Disclaimer: This is a non-commercial work of fanfiction. Anything recognizable from Newsies belongs to Disney and not to me.
Chapter 64: Necessary Persistence
The third floor of The Sun was bustling with activity as Katherine made her way over to the little alcove that housed her desk. Waving hello to Thom and Lena who were across the room poring over a newspaper spread, she set down the substantial sheaf of papers she'd been carrying, stacking them neatly off to one side. Then she reached down and opened the bottom drawer of her desk.
There, sitting exactly where she'd left it nearly two months ago, was her typewriter.
Carefully, Katherine reached in and pulled out the machine, setting it on her desk centered in front of her chair, an inch and a half away from the edge, just the way she liked it. She sat down, checked to make sure that the margins of the typewriter were set correctly, unlocked the paper guide, and slid a clean sheet behind the roller. Then she turned the cylindrical knob until the paper appeared. She adjusted her chair until she found the perfect position, reached over to push the carriage to the right...and then began to type.
Her fingers danced over the smooth, circular keys as though they'd never left, and she found the words flying onto the page as the rhythmic clatter of the typewriter filled the air. It was exhilarating to be once again putting ink to paper...
If only she'd been writing her own article instead of simply typing out the notes from the news editors' last executive meeting.
Katherine sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face as she continued transcribing. Taking the minutes for her supervisors was significantly more stimulating than addressing envelopes or running errands for the office, but she longed to be writing again, putting her own words down on the page, watching them appear one after the other in neat, orderly lines, somehow emerging coherently from the jumble of excited thoughts in her head. Even a flower show review would have been a welcomed assignment at this point, if only she could be composing her own articles!
Despite the fact that the strike had been settled, Pulitzer's ban on her as a reporter had not lifted, and Katherine's supervisors at The Sun had reluctantly upheld the newspaper mogul's orders...though they'd also quietly given her an opportunity to take on more responsibilities. Before, she'd been doing the menial work of an office clerk, but now her duties more closely resembled that of a higher-level secretary. Being asked to step in for an absent coworker to take the minutes for the editors' meeting had been only one of these more recent (if temporary) jobs, and while they were still a far cry from a reporter's freedom, they didn't wear on Katherine the way her previous assignments had.
And, occasionally, the meetings she attended were actually very interesting.
Katherine forced herself to attend to her task, her eyes moving methodically between the notes on her desk and the piece of paper in her typewriter that was rapidly filling up with words. Once she finished this transcription, she would be free to leave for lunch, and then she could mull over the concerning information she'd heard just an hour ago without being interrupted. Her mind was already awhirl with questions and fears and possibilities, and she was eager to give full vent to them as soon as she could get away -
"Well, well, back at the typewriter, I see," drawled a voice over her shoulder.
Katherine jumped, barely catching herself before she mis-typed, then turned with deliberate iciness to see the odious assistant editor of The Sun standing behind her, unprofessionally close to her desk.
How long had he been there without her noticing, she wondered?
"What can I do for you, Mr. Raber?" she asked cooly.
"Clarence, Katherine - Clarence," the man purred. "We certainly don't need to stand on ceremony." He leaned down to murmur in her ear, "I was wondering if you had any plans for lunch this afternoon?"
"Actually, I have an appointment," Katherine said, leaning away to put some distance between them. Did this man never quit?
"There you go again, always busy," Raber sighed as he straightened up. "I'm almost beginning to think you're avoiding me on purpose."
Katherine said nothing; it was the most charitable response she was capable of at the moment.
"I'll leave you to your appointment," Raber said, backing away. "But mark my words, Katherine, next time I won't be put off so easily." The statement was accompanied by a smile that was probably meant to be charming, but it made her stomach turn.
Muttering under her breath, Katherine resumed her typing. Raber had been less of a nuisance than usual when she'd been working as a clerk - her frequent errands and trips to the other floors of the building had kept her away from her desk and made her more difficult to corner - but he'd been annoyingly persistent over the past few days, and his patience was clearly wearing thin with her repeated brush-offs.
Well, she'd deal with the next situation when it arose. Right now, she had a job to do.
Channeling her irritation into her task, Katherine quickly finished typing up the minutes, then placed them in a file folder and left them with the executive editor's secretary. She returned to her desk to tidy it up and put her typewriter away, then grabbed her handbag and made her way downstairs and out of the building.
She was due to meet Jack at Claro's for lunch at a quarter after noon, which meant that if she didn't keep a brisk pace, she would probably be a minute or two late, but he could always sell in front of the restaurant if he needed to kill time while he was waiting. She was generally the more punctual of the two of them, anyway, so maybe she'd still manage to arrive before him.
She wondered what his reaction would be to her sobering news.
Jack had actually been a little more sober himself lately. She wasn't sure if it was the result of their conversation when she'd asked him about his plans for the future or if there was something going on at the lodging house that was weighing on his mind, but he'd been notably more serious over the past week.
Katherine hadn't intended to bring up the future with Jack so soon, but the terse conversation with her father - and Pulitzer's unexpected remarks about Jack's lack of future-forward thinking - had stuck with her, and she'd found herself just wanting to put the topic on the table for discussion. She loved the fact that Jack was spontaneous and passionate, and she didn't want to quell those things by forcing him into a commitment that he wasn't ready for, but they were getting closer and closer with each passing week, and she didn't want to go too much farther without at least knowing where he stood, and if he saw a future in this unlikely whirlwind romance of theirs.
It turned out that he'd needed some more time to think about it.
The answer had been secretly disappointing to Katherine, but she understood, and she knew that he was giving her the most honest answer that he could, so she'd thanked him for telling her, and they'd agreed to let the matter be. If Jack hadn't concurrently decided to give the cartoonist job at The World a try, Katherine would perhaps have been more concerned, but at least he was moving in the direction of a more financially stable situation, and that action was reassuring, even if there had been no words to back it up. He was a newsie, after all - he'd always lived life free and on the go, tied down to nothing and no one. To expect him to suddenly be willing to change all that was probably asking for too much.
Katherine waited as a carriage rolled past her, then quickly walked across the street to Claro's. Jack was already waiting for her outside, surprisingly on time, and his face split into a grin as he caught sight of her.
"Hey, Plumber!" He pulled her in for a quick kiss as she arrived. "How'd your mornin' go?"
"It was interesting," Katherine said, smiling at his enthusiastic affection. "I'll tell you more over lunch."
"I'm starvin'," Jack agreed. They made their way inside the deli. It was smaller than Jacobi's, and the menu was more limited, but it also afforded a privacy that the newsie-frequented establishment did not, and the sandwich offerings were consistently good.
Jack ordered a brisket sandwich while Katherine opted for egg salad and an order of coleslaw to share between them.
"I got it this time," Jack said, reaching into his newsboy bag to pull out some coins. "The mornin' edition was a good one - sold twenty extra papes without breakin' a sweat, so I'm rollin' in the money right now." He winked at her before paying the cashier.
Katherine thanked him, and they chatted for a few minutes while they waited for their order to be ready. Jack seemed relaxed and happy as he told her about some of the interesting customers he'd run across that morning, and she could hear in his voice how much he enjoyed this aspect of his life as a newsie.
Though Jack had promised to at least try out the cartoonist job with The World, he had yet to actually meet with Pulitzer about it - the newspaper mogul's schedule was busy, and Hannah hadn't been able to get an appointment scheduled until the beginning of the following month, but that day would be coming soon, and at that point, depending on how demanding the position turned out to be, Jack's energies would be split. As much as Katherine was eager to see him settle into (and hopefully like) his new job, she was glad he had these last few weeks to enjoy simply being a newsie.
The sandwiches and coleslaw arrived, and they took them over to a corner table near the back of the deli.
"So, what's this interestin' news you's wantin' to tell me?" Jack asked, unwrapping his sandwich and taking a bite.
Katherine set the dish of coleslaw between them and then pulled the paper wrapping away from her own sandwich before replying.
"It actually has to do with The Refuge," she said.
Jack stopped eating.
"The Refuge?" he repeated. She could tell that he was trying to affect nonchalance, but she could hear the uneasiness in his voice. "Figured it was gonna be shut down, with Snyder bein' jailed and all that."
"That's what we hoped," Katherine agreed. She put down her sandwich and reached across the table to take Jack's hand. "I don't want to worry you unnecessarily," she said soberly, "but for your sake, and for the sake of your boys, I think you need to know. I was in a meeting this morning with the editors for The Sun, and they were discussing some breaking news and which stories they were going to prioritize for the upcoming week. One of the recent issues that was brought to their attention was The Refuge." She squeezed Jack's hand, wanting to offset the distressing news she was about to impart in any way she could. "It's been operational this whole time, Jack. Snyder is still in jail awaiting trial, but until a complete investigation can be mounted, his superintendents are running the place, and they've continued to bring boys in off of the streets on a regular basis."
Jack's expression flickered, a look of distress crossing his face, and he gripped her hand tightly. "I thought he was gone for good," he almost whispered, his voice sounding scared and distant. "I thought we was finally safe…guess I shoulda known...shoulda known that it wouldn't be that easy..."
"Jack - Jack, it's going to be fine!" Katherine said firmly, dismayed at the sudden hopelessness in his voice. "It's only something to be aware of - you'll need to warn the newsies so that they can stay on their guard for just a while longer. Snyder is still going to stand trial for what he's done - we just need a little more time for the system to kick in."
"How much more time?" Jack demanded, suddenly sounding irate. "And what good is it gonna do if The Refuge stays open?"
"An investigation of the facilities is supposed to be part of the process," Katherine reminded him. "Governor Roosevelt promised us that it would be. We just need to be patient and on our guard until then."
Jack made a sound of frustration, shaking his head. "It's been two months," he muttered. "How do we know they ain't just forgettin' about it?"
Katherine didn't say anything, not wanting to admit that he could be right. Governor Roosevelt, she was sure, had made his promise with every intention of keeping it, but Katherine also knew enough about politics to know that sometimes things had a way of falling through the cracks. And that was a sobering thought for the newsies - Snyder or no Synder, as long as The Refuge was operational, the corruption and abuse would continue, and Jack and his boys would have to constantly live in fear of being apprehended.
They needed to find a way to shut down the place for good.
"Can't ya do anything?" Jack pleaded, breaking into Katherine's thoughts.
"What do you want me to do, Jack?"
"I dunno!" he exclaimed, scratching his head. "Can't you and Miss Medda convince Governor Roosevelt to do somethin'? Maybe speed up the investigation?"
Katherine hesitated. "I suppose we could visit his office and try to make an appeal again," she said. She didn't think there was much chance of that working a second time, but it couldn't hurt to try. "I just don't want to count on it…"
"Then write another one of your articles or somethin', the way you did for the strike!" Jack suggested. "Get the city on our side - expose what's been goin' on at The Refuge this whole time, and remind the folks in power that it ain't goin' away unless they take action and do somethin' about it!"
The suggestion was both surprising and compelling in its simplicity, and the reporter in Katherine stirred.
"No one will publish my work anymore, Jack," she said cautiously, even as her mind began to whirl with possibilities. "My father hasn't lifted his ban. Even my supervisors at The Sun, sympathetic as they are, won't defy his orders."
"Well can't ya write under another name or somethin'?" Jack asked.
Katherine's eyes widened. "Jack! That is genius!" she exclaimed. It wasn't a foolproof solution by any means - she'd still need someone on the inside, preferably at the top, who'd be willing to look the other way and accept her article, but if said article was compelling enough...
There was only one problem.
"I'll have to figure out a way to convince the editors at The Sun that they need to follow up on The Refuge," Katherine said, speaking aloud for Jack's benefit but really trying to talk through things for herself. "In the meeting this morning, they'd decided it wasn't big enough news to cover, so I'll need to come up with something really good if we want to change their minds. I should probably try to do some research on The Refuge, too - we'll only get one shot at this, so we'll need to make it count."
She looked at Jack. "Do you think you and the newsies would be willing to talk about your experiences there?" she asked. "The article will be more compelling if I can share some personal stories."
Jack considered. "Guess it couldn't hurt to try," he said, sounding hesitant. "Maybe avoid askin' Crutchie, though. And Racer."
Katherine nodded. "I'll tread carefully." She was excited to begin working, but knew that she needed to approach things slowly and methodically. This was a story that needed to be written in just the right way, and she needed to gather as much evidence as possible so that once she made her case, it would be impossible to ignore.
"Jack," she said, "I'll get to work on this right away, but I want you to know that the turnaround time won't be quick. It could take days, maybe even weeks, to gather the information I need on The Refuge and to write this article - and that's assuming that I'll be able to find someone to publish it once I do."
Jack nodded in understanding. "'S'okay, Plumber," he said, giving her a half-smile. "I ain't worried about it anymore - we got the best reporter in New York on the case now." He settled back into his seat, looking a little more at ease. "I'll tell the fellas to watch each other's backs and look out for Snyder's goons in the meantime while you's workin' on that article. And whenever you's ready to start askin' 'em questions, you go ahead and feel it out with them."
He picked up his sandwich and was about to take another bite, but before he did, he looked at her and his smile grew a little.
"I really appreciate it, Kath," he said plainly. "I know it ain't gonna help your career much...takin' up all your time with this side project and publishin' the article with someone else's name on the front…"
Katherine shook her head. "This isn't about my career, Jack," she said firmly. "This is about helping you and the newsies. We have to get this resolved. As soon as I'm done with my work today, I'm going to start thinking about who at the office might be sympathetic to our cause. If worst comes to worst and I can't find an ally at The Sun, I have a backup plan."
The backup plan involved a certain young man at The Tribune, to be exact...but she didn't think that it was necessary to divulge that detail at the moment. She would share the information if and when the time came.
"And who knows?" she added hopefully, returning Jack's smile. "Maybe in the next few days Governor Roosevelt will take action himself, and all this will all get resolved."
"Yeah," Jack said half-heartedly. "Guess that could happen." His eyes met hers. "But if it don't…"
Katherine returned his determined look. "If it don't, then we break this story wide open."
A/N: And the plot thickens, thanks to a lag in the governmental process. :P We'll be checking in with our resident antagonist in next week's installment, which will also feature Race and Crutchie making a surprising discovery. I hope you'll join me! Thank you for reading this chapter; it would make my day if you'd let me know what you thought of it! :)
