Well, I do hope people are enjoying this story...

Here's the next chapter!


Jack sat on a pile of newspapers, deep in thought. She knew the raised price for the newsies could not stay like that because she was all too aware that most of her newsies struggled as it was to provide for themselves and their folks. They'd have to sell even more papers to make the same amount they used to.

She feared that some would starve because of the increase…

They needed to do something but… what?

"Let's just get our papers and hit the street while we still can," urged Crutchie, glancing around the square nervously.

"At them prices?" asked Henry in disbelief.

"We got no choice," replied Crutchie and Jack could hear the fear in his voice.

Not on her watch. "Hold on! No one is payin' no new price!"

"You got an idea?" asked Albert expectantly.

Jack didn't but she still said, "Just keep your shirt on, we can think this through."

The others didn't seem to be buying it and thankfully Les decided to distract them, pushing them away from Jack. She leaned against her hand, going back to her previous train of thought and what the others had said.

About going to sell papers.

What if they didn't? The newsies didn't want to pay the new price and she was in agreement with that. Why should they sell the papers for those who increased the price without warning? Without even consulting them? And, come to think of it, if the Manhattan newsies are mad about the change, the other newsies would be too. They shouldn't have to sell papes at an increased price either.

No?

"Hey Jack, ya still thinkin'?" asked Les softly.

Jack shook her head and she motioned for the newsies to come closer. "Alright, here's the deal. If we don't sell papes, no one sells papes. No one gets them out there until they put the price back where it belongs."

Davey looked at her, his brow furrowed. "You mean like a strike?"

Jack's eyes widened. That – that was exactly what needed to be done! "Hey, you heard Davey, we're on strike!"

"Hold on, I didn't say –"

Jack didn't let him finish. She was getting pumped by the situation. "We shut down this place, just like the workers shut down the trolleys!"

Finch stepped in at that point. "Yeah, then the cops'll bust our heads. Half a' them strikers is laid up with broken bones."

Jack shook her head as she tried to get the image of her newsies beaten down out of her head. "The cops ain't gonna care about a bunch of kids! Right, Davey?"

"Leave me out of this! I'm just here trying to feed my family!" Davey didn't seem to share in her enthusiasm as he grabbed his little brother by the wrist and pulled him towards the exit.

Jack watched him for a moment, shocked. But those words stung and she quickly jumped down from the wagon and ran after them. "What, and the rest of us are here on play time?" she yelled out. Les had broken free of his brother's grip and ran back to the other newsies, leaving Jack and Davey alone, face to face. "Just because we only make pennies doesn't give them the right to rub our noses in it!" she continued angrily.

"I know, but it doesn't matter," replied Davey, his tone much softer than hers. "You can't strike, you're not a union."

Well… She guessed he had a point about not being a union but… "What if I says we is?" she countered

"There's a lot of stuff you gotta have in order to be a union. Like membership."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "What do you call these guys?" She motioned towards the newsies behind her, smiling the entire time. She could tell Davey was trying to find a reason that this while idea was doomed from the start but she began seeing the cracks in his resolve.

"And… and officers," he continued. Yes, she could definitely see the cracks.

"I nominate Jack president!" called out Crutchie quickly as the others agree.

Jack rubbed her nose to hide her blush as she glanced towards Crutchie, sending him a small smile. "Gee, I'm touched," she joked but, on the inside, she really was.

"What about a statement of purpose?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Davey. She was getting tired of all these questions to which she seemed to always have an answer to. "Must have left it in my other pants."

Well, not necessarily actual answers but she wasn't going to back down on the situation. She was going to protect her newsies whether she had Davey's support or not.

Though, she really did want his support…

"What's a statement of purpose?" wondered Race.

"A reason for forming the union," explained Davey.

"What reason did the trolley workers have?" wondered Jack, hoping that it would make Davey change his mind.

Said young man shrugged, also getting annoyed that all his arguments were being countered by the stubborn leader in front of him. "I don't know. Wages, work hours, safety on the job?"

"Who don't need that?" said Jack, exasperated. She eyed Davey, knowing she would be going for a cheap shot but, if it got him on their side, it would be worth it. She knew they had a better chance if Davey helped: he was much better with words and technicalities while she brought the street smarts. "Hey," she began, rolling the dice. "I bet if your father had a union, you wouldn't need to be out here sellin' papes right now."

He had told her about their father on their way back from the Bowery the other day. Even though Jack felt guilty about bringing it up to force Davey's hand, she needed him to realize the situation they were all in.

The situation him and his brother were in because his father couldn't work.

Davey hesitated a moment before lowering his gaze. "Yeah…," he muttered.

Jack patted him on the shoulder before heading off to the others. She said what she could to Davey, now she needed to focus on the rest of the newsies.

As she climbed onto the wagon, she said, "So our union is hereby formed to watch each other's backs. Unioned, we stand." She paused, thinking those words over and liking how they sounded. "Hey, that's not bad, someone write that down."

"I got a pencil!" called Les, holding one out to Jack.

Jack felt a blossom of pride bloom within her at Les' enthusiasm. "Well, meet our secretary of state!"

"If you want to strike, the membership's got to vote," explained Davey.

"So we'll vote," agreed Jack, glancing around at the other newsies. "What do you say, fellas, the choice is yours. Do we roll over and let Pulitzer pick our pockets, or do we strike?"

Without hesitation, the entire square echoed with the yell from the newsies. "STRIKE!"

Jack was beaming. "You heard the boys of the membership. The newsies of lower Manhattan are officially on strike!"

"Wouldn't our strike be more effective if someone in charge actually knew about it?" mentioned Crutchie.

"Well, it would be a pleasure to tell Weasel myself!" volunteered Race, already heading in the man's direction.

"Yeah, and who tells Pulitzer, huh?" wondered Jack. She had a feeling she would but she knew very well that someone else had a better chance at talking to Pulitzer and getting him to understand. Specifically… "Davey?"

He paused, glancing around. "I don't know…," he began slowly and she gave him an expecting look. "I guess you do, Mr. President!" She realized then he misinterpreted it.

"Yeah, that's right," she agreed but she was not going to go in alone then. "We do," she said, motioning between the two of them. "But… what do we tell him?"

Davey was getting more into the whole idea by the moment as he thought Jack's question over. "Well, the newspaper owners need to respect our rights as employees."

Jack nodded. "Pulitzer and Hearst gotta respect the rights of the kids in this city!"

"Yeah!" agreed the rest of the newsies.

"They can't just change the rules whenever they feel like it," continued Davey with a stronger voice.

"That's right!" yelled Jack. "We do the work, so we get a say!"

"Yeah!"

Davey joined Jack on the wagon, looking around at the others, his smile so bright, it was almost a distraction for Jack. Almost. "We've got a union!" called out Davey and the cheers of the other newsies was enough for Jack to join in, focusing on the smiling faces of the boys.

"Pulitzer and Hearst they think we're nothin'. Are we nothin'?" asked Jack loudly.

"NO!"

Davey seemed to be on a roll at that point as he said, "They need to understand that we're not enslaved to them. We are free agents." He then looked back at Jack. "We're a union now. The Newsboy Union, and we mean business!"

Jack resisted the urge to sigh in happiness at just how motivated Davey was. If she thought she had a crush before, it was more than confirmed now.

She cheered with the rest of the newsies before placing a hand on Davey's shoulder and addressing the others. "Even though we ain't got hats or badges, we're a union just by saying so."

"But Jack, we have hats," remarked Les with a confused look.

He got a point, thought Jack. "Fancier hats. Union hats," she replied quickly, trying to cover up her slip up. Davey, however, sent her an amused look, knowing full well what she did. She just punched his shoulder.

"Hey, what's there stopin' other kids from comin' along to sell our papes?" wondered Finch suddenly.

"Just let 'em try!" yelled Albert as the others agreed loudly.

"No, no, no!" called out Davey, catching their attention and stopping the newsies from riling each other up. "We can't beat up on other kids. We're all in this together!"

"Alright, alright," agreed Jack, giving the newsies a look that told them quickly that had better not start beating up other kids. She glanced around the square once before she got an idea. "Good, I'll be back."

She sent them a wink as she took off towards the billboard that held that day's headline. The other newsies shared a confused look, wondering what Jack had in mind. Davey, figuring it would be something drastic, told Les to stay with the other boys as took off after Jack, climbing the ladder right after her.

The man up there had been peacefully reading that day's paper when Jack reached the top. He didn't bother even looking at her as he mumbled, "Headlines up and it ain't changing."

Well, Jack wasn't about to let that stop her and she got his attention by throwing her empty bag at him. He quickly got off his chair; unable to believe a mere newsie would do that to him and began yelling at her, "Youse not supposed to be here! Get going!"

"No way, I needs this billboard," explained Jack, somewhat glad to finally have his undivided attention. "We's gots a strike and youse all will hear about it!"

The man shoved Jack away. "Not on my watch!"

"Hey!" Jack shoved the man back, getting angry. "This ain't about youse! Just give me the damn chalk already!"

The man began yelling obscenities towards Jack who had just as many to shout right back at him. Davey, meanwhile, had gotten up there as well and watched with wide eyes as Jack argued with the man, the two of them seeming to get more violent as they went. He was unsure of what to do at first until one more violent push from the man had Jack staggering back. Davey caught her and, once she was steady, moved between the two.

"Alright, just hear us out, please!" said Davey to the man, keeping a hand on Jack to keep her back.

She sent the man once last glare before whirling around, taking a deep breath. She didn't understand why that man was being so stubborn, so against what they wanted to do. Even as Davey explained the situation, the man was having none of it. Jack glared in his direction, itching to get back into that fight and show that they were not going to keep getting pushed around.

And she got her excuse when the man punched Davey in the face. Jack normally got very protective of her newsies on a normal basis. However, seeing the person she liked getting hit had her seeing red. It was her turn to catch Davey and steady him and, once he was, she turned her attention to the man.

"Pick on someone your own size!" growled out Jack, plowing into the man and pushing him back.

She managed to get him to stumble a few feet before he found his footing and pushed right back. The two struggled for a moment until Jack saw a piece of chalk lying nearby. That's all she needed really. The man spotted it as well and, with a heavy shove to get Jack off of him, he managed to grab it before she did.

She wasn't going down without a fight though.

Jack lashed out, grasping a part of the chalk. She wrestled the man for a moment as Davey watched the scene unfold in awe, leaning against the railing. He had not realized to what point Jack was able to fight someone who definitely was not her size – no matter what she had yelled. She was smaller than the man but she was keeping up with him and finally managed to wrestle the chalk from his hand and shoved him back onto his chair.

Jack wasted no time in writing in large, bold strokes across the entire billboard the word "STRIKE".

Her idea could have gone smoother but she got what she wanted.

She sent a scowl in the man's direction before tossing the chalk back at him and heading back towards the ladder. She motioned for Davey to head down first and he did, giving the man one last look as he climbed down.

Jack followed suit but not without sending one last message to the man. "You ain't seen the last of us, that's for sure!"


Jack and Davey stood in front of the main doors of The World's office, ready to face Pulitzer and tell him about their strike. The leader stole a glance at the young man next to her, glad to at least have him with her as they –

"I'm coming too!"

Jack's nerves had her smiling as Les squeezed in between them and looked ready to face Pulitzer even more than Jack and Davey did.

The two older ones of the trio shared a look before nodding and then entering the building. If Jack had thought the outside had been impressive, she never would have imagined the inside. Not only was it the cleanest place she had ever seen, it was so well decorated and furnished.

It made Jack angry. If Pulitzer had the money for this, he didn't need to up the price of the papers: he needed to stop buying expensive looking things for the building only so few actually see.

They made it several feet inside when the security guard took one look at the trio from behind his desk and quickly stood. He shook his head, already yelling for them to leave the premises.

Jack stepped in front of the brothers, making sure Les specifically was behind her and out of reach. "Listen! We're going to see Pulitzer! We've gots a message for him and –"

The guard didn't care. He grabbed Jack by the arm and hauled her back, reaching for Davey as well. Les was stuck in the middle as the trio was nearly dragged back the way they came and then tossed out.

"And stay out!" yelled the guard as he slammed the doors shut.

Jack could somewhat hear Les yelling something back at the guard but she was more focused on the pain from being literally thrown to the ground.

However…

How did she end up on top of Davey again? If she was aching, she didn't want to know how Davey was. She lifted her head to look at him and, indeed, his face was scrunched in pain. He pried an eye open and stared right back at her for a moment before she realized what she was doing.

"Sorry," she muttered as she rolled off the young man.

He groaned out in response before newsies came and helped them up.

Focus on the strike, thought Jack as she stood. But the feeling of Davey was definitely going to stay with her.


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