(Author's Note - Thank you very much to Pegasus, Talia, Tragic, Aris1013 and Shooter for the feedback, we appreciate so much and it really keeps us going! This part will feature Fishah, Crash, Cap, Jenna, Spot, Relic, Ninja/Sig, Prince and Bristol!)

Chapter 4: Ready, Steady, Go

by Relic

The day had been a long one, but that didn't keep the girls' lodging house from buzzing late into the night with news of the impending turf dispute. Two bunks in the corner were particularly chatty, the four girls leaning off the edges of their bunks in order to speak without waking some of their sleeping neighbors.

"I heard they got plans to off all the younger boys from Duane Street, one at a time," Fishah said, tugging at her long, dirty blonde hair. "Doubt it's true, though."

Crash, a small girl with stringy blonde hair and green eyes, shook her head. "Can't be. I just don't get it – Jet and his boys are rough around the edges, but I know some of them. A little rock-headed, but I just can't see them doing something like this."

"But they did," Cap reminded the two softly. The quietest of the four, by far, the girl was a natural wallflower, with brown hair, brown eyes and a general look that blended right into the crowd. It was rare that she got involved in such conversations, so the other girls became silent as they mulled over her words.

The fourth and final member of their little bunkbed quartet, Jenna, twirled a finger around her curly brown hair. "Pie's nervous. Me, too; I mean, what's this mean for us? Some of the girls here sell up by Midtown. Having to choose sides could make this place real uncomfortable. Not like it's great to begin with."

The others nodded in understanding. For the other three, if it got tough or came down to violence, they could claim neutrality. But Jenna had been seeing Pie Eater for a few months now, so it was obvious where her loyalties, as well as the other girls in their house that were dating boys from Duane Street, would have to lie.

"This'll work out," Fishah said, after another long silence. "Now, we should get some sleep. War or not, we got papes to sell come dawn."

"Goodnight," the girls all echoed, before rolling over and attempting to fall into troubled sleeps. With one person dead already and the potential for such a divide among friends, they all knew this was past the point of working out.

"Do it again."

Relic sighed, putting down the slingshot. "Eight times, and I haven't hit the bottle. I think it's time to call it quits; I'm just not good enough to hit that far away, yet."

Spot, who had previously been looking over her shoulder and had issued the order, gave her a look that bordered perilously close to scornful. "And how do you think you're gonna get better, wishing on a lucky star? There ain't no quitters in Brooklyn."

"But we've got lots of quitters in Manhattan. Seems to work okay for them," Relic offered hopefully, but shut her mouth rather quickly and took aim at the bottle once more when Spot gave her another look. Apparently, when it came to slingshots, Spot Conlon did not take jokes well. "Just saying."

"Cut the girl a break, Spot," Ninja called, only looking mildly unsettled when he turned his glare onto her. After all, given that she was currently nestled comfortably in the arms of Sig, Spot's right-hand man, she knew she had a slight pass. "Just be nice, or else she'll quit that slingshot and these little stop-offs she makes, altogether. And, she brings cookies, so, just be charming."

Spot couldn't deny that Ninja had a point, so he simply gave her a warning look and went back to helping Relic with her aim. It had turned into a weekly thing, Relic dropping by after delivering a couple packages (the walk was long, but it was a decent side job), and he enjoyed the new face. The cookies she always got from one of her package recipients helped, as well. Besides, she didn't annoy him like a lot of girls (especially non-Brooklyn girls), so as much as he'd never admit it, he didn't want her to stop coming.

Ninja leaned back against Sig, picking up a rock and tossing it out over the dock and into the water as she watched Relic miss the target again, and Spot patiently hand her another marble. "They make a cute couple."

Sig, who had currently been caught up in conversation with his friend Prince, offered Ninja a brief and confused, "They're not together. Spot ain't looking for a girl, and she's with that bum that tried to get in your skirt a couple months back." Ryker was infamous even in other boroughs.

Ninja nodded and heaved a sigh when Sig, figuring the conversation was over at that point, turned back to his conversation with Prince. It wasn't that Sig was dumb; she knew better than that. He just didn't give a damn about anything she did, as far as she could see, and very rarely feigned an interest in the conversation cues she was constantly throwing at him. An attractive girl with short black hair and dark blue eyes, she didn't run into trouble gaining both wanted and unwanted attention from most others of the opposite gender. However, when it came to Sig, she sometimes felt as if she was dating a wooden pole.

A wooden pole with a best friend attached, she thought to herself as Prince made some comment that sent to the two men into a fit of laughter. She liked Prince well enough, and she supposed he and Sig made good friends, as Prince seemed to bring out the uninhibited and fun side of her usually tough, rigid boyfriend. It was amusing to see them together as well, with Sig's huge bulky frame and pale blonde hair up next to the much smaller, dark-haired Prince. However, every now and then, she surely wouldn't mind having her boyfriend's attention all to herself!

Seeming to catch on that something was amiss (no real surprise, as it seemed to Ninja that Prince was always more in-tune with his companions' feelings), Prince leaned over to her. "Everything okay?"

"Sure," she smiled, covering up her bemused expression immediately. "Just a little caught up with all that stuff Relic was saying. I'm just glad we don't have trouble like that here, thanks to Spot. Real shame when a thing like that happens to a kid."

True to her word to Jack, Relic had delivered the bad news immediately upon her arrival at the docks. Spot had listened, because he seemed to have a soft spot when it came to listening to the girl, but had eventually shrugged it off. After all, Manhattan's problems, terrible as they might be, weren't really Brooklyn's. That didn't stop the docks from immediately bustling with the news, however.

"Sure is. I'm glad we're not involved, though next time I see a guy from Midtown, I'll probably soak him. I mean, killing a kid, fellow newsie at that.," Bristol, a very popular newsboy with black hair and striking green eyes, slipped in as he sat down next to the trio. "Life goes on, though. Kind of funny that all that mess is going on over there; they're supposed to be the peaceful ones. Everything has been so calm and quiet around here late – ouch! Mother of-"

The man, who went on to say some words that only a Brooklyn street kid would – and should – know, had managed to catch a marble right to his cheekbone, courtesy of Relic's slingshot. The girl in question was red-faced and shouting apologies, while Spot stood behind her, laughing too hard to speak.

Bristol grudgingly rubbed what would probably soon become a black eye, before finally, in true Bristol fashion, waving it off and laughing lightly. "Like I was saying, we have enough problems of our own to worry about theirs."

"Think this'll effect our big poker game we're supposed to be having with all them next weekend?" Prince inquired, looking a bit downcast at the idea. The life of a New York newsie wasn't exactly filled with thrills and fun; losing one of those rare opportunities was downright painful.

Sig shook his head. "Nah, Spot's hosting it here. They all know better than to start something over here, and besides, not too many people from Midtown were invited in the first place. My guess is they won't show up."

"Hope not," Ninja said simply. "We could all use a break."

Bristol smiled cheerfully, rubbing his aching cheekbone once more. "Ain't that the truth."