“…So I think that the combustion coil on the G-56 is complete lese that they’re trying to pass off as some superior model when everyone knows that the coil on the F-32 has a better design and has been used for more than 50 years. But…um…what do you think, Mrs. Frye?”

Kaylee stared at the stammering boy who’d been trying to engage her in an intensive engine part discussion for the better part of twenty minutes. He was young - still in school, if her guess was right – and he was obviously infatuated with her. She’d been nodding and smiling at his monologue, all the while trying desperately to scan the crowd…first for Grinters, then just for a plausible escape.

“See,” he continued, “I was listening to you talk to some other folks about making new catalyzers when there’s nothing wrong with the older models and you made me think about those new coils I read about on the Cortex. I’ve never seen a lady know so much about engines – most of the girls here turn their noses up at stuff like that – but…but you-”

“Gerald,” Kaylee interrupted gently. Immediately, he stopped talking and looked at her expectantly. “I’m real sorry but-”

“Ma’am? Ma’am, I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, but Ambassador Yen would like to speak with you.” A short, blonde gentleman stepped up next to Kaylee and placed a light hand on her shoulder to get her attention. “Son, you’ll have to excuse us.”

The boy nodded, obviously disappointed, and vanished into the crowd. Watching him go, Kaylee inquired, “What did you-?”

“I saw you were in a bit of a bind there, ma’am.” He replied to her unfinished question. “Thought you could use some help. I just wanted to try and spare the boy’s feelings if I could. I remember what it’s like to be that young myself.”

“Xèixie, mister-”

The sound of panicked screams interrupted Kaylee before she could finish. Looking around wildly for the source, she caught sight of thick, yellow smoke rising from the center of the ballroom floor. Panicked guests were struggling to flee in their heavy gowns and dress shoes. Several people close to the source of the panic began to collapse – unconscious or dead, Kaylee couldn’t tell. Seconds later, the scent of sleep gas – a very sweet odor that left a tang in the mouth when inhaled – reached her.

Immediately, she grabbed a cloth napkin from the buffet table and pressed it over her nose and mouth. Kaylee turned to warn the man beside her to run, but fell silent when she saw the gas mask already in place over his face. Eyes wide in silent panic, she turned to run. The gun that jabbed painfully into her back stopped her from moving.

“Don’t move, Mrs. Frye…or should I say, Mrs. Reynolds.” The man’s grip tightened on her arm as he pulled her closer. “Malcolm Reynolds can change his name, but he hasn’t changed his chou ba guai face. He thinks he’s going to steal that prototype before we do. Let’s see him choose between that and his lovely wife. Move.”

The Grinter pushed her – hard – toward the room holding the prototype. Kaylee stumbled a little over her dress and fear seized her. She looked up at her captor but he just pressed the gun more firmly into her back and increased their pace. Looking over her shoulder, all Kaylee saw through the thin haze of smoke dozens and dozens of people passed out on the floor. At least they were only sleeping.

~*~

Mal had just come back from dispatching the second Grinter Kaylee picked out of the crowd when he saw the gas canister roll past the feet of the dancing guests, stopping just short of the center of the floor. A moment later, it ignited, spewing smoke a good 10 feet in the air. Whipping off his jacket to press over his face, Mal’s eyes searched frantically for Kaylee. He quickly gave up – the gas cloud almost completely obstructed his vision – and began to make his way around the dance floor. Stepping over the panicked guests, all quickly taken over by the effects of the gas, took his attention away from the primary goal of finding Kaylee.

By the time he got to the buffet table, Kaylee was nowhere to be seen. Turning quickly toward the prototype room, he saw the back of her dress disappear into it…accompanied by a small man with a gun. A burst of violent anger seared through him. Tightening his grip on his gun, Mal set off after Kaylee.

~*~

When the chaos started in the ballroom, Zoë and Jayne had just finished locking up the three Grinters in the hallway closet. Both had their firearms out and ready moments after the first scream echoed up the stairs. Jayne followed Zoë as they slowly made their way to the head of the stairs. Jayne stopped to peer briefly over the second floor balcony that overlooked the ballroom below.

“Sleeping gas,” he whispered. “Risin’ quick.”

“Give me your knife,” Zoë said.

Without a word, Jayne pulled a wicked-looking blade from a concealed pocket in his waistcoat and handed it to her. In one swift motion, Zoë cut a six-inch wide strip from the bottom of her dress. Cutting it into two pieces, she handed one to Jayne and tied the other around her face. Their eyes met for a few brief seconds. After a beat, Zoë stood and turned toward the stairs. Jayne didn’t follow. Annoyed, she turned to admonish him to hurry up…and found him face down on the floor where she’d left him, a small blue circle visible on the back of his neck.

“Tama de hundan,” Zoë swore, eyes drawn to the figure standing at the entrance to the west hallway. The young girl Hanso had been cavorting with earlier in the evening pointed a gun directly at Zoë.

“Projectile pellets filled with the sleeping solution in its liquid form. They burst on impact. The effects are much nastier than in gas form.” Her explanation served more as a warning to Zoë than anything else. The girl obviously expected her speech to spur Zoë into dropping her weapon. Instead, she leveled her pistol at Hanso’s latest conquest.

“Bullets. Will kill you,” Zoë returned evenly.

~*~

Kaylee stared at her captor through half-lidded eyes. The napkin hadn’t done a great job of shielding her from the effects of the sleeping gas. It was all she could do to keep her eyes open and her legs strong enough to stand on. Once inside the room, the Grinter shoved her against a wall and trained his gun on her. He looked as if he didn’t quite know what to do next. Before he could figure it out, the door to the room opened again and Mal entered, gun first.

The Grinter immediately pulled the pistol in his hand off of Kaylee and pointed it at Mal instead. In the same motion, he pulled a laser gun from his belt and trained it on Kaylee’s heart. “Malcolm Reynolds,” he spat.

“Arthur Holden,” Mal returned. “Didn’t know you ran with the Grinters.”

“Well, if ya’d done your homework you woulda known, and maybe you wouldn’t have tried to pull a stunt like this again. Think you can come in here and steal what we already laid claim to? Don’t work like that. Not this time,” Arthur warned, sweat beading on his forehead.

“Arthur, I didn’t come here to-”

The laser gun went off, hitting the wall inches from Kaylee’s left ear. She jumped in shock, adrenaline battling the poison gas for control of her body. Arthur jumped too; his finger just twitched harder on the trigger than he would’ve liked. Mal’s eyes blazed, and Arthur took an involuntary step back.

“You’re a liar,” Arthur said, trying to regain control of the situation. “Had…had a job set up two years ago on Santo. It was gonna be the biggest haul I’d ever seen in my career. Last moment, you come in with your crew and take it right out from under my nose. Left me hanging to take the blame too. I was in the Alliance death cells for 18 months ‘fore the Grinter bandits did me a favor and busted me out.”

Mal said nothing. Arthur took it as his cue to continue. “Then I come here and spot you out there on the dance floor with this little beauty,” he gestured to Kaylee. “I find out she’s your wife and I figure that payback’s gonna be a real si san ba.”

“You touch her and there won’t be enough of you left to identify. I can promise you that.” Mal clenched his jaw dangerously.

Arthur blinked; the hand holding the gun visibly trembling. “Ain’t gonna have a chance to touch me. Boss’ll be here any minute so we can finish up this robbery.”

“You sure ‘bout that? See, me and mine have been taking members of your crew into dark corners and making them disappear all night long. Dunno that you have anyone left to come and rescue ya this time.” Mal wasn’t necessarily sure it was the best idea to get Arthur all agitated at this point in the proceedings, but all things considered, it was better to end this before they all found out if they’d missed any Grinters.

Mal took stock of the situation. The pistol trained on his heart didn’t overly trouble him. A job really wasn’t complete without it, after all. It was the laser gun trained on Kaylee that was raising his anxiety to a dangerous level. Mal couldn’t take his eyes off the red dot that danced over her heart, spoiling the effect of the pale pink kimono dress she was wearing. Arthur was the squirrely type. Thin, pale, never stopped moving. His eyes darted back and forth between Kaylee and Mal, and more than once his finger twitched a little too strongly on the trigger to the laser gun. Man to man, Mal could take him easily. But with Kaylee standing too far away to shield if things got ugly, it was a chance he couldn’t afford to take.

After a long silence, Mal tore his eyes away from the laser and offered their captor a little smirk. “Shall we see who’s the better bad guy, then?”

The bandit cocked his gun. Mal’s indecision lingered. Kaylee was looking mighty weak and pale. It was unnerving him more than it should. The objectivity he relied so heavily upon in times like these was failing him.

Seconds later, the room descended into chaos. The door flew open. Two men charged into the room. Kaylee’s eyes widened. Relief was written all over Arthur’s face. One of the men turned around to face him. The sound of two shots – loud, staccato explosions – filled Mal’s ears. Lowering both of his weapons, Arthur smiled victoriously. Mal felt a coldness spread throughout his entire body, turning it to ice. He looked down and noticed something staining the front of his shirt. His fingers reached up to wipe it off and they came away red. Kaylee screamed.

He couldn’t remember how he ended up on his knees, staring up at the pale pink kimono dress. The last thing he thought about before everything faded into darkness was River’s warning:

Doubt will kill you. Just so you know.

~*~ (END OF PART 3)

Chinese translations courtesy of living-impaired’s journal.

lese = garbage xèixie = thanks chou ba guai = ugly as hell tama de hundan = mother-humping son of a bitch si san ba = bitch