BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - ADVENTURE

VALERIEBEAN

The Osiris Run - Book 2, Ch 3
Monday, December 11, 2006

B2.C3: Things are starting to go horribly wrong for the crew. Danger is building up. I think Wash and Zoe are still relaxed, but no one's sent up a flare yet, so …Download the complete PDF here


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 2485    RATING: 10    SERIES: FIREFLY

CHAPTER 3 Inara’s skin crawled and the hair on her arms stood on end. The teacup rattled as she poured herself another drink, trying to calm her nerves before she left. Take your time, she told herself. Gavin knows you were delayed. He said you could take your time, so take it. Don’t go until you’re ready. She took another sip of tea. Part of her mind—the calm part—chastised her for her reaction to Prio. The rest of her didn’t want to leave Serenity. “I thought you’d be gone by now.” Inara jumped a mile. “Kaylee, I didn’t hear you come in.” “You okay?” “I’m fine,” Inara said dismissively, feeling even sillier now. “Then how come you’re still here and not off with your prince?” Inara hesitated. Kaylee settled on the couch, looking concerned. “Gavin is not a prince,” she stalled. “I just—do you ever get the feeling that something isn’t quite right?” “How do you mean?” “I’m just being paranoid.” “That Prio fella really shook you up?” Inara nodded slowly, staring into her tea. “That must be it. Gavin is not dangerous. His estate is probably the safest place on the world.” “Inara, you leaving soon?” Wash’s voice echoed over the comm. Resolutely, Inara walked to the shuttle console and began powering up. “I’ll be off in a minute,” she told Wash. She had waited too long for Mal to bring her to a decently civilized world to sit on the sidelines now. Kaylee came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Then go. Have fun. We’re right here whenever you want to come back,” she said quietly.

*~*

Jayne really wished he’d thought through his plan before driving the fuel truck so far from the landing pad. He’d found a storage shed in the east end of the space port that looked like it hadn’t been used in awhile and stashed the vehicle with his three prisoners there. After the first, the other two were easy marks, both being extremely bored with their assignment and extremely arrogant in their own ability. White collar gunmen never seemed to have a sense of what it meant to be prey. As Jayne approached the more populated areas of the space port again, he kept low and tried to be inconspicuous. It was difficult to do when carrying so many guns through a civilized world. Just out from under the shadow of the landing pads and the beyond the lines of commercial tractors, the town of Andover sprawled, beginning at a four way intersection. One road ran parallel to the space port, the other extended from the spaceport into the main commercial district. The scent of real food from a nearby grill wafted over the gates of the spaceport, tempering the exhaust fumes. The food called to him. Jayne ducked behind a tractor as a head bobbed over the top of the ramp’s guard rail. Had someone else approached the ship in his absence? He’d have to sweep the perimeter again. The person reached the bottom of the ramp and turned immediately toward town, half-running. Jayne scrambled to get a better look. Despite the long coat and hood, he recognized the gangly figure in combat boots immediately. To his horror, River Tam had just gone into town.

*~*

Mal shifted uncomfortably at the sight of himself in the mirror. The black material of his new suit seemed to gleam like polished chrome and he had to admit that the cobalt blue shirt did bring out the color in his eyes. The tailor had found him a comfortable leather shoulder holster so he could conceal his weapon neatly beneath his jacket and he practiced his draw a few times trying to get comfortable. “You really shouldn’t use such a rugged gun,” the tailor was saying. “A suit like that calls for a much dressier pistol.” “I’ve been through a lot with this gun,” Mal protested, tired of being told he needed an upgrade. “Try this one,” the man insisted, holding out a custom-made, black metal pistol that gleamed with the same expensiveness as his suit. “I’m fine, really.” “Trust me. Take two shots at the target and see if you don’t change your mind.” Mal took the pistol, tested its weight, and fired. It did have a nice balance to it. “He’ll take it,” Simon said, coming into the room. While Mal was being fitted for the suit, Simon had gone to a barber to get his hair properly trimmed and his goatee grown. Simon definitely looked the part of a high-end criminal now. “Where’d all that hair come from?” Mal asked. “Growth enhancers,” Simon answered, keeping his voice low. “You’ll find it on all the core planets.” Mal nodded, and placed holstered his new weapon, then began searching for a place to keep his old one. Finally, he tucked it into his belt at the small of his back. “Are we finished here?” Simon asked the tailor who nodded fervently and began ringing them up. Mal shifted the jacket uncomfortably, still studying himself in the mirror. “How do rich folk live like this,” Mal asked as the two left the store. “Don’t think about how you look,” Simon commanded, walking with his head high. “Give me the key.” Mal handed over the key to the safe box where the Lassiter was being stored. “The agreement was eighty-thousand?” “Eighty-thousand,” Mal confirmed, surprised by Simon’s confidence. “What will we settle for?” Mal considered a moment, then answered, “Fifty.” “Stand up straight, keep your hands clasped in front. I’m the boss, you’re my body guard.” Mal chuckled. “I know what I’m doing, Doctor. I have done this before.” “Just want to be on the same page,” Simon said firmly. “You’re awful bossy when you’re—” “The boss?” Simon interrupted. No longer having fun with the chatter, Mal fell silent. They turned off the main street, down a wide, empty thoroughfare—the historic district. Large manor houses dotted the side of the street and wary eyes watched them from behind half-closed curtains. Mal made note of the surroundings and possible avenues of escape. Most of the yards were enclosed by fences; others had signs warning of guard dogs. While Mal felt he was being snared in an open corral, Simon kept walking confidently to house number 387. He and Mal walked up to the door, but did not knock. Simon turned to Mal casually. “The cost of fresh armadillo seems to be dropping,” Simon said. Mal smiled and nodded at the code. Shortly after the door open and the two were herded into a rather dark den that had been converted into an office. So far there were two guards and their contact, Tarelli; all were impeccably dressed. Mal was glad that Simon had insisted on the new suit. The two guards flanked Tarelli, feet shoulder width apart, hands clasped in front. Mal mirrored their pose, reminding himself that he was in perfect control of the situation. Just because you dress nice don’t mean the crime ain’t the same. Tarelli sat at a rather expensive table and with a slight nod, indicated a bag on the front corner. All Simon had to do now was take the money, hand over the key, and they could be on their way back to Serenity. Instead, Simon scowled deeply. “Is this a joke?” Simon spat. Mal’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “That’s your money as we agreed,” Tarelli said in a thick Russian accent. “That’s not even half of the agreed price,” Simon retorted. “Fifty thousand.” “Don’t take me for a fool,” Simon warned. “Even vacuum sealed, pressed, and packed to the nines, this bag would not hold more than thirty.” With a quick hand gesture, Simon pushed the bag and it fell to the floor. Simon looked back at Mal, who had no idea what the look meant. “This bag falls pretty limp,” Simon criticized. “Not more than twenty, I’d say.” Simon kicked the bag sideways, launching it in the air directly into Mal’s arms as if it were a soccer ball. “The deal is off,” Simon said and turned to leave. “If the deal is off, then leave my money,” Tarelli growled. Simon didn’t even bother to turn around. With his nose stuck pretentiously in the air, he answered, “This money is a fine on your arrogance. You have wasted my time. Tell your boss the deal has changed and the price is now a hundred thousand.” Mal was becoming increasingly concerned with Simon’s zealous negotiation, but dared not contradict him at this juncture. Simon had essentially accused Tarelli of being a middle man in this deal. So far, no one had tried to kill them, so either it was an insult Tarelli was accustomed to, or they were in fact dealing with a middle man. “Hold on,” Tarelli said quickly. “I see you drive a hard bargain. I can give you the eighty.” “The deal is one hundred,” Simon countered, turning sharply. Tarelli stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Would you consider the twenty in that bag as a deposit.”

*~*

River stepped out of Serenity, examining the spaceport carefully. An Alliance flag hung over the door of the administration building. The wind came in short gusts, bringing the smell of motor oil and asphalt. The fire was coming home. Though it still didn’t make sense, she had to get home and see if things became clear. Pulling up the hood of her trench coat and ducking her head, she made a bee-line for the exit. She walked quickly through the streets, keeping her eyes low, noting the cracks in the pavement caused by non-uniform compaction of the subgrade. A small dog yanked against its leash, determined to sniff her ankles. It stayed so close, she nearly tripped over it. “Heel you gorram mutt!” the dog’s owner griped, pulling the leash tighter. The little dog did not relent until a second dog-walker passed by and stole his interest. As the two dogs pulled against their leashes to get nose-to-nose, River hurried away. The lost time had cost her. She was being followed. Three blocks later, she entered the residential zone. The streets were lined with clean, red brick rowhouses that had been there longer than the city. The front yards consisted of a porch and a small patch of over-landscaped greenery, each identical save the color of the blooms on the roses. Every five houses, there was a gap between the units. River darted to the first gap and crossed into the back area, which was not nearly as clean and landscaped as the front. The back yards were individually fenced in and fed into a narrow ally where the garbage truck came through. Rounding the corner quickly, River kept her back to the first fence, waiting to pounce her pursuer. She easily heard his gun tapping against his belt and his disgruntled muttering as he approached. Just a few feet away, he stopped and fell silent. River reconsidered her plan to pounce. The fences were too high and she couldn’t make it to the next gap in the houses fast enough. She listened for the sound of his breath. Nothing. Steeling herself for attack, she peaked around the corner. No one was there. Only a pile of guns half-way up the ally. Nothing was making sense! Her senses were betraying her. She felt him right on top of her, but he wasn’t there. Curiously, she walked toward the pile long-guns. “Hello?” “There you are, girl!” From nowhere, he rained down from the sky, tackling her to the ground. River wriggled easily out of the tackle and ran back into the ally. “Gorramit, girl, it’s me!” Jayne called out, chasing after her. She paused a moment at the next side-yard, but it was long enough. Jayne wrestled her to her knees, doing his best to restrain her as she flailed wildly. He grunted as her elbow connected to his temple. “Girl, simmer a bit! If we ain’t on the ship when Mal get’s back, he’s gonna kill me for real this time.” River stopped flailing, but didn’t relax. She saw a broken window. The pieces were falling into place. Almost to a hundred. The fire was coming. “I can’t!” she cried. “I have to go home.” “Serenity is your home now.” “I have to go home!” “If you go to your parents, they’ll turn you in.” River shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face. “No, they wouldn’t!” “Like I wouldn’t. We got a tight schedule, and no time for this kind of trouble.” “Wo dei hui jia le! It will make sense at home.” Violently, River jabbed Jayne in the rib cage and rolled out of his grip again, running back the way they had come. Jayne chased after her, grabbing his long-guns as he went by. He couldn’t tell if the people were staring because he was chasing a crying woman through the streets or because he was carrying six guns in plain sight. However, being private city-folk, they’d just-as-soon not get involved in someone’s personal business, so none of them tried to stop him or help her. The townhouses gave way to a small park lined with shrubs and expensive flowers. River cut across, prancing lightly over the hills and landscaped boulders. She slowed as the greenery thickened into a solid wall of evergreens. With two hands, she pulled the branches aside and peered through at the tall yellow manor house on the opposite side with a kink in the porch swing. She started to slip through the trees when Jayne caught her by the waist and pulled her back. Keeping one arm around her waist, he gathered her wrists with his other to restrain her. She didn’t struggle. The air smelled too clear. “Girl, you ain’t invincible. First we watch, make sure it’s safe.” “It’s not safe,” River said, shaking her head, the realization setting in. “It’s burning.” “Don’t look like it’s burning to me.” Jayne had been right earlier when he’d said this wasn’t her home. The fire was not here. This was the wrong home.

*~*

Wash had expected Zoë to be antsier while Mal was out on a job. Instead, the two had found the largest spread of flat deck plate in the cockpit and were laying down, cloud-watching out the overhead window. Zoë’s head rested on his stomach and he twirled a lock of her hair with his fingers. “One day we’ll walk around the core as free people,” he mused. “We won’e be looking over our shoulders or carrying guns.” “You really think you could get me to settle on a core planet.” “Not settle,” he stammered. “But visit once or twice a… a decade. See the sights. Not just read about them.” “Can’t imagine there are many sights here worth seeing.” “Come on, sweetie. The Air and Space History Museum has some of the original vessels flown here from Earth That Was.” “You want to go to a museum?” “I want to see what brought us here!” he said, awed at the mere thought. “Don’t you?” “I’ve read that the first space explorers orbited Earth That Was in a vessel the size of a garbage can. The Vostok. Couldn’t even stand up.” “Yeah, but can you imagine being the first man in human history to break atmo! We do it every day like it’s nothing.” “Honey, most of the time we nearly burn up on the way out, crash on the way in, or end up on the drift in between. I wouldn’t say it’s nothing.” “I’m the one keeping her from crashing, baby. Trust me. It’s nothing.” They fell silent a moment, letting the clouds drift past. “The Vostok didn’t have thrusters. When it entered atmo, they just moved the equipment to try to guide the fall,” Zoë volunteered. “Does this mean you’ll go to the museum with me?” “I’ll go anywhere with you.” Wash smiled and caressed her face. She kissed his hand, then pointed out the window at a passing cloud. “That one looks like a duck.” “A headless duck,” Wash countered. “Well, that’s how they look before you eat them.” “Are you hungry? We just ate.” “I—” “Zoë! Someone’s knockin’!” Kaylee’s voice interrupted. Zoë sprang to her feet too quickly and snatched up the comm. “On my way Kaylee. Don’t open that door!” “Weren’t planning on it.”

*~*

******* Go to Chapter 4

COMMENTS

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 1:35 PM

AMDOBELL


Oh good gorram, I hope River doesn't ruin everything. As for who's knocking at the door I kept getting this image from "American Gothic" in my head ("Someone's at the door!"). This is really good, Ali D :~)
You can't take the sky from me

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 6:46 AM

RIVERISMYGODDESS


Ooohh, now it's time for things to start going not smoothly.

Mal in a suit = damn funny, and agressive businessman Simon is great too. I have the feeling that this book is going to go by way too quickly as well (the offer for cookies is always there).


POST YOUR COMMENTS

You must log in to post comments.

YOUR OPTIONS

OTHER FANFICS BY AUTHOR

Gravity Broke
Uncle Jayne loves waking up Serenity's passel of kids, but today he finds one of them broken. Sweet, fluffy. Sweet, fluffy, post-BDM, part of Namesake series.

Transition, Epilogue
Cole and Genny find resolution.

Transition, Part 11
A few more heart-to-heart chats. Jamie talks to Simon, Mal talks to Cole. Be prepared with tissues, but the end will make you smile.

Transition, Part 10
Jamie and Genny help each other through their respective emotional turmoils.

Transition, Part 9
Little Zoe talks to Michael about Berke, and Michael does not respond as well as she'd hoped. Inara talks to Simon and receives another birthday gift.

Transition, Part 8
Mal is getting worried about Genny, and he talks to Cole. Jayne is glad to see Jamie, but is a little surprised. We find out what Jamie's been up to.

Transition, Part 7
Mal get's Daquan's side of the story. Simon asks River what she wants to do.

Transition, Part 6
Mal and Inara get one more surprise at the space dock, then return home to deal with their uninvited guest.

Transition, Part 5
Mal and Inara share a romantic moment. River's dream about restoring her family turns into a nightmare.

Transition, Part 4
More of Inara's birthday - Cole dances with Genny, River encourages Michael, and Mal gives Inara a priceless gift. 25 years post-BDM. Reunion fic. Part of the Namesake series. Canon pairings. Minor angst warning - have tissues at ready.