The Return Home – Part 6

Wash was the first awake early the next morning and after giving his slumbering wife a quick peck on the cheek he climbed out of their bunk and made his way to the kitchen. Ten minutes later, with a strong cup of coffee in his hand, he sat in his pilot’s seat and began to plot Serenity’s landing on Persephone. Mal had left no specific instructions other than to land near the Eavesdown docks but not near any Alliance cruisers or bases. Serenity was in a deep space orbit around Persephone, the sting of having barely escaped the Alliance once again fresh in everyone’s mind. Kaylee had apologized to everyone about trying to run off the ship and drawing gunfire. They all understood how she felt about her father and had forgiven her but it had been careless and they were lucky no one had gotten hurt.

The hasty departure from Taos had been due to their attempt to sell the loot from Earth. That was their only source of income now and their dreams of being rich when they had loaded it up in Melbourne had come crashing down around them as the converting of gems, jewels, gold, and silver into Alliance currency was not going to be as easy as they thought. They were now being called jewel thieves and a warrant was out for their arrest and this time Wash’s name was included. Mal and Jayne had heard a cop on Taos give his and Zoe’s names as wanted thieves and that didn’t set well with Wash at all.

He never saw himself as a thief, despite all this criminal stuff he was part of. All he ever wanted to do was fly and find himself a nice woman to take care of him. Well, the flying part came true and he had to admit that flying Serenity had provided him with more excitement and adventure than any luxury liner ever would. Who else in the galaxy could say they had landed on Earth and its moon? No one, not even Wash of course, could say that, unless he wanted to end up in a bug house or an Alliance mind control facility where they’d dig deep into his brain for his secrets.

As for the nice woman, well, he had found one, more beautiful and sexy than he could ever imagine. Just the taking care of him part was kinda missing. Oh, Zoe took care of Wash in many ways that were satisfying and exhausting, but a house wife she would never be. The only thing domestic on Zoe’s mind was having babies and the trip to Earth and seeing those pregnant Aussie women had got her thinking again. Now with Kaylee and Simon planning to get married and Kaylee with babies on her mind too he bet, Wash was going to have to face his impending fatherhood sooner than he would have liked.

“Morning, baby,” Zoe said and she surprised him as she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss and then sat in the co-pilot’s chair with a cup of coffee in hand.

“Hey, babe,” he said after a second. “Sleep well?”

“Always sleep well after you tend to my womanly needs,” she said in a sultry voice and Wash smiled thinking of what they had done before drifting off last night.

“I aim to please,” he replied.

“That you do,” she said with a big grin. “Course set for Persephone yet?”

“Still working on it,” he said. “Funny, but no cruisers about.”

Zoe was instantly wary as she sat up and started examining the sensors on her control panel. “You’re right. If Badger was being used by the Alliance you’d think there would be a least one cruiser about.”

‘Could be smaller ships, gunships, on land or high atmo,” Wash said as he thought about how this trap could be set, if it was a trap. And then he decided to bring something up because it had been on his mind a lot since yesterday.

“Do you think we’re doing the right thing?”

Zoe was a taken aback a bit. “The right thing? You mean…coming to Persephone...or Miranda?”

“Both. I mean…we’ve got this FTL drive…we can run and hide….”

She stopped him sharply. “And then what? Ride and hide some more? Babe, this is our chance to stop running and hiding, don’t you see?”

“I hate it too but…what can we accomplish? We’re just one small ship against so many. I’m…worried that…it isn’t going to turn out the way we hoped.”

She was silent for a moment, thinking on what he meant and then spoke from deep in her heart. “Lost a lot of people in the war, good people, who didn’t deserve to die. I thought I had died on Hera when we surrendered, all I wanted was gone. But now I want to live and be happy and have your babies. And if we gotta fight once more to get there, I’m ready to fight. Now we’re on an Alliance wanted list and I don’t hold with that at all. And who’s gonna speak for those people on Miranda if what we saw is true? And for Simon and River? Us, that’s who.”

“And what if the price is too high?” he asked quietly, no trace of anything but worry and fear in his voice and Zoe had no answer for him, knowing too well that someone may have to pay that ultimate price before it was all over.

Just then Mal came on the bridge and after some pleasant good mornings were exchanged he sat with Wash and they made a plan on where to land.

“So what’s the plan, sir?” Zoe asked after the details of landing were settled.

“We go visit our old friend Warrick Harrow, see what he knows about Badger. Inara knows where his estate is.”

“Harrow?” Wash said in surprise. “I mean, we did one job for him, but that was a long time ago.”

“Oh, he’ll never forget me,” Mal said with certainty. “And if he says Badger is clean and all is well, then we take the job. But I got a gut feeling that all ain’t well.”

************************************************

Badger had promised a job for Mal but in reality it didn’t exist and it was all an Alliance set up to capture Mal and his ship or both and Badger had the feeling that the ultimate goal was the capture of the Tam siblings, if they were still with Serenity. Everyone in the underworld knew of the reward for them, 400,000 credits not something to stick ones nose up at. Badger was the only one who knew they were on Serenity as far as he knew but he had heard of a bounty hunter that was hot on their trail, Early by name, who tracked them from Ariel according to his source. But he disappeared about four years ago about same time as last anyone ever heard from Serenity. That was until a few days ago.

Badger sat in his office hoping like hell Mal would show up but having doubts about it after the first day of waiting. He was also having doubts about whether he wanted Mal to show up at all, knowing Mal might not take too kindly to Badger setting him up. Course he had his damaged hand and the fact that his five best men were no longer above ground to prove he was forced into it. He was still king of his hill but Maston Forbes and his five Alliance rough and ready boys were making sure he wasn’t ruling without their firm control. They had stuck with him like glue the last 24 hours and Badger was already weary of them.

Sometime today he would have to go see his woman, a nice young thing he had in a small apartment near the docks, where he usually went two or three times a week for some recreation. Forbes told him to act as if all was well so seeing her was part of that. It also might offer him a chance to escape. Yesterday, he had met his customers as usual and kept up his business for appearance sake but a couple of clients and acquaintances asked questions about the new faces and he told them he had to fire the last lot as they got too greedy. One of his dead men’s girlfriends had come around asking questions and Badger told her he hadn’t seen him in two days.

“This ain’t gonna last,” Badger told Forbes nervously as they sat in his office having a spot of tea with the five Alliance men around them. They were dressed in civvies but they were clean shaven, had short hair, and there wasn’t a tattoo or scar on the lot to show they were of the underworld. And they also carried standard Alliance issue weapons. Badger knew the charade wouldn’t last two more days. “People already getting suspicious.”

Forbes held him with a steady glare. “You just do what I say and all will work out.”

“Ain’t got much experience in the field, have you sonny?”

“Seems you’re a little too cocky for a man a minute away from a hangman’s noose, Mr. Jamison.”

Badger sipped some tea and smiled. “Oh, so you know who I am, big deal. Thomas Jamison, at your service, sonny. By the by, cocky is what got me to where I am in my little world so you don’t mind if I stick with it, eh?”

“I’m sure it will serve you well in prison once we are done here,” Forbes said without any hint Badger was bothering him at all. Discipline of the mind and body had been instilled in Forbes after years of training and this little bug was in no way of any consequence to him.

“You actually think Malcolm Reynolds is going to show here in three days without getting wind of what’s going on first?” Badger asked, some of his cockiness falling away.

“Yes, I do. And you better hope so, too.”

“Reynolds is a lot smarter than that, sonny. He didn’t survive the war and all them years as a man of business without learning a few things.”

“Why are you advising me of this? It seems that Reynolds arriving here is to your advantage if you want to live.”

Badger laughed nervously. “Oh, living is on my mind all right but I’m just wondering who I’d rather have kill me if it comes to that, you lot or Reynolds? Maybe you could write me a nice letter explaining how I had no part in all this. Cause if he ever finds out I set him up and thinks it was my idea, I’m a dead man.”

************************************************

“Could be a set up,” Mal said to his crew after breakfast. “We land at the coordinates Wash plotted, find Harrow, and get the news. Inara, Jayne, and Zoe with me in Inara’s shuttle. Any questions?”

After a few moments of silence Zoe spoke for the rest. “Just one, sir. What do we do with Badger afterwards? I mean if there is no job and it’s a set up.”

“Bullet ‘tween the eyes good enough for likes of him,” Jayne said with a grin.

“Ain’t so sure about that yet, Jayne,” Mal replied. “We got few friends in the verse as is. He ain’t a friend but he turned us onto lots of business in the past. Ending him might be too hasty.”

“Can I at least torture him to find out what he’s done?” Jayne asked hopefully.

“Might come to that,” Mal said but not in the eager way Jayne was asking.

“Is there one place we can go without hurting someone?” Simon asked, with a slight edge of frustration in his tone.

“I won’t hurt him too much, Doc,” Jayne said. “’Sides, fella like Badger squeal soon as he sees my knife.”

“What about rest of us, Capt’n?” Kaylee asked hoping to steer this conversation away from torture.

“Just hang tight and be ready to come get us and make a getaway, as usual. Might also look into tracing that broadcast from Miranda and work up a navigation route to the Burnham quadrant.

“Already working on it,” said Wash. “Don’t think an FTL run is a good idea. We don’t know exactly where the planet is, I mean its orbit, or anything. Wouldn’t want to end up in the middle of it.”

“River, anything else you can tell us?” Mal asked and all looked to the teen.

“No, I…can’t remember anything else from Cutter. But Book, he’s been there,” she said and then all attention was on Book.

He sat for a few seconds and contemplated. “The capital city is in the northern hemisphere. The images we saw on the broadcast, I recognized some of the buildings. That’s where the images were recorded.”

“Guess you’ll be in charge of finding our way about when we get there Shepherd,” Mal said. “Meantime, let’s go to work.”

But Book wouldn’t be there when they went to Miranda, if they went to Miranda, and had no intentions of ever setting foot on that world ever again. He had barely touched his breakfast and sat listening to all this planning and talking, enjoying these last few moments he would spend with them. A touch of guilt clouded his mind for what he was about to do but it was soon gone as he knew he was doing it for them.

He thought on what excuse he could use to leave the ship without drawing attention to himself. He knew of only one excuse that sounded reasonable, to visit the Southdown Abbey, but since they would land no where nearby, he would just have to sneak off and make his way on foot from the ship. A nice walk would do him good, he thought, enabling him to make his plan on how to get to Londinium, find, and then kill Adam Cutter.

************************************************

Once again Wash’s skills brought them to a safe landing while avoiding the Alliance and Serenity touched down about ten kilometers from the Eavesdown Docks in a hilly wooded area. Wash found a small natural amphitheater of small boulder strewn hills and set the boat there, hoping the terrain would shield them from prying eyes and sensors. After quick goodbyes and words of caution, Mal, Inara, Zoe, and Jayne set off in Inara’s shuttle. The lack of having the second shuttle was limiting their options and Mal felt it was time to find a new one.

After they left, Kaylee went to run some diagnostics on the ship’s systems to see how it held up during the FTL run after the modifications had been made. River volunteered to help her and they changed into coveralls and got to work. Meanwhile Simon and Wash sat on the bridge and went over the broadcast from Miranda over and over looking for anything that could help them.

“I think he’s from Miranda,” Simon said after the tenth time watching the broadcast.

“How come?” Wash asked.

“He said that ‘outsiders’ call them Reavers. What did he mean by outsiders unless he was from Miranda itself and didn’t use the term Reavers for these people who used to be his neighbors maybe even his family? Also, he sounds like an older man. Why would someone his age risk everything to come to a world that doesn’t exist unless he knew about it already? And why would he have trouble connecting to the Cortex if he had a spaceship with serviceable antennas? If the Reavers are in space near the planet, how did his ship avoid them? Also, listen to his tone. He sounds like a person who has lost everything and he talks about Miranda being a “once proud planet”. Then there his knowledge of what happened on Miranda, about the leaders agreeing and having no choice to the chemicals being put into the air.”

Wash was ready to believe Simon except for one small thing. “Why now? I mean ten months ago is not that long ago. Why did he wait so long? Reavers have been around since the war.”

“Maybe he was ill, or a prisoner of the Reavers, or in hiding. Maybe he didn’t have the transmitter to send the signals.”

“Okay, those all could be possible answers. But Simon, if he was on that planet when the chemicals were released, then how come he isn’t dead or a Reaver himself?”

Simon had been thinking on this problem also and thought he knew the reason. “Listen to his rasp, like a heavy smoker. If he suffered from a respiratory affliction perhaps the chemicals could not be readily absorbed into his system.”

“Perhaps?”

“I don’t know what chemicals were used and even if I can make an educated guess, I won’t know for sure until I examine him.”

“If he’s still alive. And then what?”

Simon was confused. “Sorry, what do you mean?”

“If we go to Miranda, if we find this man, if we all manage to get by the Reavers and escape again, then what do we do?”

Simon was taken aback because he hadn’t thought this far ahead yet and that was more Mal’s area of expertise than his. “I’m sure Mal has a plan.”

Wash just rolled his eyes in despair. “Oh, brother.”

**********************************************

Sneaking off Serenity was not the way Shepherd Book had ever hoped to leave the ship but he couldn’t tell them why he was going and it had to be now before they went to Miranda. He had waited until Mal and the others had left and Simon, Wash, Kaylee, and especially River were busy about the ship. He then made his way to the secret stash compartment, opened it, and took some small gold and silver bars. He was destitute and had to have something to make his way to Londinium. After all, he was part of the crew and no matter that he had no official task, still felt he deserved something. Book almost chuckled to himself. One night without prayer and already I am forgetting all I believed in. Feeling more than a bit guilty, he put back some of the loot and only took what he thought was the bare minimum for his coming travels.

After he went to his room, put the bars in his suitcase, picked it up, and made sure the letters he had written were in plain view. Suddenly he did have a case of remorse and sat on his bed for a long ten minutes and thought on what he was doing to those he left behind. The letters would explain some of it and the rest they would have to surmise. He wanted no tears, no one trying to convince him to change his mind, and above all he didn’t want to endanger them anymore than he already had by telling them where Miranda was. Book had no close family left in the verse, all gone years ago, and these eight people were as close as family he had now. And he knew Simon and River and by proxy the rest of the crew would never be safe unless Cutter was dead. So for them and for the 30 million people on Miranda and for his guilt in what had happened there, Book needed to leave Serenity and do what he had to do. Alone.

But she was waiting for him outside his door and he had half expected it.

“Time to go,” said River as Book stood before her with his suitcase in hand.

“Yes, River. I wrote some letters that explain it all. They're in my room. Please don’t tell the others for a while.”

“I won’t. Or about what happened on Miranda.”

“Thank you.”

He walked past her into the corridor of the passenger dorm but her next words stopped him cold.

“Cutter is not an easy man to kill.”

Book turned and wished he knew how or why this young girl had such strange and wondrous powers. “If history has taught us anything, it is that any man can be killed.”

“Even if the hand that does the killing must be sacrificed?”

“Yes. Even if it comes to that.”

He once more tried to leave but again she surprised him.

“God be with you, Shepherd Book.”

He stopped and sighed and all his hidden emotions came forth and he felt his love for this girl, this woman, and for the others. His voice was choked with his feelings. “Tell them….tell them….I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

“I will. Goodbye.”

He placed a hand on her cheek and then kissed her, on the forehead, a light kiss, not of romance, but of love, and tears came to River’s eyes. “I will see you again,” Book said. “In a better world.”

And then he was gone and River knew she would never see him again and felt a keen sadness in her heart.

************************************************

Mal had a plan, for the moment anyway, and that was to get Warrick Harrow to talk about Badger and his doings. They landed at a small shuttle pad next to his estate in the countryside near Persephone’s main city and the shuttle soon had three armed men at its front door. Mal let Inara get out first and ease the way as he Jayne and Zoe remained inside hidden from view.

“Good morning gentlemen,” Inara said pleasantly. “I have a message for Sir Warrick.”

“There is no need of any message, Inara Serra,” said Harrow as he approached from a set of stairs leading from his massive house. “You are most welcome here.”

His men relaxed as Inara and Harrow exchange greetings. He was still large and lordly, a man of confidence who was a cut above most of the people in the galaxy, or at least this corner of it. The central Core planets looked down a bit on Persephone and Greenleaf and others in the black out by the Rim and even among nobles there was a hierarchy of snobbishness that made any normal person’s head sore with the details.

“It has been too long Inara, more than four years since your beauty graced Persephone. That duel Captain Reynolds fought with Atherton Wing and your blacklisting him from the Companion Guild still brings a happy smile to my face.”

“I’m so glad it does.”

“Come inside and we shall discuss old times.”

“Excuse me, Sir Warrick, but I am not alone. Forgive this intrusion.”

“Captain Reynolds,” Harrow said as Mal emerged from the shuttle alone. He had taken off his pistol since Inara had insisted before they had landed. He didn’t like it but he needed information and was willing to play her game to get it.

“Howdy, Sir Warrick, been a while.”

“Indeed. I’m guessing this has something to do with business.”

“Could say that,” Mal said in reply and then Harrow invited them inside. Ten minutes later they were seated in a luxurious study surrounded by shelves of books and paintings on walls. They sipped brandy and Harrow smoked a cigar as he sat in a big chair behind a lovely mahogany desk.

“You’ve been blacklisted, Captain,” Harrow began after more pleasantries were exchanged. “Legal cargo or not, I don’t think we can do business.”

“Well, how about a piece of information then? And this time I can pay.”

“Information? Concerning what?”

“Badger. Offered me a job and I suspects he is working to set a trap for me with the Alliance.”

Harrow took a long drag on his cigar and blew out some thick smoke rings before answering. “Badger is not working for the Alliance. He’s their prisoner.”

Mal let out a long string of curse words in Chinese. “Sorry,” he said, as much for Harrow as Inara. “Anything you can tell us be much appreciated.”

“How much?” Harrow asked as he smiled. Business was business after all.

Mal pulled out a small sack from his pocket and took out some jewelry and gems and laid them on Harrow’s desk. He was instantly engrossed as he took a jeweler’s eyepiece from his desk and examined them over and over. After a few minutes he looked at Mal and Inara in astonishment,

“One of these bracelets has a jeweler’s mark for Melbourne, Australia. On Earth.”

Mal didn’t know that but covered up his surprise like an old pro. “Yup, got our hands on some genuine Earth artifacts. Fetch a pretty price on any market. Yours for some info on Badger.”

Harrow sat and smoked and thought that it was worth it to tell them about Forbes and Cutter. After all, Malcolm Reynolds certainly wasn’t going to tell any one in the Alliance where he got his information. “Two days ago, an Alliance policeman, named Maston Forbes, called and asked for an introduction to meet Badger. Said he was looking to put Badger out of business and wanted it done quietly with no fuss. Normally I don’t involve myself in such petty matters but this Forbes claimed to have been sent by High Chancellor Cutter so naturally I couldn’t refuse.”

Now it was Mal and Inara’s turn to be surprised. “Cutter?” Inara said in astonishment. “What does he have to do with Badger?”

“Yes,” said Harrow. “An important man like him with so much to do, especially now that a new rebellion is simmering, why would he concern himself with a third rate criminal on the outer planets. But one does not cross Adam Cutter and stay in one’s position in society for long or even out of a prison. So I sent this young Mr. Forbes to the weasel’s lair. And you know what happened?”

“Badger and his boys laid him in the dirt?” Mal said with a little bit of hope.

“No, not this one. He is young but his eyes and mind are as cold as ice. The smell of an Operative of the Parliament is all over him and except for his age I would say he was one. I was curious as to the outcome of this meeting so sent one of my men by yesterday to make an offer for a new cargo run. Badger was there all right, but there were all new faces surrounding him. And they weren’t the criminal type.”

“Alliance,” Mal said with disappointment.

“Yes,” said Harrow. “And much as I dislike the man, I do not think Badger is a willing participate. He had a fresh bandage on his hand and the look of a cornered rat in his eyes according to my man.”

“Was afraid of that, too,” Mal said.

“Why would Badger tell you he had a job when he didn’t?” Harrow asked and Mal and Inara cast looks that said be careful.

“We had a bit of trouble on Greenleaf. Few folks died, not regular folks, but Alliance got involved and we had to run. Think they’re using Badger to flush us out.”

“Indeed. A lot of trouble for a few criminals,” Harrow said with a bit too much curiosity in his eyes for Mal’s liking.

Mal stood and signaled this meeting was at an end. “You keep those trinkets, Sir Warrick. Give ‘em to your wife or mistress but be careful trying to sell them. We already had a piece of trouble over that.”

“Yes, a galaxy wide bulletin to be on the look out for people selling stolen jewelry was sent to me by my police contact just this morning. Seems you had some trouble on Taos also.”

“Everyone in the verse know my business?” Mal said in frustration.

“Thank you, Sir Warrick,” Inara said quickly, hoping to avoid any unpleasantness. She stood and approached his desk. “I’m sorry we can’t stay longer, not if the Alliance is looking for us.”

Harrow stood and took her hand and kissed it. “A shame you haven’t been around. Many fine gentlemen miss your companionship.”

“Please offer my apologies for my absence. We really must be going.”

“Do you include yourself with Captain Reynolds’ merry band now?”

“Yes,” Mal said a bit too quickly and forcefully and then took Inara’s hand away from Harrow’s. “Not everything is for sale anymore.”

“Oh, I see. This has been a very informative discussion. And what of Badger now?”

“Badger?” Mal said with a smile. “Oh, no worries there. We’ll just let him stew in the trouble he got himself into.”

And with that Mal and Inara bade him goodbye and made their way back to the shuttle, which took off and headed straight for Serenity as Mal explained it all to Jayne and Zoe.

“Guess we head for Miranda now,” Jayne said, with a hint of disappointment in not being able to visit the fleshpots of Persephone nor put a hurting or even a scare into Badger.

“Nope,” said Mal to their mutual surprise. “Now we rescue Badger.”

“Rescue Badger?” Jayne said in stunned surprised. “What in the gorramn verse for?”

“Cause he’s only one who get us off the blacklist,” Mal said. “You gotta think farther ahead than your next meal or woman, Jayne. Our employment prospects are dim and even if we manage to sell these guns and loot, what next? We need Badger to get our name off everyone’s dirt list. And if this Forbes is nearby, I think now be good time to kill him and get it over with.”

“I kinda gotta be with Jayne on this one, sir,” Zoe said and Mal was more than a bit surprised. “Badger in his lair with five Alliance troopers and a guy that acts like an Operative? That’s a bit much to bite off. It’s narrow in there, way in and out could be guarded. And that guy only saw five. Could be more about.”

“We got the element of surprise,” Mal said. “Besides, when have the odds ever been in our favor?”

Zoe grinned when he said this. “Not ever. So…what’s the plan?”

“Can I say something?” Inara said from her pilot’s seat. Jayne rolled his eyes and Mal gave him a sharp look.

“Yes, Inara?” he asked.

“Why do you have to rescue him in his office area? Doesn’t he have a place where he sleeps, calls a home?”

The three looked at each other and the blank looks he got from Zoe and Jayne told Mal how little they knew of Badger.

“Now that’s a very good point, my dear. Jayne, feel up to some recon?”

The big man grinned. “At the Eavesdown Docks? Sounds like a plan.”

************************************************************************

The shuttle dropped Jayne off as close as they dared to the docks, Mal giving him a communicator and telling him to stay in contact with Serenity every thirty minutes and not to go whoring or drinking.

“Shuttle one coming home,” Inara radioed Serenity and Wash told them all was clear. Ten minutes later Mal, Inara and Zoe made their way to the dining room, spirits high as they had the beginnings of a plan. But the looks on the faces of their remaining crew soon put an end to their good mood.

Kaylee, Simon and River sat at the dining table, with Wash standing nearby, all looking at three envelopes on the table. No one even said hello or asked what had happened.

“What’s going on?” Zoe asked as she came up to Wash and he smiled a little for her at least.

“A bit of a problem, babe. Where’s Jayne?”

“Left him to do a recon of Badger’s lair,” Mal said. “What’s got everyone so down in the face? Shepherd make you listen to a sermon?

“Book’s gone,” said Kaylee in a forlorn voice as she looked at her Capt’n and Simon laid a hand on her arm, trying to comfort her.

“What?” Mal said, suddenly feeling like a man who made a joke at a funeral at the expense of the deceased. “Gone? You mean off the ship for a spell?”

“No, Mal,” Simon said. “He left this morning, took his suitcase. River saw him go. All he left were these letters.”

“Where did he go?” Inara asked River with worry as she came to the table and looked at the envelopes.

“Said he explained it all in the letters,” River said and then Mal and Zoe looked closely at the letters.

The first was addressed to Abbot Parsons, of the Southdown Abbey here on Persephone. The second was address to Winifred Collins in a small town on Sihon. The third was for Jayne Cobb.

“Huh?” was all Mal could get out.

“Who’s Winifred Collins?” Zoe asked and Simon thought he knew.

“Remember he mentioned a woman, a relationship he had on Miranda? Perhaps that’s her.”

Mal got over his surprise and grabbed the letter addressed to Jayne. “Let’s find out what’s going on.” And he was about to rip it open when Inara shouted.

“Mal! Stop!”

He did stop and stared at her and then looked around and knew that it was wrong.

“That’s Jayne’s letter,” Zoe said and then added. “Sir.”

“Sorry, Mal, but she’s right,” said Inara. “What Book wrote was for Jayne. Not us.”

Mal dropped the letter on the table and sat down heavily. He could see that they were hurting and he himself suddenly felt that something wasn’t right with his boat and his life with Book missing.

“What we gonna do?’ Kaylee asked sadly.

Mal stood and knew what to do. “He can’t have gone far. We ain’t near nothing. Come on Zoe, let’s get the shuttle and go find him.”

But Zoe didn’t move. “Sir, he wants to leave, there’s nothing we can do.”

Mal knew she was right and just felt the energy draining from him. He was starting to feel more helpless and turned to River and gently asked. “What did he say?”

“That he was sorry for leaving like this and that it’s all in the letters.”

“Guess we wait till Jayne gets back,” Mal finally said and then ordered the crew to get lunch ready and get ready for any communications from Jayne. Wash and River moved to the bridge as Simon and Kaylee started making lunch. Mal picked up the letters and handed them to Inara.

“Keep an eye on them?”

“Of course, Mal,” she said as she placed them in one of the kitchen shelves with some recipe books. “Sorry I…”

“No, you all were right. It’s Jayne’s letter.”

“Mal,” came Wash’s voice over the intercom. “Jayne needs to talk to you.”

***********************************************

Jayne had barely gotten into a good observation position, in a bar across from the entrance to the container maze where Badger’s lair was, when he got a lucky break. Badger came out, followed by five armed men. Jayne immediately covered his face with the menu while at the same time observing where they went. After they had gone past he gulped his drink and dropped a bill on the table to pay for it and started to follow them.

They made their way through a maze of streets and past crowds of people. Jayne was a bit put out to see a wanted posted with his, Mal’s, Wash’s, and Zoe’s names on it. There was even a picture of Mal and a reasonable drawing of him. Jayne snatched one off a bulletin board and put it in his pocket. He almost lost Badger and the men with him but soon picked up the trail again.

They stopped at an apartment building and Jayne watched as they climbed three sets of outside stairs to an outside entrance. There was some kind of balcony surrounding each floor and Jayne could see a wider area, a patio, on the back. Badger knocked and soon a young blond woman opened the door and squealed with delight, giving Badger a big kiss. He went inside and one of the five men tried to follow but Badger said something to him and he waited outside. Jayne could see the man barking orders to his other men and they moved around the balcony and took up positions at windows and on the patio. He decided it was time to call Mal.

“What can you see?” Mal said after he finally came to the radio.

“Looks like Badger got himself a lady friend and he’s visiting now,” said Jayne and then he explained the lay out. “Might be good time to snatch him, Mal.”

“Forbes about? Young guy with blond hair.”

“Nope. Just five guys dressed in civvies but with look of Alliance, carrying Alliance hardware.”

“OK, give me that address again,” Mal said and as Jayne spoke he relay it to Wash who put the address into a map of the Eavesdown Docks and soon they had a location.

“Hang tight Jayne, we’ll be there soon.”

Mal ended the transmission and noticed River staring at him from the co-pilot’s seat.

“Did you say…Forbes?” she asked quietly.

“Sure did, he’s policeman who’s pulling the strings hereabouts, Maston Forbes, Harrow said was his name,” Mal told her and then he knew why she was looking at him. “You know him, don’t you?”

“At the academy,” River said and Mal cursed in Chinese.

“Don’t tell me he’s a mind reader, too,” Mal said.

“No, he isn’t. But he was the best fighter. If he completed his training, you or Jayne are no match for him.”

“Bet he killed Badger’s men,” Wash said but Mal didn’t even acknowledge what he said, as he stood thinking and looking at River.

“You ever beat him?”

“Every time.”

“Good. You’re coming with us.”

Simon protested, of course, but River calmed him down and told him she had to do her part to help end all this and Simon relented. Soon, Mal, Zoe, River and Inara were on their way to the Eavesdown Docks, to do something no one had ever thought they’d ever be doing, saving Badger’s life.

***********************************************

Book had climbed the hills from where Serenity was parked and found a dusty secondary road nearby. It was a cool day with the sun shining so Book didn’t mind the walk and it gave him time to think more clearly now that he was away from Serenity and his mind was set on a single task. After thirty minutes of walking a truck came by and seeing he was a Shepherd the driver stopped and offered him a lift. Twenty minutes later Book was walking among the ships parked at the Eavesdown Docks and a strange sense of déjà vu overcame him as he remembered a pretty young lady with a warm smile telling him he was going to come with them. It seemed so long ago.

After examining five ships he finally found one going to Ariel which was as close as he could hope to get to Londinium by the looks of things. The ship would not be leaving for an hour so Book went about seeking to convert his acquired loot into cash. He had taken several of the gold and silver bars and, despite their weight, knew they would be the easiest to convert since the Alliance was looking for stolen jewelry. Sure enough, a small shop took two of his gold bars and gave him a tidy sum and Book knew it would be enough for passage and food for the next little while.

Before boarding the ship he took one last look around and had another twinge of guilt. He should have gone to see Abbot Parsons but he couldn’t risk endangering him or the abbey by any contact. He was sure Jayne would receive his instructions and take care of the two letters he entrusted to his care.

***********************************************

Book didn’t know it, but Jayne was but a few blocks away, just having been joined by Mal, Zoe and River, at his observation post near Badger’s woman’s apartment.

“What’s she doing here?” Jayne asked in a fierce whisper as he saw River with the others.

“She knows Forbes,” Mal said as he handed Jayne a shotgun. “Said he’s better than me and you but she could handle him.”

“That so, little girl?” Jayne said to River with a bit of contempt. Killing some purple bellies on the moon didn’t qualify her to go against this fella if what they thought about him was true.

“Yes, it is,” said River calmly as she checked the pistol she had taken from the ship and then Zoe noticed Badger getting ready to leave the apartment.

“Heads up. He’s coming out,” she said and Mal narrowed his eyes.

“Guess we take him in the street.” Mal decided. “I’ll walk in front, surprise him, you three hit them from behind. And try not to hurt any civilians.”

Mal ran ahead of them and as Badger and his five escorts passed their hiding spot near some street vendors, Jayne, Zoe and River followed and blended in with the crowds.

Badger had spent a nice hour with his lady and left her satisfied. He gave her a little extra kiss and promised he’d be back soon but knew it might be never. He kinda liked this one, she didn’t whine or ask for too much money like ones in the past. Long as he…

“Hello, Badger.”

And like a dream or a nightmare there was Malcolm Reynolds larger than life standing in front of him. Badger grinned.

“Hello, Mal, old mate. Bit early. Three days we said, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, but I just couldn’t wait.”

The Alliance men’s guns were coming up and then they heard a shotgun being chambered and a voice from behind them that made them stop.

“Not today fellas,” said Jayne as he covered them with the shotgun and River and Zoe joined him with weapons raised. People were scattering as the Alliance men started to put down their weapons and the street was soon empty of civilians.

Mal approached an Alliance soldier in the front and stuck his pistol in his face. “Where’s Forbes?”

“Right here, Captain Reynolds,” said Forbes as he stepped off a side street to Mal's right and then about ten more Alliance policemen stepped out from alleys on either side of where Mal was standing.

“Oh, shit,” said Mal quietly and Badger’s grin was gone from his face. Mal knew they were dead anyway so he did the only thing he could. He pulled the trigger and killed the first trooper directly in front of him. And then it was on.

The shock of seeing their comrade’s face blown off stunned the other troopers for a second and Mal dropped one more and Jayne had dropped two of them near Mal with shotgun blasts and Zoe had hit a third in the brief moment provided. But River outdid them all and with rapid shots four more soldiers fell even as the others began returning fire and dove for cover. The four remaining unarmed men that had been Badger’s escorts wisely hit the deck or jumped into doorways and Mal grabbed Badger and ran in the direction of his shipmates as bullets whizzed by in both directions. Mal turned and fired some more as one bullet went through his long brown coat and another just parted his hair. Badger yelled in pain as a bullet creased his right elbow and Zoe got a flesh wound in the upper left arm. But they kept firing and the Alliance men were only a few left now and they scattered for cover and then Mal yelled, “Run!” and the team turned and fled.

Forbes had been stunned also by the violent reaction of Malcolm Reynolds and as the bullets started flying he spied River Tam and she was the only thing on his mind. He had been warned by Cutter just a few hours ago that Reynolds may show up sooner than expected. Forbes had not inquired as to how his leader knew this but took it on faith that it was true. When Badger made his request to see his woman Forbes granted it and then followed with his second team. It didn’t take long for one of his men to spot the clumsy spying of Jayne Cobb and Forbes waited patiently, hoping to snare more than one crew member and he wasn’t disappointed. The prize was here. River Tam.

He ducked back down the alley and ran with the speed of a cat to a position behind Serenity’s crew as the firing continued. He heard Reynolds shout “run” and then Forbes saw them flee, dragging Badger with them and then she was there, in front of him, firing a pistol and then he heard the hammer hit an empty chamber and he was on her, no gun in hand, but his knife out and soon she’d feel his blade….and then he got a kick to the face before he knew what hit him.

“Late as always, Forbes,” River said as she shot out a fist to his stomach and then he felt the pistol whipping him across the face. His brain reeled in pain but he controlled his fear and struck back, a glancing blow to her temple and a kick to her right knee. River screamed in pain and then hit with blinding speed to Forbes face, chest, legs, and Forbes struck back, a fist to her stomach and a bare miss with the knife to her neck. The two were wounded now, in pain, but circling each other, Forbes with his knife ready to kill River Tam.

"You've improved," said River as she searched for an opening.

"I've been training for this moment for seven years," Forbes said. "What have you been doing?"

"Trying to be a normal girl," River said and then Forbes lunged but River knew it was coming, pivoted right and smashed an elbow to his face. Forbes was staggered but still up and in the fight.

“The girl!” Jayne yelled to Mal and Zoe as he saw Forbes and River circling each other on the street.

“Get to the shuttle,” Mal ordered and Jayne and Zoe grabbed Badger and started off, Zoe yelling into a communicator for Inara to come pick them up.

Forbes was facing River and didn’t see Mal so Mal shot him point blank in the back. Never bring a knife to a gun fight Mal thought as Forbes pitched forward on his face and River was about to stomp on his neck when he turned with surprising agility for a man shot in the back and flung his knife at Mal. But River knew it was going to happen and knocked Forbes hand at the moment of throwing so the knife went by Mal’s face by a few centimeters.

“Body armor,” Mal said and then he put his gun to Forbes face and then ‘click”, no ammo.

Forbes sprang up and River moved to strike him but he blocked her thrust and hit her wounded knee again and down she went in agony. Forbes looked at Mal and smiled. “Not today, Captain.”

And he struck out with his fist to Mal’s throat with blinding speed, but Mal barely dodged it and kicked Forbes right in the testicles. Hey, no one said it was a fair fight, Mal thought, as Forbes collapsed in an agony that only someone who had a size 12 boot to the balls would understand.

“No armor there, I take it,” Mal said as he moved to hit Forbes again. But then a bullet zipped by him and several surviving Alliance troopers had suddenly found their balls and were firing at him and River from fifty meters away. His gun was empty, River was hurt, bullets were skipping around them, and it was time to go. He picked her up and then they staggered down the side alley where Forbes had emerged from.

“Captain, where are you?” Zoe’s frantic voice shouted over the comms.

“In some back alley,” he shouted into his communicator as suddenly River fought her pain and started picking up speed and ran ahead of Mal, who still had some discomfort from his leg wound. She stopped, and then turned right, and Mal followed.

“There’s an open square ahead,” she said. “Victory Square. Tell them to pick us up there.”

Mal relayed the instructions, trusting her to know where she was going and a minute later just as Alliance troops emerged from the alley behind them they boarded the shuttle and made their way back to Serenity.

************************************************

“Coming in hot, Wash. Got wounded, not too serious,” Mal told his ship as they flew back to the hills where Serenity was parked. Inara looked at him and was wide eyed and ready to slap him or hug him, she didn’t know which.

“You’re a fool, Malcolm Reynolds,” she said with some anger. “To risk your lives for…him!”

It was loud and everyone in the shuttle heard her, including Badger. He was sitting on the sofa, holding his bloody elbow and Jayne was just glaring at him. Zoe was also glaring as she sat on the bed where River helped her tie a quick bandage on her arm.

“Much obliged, folks,’ Badger said, as he grimaced in pain. Almost ten years without a scratch and now a knife through the hand and a bullet to the elbow in less than three days, all thanks to this lot.

“You better be,” Jayne said with a snarl. “From now on no more blacklist and we get first pick of the jobs.”

Badger chuckled. “And do you think Alliance gonna let me set up business again after this mess?”

Jayne had a come back but it died on his lips as what Badger said sunk in.

“When has Alliance ever stopped you in the past?” Zoe asked and Badger smiled despite his pain.

“Always was a smart one, Zoe. Don’t know why you’re with this lot. Okay, gents and ladies, we get outta this mess, you all got my word you're off the blacklist and get pick of the jobs.”

“And a bigger share?” said Jayne with some menace in his tone.

“Now, now,” said Badger. “That’s for me and Mal to discuss, private like, see?”

Up in the cockpit Mal had said nothing to Inara as she went on about how dangerous it was, how stupid they were and so on. He let her get it off her chest cause he knew she was only pissed because of what had happened and she was afraid for him and the others. If they had gotten Badger without anyone getting a scratch she’d be all smiles and saying it was a brilliant plan.

“Inara, every job has its risks. And…”

Before he could say any more, Wash’s voice cut in. They were almost at Serenity and Mal could see it in the distance rising from the hills. “Shuttle one, you got two gunships on your tail! Coming for you now!”

“Gorramnit!” Jayne yelled as he heard this last. “Hit it, ‘Nara, 'fore we nothing but a grease spot in the sky!”

Suddenly, a stream of tracer bullets flew past the cockpit window and a beeping came from the control panel.

“Missile lock!” said Inara and then Wash came on comms.

“Inara!" Wash shouted. "Missile coming at you!"

And Inara threw the little shuttle into some violent maneuvers as the missile headed straight for it.