Click.
The unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked had Jayne wincing his eyes. How in the 'verse had he missed someone sneaking up on him? Gorramit, with all the dead leaves on the ground here a mouse couldn't walk without making noise. It was one of the reasons Mal had chosen this site for the drop. Jayne cursed under his breath. He'd had a bad feeling about the deal Badger had set up for them right from the word go. Gorramit. They knew better than to trust that slimy little puddle of piss. Well, at least he did. Mal was clearly lacking brains in the knowing when to trust others department.
"Drop your weapons, and no one gets hurt!"an unmistakably female voice called out. The cold metal of a gun barrel pressed into Jayne's back. He briefly thought about lashing out and grabbing the gun, but his tensing muscles must have given away his thoughts because the gun jabbed him a little bit harder, it's owner letting out a nasty sounding laugh. "Go ahead dumbass, gimme a reason." Jayne watched out of the corner of his eye as the woman's foot snaked out and dragged his rifle away from his side. The person holding the gun took a step back and ordered the big man to turn around. He slowly got up, hands held halfway up in the air. Mal and Zoe stood just a dozen feet in front of him and to his left, hands also in the air, their eyes glued to the person with a gun aimed at Jayne's back. He slowly turned to face his assailant. His jaw dropped in disbelief. A ridiculously small woman stood a few feet away from him. A large brimmed hat shaded her face, obscuring her features. The long gun cradled in her right hand was trained between his eyes, an overly large hand gun in her left was pointed at Mal's head. She frowned when she saw Jayne's face. "Cobb? That you Jayne? You gorram hun dan, never thought to see you again. Guess it must be my lucky day" she said, eyes narrowing in contempt. She let out a bitter laugh. "I'll be needin' that cash," she directed at Zoe, "toss it over, an' I'll be on my way."
"You know this person Jayne?" Mal asked, "'Cause if you got some business you need to clear up, I don't see a need to get the rest of us involved."
"Gorramit Mal, I don't know her" Jayne replied, his face flushed dark with anger, but an old memory started to flicker at the back of his mind. The woman turned towards Mal and Zoe, squinting a little as the afternoon sun shone under the brim of her hat, showing her profile to Jayne, and just like that he recognized her. "Shy? Damn, I can't believe you're still walkin' an' talkin', girly. Didn't think you'd make it on yer own." Shy looked back at Jayne. "Well it sure as hell ain't no thanks to you Cobb, you dirty rat bastard. You think I forgot what you done? Ain't nothin' short of a miracle I am walkin' an' talkin' after you shot me in the back like that. An' for what?" Jayne glared at the woman. "You stole my money! Some thanks for savin' your scrawny pi-gu! If you hadn'ta stole from me, I wouldn'ta shot ya. 'Sides, was only a graze, no cause to whine about it." Jayne's voice rang with righteous indignation. Shy spat on the ground at Jayne's feet. "A graze? You damn near disintegrated my ribs! An' I never stole anythin' from you you didn't owe me, you gorram hun dan. I'd kill you dead right now if it wouldn't be such a sorry waste o' lead."
Zoe used the distraction of their conversation as an opportunity to make a grab for her gun, but hastily reached for the sky again as the woman shifted the canon in her left hand slightly and fired a shot just past Mal's ear. He yelped in surprise and blurted out "No need to get tetchy lady, we can talk this out all reasonable-like." Their assailant gave him a narrow-eyed look. "I ain't been reasonable since I don't know when, an' I can guarandamntee you I want that coin more'n you do. Hand it over, 'fore I blast a new hole in Cobb here" she announced, waving the rifle pointed at Jayne. "Now hold on" Mal protested, "you wanna shoot Jayne? Can't say as I blame you, like to shoot him myself on occasion. Hell if you want I'll do it for you," Mal continued, ignoring Jayne's vocal protests "but I ain't handing over the money."
In a flash, Shy shifted the long gun to point at Jayne's foot, and fired a shot. The big man yelped and fell over, clutching at his boot and cursing a mile a minute. "There. Saved you a bullet. Now hand over the money." Mal's eyes widened in shock. "Huh," he said, jaw dropping slightly in disbelief. "Well, now, said there's been times I'd like to shoot him, didn't necessarily mean right now... And I'm still not giving you the money," he stated, his gaze not wavering from her guns. Shy glanced dispassionately at Jayne rolling on the ground in pain, then pointed the rifle at Zoe. "Mister, I ain't got nothin' against you, an' Cobb here aside, I don't got much stomach for shootin' folk. But I need that money. And I will kill you dead. I'm not gonna ask you again."
A cold wind rustled the leaves on the ground and Shy shivered involuntarily, her eyes nervously scanning the area. In a sudden move Jayne lunged up off the ground, launching himself at their attacker. She leapt back out of his reach, giving him a solid kick in the chin. His teeth clacked hard and he tasted blood, but fortunately for Jayne, her foot didn't carry much impact and he managed to grab her and wrestle her to the ground. Pinning one strong forearm against her throat, he reached out and grabbed her guns, tossing the rifle out of her reach and pressing the smaller gun against her temple. Shy struggled ineffectually against his hold before going totally limp. Jayne grinned at her, his teeth coated in blood. "You're gonna pay fer that girly" he taunted, a nasty gleam in his eye. Shy glared at him before turning her head to the side. "Gorramit Jayne, get off of me, I can't hardly breathe."
Rolling swiftly to his feet, Jayne hauled her up by the scruff of her shirt, gave her a little shake. "Mal, you want I should shoot her? Lemme shoot her..." The captain strolled over for a closer look at their would-be robber. She wasn't very big, about the same size as River, maybe a little smaller even. He pulled the hat off her head and tossed it to the ground, his eyes scanning her face. He couldn't put a finger on it, but there was definitely something about her that caught Mal's eye, something familiar in her facial features. He narrowed his gaze, trying to place her. Jayne had her hauled up onto her toes, the collar of her shirt was pulled up tight against her throat and her face was rapidly turning an unpleasant shade of red. He was about to speak when a communication came through from Serenity.
"Cap'n? Mal, you're about to have company. The local authorities're headin' your way." Kaylee's voice sounded abnormally cheerful for someone relaying such unwelcome news. He watched as Jayne's captive renewed her efforts to escape, still trying to place where he'd seen her before. The big merc hauled her up higher, until her toes were dangling a few inches off the ground and her face tinged an odd purple. Her hands scrabbled ineffectually against Jayne's grip. "Scared girly?" he asked her with an evil grin. "Mebbe there's a reward on her Mal. Could be there's some money in this fer us."
Zoe stepped forward, pragmatic as ever. "Best let her down before you choke her to death Jayne." Jayne grunted in disappointment, but dropped her to the ground where she lay still, apparently passed out cold. Mal poked her with the toe of his boot. Looked like she was still breathing. "Let's move out" he said as he turned and started walking back towards the mule they'd left hidden over the rise. It was a few kilometres back to Serenity. "I'm not keen to meet the local law." "We best hustle then, sir" Zoe pointed to a dust cloud a short distance away, "looks like they're comin' in fast"
"Jesus!" Mal swore and ducked as bullet whizzed past his head, risking a glance over his shoulders at their pursuers. The mule clipped a tree and swerved to the side, eliciting more curse words and a noisy complaint from Jayne. "How in the gorram hell," the merc groused as he took aim again "am I supposed to shoot," he momentarily lost his balance and lurched to the right "with you flying into trees?" It seemed he didn't expect an answer, aiming again before firing, watching with satisfaction as a man fell off of the hovercraft pursuing them. Another quick blast from his gun and he'd taken out the driver.
Mal slowed the mule to a stop and they all watched as the now pilotless hovercraft spun out of control, cartwheeling across the dusty landscape before coming to a bone-jarring halt. Jayne winced involuntarily as Shy's still unconscious body flew out of the craft and rolled across the dusty landscape, eventually lying motionless on the ground. Mal hopped down out of the mule and ran over to her, crouching down and feeling for a pulse. "Well I'll be damned, she ain't dead" he called out to the others. He rolled her onto her back, gave her a considering look. He couldn't shake the feeling he knew her from somewhere. Probably had seen her on a wanted poster or something like that. But still... Curiosity had him fishing in her pockets for some kind of i.d. He pulled out a wallet, straightened up and flipped through it. No money, but really that was no surprise. He paused at her ident card, read her name. He cursed loudly, dropping to his knees beside her. He brushed the hair out of her face, peering intently at her. Her face was swollen and scraped, and there was blood seeping from a knot on her temple, but he thought he could make out the features of a girl he once knew well in the face of the woman lying at his feet. He looked up as a shadow fell over them. "Sir?", it was Zoe, a questioning look on her face. "I... She... We... I..." he stuttered, at a loss for words. "Grab her legs Zo, help me get her on the mule" he resorted to giving orders, not meeting her gaze. "Sir?" she asked again, but bent down to grab the woman's dusty feet. They lugged her over to the mule and dropped her in the back seat next to a scowling Jayne. "Why we gotta bring her? She shot me. Hell she woulda shot you If I hadn't stopped her" he complained loudly. "I ain't paying' you to ask questions Jayne," Mal answered tersely as he started out towards Serenity. Jayne scowled and cursed under his breath, pointedly not looking at the woman sprawled next to him on the seat.
The bay doors were open for them when they arrived. Mal parked the mule and shut the doors. He pressed the com button and ordered River to take them off world, calling for the doc to meet them in the med bay. With no small effort he hoisted their new passenger into his arms and made his way to the infirmary, pushing a protesting Jayne out of the way. "She's hurt way worse than you Jayne. You're gonna have to wait" Mal turned away from the big merc and watched Simon with anxious eyes as he examined his new patient. "Well?" Mal demanded, unable to contain his impatience. "It's a woman," the doc deadpanned back at him, not looking up from his exam. "Now ain't the time doc, is she gonna live?" Simon looked up in faint surprise. It wasn't like Mal to show such overt concern for strangers. "I won't know until I do some scans," he answered calmly.
Mal waited impatiently while Simon completed his scans, administered some medication and stitched up a long cut on her forearm. Finally he spoke "Looks like a concussion, there was a bleed in her brain, but I've stopped it. And her shoulder is dislocated. Here, help me get her jacket off, I need to see what I'm doing to get the joint back in place." They stripped her jacket off and rolled her onto her stomach. Simon pulled her shirt off her shoulder to get a better look at it. He let out a gasp of horror when he caught sight of her back. It was riddled with scars, but most telling of all was the series of numbers branded on her left shoulder.
"Ta ma de hun dan! She's someone's slave!" He looked at Mal, appalled. "Not any more she's not," he answered grimly. "Look at what they did to her" Simon breathed out in shock, peeling the shirt down her back. The unmistakeable shape of lash marks covered her from her collar right down to the waist of her pants, crisscrossing the skin of her back. "It's all old scar tissue, nothing recent. Where did you find her?" Simon asked. "Let's see to her shoulder doc" he answered back tersely. It took a bit of effort but with Mal's help Simon forced the joint back into position. He applied some tape over her shoulder, and carefully slid the shirt back into place. He took a step back from the table and turned to Mal. "She should be fine" Simon said, "but she's going to have one hell of a headache when she wakes up..." he trailed off as Mal interrupted. "Can you wake her up now?" Mal demanded roughly."Um, no?," Simon answered "did you miss the part where I said her brain was bleeding and…" Mal cut him off mid-sentence "Do it. I need to talk to her."
Simon shook his head disapprovingly and muttered to himself under his breath but did as the captain ordered. The drug woke the woman in a rush. Her eyes opened wide and she gasped in air, fighting to sit up. "Where am I?" she asked in a panicked voice, struggling to get off the table. "Shy?" She turned to face the owner of the voice, wincing at the sharp pain in her head. Her eyes widened as she recognized the man she had tried to rob. She eyed him warily. "Where in the gorram verse am I?" She demanded, her voice rough with pain. She clutched involuntarily at her pounding head, only to cry out in pain when she tried to move her shoulder. "Shy, don't you recognize me?" Mal asked again. Now that he knew he couldn't see how he'd missed it before. Shy narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you want with me?" she demanded, ignoring his question. "You got no cause to hold me here..." she looked around again, an edge of desperation creeping into her voice. "Am I on a gorram ship?" Shy looked around her for something, anything she could use as a weapon. Her gaze landed on a scalpel, but the doc snatched it away before she could reach for it. Shy rewarded him with a dirty look. Mal held his hands up placatingly in front of him. "We rescued you from the sheriff" he offered her a half-truth. "So you could kidnap me?" Shy asked disbelievingly. Mal smiled tentatively, tried again. "Shy? You are Cheyenne Reynolds aren't you?" He held up her wallet and showed her the ident card. "So?" Shy answered defiantly, "what if I am?"
"From Shadow?" Mal continued patiently. "There's nowhere called Shadow anymore, or ain't you heard?" Shy asked in a bitter voice. "I've heard well enough Cheyenne. I'm from Shadow too..." Malcolm trailed off. This was not going as well as he'd imagined. He flinched at a loud thumping noise on the door. "You about done in there?" Jayne yelled from the other side, "I'm bleeding all over the gorram floor out here Mal." He pushed roughly against the door trying to force his way in. "Wait yer gorram turn Jayne. And quit bleedin on my boat" he shouted back unsympathetically. He turned back towards Shy only to find her holding the doc with a scalpel at his throat. Simon offered him a sickly, apologetic smile. Mal sighed. Counted to 10 in his head. "You gonna kill my doc after he patched you up?" he asked her in a weary voice. "Maybe" she answered, her tone mutinous, but she loosened her grip and Simon scrambled in a completely undignified manner to the door and glared at Mal as he made his escape.
Jayne roughly shoved his way in. "You want me ta shoot her Mal?" he offered grimly. "No!" Mal shouted, "I'm the gorram captain of this boat and nobody's shootin' anybody 'less I say so, hear me?" He turned and glared at Shy "As for you? You point a gun, a knife, your finger, anything at one more member of my crew, and I'll be the one shootin' you, dong ma?" Shy nodded tersely, still eyeing him warily. Mal sighed. "Listen, Cheyenne? You maybe got no cause to believe me but..." He trailed off searching for the right words to express his thoughts. In the end he just blurted it out. "I got reason to think you might be my sister alright? My name's Malcolm Reynolds and I was born on Shadow too. Had me a little sister named Cheyenne. Seems nigh on an impossible coincidence that you would have the same name and look about you and not be her." He stopped abruptly, staring intently at her. Shy stared back numbly. "Malley?" she asked faintly, the name rolling off her tongue awkwardly. She took a half step backward, before her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out again. Mal broke her fall before she hit the floor and lifted her in his arms, placing her back on the table in the med bay. "Simon!" he yelled, but the doctor was already there, peeling back her eyelids and looking at her pupils. He did another scan, administered more medications. "Brain bleed started again. She needs rest captain, I won't wake her again." He turned dismissively from the captain and gestured for Jayne to come in. "We best see to your foot before you bleed any more on the floor Jayne."