-Chapter 7: Brooklyn's Here-
-Pulitzer's Office-
-25 March, 1899-
Jack Point of View
When I'm invited into the office, the first thing I notice is Katniss.
"Katniss?" I'm really confused. Did she betray us?
"This isn't what it looks like, Jack." She says.
"Good." I respond.
"And which Jack Kelly is this? The charismatic union organizer or the petty thief?" Joe asks me.
"Which one gives us more in common?" I hear Katniss stifle a laugh.
"Imputance," he says. "Is not a good characteristic of one who is crawling for mercy."
"Crawling?" I laugh. "No, no. I ain't crawling. I just came with a little invite. See, the rest of the Newsies, from all over New York, are coming to this rally. We thought you might want to come. Listen to our opinions, grovel at our feet, the usual. You interested?"
"No, but I'm actually impressed by the paper you put out. Katherine Plumber. A very talented young lady. Very beautiful, too. Wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah. I'll tell her you said so."
Katniss is giving me a warning look.
"You won't have to. She heard it herself, didn't you darling?"
Katherine stands up. She was here the whole time.
"I trust you've met my daughter, Katherine, and my hired assassin, Katniss. She was sent to kill both you and Finnick Odair. Unfortunately, she got too attached and was stripped of her home, her job, and her position in society."
"Jack-" Katherine starts, but I waved my hand a her, translating the clear message of shut - up - and - leave - me - alone. The message was received.
"Mr. Snyder, could you come here please?" Snyder enters the room and I run in the opposite direction, only to be caught by the Delanceys. Perfect.
"Now I have a proposition for you." Pulitzer continues. "You go to this rally and speak against the strike. Or, we can send you to the Refuge for a while, if you'd prefer that."
I glare at him for a moment before responding. "There are those of us who cannot be bullied into speaking against what they believe."
Joe laughs. "I'm sure. But it isn't far to condemn that crippled boy to death, is it? Or your friends, what are their names?"
"Davey," Snyder supplies.
"Yes, Davey and his little brother."
My glare intensifies. "That's illegal."
"No it isn't. Their criminals."
"But I doubt Governor Roosevelt would allow it. I still have ties with him. We shared a carriage ride, you know." I start to smile when I see he's losing his nerve.
"I need your answer. Yes or no."
"No." I say confidently. I hope Katherine will make sure her father doesn't kill us all. I hope she knows that the chances of me having ties with Roosevelt - much less him actually caring about me - are about zero to none. I hope she realizes that the strike (and my life) is over without her.
The Delanceys drag me off to the Refuge.
...
-The Refuge-
...
Brooklyn is loud! They have been singing for at least five minutes now. I want to march up to Spot Conlon, give him a good slap and scream
"We get it! Brooklyn's here!"
But I'm preoccupied with escaping prison.
-Medda Larkin's Theater-
Katherine Point of View
...
I stand next with Johanna and Talia, who has yet to leave Race's side, during the rally. When Spot is finished his speech, everyone starts chanting for Jack. Davey turns to Medda.
"He isn't back yet, is he?" Medda shakes her head. I told only a few people about Jack's predicament. We decided it best to keep it to ourselves, so only Davey, Les, Johanna, and Talia know about it. Everyone else assumes he's alright.
"Fellow Newsies of New York!" Davey yells over them. They all stop chanting. In the silence, I hear one boy from Woodside whisper "that ain't Jack!" to someone next to him. Finally, Spot speaks up.
"Davey, where's Jack?"
I get nervous. If they know that Jack is in prison along with Finnick and Crutchie, this entire situation will blow up in our faces.
"He's coming," Davey answers.
"Then can we speak to Finnick? He is your other leader, isn't he?"
"Yes, but he was arrested during the strike." Finnick's arrest is old news and will be harder to cover up than Jack's. After a two minute speech, Spot gets impatient. "Davey, where is Jack?" He asks forcefully.
"Right here." Jack says entering through the backdoor. I can't contain myself and run up to hug him. He doesn't hug me back, but is looking at something above me. I turn and see Katniss sitting in the rafters.
"Still trying to kill me, Everdeen?" He calls to her.
"Nope. I'm trying to hide from my manager." She jumps down gracefully.
"How did you escape?" Les asks Jack
"Please, Les. I've escaped from that prison four times in four years. It's getting easier all the time."
"Where's Finnick?" Katniss pushes her way to the front. I hear someone else ask about Crutchie.
"I saw Crutchie. He's fine. He'll make it." Jack turns to Katherine, his expression full of pain.
"I saw Finnick, too. He got the worst of it. He won't last long, he may even be dead now. They aren't giving him any medical attention and insects and rats love open wounds."
Katniss' eyes flood with tears. She slowly backs up.
"No. No, he's not dead. He's not dead." She repeats.
"I never said he was. And you have a lot of feelings for a boy who you tried to kill several times for money."
"You don't know anything about me, so I suggest you keep your mouth shut." She leaves the room.
Talia glares at her brother. "That was cruel, Jack. Really cruel."
"What? I told her the truth!"
"No you didn't. I can read your expression. You didn't tell the whole truth."
"You want the whole truth? Fine. He's sleeping in the House. I don't know how he escaped, but he did. I didn't want to tell her because I wanted to figure things out first."
As if on cue, the door opens and in walks Finnick. Jack was telling the truth. He's beat up pretty bad, covered in cuts and bruises. He has a slight limp and stumbles when he walks, like he's drunk or something.
"Where's Katniss?" He asks after taking a look around the theater. We tell him she's in the back room. Once he's gone, Les says "I sense a love interest," which seems to be his favorite phrase.
When both of them return, we officially begin. Finnick starts.
"I say we stop with this whole thing. After we get Joe to lower the prices, he'll just raise them again in a few years." That unleashes hell. No one hits him, which I expected would happen. Instead, they just yell at him. I guess it's because he's injured. Then I see Snyder, who I didn't even know was there before, hand him a wad of bills and I'm furious. Finnick punches him a few times then turns around and hands Les the money. Even Katniss gives him the cold shoulder. He storms out. I see Jack run away. Katniss looks like she's retreating within herself. Talia starts to cry, Race comforts her, Johanna punches a wall, Les counts the money and Davey keeps shaking his head. I hesitate a few minutes before running after Jack.