CHAPTER THREE

"So Race, how was ya day at da track?" Jack asked me.

"Didn't win. Didn't lose either."

"Whatta ya mean?" he asked me, slightly confused.

"I didn't bet. Too busy showin' da new girl around."

Jack gave me a smug little smile. "So ya met her? What's she like? And what's her name?"

"She goes by Flash. She's a bit of a smartass though. Had no trouble sellin' her papes today," I told him gruffly.

"So she's just like ya," Jack laughed in amusement. "Alls she needs is ta be good at poker."

"She is," I said to him knowingly.

"Well aren't you the expert on this girl? What does she look like?"

I visualized her. Everything I could remember about it. "She has blonde hair and green eyes. And freckles. She's short too."

"You sound fond of Flash. Very fond of her." He was grinning like mad.

"It's not like that, Jack. We just have a lot in common, that's all. She likes ta joke around, and she's good at poker, surprisingly. She'd be great ta have around. A real good ally. A good friend too. Maybe."

Jack sat there in thought. "Yeah. Maybe. I want ta meet her tomorrow. Take her under our wing. She if she can handle herself, ya know? She could be useful ta us."

"Yeah, okay Jack."

"You seen Spot lately?"

"If by lately ya mean a couple of months ago, then sure. Why, have you?" I asked him wondering what his reasoning might be for asking.

Jack shook his head. "Naw. But I did hear he was havin' some trouble keepin' hold of Brooklyn. His grasp on the joint is startin' ta slip."

I took a drag of my cigar and took a look at the five cards in my hand. Full House. "No surprise to me. I figured they'd stop listenin' ta everything Spot said. It ain't a smart choice, but I knew it was gonna happen eventually," I said sighing and laying down my cards.

"He said somethin' about us helpin' him gain control again. At least, that's what Dutchy told me. He thinks there is somethin' more goin' on, but he don't know what it is."

"Well, what are we gonna do?" I asked, scraping the money toward me. The other guys quit playing because they weren't winning.

He sighed. "I don't know. If it gets any worse, we might have to step in."

"I slowly nodded and turned to look at him. "Well he did help us with the strike."

"Yeah... Yeah he did," he said staring at the wall. I could tell he was thinking so I told him I was gonna turn in for the night. "Night Race."

"Night Kelly," I said as I made my way to my bunk upstairs in the lodging house. I climbed into bed as quietly as I could. I layed there for ten minutes until I realized I couldn't fall asleep, so I got back up. There ain't much to do this late at night except roam the streets, so I opted for that. Damn, it's cold out here. I wish I had wore my coat.

Roaming the streets at night ain't very appealing or very safe, so I turned around to go back. To hell with this.

"Hey Higgins, where do ya think you're goin'?"

I turned around to find out who the voice was, but I found nobody there. What the hell? Who would be tryin' ta talk ta me dis late at night?

"You're really slow, Higgins." Laughter. "I'm up here genius."

I looked up and saw Flash on top of a building. She climbed down the side and walked up to me, rather casually, like she had all the time in the world. Like she would explode if she didn't take her time. She was grinning like someone just told her she had won a hundred bucks. Her face was a little dirty, but other than that, she looked the same as earlier.

"What are ya doin' awake this late Race? Ain't ya tired?" she asked me.

"I could ask you da same," I told her.

"You gonna answer the question or am I gonna have ta guess?" she said, lightly tapping me in the arm with her fist.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Me either. It's too cold out here." She walked toward and alley and called back over her shoulder, "You comin' or what ya bonehead?"

I ran up beside her and matched her pace. I looked at her and realized she was shorter than me. Well now I don't feel so bad about my height. We walked into the alley and sat down on the ground. It was deserted.

She layed her head up against the brick building and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her hands were red from the cold, but she didn't seem to notice.

"So what's new wit you, Race? Anything particularly interestin' happen afta we left Sheepshead?"

I glanced over at her. She was playing with a piece of hay, tying it into knots with her fingers. "Jack wants ta meet ya tomorrow."

She glanced back at me. "How riveting. But why? He gonna tell me I ain't got what it takes ta be a newsie? That girls don't belong on the streets unless they're whores tryin' ta sell their bodies? 'Cause if he is, then I have no interest in meetin' him whatsoeva."

"Nah. He's just curious, like I was. Everyones curious about ya. I mean, ya don't see many newsgirls walkin' around. At least none worth noticin'. None in many years. They just wanna see what you're like."

She eyed me with suspicion. "They? Whose they?"

"Oh you know. Kid Blink, Mush, Skittery. All my friends."

"Alright then."

My hands had started to turn slightly blue from the cold and I had started to shiver a little. Flash must have noticed, because she grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around us.

"Thanks," I said to her.

She smirked. "You ain't gotta thank me I did it 'cause I don't want you ta freeze ta death." She pushed me sideways and took out a cigarette. She took out a match and struck it on her nail, making it catch fire. She lit her cigarette, took a long drag, and passed it to me. I took it gingerly from her fingers and smoked it for a while. After a long silence she spoke.

"Ya know, bein' a newsgirl ain't so bad., I got a quarter today, just for bein' a girl. Not dat I like dat. I mean I do, but I don't want people ta pity me. I don't need ta be pitied because i'm a girl and i sell on da street. My job ain't so bad. The headlines suck though. 'Horse Goes Missing From Wealthy Man'? Who gives a damn about dat. They need ta talk about da violence around here. There's plenty ta write about."

"Yeah but those tightwads don't care about fights between us kids. We ain't nothin' but a buncha street rats ta them. They'd rather spend time countin' their money."

She nodded and scooted a little closer to me. She was really cold. I watched her lean her head against the wall again and close her eyes. I turned to look up at the moon and then back at her. Her lip twitched a little and I smiled and closed my eyes. Ya know, bummin' it ain't so bad after all.