Author's notes: You guys rock! Need I say more? Sorry- this one's really short… I've got a big project due, and I've been working nonstop, but I want to keep my promise of updating once a week. So…

Chapter Four: On Opposite Sides of New York

Spot Conlon was wrong. Dead wrong. If he thought for a minute that Racetrack would stick around after finding out that it was Spot that ordered his child's mother's death sentence, he was wrong. Of course Race told Jack, who despite the fact that he wasn't thrilled about having Irene around, was on his side.

No one could stop Race from marching over to Brooklyn that very minute. No one. David, Blink, Mush, and Jack followed him as fast as they could, but to no avail.

As soon as he saw Spot, he punched him right in the nose.

"What the heck was that for, Race?" Spot said innocently, trying to wipe the blood away from his nose.

"I think you know, Conlon," he answered, absolutely furious. "Don't try to hide it; we'se know all about your cousin. Why the hell did you kill her? It ain't her fault that she fell in love."

Spot's face turned grim. Race had figured it out. "I didn't kill her!"

Racetrack shook his head. "Yes you did. You did, Conlon, and for that I'm never gonna forgive you. You killed Irene's mother. You killed your own cousin. YOUR OWN GODDAMN COUSIN. What kind of father will you be to your own son? Or will you kill him before he turns-"

He didn't finish; a punch from Spot made him stop mid sentence. No one talked to Spot Conlon like that. Sam was hastily thrust into David's arms as the fight progressed.

Race replied with a blow to Spot's cheek, and soon no words were needed to finish up their argument. A punch here, a tackle there, and a kick everywhere. Spot purposely went for Race's bad side, knowing that it would hurt the most. Race winced, and tried not to show the pain. He punched Spot in the nose.

David yelled for help, knowing that Race would die if the fight continued for much longer. He was utterly shocked at the fact that Race had almost died twice, and was up and about two months later. He admired him for the fact that he actually attempted to be a good influence on Les. The other newsies spat, fought, and swore in front of the boy, and although he tried not to show it, David was horrified. Racetrack had been there for as long as he was a newsie, and he had no intention of letting him down. At least, until that night, when he would announce that he was going back to school.

David yelled once more, and Mush and Kid Blink ran over.

With one last blow to Spot's head, they dragged Race away from Brooklyn. He was protesting and screaming all the way, "Murder! Killer! You can't just order someone to be killed, Conlon! Leaders don't kill their own men! OR THEIR OWN FAMILY MEMBERS!"

Two days later it was official: Manhattan and Brooklyn were no longer allies, but enemies. Jack didn't approve of Spot's just ordering someone to be killed. Spot had done it before- he just kept it quiet.

In response, both Spot and Race were obsessive about taking care of their children; Spot was never seen without Sam in his arms, and Race carried around Irene with him everywhere. Spot found that Sam was a good tool to selling extra newspapers.

"Fire burns down skyscraper! C'mon, lady, I got a kid to feed! Buy a pape to feed my lil' boy?" Spot would yell everyday.

Race's comment about Spot killing his own relatives, that he would kill Sam one day hurt him. Maybe that's why he was determined to be a good father- to prove Racetrack Higgins wrong.

The Brooklyn boys were careful after that; Spot would order someone to be beaten if they said one word about Manhattan or made Spot mad.

Racetrack refused to talk about Sam, Spot, or Brooklyn. Jack thought maybe he felt bad about abandoning Sam, but he couldn't be sure. Race had changed quite a bit since Irene came into his life. The little girl seemed to bright up the part of his life that had been darkened by Brooklyn, the strike, and the fact that he still occasionally winced in pain.

Race didn't tell anyone that he still hurt; he didn't want anyone to think he was weak- despite what Jack had told him. The only person he confided in was Kloppman, who said that he'd probably have pain there for his entire life. Looking at Irene took all the pain away, though.

Author's notes: Yeah. Really, really short. The rest of the chapters won't be as short…

I really don't have time to give shout outs to every person (sorry! I'm really busy)… so I'm going to do a "reviewers of the chapter" sort of thing, with two reviewers each chapter. All of your reviews are appreciated, though, so keep reviewing!

LeftyHiggins: OMG, you read my story! Thanks for all of the compliments! OMG, OMG, OMG! Sorry… I'm really excited. By the way, love your story. Update soon!

madmbutterfly713: Thanks for telling me I was going too fast… this was originally nonexistent. I skipped right to the next chapter… so thanks!