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* * *
Jennifer waited with much excitement as she sat in a booth next to Rebecca.
“Here he comes,” Rebecca said, as she looked toward the door.
“And he has Timothy with him,” Jennifer whispered. For she did not at all like Timothy, the redheaded man that had gone to meet Jacob, possibly. He was a man that was very quiet and kept to himself, but it seemed that he was an outlaw of sorts, and though she had experience with an outlaw, she found this man to be somewhat frightful.
“Jennifer, thanks for meeting with us. We have a proposition. Your work writing the articles have has been priceless, but we want to take it a step further with the publishing.”
“You do? You wish me to write something else?” Jennifer asked.
“No, but we do wish you to help us and what we want to publish next.”
“And what would that be?”
“You mentioned in a previous meeting, that you suspect your floor manager Mr. Evans to be somehow taking wages from workers. You mentioned that he spoke of a 10-hour day to the owner of the factory, and not the 12.”
“Yes, that is correct. When one of the owners, William Dawson, came to visit. But what does that have to do with publishing?” She asked.
“We want to publish the paperwork that shows this. Put it out on the streets for everyone to see that it is not just the owners, but also the factory for managers that make a profit off of the exhausted working conditions of people.”
Jennifer gasped. “You want me to steal the books?”
“No. Not exactly. We want you to open the back door to us, Timothy and I. Show us where the office is, and we will steal the book. All you have to do is walk by, open the door, and let us in. Then you can go back to your work and no one will notice. That is all you have to do.”
Jennifer's green eyes grew wide. This was very serious. If she was caught, she would lose her job, and possibly be put in jail. Then Adam would have no one to support his medication needs.
“I cannot do that. I apologise. There is too much on the line for me. I need that wage for my family. I cannot put it in jeopardy again. This factory is my work, and though I am not happy about it, I actually do need it, my younger brother needs it. He is very ill.”
“There was another that was very ill. Had the factory conditions changed, he would be alive. Do this for Kevin, do it in loving memory of him. Do it for all of those children that will follow his same path, if we publish this, it could start an investigation and end the horrid working conditions. There would be outrage all over London.” Billy said in his motivating way. He was very persuasive and charismatic. Jennifer felt the fire burning inside of her as soon as he mentioned Kevin. She had failed to help change the conditions of the factory, and two years later the factory of Mr. Clark was still using children for Labour.
“It is just opening the door Rebecca, nothing more. It will be as quick as the wind.” Rebecca said. Rebecca had always been very agreeable with anything that Billy asked for, and Jennifer wondered if she had a bit of a crush on Billy. For who could not; he was very charismatic, and attractive.
“Just opening the door?” Jennifer said.
“Yes, then we will expose the Miller, Lewis, Rice, Huntley & Dawson factory for what it is,” Billy said.
Jennifer looked at Billy. He was very hopeful, all his hopes relied on her. Then she looked to Timothy, a devious smile came across his face. She did not trust this man, but she trusted Billy, he had always had the best interest of the people in mind.
“All right, I will look into it to see if it is even possible. I am not saying yes just now, but I will look to see if the back door is anywhere convenient to the office of Mr. Evans. That is where you will find the books. Too, he must be away from his office, perhaps on his lunch hour. I will look into it.”
Billy slammed his fist on the table. “Excellent! I knew I could count on you! You are a true warrior of the people, Jennifer! You will make a difference. I promise you that!”
Jennifer smiled. She rather enjoyed his approval. Hearing that she would make a difference felt very good indeed.
“Wine here!” he shouted. They celebrated with a pint of wine and thoughts of rebellion. Jennifer felt that she was over her head, but she was in deep.
* * *
June
The day arrived quickly, and Jennifer could not shake the feeling of nervousness. It is just to collect papers, and nothing else.”
She walked to the back door of the factory; it was time. Everything they had planned in the last few weeks was coming to fruition, right in this moment. Just a few minutes, just swing the door open, make sure they catch the door, and walk away. That is all that you need to do, and it will change everything.
Scanning the factory as she walked to the back door of the first floor, she wondered if anyone would notice she did not work on this particular floor. She worked on the third floor, seated next to Mariah. That was where she should be. But the back door was on the first floor and so too was the office of Mr. Evans.
No one was watching; the loud sound of the machines covered any sound of her footsteps, or the rusty noise that the door made as she pushed it open just a crack.
“Jennifer. Good, good.” Billy pushed his head in through the crack, and looked behind him. Timothy and another man were with him; one that she had never seen before. Did they not think that more than one man, would be noticed? This was folly.
Before Jennifer could object, they pushed their way in, and quietly closed the door behind them.
“The office is that way, be quick.” Jennifer turned to head back to the staircase, but as she did so Billy tugged on her sleeve. There was a very dark look on his face.
“Billy, what do you do?”
But he did not answer her. Instead he grabbed her shoulders while Timothy opened the door, and they pushed her outside into the alley, and closed the door.
Jennifer stood in that alley in shock. What had just happened? She pulled on the door, but it locked from the inside, preventing anyone from just entry. She could not bang on the door, not without get them getting caught. Who would anyone hear her over the machines anyway? What in God's name is happening?”
Jennifer continued to pull on the door, trying every which way to open it. There was only one thing she could do, run down the alley and go around to the front. The guard at the door would see that she had left, but that did not matter. They were up to no good and she needed to know what this was.
She turned to run down the alley, but as she did so the vague sound of shouting and screaming reached her ears. It was muffled through the brick walls, and the humming of the sewing machines gradually came to a stop. She stood at the end of the alley, allowing her ears to tell her what was happening.
“Fire! Fire!” Someone shouted from inside.
Her eyes grew ride with terror. “Oh Billy, what have you done?”
She turned back toward the door. In a flash, Billy, Timothy, and the third man ran out of the door, as fast as may be.
“What did you do? This was not what we...”
But before she could complete her answer, Timothy picked her up by the waist, and carried her, running with her as they ran away from the factory, down the street and into an alley.
The shouts of “fire!” erupted into the entire borough as people ran in every direction. This was a disaster.
* * *
chapter
