Thanks to all the reviews. Casting Call is still open to those of you who still wish to have a place in the story. Please see prior chapter for details ). No characters in this chapter, but more than likely they will start to show up in the next ones.

Jack Kelly awoke before the sun, opening his eyes to a new day. Skittery's information from the night before reeled in his head as he gazed up towards the cobweb-filled rafters. The emptiness above him matched what he felt inside with the knowledge of his dear friend. Jack pulled his thin covers up to his neck, not wanting to get up and face the reality he knew would be waiting for him inside that hospital room.

Rays of light began to shine through the dusty windows in front of Jack's bed, granting a yellow tint to the warped wooden floorboards below him. From the corner of his eye, Jack watched the boy who's bed was three down from him get down from his bunk and land with his dirt-streaked bare feet on the floor. Jack figured he must have been watching for the sun all morning, making sure he could be up to wake the others. It sure was weird without Kloppman's presence in the lodge house.

"Alright everyone, up. Sellin' time, let's go!" Bumlets, the early riser, called out to the sleeping boys. Jack propped himself up on his palms and scanned the room. Some boys got up just as they would have any other morning. Others only lifted their heads to see who their unfamiliar waker was.

"Come on, look, sun's up," Bumlets said to those reluctant to distance themselves from their spring mattresses. Slowly, many started to stand and go about their morning rituals.

Jack still looked on as Bumlets rolled his eyes, picked up his walking stick from where it rested on his bunk, and approached Specs, who was still asleep. Without warning, he struck the metal side of his bed, sending out an echo so loud that Jack was sure could have been heard all the way out in Brooklyn. One of the younger newsies ducked for cover and Specs jolted violently. With shaky hands, he blindly searched for his glasses as quickly as he could.

"Bumlets, what's your deal?" he yelled once he regained sight. Bumlets smirked.

"Get up, Specs," he said as he walked away to get ready himself.

Jack smirked at the sight himself and got down from his own bed. He yawned and reached for his pants.

-----

Getting ready took more time than usual, but the boys managed to get themselves out before the circulation bell rang from down the street. Jack began his descend down the wooden staircase. As he pulled at his red bandanna, unsatisfied with the knot he had just tied, Skittery caught up to him. His usual morose facial expressions were present as ever. He rested his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You going Jack?" he asked. Jack squinted up in the sunlight as the pair walked out the door. He shrugged and gave a nod.

"Yeah. Just gonna stop by the cart and get somethin to eat before."

"Make sure you do go Jack," Skittery said sternly, knowing Jack was already probably cooking up and excuse not to go. He remembered Kloppman's face that night; eyes pleading that he get Jack to come visit him. He knew, no matter how senile the old man could be at times, he must have had a serious reason to have the boy visit. Annoyed, Jack rolled his eyes.

"I'll go, I'll go. You can bet on it," he said.

-----

David Jacobs reached up and took two rolls from one of the nuns on the food cart and handed one over to his little brother. Les struggled to grab it, having his tin cup in one hand and wooden sword in the other. He finally decided to put his sword under his arm and take the food.

"What, no food at home for ya?" called a voice form behind them. The stench of cigar smoke let the boys know whom it belonged to even before turning around.

"Nah, Race. Mom had to leave early this morning though. Had a lot of work at the shop and not enough time to fix us anything," David said as he turned to face him. Les watched as the others began to approach the cart as well, welcoming a much- needed breakfast. Jack Kelly waltzed up to the front and next to his best pal.

"Mornin' Davey."

"Hey Jack!" Les called through a mouthful of bread before his brother could say anything. His eyes shown bright as he gazed up at him and wiped crumbs from his hands on his tightly wrapped scarf. Jack chuckled.

"Hey ta you too, Les," he said.

"How's Klopp?" David asked. Jack looked back up at him with a sad smile.

"Dunno. Gotta go see him now. Said he needed ta tell me something. Probably just some sentimental spiel."

"Need us to go with you?" David asked, willing to go for moral support of his friend. Jack shook his head and took a bite out of his newly received roll.

"Nah. Thanks though," he told him. He knew it would probably be best if he went by himself, just as Kloppman had asked.

-----

The building in which the hospital was located in was 16 blocks away from the cart. After finishing off every last bit of his breakfast, Jack decided to start his 16-block journey. He figured he could make it there and back and still have time to sell the morning edition with the others if he hurried. 4 blocks into it, wind developed in the bitter air. It whipped around the corners of buildings, blowing into Jack's face, pink with cold. Fan-tastic. Goddamned winter he thought to himself with a sigh. He reached behind him and took hold of his cowboy hat and lifted it onto his head, trying to keep the warmth in his body. He began to hum a tune to take his mind off the frigid air, something he heard Medda sing at the last show he made it to.

Two blocks away, the hospital came into view. It was a newer building that lacked the ivy the other surrounding buildings had been clad in with time. It had more windows than Jack could have counted, each looking into one of the various rooms.

Jack watched as several women in white outfits pushing a stretcher walked out of the building and met a carriage that quickly sped up to the building. Looking closer, he could see them franticly opening the back door of it and a man in a white coat helped a woman onto it. He could hear screams, some belonging to the woman and others came from a little boy who walked out from the carriage behind her and followed as she was pushed towards the entrance.

"Mommy! Please! No, please!" he kept crying. Looking harder, Jack could see a black cowboy hat resting on the boy's back, a little to big for his head. His breath caught in his throat. He blinked once, twice, three times rapidly and rubbed his eyes, not wanting to watch the scene any longer.

With the opening of his eyes, he was left looking at a bare street. The carriage gone; the woman gone; the boy and his hat, gone. Jack stood in the spot for another moment, afraid the hallucination of his less-than-cheerful memory would return. Deep breathes. Slow blinks. Nothing. He took off running towards the building. Before anything would have even had the time to stop him, he was inside and asking where to find Kloppman.

-----

Kloppman's room was on the second floor, towards the back. Jack went alone, not wishing to have anyone to guide him. The room itself was less than what Jack thought the old man deserved. The window acted as the only source of light, showing off dusty floors and a moth-eaten chair in the far corner. In the middle of the room was Kloppman, resting in his bed. Jack closed the door and slowly walked across the floor to the bedside. He placed his hand on the old man's shoulder and gently shook him from his slumber.

"Jack? Oh, Jack!" Kloppman said heartily as he took his time sitting up. His eyes looked tired, more than usual. Jack also noticed his face looked more worn than it had the last time he saw him. His body seemed weak as well. He was noticeably sick. Very sick. Kloppman didn't seem to mind though. Not when he saw Jack standing beside him.

"Jack! I was hoping you would come! I was afraid Skittery would have forgotten! Oh, but I'm glad he didn't! I'm glad he didn't, boy!"

"Heya, Klopp," Jack said. He couldn't help but smile. It was good to see him.

"Oh, how are you? How are the others? Everything fine?" Kloppman asked, acting as if he had been gone for months.

"We're good. Everything's fine over at the lodge. Bumlets took charge this morning and woke us up. Had a hard time with Specs, though," he said with a little laugh. Kloppman joined him.

"Yeah, that Specs is a hard one to wake, I'll tell ya," he said slowly.

They shared a little more laughter, but once that settled, there was quiet for quite a while. Kloppman seemed to take the time to gather his thoughts in the silence. Jack shuffled from one foot to the other, awaiting the man to say what he needed to. When Kloppman finally turned back to him, Jack gave him his full attention, eager to hear what he was going to say.

"Jack, the reason I asked you here, is because, I need to tell you something. Something important. You have to promise me that you will take what I say and follow my every word, ya hear boy?" he asked. He hacked a cough as Jack nodded. The poor boy couldn't have been more confused. He wondered if it was just another one of the old man's senile spells. "Ok, good. Now, do you have something to write on? No? Ok, I think we have something over there on that table in the corner."

Jack looked around and spotted a doctor's notepad and pen lying on a small end table next to the ratty chair. He walked over and picked them up, flipping three or four pages in the notepad to a clean one. "Ok, what you gotta say?" he asked, ready to write.

"Now, I don't need you to write all that I say, just these numbers," Kloppman told him. Jack nodded. "15-36-18."

"15-36-18?" Jack repeated. He wasn't sure if this were a joke or not. "What's that?"

"Write it down, boy! You'll need it."

"For what?" Jack asked as he scribbled it down.

"It's the combination for the safe under my desk. Open that up and inside, you'll find what you need-" he coughed more, "to know to get the rest."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Get the rest of what?"

Before Kloppman could say anymore, there was a knock at the door. Jack quickly ripped out the paper from the notepad and placed it back the way it was with the pen resting on top of it. Seconds later, the door opened and the doctor entered.

"Oh, hello," he said once he noticed Jack. "Visiting hours have just ended."

Jack nodded and headed towards the door. "See ya, Kloppman," he said.

The only reply he got back from Kloppman stuck in his mind the whole way back: Do as I say, Boy.