Jack drives to the police station as fast as he can. Race has already brought a bunch of the boys down with him in the fifteen passenger van. Jack jumps out of the small car and races up the steps to the police station. Race immediately runs into Jack's arms. The two brothers hug and Race cries,

"What am I supposed ta do? I'se da woirst bruddah evah." Jack shakes his head quickly.

"Youse ain't da woirst bruddah evah, Racer. Far from it, youse one o da best bruddahs evah," Jack replies while holding the younger boy in his arms. Davey looks around nervously.

"Jack, why are we here at the police station?" He asks and Jack sighs.

"Youse will see," He says quickly, "Just come in wid us. It ain't safe ta be here right now." All of Jack's brothers are talking angrily amongst themselves, causing quite a commotion on the street.

"It ain't fair!" Albert yells. "How could dey do dis ta Romeo?" Jack looks around at all of his distraught brothers and he cannot help but feel sorry for them. All he wants to do his protection, but that is going to have to come with some organization first. Davey nudges Jack and says,

"We should probably go inside before they arrest us for being too noisy." The boys are practically yelling in frustration and Jack mutters to Davey,

"Plug your ears." Davey gets a confused look on his face. Jack sticks his pinkies in his mouth and lets out an ear piercing whistles for the boys' attention.

"YOW!!!" yells Davey and every one of the boys stares at him.

"Told ya ta plug ya ears," Jack mutters and Davey groans softly. Jack turns back toward his brothers. "So fellas, one o our own is in da pen at da moment an wese gonna get em out," Jack proclaims and every one of the boys starts to cheer. Davey looks a little nervous at the excitement on the boys' faces.

"You sure we can do this, Jack? This most likely means that we have to solve the mystery since the police obviously won't," Davey advises and Jack nods.

"Dere ain't noting an angry band o bruddahs who stand togeddah can't do, Davey. Besides, I'se knows some people who can help if wese get stuck," Jack says and he leads the boys up to the police station doors.

"Wait!" Davey yelps and Jack turns to look at him. "Shouldn't we think this out a little bit before we pull everyone into this?" Jack nods and turns to the boys again.

"Alright, dis is what wese gonna do. All o us boys walkin in dere is shoah gonna get some raised eyebrows from da cops. Sos wese needs to be as calm about dis as we can be. Dere ain't noting dat we can do ta change dis right now. So wese will do what we can, but wese gonna have ta be careful wid how we handle dis. One wrong move could throws us all in da slammah," Jack says and the boys begin to talk amongst themselves. "Hey! Fellas! Stick wid me here, please. So, Davey here seems ta know a lot about how dese tings go." Davey starts to protest a little bit and Jack looks over at him. "Wese is dere for support an not much else, okay fellas?" The boys nod and Jack leads the boys inside the police station. An officer greets them at the front desk.

"Hello boys, what can we...oh!" The officer stops after noticing the twenty some boys filing into the station. "Well, how can I help you? You're not here to beat me up are you?" Jack shakes his head.

"No sir, dis is just a bunch o bruddas whose youngah brudda got thrown in jail tonight an wese was just wonderin if wese could see im," Jack says calmly and the officer nervously nods at them.

"Of course, what's the name?" The officer asks kindly.

"Well, wese calls him Romeo," Jack says, "but I'se would tink hese got a real name." Jack looks back at the crowd of boys behind him. "Racer," Jack calls and Race emerges from the crowd. "Ya know Rome's real name?" asks Jack and Race nods.

"Yea, his real name is James Hartley," says Race. The officer looks at the crowd of boys standing behind Jack, David, and Race.

"James Hartley huh? Just a kid and he's already murdering people. How did your parents raise you kids?" The officer mutters and Jack and Race both turn red.

"Romeo, or uh James would nevah murder anybody," snaps Race and Davey pulls him back from the officer.

"Don't act out. It's just going to make things worse and we want to actually get Romeo out of here. Not leave him stuck here forever," Davey advises and Race moodily shifts out of his friend's grasp. Davey follows Race as he goes to stand next to Jack again. Jack looks the officer in the eye and says,

"Dey taught us not ta jump ta conclusions too quickly an not ta murder people." The rest of Jack's boys go silent at their oldest brother's words. None of the boys are sure if they should react how they usually react or not. The police officer could easily deny them the rights to see their brother who is currently behind bars, so they decide to keep quiet just to be on the safe side. The officer looks surprised at Jack's comeback.

"Well, you are a very smart boy with witty comebacks," The officer says while he looks at his paperwork. "I'm sure the inhabitant in cell 3 would be very happy to see you at another time."

"Officer, please, all these boys want to do is see their brother. They don't care whether or not he murdered somebody. These boys stick together like glue and even if someone does murder somebody, they are going to help them through it," Davey says and the officer looks a little surprised by David. "We just want to see our brother is all." The officer considers it for a moment and writes something down on a piece of paper. He rips it off and hands it to Davey.

"Come back tomorrow during visiting hours and we'll see if we can give you a fair shake, kid. You and your friend here," The officer says, nodding to Jack, "have some good heads on yours shoulders. I am willing to talk about this in the morning."

"Romeo don't do well in jail," Jack protests and the officer shakes his head in response.

"What did I tell you, kid? Come talk to me in the morning." Jack groans in frustration at the officer's words. He slams his hands on the counter before nodding to his boys.

"Let's go, fellas," Jack says and Crutchy and Davey follow him to his car.

"Jack, don't take it all out on ya self," Crutchy advises as Jack rams his forehead against the top of the leather steering wheel.

"Maybe tomorrow, we only bring half of the boys," Davey suggests and Jack lets out a noise of frustration.

"Dat's still like ten kids at da least, Davey," Jack replies, "Dey's ain't nevah gonna let us see Romeo." His head still up against the steering wheel. Crutchy puts a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder and suggests,

"Why don't we try dis again in da morning?" Jack starts the car and drives home. When he gets there, he shoots a text to his coworkers.

The Harlem JFSC group chat

Jack: Can't come to work 2morrow.

Flavi: Y not?

Jack: One of the boys has been charged with murder.

Claire: Oh No! That's terrible. You not being at work will be even worse though.

Flavi: *rolls eyes*

Claire: Oh deal with it, Flavi. It will be, don't deny it.

Snapper: Ladies, ladies, fight over me, not Jack.

Flavi: I'm not the one who has a crush on Jack, Snapper. *cough cough* Claire *cough cough*

Jack: So, everyone got the memo, right?

Claire: Unfortunately, yes.

Snapper: Yep. Go get em, Jacky!

Flavi: Sure do! Let us know if you need help with anything. I'll try to stop by and see him sometime.

Jack: Thanks guys!

Jack shuts his phone off and the boys look at him.

"I'se got off a work tomorrow," He says and the boys in the apartment nod.

"We'se gonna get im back, right Jack?" Jojo asks and Jack nods.

"We bettah cuz Race ain't takin it well," says Kid Blink. "I had ta drive home stead a him. He was too upset ta do it." Jack looks over at Race in the other room. Crutchy sits next to him, trying to talk to his older brother.

"Here's how wese gonna divide it up," Jack starts, "Me, Race, Crutchy, Davey, Specs, Les, Jojo, and Blink is gonna go foirst. Dat means Mush, Albert, and Skits, youse two is in charge while wese gone." The three boys nod their heads in understanding. "We'se gonna try ta get da story from Romeo an den wese is gonna figure out dis case for ourselves. Every poirson here knows dat Romeo is innocent an wese gonna prove it." Jack studies each boy in the room, taking in their worried, but determined faces. When one of the brothers is in trouble, it is a concern of every one of the brothers. Even Davey could admit that he is worried about the young boy currently occupying a jail cell. Jack notices how worried everyone looks. "We'se can do it. I promise."

"Yea, Jack, but what's gonna happen ta us if someting goes wrong? We'se ain't really supposed ta be all togeddah like dis," says Skittery nervously. Jack runs a nervous hand through his hair. In the midst of all of the chaos with Romeo being thrown in jail in the first place, he had forgotten all about their main task. If the cops caught wind that Jack had no legal backing to have at least twenty others boy living in the same apartment as him, everyone would be seeing new foster homes in short order. Jack knew Medda would take him in, but he had no idea about everyone else. He didn't know what would happen to Crutchy or Race. For all he knew, they could be living life on the street again just like they had so many years ago. Kloppman, their landlord, had agreed to not say anything to the authorities and to let a fourteen year old kid at the time have a lease. All in one short week, Jack had become a freshman in high school and the oldest of a band of brothers.

"I'se dunno, Skits. We'se will tink bout dat if it happens, alright?" Jack replies and the other boys look nervously at him.    "Let's go ta bed an see what happens in da morning. Ain't no use sittin round here doin noting but worryin." Jack turns to Davey. "I'se can take youse and Les home if dat's all right." Davey nods and Jack grabs his keys for his fifteen passenger van out of the car keys cabinet in the boys' kitchen. Jack looks at Kid Blink and Mush. "Make shoah dat everybody goes ta bed. Specially Race an Crutchy," says Jack to the two boys. They nod and Jack ushers Davey and Les out of the apartment.

"Aren't you worried?" Davey asks Jack as they walk through the hallway of the apartment building. Jack looks at him and huffs out a sarcastic laugh. "What?! It's a legitimate question! Aren't you worried? One wrong move and a lot of people could get hurt by this!" Jack stuffs his hands in his pockets and turns his leisurely stroll into a brisk walk. Davey grabs Les by the hand and runs up to Jack. "Jack..." Davey starts, but Jack cuts him off,

"Whad do youse tink?" All three boys stop walking for a brief moment. Les yanks his hand out of his brother's. He walks over to Jack, spits into his own hand before raising it up to Jack. Jack looks at his hand questioningly. "What's dis about?" He asks and Les keeps his hand up in the air.

"We have your backs if things go wrong," Les says innocently. "I don't even know what could go wrong, but I do know that jail is not usually good for kids." Jack eyes his hand before spitting in his as well. He shakes Les's hand and the younger boy's eyes light up. Davey stands by, feeling a little out of place as he watches the odd ritual take place. That is one thing he has never understood, the spit shake. Davey had never seen it before he met Jack and company. The three boys arrive at the door to go outside and Jack pushes it open. Just as the three walk outside, Les is snatched from the side. Jack hears familiar talking and knows immediately who he is up against.

"Drop im, Delancey!" Jack states and he sees Davey's eyes go wide. Turning to the nervous boy Jack asks him, "Can ya punch an can ya run?" Davey nods quickly as he gulps down his fear. The Delanceys and their goons are coming closer with each passing second.

"Told ya da fresh meat wouldn't stay fresh too long, Kelly!" Oscar Delancey shouts with a little bit of glee. Jack looks up to the apartment window and hopes that Specs, Mush, Kid Blink, Bumlets, Albert, Henry, Skittery or any of the older boys will notice what is about to transpire down on the street. He has the sinking feeling that he and the Jacobs are about to get soaked really bad. Shoving Davey behind him, Jack tries to think his way out of the situation. Oscar notices Jack shoving Davey behind him and says, "Don't hide da fresh meat, Kelly! Dey's gonna get cooked as soon as youse. " Jack eyes the situation. Morris has Les slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Les is squirming in the tall boy's arms, but Morris does not let go.

"Drop da kid, Morris. Ain't gonna do ya any good to hold him while youse is fightin," Jack advises as he cracks his knuckles. He takes a glance at Morris before saying, "Cuz I'se got a feeling dat Oscar's gonna need da help." Morris and Oscar both growl and move towards Jack. Jack crosses his arms as the boys get closer. Oscar and Jack eventually stand nose to nose. Oscar snarls,

"Tonight's da night, dat you, Jack Kelly, get what ya had coming." Jack does not avert his gaze from Oscar. The two hold a mini staring contest and it only breaks when Rocky, one of the goons, sneaks behind Davey and throws him into a headlock. Davey starts to protest, but Rocky starts to hug closer to his neck.

"Let me go!" Davey gasps as he starts to panic and Jack moves away to help him. Jack delivers a swift punch to Rocky's temple and follows it through with a punch to the boy's nose. Rocky drops Davey, who stumbles a little bit before regaining his balance. Jack looks around at the Delanceys and their goons.

"Who's next?" Jack asks and Davey timidly puts his fists up in front of him. Oscar cracks his knuckles and chuckles,

"Youse are, Kelly." A punch to his jaw takes Jack by surprise. Jack grabs at his jaw in pain and Davey's eyes get wide. If Jack, who scuffles with these boys all the time and usually wins is already struggling, what will become of Davey? Jack starts to gasp and makes eye contact with Davey. He winks at Davey and whirls back around with a strong punch of his own. From there, the fight commences. Oscar and Jack start to fight and some of the goons go for Davey. Davey throws a punch which has little to no impact on the tall football players in front of him. Jack continues to scuffle with Oscar, each boy delivering punches that send their opponent holding the part of their body that hurts. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack sees Davey surrounded.

"Punch them, Davey!" Jack yells and as soon as he hears this, Davey delivers a punch to one of the goon's nose. The villain gasps and holds his nose. Davey continues to throw punches and before long, he is handling himself in the fight. Suddenly, headlights beam the fighting boys. The sudden light compared to the once dark sidewalk with dim headlights stops the fight for a few short seconds. Oscar punches Jack and the boys continue fighting. The car door opens and a young girl emerges. Jack sees Sarah Jacobs get out of the driver's seat of the small car. Oscar gets distracted by her and starts to walk towards her. Sarah notices this and tries to move back into her car. Oscar latches onto the door handle and winks at Sarah.

"Hello dere. I'se don't believe we'se met before," He says, trying to be flirtatious.

"I don't believe we have either and I would like to keep it that way," says Sarah firmly.  She tries to get back into her car, but Oscar wrenches the door out of her grasp. Sarah lets out a small gasp and she starts to shout louder, "Leave me alone! Someone help me please!" Oscar starts to chuckle and yanks her away from the car. He holds one of her upper arms in a solid grip of steel. Sarah throws a punch and Oscar feels the impact for maybe two seconds. He laughs evilly and starts to haul her toward his car. Sarah struggles to get out of his grasp and tries to move so he hurts himself. In one last desperate attempt to free herself, Sarah screams at the top of her lungs. The scream carries up to the rooftop of the apartment building where Crutchy is sitting, scrolling his phone. He hears a scream that sounds female and he peeks over the edge of the rooftop. Instantly, he sees Les in the arms of Morris Delancey and Oscar struggling with Sarah.

His Sarah and nobody messes with Crutchy's Sarah. Even though, he was not really hers and she was not really his, he felt some sort of entitlement to protecting her. Crutchy maneuvers the fire escape and makes it to the ground. No one seems to notice the crippled boy entering the fight. Morris and Jack are fighting for Les and Davey is trying to fight the Delancey's goons. Crutchy makes his way over towards Sarah and he picks up his pace when he sees Oscar trying to shove her into his car. Sarah fights him though and Oscar eventually pins her to the side of the car.

"Youse do what I say an nobody gets hurt," He growls and Crutchy sneaks up behind him.

"Maybe youse shouldn't treat a girl dat way," Crutchy retorts and Sarah's eyes grow wide with horror.

"No, Crutchy. I'll be fine, please, don't worry about me," Sarah starts to say, trying to keep the peace between everyone. Oscar moves toward Crutchy and laughs.

"What are youse gonna do about?" He asks with an evil laugh. Oscar fishes out his brass knuckles and Sarah gasps again. Crutchy grabs onto his crutch, ready to defend himself. Oscar throws a punch and it lands solidly on Crutchy's stomach. Crutchy gasps in pain and Oscar prepares to throw another punch. Sarah jumps at him, trying to throw off his aim. Oscar responds by throwing Sarah onto the ground. She lands on her rear and groans as she does. Oscar cackles and starts to move her towards the car. Crutchy takes this moment to regain his composure. The sound of Sarah in pain has angered him, because no one hurts his Sarah.  Crutchy forms his hand into a fist and when Oscar turns to see his reaction, throws a solid punch at Oscar's face. Oscar whirls around and collapses against the car unconscious. Crutchy turns to Sarah and offers her his good hand.

"Youse okay?" He asks and Sarah nods, taking his hand. She continues to hold it, realizing that she had liked Crutchy before, but his defense of her took it to a whole new level. Crutchy smiles at her and helps her back to her car. Morris is distracted and Jack socks him the jaw. Les falls from Morris's arms and Jack manages to catch him before he hits the ground.

"Thanks, Jack!" Les exclaims excitedly. Morris gasps at the sight of his unconscious brother.

"You'se is gonna pay, crip! Just you wait!" Morris yells at Crutchy. Jack steps in front of Crutchy, who grabs onto Sarah.

"Go home, Delanceys. Before we'se do worse ta youse," Jack threatens and the bullies jump in their cars and leave. Jack rolls his eyes and inspects everyone. "Everyone okay?" Sarah, Crutchy, and Les nod. Davey is panting as he talks to Jack,

"Need...to...go....home!" Jack nods and points to Sarah.

"She can help ya wid dat. See ya at da jail tomorrow, okay?" Jack ask and Davey nods. Sarah helps her brother into her small car and leaves. Jack and Crutchy are no alone on the street. "Thanks, Crutch," Jack murmurs as he inspects his battle wounds.

"I'se can't stand it when people hurt people I love," Crutchy says and Jack shoots him a look.

"Love, huh?" Jack asks and Crutchy nods.

"Yea, ain't ya heard of it?" Jack chuckles at his friend.

"We'se bettah get ta bed, kid. Gotta a big day ahead of us tomorrow." The two boys walk up to the apartment and decide to call it a night. They get up the next morning and the usual morning antics are dulled. The boys know when one of them is missing and it causes a sense of sadness throughout the entire apartment. Jack knew when he got up this morning that things were going to be different. The apartment is nearly silent. Jack goes to wake Race up and gets a small punch in the face.

"Leave me alone, Jacky!" Race whines and Jack starts to poke and prod at his younger brother.

"Ya wanna see Romeo?" Jack asks and Race nods. Jack yanks the sheets off of Romeo. "Den it's time ta get up." Race groans and follows Jack into the kitchen. The boys leaving to see Romeo quickly eat breakfast and Jack grabs his keys for the fifteen passenger van. The drive to the police station is silent and every boy in the van mournfully stares out the window, wishing for their brother to come back. Once they arrive, Davey and Les jump out of Sarah's car. Sarah waves to Crutchy as she drives past, but even that does not lift the young boy's spirits. The groups of boys approach the police station. Jack opens the door and the same officer from last night greets them,

"Hey kids! Ya decide to come back and see your friend?" Jack nods and the officer says, "Remind me of the name again."

"James Hartley," Jack replies and the officer smiles a small smile at them. He leads them down a small hallway where there is a locked door.

"Hartley! You've got visitors. Care to see them?" The officer asks and a voice from the inside responds,

"Yea. Dere's only one group of people who oughta to be visiting me." The officer opens up the locked door and Romeo sits behind bars on a bench. The boys light up a little bit when they see that he is okay. "Hey, fellas!" Romeo says cheerily. Race runs instantly up to the bars. He grabs onto them and stares at his younger brother on the other side.

"Please tell me it ain't true," Race begs his younger brother. "I ain't see youse in a day an it's already driving me crazy, Romeo."  Romeo smiles at Race.

"I'se don't know what ta tink anymore, Race," Romeo says sadly. "Dey's been accusing me for killing her." 

"We'se knows dat," Jack replies and he looks at Romeo, "We'se was hopin youse could tell us your half of da story." Romeo sits back on his bench and thinks for a few moment.

"Okay. I'se took her ta dinner an da park. We'se was just walkin around, chattin bout whatevah came ta our minds and den someting caught her eye from across da way. She started acting funny and I went along wid it just cuz I didn't know what was goin on or what else ta do. Suddenly, she ran off in a different direction. I heard her scream an I ran ta see what was goin on. I didn't get ta her fast enough. Next ting I know, she's lying on da ground. I'se tried ta wake her up, but it was too late. She was dead an dere was nothing I could do about it. I'se tried ta do someting, but somebody saw me messin wid her an called da police. Dey hauled me off ta jail before I could do anyting. " Race had tears in his eyes and Crutchy starts to comfort the older boy.

"We'se sorry," Jack says, looking at his younger brother. Romeo smiles weakly at him.

"Dere was nothing you could do, Jack. Besides, it's gonna take a lot of proof dat we'se don't have ta solve da mystery," Romeo replies and Jack suddenly has an idea. The officer comes back and tells them their time is up. The boys say goodbye to Romeo, but Jack has an idea brewing. He is going to solve a mystery.

AN:/ Jack Kelly is on the case! Or so we think . So we got to see Romeo and "Juliet" even though she's already dead. Sorry for the long delay in between updates. Life has been a little busy. I made a certain reference to a certain scene in a certain movie. I'll give you a hint. Check out Crutchy's part of the fight scene and even a bit before that and tell me what movie I am referencing. It's not an exact reference, but it is most definitely a nod. By the way, I know that the Oscar and Sarah part may have come off as something sexual and I did not mean it to be like that. It's like in the original movie when he was harassing her. It does not have sexual connotation. Just thought I would let you know. I hope you like this one even though it is pretty sad for the most part. It will get happier, I promise. Just bear with me. Good things do happen to these kids. Just not yet. Anyways, please tell me what you think of this one!! Not as good as the other ones, but still it's something. I hope you enjoyed it!!! Thanks for reading and enjoying!!!! See you around, friends.