A Rich Man's Newsie

by 1monster2

The newsies have been getting a lot of public attention lately-what with the strike against Pulitzer, and then the issue with the Comstocks...they've been getting a lot of publicity the last six months or so. Everyone likes them...or so everyone thinks. When some rich boys begin to take over the newsies' job, can they rally together to ensure their own survival?

9. We's Got a Chance Now

A/N: Hello, all! I'm going to start this chapter on Wednesday evening (as of writing this it right now, it's 7:33pm), and hopefully finish it sometime tomorrow, since we're done with orientation on Thursday at around 7pm…and I should have time to write, because I don't know what my roommate and I will be doing at that point. Hopefully we'll just be hanging out in our room, so I can just chill and work on this chapter! Anyways, I am super sorry for leaving you guys on that cliffhanger…It's horrible, I know, but look at it this way…everything's darkest before the dawn, right?...(hides in bomb shelter, closes the blast doors… "OH GOSH THE READERS ARE COMING!") Haha… ;) This is Chapter 9, so after this one there's only 3 more! Gack-where did this story go? It's the same with TNG….it just kinda gets to a later chapter, and I'm like, "What-when did this happen?" I know for a fact that I won't be able to post on Friday, since some other students in the history major and I and a faculty member of ours (probably Dr. Scalberg) are going out and doing something that night for dinner…I might be able to post on Sunday…but definitely look for something on Monday-after 2:30pm Pacific Time!

Anyways, I've started rambling again, so here's the DISCLAIMER I DON'T OWN NEWSIES AND NEVER WILL I'M JUST (I THINK) TWO YEARS YOUNGER THAN ANDY RICHARDSON YAYNESS!

Responses to reviews:

Biankies: Yeah, The League members aren't very smart…at all…they definitely underestimate the bonds the newsies have with each other, that's for sure. No problem! Ouch-that's a cool job, but still…ouch! Luckily you can have multiple cups of coffee! (My dad makes some before he leaves, but then my sister ends up taking most of it….and she's 14! You don't need a huge mug of coffee, Rachel-you're hyper enough without it! ;) ) Yeah, college should be exciting…and I get to be in charge of myself for once… I agree-it'll definitely be worth it. Yeah, a Musketeers writer who also drops her readers (including myself) off of cliffs ordered a mattress for her last cliff…hopefully it's beneficial to you guys! Hope you like this chapter!

FansieFace: Oh boy….do you have a padded room you could lock it in? It could be a problem…and…about Juliet…uh…um…(*barricades self further inside bomb shelter*)…I think we all know what's coming. Hopefully this update gets out before Sunday…and then only three chapters after that! Haha… That's me as well-my range goes from the C below middle C to two Cs above it (so, if you know music… "code", I guess it's called….that's C3 to C6, with C4 being middle C). I do end up singing a lot of Tenor as well-and just a lot of harmonies in general. I do really enjoy that cast, but I first learned to love Newsies via the OBC with Jeremy, so that's why I love them. (And his "Santa Fe"s….ohmigoodLord they're amazing! ;) ) Haha… yep, that's Andy! And I agree-they're all extremely good looking!

S. Castro: Haha…yeah, I was watching from a review from you and then just kinda went on with the next chapter… Hopefully you like this one! Yeah, I think The League members were all dropped on their heads a great deal…they've really only got their looks… (Supernatural reference-yay! ;) ) Yeah, I figured Katherine would be smart enough to do that…but I didn't know about Juliet, so I just figured she wouldn't, especially since it seemed like nothing was being done…and yeah, she does seem to have a talent for getting kidnapped, doesn't she? Hopefully it won't be too bad, but we'll see…yep, that's the reference! Thanks-I hope you like this chapter!

CLIFFHANGER ALERT!

Enjoy "A Rich Man's Newsie" Chapter 9!

"We's gotta git our sister back…no matter wat it takes." Jack murmured.

The next morning, before most of the newsies were awake, Davey was already up and headed for the courthouse. Accompanying him was Joseph Pulitzer, and they were going to talk with Judge Bolger. Pulitzer had decided to come with Davey because he and the Judge were old friends, and he figured it couldn't hurt to offer his help to his friend in this instance, since The League had also now gone after Katherine as well.

But dang it all-did the newsies have to get up so early? It wasn't even six o' clock yet!

Once they arrived at the courthouse, they went inside, heading straight for Judge Bolger's office. When he saw who was knocking on his door, he sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God it's only you two." he muttered under his breath. Pulitzer looked confusedly at his friend, who seemed much more nervous than usual. "What's wrong, Jeremy?" he queried. His friend sighed, running a hand through his hair before explaining, "I've been trying a murder case in the last two weeks or so, and every single lawyer in New York seems to think they're involved in the case-I've had scores of them through here in the last five days or so, giving me their opinion on this or that…it's driving me insane!" He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, before sighing deeply. "I know that's not why you're here, though…what happened?"

"Juliet got kidnapped again, Your Honor. By The League of Gentlemen." The judge stopped dead in his tracks, gripping the desk so hard his knuckles whitened. "Juliet's been kidnapped. For the second time in five months. By this gang of rich boys?" At Davey's nod, the judge almost-but very nearly-cursed under his breath, barely holding it in. Finally, he slumped into his seat and placed his head in his hands.

"That poor girl…she's just getting over her last kidnapping too…and those last soaked newsies were her best friends, weren't they?" Davey nodded again, and the Judge sighed again.

"Darn these aristocrats who think they're so much better than you all-that's the reason you're all in bad shape in the first place, because of stupid people like them!" He sighed, trying desperately to calm himself. "Are the officers who have been watching them the last few days aware of this?"

"I don't know if it's those specific officers, Jeremy, but Katherine and I went over to the Lodging House last night to show the newsies a note that a League member had left in her room. When Jack and Race realized that Juliet was missing, they allowed the officers to look through the House and confirm that the newsie was not there. The same officers were present during our search in the park, where Jack was left a package from Anton containing a rag soaked in chloroform."

"What note?" Pulitzer handed the note that Katherine had received over to his friend, who read it carefully before setting it on his desk, leaning back in his chair and thinking hard.

"So, you know for a fact that Juliet was not in the house…did she get a paper like this?"

"Yes-Finch, Elmer, and Race saw it, and said that she was extremely nervous about it."

"And Katherine found this on her bed?"

"Yes, somehow a League member got into her room and placed it there, and I'm guessing the same thing happened to Juliet. Oh, I forgot to mention this, but the officers who searched the Lodging House also saw the conditions that Crutchie, Specs, and Romeo are in, and said that their personal observations of the boys could stand as evidence in court."

"Yes, it could….hmm…well, the harassment charges might be a little hard to prove, unless the officers specifically hear the rich boys taunting you newsies…but with the eyewitness accounts of the officers, and whatever condition Juliet is found in, along with the injuries to the boys themselves should be enough to get them on aggravated assault…and we can add kidnapping to the mix…as well as breaking and entering." Davey and Pulitzer sighed in relief. Finally they would be able to get the rich boys locked up and away from the newsies. So long as they found Juliet…

"Do you know where they're keeping Juliet?" Judge Bolger asked. Pulitzer looked to Davey, who shook his head. "No, Your Honor, we haven't found it yet-but we won't stop until we do. We are going to get our sister back."

"Yes, of that I have no doubt…and I have no doubt that Jack will be having a very important conversation with her afterwards." The Judge murmured. Davey grinned wryly as he nodded. Then, the Judge started. "You know-I just thought of something else that might help us. These League members believe that if they are arrested for anything whatsoever, their parents will simply bail them out of jail because they're rich. What if we bring in their parents beforehand and show them what their sons are doing and why it's illegal-maybe some of them will agree not to bail out their sons." Pulitzer and Davey nodded excitedly. If the parents wouldn't bail their sons out of jail, it would mean that the rich boys would be left in prison to rot for a long time-perhaps even forever. It wouldn't be total revenge for all of the hell The League had put the newsies through, but it was at least a good start.

"I'll call them in tomorrow morning. We'll get these rich bastards-I know we will." the Judge said, looking them both in the eye. The other two nodded, shaking his hand, before slowly leaving the office.

While Davey was meeting with the Judge, the rest of the newsies were out selling. Davey had given his money to Race, who had bought papers for Davey and would give them to him once he arrived. They were having a good selling day, and business seemed to be booming. The newsies made sure to keep an eye on each other, so that no one would get set upon by the rich boys. They also kept an eye out for any sign of where Juliet might be being held, or if she might possibly have escaped. After a little while, Mush, Scabs, and Buttons were taking a quick break to get a drink of water. As they did so, they heard a tearing sound and then a high-pitched scream from behind them. The three turned to see a woman shoving away a tall young man who had apparently shredded her newspaper into bits, and then tried to make off with her purse. As the man got up to try to run away, she hit him with her purse, and as he recoiled back, the three newsies groaned.

Of course it was a League member. Of course.

The woman had a few choice words for him, and The League member responded in kind, including something along the lines of "anyone who wastes fifty cents on those disgusting pieces of newsie vermin deserve to have their livelihood stolen away". The newsies could clearly hear this, and both Scabs and Buttons started yelling at the rich boy (Jordan) and began to charge towards him. Mush grabbed both of them around the waist, before flipping around and crying, "JACK!" From a few blocks away, Jack heard the shout and turned to see the three boys, before sprinting over towards them. As he skidded to a stop, Scabs broke out of Mush's grip, only to be stopped by their older brother. "Easy, ya two! Wat's goin' on?"

"Dey said dat anyone who buys a pape from one a us deserves ta have deir stuff an' life stolen! An' dey called us vermin!" Scabs cried, still trying to break out of Jack's grip. Jack looked over at Buttons, who was nodding his head in agreement, a fierce look shining in his dark eyes. The newsie leader sighed, before turning his head to see who it was that had riled Buttons and Scabs up so bad. When he noticed Jordan, he growled lowly in his throat. "Wat're ya all doin' round here?" he queried sharply. "Why don'cha jus' bug off-before ya do sumthing ya's gonna regret. Cause iffn' ya goes afta us…we ain't gonna be too kind in return."

"You can't do anything to harm us, even if you tried. No matter what you do, it will seem as a random act of violence against a high-ranking citizen of the fair borough of Manhattan by a member of the very dregs of the social ladder…and with our word against yours, no police officer will believe the lot of you." From behind him, out walked Oscar Morrison and Rito Revoltan, both with an undeniably arrogant swagger. "You can't touch us, newsie filth. No matter what we do to you, none of you can touch us."

"Just watch us!" Buttons cried, finally breaking free from Mush's grip and starting to barrel towards Jordan-only to be caught around the waist by Davey, who had just walked up. "You'd best be moving on," he called to the three rich boys behind him, "before Jack and I just decide to let go of our brothers here and let them come at you. And I promise you won't like that outcome-so get lost." The rich boys sneered at them for a while, but finally slunk off into the shadows. Once they were completely out of sight, the two "Core Four" members slowly released their holds on their younger brothers.

"You three go on now an' keep sellin'-Davey an' I's got sumthing ta talk 'bout." Mush, Scabs, and Buttons nodded (Scabs and Buttons rather sullenly), and started off for their corners. As they walked off, Jack turned to Davey. "So-what'd da Judge say?"

"He said that with the police officers' eyewitness testimony and the conditions of Crutchie, Specs, and Romeo-as well as Juliet, once we get her back-will be enough to get the aggravated assault charges…and we can also add in kidnapping-of course-and breaking and entering. The only one that'll be hard to prove is the harassment charges, but the others will put them away for longer. Judge Bolger is also going to call all of The League members' parents in for a meeting tomorrow, to talk about what their sons are doing, and try to get them to avoid bailing their sons out."

Jack slowly started to grin. "So wat you's tellin' me is dat iffn' deir parents don' bail dem out, dey all goes ta jail?"

"Yes-for a long time. So long as their parents don't bail them out, they won't get out of jail for near fifty years." Jack's smile grew bigger, and he heartily slapped Davey on the back, causing the younger boy to stumble forwards a little bit. "Davey-ya jus' gave me da best news I's had in a long time." He then stopped, growing slightly more somber. "Now all we has ta do is git dem bastards in da jail…an' git Juliet outta watevar hellhole dey's got her in."

At that exact moment, Juliet was beginning to regain consciousness. For a while, she didn't open her eyes, reacquainting herself to her surroundings. She had quickly realized that she wasn't still in Central Park, as there was no sound of whistling wind or towering trees, but a still silence. Also, she knew that she wasn't in the Lodging House, as even late at night one of her brothers would be making some sort of noise-a few of them snored, a few of them rolled around in bed, etcetera. Suddenly, the events of the past few hours flashed through her mind, and she groaned.

Jack was going to kill her. Everyone knew that it didn't take a long time to take a piss…and she could guess that she'd been away from the Lodging House for a long time.

Jack was going to kill her.

And probably Race.

And Davey.

And…well, Crutchie couldn't get out of bed, so he technically didn't count.

"Well, well, well…looky here, boys-our 'little friend' is awake!" Once she recognized the speaker's voice, Juliet groaned again. "Anton-cain't ya jus' give up an' leave us alone already? Ya's done anough harm ta all a us, an' ya ain't gonna git away with it!"

"Au contraire, my 'little friend'…your precious newsies will never see you again-and they will never be able to convict us of anything. There are no charges that will stick to us."

"Uh…kidnappin' for one….breakin' an' enterin', um…" At Anton's scoff, she smirked (or, what she thought was a smirk). "Wat? I's read up on dese things, so dat if I finds myself in dese sorts a situations, I's gonna know wat you's gonna git arrested for." She finally opened her eyes to see a semi-dark room. It was large and rectangular, with a couple windows letting in some light. She could make out all 12 League members in the room, including Anton and Nixon, who were standing nearest to her. She also realized her current physical situation-she was standing on the ground, with her hands tied together and her arms pulled over her head, tied to a hook on the ceiling. Her feet touched the ground-but just barely.

"Wow…ya's really goin' all out, ain'tcha? Wen da newsies wanta soak somebody, we jus' beat da guy to a pulp-like Jack, Race, an' Davey did ta you three ovar dere…" She cut off as Delon stalked lividly towards her and slapped her across the face. She slowly turned her face back to face him, before spitting in his face. "Ya gotta do better den dat, boy." she scoffed. Delon went to strike her again, but Nixon pushed him back a ways. "Not too much yet, you idiot." he murmured quietly. "Anton still has to talk with her for a while…and then you'll get to hit her."

"Um…ya do know I can hear ya, right? I mean-ya's standin' right dere…not dat hard…" Juliet snarked. The smirk on her face turned to a scowl as Anton walked in front of her.

"Why?" The question was short, sweet, and not what Juliet was expecting. She blinked a couple of times, before confusedly staring back at him. "Why wat?"

"Why are the newsies so popular?" Anton asked, turning his back to her and walking a short distance away. "Why does the public love them so much…and why did you join them?" He turned around, adopting an almost fatherly look, as if she was a child who was misbehaving, and he had to straighten her out. Juliet groaned in annoyance. "Dat's da whole reason ya dragged me here? Seriously? I mean, I didn' think anyone could be dat stupid, but…" She trailed off at Anton's frustrated expression before continuing. "Da public likes us cause we works hard, an' we stand up for wat is right. Also, cause Crutchie, Les, an' Snitch is some a da cutest people ya has eva seen." She smirked. Then, her smile fell, and she sighed. "An' I joined dem cause I had nowhere else ta go. My parents left me unda a bridge wen I's six, an' den tried ta forcibly make me move back in with dem. Da newsie boys-an' girls, countin' Smalls an' some othars-gave me a home an' a real family, an' I ain't never gonna be able to repay dem for it." Anton scoffed, clearly not believing her. Juliet rolled her eyes. "Plus, de rescued me from da stupid Clancy brothas an' Warden Snyder an' my parents…which reminds me…can I's go now, since I answered you's stupid questions? I'd like ta git back 'fore my arms lose all a deir circulation." It was true-her arms were still recovering a bit from when she was trapped in the Refuge. They weren't too bad anymore, just very sore, and were starting to sting pretty bad, since she was almost hanging by them. Her ribs were also starting to ache quite a bit. She tried not to make a sound, though, trying not to give The League the satisfaction of hearing her in pain.

"You know our answer to that, Margaret…and you also know what's going to happen to you. Now, tell us how we can tear down the newsies and turn the public against them."

"An' wat in God's name would make ya think ya can make me do dat?"

Anton grinned nastily. "Oh, I think you know why." He walked forwards, until he was so close that Juliet was trying as hard as she could to get away. "You and I used to have something once…." he leered, running a hand down her side. Juliet shuddered in disgust.

"Dat was wen we was children, Anton-an' it nevar meant anything."

"Oh really? It meant something to me." He came even closer, eyeing her. "We could still have something together…so long as you tell me how to topple the newsies." He leaned in close, as if to kiss her. Something in Juliet snapped, remembering what had happened to her the last time she had been kidnapped, and she lifted up a leg, kicking Anton squarely in the groin. He stumbled back, glaring at her, before letting out a curse. "Your fate is on your head, then. Boys, teach her a lesson." The League members sneered as they gathered around and started "teaching" Juliet a "lesson". It was a lot like what the Clancys had done, but not as far as they had gone, which Juliet was thankful for. She had expected the beating, though, and so she tried as hard as she could not to make a sound of pain. Some groans did escape her, but other than that she was basically silent. By the time they were done, Juliet was beaten, bruised, and bloody, barely able to keep herself from attempting to curl into herself from the pain. The League members, laughing coldly, then left the room, Anton last to leave, slowly shaking his head. "You could have been the girlfriend of someone important, Margaret. Remember that."

"I don' belong with your kind a people, Anton. I nevar have, an' I nevar will. I may have bin born dat way, but dat doesn' make me who I is. I's a newsie till da end, an' nothing ya can say will evar change dat."

Anton rolled his eyes, sighed softly, and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Juliet sighed, now much more comfortable with letting out groans of pain.

"Jack…Race…Davey…guys…wherever ya guys are…now would be a great time ta come an' find me…..although I undastand iffn' ya don' want ta, since I's da one dat ran off….

Jus' come help. Come find me.

Please."

A/N 2: Welp…this chapter finally got done…sorry it took so long to get out! I've been working on it as much as I can the past 4 days (ever since Wednesday), and I really made a push to just get it out today, in preparation for tomorrow being my first day of classes (though I don't have one until 11am). Just a heads up-chapters probably won't come out every day now…I will have a lot more homework/responsibilities, but I'll try to update as regularly as I can! There's only three chapters left, so hopefully it should be done before too much longer!

Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you soon!

God bless,

1monster2