In the morning, Spot came into the bunk room to check that everyone had gone to work. Elise was alone, straightening the room as she had taken to doing every morning.

"Mornin', Mama," Spot said as he looked around the room. He'd taken to calling her that since she had come to Brooklyn, and in all honesty, Elise didn't mind. She actually rather liked it.

"Good morning," she replied, folding a blanket over the end of someone's bunk. She reached down to tickle Killian, who lay contently on Elise's old bunk, staring with fascination at Spot.

"Well, thanks for cleanin' up in here, I guess I'll see you when I get home tonight."

"Oh, Spot?" Elise straightened herself, leaning against the bedpost. "Are you by any chance going into Manhattan today?"

Spot smiled. "Matter of fact, I'm headin' over there now. Gotta take care of some business with Jack. Why?"

"Could you send Skittery over here? I need to talk to him about something. Tell him it's very important."

"Will do. See you later." He ruffled Killian's fine hair and smiled somewhat proudly, then jogged down the stairs.

Skittery sat with a small circle of his friends at the distribution center, taking a break for some lunch. He was reading through the afternoon edition, trying to find a headline that was better than the ones from the morning. He came across a small blurb:

Teenage Criminals Escape from House of Refuge

Last night, two boys jailed for public drunkenness and fighting escaped from the House of Refuge. Francis and Kenneth McKennon were last seen around seven o'clock when serving dinner to the warden. They are expected to still be in the city, and are presumed to be dangerous. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to contact any police officer.

"Shit," he mumbled under his breath, looking up for Jack or Crutchy. "Shit, shit, shit." All he saw was Spot Conlon.

"Skitts," Spot said, walking up to him, "Elise says she wants ta see ya. Says it's real important, an' she wants you to go to Brooklyn right away."

Skittery nodded, grumbling, and got up. He headed for the Brooklyn Bridge, keeping his eye out for two particular faces.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Elise called out, tucking Killian in for a nap after his lunch. Skittery walked in, setting his stack of newspapers on the bed.

"Um, Spot said you wanted to see me."

"Oh, good. Hi. You can sit down if you want."

Skittery smiled a little, looking down at the baby. "I'm good standin', thanks." He paused for a moment. "This is about Penny, ain't it?"

"Yes, it is. It's about what happened yesterday."

"I knew somethin' was wrong..." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "She seemed real upset about somethin' last night and wouldn't tell me what was goin' on." Remembering the newspaper, he sighed. "It's them McKennon fellas, huh? I read in the afternoon edition that they broke out."

Elise sighed, looking down at the floor. "Yes... she was on her lunch break yesterday and..."

"They do somethin' to her?" Skittery's face was already turning red. "They hurt her?"

Elise looked at him, exasperated. He simply closed his mouth and nodded. "She was on her lunch break, and was just standing outside when they came up. They dragged her into an alley and... and Kenny held her down while..." She looked down at her baby, grateful he couldn't understand yet. "Frankie raped her."

Skittery shook with rage. His face was dark red and his jaw was set, his fist clenched at his sides. "Goddamn it."

"She didn't want me to tell you."

"Well, why the hell not?" Skittery snapped. "I'm gonna kill those sons'a bitches.

"That's exactly why she didn't want you to know. She knew you'd react like this."

"Why shouldn't I! Damn it, nobody does that to Penny... to any girl and gets away with it." He ground his teeth together, barely able to control himself. "Nobody touches my girl but me and lives to tell the tale."

"Skittery, don't do anything--"

He kicked the foot of Elise's bed, moving it a good six inches and making a loud crashing noise in the process. Killian woke up and started crying hysterically. "I gotta go," Skittery said, grabbing his papers and storming out the door.