A/N: 1920s AU. Based on a headcanon I have/have seen like once in kind of a weird fic on Fanfiction.net that Mush would play clarinet. I don't know if OCs are gonna be in or not but I'll go ahead and just give credit where credit's due. Katie belongs to BeckyMerari1909, Falcon belongs to Runner_Weirdo, Pups belongs to 23gatkins, and Aly belongs to heythatsmycigar18!! Thank you so much to Nycnewsgirl for putting up with me going on about this random headcanon that like one of many lives rent free in my mind and for actually helping me come up with some pieces of this oneshot. This one's for you!!! :) Also, I think All That Jazz is a song title or something. I don't own it so please don't sue.

Jack Kelly tiredly climbs a fire escape on an apartment building, his arms threatening to rip from his shoulder sockets and the night sky calling him to sleep. He sighs as he pulls himself up to a window a couple of levels up on the fire escape and gently knocks on it.

A pretty young woman flings open the window, her curly hair wild with the humidity in the air.

"Are you ever going to knock on my door and come in like a normal person?" she asks him. Jack just shuts her up with a kiss to her lips. She breaks the kiss but they stay close to each other.

"Ya gonna let me in?" he asks, his lips practically still on hers as he asks this. The woman merely leans her forehead up against his and sighs. Her breath tickles Jack's mouth and he closes the distance between the two of them again, his lips passionately pressing into hers. The kiss is absolutely intoxicating and as she starts to kiss back, Jack deepens it, his hand moving to wrap around her waist and pull her close to the window. She breaks the kiss again, not wanting things to get too passionate, especially since people could still see them.

"Jack...." she breathes as he starts to press kisses to her cheek. He pulls away for a minute and gently cups her cheek.

"Sorry, Ace," he says, "Probably wasn't what you were expectin when ya opened the window." His thumb rubs circles on her cheek as he takes in her features. She moves aside to let him in and Jack steps through the window before pulling it shut behind him.

"So, how was work?" she asks as the two of them start to walk to her living room.

"Exhausting," Jack says as he unceremoniously flops down on her couch, "All this gang business is tirin."

"It makes for good stories," she says, "Except the series of cases having to do with the Pasketti gang have dried up recently. Some of my superiors were threatened and I was told to stop writing stories about them or bad things would happen."

"Haven't gotten any good busts lately," Jack says moodily, "All these gangs are payin big money to people who find out too much to keep their mouths shut and if they kill those people, they pay big money to keep people from squealin on who did it. We live in such a strange world." She nods her head in agreement.

"I've heard rumors at the paper that a coalition of police officers is looking for some....outside help to bust a group of gangsters," she says after a moment, "They run a speakeasy near where your group's 'headquarters' are."

"Katherine, what do you want me to do about it?" he asks, "I spent all day at headquarters and I'm gonna have to go back there after I'm done seein you."

"Jack!" Katherine insists, "No one else can bust this gang but you and your boys! I'd even help if you wanted me to." Jack sits up from his lounging and points a finger at her.

"I don't think so," he demands. Katherine crosses her arms and rolls her eyes.

"I could be of a lot of help. I could get you the press coverage you need and people on your side that could help you make sure these men were in prison," she explains.

"It's too dangerous," Jack replies, "They could find you and kill you for so much as gettin involved with me and my boys. So no. I ain't lettin anything bad happen to you because of the work that I do."

"When we get married, this issue isn't just going to go away," Katherine answers as she sits down next to him. She takes one of his hands resting on the knee of his trousers and holds it in her own, intertwining their fingers.

"You're still not gettin involved with this one," he says, "Besides.....I don't even know how I'm gonna be of help."

"Look," Katherine says, "It's more than just a rumor, alright? Samuels was at the paper today asking for help in exposing them." Jack looks her in the eyes very seriously.

"Please tell me ya didn't take it," he begs her, taking her other hand in his and intertwining their fingers, before leaning his chin on their intertwined hands.

"I didn't, but my supervisor, Bryan Denton did," she says, "He said I was welcome to assist in any way that I could but we still need help on the inside. We need some....enforcers." Jack smiles slightly in understanding.

"Lemme guess. That's where I come in," he says, a small smirk on his face.

"Yes," Katherine replies as she and Jack start to get closer on the couch.

"You know of any openings that the gang has or any angles we could play to get someone in there as staff?" Jack asks, "That's better than just having someone be in the speakeasy. Ya learn more if you're actually one of them." Katherine starts to think and Jack leans into the back of the couch, hardly an inch between him and Katherine. One of their hands comes undone and Jack sprawls out a bit more on the couch to relax, his closeness distracting Katherine more than she would care to admit.

"I believe that they need a new clarinet player," Katherine says. Jack raises an eyebrow and Katherine continues, "I think their old one found out too much about something he wasn't supposed to or screwed something up or jumped ship and joined another gang...I don't know the details. Gangs aren't my specialty."

"I know a guy," he says casually.

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A young man swings the bell of his clarinet around in a small circle as he plays a beautiful jazz solo, his fingers flying over the keys. They come to rest on one note and the whole speakeasy goes quiet at the sound of the beautiful long note. The rest of the band starts to come in. The bass thumps away to give the group some low end while the piano jazzes up and the trombone plays softly along with everyone else. The speakeasy starts to come back to life as the trumpet and saxophone join. Chatter resumes about various things and the quiet clinking of glasses is heard as the group plays music. The soft pat of a hi hat provides a peaceful backdrop for the speakeasy. The young man playing his clarinet sneaks a glance out at the crowd to see if anything interesting is going on. He knows this part of the song really well and only has to hold notes but he tries not to divert his attention from his music too long to attract attention to himself from his fellow band members.

The song plays on and the young man keeps his eyes on his music as he plays. He chances another glance out at the crowd and notices a group playing poker, one of them wearing a fedora pulled low over his face. He turns his eyes back to his music and finishes the song in perfect harmony with the saxophone.

The pianist, the leader of the band, gives a solid nod.

"Take five, boys. Rosie'll be by to sing with us after the break," he says before the group breaks off. The young man slips a mouthpiece cover on his clarinet before going out to mingle with the crowd. He is an individual who is fairly easy on the eyes. The only bad part about that is that he might upset some of his employers if they catch him doing something they don't like with one of their girlfriends. He decides to go to the bar and get a glass of water, which the bartender keeps just for him.

"Don't want anything stronger?" the bartender asks as he places the water on the table.

"No," the young man replies, "Can't play if I'm drunk." The bartender nods his head in agreement before turning to serve another customer. The young man tugs on his suit jacket out of habit. It's an extra baggy one to hide his strong muscles underneath so that any enemy won't be able to figure out how much of a threat he is. He takes in his surroundings to see if there's anything going on that he should be watching or should find an excuse to be in on. He spots the bassist sitting and watching a game of poker all by himself. The young man gets up from the bar and decides to go over there to see what's going on.

"Well, if it isn't our little hero clarinetist," the bassist says, "Boss has been impressed with your work...in more ways than one. What'd ya say your name was again?"

"Mush.." the young man answers before taking a sip of his water, "And you're?"

"Jerry," the bassist replies moodily, "Ya hear about the run happenin tomorrow night?"

"No...." Mush answers. The band in and of itself was a group who would perform tasks as for the Boss. Mush hadn't had to help out with a run...at least...not yet.

"Boss wants the band to help out. We meet here," Jerry says in a low voice, "10 PM sharp. Don't be late."

"I won't. Don't worry," Mush replies, "What exactly are we doin?"

"Hustlin some stuff from a distributor. It shouldn't be hard," Jerry reassures him nonchalantly. Mush tries not to tense up too much at the thought of that. He's only had to beat up a couple of thugs with Marvin, the pianist, a couple of times because somebody had offended the Boss and needed to be told a message. He more than held his own in the fight.

"Alright," Mush concedes, taking another sip of his water, "I'll be here."

"Good," Jerry says, "From what I've heard, you're a good kid. And good in a fight too." Mush nods his head in agreement.

Suddenly, a young woman comes over to Jerry and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Got a minute?" she asks him and Jerry's face brightens slightly.

"Always got a minute for you," he says in a deep tone before cupping the woman's face with his hands.

"I'm gonna go keep my reed from gettin dry," Mush says as he hurries away from the table to the small stage. He sits in his chair, pops off his mouthpiece cover, drops it in his case, unscrews his ligature and puts his reed in mouth to keep it wet.

He watches what's happening in the speakeasy and starts cleaning out his clarinet. He finishes that and seeing as some people are looking his way, expecting him to maybe perform, he sneaks off to a booth in the corner with his instrument in his hand and his ligature in his jacket pocket. Some records are playing as music in the background of the speakeasy now since the awkwardness of someone not performing on the stage has passed. His reed is still in his mouth as he sits and watches the people. A young couple is swaying in time to the music. Mush doesn't recognize him from the short while he's been here but his jacket shifts, revealing the familiar bulge of a pistol underneath his jacket, telling Mush that he must be someone important if he's carrying a pistol in the speakeasy.

The gang had given Mush a pistol but he only carries it when he is out on assignment and rarely carries it while he is playing clarinet.

He has a pistol from someone else that he keeps on him whenever he is on a job for that person.

"Maude, what am I gonna do about this?" Mush hears the guy with the pistol say softly to his girlfriend, "I ain't got the funds to pay off someone and the Boss is gonna kill me." The girl named Maude just chuckles.

"Donny, you don't gotta worry about it. We got plenty of dough besides, we're gonna skip town, remember? We're gonna skip town before the Boss can even catch ya," she says reassuringly as she and her boyfriend sway back and forth, "Besides, the Boss likes ya enough not to kill ya."

Mush fishes for his ligature in his pocket and places it in his lap. He pulls the reed out of his mouth and lines it up on his mouthpiece just like it's supposed to be with just a tiny bit of space left between the mouthpiece and the top of the reed. He places the ligature over it and screws it back on. Slowly and softly, he starts to play, getting lost in the music and the conversation unfolding in front of him. He just plays random little runs that are pretty but only ones that he can hear.

Or....so he thought.

"Hey, that sounds pretty," a female voice says. Mush stops, pulling his mouth away from the mouthpiece quickly.

"Thank you," Mush says, not quite sure what to do since not too many people compliment his playing here at the speakeasy. He takes in the girl across from him and smiles warmly at her.

"So, what do you know about all this?" she asks, "How much do they tell their Clarinet Boy?"

"Not much," Mush tries to lie. He doesn't want his cover to be blown just by talking to someone else who might be trying to bust the gang. "I mostly just play clarinet for em and I've only been here a couple weeks." His hands rest almost protectively on his instrument.

"Oh..well that's unfortunate," the girl replies as she lazily fiddles with a bracelet on her hand, "I was hoping I would get to talk to you more but if you ain't gonna tell me what you know...."

"What's this about?" Mush asks worriedly. He tries to act as though he's been caught, trying not to blow his own cover. He starts to stand up so he can go hide on the stage or in a different booth and just keep playing his instrument and spying.

That's all he's supposed to be doing. Not talking to this random girl.

"No no. It's...I'm just curious about the business," she tries to lie. Mush raises an eyebrow before sitting back down.

"You're lucky I'm nice and ain't gonna tell the Boss about this," he says, acting as if he knows more than he does. He puts his mouthpiece in his mouth to moisten his reed again as she starts to explain.

"Bout what?" she asks, almost naively.

"About this whole you askin me about how things work around here," Mush replies, trying to act all tough.

"Oh yeah? And what do you have to hide?" she asks, "You wouldn't be so nervous if you weren't trying to hide something." Mush raises an eyebrow in surprise.

"What is this?! An interrogation?" he asks.

"No, it's a casual inquiry for information," the girl answers, folding her hands on the small table.

"Ya got a name?" Mush asks her.

"I'll tell you if you tell me yours," she says, twirling a lock of dark hair around her finger, sizing Mush up.

"Fair enough," Mush agrees, "My name's Mush."

"I'm Nelley," she says, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Clarinet Boy." Mush rolls his eyes and softly starts playing again. "And you wonder why I call you that?" she mutters under her breath, "So, anything exciting going on?"

"Nah, just another night at the speakeasy," he says, still holding his clarinet like he's going to play it, "Ya know....fun times that people won't remember in the mornin." He shrugs his shoulders and starts to go back to playing.

"Ya seem like the kinda guy who would tell me what I want to know," Nelley says, folding her hands under her chin, "So....do tell."

"You realize that no one who's legit is gonna tell you that," Mush answers her. Nelley just shrugs.

"Thought I might get somewhere with you. You seem nice," she replies, "How'd you get here?"

"Auditioned," Mush replies, "Boss liked my playing so he let me join the band."

"Band have any other functions than besides just bein a band?" Nelley asks. Mush just raises an eyebrow in her direction.

"Why would I tell you that? You ain't anyone legit, are you?" he asks her, really trying not to blow his cover. He tries to go back to playing his clarinet but she thumps her hands on the table to get his attention.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nelley asks. Mush leans closer to her.

"You're here to try to break up the gang, ain't ya?" he whispers and Nelley's eyebrows raise at the accusation. She starts to tense and Mush looks at her seriously, resting the bell of his clarinet on his knee and standing it up. "Look, I ain't gonna tattle on ya. Boss ain't gonna listen to me anyways. I'm just his clarinetist," Mush reassures her, "Just be careful who ya talk to."

"Hey! Mush!" Marvin calls out. Mush looks at her and Nelley shakes her head at him.

"Ya ain't gettin away with whatever you're up to," she says. Mush stands up and pushes past her, making sure that his jacket flicks just enough so she can see the holster of his gun. He doesn't break eye contact with her as he walks away. He notices her pale considerably as he passes.

He hates to do that to a fellow spy but he can't have his cover blown or he'll lose the case.

At least he hopes she's a fellow spy and not someone from a different gang. She needs to let him do his job and he'll let her do her own. They don't need to be involved with each other.

Although she is kinda pretty. He likes her hair and her clothes and her personality would be pretty adorable under different circumstances.

But that's not reality unfortunately.

Mush follows Marvin and the rest of the band up onto the stage. He sits down in his seat, moistens his reed and starts playing to warm up. The other wind instruments do the same and the group starts to tune. Once they're tuned, Marvin starts to play the opening riff to a song and Mush plays along with the rest of the group.

This is a song that they mostly just ad-lib with a few starting and ending places for reference. Mush's gaze flicks out to the crowd at one point and he can see Nelley standing in the back. Her pretty dress stands out among the crowds of gangsters.

Her gaze is fixed on him. He tries to look away and back to his music. He plays a beautiful little solo riff that pushes the band into another segment of the song. Before long, some upbeat jazz rhythms are ringing out through the speakeasy and some couples are getting up to dance.  Mush sees Nelley just standing in the back, watching the dancers.

The song finishes and Marvin calls Rosie up to the stage. She joins them and the group starts playing yet again. It's some upbeat song about lovers in the spring time or some other stuff. Mush is too caught up in the music and trying to keep his eyes off of Nelley to care.

That dark green dress she's wearing is just so pretty and fits her in all the right ways. The little clutch that she carries with her is held in her arm as she watches the scene move by.

At one point, he's playing the wrong note because he's too busy looking at Nelley and Marvin shoots him a look from the piano, banging on the keys a little bit more than necessary to get his attention. Mush looks back to his music and starts playing the right notes, moving ever so slightly to the beat in his chair. The other musicians settle into a comfortable rhythm.

Mush plays several more solos throughout the set and Nelley is keeping an eye on him the entire time. Her gaze is almost angry, like she doesn't like what he's doing.

The set ends and Nelley rushes up towards the stage.

"Come talk to me when you've got a minute, Clarinet Boy," she says after Rosie announces that another break is going on. Mush wastes no time in hurrying down to her with his instrument in hand.

"What do you want? I'm just showing up to do my job. I don't gotta talk about it," Mush says in a very direct manner.

"Means you've got things to hide," Nelley says as she holds her clutch closer to her, "And I wanna know what these things are. If ya ain't gonna let me in on the fun, then how am I supposed to have it?" Mush clutches his instrument just a little bit tighter when she says that.

"Ya ain't. You're just a customer here. You come to enjoy the show and then leave. Go home and forget what happened here," he says, "Besides, you're not the best spy around here. Someone who's a big deal is gonna catch ya and then you'll be in trouble." Nelley merely cocks an eyebrow at him.

"I'm pretty sure I was born with Trouble as my middle name," she says with her arms crossed, "So I have plenty of experience with dealing with it." Mush just rolls his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Besides," she says matter of factly, "I'm not really certain you are who you say you are."

"What makes you say that?" Mush asks worriedly. Nelley just looks at him suspiciously.

"I think you're more than just the clarinet player," she says, thoughts running through her head that she definitely didn't want to say to the boy out loud. If he turned on the charm at all...

"Oh? Ya like what ya see?" Mush asks, "I already know ya like what I play." He smirks playfully at her and she rolls her eyes.

"I didn't mean to me," she says moodily, "I meant to the gang." She rolls her eyes at him and Mush just shakes his head. "Although...getting closer to you would mean...." she starts to muse.

"Yeah, that ain't happenin. You would drive me crazy with all your questions and I ain't gonna be some pawn in your game," Mush announces, gesturing with his clarinet. Nelley huffs at him and crosses her arms over her clutch.

"How do you know I would ask you all these questions?" she asks indignantly, "Maybe I wouldn't and maybe you just have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh I know very well what I'm talking about," Mush answers, "You just won't leave it alone! I don't understand why you gotta be all up in my business when I'm just doin my job. Same as you." Nelley flinches and her mouth drops open at the accusation.

"My job is just bein a customer. How's a customer supposed to know what she's getting into if the business people ain't tellin her what she wants to know before she interacts with em!" Nelley reasons, her voice getting louder.

"Ya just supposed to trust that things are gonna work out like they're supposed to because you know what happens if ya ask too many questions!" Mush replies, yelling at her. The speakeasy goes quiet around them and Mush quickly grabs Nelley's arm, yanking her outside. The minute they're outside she starts yelling at him,

"What do you think you're doing? I already know you have a gun so if you're gonna kill me, I suggest you get it over with. You're gonna be sorry you did it. You're gonna be sorry you tried to hide what you knew from me and you're gonna be sorry you didn't work with me like I wanted. Every single one of you rats is gonna wind up in prison where you belong and I'll make sure you get there."

"You ain't ever gonna get a chance to...." Mush growls at her darkly, trying to keep his cover.

"Oh yeah?" Nelley asks, "Is that a challenge? I'll gladly accept it just to watch you fail."

Before Mush can answer, a sharp whistle rings throughout the alleyway.

Jack Kelly peeks around the corner, pulling his fingers from his mouth.

"Come here," he hisses from his place in the alley, "Both of ya." Nelley and Mush hurry over. Jack leads them over a couple of alleyways before stopping them. "I don't know what happened in there," he says, "But you two are on the same team and from what I saw, ya sure ain't actin like it."

"What?!" Nelley and Mush both gasp at the same time.

"Jack, you didn't tell me I had backup," Mush defends, "And all she did was harass me with her questions!"

"Oh yeah? Well if you hadn't playing such pretty music, I wouldn't have come and bothered you! I would've found somebody else to try to snuggle up to," Nelley argues back.

"Would you two stop arguin and let me explain what happened?" Jack asks the two angrily before muttering under his breath, "You two fight like an old married couple." Both Mush and Nelley glare at Jack. Jack lets it pass before introducing them to each other. "Why don't I introduce you two as you are to my network of people I got?" Jack suggests. He gestures to Nelley, "This is my sister, Elley. She goes by Nelley so the gang doesn't discover her real name. I figured it might be hard for you to get out and talk to people since you were mostly playin and practicin with the band, Mush, and Elley wanted to do something to help out so I decided to let her come in and get comfortable with one of the guys so she could learn about the business. Elley, this is Mush. He's a guy I have working undercover for the gang. He's real good at playin clarinet, if ya didn't know already."

"Oh trust me, I'm aware," Elley answers with a soft smirk in Mush's direction, "The band is lucky to have someone like you. Good musicians can be hard to come by."

"Thanks," Mush replies, shooting Elley a soft smile, holding her gaze a little longer than necessary, before Jack clears his throat so he can continue. 

"And he's trying to find out how things work in relation to the speakeasy and the gang activity since he's a part of it," Jack finishes. Mush looks up at Jack with a slightly annoyed look.

"Why didn't you just tell me she was backup so we could play it off?" he asks, "Then she would've left me alone."

"I wouldn't have though," Elley says, "I would've bothered you like I did everyone else to make them think you were part of the gang and also to annoy you but that's just me." She shoots him a sly smirk. Jack rolls his eyes, having none of it.

"Look, you two need to start working together a bit more. Don't annoy him to death and you don't get angry when she talks to ya," Jack says, feeling more like a dad than a gang leader, "Work together to figure out what's going on. Mush, ya got any news on heists, meetings, anything we could potentially catch them in the act of doin something they shouldn't be?"

"The band's doin some kind of a run tomorrow night but I don't know what it's for," Mush says, "I can try to find out though."

"I can sneak out here and tell him," Elley suggests, "No one will be the wiser and if they are, they'll discover the real reason I carry a clutch." Mush raises an eyebrow and Elley chuckles as she pops open her clutch, revealing a loaded gun inside it. "I wasn't intimidated when you indirectly threatened me with your gun earlier ya know," she says with a light laugh, "I was prepared to meet fire with fire."

"Oh...." is all Mush can manage, "You realize I would never....." Elley chuckles and nods.

"I figured," she says as Mush shucks his jacket to get some relief from the humidity of the night, revealing a teal short sleeved shirt, his dark suspenders, his holster on his hip....

And some very strong and toned muscles that the shirt fits really well.

Elley can do nothing but stare and Jack stifles a laugh before clearing his throat yet again.

"Where were we with this plan?" Jack asks, "Elley's gonna come talk to me. Mush, how ya gonna get her attention?"

"I'll come talk to her," Mush says, "And I'll tell her. And then once the band's done for the night, which should be soon, we've been playin for awhile, I'll come back out here to talk to you and we can make a plan for tomorrow night."

"Let's just hope it's bust worthy," Jack says, "I don't want this to be that they're stealing food for kids in prison or something that ain't really worth pinnin on em. Make sure to talk to someone. Alright, go on in there and track down a lead. How am I gonna know it's you when you come out?"

"Actually, what if Elley and I leave together? It'll make more sense since the guys kinda think we're a couple," Mush explains. Jack's jaw tightens significantly and he runs a hand over his forehead.

"Alright do what ya gotta do, but just come tell me about it once ya get a chance alright," Jack sighs after a moment of silence.

Mush holds his clarinet between his legs, puts his jacket back on, takes his clarinet and then he and Elley hurry back inside the speakeasy. Jerry hurries over to them with the trombonist named Charles. The two men look between the two.

"What happened? You two were fightin like cats and dogs," Charles asks, "Anythin we should know about."

"Oh!" Elley says with a slight squeak in her voice, "Don't worry about that, gents. We made up. I'm quick to forgive and I just love Mush's music." To sell the act, Elley plants a long kiss on Mush's cheek, right next to his lips.

And she catches just the corner of his lips.

Which drives Mush crazy.

She lingers there for a moment and Mush gets the feeling that this isn't an act.

When she pulls away, her eyes confirm what he had thought was the case.

"Well, I'll leave you boys to it," she says playfully, patting Mush on the shoulder as she walks over to the bar, her clutch in hand.

Mush nearly drops his clarinet in shock at what just happened.

"Well, ain't she something?" Jerry muses as he watches her leave.

"Hey!" Mush cuts in, his voice completely serious and not an act, "That's my girl you're talking about."

"Yeah yeah whatever. So.....I learned the rest of the details about the run tomorrow. We're doin a bit more than hustlin something from a distributor," Jerry says before pulling Mush close to him and whispering in his ear, "We're kidnapping the Mayor's daughter."

"What?!" Mush gasps out, "That's crazy! How does the Boss expect us to...?"

"Keep it down," Charles hisses as he overhears the conversation, "We've easily got the best and biggest heist of the year. The Boss is gonna promote us all for pullin this off."

"Boss says the Mayor hasn't fulfilled his most recent due and the Boss wants to show the Mayor what happens when he doesn't pay," Jerry explains, "It's a big deal."

"Yeah, sure is," Mush says before Marvin starts yelling at them,

"Come on, boys. One last set. Do I pay you all to stand around here?" Mush and the others start moving back towards the stage to play another set.

And once again, Mush has a really hard time focusing, especially since Elley is sitting at a closer table.

And as he's playing, he's pretty sure he notice her gaze flick towards his lips.

She could just be admiring his embouchure but Mush has a feeling she isn't.

Maybe that kiss earlier meant more than he thought it did. He didn't want to press his luck. She wasn't the right person to do that with. But....he has a feeling about her.

A strong one.

He starts playing to her more than anyone else, making his music and solos for her instead of just for the general populace in the speakeasy, making sure that his clarinet and body faces slightly more towards her when he plays.

At one point, he sees a smile on her face when he's playing a particularly pretty piece and it warms his heart so much.

Her smile is so beautiful...so contagious.

He can't believe he's gone from wanting to pull his hair out when he's around her to falling in love with her.

All within the span of a few hours.

How is that even possible?

Mush has fallen for his fair share of girls but never quite like this. This is a new definition of falling in love with someone and Mush is alright with that.

The set ends and Mush lays his clarinet down on his seat before heading over to Elley. He slides into a seat next to her and laces his hands together in front of him.

"So?" Elley asks, casually slinging one leg over the other. She pulls her clutch into her lap and Mush leans over to whisper in her ear.

"How about we talk outside? I don't want anyone to catch wind of what could happen," he says in a low voice. Elley smirks at him playfully and rests a hand under her chin.

"Did you want something to happen?" she whispers back playfully.

"I think we share things best when we're alone," he answers, shooting her a small wink. He stands up from his seat and offers a hand to Elley. She takes it and to his surprise, doesn't let go. He intertwines their fingers and the two of them walk outside. The minute they're out, Elley's practically pulling him down to the alleyway where Jack was hiding.

Jack leaps out in a defense stance, causing Elley and Mush to each take ones of their own.

"Oh, it's just you," Jack says. He rubs the back of his neck looking very embarrassed. He snaps out of it after a moment. "So, what's the story?" he asks.

"Tomorrow night, we're kidnapping the Mayor's daughter," Mush says quietly.

"What?! This is perfect!" Elley exclaims, "We'll have everything we need to condemn them of a bunch of crimes!"

"Shhhhh," Mush hushes her, "Keep it down. You want everyone in New York to find out?"

"Well technically yeah," Elley starts, "But I guess not yet, huh?" She cocks her head as she thinks this through, squeezing Mush's hand softly.

"The Mayor's daughter," Jack groans, "How in the world are we supposed to break her free? They're gonna be guarding her like nothing they've ever guarded before." He suddenly notices Elley and Mush's joined hands. "Anything you two wanna tell me about what happened in there?" he asks, gesturing to their intertwined fingers.

"Oh!" Elley gasps before she breaks their touch, "I guess Mush and I forgot we didn't have to put on the act anymore." She gives a short laugh to convince everyone around them of that. Mush just looks up at her and then at Jack. "So, what's our plan?"

"Well...we'll need to break her out at some point. Do you know what they plan on doing with her once they have her or why they're taking her?" Jack asks. Mush shakes his head.

"I have no idea," he replies, "But, I'm sure I'll find out eventually. They'll probably just hold onto her until the Mayor pays for her to come back to him. Either that or the cops'll come and bust her out." Jack rubs his chin in thought.

"Or we'll come and bust her out," he suggests.

"What?! But Jack...." Mush starts to protest. Jack puts up a hand to quiet him.

"I get it. You're worried about your cover. Hopefully, ya won't need it after this. If we bust this gang, we'll hand em over to the police but tell them to take the credit. I'll try to organize things with you so that we don't put you in danger," Jack thinks aloud, "If we wait a little while, which we can do as long as they don't hurt her, we'll let them think that they've won. And then we'll break her out. I'll make sure to have enough boys there to deal with anything they try to throw at us. I can only imagine how ugly it's gonna get." Mush nods head in understanding.

"Okay," he replies, "That....makes sense. Thanks, Jack."

"Don't thank me yet. We gotta pull this off first," Jack answers, "In the meantime, Elley's gonna keep comin to the the speakeasy and whatever cover it is that the two of you are using, don't let me catch ya lettin it get outta hand, alright? I don't care if ya put on an act for the gangsters, but she's my sister."

"I got it, Jack," Mush says, "Besides we just met...how would I...?" Jack waves a hand at him and cuts him off,

"I see the way the two of ya are lookin at each other."

Both Elley and Mush blush and Jack just rolls his eye in response.

"So, I take it Mush and I are giving you a status report tomorrow night about how the kidnapping went?" Elley asks, trying to break up the awkwardness of the moment.

"Yeah," Jack says, "You are."

"Alright, good..."Mush starts when suddenly he hears voices down the alleyway. He grabs Elley and starts moving her further down the alley to hide. Jack follows him, pulling his pistol out of his holster, preparing to protect them. Mush and Elley pull out their guns as well. In the dark, Elley reaches over and grabs Mush's hand. He interlaces their fingers just like before and gives her hand a gentle squeeze. Elley squeezes back nervously. Neither of them really understanding the implications of their actions.

After a minute, the voices and footsteps fade away. Jack steps out first with his pistol in hand, Mush behind him and still holding onto Elley. Once the coast is clear, Mush darts back into the speakeasy for his clarinet and his music so he can head out for the night.

He's packing up when Marvin approaches him.

"So, I'm assuming the others have told you about the run tomorrow night?" he asks, laying his palm on the back of Mush's chair. Mush nods his head as he starts to clean out his instrument.

"Yeah. Sounds pretty ambitious," he replies, focused on his task of cleaning.

"It does. But we can do it. Especially if you're the one who grabs her," Marvin continues.

For the second time that night, Mush nearly drops his instrument.

"Alright," he concedes. Maybe it'll make it easier for him to sneak the Mayor's daughter off to Jack. Maybe...

"Think of this as your initiation," Marvin continues, "You do well. You move up in the gang. If you do poorly, you're gonna wish you hadn't."

Mush feels the tiniest bead of sweat begin to form on his brow.

"I'll keep that in mind," he notes as he takes a part his instrument, "See you tomorrow night at 10, right?"

"Yep. See you tomorrow night at 10," Marvin concedes and Mush leaves for the night. He goes back towards his apartment in the neighborhood where the gang lives and puts his things away, thankful that it's already dark out and no one can see how nervous he is.

He didn't want to be the one to kidnap the Mayor's daughter.

But then again, he hadn't really proven himself besides the fact that he could play clarinet really well. The gang didn't really know what use he could be of to them.

His feet pattering on the sidewalk make him feel so alone and for just a minute, he wish he and Elley could sit down and have a normal conversation instead of sneaking around because of all of the gang business.

Mush crawls into his bed in his little one room tenement apartment and struggles to fall asleep because of his worries about the next night. He slowly walks over to a window and opens it. The cool breeze of the city tickles his bare chest and muscled abdomen. Placing his hands against the window sill, he looks out at the city, his arm muscles taut as his thoughts wander.

He's not sure he's ready for this.

After a minute, he slowly slumps down against the wall, next to the open window and his whirling thoughts eventually exhaust him to the point where he falls asleep.

He wakes up to knocking on his door. Getting up, he quickly grabs one of his pistols and hides it in a small shelf next to the door before pulling on a pair of shorts. Leaning a hand against the shelf and keeping the gun in his hand, he opens the door.

Elley is on the other side and her eyes widen slightly at his appearance.

A slight wave of confusion passes over Mush as he wonders what could be wrong. She couldn't see the gun, could she? He would never hurt her.

"Good morning," she says, "Is it alright if I come in?" She approaches the door a bit closer, her gaze briefly flicks up and down his shirtless top, lingering for a second longer than appropriate on his abdomen. The look on her face demands that he let her in.

"Uh yeah, sure," he says as his brain struggles to figure out how she found him and why she was acting slightly...different. Elley slowly pushes past him and enters the apartment and Mush closes the door behind him.

"Well this is a nice place," she says with a note of sarcasm in her voice as she gestures to the one-room apartment.

"Well, sometimes we take what we can get," Mush answers nonchalantly, "I'm not high enough up in the gang that I can get something else." Elley shrugs her shoulders in agreement.

"Fair enough," she says, her gaze once again flicking to his shirtless top for longer than necessary.

"So, what did you need?" he asks her as he, to Elley's slight disappointment, pulls a tank top from one of his drawers and pulls it over his athletic build.

"I was just coming by to see how you were doing," she answers with a shrug of her shoulders. Mush raises an eyebrow at her as he pulls out a belt and a gun holster out of one of his dresser drawers. The cool breeze of the morning ripples through the apartment, breaking up the tension of the room with it.

"Well, ya seen how I'm doin so now we're good, right?" Mush asks as he slips the belt on, desperately hoping she's not going to try to blow their covers again. Even if she doesn't mean to do it on purpose. He moves over to where he had hidden his gun earlier and slips it into the holster now on his belt.

"No. You don't seem like you're good," she answers bluntly, her gaze never leaving him. He stops on his way back to his dresser and looks at her.

"I'm fine. I promise," he says as he crosses the room the rest of the way and starts pulling on a shirt over his tank top. Elley crosses her arms and leans against the wall, studying him.

"You seem pretty rattled. Something happen last night in between the time I saw you and now?" she asks, trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong. Mush hurriedly finishes buttoning his shirt and moves over to the window to close it. It slams shut and he hurries over to her. His breath feels hot on her ear as he starts whispering the entire conversation he and Marvin had had last night after they had gone their separate ways.

Elley's eyes widen slightly once he finishes his story.

"You're gonna go through with it, aren't you," she guesses and he nods.

"I don't have a choice," he replies softly, his face downcast. Elley presses a gentle and soft kiss to his cheek as she starts to move to the door. Mush blushes at the contact and watches her start to leave. "I'll see you tonight, right?" he asks.

"Sure thing. Wouldn't miss a performance of my favorite clarinetist," she says cheekily, "See you later."

"Bye," he answers, watching her skirt move with her as she leaves. The door closes behind her and Mush gently raises a hand up to his cheek to the place where she had kissed him. That little kiss gives him the confidence he needs to move forward with the operation.

10 o'clock still comes faster than Mush would have liked. They've just finished up playing for the night and he had sat and chatted with Elley and some of the other guys about highlights of the week during the breaks.

The band meets just outside of the building in the back to discuss the events of the night. It's dark and the city for the most part has slowed down. Marvin debriefs the group on everything.

"One of our guys has been doing some 'work' in that area to keep an eye on her. She's usually out sitting on her balcony about this time so it should be real easy to reach up there and snatch her," Marvin explains, "Mush, ya got that part? The rest of ya will be waiting around the house to take out anyone who tries to help keep her there, got me? Ain't nobody gonna know that this happened before she's already gone and she's already ours." The other guys nod and before long, the group sets off toward the mayor's house. Once they are within a block or two of the house, the group splits up. Mush walks down the sidewalk by himself, pretending to casually be out on a stroll. His palms are sweating and his gun, despite his muscled and toned body, feels incredibly heavy in his holster. His jacket hangs loosely around his shoulders as he walks and he really just sort of wants to take it off. He takes of his cap and runs his hand through his hair as he mentally rehearses how he might be able to trick her into coming with him.

Once they get close, he sees Jerry slip into a shadow nearby to help him take her, a bottle of chloroform sticking out of his pocket with a handkerchief. Mush resists the urge to shudder at the idea of what he's about to do. He pauses when he sees a young woman sitting on her balcony reading a book but something flutters inside of it, something that most definitely isn't a book. She gets up to leave for a moment and Mush sees the object flutter down to the street. He picks it up and reads it.

It's a letter that someone had written her about a speakeasy, trying to get her to come and take part in the fun.

Besides....shouldn't the Mayor's daughter get to experience some of the action?

That's the only line Mush sees before she comes back out. She spots him down on the street and gasps when she sees him holding her letter.

"Oops! Looks like I dropped that!" she calls, but Mush can understand the double meaning of her tone quite clearly.

"Gettin in on all the action?" he calls out to her and she hurriedly shushes him. The flowy dress with a lack of sleeves but a lacy drape like covering for her arms flutters in the breeze.  She looks down at him and cocks her head.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean by that," she says, "Do you mind explaining?" Mush resists the urge to roll his eyes at how innocent she's trying to play.

"Why don't you just come down here and explain it yourself?" he asks back. The Mayor's daughter gives an indignant little huff before climbing over her balcony and scooching her way down the drainpipe next to her window. She jumps down to the ground the last little way and hurries over to him.

"It's like...." she starts but then Jerry pounces on her, clamping a handkerchief covered in chloroform over her nose and mouth. She startles and tries to scream but she eventually just goes limp in his arms as he presses it harder into her face.

"Nicely done," Marvin commends Mush, appearing by his side. Mush resists the urge to jump.

"Thanks! Wasn't so bad," Mush says, trying to brush off the whole ordeal. The group splits up with Mush and Jerry holding the Mayor's daughter.

Mush feels pretty terrible about the whole thing but he didn't want to endanger the lives of the other boys. They may be organized but the gang he's a part of is more so.  Somehow they would eventually find him and kill him even if he left town and came back. The other boys would have to leave town too. He couldn't do that because he wanted them to be a part of his kidnapping adventures. He and Jerry stick to the alleys and shadows as they hold the girl in between them. They finally get to the warehouse next to where the speakeasy is and they tie her to a chair. Jerry ties the chloroformed handkerchief tightly in between her lips to keep her quiet.

"Sweet dreams, sweetheart," he mutters as he and Mush head out and another gang member comes over.

"Nice work, boys. Boss is gonna real pleased with ya, Mullens," the other gang member says, sending a nod in Mush's direction.

"Thanks," Mush says as he and Jerry leave for their separate apartments.

Mush arrives back at his apartment and starts looking at solo music that he has from various times he played clarinet to see if there's anything he could use to play as a distraction. Maybe he could convince Marvin to let him as a solo to really show his stuff as a good clarinetist to all of New York and so that the gang could see him play by himself. Marvin, strangely enough, hadn't been in the room when Mush had auditioned so he hadn't REALLY seen Mush play. 

Once he doesn't hear a whole lot of movement still in the apartment, Mush sneaks out and hurries over a few blocks to where Jack and the other boys typically stay in an old run down warehouse. He quickly climbs the fire escape and opens a window where he knows Jack and the others usually hang out. Mush scrambles inside and nearly falls on top of someone when he hooks his foot on the window sill while climbing in.

"Ahhh! Hey! Watch where you're...." a female voice cries out but she stops when she's realizes who's in front of her. "Mush!" she cries out, "How'd things go?"

"Fine," Mush says as he gets the rest of the way inside and closes the window.

"Elley hear says that you were the one who took her," Kid Blink says as he walks over and slings an arm over his best friend's shoulder, pulling him in further into the room. Elley follows close behind.

"Yeah...I got her to come down from this balcony that she has outside her room and then she dropped something that was a letter about a club or speakeasy and then I asked her about and told her to come down and explain it and then one of the guys came and knocked her out," Mush explains, "I feel terrible for her."

"Look on the bright side. At least it gives me a chance to meet her and maybe rescuing her will turn her affections in my direction," Blink says with a dreamy expression on his face.

"Blink, she's the Mayor's daughter," Elley tries to reason but Mush shrugs.

"I don't like that she might have to get hurt but I'm certainly not opposed to Blink getting to meet her. I just kinda wish it was under different circumstances," he says and Blink nods his head in agreement.

"Can I please be a part of the rescue operation?" Blink begs, "I really want to be the one to save her."

"You have to talk to Jack," Mush says. Blink looks ready to save her right then and there.

"What's this about me?" Jack asks as he comes up the stairs from another part of the warehouse.

"You're the one plannin this whole operation," Elley says as she leans against the wall again and crosses her arms, "Blink wants to save the Mayor's daughter."

"Blink would be good to have on the team. He's good in a fight," Jack concedes, sending a wink in Blink's direction, "I'm sure we can make that happen." The grin on Blink's face grows just a tad bit wider than it was previously.

"So...Mush, tell us what happened!" Elley begs as the group finally has her brother's attention. Mush retells the entire events and Jack rubs his chin in thought once Mush has finished.

"So...we need a distraction to keep the majority of the gang occupied while some of us break in with some cops and get them out," Jack says as he thinks through everything, "I'll talk to Samuels, the guy who tips off Katherine's and Denton's paper from the police department and we'll see what we can do. We need to get enough cops who are on the straight and narrow on our side to get this done right or we'll all have to leave town."

"How long you think that's gonna take?" Mush asks.

"Probably a week. You think you can get em to keep her alive for a week?" Jack answers as he thinks through everything.

"Hopefully," Mush says after a moment's consideration.

"Ya better. I want to have a Mayor's daughter that I can romance and then hopefully kiss," Blink reminds him. Mush rolls his eyes.

"In the meantime, Mush, you keep playing with the band and doing what you're doing and Elley, be careful how much you go but make sure you go once or twice while I get everything sorted out for a bust," Jack says, already thinking of the officers he could possibly sway to his side. Kidnapping the Mayor's daughter is a big deal and a lot of cops would go in on this one just to save face in front of the entire public. Losing the Mayor's daughter would damage their reputation for certain.

"So, how we can prepare for this?" Davey asks as he enters the room from a different part of the warehouse, "Because I for one don't think it would be wise to improvise on the spot."

"I think I could play a solo or two and distract em that way. Show em my stuff," Mush says, "The band hasn't really heard me play by myself so that would be a good way to keep them occupied. I'm pretty new so I'm sure the gang would jump at any chance they could to get any new information on me."

"Can I come listen?" Elley asks with a small smirk on her face.

"Might be good to have some backup in the speakeasy in case they manage to figure it out before we get everything organized like we want," Jack reasons, "I think you should stay with him." Elley nods her head in understanding.

"I get to save the Mayor's daughter, right?" he asks, "Just to confirm. I wanna be the one to untie her and help her escape." The whole room grumbles about him being as bad as Mush or Romeo.

"That sounds very noble," Davey says, having missed the entire previous conversation about Blink and the Mayor's daughter, "I don't see why he can't." Jack sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, Blink. You can rescue the Mayor's daughter," he caves and Blink pumps his fist in the air excitedly.

"WOO HOOOO! I GET TO SAVE THE MAYOR'S DAUGHTER!" he shouts.

"Yeah and if he keeps that up, they'll kill us all before we get a chance to break in there," Albert grumbles from his bunk.

"Not unless you or Race throw Oscar Delancey into a trash can like ya did the last time," Skittery reminds him, "I really thought you were gonna get us all killed that time."

"What?! We were doin our duty as public servants and protectin the innocent civilians. Nobody ever said that rescue had to be painless for the civilian!" Albert explains and the bantering continues. Jack rolls his eyes and looks around at the group.

"We'll come up with the rest of the plan once I have things finalized with the police. Until then, just keep doin what you're doin and we'll figure it out," he explains.

The week seems to drag by. Jack gets everything finalized with the police and Mush even sneaks off to the station at one point to discuss things with the police about his finds and what he's seen. All the while, Mush practices his solos in his apartment to get ready for his big debut. Thankfully, Marvin and the other members thought it would be a good idea to give Mush a bit of a solo set to show off his stuff to the gang members and other people attending the speakeasy.

Eventually, the evening of the rescue comes and Mush couldn't be more nervous and simultaneously, excited. He enters the speakeasy a little early just as he normally does with his instrument case in hand and prepares for a great night of music. He sits down in his seat and puts his clarinet together, his mind racing with the events to come. Once it's all put together, he starts warming up, playing pretty little runs and letting the music he plays relax him. He starts playing some jazzy little musical interludes to get himself in the mood for his solos later. He lets himself get lost in the music, just enjoying his clarinet playing.

"Thought your solos were later," Charles remarks and Mush simply continues holding the note he had landed on. He pulls his mouthpiece from his mouth and rolls his eyes good naturedly.

"Never hurts to warm up a bit," he comments as he slips his mouthpiece back into his mouth and continues playing.

Eventually the rest of the group comes up, they get tuned and start playing as people enter the speakeasy for the events of the evening.

Elley comes in after awhile and stands near the back, her hands holding her little clutch as she watches the group begin to perform. She almost looks nervous as if she knows something or saw something before she came in but the expression soon passes from her face as she starts talking with other people. Mush watches her as he keeps playing, hoping that she's alright.

Meanwhile, the boys at the warehouse are waiting for it to become a certain time so that they can meet the police at the designated location.

"You think we can do this?" Davey asks and Jack shrugs,

"It's gonna take a miracle. These guys are pretty organized but I think we'll have the element of surprise on our side."

Mush and Elley scope things out from inside the speakeasy and after awhile, the boys start to make their way towards the area where the warehouse is. Once they arrive, every single boy, who has a gun, Racetrack is the designated lookout from a vantage point elsewhere as the other boys didn't trust him with a gun. He could make a lot of racket so he could create diversions and get the attention of the other boys quickly.

Mostly because of how accurate his impersonation of a cat could be.

The police officers, dressed in dark clothing, approach the boys from different angles. Jack and the leader of the officers shake hands before the officer knocks on the door. It opens and a gang member opens the door just enough for himself to step through. 

"Whaddya want? If ya lost the speakeasy's that way," he points with a large thumb to the speakeasy.

"Thanks but that ain't what we'se interested in," Jack says in a low dark tone.

"Oh yeah? An what would that be?" the gangster asks, crossing his arms and leaning on the door frame.

"The Mayor's daughter," the officer says, "You can hand her over to us or we'll have to do this a much harder way." The gangster shakes his head and gives a sardonic laugh.

"Oh, coppah. Stop tryin to pretend to be a gangster," he says, "It ain't workin so well and I think we'll hang onto the Mayor's daughter, thanks."

"Wrong answer," Jack says, "Now you gonna let us have her or we gonna have to do this the dirty way?" The gangster just laughs again.

"What're you gonna do about it?" he asks.

Jack nods the other boys closer and the boys approach. The gangster shifts slightly at the sheer number of people behind him. Blink comes right up behind Jack.

"Ya called, Boss?" he asks, "Ya top member is at your service."

"Members...you're a gang?" The gangster asks, "Ain't ever heading of a gang working with the coppahs before. No matter. Ya still can't have the Boss' prize. She's valuable property."

"The hard way it is," Jack says and he and the officer throw open the door, storming the warehouse. The other boys stream in and bullets and fists start flying. Blink beelines straight for the Mayor's daughter only to be tackled by an angry gangster. Their fists start flying and Blink manages to knock his gun out of his hand.

The Mayor's daughter starts crying out through her gag to get Blink's attention. One gangster who isn't busy, manages to untie her from the chair and take her with him. Another gangster helps the first one bind her ankles and they start to take her away. She screams for Blink, her eyes wide and her nostrils flaring as the gag makes it hard to get enough air to scream. Blink sends a swift kick at the gangster's stomach that he's currently fighting, causing the gangster to double over in pain and cry out. He starts running after the gangster to try to save the girl.

Mush on the other hand is just about to begin his solo set. Elley comes up to him during the break before.

"Ya nervous?" she asks him, gently rubbing his shoulder, secretly admiring how strong it is.

"Yeah. A little," he replies, his gaze flicking to hers. 

"You're gonna do great. You're the best clarinet player in the city, Clarinet Boy," she says, saying the name in a teasing tone. Mush shoots her a small smirk and reaches for her hand. They intertwine their fingers and Elley smiles back at him as she gives his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Mush, you're on!" Marvin calls out to him.

"Well, this is it," Mush says, shrugging his shoulders.

"You're gonna do great," Elley says, looking at him seriously, "I promise."

"Mush!" Marvin calls again. Mush quickly leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to her forehead briefly before walking up to the stage to get his instrument. Marvin introduces him as he gets ready. He starts moistening his reed and playing soft little riffs to warm up before getting situated on the stage with his solo set. Marvin finishes his introduction and scoots out of the way. Elley catches Mush's gaze out in the crowd.

Mush places his mouthpiece in his mouth and starts playing the first solo.

His fingers dance over the keys in their rhythmic ways and Mush lets himself get lost in the music. He takes a deep breath and holds out a nice long tone. He tries to play for Elley, imagining the two of them dancing to the slow jazzy tune. The image relaxes him as he hopes that everything is going well for the boys.

The boys on the other hand are struggling. Jack fires three bullets, striking another gangster dead. He falls back behind a barrier that he and another cop had hidden behind and leans over to talk to the cop.

"I hate killin em like this but they ain't givin us much choice," Jack mutters and the cop nods. A scuffle is heard and soon another gangster is being taken into custody. Blink has nearly caught the gangsters hauling the Mayor's daughter away. He keeps his gun on the gangsters as they hold her captive. He can hear her quick and labored breathing as she gives another muffled cry.

"Freeze!" he says aggressively, "Gimme the girl and I'll make sure you get a lighter sentence for cooperating." The gangsters simply keep running through the warehouse. Blink takes a shot successfully injuring one of them. The other one simply keeps running and the muffled cries of the Mayor's daughter echo through the hall. Blink gives chase and keeps after the two. Suddenly, he hears a conversation being had between two men and a door opens.

"Wait!" he cries just as the door shuts behind them. He hurries through the dark the rest of the way through the hall to get it open.

Meanwhile, Mush is playing a beautiful but complicated part of his solo and Elley is listening intently. Suddenly, she spots something out of the corner of her eye. Movement and some kind of a struggle catches her eye from the back of the speakeasy and she catches a glimpse of long hair in the struggle.

She turns around just in time to see the face of a girl with a gag jammed tightly in between her lips looking back at her. The girl gives a faint cry before she's yanked away. Elley straightens her posture when suddenly she feels the cold metal of a gun barrel pressing into her temple and her clutch is knocked out of her hands.

"So, you really just come to our speakeasy just for the good time?" Marvin asks, his voice cold.

"It's a free country. I can come for whatever reason I want," she replies, "Besides, ya think I didn't want to see my boyfriend perform?"

"He wasn't your boyfriend until recently, wasn't he? The two of ya didn't seem as close when ya first approached him. And before ya go askin, I'm not blind and I saw everything," Marvin continues, "It's a shame we're gonna have to kill another clarinetist and his little not girlfriend."

"You don't know what we're here for," Elley reasons, "We could just be here for the good times and so Mush could get a chance to play." Marvin gives a dark laugh and shakes his head.

"Nah, you're here to beat us at our own game. Well I hate to tell ya this cause you're pretty and smart, but ya lost," he explains, "Now, you gonna be a good girl and come with us or are we gonna have to see how bulletproof your boyfriend is?"

Mush's solo continues on in the background and Elley's mind drifts to his playing up on the stage. It sounds so pretty and so soothing. She wishes she could actually stop and listen to it.

"Seems kind of a silly thing to ask since you're holding a gun to my head," she comments and Marvin simply presses the gun harder into her temple.

"I'll kill him after we take care of you if you don't cooperate and that's a promise," Marvin explains, keeping the barrel of the gun pressed into her temple and clicking off the safety, "Now move." She starts to move, apologizing in her mind to all of her friends who she's going to disappoint by doing this.

She's so focused that she doesn't hear the safety of another gun clicking off and doesn't really realize what's happening until Marvin freezes too.

"Drop the gun, Marvin," Mush says, his own pistol pressed firmly into Marvin's back.

"Well well well. I didn't even have to catch him. He came right to us didn't he, Nelly?" Marvin says, adjusting the barrel of the gun ever so slightly, "If you move, you die."

"And if you move, you die," Mush replies, pressing the pistol harder into Marvin's back. Elley just closes her eyes as she feels the eyes of the other speakeasy attendees watching their predicament, wondering just as much as she is who's going to make the first move.

Blink on the other hand is still fiddling with the door. Jack and a cop come sprinting down the hallway and stop when they see him.

"Jack!" Blink cries, "They took her and I can't get this door open!" He tugs harder on it and finally twists something. It pops open and Blink sprints straight into the speakeasy, stopping dead in his tracks at the amount of guns pulled. His good eye flicks from the standoff happening with his best friend, his friend's sister, and a gang member to the rest of the guns pointing at them, daring either Elley or Mush to move.

The guns swivel from the standoff to him.

Elley takes advantage of the distraction and slams her leg back. Marvin fires a shot but Elley falls to the ground before it can hit her. Mush also fires a shot and Elley starts to run for her clutch as innocent people who just came for a good time scream and leave the speakeasy. She spots Mush's clarinet lying down on the stage near where Mush had been playing. Bullets start flying between Blink, Jack, the cop, and the rest of the gangsters. Another gangster goes for Elley but she delivers a punch that makes him rear back and leave her alone. She's almost to her clutch when suddenly, she's snatched up by her hair and a large hand is slammed over her mouth. She tries fidgeting free and tries to scream for Mush but he's busy fighting with Marvin. Marvin has managed to free the gun from Mush's hand and Mush shakes his hand out throwing a punch to Marvin's stomach and dodging the gun fire. Marvin groans in pain and Mush shoves him hard into the wall, pinning him with one hand, his arm muscles taut as he does. The two are at a bit of a standoff. Marvin shoves him hard and throws a punch to Mush's jaw. Mush answers with one of his own but his free hand rubs the pain away. Marvin tries to shoot at Mush wildly just for any chance of escape but fails.

Blink starts dodging the fire fight and hurries back towards where the stand off was happening. He can see remnants of a scuffle as he moves through the speakeasy. His gun in his hand, he can see the girl being held by a gangster. Her muffled screams seem to fill the room as she wiggles back and forth in the grasp of the gangster, trying to break free. The gangster holds her tight and Blink starts to move towards them. She cries out as the gangster shoves her to the floor. Tears of fear stream down her face as she lays their, pulling her bound wrists up closer to her face.

"Rub your face on the floor!" Blink shouts, "It might get the gag out!" She tries to rub her face on the floor furiously but to no avail. They had tied it too tightly. She's so frustrated. They rarely took it off because they rarely gave her food. They only gave her enough food to keep her from dying so she rarely got the relief of not having it in her mouth. Blink and the gangster face off. The two gunmen circle each other furiously as the young woman sobs on the floor.

"Shut it," the gangster grumbles, kicking her in the stomach....hard. She cries out and doubles over in pain, biting down on the gag preventing her from clenching her teeth to ease the tension of the pain. The gag merely tightens, making the pain worse.

Blink takes advantages of this and starts fighting the gangster. He fires a shot but misses. The gangster charges him, knocking the gun out of his own hand. Blink starts throwing punches and manages to knock the gun out of the gangster's hand. The other gangster tries to shoot at him but misses. Blink manages to get his hand on a gun during the fight and returns the fire, making sure only to injure and not kill. He goes back to taking down the other gangster. The gangster delivers a hard punch that snaps Blinks head back.

The Mayor's daughter gives a loud muffled cry from her position. Blink tries to get the stars to stop appearing in his vision before he goes back to throwing punches at the gangster. He soon just straight up tackles him while the gangster continues to pummel him with punches. Blink eventually sits on top of him and pins his wrist to the ground with the heels of his boot. He punches the gangster three times in the face....hard. The gangster slowly starts to lull off into unconsciousness. Blink wastes no time hurrying after the Mayor's daughter and pulling on the gag. He manages to pull it out a little ways but frowns. Her expression softens as he tries to help her. He pulls out a pocket knife and starts sawing at the knot tied tightly around the top of the back of her head. He eventually gets it free and the gag falls from her lips.

"Thank you!" she sighs out hoarsely as Blink moves to start untying her wrists.

"Don't thank me yet," he replies as he starts using his pocket knife to cut her wrist bonds. He eventually cuts them free and helps her stand up. She throws her arms around his shoulders and buries her head in his chest.

"Thank you," she breathes out again as her hands slide over his shoulders.

"Don't mention it. Now, let's get you outta here, yeah?" he says, picking up his pistol from the ground and wrapping an arm around her to support her.

In more ways than one.

She leans her head against his shoulder as he pulls her towards the doorway to hide from the fire fight going on inside the main part of the speakeasy. 

Meanwhile, Elley's still being held captive by one of the other gangsters and she's trying to put up a fight. She bites down hard on the gangster's hand and he moves it off of her mouth.

"MUSH! JACK!" she cries as she starts fidgeting in the gangster's grasp. He puts a gun to her head and Elley sighs. "Really, twice in one night? Don't you gangsters have a different method of holding people hostage besides holding a gun to their head?"

"It's the most effective," the gangster replies, pressing the barrel hard into her temple.

Mush and Marvin are having an enormous scuffle and Marvin, to Elley's relief, looks more roughed up than Mush does at this point, even though they really haven't been fighting all that long. Mush pins Marvin to the wall with one hand and slams Marvin's hand holding the gun into the wall with the other. Marvin cries out and drops the gun as Mush keeps him pinned to the wall, throwing a punch to his nose to keep him from doing any more damage. Favoring his nose and his hand, Marvin tries to slump to the floor but Mush pins him in place.

"The Boss is gonna kill ya for this one, Mullens," Marvin sneers, "You and your whole little gang of friends and cops are dead." Mush just presses his arms harder into the wall.

"Guess the jury's still out, ain't it, Marvin?" he replies, his gaze flicking to Elley for the briefest instant. A cop eventually comes over to cuff Marvin and Mush tosses his jacket to the side, revealing a shirt that he rolls up to his elbows as he walks over. The shirt fits nicely, revealing his strong physique as he walks over to Elley and the gangster.

"Lookin for something?" the gangster asks, trying to move away with Elley but Mush just keeps following, "Ain't you gonna grab a gun?"

"I don't need one," Mush answers, "Just let her go and your sentence might be lighter." Elley's eyes are flicking to her clutch near Mush's feet but he ignores it. He doesn't need a gun to settle this.

"Really??? She's been spyin on us. I ain't just gonna let her go," the gangster chooses, "I'm already goin to jail. Why not go all in?" Mush keeps his expression neutral as he walks even closer. Elley's eyes widen at something behind him.

"Mush! Look out!" she cries and Mush whirls around to see Jerry sneaking up on him. He shoves him hard into a table behind him and the table topples over loudly through the sound of bullets flying through the speakeasy.

"You could just hand her over and end it now," Mush answers, rolling his shoulder, "That would be the better option." The gangster just holds Elley closer to him.

"He won't because I'm the one who told him to kill any spies," a new voice says, a voice that Mush only heard during his audition, "It's cute that you think you can catch me."

"Boss...." the gangster breathes out, "Do we kill her now or give her little Clarinet Boy a chance to save her?" The Boss just chuckles darkly.

"Give him the chance. It'll be endearing to see if he can save her life. But put your gun away. We must play fair for Clarinet Boy's sake," he replies with a casual wave of his hand before turning to watch the fire fight as if it's something he watches for fun, "Give her to me. Mullens, if you can beat my man who captured her, your friend will be unharmed but if you lose, she dies."

"That's not fair," Elley snarls as the Boss snatches her away from the gangster and holds a gun of his own to her head. The Boss just laughs at her.

"Gang business is rarely fair, sweetheart."

Mush and the gangster put their fists up, circling each other like angry cats anticipating whose paw will swipe first.

The gangster lunges at Mush and Mush leaps back, landing squarely on his feet. He raises his fists up in front of him as the gangster comes at him again.  Mush manages to block it but the gangster swings his foot up and kicks Mush's feet out from under him. He falls flat on his back and the gangster loom over him, reaching for his neck. Mush rolls to the side, whacking his head on the leg of a chair. Shaking the stars from the impact of the fall and the run in with the chair, he jumps back up to his feet. Raising his fists up in front of him, the gangster comes at him but this time, Mush is ready for him. He dodges the punches and starts throwing ones of his own. One of them strikes true and hits the gangster right in the nose. He wipes at his nose and throws a punch at Mush's face. Mush catches his fist and twists hard. The gangster yells and kicks Mush in the stomach in retaliation...hard. Mush manages to catch his balance but only barely, and not to the point where he can dodge the switchblade the gangster is using to try to kill him. Mush kicks the switchblade out of his hand just in time...sending it flying.

The gangster yells in frustration, running at Mush but Mush just steps to the side and lets the gangster run into a table.

"I'm gonna kill you, boy!" he bellows as he starts mindlessly throwing punches at Mush. Mush lands one on  the gangster's nose again, causing him to grab at it. He manages to land a punch on Mush's eyes and Mush tries his best to shake it off. Mush finally sneaks up behind him and puts him in a headlock.

"You done yet?" he asks the gangster.

"I'll be done when I'm unconscious or dead," he snarls back. Mush punches him hard, once in each eye. The gangster grumbles as Mush lets go of his hold and kicks his legs out from under him and then sends a swift kick to his stomach. Mush is aiming to knock him unconscious. He really wants to give this guy another shot at life even though he threatened to kill Elley. The gangster rolls around, knocking his head hard into the leg of a table, weakening him. Mush punches him one last time in the face....hard.

The gangster lays unconscious on the ground at his feet and Mush stands above him, breathing heavily from the intensity of the fight.

"Alright, he won," Elley demands, "Now let me go."

"Mmmmmm. I don't think so," the Boss replies, holding Elley tightly and pressing the barrel of the gun even harder into her temple.

"What?! This ain't part of the deal!" Elley cries out, flabbergasted at the situation, starting to struggle more.

"Like I told ya before, the only way to win in a gang is to cheat your way to the top," the Boss answers. Mush starts to approach the gangster, reaching for Elley's clutch and pulling out her gun. He levels it on the Boss. The Boss merely puts Elley in front of himself, using her as a human shield but keeping his gun pointed at her head.

"That's a low thing to do," Mush comments, still trying to catch his breath from earlier.

"I'm not opposed to low measures, Mr. Myers and I'm sure neither are you. Now just turn that gun on the people on your side. You fight well. We can still use you but you have to help me keep the gang alive," the Boss offers. Mush glares at him and keeps the gun trained on him.

"I ain't doin that," he answers, "Just let her go and all of this will be much easier for you." He starts to walk closer to them but the Boss clicks off the safety of his gun, halting Mush in his steps.

"If you want your girl to live, I suggest you stay right there," the Boss says and Elley winces slightly at how hard he's pressing the gun to her temple. Mush clicks the safety off his own gun and prepares to find a way to shoot the Boss without hurting Elley in the process. The sound of a bullet ripping through something close by breaks his plotting.

The cries of the Boss as a bullet lodges itself in his leg does so even more.

The Boss collapses to the ground and Mush looks to see Jack standing there with the barrel of his gun smoking. Elley runs to Mush and he quickly tosses the gun in his hand on the table. He opens his arms to her and she runs into them as he folds them around her, hugging her tight. Gunfire continues to echo around the speakeasy and Elley buries her head in Mush's chest, hoping that by being with him, she would be able to block it out. He holds her tightly to his chest as the cops and the other boys fight the last of the battle.

A few minutes later, enough of the gangster are injured or just decide to surrender. Blink and the Mayor's daughter emerge from the back, clinging tightly to each other. They talk to the police for a moment before nodding at Blink and patting him on the back. Elley lets go of Mush and sprints over to her brother, throwing her arms around him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispers, hugging him, "Mush is tired from all the fighting he's had to do so I wanted to hug him first." Jack nods and gently wipes the tears slowly starting to leak from her eyes.

"You're alright. We're all alright. Everyone's safe. The cops are hauling everybody down the station. You can go back to the Lodge with Mush if you want. I'm gonna be awhile and Ace and Denton are gonna want to hear this story as soon as possible," Jack says, "And your welcome. Thanks for all your help in this. I'm proud of ya." He gently nudges her shoulder with a fist like he does to the boys.

"I'm proud of you too," she says back before hurrying over to Mush as he puts his instrument away. He packs everything up, throws his jacket over his shoulder and places his gun in the holster on his hip. With his clarinet and his music folder in one hand, he offers his other hand to Elley. She takes it and the two of them head off into the night.

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"And so, that's how we did it," Jack finishes his retelling late in the middle of the night at the New York Sun, surrounded by Davey, Katherine, and Bryan Denton.

"That's an amazing story," Denton comments, "Good find on the information, Katherine." Katherine smiles at him, perched next to Jack on her desk with their fingers intertwined.

"Oh, that was all Jack and his group's doing. I just suggested that he get involved," she says, sending a smile in Jack's direction.

"It was....much more violent than we typically like our busts to be," Davey explains, "But it wasn't as bad as it could have been. You two should be glad you weren't there."

"Oh trust me," Denton replies, "It sounds like you boys had everything under control. Now, it's really late so I'm going to head home and get some rest. Great job on the bust, boys." He nods and heads out for the night.

"I should probably get going too. My parents are going to want to see me after all of this excitement," he says with a light laugh, "I'll see you later, you two."

"Bye, Davey!" Jack and Katherine call out, still seated on the desk. Katherine swings her boot and gently nudges Jack's with it.

"I'm proud of you," she says, "You not only got Denton and I a good story to go on and on about for the next while but you also have more credibility in the city. And I'm just proud of you." Jack laughs a light laugh, untangling their fingers and gently slinging an arm over her shoulder. He pulls her into his side and the two of them watch the nightlife of the city go by from the office window. The low lighting in the office adds an entirely different mood to their situation.

"Thanks for telling me about this. We never would have gotten a chance to do this if it hadn't been for my buddy who plays clarinet," he answers, "And Elley."

"I thought she was staying at a boarding house and doing work there," Katherine states, looking Jack in the eye. Jack shakes his head.

"I've been training her to work for cases. Finally decided it was about time we had a female who could go undercover," he says, "Besides, she's been beggin me for some action for months." He gently takes Katherine's hand in his own.

"You never taught me?" she reminds him and Jack sighs.

"It's dangerous and besides, your status in this city makes things complicated. Your father wouldn't be happy if I just threw you into a case," he says, playing with her fingers with his own. She leans over and pecks his lips.

"What if I'm your press contact?" she asks and Jack nods his head in agreement.

"Fine, but that's all the further you go," he says, "Now, you wanna..." He's cut off by a pair of lips pressing hard against his own. He relaxes and kisses her back. turning her to face him by her shoulders. They kiss long and hard. Jack runs his fingers through his hair and she gently knocks his Newsie cap to the floor. They finally pull apart and she smiles up at him.

"I love you. In case something happens someday, I want you to know," she says. Jack runs a hand through her curls again and smiles at her.

"I love you too and I always will," he says, moving his hands to trace the contours of her face with his thumbs. He leans in and closes the gap between them once more, giving her a kiss that tells her as much. Their love for each other obvious through their ardent kisses. A love that would always be there no matter the circumstances.

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Kid Blink supports the Mayor's daughter the whole way back to her home. He knocks on the door and a servant, who looks relieved and suspicious at the sight of the Mayor's daughter, opens the door.

"I'm with the police. I'm coming to return her home," he says as a police officer who had been a part of the bust steps up from behind to present his credentials. The Mayor and his wife come down and  quickly help their daughter inside. They hug her and she smiles at being with them again. Her eye soon catches Blinks and she hurries back over to him, throwing her arms around him.

"Thank you," she says, holding onto him tightly, "I appreciate this more than you know. I'm not sure what would've happened to me if you hadn't saved me." Blink wraps his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"Honestly, I'm just glad we got you of there alright. It was a struggle," he says, his heart warming as she leans her head against his shoulder. She pulls away and looks up at him with a small smile. "Besides, it's an honor to be able to save you of all people," he states. She blushes and ducks her head down slightly.

"You know....I'd like to spend time with you again. Maybe a time when you and I aren't fighting for our lives," she suggests, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd love that," Blink says with a smile, "Just give me a time and a date. It would be my pleasure to spend more time with you." She giggles lightly at his flirtations and says in a very prim and proper tone of voice,

"Well good sir, I must heal from my most recent adventures first but then I shall drop a letter down to the street. Please come see me a week from today. I should be well enough to at least sit out on my balcony and converse with you." Blink chuckles at her, laughing for the first time in the last couple of days.

"I would be honored to, Milady," he replies in a similiar fashion, "It's a date then." The two embrace one last time before departing. Blink exchanges pleasantries with her parents before he and the officer are leaving to finish tidying up the case, thoughts of his future with the Mayor's Daughter whirling through his mind.

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A couple days after the bust, Mush is sitting out on a fire escape at the warehouse that the boys call the Lodge. His legs hang out over the edge as he gazes out over the city, just relaxing and resting up from the last while.

"Hey! Why the long face?" a voice calls out and he looks down to see Elley standing in the small alley between buildings.

"I'm not upset. I'm just relaxing," he says, "It's been a long last while. You should know that better than anyone." Elley pulls down on the fire escape and starts to climb it. Mush helps her up the rest of the way and she blushes slightly as he pulls her up the last couple of steps.

"Oh believe me," she continues as Mush sits down and invites her to sit next to him, "I know." She sits down next to him and the two of them let their feet dangle over the edge of the fire escape. The heat of the sun beats down on them and the humidity of the day surrounds them.

"How're you holding up after your part in all this?" he asks her, wanting to make sure that she's alright.

"I'm alright. It was kind of scary but I've been able to distract myself and realize that gettin snatched like that is probably gonna happen pretty often," she says with a shrug, "There's one thing that I'm still not thrilled about." Mush meets her gaze worriedly.

"And what's that?" he asks, his hand on her shoulder to comfort her even though the contact is driving them both wild. Elley gives out an indignant huff,

"I never got to hear you finish your solo set!" Mush laughs at her gripe. "What! I feel that to be a very legitimate gripe. You're so good and I wanted to hear you finish." Mush just keeps on laughing, his first true laugh in days. She's so good for him in this way. He hopes he can be just as good for her.

"Just give me one second," he says, standing up and climbing back inside. Elley smiles up at him as he leaves. She crosses her legs and smiles at the thought of the two of them spending more time together. She hopes they get to.

Mush pokes his head out of the window and hands her his music. He climbs out with his clarinet in hand. He crosses his legs and Elley sets the music down in front of him. She grins up at him.

"Thanks! I just wanted to hear it!" she says, "You sound so pretty!"

"I'm glad you think so. I've been meaning to practice," he says with a soft smirk, "Guess it is more fun with an audience."

"Always," she says replying the smirk. Mush starts warming up, the pretty music sounding through the alley. Elley watches him as he warms up. After a minute or two of pretty sounding riffs for him to get warmed up on, he lays his instrument in his lap and starts flicking through his music to see where he was. He eventually finds the song and starts playing it. Elley smiles and closes her eyes, the soothing effect of the pretty melody overtaking her. He continues playing and she slowly scoots closer to him and leans her cheek against his shoulder, just enjoying the music. Her eyes flutter shut and a smile spreads across her face.

Mush sneaks a peek at her while he's still holding a note and he smiles a bit bigger as he keeps playing. His fingers know the intricacies of the solo well and he's happy that he and Elley are finally getting to know each other for who they really are. They really didn't have a good start but he's happy for where they're going. The smile on her face tells him she feels the same.

As he plays, he thinks about the song. Personally, it's always been a favorite of his.

He plays it until it ends, slightly sad that it's over. Elley moves so her chin is resting on his shoulder.

"I really like that one," she says, her chin moving against the fabric of his shirt as she talks, "You should play it again."

"Gladly. It's one of my favorites too," he says and he starts it over. Elley lays her head back down on his shoulder and her eyes close as she listens. Mush smiles again and as he plays, he decides that this is the perfect song for them.

It's their song and he has a feeling that it always will be.

A/N: Phew! I have no clue how long that was but wow.....

Anyways, I hope that was worth the two month wait.

Word of advice, don't work a job, take two 8 week classes that are 3 credit hours a piece and take two sixteen weekers on top of that that are also 3 credit hours.

That's the lesson I've learned. Lol.

Anyways, this is such a good oneshot. I actually have a book for this AU that's just a draft and really has nothing written for it but whatever. I'm not gonna push myself to do it right now. I have lots of things going on when it comes to writing. Lol.

I'm hoping that life's gonna calm down and that I'm gonna do some more writing but I guess we'll see. :)

Anyways...ahhhhh. This headcanon is such a fun Mush one and I really loved getting to explore more of Mush and Elley's relationship. I also kind of love the premise of this oneshot where Jack is essentially the leader of a gang that helps the police catch gangs (or rather the honest policemen. Lol).

I'm sorry if this kinda violent but I kinda wanted to write slightly more....mature without being dirty and this is kind of where I'm trying to move towards. I'm trying to kinda do the same with my romance style too (but I don't feel like that's changed).

And yes, Blink and the Mayor's Daughter. What'd you think? I tried to tease it but I'll hopefully give them more development in the book.

I also loved writing the different aspects of the two versions into this oneshot. It's so fun. :)

It was also fun to kinda develop the characters with the boys and Elley and Katherine. It was fun.

I'm sorry that the plot regarding the gang isn't super specific or intricate but, if I did that for a oneshot, it would be as long as a book. Lol. Which this one is already. Haha.

The Mush and Elley fluff is just so fun to write. I loved enemies (well...sort of enemies) to lovers for them. I feel like it worked well with their personalities but I turned things around a little bit faster here. That won't happen quite so much in the actual book.

This was such a fun oneshot. I hope you all enjoyed it!! I love writing the Newsies in a 1920s AU with them infiltrating a gang. It's just...I don't know. I enjoy it and the Peter Pan x Newsies AU a lot. I really hope you all have liked this one. Thanks for commenting, voting, reading, or doing whatever it is you do.

In other news....Mother of the Rebellion may be coming out today or tomorrow....I haven't decided yet. I'll be releasing the first chapter and I'm super excited about that!!

I'm also hoping to maybe write a Peter Pan x Me/Reader Imagine in the Random book that's inspired by Ruth B's. Lost Boy and Peter's Note because I really like those and can really relate to them just at this stage of life. Hopefully that'll come out this week. :)

And then I'll probably be writing Brooklyn's Bridge, Mother of the Rebellion and coming up with other great Newsies (and all of my other fandoms) content for you all!!

Thanks so much for doing all that each and every one of you do!! I really appreciate it and you all are just super great to write for!! Hope you guys have a fabulous day or night (it's really late where I live. Crystal probably knows. Lol.)

Speaking of her, again, special thanks to Nycnewsgirl for helping me with this and for listening to me talk about this oneshot. I'm so happy it's finally here. I hope it was worth the wait for you, my dude!! :)

See you around, friends!

-Aisling