Brunette: Blink, that sneaky little guy hehe. Decius is supposed to be one of the more devious of the conspirators, and for some reason Blink's eye patch just seemed sneaky to me lol. Yeah, I watched the extras on the DVD, I know he has TWO eyes! Lol Anyway…see you "around" haha.
Twilight: w00t! Yes, no one beats Spot Conlon. Do you know how much persuasion it would take for someone to tell me that Spot isn't that great? Lol, oh it would be a lot.
A/N: Edit Character of Artemidorus (Flip) has been sacked. Just wasn't working out with that guy…Actually his part in the play wasn't that great and I just decided to take him out. I'm flippin' proud of this chapter; usually I don't do these scenes well.
Chapter Five: The Fall of Julius Caesar
Jack, Spot, and the conspirators paraded through the streets on their way to the statue of Horace Greeley, where Jack was going to be given the key. The crowd was not as great as it had been when the strike was over and it was mostly the newsboys, but Jack felt an even stronger sense of pride since most of the smiling faces were well known to him. Boys stepped out in front of the procession to shake Jack Kelly's hand or pat him on the back. The shorter and younger ones leapt up from the back to get a glimpse of the Manhattan hero. And although it was known that Jack was attached, girls fluttered their eyelashes about and tried their best to capture his much desired attention.
As they strolled along the streets, one person in particular stuck out to Jack. She stood by herself wearing the same outfit from the party and her red hair messier than ever. Her hands intertwined behind her back as she planted her feet into the ground amidst the cheering youths around her with one corner of her lip curled up into a smirk. As soon as Jack made his way near her their eyes locked and he paused for a brief moment. She lifted her chin and looked at him down the slopes of her bony cheeks, as if expecting he have the courtesy to address her at once. Jack followed this unspoken direction and trotted toward her.
"So…" he said in a level just for the two of them to hear, "the last 'a September's here."
The redhead's eyebrow rose promptly. "Still ain't ovah," she said in her deep, discerning voice. She grinned deviously and turned her back, swimming her way out of the crowds and out of his sight. Jack rolled his eyes and continued on his way.
David grasped a hold of Jack's elbow to get his attention. "Actually, Jack, we wanted to talk to you before this whole thing gets started. Nothin' bad, just a little chat in the lodging house." A forced smile screwed itself onto David's cheeks.
"All right," Jack said reluctantly. He notified Spot to make an announcement to everyone to make their way toward the statue. All followed suit and soon the Manhattan boys were in the emptied and vacant lodging house. Even Kloppman was gone. He had ambled outside and stood in the back to witness this supposed "sacred" ceremony.
"So boys," Jack started as he closed the door behind them on the second floor sleeping room and faced his friends. The window was just across the wall and he grinned to himself as he watched Spot crawl onto the statue and speak to the crowd. He noticed Spot give him a wave from the sculpture and continue talking. "What's goin' on?"
The seven pairs of dubious eyes shifted around to one another, eventually resting upon the most dubious of them all: Skittery. He smiled viscously to himself as his arms rested behind his back, rubbing his wrists. David slyly looked behind Skittery's back and saw the point of the blade poking out from underneath his right shirt sleeve. As not to let his own dagger be noticed, David bent down to "tie his shoe" and subtly made sure his weapon was safely tucked against his leg and a leather strap.
"Jack…" Skittery stepped forward. "I just wanna congratulate you all personal and shit. I mean, what ya did, helpin' us beat Pultizer and everythin'…it was really somethin'."
A gracious smile marked Jack's face, masked by a higher level of pride. "Thanks, Skit."
David felt his hands dampen with perspiration and he watched Mush, Blink, Boots, Snoddy, and Specs gradually enclose Jack in a circle. Mush licked his lips and David saw him feel around for the switchblade tucked in the back of the waistband of his shorts. Boots gulped loudly and Blink rubbed his free eye anxiously. David watched as Specs and Snoddy both looked at each other nervously. Specs adjusted his glasses as Snoddy drew in a deep breath. David closed his eyes; it seemed like the only person that was sure of this was Skittery, and he was facing his victim without flinching.
"Thank you, Jack." Skittery slowly outstretched his left arm and unswervingly shook their Caesar's hand. What looked like a friendly grin to Jack was an evil simper to everyone else. Jack beamed humbly.
Specs walked toward Jack and patted him on the shoulder proudly. "Ya're the best, cowboy. Just wanted to thank you in case I didn't get a chance to."
Snoddy, Boots, and Blink all took turns displaying their undying gratitude for Jack's nobility and valor. Skittery took two steps back and watched his plot take action. David noted the malevolence in his stare; it looked as though he were counting down the seconds until Jack Kelly was just a memory. Skittery was unusually calm and his glare was upon the one thing that was going to break up New York. David was even scared of him.
"Guys, I can't tell ya how much this means," said Jack, still shaking hands.
Quickly Skittery shot his head to Mush and nodded, giving him the okay as they slowly made their way away from Jack. Mush's chest moved up and down rapidly and he blinked like he was going through game plans. His arm reached faintly to his back and put a hold on the blade's handle. Skittery slid the knife so that the hold was gripped tightly in his palm, his hand turning a stark white. David felt a horrid rush flood his entire stomach and his mind spun, darting his vision across the room. One by one the boys began to delicately reach for their hidden weapons. Jack stood obliviously in the center, vulnerable and defenseless. He looked to his buddy David.
"And Dave…we can't forget Dave!" Jack proclaimed and stood in front of him. Guilt surrounded the deepest pits of his stomach as he watched Mush furrow his eyebrows determinedly and step toward Jack's back.
"I mean, I coulnt've done without—"
Jack's face twisted and contorted into agonizing pain as Mush thrust his knife into right side of his lower back. In an instant, Jack was mauled. He was stabbed repeatedly and over again as his boys pierced through his body. David dropped to bend down quickly and grab his knife. He fumbled with his pant leg and tried to retrieve his weapon with shaking hands and legs. His breathing picked up to a pant and beads of sweat dripped down his forehead.
Finally he got hold of his dagger and held it in front of him as he watched Jack struggle to maintain life, blood sputtering out the corners of his mouth and staining forever his clothes. He watched the strained faces of his friends taking the life of what some would call their hero. Skittery drove his blade of out Jack's arm and turned his head to David quickly, expecting him to complete his task just as they had done. He stepped forward and licked his lips.
Jack held his stomach with his arms and held his many wounds with his bloodied hands. His knees were bent but had not completely given way to the ground. A twisted expression of agony and torture took over his face as it was bent toward the floor. Snoddy backed away from in front of the cowboy to allow him to face David and he wiped his nose with his red-stained sleeve. Jack lifted his untouched face with betrayed eyes and pathetically looked up to his friend. "And you, Dave?"
David bit his quivering lip, clenched his jaw, closed his eyes, and, without a thought running through his spiraling mind, drove his modest switchblade into Jack's upper abdomen. He felt and heard the stab's effect as he squeezed his eyes tightly, only opening them until his forced the knife out of him. He stepped backward, out of breath and trembling violently.
With his last breath, Jack Kelly sputtered the words, "And so…I fall." Jack's knees finally gave way and he fell to the ground. Dead.
The atmosphere of the room was indifferent as the seven boys stared at the corpse of the fallen Jack, the one who had to die. Skittery nodded slightly until saying, "it had to happen. Don't you feel any trace 'a guilt, a'right? None 'a you!"
Specs shook his head. "We ain't guilty, Skit. Manhattan just got a lot better."
"Everythins done," Blink said with a quaking voice. "It's all done. We can all sleep a lil' better at night now."
The rest of the boys nodded in agreement. Boots dropped his knife to Jack's feet and proceeded to spit on the ground where Jack lay. Snoddy, Mush, Specs, and Blink dropped theirs to the floorboards as well, removing their shirts with exaggerated and shaky movements. Skittery stared for a long moment at Jack, hesitated, and laid his knife directly beside Jack's face. He got up and faced David.
"Ya did a good thing, David." He patted his shoulder and began to change into a cleaner shirt like the other boys.
David held tight his handle and nodded. For a short second in time he wanted to bend down to Jack and make a desperate attempt to revive him. But he could not bring himself to do it. Though, as soon as he envisioned Jack's potential, which was no longer existent, he shook the thought of revitalization away. He let his switchblade out of his hand and began to make his way toward the door. Just before he walked through the doorway, he turned to his friends. And with dignity in his voice, he said to the boys, "Liberty and freedom."
The seven were still as they soaked in his words. They quickly finished changing and made their way downstairs. As they stopped at the end of the staircase, David turned to face the line of conspirators. He said to them, "As of now we don't talk of this happening. When we enter those streets out there, we only announce that Jack is dead. I'll make a speech, getting them on our side but not admitting that we did it. I'll handle it."
They all nodded without interruption and sauntered out the doorway and into the screaming mass of people. They knew what they had done was top secret. They knew they wouldn't get caught.
But they didn't know that from the statue at which Spot stood, he could distinguish perfectly into the second floor of the lodging house. And deliberately deceiving Spot Conlon was the biggest mistake of all.