They stopped by Davey and Les's house and convinced their mother to let them come spend the day in the snow. She too had reservations like Kloppman but eventually gave in, smiling as the boys ran off. Their journey took much longer than usual, not only because of the snow, but also because they would occasionally stop to throw snowballs at each other, make a snowman, or fall down in snow and make a snow angel. But when they finally reached Brooklyn, they found Spot's docks to be deserted. Not a single newsie could be found.
"Where else would he be, Doll?" Jack asked, looking around for anyone.
"Don't know," she shrugged. "He wouldn't be in his alley, not in this weatha. They all probably broke into some old buildin and spent the night there. That's what he told me they do when it's too cold or when it rains. They ain't sellin papes neitha othawise they'd be out on the streets."
"Fire!" The Brooklyn newsies popped up out of nowhere, surrounding the Manhattan newsies. They had been hiding in alleys, inside empty barrels, and behind crates and were suddenly running towards the other newsies, pelting snowballs at everyone.
"Retreat!" Jack shouted. He ran back towards the streets, pushing a way past the Brooklyn newsies as everyone else followed. Dollface swooped down and quickly made a snowball, turning around to throw it at the closest person, who just so happened to be Spot.
"Hey!" he shouted, wiping the snow off of his face. "What was that about?"
"All's fair in love and war!" Dollface shrugged, running to catch up with her friends. She laughed as Spot threw a snowball after her, which she quickly dodged. "Gonna have to do betta than that Conlon!" After the Manhattan newsies had retreated safely into a nearby alley, they all huddled together, out of breath and pink in the face from the cold.
"Alright, here's the gameplan," Jack said, crouching down to the ground. He drew a rough sketch of the immediate area with his finger in the snow. "Ok looks like they's got the docks taken care of, no way that's a safe zone for us. So we gotta stick to the alleys, got that? Now looks like Conlon's the leada of this little fight so we gotta get him to surrender."
"It'll take a lot to make Spot quit," Dollface remarked. "You think I'm stubborn? Just wait and see how long he'll go on."
"What if we take some of his team hostage?" Les asked.
"Yeah, if there's one thing Brooklyn does, it's stick up for each otha," Specs said. "No way Conlon will do this without his team."
"Good thinkin," Jack said, looking back down at the simple diagram he had made. He scratched his chin, contemplating a plan of action. "Ok here's what we'll do. Specs, Skittery, and Kid Blink will distract them, ya know, cause a diversion of some kind. While they's doin that, Bumlets and Swift, you's two is gonna sneak onto their docks and hide in those crates or something. When they ain't lookin, charge at them and chase 'em off the docks. That's when the rest of us will jump out and chase 'em into our territory. Then Spot'll be alone and we can go in for the kill."
"Or we could do this." They all spun around and saw the Brooklyn newsies standing at the end of the alley, all wielding snowballs.
"No fair!" Dollface shouted.
"All's fair in love and war, Doll," he smirked. "Attack!" They ran towards the Manhattan newsies as Jack ordered everyone to quickly make snowballs.
"Charge!" he shouted. The two groups ran towards each other as battle erupted. Snow was flying everywhere, hitting anything and everyone. People were falling all over, either tripping over each other or slipping in the snow. Dollface had just slipped on a patch of ice and was laughing when she heard footsteps crunching in the snow. She looked up to see a Brooklyn newsie named Kansas running after her, just about to throw a snowball right in her face. She crawled out of his path, scrambling to stand up, but the snowball did not hit her.
"Watch who you go afta!" Spot shouted, coming out of nowhere and pelting Kansas with two snowballs, one hitting his head and one hitting his back.
"Traitor!" Kansas shouted, pointing at Spot. All the Brooklyn newsies stopped what they were doing and ran towards Spot, circling him and throwing their snowballs at him. Dollface laughed as Spot tried, and failed, to shield himself from the hoard of snow that was being thrown at him.
"Alright! Alright! I give up!" he shouted, throwing his hands up in surrender. One last snowball was thrown, knocking him to the ground, and the Manhattan newsies laughed. Another Brooklyn newsie, Red, offered Spot his hand and helped his friend up.
"Now you know what happens to traitors," he shrugged. Spot laughed and bent over, picking up his cap and plopping it on his head.
"So now what do we do?" Spot asked, looking around.
"We could go sleddin," Crutchie suggested. "There's some pretty good streets here. Ya know, grab a trash can lid and sit on it. It'd be fun." The Brooklyn newsies shook their heads.
"Naw, there's a buncha cops on the look out for newsies makin trouble," one of them said. "They love to nab us on snow days. It's like they's watchin us or somethin."
"We could play capture the flag," Jack said. When everyone nodded in agreement, he looked around the alley for something to use as flags. He unwrapped the thin piece of fabric he called a scarf from his neck and snatched Dollface's cap off her head.
"Hey!" she shouted, trying to grab it from his hand. "I was usin that!"
"And now we's usin it. You was the one who wanted to play in the snow, the least you can do is contribute to the cause," Jack said, walking toward Spot. He held out both items in his hands and presented them to Spot. "Take your pick."
Spot looked at both items and chose Dollface's light brown cap as it was much less noticeable than Jack's red scarf. Jack nodded and bent down in the snow, drawing another rough diagram of the docks and alleys that they were occupying. He drew a line separating the two areas.
"You got the docks," Jack said, drawing an X on one side of the line. "We got the alleys." He drew a check mark and stood up.
"Now for the rules," Spot said, looking around at everyone. "We each get five minutes to hide the flag. Afta five minutes, it's fair game. The way you get out is by getting hit wit a snowball if you's in the otha team's boundaries. If you get hit, be an honest man-" Dollface raised an eyebrow at him.
"Or woman," he corrected himself, rolling his eyes. He bent down at Jacks diagram and circled two places in each boundary. "Those are the jails for each team. You get hit, you get takin there. The only way to get outta jail is if anotha team mate runs ova and tags the jail guard. If the jail guard is hit, then it's a jail break and everyone is freed. The jail guard don't hafta go to the otha team's jail but he does gotta let them go without firing on them. Everyone undastand?" Everyone nodded and he clapped his hands together excitedly.
"Let the games begin!" he shouted excitedly. Everyone cheered as the Manhattan newsies circled up and the Brooklyn newsies ran towards their docks. Bumlets stood at the end of the alley to make sure no one was spying while Jack and the others brainstormed for a hiding place. Finally, Davey spoke up.
"This right here," he said, pointing to a place right next to the jail. "It's perfect. We hide it just out of sight of anyone who's in jail, so if they're caught they won't be able to find it when they're sitting there. If anyone from the other team comes to break them out, they won't be looking for the flag; they'll be focused on tagging the jail guard. And no one will go looking in that alley because they know someone will always be there guarding the jail."
"Excellent," Jack said, smiling broadly. "Ok now for positions. I want Crutchie and Dollface in the fire escapes as snipers. You too Snipe Shoota. You fellas got the best eyes and arms when it comes to this stuff. You just hide up there and keep a stash of snowballs wit ya and fire on anyone you see comin into our turf." They nodded as Jack looked around at the rest of the group.
"Davey, you's head of defensive plays, alright?" he said, looking at him. "You stay on our side and monitor everythin. Buttons, you's is on jail guard, so don't get hit. I'm gonna take Specs, Swift, Kid Blink, Mush, Racetrack, and Les to offense. We's gonna be the ones goin in and out of enemy lines. Les, you stay low to the ground. You's small so there's a good chance you won't be seen if ya hide."
"Everyone else stay on our side of the line and listen to Davey. If anyone gets caught, just give this whistle." Jack stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, making everyone cover their ears.
"If you're in jail and think its time for a jail break, just shout out somethin like uhh..."
"Soak 'em!" Les shouted, making Jack smile.
"Perfect," he said, as everyone stood up. He handed the scarf to Dollface. "Alright, Doll, you go hide this. Everyone else to your stations!" They cheered excitedly and ran off in different directions. Dollface ran to the center alley that faced the docks with the scarf hidden under her jacket so no one would see. She looked back over her shoulder and saw that everyone was watching Jack draw a line in the snow with a stick to separate the boundaries. She smiled and turned back around, only to be dragged by Spot to a reclusive spot in the nearby alley. He quickly looked around to see if they were alone before grabbing her face and pressing his lips to here. A moment later, they broke apart and Dollface gave Spot a curious look.
"What was that about?" she asked, his hands moving to her waist.
"You greeted me with a snowball to the face today," he said, raising his eyebrow. "You owe me."
"Fair enough," she shrugged as they began kissing again. Warmth spread all throughout Dollface's body as their kissing grew more intense, as they kissed each other's lips, chins, and necks. She wished they weren't both wearing layers of clothing; she wanted nothing more than to touch him. They were too preoccupied to hear the crunching of footsteps approaching them and briskly pulled apart when they heard a new voice.
"Dollface, we gotta get- Jesus Christ!" It was Jack. He had been searching for Dollface and instead found her with Spot attached to her lips. All three turned beet red at the embarrassment of the situation. Dollface and Spot weren't ones to parade their relationship around so they lived for secluded moments like this. Jack had never seen them kiss and to stumble upon them in this predicament... Well it only would have been more awkward if Crutchie had caught them. Jack looked away from them as he continued to relay his message.
"Um... We's about to start," he said, very flustered. Spot said nothing but just squeezed Dollface's hand and ran off to rejoin his team. Dollface and Jack stood there, very awkwardly, for another minute before Dollface had the sense to say something.
"I'll uh... just go hide this then," she mumbled walking past Jack. She then stopped and turned back to him. "Please don't tell-"
"You really think I'd tell Crutchie?" he asked. "What kinda friend would I be if I did that?" Dollface smiled and ran off to hide the flag.