Disclaimer: This is a non-commercial work of fanfiction. Anything recognizable from Newsies belongs to Disney and not to me.


Chapter 46: Two Key Allies

The trip from Lower Manhattan to Lincoln Square would have taken Katherine an hour and a half on foot, and she had neither the time nor the inclination to trudge that far, so she took a carriage part way and then walked the last few blocks to Central Park West. The Hearsts lived in an upscale apartment within view of the park, and after only a little searching, she located the building easily enough.

She'd phoned Bill the day before, and he'd offered to come down to Newspaper Row to meet her, but Katherine had wanted to minimize the chance of one of her father's lackeys finding out about her whereabouts, so she'd insisted on making the trip to the Upper West Side instead.

It was Tuesday. Tonight was the night that the newsies would undertake their most risky move yet: sneaking into enemy territory under the cover of darkness to print the paper that would hopefully turn the tide irrevocably in their favor. Jack, Davey, and Race were probably meeting at this very moment to go over the final details of their plan and to make sure that there was nothing they'd missed. (Jack had invited Katherine to be present, but she'd declined; between the three of the boys, they'd have things well in hand, and besides, she had her own work to do).

Quickening her pace, she hurried up the steps of the apartment building where the Hearsts lived.

Bill was waiting for her in the lobby. "Good afternoon, Katherine," he greeted her. "It's a beautiful day outside; what do you say we grab something to eat in Central Park and talk then?"

To any casual observer, the words would have sounded like a lighthearted suggestion, but Katherine caught the deliberate look in Bill's eye, and she knew that he was subtly warning her that they needed to put some distance between themselves and his family's apartment before discussing anything important.

There were certain things that you learned being the child of a newspaper tycoon, and she and Bill shared a lingua franca of sorts, one that consisted not of words but of covert cues and shrewd maneuvers that were necessary for communication when you were never anonymous and never really alone.

Easily agreeing aloud to Bill's suggestion for the benefit of any who might be eavesdropping, Katherine followed her friend as he led the way out of the apartment building and across the street to Central Park. It was a beautiful day, in fact, and the lush lawns and well-kept gardens offered a welcome burst of green amidst the brick and stone of the city.

They stopped to buy hotdogs from the first vendor they saw, then continued walking as they ate, chatting pleasantly about nothing in particular. Katherine watched her friend's face, reading the subtle indications in his tone, trying her hardest to be patient and to respect his need for privacy and distance...but inwardly she was chomping at the bit to apprise him of the reason why she had come.

The idea to involve Bill and Darcy - two of her closest friends when it came to the newspaper business - had hit her shortly after the meeting at the lodging house the afternoon before. She'd been walking home to her apartment (Jack had offered to accompany her, but she'd insisted that he stay with the newsies) when suddenly she'd realized that, even though they'd solved the problem of where they would print the Newsies Banner, they actually had no idea of how to operate the printing press in the cellar. It was an oversight that could have easily derailed the entire operation, and Katherine was thankful that it had come to her attention before it was too late.

Accordingly, she'd begun scheming and then had made a few phone calls. She'd decided to tackle Bill first; sharp and astue, with a canny eye for business in the mode of his father, she knew that it would take some convincing to get him to agree to take part in the break-in on Pulitzer's basement, but his typesetting skills would be integral to the success of their printing, and she was pretty sure that she could persuade him to get on board.

Her father had never approved of her friendship with Bill (or Darcy, for that matter), but that hadn't stopped Katherine from associating with whom she pleased, and it pleased her very much to have kept up a cordial rapport with the sons of two of her father's competitors. She had met both boys several years ago at a social function thrown by the mayor, and the three of them had immediately bonded over the shared misery of being the child of a newspaper owner: the never-ending lectures on the importance of the press, the constantly heated discussions on how to one-up the competition, and the general preoccupation of their fathers due to the demands of their jobs.

She saw Darcy more often than Bill; The Tribune's offices were only a block away from The Sun's headquarters, so they would regularly meet for lunch, and at times they'd even go to see a show together if they weren't working late at their respective offices. Bill was often busy, but Darcy always seemed to have time for her.

"So, what's the latest on that revolution of yours, Katherine?" Bill asked, seemingly assured that the risk of being overheard by any nosy listeners had been sufficiently diminished. "You sure raised a ruckus with that article in The Sun."

"We're on the brink of something big, Bill," Katherine confided excitedly. "If we can pull it off, the strike may be over as soon as tomorrow."

"Well, Father will be happy to hear that," Bill remarked. "Some of the newsboys for The Journal are striking too, though they're not quite as organized as the newsies selling for The World. It hasn't completely stopped distribution, but it's put a bee in Father's bonnet, and I know he's eager for it to be over." He gave Katherine a keen look. "You must have some pretty bright minds in charge of the operation going up against your father."

She couldn't stop herself from smiling proudly. "Bright indeed. I'm amazed at the determination and ingenuity of these boys, Bill - they don't have even half of the education or resources that we have, but they know how to make things happen from the ground up."

"And they had an ally in a strategic position," he reminded her. "Don't forget what your father always says: 'Publicity, publicity, publicity - '"

"' - is the greatest moral factor and force in our public life,'" Katherine finished, rolling her eyes.

"He's right," Bill shrugged. "If your article hadn't caught the city's attention and given the strike some important coverage, I doubt the newsboys would have gotten as far as they have."

"Well, we've still got a ways to go before we can claim victory," Katherine said. "That's what I came to talk to you about."

Quickly, she filled her friend in on the scheme that she and Jack had come up with, as well as their dilemma regarding the printing press and its operation. "So, I was hoping that you'd want to get in on some of the action," she concluded, watching Bill's face closely. "We could use your typesetting abilities, if you'd be willing to lend them to the cause."

Bill let out a laugh, shaking his head a little. "You never change, do you, Katherine?" he chuckled. "You know, it seems like just yesterday we were youngsters at one of those parties for the mayor, bored out of our minds while our fathers socialized, and you were trying to get Darcy and me to join you in pilfering some of the sweets that had been set aside for the adults." His smile was sly. "It didn't go so well, if I recall correctly."

"Oh, stop it, Bill," Katherine scolded. "This is important."

"You thought the bonbons were too, at the time."

"Now would be a good time to shut up," Katherine warned. She'd forgotten how witty Bill could be when he wasn't directly under the scrutiny of his father or stressed out by some work project.

"If I shut up, you'll never know my answer," he quipped with a grin.

He was ribbing her a bit, and she didn't really have time for it, but his good-humor had always been infectious, and she found herself giving him a grudging smile in return.

"Don't shut up, then," she amended. "But do tell me what you think."

"I'll help you out," Bill said easily. "It just so happens that my evening's free, so you can count on me being there. Besides, I'd like to meet these newsboys of yours - their gumption is fascinating! I suppose I ought to be opposing them on principle, since they're indirectly responsible for Father's employees striking, too, but I have to respect fellows who are willing to put everything on the line, even when the odds are stacked against them. That's the kind of grit I don't see everyday."

The admiration in his voice was clear, and Katherine let out a quiet sigh of relief.

That had been simpler than expected.

"Will your father mind?" she asked. In many ways, though Pulitzer was the primary target of the newsboys' protest, the owner of The Journal would be impacted by the implications of the night's events as well, provided the newsies' scheme was successful. In fact, the entire city would feel the ripple down effect. No one would be exempted.

Bill waved off her question. "Father's ambitious and driven, but he knows how to adapt; I'm sure this will surprise him, but if his strongest competitor is the one being singled out and hit the hardest…" he gave Katherine a wry smile. "Let's just say I don't think he'll mind my involvement, even if he does happen to find out. But I'm going to try to make sure that he doesn't."

"You're the best!" Katherine exclaimed. "I knew I could count on you."

"Well, persuasion's always been one of your strengths," Bill said matter-of-factly. He glanced at his pocket watch. "I'm guessing you're going to be making a stop at The Trib next to call on our other partner in crime?"

Katherine nodded.

"Well, I'll let you get to it, then," Bill said briskly, raising his arm to hail a carriage. "Call me up after you've spoken to Darcy, and let me know what time you need me to arrive."

She thanked him, appreciative of both his willingness to help and his graciousness in releasing her from any further need to socialize. Bill had always been pragmatic, incisive, and quick-moving, and she'd never been more grateful for those traits than she was now.

A carriage pulled over and clattered to a stop, and Bill opened the door and helped Katherine in. "The Tribune Building, Printing House Square," he called to the driver. The carriage pulled away, and he gave her a wave before turning around and strolling back towards his family's apartment.

Katherine sat back, settling in for the return ride to Lower Manhattan. She was thankful to have gotten Bill on board so easily; she'd anticipated him being a hard sell, but he'd agreed quickly enough. Now all that remained was to enlist Darcy.

It should have been the simpler of the two tasks; kind, softhearted Darcy had never been able to say no to her. While Bill was the logical type that had to be convinced that a course of action was at least somewhat advantageous before he'd commit to it, Darcy would almost always say yes out of sheer loyalty. Katherine didn't really expect him to put up a protest.

Still, she found herself uneasy as she anticipated the pending conversation with her friend. Broaching the subject of the strike and their plan would be easy enough, but assuming that Darcy agreed (and no doubt he would), he would eventually have to meet Jack...and there was the rub.

Katherine had always suspected that Darcy fancied her a little, and while he'd never overtly said so, she'd seen the signs - the eager way he got to his feet whenever she came into the room, his willingness to drop whatever he was doing to meet her for lunch, the quickness with which he would step in whenever someone approached her on the street...in fact, the first time she'd run across Jack, she'd actually been on a walk with Darcy, and if she hadn't swiftly shut down the cheeky newsboy herself, no doubt her friend would have happily done it for her.

She hadn't thought much about Darcy's affection then; he hadn't said anything to her, after all, and she was unattached, so there was no harm in going about together occasionally (now and then a gossiping remark or two would come to her ears, but she'd never cared for what the town's busybodies had to say, and Darcy was either ignorant of the remarks or else too happy to be with her to care - or perhaps, as a man, he'd been spared them). But now that she was clearly involved in...well, she wasn't sure what, but it was something with Jack, it didn't seem right to let things with Darcy go on as they had before.

A problem for another time, she decided quickly. They needed to focus on ending the strike first.

The trip back to Printing House Square went faster than expected, and soon Katherine was making her way up the steps of the Tribune Building. Darcy, by virtue of his father's position, had an office on the ninth floor, and Katherine took the stairs at a brisk pace, her excitement and the desire to stretch her legs after the carriage ride giving spring to her step.

She entered the suite where Darcy worked and caught the eye of his secretary.

"Good afternoon, Miss Plumber," the woman greeted her. "Mr. Reid just returned from a meeting. I'll see if he's available." She stood and bustled down the hall. It wasn't unusual for Katherine to show up around this time, or for Darcy to go out to meet her, so no questions were asked, and Katherine was thankful that her appearance wouldn't raise any suspicions.

The secretary re-appeared just moments later. "He'll be with you shortly," she promised. No sooner had she resituated herself at her desk, when Darcy appeared in the hallway, impeccably dressed as always.

"Hello, Katherine!" he said cheerfully, fastening the last button of his jacket. "You're here earlier than expected. I take it Bill didn't give you any trouble, then?"

Katherine shot him a look. She didn't particularly want anyone knowing that she'd spoken with Bill earlier that day, and while she had no reason to mistrust Darcy's officemates, those working on the ninth floor had close connections to his father and by extension to the other newspaper owners. The less said in their hearing, the better.

Darcy caught her warning look but seemed unable to decipher its meaning, so Katherine quickly covered with some rather meaningless chatter about their friend who was always busy and never seemed to have time to do anything other than slave away for the family empire. It was slightly true, but it also didn't provide any kind of concrete information, and before Darcy could say anything more, Katherine brightly suggested that they take a walk outside, and almost dragged him out of the office and into the stairwell.

"Katherine...what's this all about?" Darcy asked as they descended. "You only told me that you needed my help with something and that you'd stop over after you talked to Bill, but you're acting like this is some kind of...covert operation or something!"

"That's exactly what it is, Darcy," Katherine confided, willing to speak more freely now that they were out of earshot of anyone else. "The newsies who have been striking against my father are going to be printing their own paper tonight, a paper calling for a city-wide strike. This paper will be distributed to working kids all across the city, and they'll be invited to rally in front of The New York World Building tomorrow. If they answer the call and agree to join up, the entire city will be immobilized, and the newspaper owners and powers that be will have to listen."

They continued on in silence for a moment, Katherine not bothering to look over her shoulder to see how her friend was taking the news. Darcy was probably a little surprised by it, but it would be only a matter of seconds before he came around and -

"I could see now why you'd want to keep that a secret," he said from behind, still trying to catch up to her. "It's an ambitious plan, no doubt about it, but I bet it'll get the job done."

Predictable, ever-optimistic Darcy.

"There's just one catch," Katherine admitted. "We have access to a printing press, but none of us knows how to operate it." She glanced over at him, slowing her pace just a bit so that he could draw even with her. "I was hoping that you might be willing to help us out with that."

He looked a little astonished, but quickly agreed. "Of course, Katherine. Anything for you." He'd said this phrase often enough whenever she'd asked something of him, and she'd honestly started to take it for granted a little, but now the words unsettled her slightly.

She wondered what Darcy would think of Jack. And what the hardscrabble newsies would think of her longtime friends with their clean hands and proper language and tailored suits (the only newsboy she'd ever seen wearing a tie had been Davey, and even he seemed to have abandoned the practice as of late). They were all roughly around the same age, but other than that, they shared nothing in common. However, they only needed to be able to work together for this one instance, Katherine reassured herself. It wasn't necessary for them to be friends, only willing accomplices.

Now that she'd enlisted both Darcy and Bill for the cause, their cadre was complete and everything was in place.

Well, almost everything.

"Will you come over to The World with me, Darcy?" Katherine asked as they finished descending the stairs. "I have some business to take care of, but it won't take long."

"Certainly," he agreed. "Are you going to speak with your father? Maybe make one final effort to settle things?"

Katherine shook her head. It was a nice thought, but they were far past the point of negotiating now.

"Actually," she said, "my business is with a much more important person." A sly grin spread across her face as she added, "I'm going to see the janitor about a set of keys."


A/N: Thoughts on Darcy and Bill? They have less than a handful of lines between them in the play, but there had to have been some kind of backstory for them to agree to Katherine's invitation. Thanks, ChibiDawn23, for requesting to see a bit of these two gents in Something Worth Winning.

Hope you'll join me next time for a little basement break-in! In the meantime, please let me know what you thought of the latest installment; your feedback means a lot! :)