Chapter 10

A Crash Course in Obedience

Steam rose from Flash's plate and she inhaled, taking a whiff of the pasta as she sat across the table from Jack and Racetrack. Her mouth was watering and she eagerly picked up her fork and dug in, stuffing her mouth full. She swallowed and took another heaping fork full, not paying any attention to the two guys in front of her.

"Ahem," Racetrack cleared his throat. When she didn't look up, he kicked the leg of her chair.

Flash glared up at him, a single noodle hanging from between her lips. "What? I'm hungry," she mumbled around her noodles.

Jack thumped Race in the ear, earning him a glare from Racetrack of his own. "Let her eat, Race. I don't think she's gonna have much of an appetite after I tell her what we need her to do."

Flash stopped mid fork in the air and blinked at the pair of them, puzzled. She sat her fork back down next to her plate and turned her full attention to Jack. "If this is about what I overheard, you can count me out. I don't want anything to do with it, Jack. You know I can't go getting into any more trouble. You know exactly what's at stake for me," she said, raising an eyebrow.

Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Flash, I wouldn't be putting you in this position if I didn't think he absolutely needed your help. I swear. But the fact of the matter is, there aren't very many people I trust around here."

Racetrack gave him a dumbfounded look and scoffed. "Thanks," he muttered shortly.

Jack rolled his eyes and let out a breath. "None that aren't already publicly linked to me. You're brand new here. Haven't made any known alliances. That's why I have a plan in mind. But I need everyone on board. This means in order for that to happen, we have to go meet with our pal Spot." There was a pause and Flash raised an eyebrow at him again. "The three of us," he finished, gesturing toward everyone sat at the table.

Racetrack and Flash both let out sounds of protest, talking over each other to pelt excuses at Jack.

Jack raised a hand and waved it furiously, signaling them to stop talking. "I can't understand you both at once, for Christ's sake. Race," he said, turning towards him, "I already know what you're going to say. I know you're on the outs with Spot right now, but we have bigger problems than for you to be skirting around him on accounts of some dumb kid that knew he shouldn't be using Spot's money to gamble. I need you to get your knickers out of a twist and stand with me on this. I've got your back, okay?"

Race side-eyed him and let out a small groan, but slowly nodded his head in agreement. They both shifted in their chairs and gazed at Flash expectantly.

Flash laughed in disbelief. "Wow, Race. I picked you for a fighter, but you folded faster than a cheap tent. Where is the fire I see all the time? Where is your spirit?"

Racetrack recoiled at her insult and made a face. "I respect Jack, and I know when to set aside my pride," he said through gritted teeth. He didn't like being questioned or made to feel like he was bowing down.

"Coward," Flash said under her breath.

"Flash, stop antagonizing him," Jack said sternly before Racetrack could retort. "I know you don't want any trouble but we need you," he finished matter of factly.

Flash sighed and sat back in her chair, crossing her arms. "I've heard stories about this 'Spot' character," she said emphasizing his name with disgust. "I can't say I care to be in his company. Especially not with the way you guys talk about him."

"Are you scared?" Racetrack challenged her, a smile playing at his lips.

"No," Flash shot back coldly. "But like I said, I can't be getting myself into trouble or fucked up situations and this just screams it. From the things I've heard, that's all Spot is."

Jack pushed his plate to the side to make room for him to put his elbows on the table. He leaned in so she could hear every word he said. "I will not let this go south. I will protect you. Just like Trooper did. The way I did in Coosa. Remember when that guard tried to take you away to the cellar? I didn't let him. If it looks like anything will be a problem, I will take care of it. I swear it."

Flash saw the pleading look in his eyes and blinked back the burning she felt in her own at the mention of her brother. Everyone was quiet for a good moment, letting Flash weigh out the pros and cons. She cleared her throat when she was finished.

"Fine. I'll go with you guys. I'll hear you explain all this to Spot. We'll see if he takes you up on it. But I'm not going to like it, that I can guarantee. And I can't promise I won't have some slick shit to say to your buddy. Can't always hold my tongue."

Jack gave her a lopsided grin and reached out both arms to clap her on the shoulders. "Atta girl. But try to keep the remarks to a bare minimum. Be nice. Spot doesn't take to kindly to anything else."

"Right. Wouldn't want to ruin his power trip or damage his precious ego. But I won't kiss his ass." She rolled her eyes and shifted her focus to Racetrack. "You seem to have a sore spot with him. Any pointers?" She asked him grinning.

"Shove off," he said pointedly before pushing his chair back to stand. Spot was a touchy subject with him. They used to be the best of pals, but Racetrack bit off more than he could chew when he had cheated him out of money. It was unintentional, just a result of the game with Cub. Spot wasn't one to easily forgive and forget though.

Jack rose from the table and threw some money down. "Should be enough to cover everything. You done with that?" He asked pointing towards Flash's half eaten plate of food. She nodded indicating that she was and Jack motioned towards the door, beckoning her to follow him. "Better send word out that we're coming. Let's go find Boots."

The air was thick by the docks today, thicker than what Spot was used to. It made breathing through his nose harder. But then again, that could have been the anticipation of Jack's arrival. The news that he and Race were coming could only mean that they had new information. Spot would never admit it to anyone, but that made him anxious. The anxiety coupled with the irritation of Allie not showing up today only put him further on edge. He was pacing back and forth on his dock when he heard footsteps and turned to see Jones's tall lanky figure making his way toward him.

"Kelly and Higgins have arrived, boss. Should I send them through?" He asked gruffly.

Spot shook his head slowly and closed his eyes. "No, I'll come meet them. Tell them to stay put."

Jones nodded once and trotted back up the docks

Spot was distracted. He knew that nothing good would come of it if he couldn't cast these nerves aside. He knew no one could see him not put together. He needed to gather his bearings first. Spot took out his bottle of liquor, pushing aside his glass to take a few deep gulps straight from the bottle. The amber liquid burned his throat and he felt a warm numbness flood into his stomach. "That ought to do it," he thought to himself before setting the bottle back down on the dock and taking a breath to steel his emotions. He sauntered towards the public docks, his swagger causing his cane to clack up against the rickety wood of the pier.

The sea of his followers parted, exposing the faces of the Manhattan newsies. Jack and Racetrack. Spot gave his signature smug smile before spitting into his hand and offering it to Jack to shake. "Heya Jacky boy. Race," he gave Racetrack a curt nod, dropping his tone when addressing the boy.

Racetrack fought the urge to glare up at him, tamping down on a rude comment. He returned the nod with one of his own and glanced back towards Flash. She was obscured by Sharpshoot, one of Spot's favorite disciples, not that Spot would ever admit to having favorites. She looked unamused, picking at the skin around her thumbnail, bringing it up to bite along the edge and Racetrack shook his head to himself. Leave it to her to not take this seriously.

Jack spit in his hand and extended it out to meet Spot's, shaking it and giving him a grin that only Jack could give. "Spot old pal. How's it rolling?"

"Peachy keen," he answered. "What brings you to my parts?"

"Best we speak privately about that, don't you agree?" Jack said chuckling. " But first, I think introductions are in order.

Spot looked at him puzzled and Jack whistled, motioning to someone behind him. "Now I know how you feel about new people coming into your turf. Especially to discuss such delicate topics. Don't think I forgot about what happened with Davey. But this here is Flash. She's the girl I told you about, the one you said could stay in Brooklyn. She's gonna play a role in this... well we'll get to that in due time." He glanced back and realized she wasn't coming and sighed.

Racetrack turned to glare at her but she wasn't paying attention, still chewing on her finger. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forward, shoving her into sight.

"Get your grubby little maggot paws off me, Higgins. Touch me again and I'll-" she stopped when she saw Spot. "Sean?" She whispered.

Spot suppressed the urge to let his jaw drop. Her blonde hair was done up in a tight braid, a change from the wild way it usually splayed across her shoulders. She was dirtier than normal and Spot figured it was because she had skipped out on their afternoon swim. "Allie," he said before he could stop himself.

Flash let out a cackle. "You're Spot? The infamous one that everyone cowers over? This is him?" She said pointing and turning to look at Jack. "Jesus Christ, y'all. He ain't nothing to be afraid of."

Racetrack looked at her dumbfounded before shaking his head. "Unbelievable. Do you know everyone? How is it that she knows everyone?"

Jack gave Racetrack a small smack to the back of the head and widened his eyes, signaling him to stop talking.

Flash stole a glance back up a Spot, only to find his bewildered expression had morphed into a cold one. They locked eyes for a few seconds and she gave him a small smile, waiting for him to say something sarcastic as per usual.

"Seems we have failed to properly introduce ourselves. I'm Spot Conlon. I own this city," he said coolly.

Flash was taken aback at his cold demeanor but plastered a smirk on her face anyways. "My my. Have I heard stories about you. None good, if you could imagine. None that garner respect. You've really been shed in a bad light."

Jones and Sharpshoot stepped in front of her, crossing their arms across their chests as some kind of intimidation tactic. "Watch your mouth, rookie," Jones warned her, his voice huskier than she would have pictured coming out of someone of such lanky stature.

"Or what?" She challenged, placing her hands on her hips and cocking her head defiantly.

Spot saw the mischievous gleam dancing in her eyes, the one she got when she was smarting off to him at the pier. He snapped a finger and his goons stepped back in their respective places by his sides. "Flash was it?" He reached to fiddle with the gold tip of his cane. Talking to him in private the way she did was one thing, but in front of others? He couldn't have it. He couldn't have everyone thinking he was going soft. "Well Flash, I'll cut you a break since I am a man of reasonable proportions. You are barely wet behind the ears so you haven't been properly..." he trailed off looking for the right word. "Trained, I should say, on Brooklyn etiquette. You don't know your place. Where you fall on the food chain. But you will soon. Should you have any trouble with that... well we can offer you a crash course in obedience if need be," he finished menacingly, pulling his cane out of his suspenders and touching the end of it to the ground at Flash's feet.

Flash's smug expression changed into one of anger and she could feel the tips of her ears turning red. This wasn't the Sean she had come to like. This was a whole different person, one that she didn't know at all. She was shocked that he could be this way, so different from the guy she had spent so much time with. But she didn't know him, not like she thought she did. She chose not to respond to Spot's veiled threat, deeming it futile to even waste her energy on. She wasn't scared of him. Not in the way that she was afraid of her father. Whatever he planned to do would be a cakewalk in comparison to what Otto Becker put her through. But she knew quipping back at him in front of his cronies would only stir up trouble for Jack and she'd be damned if she'd be the cause of that, no matter how badly she wanted to punch him between the eyes.

Spot smirked at Flash and she caught a glimpse of something in his eyes, but she couldn't place it. "Look at you, little bird. Already learning."

She opened her mouth in protest, not being able to control herself but Spot cut her off by speaking to Jack. "Jacky boy, lets continue this conversation somewhere with less ears. Follow me." He beckoned to the three of them with his cane and turned on his heal, marching in the direction of his own quarters.

Once they reached Spot's dock, he pulled out a couple crates for them to use as seats and gestured for them to sit down, to which they obliged. He bent down to pick up his bottle of liquor off the ground and procured two glasses that he filled with the amber liquid, passing them to Race and Jack when he was finished. He gave Flash a smirk before returning the bottle to his stash and grabbing a new one. It had a familiar label, one that Flash recognized as Ron Bacardi Superior, a brand of rum. He poured her some and handed her the cup, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

She took it and rolled her eyes. Normally she would have been pleased that he had remembered but the little show he put on in front of everyone left a bad taste in her mouth, one that not even run could cover up.

Spot continued to eye Flash and she raised and eyebrow, silently asking why he was staring at her. She realized he wasn't going to look away until she drank some of her liquor. She let out an annoyed grunt before downing the liquid in one fluid motion.

That seemed to satisfy him and he turned his attention to Jack. "So Jack, I take it you have some new insight on the problem at hand?" Spot asked him, raising a hand to remove his hat, tossing it down on the ground by his feet.

Flash studied him, examining the pompous way he sat there, like he was superior to everyone in his company. She was used to that to a certain degree, but nothing like what he was doing now. It seemed exaggerated, a bit try-hard in her opinion and if she wasn't so put off by the sight of it, she might have laughed.

Jack took a small sip out of his cup before setting it on the railing beside him and clearing his throat. "Yes. Well actually Flash does. That's why I brought her. I figured you'd want to hear the words come from her lips rather than have me paraphrase what she told me."

Spot returned his attention to Flash, suspicion looming across his features. "Is that so?"

Flash refused to look at him, training her eyes to a place just above his head. "Might be," she said flatly.

Spot made a noise and her eyes flickered down to meet his. The usual playfulness there that he was accustomed to was gone, replaced with one of utter dislike. "Well let's hear it then."

Flash held his cold gaze with one of her own as she recounted the story down to every last detail. When she was finished, he leaned back, resting his upper body on the pier railing. He closed his eyes, his mouth forming a hard line.

Flash sneaked a peek at Jack and Race, giving them a quizzical look. Racetrack just shrugged and threw up a hand to indicate that he was just as confused by Spot's reaction as she was.

The silence around them was deafening, louder than the sound of the breeze that rustled through Spot's hair and Flash took note of the way it hung in his eyes, kissing the tips of his eyelashes. He opened his eyes, almost as if he knew she was staring at him and their gazes locked again. Flash felt her mouth go dry and she quickly found somewhere else to focus her attention, embarrassed that he had caught her.

Jack spoke first to break the silence. " I can tell that you're already trying to formulate a plan. I have one of my own if you're keen on hearing it." Jack waited for a response and continued when Spot gave him a nod. "We use Flash here as a mole and-"

"No," Spot said firmly before Jack could get out the rest of his sentence.

"No?" Flash questioned. "Whaddaya mean no?"

"I mean no."

"Can I ask why?" Jack queried.

Spot reached down to pick up his hat, putting it on and tucking his hair under the brim. She could see the tenseness in his movements. "It's too risky. She doesn't know her ass from her elbow when it comes to what we do and how shit works. Might say the wrong thing."

"I'm smarter than you give me credit for, you absolute donkey's ass," she snapped at him.

"Exhibit A," Spot gestured, not bothering to look at her. "Wrong thing."

Jack shot Flash a disapproving look and Race sat quietly glancing between her and Spot as if he were waiting for them to go to blows any minute now.

"You'd have complete control over the whole thing. You tell her what to say, what to do and when to do it. Your hand would be in this entirely. I've known Flash a good while now and I'm confident she could do it and do it well," Jack reasoned. "She already agreed to it."

Spot looked surprised. "Oh really? What's in it for you, little bird?"

"Money," she retorted.

"We didn't discuss that," Jack Warner as he side-eyed her.

Flash sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. She gave Spot a good once over and smiled sweetly. "You don't look like the type to take charity so you're gonna pay me for doing your dirty work, Spotty."

"How much?"

Flash looked up thoughtfully. "I dunno... four bits a week sounds fair."

Spot actually laughed. "Four bits a week? You must've swallowed too much bay water." He dismissed her offer with a wave of his hand. "You'll get two," he stated definitively.

"I'll get four," she said through gritted teeth. "Or I'm not doing it."

"Two, and you will. You and I both know that I'm not going to be the only one who suffers if this isn't squashed. Your pals here suffer too. You're lucky I'm even agreeing to pay you at all."

Flash pursed her lips, cursing him silently for calling her bluff. He was right, he wasn't the only one that would have to deal with the fallout of this mutiny actually came to fruition. "Fine," she said shortly after a moments pause. "Two bits a week for however long I have to do this. And I want it in writing."

Spit smirked at her, taking in her sour expression. "No need. I'm a man of my word."

"Your word means nothing to me. I still want that in writing," she demanded. "I won't have you trying to fleece me."

Spot ran a thumb along his jawline before taking a scrap of paper from his pocket. He scrawled something on it before signing his name on the bottom. "Smarter than you look," he jeered, leaning over to hand it to her.

She snatched it from him and read it, tucking it into her breast pocket when she was finished. "I know."

"So how do you suppose this works?" Spot turned to Jack. Jack rubbed the back of his neck and took another drink from his cup.

"Flash has no known allies. Should be fairly easy. All she has to do is act like she hates you. She voices that enough, they'll come to her hopefully."

"Won't have to act," she muttered loud enough for Spot to hear.

He ignored her, pressing on. "We need to have a meeting with the other leaders. There are some things to be discussed. I'll send Mouse with the message to meet at the warehouse on Friday past noon. We can all talk more then."

Jack and Spot stood to spit shake. Racetrack and Flash got up too and made their way up the dock behind Jack.

"Flash," Spot called for her before she could make it too far. "We aren't finished here. I still need to speak with you."

Jack and Race both had nervous expressions but Flash motioned for them to go on without her. "I'll catch up with you soon. This won't take long."

Jack gave her a half-hearted pat on the back and wordlessly walked the rest of the way back. Racetrack just shook his head and followed suit.

She trotted her way back to Spot. "What do you want?"

"Are you sore at me?" He asked quickly, looking into her eyes. Flash detected a trace of guilt and she was surprised.

She scoffed, ignoring whatever his look was doing to cause that small pang she felt in her stomach. "No, of course not," she spat. " I'm all vanilla and roses over here."

"Good," he said pretending not to hear the blatant sarcasm in her tone. He turned to make his way to the far side of the pier and Flash let out a small snort of anger.

"You used me. You used me to keep up your stupid King of Brooklyn facade."

"Had to, didn't I? I have a reputation to uphold," he told her nonchalantly.

"Well it's bullshit, Sean," he yelled, using his real name. "I thought we were friends. But you've made it abundantly clear that I'm just another on of your subordinates. Someone to make an example out of. If that's how you want it, then that's how it'll be."

Spot spun to face her. "Of course that's not what I want. I still want us to be friends. It'll just have to stay a secret like it was before." He could see her anger. Flash always wore her emotions on her face. Her expressions said more than her words ever could. But he saw something else hidden under that anger, something he could only recognize as sadness. It was faint, but it was there.

"Yeah, well I'm not interested. From now on, we only talk if it pertains to the plan and the plan only. You can shove this secret friendship where the sun doesn't shine. I'm done." She wheeled around and stomped her way back up the dock.

"Allie!" Spot called out.

"Fuck off," she tossed over her shoulder, not bothering to look at him, leaving him to stand there alone.