“Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Frye.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Hoban Washburn.”

Mal, Kaylee, Jayne and Zoë entered the ballroom and made their way down the stairs to greet their hosts.

“Why’d they say we were married like that? And why’d you use my name?” Kaylee hissed at him.

“My name ain’t exactly unknown to members of the Grinter bandits,” Mal whispered back. “They hear it, and our job is over ‘fore it starts. Just…grab my arm and try to look wife-like.”

After they were announced, Jayne fixed a devilish grin on Zoë. “There is a gun strapped to my thigh, Jayne. You keep that in mind. And do your best not to sully my husband’s good name.”

In reply, Jayne gave an exaggerated bow and held his arm out, still smirking. Ambassador Yen and her husband stood together at the bottom of the stairs, greeting their guests as they arrived. Mal made eye contact with the ambassador and bowed. She held out her hand to be grasped and kissed, and Mal complied. The skeleton key in the ambassador’s palm passed seamlessly to the captain, who tucked it into his pants pocket as he turned to leave. The ritual was repeated for Jayne and Zoë.

As the four of them moved to the center of the ballroom, Jayne and Zoë discreetly parted and moved off to separate ends of the room. Their job wasn’t to mingle. Both of them were slowly making their way to the second floor to search for the Grinters not at the party and to seek out a clean position to take in case things got hairy downstairs. While they took stock of the situation, Mal grabbed Kaylee’s hand and pulled her into a dance.

Sensing her confusion, Mal lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered, “We gotta work on blending in a bit while Jayne and Zoë check things out upstairs. Can’t just go right off and start asking questions of folks. Would look a mite suspicious. And remember, we need to look married.”

Mal placed a hand on her waist and Kaylee relaxed, allowing herself to be swept up in the dance. The song was freeform, so they could do as they pleased and not look out of place. After a few seconds, she laid her head on Mal’s shoulder and closed her eyes, doing her best to look like a loving wife dancing with her husband. She was surprised how easy this was, dancing with the captain. Kaylee always thought he’d be too rigid to dance comfortably with, but he was surprisingly graceful and led her gently but firmly around the dance floor.

For his part, Mal was too busy scouting the ballroom to pay too much attention to what he was doing. He was aware of Kaylee breathing on his neck and her hand on his chest, but he did his best to push that out of his mind so he could pick out the Grinters.

When the song ended, Mal led his pretend-wife off the dance floor. “I need you to go to work now, little Kaylee. Look for men that don’t seem to be dressed quite right. Think o’ Jayne if you want a reference. If they’re paying more attention to their surroundings than who they’re talkin’ with, or if they ain’t talking to anyone at all, they’re your first targets.”

“Okay, Cap’n. What do you want me to do if I find one?” Kaylee looked up at him.

“If you start chatterin’ on about engines and boat parts and the chuin-zi obviously don’t got a clue what you’re saying, you politely excuse yourself and you come find me.” Mal made sure she looked him in the eye before he continued. “Don’t you dare hang around longer’n you have to, you hear me?”

“Yes, Cap’n. Xâoxin,” she replied.

Mal kissed her on the forehead before leaving her at the buffet table to fend for herself.

~*~

The first Grinter bandit found Kaylee. He walked right up to her and stopped, his eyes roving up and down her body. She politely waited for him to stop ogling her, but he took so long that she felt compelled to speak.

“What do you think of the immersion unit on the G-5 turbo engine?” Kaylee asked of her admirer.

“Um…it’s great. Top o’ the line,” He replied, still not looking her in the face. Since there was no such part as an immersion unit, and even the most novice of engine lovers would know that, Kaylee knew it was time to go find Mal.

“D’ya want to dance?” The man grabbed her wrist, as if he weren’t expecting to be rejected.

“I’m, uh, sorry,” Kaylee managed to force out, “But my…husband is waitin’ for me right over there. I was just getting a drink.” She took her wrist back and moved as swiftly as possible toward where she’d last seen Mal, taking care not to appear as nervous as she felt.

~*~

Mal circled the dance floor slowly, keeping an eye on Kaylee as much as he could. A steady stream of male guests approached her and tried to make polite conversation. He could tell from across the room that none of them were the type they were searching for. They were too refined, well-dressed, and he saw Kaylee’s eyes light up more than once, which meant there was serious discussion about some engine part or another going on. Mal briefly wished he’d protested more at the dress the ambassador sent for Kaylee. He doubted half as many men would be talking to her if she were still in that frilly contraption she wore to the last ball.

When he reached the long hallway at the far end of the dance floor, Mal withdrew from the party and approached the first door he came to. It was solid floor-to-ceiling; there wasn’t even space between the bottom of the door and the carpet. Behind this door lay the engine prototype and the blueprints to build it with. He slipped the skeleton key from his pocket and pressed it into a perfectly painted key outline on the door. A second later, it slid open. Mal gave the room a quick inspection to make sure nothing had been disturbed and then slipped back out, sealing the door behind him.

Right before he turned to return to the ball, a hand touched his shoulder. Mal whipped around, hand already on the holster hidden under his long jacket.

“Cap’n, I found one of ‘em. He’s the short one standing next to the chocolate fountain.” Kaylee removed her hand from the captain’s shoulder and waited.

Mal exhaled loudly. “Aiya, Kaylee. You startled me more than a little.”

Kaylee cast her eyes downward. “Duìbùqî, Cap’n. I just thought you’d wanna know soon as possible.”

“I’ll take care of it. You go back out there and find me another one. Don’t seem to have a problem attracting any attention. You just make sure you ain’t so distracted that you miss the less savory element.” Mal swept off to take care of Kaylee’s discovery without waiting for a reply.

Slightly puzzled, she watched Mal approach the Grinter with a wide smile and lead him in what appeared to be a friendly manner into a dark corner by the stairs. When they were out of sight she took a deep breath and returned to the end of the buffet table, searching the crowd.

~*~

Upstairs, Jayne and Zoë used their keys to check every room on the second floor. In the east wing, Jayne found and quickly disposed of two Grinter bandits wiling the time away by playing dominos. Neither one knew what hit them, which meant they were subdued silently and without drawing any attention. It also meant less fun for Jayne; he found that disposing of other men without a good fight an enormous letdown.

“Ain’t no fun unless someone gets punched in the face,” he grumbled, making his way back to the upstairs foyer.

In the west wing, Zoë had the misfortune to stumble upon Ambassador Yen’s eldest son engaging in all manner of pleasurable activity with a girl about his age. Apparently, young Hanso wasn’t following his mother’s explicit instructions to be downstairs, dutifully attending to the guests. Mumbling an apology, Zoë shut the door behind her and used the skeleton key to lock it again.

Making her way back down the hallway, she paused at the last door. She’d checked this room first, found nothing, and closed it firmly behind her. Now, it was just faintly ajar. Zoë silently pushed the door open a crack so she could see inside. In the dim light she could make out the back of a figure bent over an enormous work desk, rummaging through a drawer. Slipping inside, she didn’t move for her concealed weapon. At this point, not knowing how many Grinters were still on the loose, a gunshot would draw too much unwanted attention. As she crept closer, the person kept rummaging, giving no indication they were aware of Zoë’s presence.

Just before she was close enough to wrap an arm around the figure’s neck, the bandit turned and delivered a powerful right cross that connected firmly with Zoë’s jaw. Caught off guard, Zoë stumbled. She looked up at the Grinter – a woman, it turned out – for barely a second before instinct took over and she retaliated. Most Grinters may have been stupid, but at least this one was skilled enough to know when someone was sneaking up on her. Fortunately, the female bandit’s fighting skills didn’t extend much beyond her surprise first attack. Zoë dispatched her by introducing the bandit’s head to the fake mahogany desktop.

By the time Zoë made it back to the rendezvous point, Jayne was already waiting with two unconscious men at his feet.

“Didn’t find nothing?” Jayne grunted, then waved a com device at her. “These two were together with this. Must be waitin’ for a signal o’ some sort.”

“There’s one unconscious first door on the right. Let’s get them into the closet at the end of the west hallway and then take our positions. From the sound of the music they’re playing downstairs the party’s already reached a middle.” Zoë walked back toward where she’d left the female Grinter, ignoring Jayne’s grumbling about having to drag both men all the way down the hallway by himself.

~*~ (END OF PART 2)

Chinese translations courtesy of living-impaired’s journal

chuin-zi = moron xiâoxin = be careful aiya = damn Duìbùqî = sorry