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Post by Tobias Fallon on Nov 21, 2008 21:08:07 GMT -5
She is expecting a child again, and ever since she discovered this I fear I have faded quite significantly into the background. Joseph still makes sure that I am well cared for and provides some attention to me, which I find strange. Imagine, Joseph being the one to be compassionate, such a standoffish man as he was before! Perhaps he sees just as clearly as I do that Mary is preoccupied with her own child, and sees me as a stand-in that is no longer necessary. But have no concern for me, Tobias. I am turning seventeen within a few months, and Harry and I are planning on an engagement as soon as I do. I know how you approve of Harry and hope that you are pleased with my intended. I must go now--a rap at my door tells me it's time to retire for the night. Reply soon.
Your devoted sister,
Shannon J. Fallon
With a small smile on his face, Tobias Fallon put aside the letter and stood from his desk. The newspaper office was abuzz with activity, reporters scribbling on paper, fingers flying over the keys of typewriters, the seventeen-year-old copy boy rushing from desk to desk, picking up the papers that the reporters thrust out at him. Tobias had submitted his article the day prior. He has no social life, so he always had his articles in early, simply because he had nothing better to do but write. This was a win-win for a reporter like him, because the editor often saved for him the most interesting assignments.
The editor was approaching now. "Fallon!" The editor approached Tobias' desk and tossed him a telegram in an envelope. "Here's your newest story. Front page material. Have it in by this evening." Tobias nodded quickly and ripped open the envelope.
BOY FOUND DEAD IN MANHATTAN STOP POLICE INVESTIGATED AND FOUND NO LEADS STOP CORPSE REPORTED BY LOCAL NEWSBOYS YESTERDAY EVENING STOP
Immediately, Tobias rose from his desk. "Dinkler!" he called. "I'm leaving in a hurry. Tell Noah I'll be back later tonight." The copy boy, Brendan O'Dwyer, nodded, looking more than a little harried, and Tobias grabbed his leather notebook and a fountain pen before heading out the door and into the square outside the world building. The corpse of the boy would be removed by now, but he could still examine the scene of the crime. He would question the police later, but he knew that at the moment, the people to interview were the newsboys who had found the body, or even a secondary source. This would be an extra edition, and he needed the story before the Journal or the Sun got their hands on it. Hopefully, he would find a boy in the square whom he could talk to. Momentarily his mind wandered back to his letter from Shannon. He would have to write her back tomorrow, and visit, if he could. But right now, he had an article to write.
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Post by Dreamer on Dec 22, 2008 16:50:25 GMT -5
Dreamer was in a great mood that afternoon. Everything just seemed to go right for once. The way things were supposed to be...OK, most things went the way they were supposed to be, but at least she sold all her papes.
To celebrate her little triumph, Dreamer played a games with herself by tossing her newsboy cap in the air over and over again, catching it everytime she threw it. Sometimes she would spin herself around, and catch it with one hand behind her back. Mostly, she would toss it and would have it land on her hand--a trick she had learned from one of the stable hands she worked with on her family's horse ranch a year or so ago.
In short, Dreamer's head was up in the clouds, and that's how she liked it.
But her fun had to be cut short. A harsh blow of the autumn wind managed to catch Dreamer's cap when she tossed it in the air again, and began to carry it away from her.
It only took a short second for Dreamer to realize that it did not land in her hands or on her head again. Looking back from where she was coming from, she saw her hat flying away in the air. She raced back after it all the way to the Square, where the New York World Building was. Not very many people were out at this time of day, which Dreamer was thankful for.
Her hat finally landed next to the feet a man who was a little older than her. Immedietly, she grabbed it, and looked down sheepishly as she put it back on her head.
"Sorry, sir," she said, keeping her head down
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Post by Tobias Fallon on Dec 22, 2008 19:27:33 GMT -5
Tobias glanced around the square, wondering if someone could give him a lead. There had been no indication in the telegram exactly where the body was found. Tobias pulled the envelope out of his leather notebook, and found what he was looking for nestled in there behind the telegram. Deputy Officer Wren's handwritten log of the newsboys' report. He read Officer Wren's quickly scrawled and abbreviated handwriting:
Newsies found body; ID as decker (?) from Bklyn. Boys notc. shaken re: disc. Names: Athny Hggns, Arrn Myrs, Fred Jmnson, Luis Balat. Res. at Duane St. ldng hous.
Further investigation revealed a copy of the notes from the crime scene, thankfully in much better draft form. Tobias scanned these, too, as he stood in the square like a stone in a river, with the people of New York hurrying around him from either side.
Unidentified boy, street rat or newsboy, stabbed once in midsection. COD: Blood loss, damage to internals. No weapon found. Red paisley handkerchief (masculine) found near the body, could be victim's or murderer's. No other leads found.
Now that was an interesting development. Tobias began formulating possible headlines in his head. Newsboy's Murder Leaves Manhattan Mystified: Red Handkerchief Police's Only Lead. Murder in Manhattan: Police At A Loss For Leads. Everything sounded just fine, because any story like this would sell like hot cakes. Who didn't want to read about a murder?
Tobias surfaced from his thoughts as something fell at his feet. It looked like a boy's cap. Unimpressed, Tobias stuffed his papers unceremoniously back into his notebook as he prepared to stoop down and pick it up. Before he could, though, a boy with shockingly long hair grabbed it. "Sorry sir," he said, and as he straightened, Tobias could see that it was not a boy at all, but a girl in boy's clothing! Tobias could feel a blush begin to creep to his face; he wasn't used to such a sight. But, always courteous, and assuming the girl sold papers (for a girl dressing in trousers usually did so) said kindly, "Not a problem at all, m-miss." He extended his hand to her. "Tobias Fallon, New York World. You're a newsgirl?"
He flipped open his notebook and glanced at Officer Wren's notes again. "Could you tell me where I could a few individuals at this hour?" He read off the paper, "Anthony Higgins, Aaron Meyers, Fred Jameson, and Louis Ballatt." He glanced at the newsgirl again. "Are any of them familiar to you?"
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Post by Dreamer on Dec 22, 2008 22:24:07 GMT -5
"Not a problem at all, m-miss."
When she got a good look at the guy, Dreamer found the way he looked at her a bit unusual. It was like he had never even seen a girl newsie before until today. But she shrugged it off, and didn't think anything of it.
The man extended a hand for her to shake, which she returned normally. Most of the guys would spit in their hand before they shook hands with someone else, but...well, that was just the guys. It would be weird for a girl to spit in her hand before offering it for a handshake.
"Tobias Fallon, New York World. You're a newsgirl?"
"Yes, Mr. Fallon," Dreamer replied in a polite way. "I sell your paper. My name's Dreamer,"
It was rare for a newsie to meet someone who actually worked on the paper that they sell for a living. There must've been some kind of luck, at least, for Dreamer to have met another employee for The New York World. She remembered meeting a reporter for the newspaper some time ago.
Tobias pulled out some kind of notebook, and spoke to her as his eyes read along the page she couldn't see.
"Could you tell me where I could a few individuals at this hour?" He read off the paper, "Anthony Higgins, Aaron Meyers, Fred Jameson, and Louis Ballatt." He glanced at the newsgirl again. "Are any of them familiar to you?"
Familiar? Dreamer knew who they were: Race, Mush, Chance, and Blink. Granted she only knew parts of their real names, but Dreamer was smart enough to see who they were if they were together. The boys had some sort of little club--The Four Musketeers. Now, she didn't know what they did in their meetings, nor did she have any desire whatsoever to find out. If there was anything Dreamer knew growing up, it was the nature of boys, thanks to her working with them in the family stables. When she worked in the hay lofts some of the time, she would notice her male co-workers plotting something in a corner. And she'd always ignore them, until she would find herself in the haystacks after being playfully thrown in there.
But, even though Dreamer knew very little about the Four Musketeers, she knew that whatever prank they were up to were nothing like the ones she was used to back home. If they got in trouble enough for a guy who worked for the World to ask her if she knew them, then it must've been something bad.
She looked at Tobias Fallon carefully.
"...Um...sure, yeah. Yeah," she finally nodded. "I know them...I live with them, actually. Anthony Higgins? That's Racetrack. Um, Aaron Meyers is Mush, Fred Jameson--We call him Chance. And Louis Ballat is Kid Blink. He's a friend of mine..."
Dreamer let out a silent breath. She really hoped she wasn't gonna get another punch in the face from Racetrack if they find out that she told some stranger who worked for the newspaper their real names. Racetrack's temper wasn't exactly what you call subtle.
"Mr. Fallon? It probably isn't any of my business but...why do you need to know where they are?"
Maybe if she knew why, it would calm down Dreamer's nerves a bit.
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Post by Tobias Fallon on Dec 23, 2008 10:31:43 GMT -5
"Yes, Mr. Fallon. I sell your paper. My name's Dreamer."
Tobias' brow furrowed. "Is that you real name?" he asked, honestly puzzled. He had never fraternized with newsies before, and so, he had no way of knowing that they gave each other nicknames, or made them up for themselves. He would have liked to know her real name, for several reasons. Primarily, of course, it was because he might have to write her name in the newspaper if she proved helpful. In addition--and this was perhaps the most puzzling aspect of this entire ordeal--Tobias found that as hard as he tried, he couldn't take his eyes off her...
"...Um...sure, yeah. Yeah, I know them...I live with them, actually. Anthony Higgins? That's Racetrack. Um, Aaron Meyers is Mush, Fred Jameson--We call him Chance. And Louis Ballat is Kid Blink. He's a friend of mine..."
"Excellent," he said with a smile, making a shorthand note of that in his notebook. More nicknames. "If you could just tell me where I could find them, you would be helping me immensely..." One of the hardest parts of his job was getting the interview. He found it ironic that the people who refused to talk to him for an article were often the ones who read the paper with zeal, and then complained when the facts weren't straight. "They wouldn't be at Duane Street, would they?" It would be far too easy for Tobias, and he didn't expect to get the interview so quickly.
"Mr. Fallon? It probably isn't any of my business but...why do you need to know where they are?"
Tobias hesitated. He disliked having to tell people about his leads, but occasionally he would divulge some information to them if they asked. he liked curiosity in a person, and this newsgirl seemed to have quite a bit of it. He thought for a moment and worded his statement carefully: "They might have some valuable information concerning an article I was assigned."
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Post by Dreamer on Dec 23, 2008 13:13:04 GMT -5
"Is that your real name?"
Dreamer bit her lower lip, hesitating to answer. She wasn't really keen on the idea of giving a guy she just met her real name. At first, she thought about giving him a fake name, but that would go against her morals of honesty. Instead, she just shook her head.
"No, it's not," she replied
"They wouldn't be at Duane Street, would they?"
Feeling a bit more confident talking with this guy, Dreamer nodded.
"Most likely," she said. "It's hard to tell where they are sometimes, though. They're kind of all over the place. But they always end up back at the lodging house, so, sure. I don't see why they wouldn't be there,"
When she had asked why he needed to know where the guys were, Dreamer had the answer immedietly pop into her head. If this guy was a reporter for The New York World, then he probably wouldn't tell her. She didn't actually now the journalistic world very well, but it was common sense to her.
"They might have some valuable information concerning an article I was assigned."
Judging from what she heard, it sounded like the boys weren't in any serious amount of trouble...She supposed she could trust him...
"Fair enough," was all she said in response to that.
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Post by Tobias Fallon on Dec 23, 2008 16:24:47 GMT -5
"No, it's not."
Tobias frowned. Truly, he would have liked to know what her real name was, but if she wouldn't tell him at this point, he knew it was a lost cause. Part of being a reporter was knowing where not to probe; otherwise people became less eager to answer your questions and give you straight answers. He did not press the issue any further. "All right, Miss Dreamer. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Most likely. It's hard to tell where they are sometimes, though. They're kind of all over the place. But they always end up back at the lodging house, so, sure. I don't see why they wouldn't be there."
"Very good. I'll have to stop by there for an interview." Tobias had never had to interview newsboys before. In fact, he was fairly sure that this was the first time he'd taken on a story of this importance. Usually, stories that were front page material went to some of the veteran reporters. Usually, Tobias was reporting on politics and the like. Recently he had reported the engagement of Governor Roosevelt's daughter, Alice, to the son of a wealthy family here in the city. He never had to worry about things like fires, riots and murders...and privately wondered how the other boys would treat him once word got out. Tobias wasn't one for conflict...
"Fair enough."
He paused momentarily. "Well, Miss--ah, Dreamer--perhaps you could help me? I would certainly appreciate anything a newsgirl could tell me. It's such a unique story; I think I need all the information I can get..." He readied his pen and asked her, "What can you tell me about the children from Brooklyn who come through here? Do they cross the bridge often?" In reality, he was enjoying his talk with her. She was a very different girl, more different than many of the girls he had met before in his life. For some reason, and he had the feeling he knew why, he had trouble looking away from her and back to his notes to see what he was writing... He tried to shake the inclination away; what a strange thing to be considering...
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Post by Dreamer on Dec 23, 2008 17:04:55 GMT -5
"All right, Miss Dreamer. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
It was relief that he didn't ask what her real name was anymore. There were many different reasons as to why Dreamer never went by her real name anymore; reasons that she hoped to never bring up to anyone. The best thing for a new and happy life was to forget troubles of the old one.
She returned a smile to Tobias and gave a curt nod.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance too," she replied.
"Very good. I'll have to stop by there for an interview."
OK then. Dreamer could safely assume that the boys weren't in any kind of trouble at all. This brought a smile of comfort to her face. She and the boys may have had their differences, but she certainly didn't wish them any trouble at all...well, maybe Racetrack on days when she was in a bad mood and he got on her case, but other than that, she thought they were okay with each other's company.
"Well, Miss--ah, Dreamer--perhaps you could help me? I would certainly appreciate anything a newsgirl could tell me. It's such a unique story; I think I need all the information I can get..."
"Sure," she said. "I'd be happy to help. What do you need to know?"
"What can you tell me about the children from Brooklyn who come through here? Do they cross the bridge often?"
Brooklyn, huh? So, it didn't have anything to do with the Manhatten borough. Either way, Dreamer was okay. If she was told anything bad about the Manhatten turf, and the boys didn't know, she'd hate to be the one to tell anyone. That's a shoe-in for a scolding or something like it.
"Brooklyn?" she asked. "Yeah, all the time. A lot of newsies come from different turfs to sell papers, depending on how good the headline is. To be honest, I haven't met anybody from Brooklyn, but I hear they are a pretty tough borough,"
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Post by Tobias Fallon on Dec 31, 2008 11:31:58 GMT -5
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance too."
Tobias was inwardly pleased to see that this girl was not entirely without proper mannerisms. He had been unfairly prejudices toward the newsies (a colloquial term for the distributors that was rather sparsely used among the newspaper staff) because of what he had briefly seen, or heard vicariously: smoking, swearing, gambling children, girls as well as boys who lacked the speech and social skills to be taken seriously by society. Dreamer had all the makings of a truly high-class girl: fair complexion, manners, cordiality, pure honesty, and--it must be said--an undeniable sophisticated beauty. What happened to her, Tobias wondered, to make her fall to such a state?
"Brooklyn? Yeah, all the time. A lot of newsies come from different turfs to sell papers, depending on how good the headline is. To be honest, I haven't met anybody from Brooklyn, but I hear they are a pretty tough borough."
Tobias listened carefully to what she told him, jotting down every word as she said it in a special shorthand of his own invention. Some had laughed when they were told about it, but it allowed Tobias to print direct quotes in his articles more often, without straining to remember the exact wording. As a general rule, reporters at the World were only permitted to quote what they were completely sure was one hundred percent accurate. If even a word was off, the paper could potentially face a lawsuit. Many reporters hazarded only the shortest of direct quotes, especially when dealing with the influential or the powerful. Tobias' shorthand allowed him to quite full sentences, even paragraphs, if he so chose. After all, he reasoned, people would rather read something straight from the horse's mouth than read it processed through the mind of some anonymous reporter.
As Tobias listened and copied studiously, his interest was immediately sparked by what he was hearing. Turfs, she said, as in territories? Tobias had dealt with enough jargon in his career to ascertain that was what Dreamer was referring to. "You newsies have--set territories of some kind?" This was of interest! This could turn his story in a whole new direction! "Divided by boroughs, I suppose. Please, Miss Dreamer, tell me more about them. How many territories are there? Are there any rivalries or any violence between them?" This story, with Dreamer's help, could very possibly be the biggest story of the season. Tobias' eyes glowed. "Oh, but please, Miss..." he said quickly, "would you care to sit for a while?" He paused momentarily. "I could treat you to lunch, if you'd like..."
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Post by Dreamer on Jan 1, 2009 22:31:17 GMT -5
"You newsies have--set territories of some kind?"
Dreamer nodded.
"Mmm-hmm," she responded. "They're all over the place,"
"Please, Miss Dreamer, tell me more about them. How many territories are there? Are there any rivalries or any violence between them?"
In truth, there were many rivalries and violence between some of the New York newsie territories. Sometimes, Dreamer was caught up in them, other times she wasn't...she preferred it when she wasn't. The world of the New York newsboys, and newsgirls, were facing many unfortunate events, and as each day passed by, it grew worse. So far, Dreamer managed to stay out of the more horrible parts and she hoped to keep it that way.
But a small part of her heart told her that no matter how hard she would try, everyone, as well as her, had to play their part in the fight against Mike D. Greaser.
At first, Dreamer thought that it wasn't a good idea to be telling Tobias about all this. Then another thing came to her mind...It was a better idea to tell him. Not only could the newsies be in trouble, but other people who had no idea what the situation was as well.
She kept a calm, but solemn, face and answered.
"I'm afraid there is some conflict going on between some of the boroughs," she replied.
"Oh, but please, Miss..." he said quickly, "would you care to sit for a while?" He paused momentarily. "I could treat you to lunch, if you'd like..."
...There was something about Tobias that made Dreamer feel a little...what was the word?...warmer. The way he spoke to and treated her would be the way any other guy would talk to a girl--Not the way a guy would talk to a newsgirl...She liked it. She smiled, possibly the only smile that she had since the incident on her family farm with evidence of hope in it.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," she said.
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Post by Tobias Fallon on Mar 29, 2009 14:00:55 GMT -5
"Mmm-hmm. They're all over the place."
Interesting. Tobias would have never credited the young men (and women, of course) with having such structure. This could only mean that the children were identified by what territory they came from. He was certainly getting quite a bit of background information for his story. And a possible motive for the killer, as well. Was this what happened, he wondered, if an unwelcome boy from Houston Avenue wandered into the 42nd street area? "Are newsies protective of these territories? Are they violent to outsiders?" Tobias knew that murders weren't daily occurrences among the newsies, otherwise he would certainly know about it. He wondered if there were many fights among them, and if the fights could potentially become violent. Violent enough to kill, perhaps..?
"I'm afraid there is some conflict going on between some of the boroughs."
"Please. Continue." Tobias was writing furiously. If the conflict between the newsie territories was connected to the murder, then everyone in New York would view the newsies differently. Everyone would know of their structure, their internal conflicts, and the sub-society within them that was a mystery to all who were not privy to it. They said that Brian Denton at the Sun had written an expose on child labor. Tobias knew that he could trump Denton with this story and the follow-ups.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
"Wonderful." Tobias closed his notebook and offered his arm to Dreamer, having almost forgotten to (she was dressed as a boy, after all. He wondered how he would look walking arm in arm with her). "At your leisure..."
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