Chapter 12: Missing. Again.
Author's Note: Sadly, now things are going to have to go downhill from here. It's all part of the plot. I swear! Please don't kill me!
P.S. Much love to those of you who have reviewed! They make me happy and inclined to type faster! Keep 'um comin'!
P.P.S. Sorry it's taken so long! Hope you haven't forgotten about little old me!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dawn broke over a Lodging House immersed in chaos.
The Newises of Manhattan had awoken to find that Alyssa was not at home. Not unusual, sometime she went to Tibby's early.
However, close examination of her room showed that things were not quite right. It was a mess, looking like a struggle had taken place. The spinning wheel which Alyssa had so lovingly kept in good repair was smashed into almost irreplaceable pieces; the old oak door had been torn off its hinges and Alyssa's bed, which was usually neat, was thrown apart.
Jack walked by, then turned around. Looking at Kloppman he demanded, "Wha' da HELL happened here? Where da hells Alys?" A furious look crossed his face, unsure of why thing were looking the way they were.
Race stood up, biting his tongue trying so hard not to bite Jack's head off.
Kloppman turned away from the window. "She's gone," he said simply.
"Gone? Wha' da fuck do ya mean, gone?" Jack was shaking with visible rage now.
Kid Blink waked into the room. "It's kinda simple," he said. "Da t'ree new guys are gone an' so's Alys. Do da math."
"Yer shittin' me."
Racetrack gave a long sigh before addressing Jack. "She's gone. I's been everywhere dis mornin' tryin' ta find her. She ain't at Tibby's, Mercy's or Medda's." Race clamped his teeth together, fighting the urge to rant and rave, though it would have made him feel a whole hell of a lot better.
All Jack could do was stand there and sputter. His sister was gone in almost unexplainable circumstances, but yet, there was a logical explanation.
Emotionally, Race could not deal with this. He was so close to doing something rash that he was sure to regret later. To have this happen now, after everything was almost perfect, or close to it, was too much. For everyone. The whole Lodging House began to fell the effects of this.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was dark and cold.
"Fuck." A voice snapped in the darkness.
"Shut da hell up," another voice shot back.
Alyssa slumped against what she thought was a wall and moaned. Every fiber of her being hurt. She thought back on the night. Everything had started great, then suddenly, things went violently down hill. She remembered being with Race and thinking that life was almost normal. She had even gone to sleep without worrying about what was going to happen to her.
Then THEY came into the picture.
When Alyssa had first heard the door open, she had assumed that it was one of the guys. But, the movement had been too stealthy and quiet. Before Alyssa had the chance to utter a single word, a cloth was forced over her nose and mouth. Instinct told her to fight back - and she did. They had made enough racket that she was surprised that no one had woken up.
From that point forward, Alyssa remembered nothing, for she had been rendered unconscious. She figured that she had been beaten, just by the sheer way that her body was aching.
"On yer feet," a harsh voice snapped.
Alyssa could barely move, so she was roughly hauled to her feet.
"Well, well. Alyssa Cambell," a disgustingly silky voice crooned. "We meet again."
"Liam, I should a known." Alyssa's weak voice cracked as she spoke.
Liam simply laughed at her. "Now, if we could have a bit of light, I'd like you to meet your captors."
A lantern's blaze cut through the darkness, illuminating the small, dank room. The light revealed Dom, Trey, and Gabe; her loving brothers. Only Dom seemed troubled by what was going on around him.
Gabe stepped forward and punched Alyssa across the face. "What gives you the fucking idea that you can just walk away from us?" Repeatedly, his hand fell across her face because she would not answer.
Alyssa was silent as childhood memories flooded her mind. Every bit of abuse; every time Gabe or Trey would hit her just because everything that she did was wrong in their eyes.
"Gabe, stop that," Dom weakly managed to get out.
Gabe turned to face his younger brother. "Oh, you don't like what I'm doing? You wanna do somethin' about it?"
Dom stayed rooted to his spot.
Liam then spoke up. "If you would all leave, I would like to explain to Alyssa what is going on."
Obediently, everyone filed out; not wanting to know what would happen if they did not.
After the door slammed shut, Liam turned to face Alyssa.
"Well, well, well. It's good to see that you're doing well."
Alyssa sat silently, refusing acknowledge Liam. Ever since her childhood, which was basically non-existent, Liam had always haunted her life. It had always been because of her father; he was greedy beyond belief, and had arranged for Alyssa to marry Liam because he came from a wealthy family. Only her mother had protested the idea. Somehow she knew that Liam was no good and that it had only been done because her husband was a greedy bastard. Sadly, Laisi's knowledge had gotten her killed.
"Alyssa, what are you trying to do?" Liam paced around, always talking with that silky voice. "Why did you leave? You could have been so happy."
Swiftly, Alyssa turned her battered face towards the offending speaker. When she spoke, all traces of her accent were gone. "I don't have to tell you why."
Liam's hand fell hard against her face. "You are bound to me, whether you like it or not. When I speak, you will answer!"
Here, a complacent person would have answered. However, Alyssa is a stubborn individual, so answers were out of the question.
Liam glared at her. "Fine. Stay silent. Won't do you much good though, I'm afraid. We're on the move tomorrow."
Alyssa cast her eyes around the room. 'Somewhere there's gotta be a way out' she thought.
"Escaping won't work. Guards are everywhere. I'd be surprised if you got 10 feet. Well, enjoy your last night in the city you used to call home." Liam walked out, soundly locking the door behind him.
Her last night in New York.
God, she hoped not.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That day, selling had been out of the question.
Like wildfire, the news of Alyssa's disappearance spread through the Newsie community.
Instead of selling, the Manhattan Newsies moped around Tibby's. Almost every Newsie had a beer in his hand, taking long draughts when he was overcome with emotion.
In a corner, away from the boys, Mercy, Sarah, and Leila sat, immersed in their own grief. The four girls had grown close, despite their differences.
Every so often, Race would glance at the door that led to the backroom. He was hoping against hope that Alyssa would suddenly jump out and scream, "Surprise!"
After ten minutes, Racetrack began the most profound prayer he had ever done in his life. 'Oh God, let her be alright. Ya can't let anythin' happen ta her. Please let dis be just a really bad dream."
The three girls sat, silent, womanly instincts telling them to stay put. One mention of Alyssa could send the boys off the Brooklyn Bridge.
Sarah could almost feel the violent thoughts that were running through Jack's head. Each thought contained a very slow and painful death for those who had taken his sister.
Mercy rose, and discreetly motioned for Leila to follow her.
"Yeah?" Leila asked in a whisper as they stood in the alley.
"I've got a sneakin' suspicion dat does guys dat came in last night were Alyssa's brudders."
Leila eyed Mercy. "How do ya figure?"
"Well, one night, she tol' me a bit a her complicated past. She didn' know wha' she was sayin'. Anyways, from wha' da guys are tellin' me, da three new guys took a interest in her."
"And only brudders who 'er lookin' fer dere sistah are gonna notice a goil inna Newsie Lodgin' House." Things were beginning to make sense.
"Da only question is, where are dey gonna take her?"
Leila thought for a moment. "Dere's only one place; Ireland."
Mercy was confused. "But why Ireland?"
Leila then explained. "Dat's where she's from. Remember how she said dat she an' her brudders ran away? Well, obviously, her brudders didn' want ta run away or dey wouldn't a taken her."
Mercy slowly began to understand. "So, yous sayin dat dere's some uddah reason why?"
"Dat's da only ting dat I's can think a."
"Dey ain't gonna like dis." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alyssa was rudely awoken before the sun had even risen above the skyline. She ached everywhere and knew that there was a slim chance that she would survive.
Her captors smuggled her down to the Brooklyn Docks. A dangerous move on her part.
She saw Spot and his boys sitting on their usual dock. From inside the crate that she had been unceremoniously shoved, Alyssa tried to think of a way to get their attention. More importantly Spot's.
Lady Luck had it that they were going to launch from Spot's dock. While Spot's boys were harassing Alyssa's captors, she snatched Race's necklace from her neck. Shoving it through one of the cracks, it clattered onto the wood of the dock. Sure enough, the sound and the sheer fact that it was a shiny piece of silver, Spot turned towards it.
'He's such a sucker for shiny things' Alyssa mentally laughed.
For how many days they sailed, Alyssa knew not. She was just relieved when she was taken out of her crate and handed a hunk of stale bread.
"Where are we?"
Trey looked hurt. "What, ya don't remembah ya old home a Boston?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The day that Spot hat found the necklace was the day he found out that Alyssa was missing.
He had been in New Jersey, helping a old friend with a Newsie war.
That night he paid a visit to the Manhattan boys. After being told the news, he thought for a moment.
"Hey, any yous recognize dis?" He held up the necklace.
Race jumped up almost immediately. "Dat's Alyssa's."
Now, Spot was not one for being confused, but right now he was. "Why would Alys' necklace fallin' outta a crate?"
The Newsies looked around, hoping that one of them would have an answer. 'A crate? Is he crazy?'
Leila stepped out of the shadows. "I tink I's gotta explanation." Everyone was listening intently. "I tink dat da three guys dat were here a few nights ago were her brudders; the same who kidnapped her. I also tink dat dere takin' her back to Ireland. Dey must a been smugglin' her out in dat crate."
Silence followed.
The next thing anyone was aware of was a violent crash and furious curses being uttered in Italian.
Racetrack's short stature seemed to have grown in his rage. Any attempt to suppress him was in vain.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the combined efforts of Jack, David, Spot, Blink and Mush pulled the seething Italian to the old worn couch.
"Wha' da hells da mattah wid yous?" demanded Jack.
Despite his size, Race stood up and stared Jack down. "If ya hadn't noticed, Alyssa's me goil." With that, he fled the Lodging House in to the balmy night.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The smugglers stayed in Boston for only a short time. They were there basically to throw off anyone who may have picked up on what they were doing.
In the shabby hotel, Alyssa was surprised to run into one of her old friends. It was Teresa, one of the daughters of the Italian family that had kept Alyssa safe. Not to mention escape her brothers.
Talking quickly, Alyssa got Teresa to promise to get word down to New York. They said a quick goodbye before Alyssa was dragged off the docks again.
Stuffed in the hold of a ship, Alyssa watched her home for the past ten years slip away. As she moved to get more comfortable, if it was possible, something stabbed her thigh. Reaching into her pocket, she found Race's pocket watch.
Alone in the dark, Alyssa cried.
Author's Note: Sadly, now things are going to have to go downhill from here. It's all part of the plot. I swear! Please don't kill me!
P.S. Much love to those of you who have reviewed! They make me happy and inclined to type faster! Keep 'um comin'!
P.P.S. Sorry it's taken so long! Hope you haven't forgotten about little old me!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dawn broke over a Lodging House immersed in chaos.
The Newises of Manhattan had awoken to find that Alyssa was not at home. Not unusual, sometime she went to Tibby's early.
However, close examination of her room showed that things were not quite right. It was a mess, looking like a struggle had taken place. The spinning wheel which Alyssa had so lovingly kept in good repair was smashed into almost irreplaceable pieces; the old oak door had been torn off its hinges and Alyssa's bed, which was usually neat, was thrown apart.
Jack walked by, then turned around. Looking at Kloppman he demanded, "Wha' da HELL happened here? Where da hells Alys?" A furious look crossed his face, unsure of why thing were looking the way they were.
Race stood up, biting his tongue trying so hard not to bite Jack's head off.
Kloppman turned away from the window. "She's gone," he said simply.
"Gone? Wha' da fuck do ya mean, gone?" Jack was shaking with visible rage now.
Kid Blink waked into the room. "It's kinda simple," he said. "Da t'ree new guys are gone an' so's Alys. Do da math."
"Yer shittin' me."
Racetrack gave a long sigh before addressing Jack. "She's gone. I's been everywhere dis mornin' tryin' ta find her. She ain't at Tibby's, Mercy's or Medda's." Race clamped his teeth together, fighting the urge to rant and rave, though it would have made him feel a whole hell of a lot better.
All Jack could do was stand there and sputter. His sister was gone in almost unexplainable circumstances, but yet, there was a logical explanation.
Emotionally, Race could not deal with this. He was so close to doing something rash that he was sure to regret later. To have this happen now, after everything was almost perfect, or close to it, was too much. For everyone. The whole Lodging House began to fell the effects of this.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was dark and cold.
"Fuck." A voice snapped in the darkness.
"Shut da hell up," another voice shot back.
Alyssa slumped against what she thought was a wall and moaned. Every fiber of her being hurt. She thought back on the night. Everything had started great, then suddenly, things went violently down hill. She remembered being with Race and thinking that life was almost normal. She had even gone to sleep without worrying about what was going to happen to her.
Then THEY came into the picture.
When Alyssa had first heard the door open, she had assumed that it was one of the guys. But, the movement had been too stealthy and quiet. Before Alyssa had the chance to utter a single word, a cloth was forced over her nose and mouth. Instinct told her to fight back - and she did. They had made enough racket that she was surprised that no one had woken up.
From that point forward, Alyssa remembered nothing, for she had been rendered unconscious. She figured that she had been beaten, just by the sheer way that her body was aching.
"On yer feet," a harsh voice snapped.
Alyssa could barely move, so she was roughly hauled to her feet.
"Well, well. Alyssa Cambell," a disgustingly silky voice crooned. "We meet again."
"Liam, I should a known." Alyssa's weak voice cracked as she spoke.
Liam simply laughed at her. "Now, if we could have a bit of light, I'd like you to meet your captors."
A lantern's blaze cut through the darkness, illuminating the small, dank room. The light revealed Dom, Trey, and Gabe; her loving brothers. Only Dom seemed troubled by what was going on around him.
Gabe stepped forward and punched Alyssa across the face. "What gives you the fucking idea that you can just walk away from us?" Repeatedly, his hand fell across her face because she would not answer.
Alyssa was silent as childhood memories flooded her mind. Every bit of abuse; every time Gabe or Trey would hit her just because everything that she did was wrong in their eyes.
"Gabe, stop that," Dom weakly managed to get out.
Gabe turned to face his younger brother. "Oh, you don't like what I'm doing? You wanna do somethin' about it?"
Dom stayed rooted to his spot.
Liam then spoke up. "If you would all leave, I would like to explain to Alyssa what is going on."
Obediently, everyone filed out; not wanting to know what would happen if they did not.
After the door slammed shut, Liam turned to face Alyssa.
"Well, well, well. It's good to see that you're doing well."
Alyssa sat silently, refusing acknowledge Liam. Ever since her childhood, which was basically non-existent, Liam had always haunted her life. It had always been because of her father; he was greedy beyond belief, and had arranged for Alyssa to marry Liam because he came from a wealthy family. Only her mother had protested the idea. Somehow she knew that Liam was no good and that it had only been done because her husband was a greedy bastard. Sadly, Laisi's knowledge had gotten her killed.
"Alyssa, what are you trying to do?" Liam paced around, always talking with that silky voice. "Why did you leave? You could have been so happy."
Swiftly, Alyssa turned her battered face towards the offending speaker. When she spoke, all traces of her accent were gone. "I don't have to tell you why."
Liam's hand fell hard against her face. "You are bound to me, whether you like it or not. When I speak, you will answer!"
Here, a complacent person would have answered. However, Alyssa is a stubborn individual, so answers were out of the question.
Liam glared at her. "Fine. Stay silent. Won't do you much good though, I'm afraid. We're on the move tomorrow."
Alyssa cast her eyes around the room. 'Somewhere there's gotta be a way out' she thought.
"Escaping won't work. Guards are everywhere. I'd be surprised if you got 10 feet. Well, enjoy your last night in the city you used to call home." Liam walked out, soundly locking the door behind him.
Her last night in New York.
God, she hoped not.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That day, selling had been out of the question.
Like wildfire, the news of Alyssa's disappearance spread through the Newsie community.
Instead of selling, the Manhattan Newsies moped around Tibby's. Almost every Newsie had a beer in his hand, taking long draughts when he was overcome with emotion.
In a corner, away from the boys, Mercy, Sarah, and Leila sat, immersed in their own grief. The four girls had grown close, despite their differences.
Every so often, Race would glance at the door that led to the backroom. He was hoping against hope that Alyssa would suddenly jump out and scream, "Surprise!"
After ten minutes, Racetrack began the most profound prayer he had ever done in his life. 'Oh God, let her be alright. Ya can't let anythin' happen ta her. Please let dis be just a really bad dream."
The three girls sat, silent, womanly instincts telling them to stay put. One mention of Alyssa could send the boys off the Brooklyn Bridge.
Sarah could almost feel the violent thoughts that were running through Jack's head. Each thought contained a very slow and painful death for those who had taken his sister.
Mercy rose, and discreetly motioned for Leila to follow her.
"Yeah?" Leila asked in a whisper as they stood in the alley.
"I've got a sneakin' suspicion dat does guys dat came in last night were Alyssa's brudders."
Leila eyed Mercy. "How do ya figure?"
"Well, one night, she tol' me a bit a her complicated past. She didn' know wha' she was sayin'. Anyways, from wha' da guys are tellin' me, da three new guys took a interest in her."
"And only brudders who 'er lookin' fer dere sistah are gonna notice a goil inna Newsie Lodgin' House." Things were beginning to make sense.
"Da only question is, where are dey gonna take her?"
Leila thought for a moment. "Dere's only one place; Ireland."
Mercy was confused. "But why Ireland?"
Leila then explained. "Dat's where she's from. Remember how she said dat she an' her brudders ran away? Well, obviously, her brudders didn' want ta run away or dey wouldn't a taken her."
Mercy slowly began to understand. "So, yous sayin dat dere's some uddah reason why?"
"Dat's da only ting dat I's can think a."
"Dey ain't gonna like dis." *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Alyssa was rudely awoken before the sun had even risen above the skyline. She ached everywhere and knew that there was a slim chance that she would survive.
Her captors smuggled her down to the Brooklyn Docks. A dangerous move on her part.
She saw Spot and his boys sitting on their usual dock. From inside the crate that she had been unceremoniously shoved, Alyssa tried to think of a way to get their attention. More importantly Spot's.
Lady Luck had it that they were going to launch from Spot's dock. While Spot's boys were harassing Alyssa's captors, she snatched Race's necklace from her neck. Shoving it through one of the cracks, it clattered onto the wood of the dock. Sure enough, the sound and the sheer fact that it was a shiny piece of silver, Spot turned towards it.
'He's such a sucker for shiny things' Alyssa mentally laughed.
For how many days they sailed, Alyssa knew not. She was just relieved when she was taken out of her crate and handed a hunk of stale bread.
"Where are we?"
Trey looked hurt. "What, ya don't remembah ya old home a Boston?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The day that Spot hat found the necklace was the day he found out that Alyssa was missing.
He had been in New Jersey, helping a old friend with a Newsie war.
That night he paid a visit to the Manhattan boys. After being told the news, he thought for a moment.
"Hey, any yous recognize dis?" He held up the necklace.
Race jumped up almost immediately. "Dat's Alyssa's."
Now, Spot was not one for being confused, but right now he was. "Why would Alys' necklace fallin' outta a crate?"
The Newsies looked around, hoping that one of them would have an answer. 'A crate? Is he crazy?'
Leila stepped out of the shadows. "I tink I's gotta explanation." Everyone was listening intently. "I tink dat da three guys dat were here a few nights ago were her brudders; the same who kidnapped her. I also tink dat dere takin' her back to Ireland. Dey must a been smugglin' her out in dat crate."
Silence followed.
The next thing anyone was aware of was a violent crash and furious curses being uttered in Italian.
Racetrack's short stature seemed to have grown in his rage. Any attempt to suppress him was in vain.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the combined efforts of Jack, David, Spot, Blink and Mush pulled the seething Italian to the old worn couch.
"Wha' da hells da mattah wid yous?" demanded Jack.
Despite his size, Race stood up and stared Jack down. "If ya hadn't noticed, Alyssa's me goil." With that, he fled the Lodging House in to the balmy night.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The smugglers stayed in Boston for only a short time. They were there basically to throw off anyone who may have picked up on what they were doing.
In the shabby hotel, Alyssa was surprised to run into one of her old friends. It was Teresa, one of the daughters of the Italian family that had kept Alyssa safe. Not to mention escape her brothers.
Talking quickly, Alyssa got Teresa to promise to get word down to New York. They said a quick goodbye before Alyssa was dragged off the docks again.
Stuffed in the hold of a ship, Alyssa watched her home for the past ten years slip away. As she moved to get more comfortable, if it was possible, something stabbed her thigh. Reaching into her pocket, she found Race's pocket watch.
Alone in the dark, Alyssa cried.