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CH 3

Disclaimer: I am not Disney... wish I was though

Top Hat shrugged off his worries as he slipped through the window of an expensive jewelry store, and pocketed the jewels. He had an easy night ahead of him, with only one job to do. Back at the Dark, Blade had just walked in. He quickly climbed the stairs to the washroom, opened the door with his elbow, and washed the blood from his hands and his knife.

He woke Visible, who was known as a vanisher. It was her job to make bodies "disappear" He gave her a location and she prepared to leave. Throughout the night, the shadows came and went, but by the time morning came, all were sound asleep.

As usual, morning came all too early for the Manhattan newsies. Once roused by Kloppman, most of them were fairly good natured, their spirits lifted by singing and coffe supplied by the nuns. Teasing and heckling, they were a fairly close knit group, and it escaped no one's notice that Jack had managed to sustain a broken hand between the time they fell asleep and the time Kloppman woke them.

Various theories as to how Jack had sustained this mysterious injury were swapped about, ranging from the far fetched, Jack taking on the entire Mafia at once and not only living to tell the tale, but getting away with only a broken hand. There were the silly theories, put out by the younger boys. Tumbler was enthusiastically telling the others how Jack had been trying to Punch Morris, and hit a wall by accident. Les was certain that Jack had fallen off a bunk bed.

By far, the most popular theory regarding Jack's hand was spread by Racetrack. The majority of the older Newsies believed that Jack had gotten a little overly friendly with Sarah in the wee hours of the night. David had allegedly stormed in and challenged Jack to a fight. Jack had agreed, and if Racetrack was to be believed, David had sustained two black eyes, several broken ribs, and was lying unconscious in the alley near his apartment.

Jack kept his mouth closed and let the newsies speculate. For never in a million years would Jack admit the truth. Punching a small girl would look terrible in the eyes of his boys, and explaining that she caught him off guard sure wouldn't help any. The last thing he wanted to share was that he was a coward who picked fights with girls half his size. Jack winced and silently cursed the Shadow as Bumlets wrapped his hand.

Morning in the Dark was an entirely different affair. For starters, no one was allowed to open windows. Dressing and preparing for work was done in almost total silence and darkness. This was done to be kind to the night workers. Seeing as there were only three or sometimes four shadows who worked during the day, letting the nightworkers sleep was a very very good idea. Anyone caught singing and carryinf on like the newsies had to have a deathwish.

All the night workers had come back, with the exception of Visable. Of anyone's her job was the most time consuming. Visible was an odd girl, but who wouldn't be? Visible was a seventeen-year-old girl making a living hiding corpses by moonlight. Odd was definitely in the job description.

On this particular morning there were only three pickpockets setting out from the dark. Gypsy, Lightfingers, and Tricksy. Gypsy was a drifter and named for that trait. Too much time in one place left her feeling restless and irritable. She often stayed for weeks at a time, with friends elsewhere. Tricksy sould distract a rich gentleman or lady, while Gypsy or Light stole their wallet. The scheme was perfect because who would Tricks, only seven years old, of assisstiong in a theft? She played her part well, and kept the three of them from going broke.

Today however, they had a different plan. The three girls donned newsboy caps and hopped in line at the distribution office. While in line, someone began shoving people, and all the newsies were jostled and bumped about. Their good moods evaporated, when each newsie in turn arrived at the front of the line, only to find his pockets completely empty.

In the confusion the three girls had quietly slipped away. Though they were good at their jobs, Jack Kelly, leader of the newsies, noticed their exit. Shadows, he thought to himself angrily, They have to be shadows. No One else would dare…