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In this chapter: I looked to her, "Come one Shannon, Jack's the leading man, every leading man has a girl."

Her mouth parted as she starred to us, "He has a girlfriend?"

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He removed the cigar from his mouth and shook my hand, "Call me Race."

"Race." I repeated forcing a smile. Personally, I had nothing against the biggest gamble of the Newsies group, it was only that as soon as the words 'date out with me' escaped his lips a different boy's face came to mind. I know this was no time to be an obsessive fan girl. For the time being, these were real people, not just characters I could manipulate with imagination.

"Roser," started Megan in a whisper grabbing my arm, "do you really think this will work, what are we even going to say to him?"

"I don't know, he's an important character - I mean person, we need him!"

"Obviously, but do you think he'll even listen to us?"

"Well we just won't give him a choice."

"You mean you won't!"

"Uhh, ladies?" Racetrack interrupted, "Should we be on our way?"

I nodded looking away from Megan, I had no clue why she was being so stubborn. I wasn't exactly prepared to walk into this factory myself for a young man who, until a few hours ago, I didn't think even existed.

"Dis beddah not interfere wit da races…" he muttered throwing the butt of a cigar to the ground.

"It shouldn't take long if all goes as planned, which it hopefully will," I said glancing to Megan as we began to walk down the bustling street.

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Finally, after walking about a mile we came upon a towering red, brick building.

"Dis is it, Connors's," noted Racetrack before opening the door and looking back to me and Megan. "Now, be careful goils, if dere's any trouble isl'e be out here."

"And why not in there, with us?" I asked.

He laughed without humor, "You kiddin' me? I ain't goin' in dere."

"What's so bad about this place anyway?" Megan asked.

"Dis place right here is Hell for any poison witout a job. People come here as a last option and some don't make it back out, understand now?"

I looked up to the dark building, thoughts of hundreds of women trapped in an inferno sullenly crossed my mind. With hundreds of buildings just like this around the city, I wondered what sort of secrets were kept just behind the weathered brick.

"Well then," began Megan, "that is the exact reason we need to get David and Les out of there."

We bit the bullet and entered the building as Racetrack bid us good luck. We dashed up a long narrow stair case until meeting another door, loud humming noises sounded from the other side accompanied by the yells of a man.

"You sure this is where he said he'd be?" Megan asked.

"Certain, now come on," we opened the door and were met with a disturbing sight, rows of tables occupied by people on sewing machines. The ages of the people varied, there were some middle aged and some elderly but, by far, they were mostly children as young as Les.

"Dave!" I cried after spotting his face in the back of the room. My shout attracted the attention of an overweight, burly looking man who sat at a large desk in the corner of the room.

"You goils here fa work?" he asked getting up and staggering over to me and Megan.

"No sir, we're just here to see a friend," I said as he took me by the arm in a rough grasp.

"David, the Newsies need you!" Megan cried to the back of the room as the man began to drag me to an empty sewing machine.

"I said I'm not here to work for you!" I tried pushing the man away but he didn't budge nor loosen his grip.

"Den yous are trespassin' in me fact'ry! Is dat what you are trying to say goil?" he questioned closely to my face, his foul breathe wafting to my nose.

"No! I'll leave, just let me go," I pleaded.

Megan had took notice to my situation and tired to push the man away, he turned to her with a grimacing look and raising a threatening hand against her.

"If yous won't work fa me I'll send da bulls on ya!" he scoffed as Megan cowered in his shadow.

"Hey," said David suddenly stepping in front of Megan. "They said they were sorry, can't you just let them leave?" he asked as I looked to him, his blue eyes darting between mine and the man's.

"Get back ta your seat Jacobs," he threatened darkly.

"But-"

"Now! You don't want ta end up like your old man, do ya?"

David backed away form the man with Megan, "What are you two doing here, why do you keep following me, how do you even know me?" he asked her in a whisper once he had her to the door.

"The Newsies need you David, don't stay here, he'll hurt you… or Les," she said looking to the small boy struggling with threading his needle.

David seemed to pale at the thought, he looked back to Megan with a stern glare in his eyes, "Leave. The both of you."

The burly man grabbed me by the wrist and pushed me to the door, I hit into Megan.

"What about you David? Come with us," I said hoping he would change his mind. There was no use though, he shook his head once before finding his seat in front of the sewing machine proving to be more stubborn than I could have imagined.

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We slowly, in defeat, found our way back to the circulation desk or wherever else Racetrack decided to lead us. Megan walked closely beside me, her hands thrust in her pockets, head slumped forward. I rubbed a hand across my face.

"Don't worry, we'll get him to join someway," I said mainly trying to reassure myself.

"Who was dat guy anyway?" asked Racetrack, "How da two fine goils get involved wit a a boy who works dere?"

"He's just a friend, a boy we know," said Megan, "and besides, there's no way he's going to listen to us, I already told you he wouldn't, Roser. He'd only listen to his father… or Jack."

"Jack? Do them twos know each other?" asked Racetrack.

"No," I said quickly covering for Megan's big mouth, "Not that Jack, Jack… Bieber."

Megan nearly choked with laughter at the alias I had came up with.

"Ain't nevah hoid of him."

As Racetrack continued on, I looked to Megan with a sudden idea ringing in my head, "That's it, we just got to get Jack to meet him!" I whispered.

"How are we going to get them in the same place?"

"Tonight, when they're having dinner. Somehow between Medda's show and the walk home after seeing that strike…"

"That will never work!"

"We have to try something!"

Megan sighed thinking for a moment, "Well… where's Jack Kelly supposed to be right now?"

Racetrack stopped in front of us at the street corner, "Gee, I don't know - he was at that fight with that other goil, but right this moment? Who could say."

I began to think myself, let's see now… there was David meeting Jack then the boxing match where Jack makes up that headline… Les drank some beer then-

"WATCH OUT!"

We looked around the corner as two people came pushing through the crowd.

"Shannon?" asked Megan as she passed in front of us shortly followed by Jack.

"What are you two doing?" asked Racetrack.

"Runin'!" Jack replied.

After they ran across the street a man all in black came, far less gracefully, charging through the crowd shouting rudely as he went.

As he came closer Racetrack stuck his foot out in front of his path causing him to fall flat on his face for everyone to see, naturally, Megan, the surrounding crowd, and myself roared in laughter.

The only man not laughing at the scene looked up to us with a prominent scowl, we immediately dropped our smiles and ran down the street in the same direction as Jack and Shannon. Racetrack lead the way shouting back to us to run faster.

"I can't keep up with them!" I cried to Megan, "I failed gym remember?"

Megan didn't answer me, she was too out of breathe, the sports gene not being found in either one of our genetic codes.

I looked forward to Shannon running besides Jack laughing as they both ran with ease, Megan pouted to her, "It's not fair, she didn't even see the movie!"

I rolled my eyes and ran past Megan grabbing her arm, "Come on, we're being chased remember!"

Dashing into a close by building we followed the others as quickly as we could while our adversary could only be a few steps behind.

The stars were what made the difference in the end, while we had caught our second breath just in time, the older man fell behind giving us just enough time to collect on the roof. Pausing for a moment, we watched dumbfounded as Jack seemed to jump off the side of the roof. He soon repapered though, just as we had predicted, and signaled for us to do the same.

All at once we jumped behind the wall, I collapsed next to Shannon with Racetrack on my other side, we held our breathe as the angry man shouted after us.

"Sullivan? Wait 'till I get you back to the refuge!"

Jack crawled by us and we took the cue to follow him. We escaped to back into the building we had just ran out of. Finally out of the man's sight, we sighed a collective breathe of relief. After the brief moment was over and I had whispered my hallelujah, I turned to Shannon.

"How the hell could you do that? You just ran off without telling me or Megan, what were you thinking?"

"You guys left me first, I was all alone then Jack here kindly took me out hacking."

"Hawking!" I yelled as Jack began to laugh, I looked to him aggravated, "This is not funny, Kelly."

He continued to laugh though until Racetrack confronted him, "Hey Jack, why did dat Bull call you Sullivan back dere, why was he aftah you?"

Jack paused for thought for half a second, Me and Megan pretended not to take notice to their conversation.

"Well, uh… you know how dose bulls get us all confused, it's just a name he gives any a us."

"What did he mean by refuge?" asked Shannon suspicious of his quick excuse.

"It's jail for kids, look I'm telling' da truth… I can't help it if yous don't believe me."

"Oh no, I believe you," she said quickly half smirking to him. He smiled to her, and honestly I was about to gag over the whole situation until a woman's voice interrupted them.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked from the top of the stair case that occupied the dark back room.

We looked up to see a lady dressed all in different variations of purple standing at top of the staircase. I don't think I've ever understood the allure Medda had to the Newsies, it wasn't until that moment when I heard Racetrack gasp saw Jack's expression that I got it. She had a unique thing about her, one of those kinds of people that commanded your attention as soon as you looked her way.

Jack left Shannon's side and met Medda on the staircase. Medda continued to reprehend him until he opened his mouth and she realized who he was.

"Who is that?" whispered Shannon to me.

"Medda," I answered, "boys love her."

"How do I look goils?" asked Racetrack to us as he stared to Medda atop the staircase.

"Fine," I reassured him before he pushed by us.

"Racetrack is that you down there?" questioned Medda looking to us. "And three girls? Jack I thought you called me your one and only?" she said with a mock pout.

He smiled, "Don't worry Medda, dose are just me friends, Rose, Megan and Shannon."

"Nice to meet you girls," she said walking down to us with Jack at her side.

"Goils, this is the greatest star of the Vaudeville stage today! Miss Medda Larkson, the Swedish Meddalarke."

She bowed to us with a wave of her purple feathered fan, "Velcome ladies!" she said kindly in her pretend Swedish accent.

Racetrack took the moment to place a warm kiss on her hand.

"Lovely to see you as well, Mr. Higgins," she said with a giggle.

He smiled to her, "You make me sound like one 'o dose fancy business men when yous call me dat, Medda."

She battered thick eyelashes, "Like they could compare."

"We were just stopping by," began Jack changing the subject, "I was wonderin if we could stay just until our little problem outside goes away."

"Sure, stay as long as you want."

The boys were plain giddy with excitement as we made our way to backstage, all I wanted was a moment alone to fill Shannon in on our plan to reunite David with the movie.

As they watched the stage intently the three of us found a quiet corner.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you before Shannon but me and Megan have been through a lot this past hour."

"Like what?"

"Like tracking down David and almost getting killed by a three hundred pound gorilla!" exclaimed Megan.

"Wait, who's David?"

I rolled my eyes, we really should have went over this before, "David is a main character in this thing, he's out because you were too busy flirting when you should have been lurking in the shadows."

"Do you mean I took his place?"

"No, no one can take his place. We need him, his brother, and sister," Megan attempted to clarify.

She put a hand on her hip, "Why do we need his brother?"

"He's cute - every Disney movie needs some cute," I said.

"And his sister?" she asked.

I stalled, Megan didn't answer right away either.

"What?" she asked again her blissful expression suddenly deflating.

I looked to her, "Come one Shannon, Jack's the leading man, every leading man has a girl."

Her mouth parted as she starred to us, "He has a girlfriend?"

"Not yet, not until we get things straitened out here."

"Well you can't, me and him are really hitting it off, okay?"

I frowned, "There is no time for your little fantasies right now," I told her as we walked to where the boys were standing after Medda had entered the stage.

"It's not a fantasy," she protested under her breathe.

On our way over, Megan must have caught a rope around her arm somehow, I watched her tugging at it from the corner of my eye. As soon as I turned to see what she was doing, it was all too late. The rope undid itself from around it's hook on the wall just before the sound of a woman's scream echoed through the theater accompanied by a loud thud and gasp from the audience.