The entire walk to Manhattan, Pyro found herself cursing Spot and thinking of ways to get back at him. After picking up about fifty newspapers from the Manhattan distribution office and selling them quickly, she strolled towards Newsies Square. Standing next to the Horace Greeley statue was Racetrack Higgins with a cigar in his mouth. He back was towards Pyro. Swiftly; she snuck up behind him and placed her hands over his eyes. "Guess who." She said in her best French accent, trying to disguise her voice.

With a smile, Race pulled her hands off of his face and turned around to look at her. Gently putting a hand under her chin, he examined her. "Pyro, you're… not bruised and beaten up. You're still living."

Pyro shrugged. "I'm guessing you heard about my mishap.'

"Burned down your own room, huh?" He shook his head and put the cigar out on the street. "I thought for sure you'd either be swimming with the fishes in the East River or at least walking with a limp."

"It was just an accident." They started walking down the street. "Plus, you know I could soak Conlon."

"That was a rather big accident, don't ya think?" He looked at her.

"More like the biggest mistake in my life!" She let out an exasperated sigh.

"You gotta sleep in the bunkroom with the boys, huh?"

"No." She rolled her eyes. "There weren't any free beds in the bunkroom."

"Did they throw you out on the street?"

"Worse." She replied. Race gave her a confused look. "I was forced to move into Conlon's room! Do you know what it's like to share a room with an egotistical, arrogant, ill-tempered, skirt chasing maniac?"

"Poor Pyro." Race shook his head and placed a friendly arm around her shoulders. "Wait till I tell Cowboy about this. We may even bet on whose gonna crack first. I personally would put my money on Spot because you sure know what pisses him off."

Pyro made a face. "Speaking of bets… Conlon says I can't go back to Brooklyn until I get the money you owe him. I told him to settle his own fucking bets but you know him."

"I've got the money right here." He took the money out of his pocket and placed it in her hand. "I had a feeling he might want you to get the money." He laughed slightly.

Pocketing the money, Pyro thought for a moment. "So, what did you bet on anyway?"

"Guy stuff." Race shrugged.

"You bet on how long it would take Conlon to get his latest conquest into bed, didn't ya?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"How do you know these things?"

"I know guys." She shrugged. "Especially you and Conlon."

With a laugh they continued to their destination. A day at the races was just what Pyro needed to keep her mind off of her new roommate. Unfortunately, Racetrack's bets were way off and he ended up losing all of his money. Feeling sorry for him, Pyro took the money he had given her out of her pocket. "Take this but let's stop with the betting and head home now."

Race looked at her. "Yeah, but Spot…"

Pyro shook her head. "Conlon doesn't need the money and I'm not scared of him."

"You sure?" He looked at the money.

"Positively sure." She placed the money in his hand.

"We should probably leave now." He put the money in his pocket. Pyro nodded and they left so they wouldn't spend anymore money.

The walk back to Brooklyn seemed to go by quickly for Pyro. That was probably because she had to actually tell Spot that she returned sans his money. Pulling her hair out of its braids, she let the wavy tendrils fall to her shoulders. As she passed the docks, she noticed Spot talking with some of the other Brooklyn boys. Thinking she could just sneak past them without being noticed, she lit a cigarette and took a drag.

Spot noticed a flash of red hair, stroll past the docks. The clothes on that body belonged to him. He knew it could only be one person. "Pyro." He walked away from his conversation. Usually, she would have come right up and interrupt his conversation. When she did not do what was expected, he knew she did not have his money. Anger boiled inside of him. She was not to come back without his money. She had deliberately disobeyed him.

Even though it was just about dusk, the air was warm and stifling. Unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing, Pyro pulled it off and tied it around her waist. The white undershirt that she wore accentuated her curves. Suddenly, an eerie feeling swept over her and she could feel that someone was following her with their eyes glued to her body. She slowly slid her hand into her right pocket, placing her hand on her lighter. The feeling in her grew stronger and she knew that whoever was following her was right behind her now. Fighting in the middle of the street had gotten her into trouble before. So, she turned into an alley.

Ducking behind some crates, Pyro knelt down and waited for her stalker to approach. The moment she saw the shadow of the figure next to her, she jumped up with her lighter in her hand and pinned Spot Conlon against a brick wall.