Third Avenue Bridge

[Administrator]

Built in 1898, the Third Avenue Bridge connects The Bronx to Manhattan.

[jewelkent]

After a long day of selling papers, Jewel had decided to just walk and get some peace. She walked across a bridge. Happy that for once, it wasn't the Brooklyn Bridge, she smiled. She was in hell, and her face hurt. Oh the hits she had taken at McGinty's the other night from Fighter.

Jewel had certainly learned her lesson, and had decided to not go looking for trouble. She removed a small pocket mirror from her skirt pocket, and opened it to examine her face. The swelling on her nose was going down a bit, but her eye looked just plain horrible. A large bruise had formed around it like she had been smacked with a 50 pound weight.

She was never going to pick a fight with anyone from Brooklyn or anywhere else ever again. She was very glad that she had mailed that letter to Jacob, and hoped that he would get the letter soon, and come visit her.

She had gotten into so many bad habits since she had come to New York. She had been getting into fights, flirting with strange boys, and smoking..which was a habit she had actually picked up in Philadelphia from another fellow newsie out there named Yapper. The nickname was given to him by Jacob because he was never able to shut up for more than 2 seconds at a time.

Jewel smiled at her memory of Jacob, Yapper, Flinch, and Sport. Her 4 favorite guys to be around. When she was in Philadelphia, she always had fun with them. But those days were long gone.

Jewel then produced another cigarette from her pocket, and lit it quickly as the breeze died down a bit. She took a long drag, inhaled and then exhaled the smoke.

As she smoked, she looked around. As cold as it was, she saw a lot of people walking across the bridge, or stopping to talk.

Her eyes then fell when she saw a couple kissing across from her. Jewel's eyes filled up with tears. The couple looked so happy.

*Must be great to be so in love... I wish I could feel that way again. God, how I wish Jacob was here* she thought to herself, a frown crossing her face.

Jewel wished she had someone to talk to that was nice again. She had had a terrific conversation with Avalanche in the park a while back, and then meeting Devan in Manhattan.

Right now, those 2 along with Lexi, Prince and Zoo were her only bright spots. She wished that one of them was around.

[Luke Gallagher]

Luke whistled as he walked across the bridge, a happy little tune he'd heard at the bar last night, an irish number that he remembered from back home. The words had escaped him but the tune never would and since it lingered long after he left the bar, he allowed it to slip out now as he walked. He tossed an apple he had just purchased from a nearby vendor up in the air, catching it again and repeating the motion as he studied those around him on the bridge. The air was cool but the sun was out which prompted pretty heavy foot traffic and Luke was on the look out for a possible target. Tully had wanted information and Luke was determined that information was what he was going to get.

His eyes landed on a young girl standing along the rail of the bridge, bright red hair make her hard to miss but what drew his attention was the downtrodden and sad look in her eye. Bingo. Working his way over, Luke leaned on the railing beside her and covertly studied her profile. She was a young slip of a girl and if the bruises on her face were any indication she'd had a tough time of it as of late, which made her a prime target for Luke. Everyone needed a friend and Luke was more than happy to oblige when it suited his needs.

"What has a pretty lass like you looking so down on such a fine day as this?" He asked, turning to flash her a quick smile before gazing back out over the water and letting his question hang out in the air.

[jewelkent]

Jewel froze in shock, nearly dropping her cigarette as she spotted a man walking toward her. He was tall and extremely good-looking. She watched from the corner of her eye as the guy came up beside her, and began to look her up and down. Jewel decided to stay quiet for a few moments. She didn't know the man, and she didn't wanna say the wrong thing to him.

She was fine with just eyeing him back secretly for a few seconds...until the man finally spoke to her.

What has a pretty lass like you looking so down on such a fine day as this?

Jewel took one last drag of her cigarette, and threw it down. She then turned to face the man. She wanted to faint. Sure, she had never met the man before, but in what position was she in to turn down a friend.

Jewel chuckled "I don't know...just a lot on my mind is all." she sighed, flashing him back a smile as she flipped her hair over her shoulder absent-mindedly.

"So, kind sir? What brings you out here on this lovely day?" Jewel asked him.

Jewel sighed as she herself looked back towards the water.

[Luke Gallagher]

She turned to face him and he got a better look at the bruise on her eye and up close he could see that her nose was a bit swollen, whomever had gotten a hold of the girl had worked her over pretty good. He smiled down at her and lifted a hand to touch her chin gently, tilt her head into the sunlight - she didn't seem opposed to him, not nearly as tight lipped or jumpy as some which Luke counted as points in his favor. "Some shiner you got there lass, you go stirring up trouble or did it find you all on it's own?" He winked then and dropped his hand away, fishing in his pockets until he located his knife.

Carefully he began working the blade into the flesh of the apple, slicing off pieces and popping them into his mouth, enjoying the sweetness of the fruit. "Just enjoying a bit of fresh air, stretching my legs. Saw you standing over here with that look on your face and thought maybe I could coax you into a smile." Luke, like most of his cohorts, operated a lot on instinct and found it useful when reading people and situations - and his were currently telling him this girl was looking for a friend, or at the very least a kind stranger.

"I'm Luke," He said, offering her his name because he had long ago learned that was the easiest way to set someone at ease. Slicing into the apple again he cut off a generous portion and held it out to her with a smile. "Apple?"

[jewelkent]

Jewel's breath became caught in her throat as the man touched her chin to examine her face. She could barely think at this point. Just the feeling of his hand on her face was a relief. The only person she had let touch her face lately was the doctor who tried to fix her up, but she could tell this guy meant no harm just by his actions.

"Some shiner you got there lass, you go stirring up trouble or did it find you all on it's own?"

Jewel cringed "A little bit of both actually. But if I told ya how I got these bruises, you'd never believe me" she said, offering him a shy look.

Jewel then listened as the man answered her question about what he would be doing out there.

"Just enjoying a bit of fresh air, stretching my legs. Saw you standing over here with that look on your face and thought maybe I could coax you into a smile."

Jewel nodded "Me too...Kind of. Also, I was getting just a little bit bored being in bed all day. It's a nice day out here for once." she told him.

She then smiled for him as much as she could. This man had the most beautiful eyes. The eyes were always the first thing she noticed when it came to men....or anyone for that matter.
Her mother used to tell her that a person's eyes were 'the window to their soul', and in this man's case...Jewel believed that.

"I'm Luke"

Jewel turned to the man, now identified as Luke. She kept her smile on her face. "I'm Julianne....or 'Jewel', if you prefer. Just your typical Irish girl from Brooklyn." she said with a laugh. "It's nice to meet ya, Luke." She added, still smiling.

"Apple?"

Jewel nodded, as she took the piece of fruit that he offered her "Yes, thank you so much." she said, biting into the apple. She then chewed, swallowed it, and looked up at Luke again.

Jewel was glad that she had met Luke. He seemed nice to her. Usually her instincts would be telling her lately to beware of strangers. But Luke looked like he was slightly harmless...or at least she hoped he was.

[Luke Gallagher]

Luke didn't miss the look in her eyes, the almost besotted one that told him that Jewel was playing right into his hands. He smiled a little when she said he wouldn't believe her story about her bruises, it told him that perhaps it was exactly the sort of thing that he needed to here. "Try me lass," He winked at her and popped another slice of apple into his mouth as he glanced back out over the water. "You may find me to be a more believing sort than most. Besides there has to be something of a story behind a shiner that puts you in bed all day." He shifted his weight and leaned a little closer, letting his smile drift into something a little more intimate. "I always did like a good story."

He watched as she took the apple from him and he smiled at her again as he moved back into his original position with his forearms resting on the bride railing. "The pleasure is all mine Julianne," Luke said, slicing off another piece of apple and handing it to her on the blade of the knife. "Always did have a soft spot for fellow countrymen, should have know by the looks of you that you were irish. Ireland always did put out the prettiest lasses."

[jewelkent]

Jewel cringed. She was not really sure if she wanted to tell Luke the whole story behind the bruises. But if he was willing to hear it, then who was she to deprive him.

"Try me lass, You may find me to be a more believing sort than most. Besides there has to be something of a story behind a shiner that puts you in bed all day."

Jewel nodded "Well, okay...here goes nothing." she told him. She then took a deep breath and began "Well, I got the bar fight in Brooklyn with some girl. She busted my nose, and the doctor said that I could've gone blind in this eye if it were anymore severe." she said to him.

"The pleasure is all mine, Julianne.

Jewel smiled when she heard Luke call her by her real name "Julianne... Nobody calls me that anymore. It's nice to hear every once in a while." she said with a shy smile.

"Always did have a soft spot for fellow countrymen, should have know by the looks of you that you were irish. Ireland always did put out the prettiest lasses."

Jewel could feel a blush creeping up onto her face. "Thank you so much. I know my family is from Ireland, not sure where though. But my sister and I were born here." she said.

"Well apparently, Ireland is not only responsible for the most prettiest girls...but also the most handsomest men." Jewel added, winking at him.

[Luke Gallagher]

"A bar fight?" He repeated when she told him how she'd come to have the bruises that marred her skin. "Hard to imagine a girl like you getting into a bar fight," Luke smiled down at her and rubbed at his chin, mulling over the thought in his head. Some girl in Brooklyn was it? He knew of the Brooklyn reputation, it was something that preceded itself and from his experience and the word on the street, they more than lived up to it. Seemed even the women there were feisty little numbers, not something that concerned him, but worth noting nonetheless. "What would make someone want to attack a sweet lass like yourself? Seems you wouldn't harm a fly."

Luke finished the last of the apple and tossed the remains over the edge of the bridge, pocketing the knife with a casual movement. The girl was almost half witted over him and it had barely been a few brief moments of conversation, now if she could just give him something useful. "You flatter me Julianne," He said with grand effect, giving her a wide smile as he turned to lean back against the railing and glance down at her.

"My brother and I were born in Ireland, just came over to the city a few weeks ago." He intentionally omitted the part of having been to the city before, or that this felt like an almost second home after Ireland of course. Those were needless details that wouldn't aid him in his goal so he cast them aside for a more simplistic story. "Still learning my way around."

[jewelkent]

Jewel sighed. She blew out a frustrated breath, and leaned against the railing. She laughed a little when Luke said that he couldn't imagine her in a bar fight.

"Well... I didn't exactly start it. I was at McGinty's in Brooklyn. It's sort of the local pub there, and apparently, I had somethings to disrespect a few Brooklyn people, and one of the girls didn't take it too well. She punched me, I punched her...it was a mess. Before you know it, there was a severe exchange of blood." She explained, hoping she hadn't said too much.

Jewel shrugged, fishing another cigarette out of her pocket, and lighting it. She then threw a sly smile in Luke's direction.

"I could be harmless, but if you get on my bad side...I can get a little crazy. But that''s nothing for you to worry about. I don't exactly consider you a threat." She said to him, still smiling.

Jewel chuckled when Luke had said that she flattered him "Well...it's the truth. Put it this way, you're not the only one with a soft spot for fellow countrymen." she said.

Jewel was entranced. She was enjoying this man's company. "Ya know, you've got the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. I always compliment a man's eyes. My mother used to say that a person's eyes were 'the window to their soul'." she said in a soft voice.

Jewel looked surprised when Luke said he had a brother. "So, you and I both have siblings? Well at least yours is till lurking around somewhere. My sister has been missing for the last 5 years." she said.

"So, how is Ireland anyway? I've never been there. Can you believe that?" Jewel asked Luke.

[Luke Gallagher]

So far, she'd given him very little new information and he reminded himself that sometimes that he was best served to be patient, if information could be pried out by simply asking then Killian would have been sent to do this sort of thing. As it was, she was slowly offering more, he knew that McGinty's was a local hangout for the Brooklyn kids it was rougher around the edges them some of the other bars but had a good irish atmosphere that Luke liked. "I don't know that I'd go around disrespecting Brooklyn, I hear they are a bad lot, run by some fast talking lad."

"I imagine we all have a bit of crazy in us," Luke commented, finding himself inwardly smile at the fact that she didn't know just how much crazy. He masked it well, but Luke's dark side could be just as violent and deadly as his brother's or any of his friends - there was no need for such actions now though. Jewel was practically glowing when she looked at him and as she noted she hardly considered him a threat. If only she knew.

"If my dear ma were alive I'd pass along your lovely compliment," He said, laying his hand on his chest and looking skyward, allowing his thoughts to genuinely soften for a moment as he thought about his mother. "The eyes come from her, though my brother got the looks." He frowned as she mentioned her missing sister and figured that was likely a sticking point for her and a topic he'd want to steer clear of if he had any hope of viable information. "Sorry about your sister lass, must be hard." Acknowledging the hardship and then moving on, shifting the conversation to better topics.

"Ireland is very green," He said with a wide smile, winking at her as he pushed his elbows back to rest them on the railing as well. "I like the city better though, more to do, more to perk my interest. Now if I could just get all these damn boroughs sorted out."

[jewelkent]

Jewel nodded when Luke mentioned that Brooklyn was a bad lot. "Yeah, they can get pretty vicious. But I've learned my lesson about tangling with them. I don't even live there anymore... I live in the Bronx now. It's a bit better out there." She told him.

Jewel sighed as he also mentioned about who Brooklyn was run by "Yeah...Spot Conlon, their fearless leader. I've never met him, but from what I heard. He's no one to mess with either." She said.

Jewel laughed a little when he said that everyone had a little crazy in them "Yeah, I guess that's pretty true." She said.

But Jewel's smile faded when Luke mentioned his mother. "I know how you feel. Both my parents have been deceased since I was 10. I don't talk about it a whole lot. It depresses me too much." She said. Then she looked up at him "So where do you and your brother live now?" She asked him.

Jewel looked interested when Luke started explaining about Ireland "I could imagine how beautiful it must be there. I wouls like to go one day." She said.

Then she laughed when he said about getting the boroughs sorted out "Yeah, unless you've actually lived here a long time...it will seem a bit confusing. But you will get used to it. I spent 3 years in Philadelphia, but when I came back here about almost a year ago...it was like I never left New York." She told Luke, suddenly smiling again.

[Luke Gallagher]

"Oh so you lived in Brooklyn?" Luke arched his eyebrow and didn't even have to feign his surprise. He couldn't imagine Jewel surviving for a single day in the toughest borough, it took kids made of iron to carve a place out in Brooklyn, pretty much anyone knew that. But now she had moved onto the Bronx, must have been some trouble she bumped into in order to force a borough change. From what he had been able to gather people didn't just jump around from borough to borough, they tended to be pretty steady and from what he had seen, loyal. "So Conlon has a stranglehold on the place does he? Can't imagine that's easy for one man to do - he got any help running it?" Any good leader had a support system, people that they trusted and that was the sort of information that Luke was after.

"You like the Bronx better then, because when I walked up it didn't seem that you were liking much of anything," He flashed her another smile, aware that lapsing into to many unannounced and uncommon silences as he mulled over things were going to alert her that something was perhaps not right. So he settled back into conversation, figuring that she was getting more relaxed with him the longer we talked - and even if small talk was growing a bit tedious, Luke could push his way through with promises of a good solid drink and perhaps a card game after it all. Maybe he could persuade Killian to go down to Caprice again and they could sort through the crowds for some trouble to get into.

"My brother and I are staying over in Queens," Luke explained, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a lazy smile. "Far cry from the cottage in the irish countryside we were reared in, but we are finding it comfortable as we can." Finn would be laughing if he could hear him, Luke knew, half truths and stories falling from his lips to ease the conversation along.

"Perhaps you will make it to Ireland someday I wouldn't give up hope lass." He didn't think it likely, the fare across the sea could be pricey and for a young thing like her he couldn't imagine it would be even close to a possibility. But he wasn't going to tell her that, he would be smiling and supportive and damn near perfect in her eyes. "Things are starting to straighten out in my mind the more I wander around, though you'd have to tell me the way to the Bronx."

[jewelkent]

Jewel nodded "Yeah, I was born in Coney Island, then after my parents passed away, my sister and I were separated. She ran off, and I ended up in an Orphanage. But I escaped from there when I was 12, and went to Philadelphia. I stayed there for 3 years, and then I just came back here about 6 months ago in order to find my sister...and still I've had no luck." She explained.

Jewel bit her lip, she found that talking about Spot in a bad way got her into big trouble last time. "I can't say much about Spot, cause I didn't really know him. But as far as I've seen, he's got a seemingly loyal band of people...most of them are girls. I can tell that he's very highly respected." She said.

Jewel smirked a bit when Luke asked if she liked the Bronx better "Yeah, the Bronx is okay. See, I found that even though I was born in Brooklyn...it just didn't feel like home to me anymore. I was taken into the Bronx Girls Lodging House about a few weeks ago, and I've only had one bad run-in with a girl there. But there leader Lexi is a lovely person...she's the one that took me in." She said.

She smiled when she heard where Luke and his brother lived. "Queens, huh? I've been there. It's nice out there too. I had a bit of a run-in with a girl from Brooklyn out there too. It's strange how they've basically followed me wherever I've gone...except for when I went to Manhattan. I was safe there." She said. Then she added "Yeah, I could imagine that anywhere in New York would be a far cry from Ireland." She said, still trying to keep a smile on her face.

Jewel absently touched her eye that held the bruise *God, I wish my eye would heal up. I hate going around like this. If I could.. I would kill the person that did this to me.* She thought to herself, knowing that it was good she hadn't said that out loud just now. Last time, talking like that had gotten around and she had paid the price.

But her smile came back when Luke mentioned Ireland again "I'm sure I will get to go there one day." She said.

Jewel chuckled a bit when Luke said that she would need to help him to find his way around the Bronx "Well, you are in the Bronx, Luke. This is the bridge that connects The Bronx to Manhattan. We are on the Bronx side. But the rest of it is that way." She said, pointing in the general direction.

Jewel was happy that she had someone like Luke to keep her company. She kept her eyes locked on his as she looked up at him "Ya know, Luke. You are one of the bright spots in my day. You've managed to get me out of my bad mood." She said, smiling at him.

[Luke Gallagher]

Now, Luke thought with a satisfied smirk, they were getting somewhere. Putting on a furrowed brow of concern, Luke shook his head and eyed Jewel cautiously. "Care to pass along some names? These dames don't sound like the sort I'd want to tangle with and I'd like to be able to spot them before trouble starts." He smiled at her then, leaning just a bit closer as though she could share her secrets and help him out all at the same time. He listened as she talked about the Bronx, taken in by some girl was she...Lexi. He filed that information away and decided one question to probe further wouldn't hurt. "Lexi huh? Surprised to hear about a girl running things, she handle it by herself?"

"Lot of places in this big city for that sister of yours to hide," Luke commented, knowing it was best that he didn't let her concerns about her family go by unnoticed, not if he intended to keep her interest long enough to get what he needed. "I'm sure she'll show up one day, probably tucked away in some corner waiting for you to come find her." He shot her another dazzling smile, glancing up at the sky and seeing it was getting later - just a few minutes more and he should head back and report, share what he found with Killian, Finn and the others.

He followed the way she pointed, indicating the Bronx and even though he already knew the way he nodded and smiled his appreciation. "Right...perhaps someday soon I won't get so turned around during a simple walk." He winked at her when she said he'd been a bright spot in her day and leaned back against the railing again with casual ease. "Well that was my goal right from the beginning lass, bring a smile to that pretty face of yours."