Shades of Grey

Chapter 12-Kids in the Hall

When the glow had finally vanished, Spot removed the arm that he had been using to shield his eyes from the blinding light that had enveloped him and Jack on the bridge. He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to clear his vision. When the spots finally faded, Spot glanced over at Jack, who was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. Taking a look around, he saw that they were in a hallway, with lamps swinging overhead, spread out so that they only cast a dim glow over the passageway. Barred doors were positioned evenly along the corridor. Spot heard low moans emanating from a few of them.

Spot motioned for Jack to follow him, and they started down the long corridor. They stopped at every room, peering through each entry grill, trying to catch a glimpse of Racetrack. As they checked room after room without any sign of their missing friend, the two newsies grew more and more frustrated.

Finally, Jack opened his big mouth and began to call Racetrack's name. Spot ran over and punched him in the stomach, then forcibly covered Jack's mouth with his hand.

"You bum!" Spot cried. "Don't you realize this has gotta be something like the refuge? There's people locked up everywhere. Drawing attention to Race will only get him hurt, or us caught."

Spot almost felt bad for yelling at Jack, considering that he'd been thinking about doing the same thing himself, only stopping because he had more brains than Jack did. Which really wasn't Jack's fault, he was a Manhattan newsie after all, and most of the Manhattan boys didn't have enough brains to come up with a decent headline. Except Racetrack, of course. But Racetrack wasn't really a Manhattan boy. He was Spot's boy.

Then again, Jack also hadn't cared for nearly two days that Racetrack had vanished, so Spot really didn't feel that much guilt.

"Oh," Jack muttered, hang his head in shame. "I didn't think-"

"No, you didn't," Spot snapped. He was about to continue with another rant when there was a gasp from the cell behind them.

Spot and Jack whirled around, and glanced into the cells. A boy with curly brown hair and bruises covering his face looked back at them.

"You were looking for Racetrack?" the boy asked hesitantly.

Spot looked the boy over and didn't think he was going to be that much of a threat. A potential useful bit of information, but not actually dangerous in anyway. The boy looked terrified of them, and Spot had had a lot of practice over the years taken advantage of that.

"Yeah, we are. You seen him?" he asked, his tone giving away the fact that he expected full cooperation out of the guy, or he would be made to regret it.

The guy flinched backwards, scared of the anger in Spot's tone.

"Yes," he whispered hesitantly.

"Well, where is he?" Spot's voice got louder with each syllable.

"They... they took him."

Spot was, by this point, just about ready to rip the bars off the door and beat the information out of the boy himself, when Jack put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Can you try to remain in control?" he hissed. "I'm just as worried about Race as you are, but scaring off our source of information won't help any!"

"Fuck off," Spot replied, pushing Jack's hand away. He turned his attention back to the boy in the cell.

"Who took him, and why?"

The boy flushed, and moved away from the door. Spot sprang forward, reached through the bar, and grabbed the boy's shirt. "Don't you dare run away from me."

The boy began to stammer nonsense, and Spot was growing frustrated very quickly. They were so close to finding Racetrack, but this bum was standing in the way.

He spared a glance at Jack, who was looking at the kid with what resembled pity. "Come on, Spot," Jack muttered. "He ain't gonna help us find Race."

As much as Spot hated to admit it, Jack was right. The coward was too busy fighting off tears to be of any real use to them. He released the boy, and started towards the next cell, when he heard a mumbled, "Spot?" coming from the boy, with definite recognition in the tone.

Spot returned quickly to the cell, but the boy was far away from the door, and was instead cowering in the corner.

Spot mumbled a curse under his breath, and continued to check the cells further down the hall. They had only progressed down another few doorways, when they heard girlish laughter coming from one of the cells. A hand reached through the bars and beckoned them forward.

"You boys looking for Racey-poo?" a voice purred from inside.

"We're looking for Racetrack," Spot snapped, going over to the cell. "Look girly..." he trailed off as he caught a glimpse of the very male figure inside the cell.

"Name's Candy, Sugarplum. And you are cute. Make's a girl understand why Racey would be with Tag instead of me." He (or she, Spot wasn't entirely sure at this point) thrust out a hip and pouted. "Still, it's a shame when a boy likes boys more than a lovely sweet southern gal like me."

"Who's Tag?" Spot demanded, trying to keep his voice steady. But the thought that Race would be with someone else hurt him in a way that he hadn't thought was possible.

"Well, that explains a lot," Jack muttered from behind him.

"Why, the boy you were talking to before. He and Racey got in a rather compromising position, and now Race is all in Iso. Probably crazy. Or more crazy then he was. Believing that he was a newsie, of all things."

Candy seemed to take their lack of response as an incentive to continue. "Such a shame. He was so cute too."

"You're lying," Spot said quietly. Race couldn't... he wouldn't cheat like that.

"That's right!" Jack added. "Race is a newsie. Just like us."

Candy's face went blank for a moment, and when he spoke again, his entire tone had changed. "You're a newsie, eh? I haven't seen one of those since I was a boy. Except for that Racetrack fellow, and it's a real shame what happened to him."

"How do we find Racetrack?" Spot demanded.

"Seems to me that you'll have a real problem, sonny. He's in Iso now, and Nurse Snyder and the doctor guard that location rather carefully. Only someone who's been there knows where it is... and most people don't come back. And those who do, well, they usually come out wrong."

"Look Candy," Jack said, trying to be the more diplomatic one. "Is there anyone who can tell us?"

"Candy? Who is that? The name's Walter, but you can call me Walt. And the best person would probably be Pitch, she's the only one we know who actually survived Iso. But she isn't really talking much about it."

"Well, where is this Pitch?" Spot demanded.

"Two doors to the right, across the hall," Candy, or Walt, or whatever he was calling himself answered.

Spot immediately turned and headed for the indicated doorway.

"Pitch," he demanded harshly. "Where is this Iso? Where is Racetrack?"

A girl appeared at the doorway. "He's probably dead by now," she said bluntly. "Or at least, there won't be much of him left. You're wasting your time, you should just give up."

"Newsies don't abandon their own," Jack informed her.

"So he was telling the truth? He really is a newsie?"

"What else would he be?"

"But... there aren't any newsies."

"Then what the hell are we?" Spot snapped. "Tell me where Race is."

"He's been in Iso for nearly three days," Pitch pointed out.

"All the more reason to bust him out now."

"It won't do you any good."

"But we've got to try anyway," Jack pointed out. "Race is our friend. And to Spot, well..." he glanced over at Spot, who ignored Jack.

"Where is he?"

"I told you, he's in Iso."

"And where is that?"

"You'll never get there," Pitch laughed. "And even if you could, there's really no point. There won't be any of your friend – or whatever he is – left."

"We'll be the judge of that."

"Look, Pitch," Jack butted in. "Race would do the same for any of us. We aren't going to leave him here."

"And what about you?" Pitch asked, turning to Spot. "Do you consider him a friend as well?"

"What Race is to me doesn't matter to you," Spot growled out.

"Tag said that Anthony had a boyfriend back home. Are you the boyfriend?"

Spot didn't answer, and Pitch seemed to take that as a confirmation.

"Iso is through the doctor's office, all the way down at the end of the corridor. But you either need a key to get in, or someone from the inside needs to buzz you in."

"Who has the key?"

"The orderlies. They'll be here in a little while to send us to breakfast."

"Fine. So we wait."

"Thanks for the help, Pitch," Jack said, flashing his brightest smile.

"Whatever," she muttered.

Jack and Spot headed back down the corridor, Spot heading straight for the cell that housed Tag. The boy that Race had been with.

"So are you?" Jack asked.

"Am I what?"

"With Racetrack like I'm with Sarah."

"It's not your business."

"Race's one of my boys, so yeah, it's my business."

"He's my..." Spot paused.

"'M not gonna tell anyone. I wouldn't do that to Race. Or to you."

"If you do, I'll soak ya."

It was the closest Spot could come to admitting out loud how he felt about Race. He hadn't even said it to Racetrack yet, but he'd always known that Race understood.

Spot paused outside of Tag's cell. "You," he hissed through the grill. "Get over here."

Tag inched forward, but stayed well away from the grill.

"You. And Racetrack." The harshness in Spot's tone surprised him.

"Don't be angry, please... you don't understand. He thought that he was hallucinating everything. But when we woke up, he was really upset. Please, if they hadn't just tortured us – "

"What do you mean tortured?" Jack and Spot demanded at once.

"They were... please, stop looking at me like that."

Spot looked disgusted. He had no idea what Race had seen in this cowering piece of shit.

"I'm sorry," Tag whispered. "Please, just don't yell at me."

"Racetrack wasted his time with you?" Jack asked.

Tag blushed. "I... I... please, stop that."

"They're going to open those doors soon," Spot said quietly. "And when they do, I'm going to make you regret every single thing you and Race did."

Tag ran back to the corner and hid.

Spot rolled his eyes, and threw a punch into the wall. This was getting to be ridiculous.

He settled down on the floor outside of Tag's cell, and Jack took a seat next to him.

"So you and Race," Jack said finally. "When were you two going to tell me about this?"

"You didn't need to know," Spot snapped. "It's between me and Race, and no one else."

"Race is one of my boys, so his business is my business. So I'm going to ask you, what is he to you?"

"Shut up, Jacky boy," Spot snapped.

"If you hurt him," Jack warned, "Brooklyn or not, you'll regret it."

"I'm not going to hurt him. I'd never heard him," Spot swore. "Are you happy now?"

"If that's the best I'm going to get," Jack answered.

"It is."

Author's Note-W00t! I updated! It's been a while, but not as long as last time. Anyway, since last update, two awesome things happened. First, I broke 100 reviews! throws a party And second, the asylum staff won best villain in Sapphy's fanfic contest. grins So, I'm excited.

Anyway, updates should be way more frequent now that I have classes to write in. Since that's basically all my education class is good for.

This chapter is dedicated to Parkranger, since it was her birthday recently! Next chapter will feature Racetrack. Maybe. If I get there. And many thanks to signpost and B for the beta.

Shoutouts!

B-I'm glad that the chapter title amused you. And you're right, Spot singing A Chorus Linewould be just a bit OOC, but still, amusing thought. And much angst will ensue soon enough, I mean, it's me!

Koodles-Well, now you know what the glowing things are. Or do you? And Spot would be very upset if you said he was cute.

Shakespearan Fool-blush I'm glad you're enjoying the fic. Hopefully, I'll get chapters out faster from now on.

Repeat-Well, Spot hasn't soaked Tag, yet. Soon though. Since Spot is very over protective of his boy.

Parkranger-Happy birthday darling! I'm sorry I didn't get it out on your birthday, but I'm still close. And there will be smut soon. I swear.

Leah-loves madly Hope you enjoyed the Multi love.

Eagle Higgins Conlon-I hope this lived up to your expectations. And Blink and Mush will show up again later.

Hepheastion-Spot is the bestest boyfriend ever. And he will be kicking ass.

Thistle-The rescue is in process. Stay tuned for more.

Lasplx-grins I'm glad you love. And Bare! Soon! Woo!!!!!!!! is so obsessed its not even funny

Til Next Time!

TSB