streaming down her face. Next to her sat a middle aged man in an equally indecent state, terrified and white with shock. My feet were rooted to the floorboards, my eyes continued to rove. Swifty, in the middle of the room, blood covering his pale hands. His pale hands, shaking slightly. And Pie-eater, in a still heap next to Swifty, an expression of surprise and dismay frozen on his face. A knife hilt deep in his left breast.
Swifty's eyes found mine and his words were bitterly mocking.
"Guess he… died of a broken heart."
+
Author's Note: Heh heh. Whoops?
My love for reviews cannot be expressed with words!
Special "thanks" to Mondie for going through and reading everything, as can be noted from her old-time run-on reviews. Mondie! I'm sorry I made you angry. Please don't boycott the story. I know you aren't mad at me anymore, but I have a feeling all that has probably changed again after reading this chapter. I LOVE YOU!
Omni: -does the Omni dance- Well, thanks for trying. It's sort of a bad story to try to happy!review.
Frog: Ok, so maybe it's POSSIBLY that Evil Swifty will give someone nightmares, but hey. He's cool. And, uhm, really, really evil. I hope I haven't lost my Evil Swifty fans after this chapter. -gulp-
Thistle: No and yes. Snoddy doesn't want the girl. I realized I haven't been making this as clear as possible… Snoddy doesn't want the girl, he wants Pie away from the girl. But, of course, we are supposed to feel bad for Snoddy, poor kid, only same one in the bunch.
Raeghann: Woo! Glad you're enjoying it. As far as realism goes, who knows? It's not the most realistic thing, but probably a little more so than a girl falling in love with half a dozen shady orphans and living with them, etc. At least this is more fun to read. In a way. -beginning to catch the JP rambling disease-
B: Ahaha, fantastic reaction there. Haha, yes, we shall create… bum bum bum… Evil Swifty Lovers Anonymous! …or maybe we're all just disturbed.
Pyromaniacal Llama: Glad you stumbled upon it, hopefully you remembered it to see this… oi, the month plus between updates was NOT planned. Switching portrayals and main roles is my favorite thing to do, oh friendly feathered one! It's great fun.
Falco Conlon: I do regret giving everything away to you. But only sort of. AHH I LOVE RUIN! -tackles- Haven't written him in awhile. Wait, I'm lying, I actually started to rewrite (completely… not just edit) ORD the other day. It was fun. And Swifty is SO different in NHS than here, yikes… scary. And it's my Ireland!
Cards: Exactly, that's the one thing that bugs me but I wrote anyway… the motivation? Pretty melodramatic/petty/stupid… but… I needed something to drive them all at each other's throats, and this was pretty much the first thing I thought of. It doesn't seem to be going too badly.