River's Match
"Who is this?"
River frowned, creasing her brow while she fought back the powerful desire to stick her tongue out at Mingo.
"New pilot," Mal answered. "Figured it wouldn't hurt none for her to hear whereabouts she's gonna have to fly my boat for this job."
"Where's Jayne," Nandi asked, casting nervous glances about the bar.
"He'll be here by and by. In the mean time, why don't we discuss this here job? Time as they say gentlemen is money and we all of us could stand to make some money. Now couldn't we?"
Mingo cut his eyes to glance at Nandi who just shrugged.
"Or, we could wait till Jayne get's here. Iffn' that would make the two of you feel a bit more relaxed and shiny about this negotiation."
"Mal, it's not that your new pilot," Mingo started…
"It's that we're used to Jayne," Nandi finished.
"Worried you are that Jayne lies in wait to do harm," River sing songed.
"We can do this later," Mingo offered, standing up.
"Worried you no longer need be. Jayne the man, not a girl, is here. Ordering alcohol is he."
Relieved, Malcolm made eye contact with the big mercenary and nodded for him to join them. Walking in a deliberately straight line, forcing other smaller criminals to move out of his path, Jayne began working his way to the corner booth where Mingo and Nandi regularly did business.
River giggled like a schoolgirl watching Jayne bull his way towards the booth. "Alpha male is Jayne. Trouble comes soon if Jayne not a girl is not careful." Malcolm, sensing disaster looming for the deal, touched River's leg gently beneath the table, hoping she would read his mind.
Not now little Albatross. Not now. We need this job.
"Just sayin'," River protested, folding her arms and pouting as Jayne grabbed a chair from a nearby table and without asking the occupants dragged it over to the booth to sit down. He nodded a silent greeting to their perspective employers and drank half his drink down quickly before slamming the tall glass on the table.
"Gentlemen. Mal. Moonbrain. Let's get this here deal negotiated so I can have some down time and blow off a little steam afore 'n' we gotta get offa this here rock."
River sat up suddenly, her brown eye's widening.
"Uh-oh," Jayne muttered in recognition. "Mal, Moonbrain's got that look! Is it Reavers? Alliance? Do I need to fetch muh weapons?"
"Deceive she does," River whispered. "Seems to be what she is not."
"River, speak to me," Mal ordered, holding his hand up with his palm facing Mingo and Nandi. "What are you readin'?"
"Challenge me she will! Professional is she," River answered, her expression becoming grim.
Jayne relaxed and reached for his glass, turning to look at the patrons of the bar and see who River was focused on.
"What is going on with her," Nandi hissed, grabbing Jayne's thick forearm.
"Hey now, no need to be getting' all familiar or nuttin," Jayne growled, yanking his arm away. "I don't go for none of that sissy man stuff. You try that again and I'll hurt you bad."
"Mal," Mingo said firmly. "I insist you explain what it is your pilot is rambling about."
"Don't you worry your pretty little brain about it none," Jayne growled, grabbing a mug of beer off the tray as a barmaid walked past. "She ain't lookin' at none of us, so ain't none of us in no danger."
"Danger has arrived," River whispered. "Collateral damage cares not she, no, she cares not at all. Deceives she does and dangerous she is."
River stood up in the seat of the booth and stepped on the table. Jayne quickly leaned back out of the way as the slender woman jumped to the floor and began working her way towards the stairs leading to the ground floor where the bar was located.
Mingo and Nandi started to rise from their seats only to freeze at the sound of the hammer of a pistol cocking. "Ain't no need to be worrin' none," Mal said bluntly. "River is a first rate fighter. Fact of the matter is, y'all done seen her tussle before. She ain't got no beef with either of the two of ya, so jess sit and watch. Might learn somethin' worth knowin' I reckon."
"My money is on Moonbrain," Jayne said with confidence. "I done seen that skinny little gal take on a whole gorram buncha Reavers and kill'em all she did."
Taking their cue from Mal who watched River make her way towards a group of newcomers at the bar with a grim expression on his face and a smiling Jayne who was obviously expecting a brawl to start, Mingo and Nandi sat back down. They didn't really have a choice as Jayne had put his left leg up on the edge of the seat on their side of the booth and blocked their escape.
Sitting at the bar were four strangers, at least strange from the view from above. On the far right sat a woman dressed much the way Zoe dressed except in black. The dark clothing matched the woman's shoulder length hair. She slammed down a shot glass and motioned for the barkeep to fill it again.
On the raven-haired woman's right was a muscular, fit looking man. Dressed in a mix of civilian clothes and greenish military style clothing, the likes of which weren't recognizable as being from any army known at the time, the man finished a beer and like the woman, motioned for another.
To the woman's left sat a smallish male. Dressed like the bigger man, the male looked more like a boy on the edge of becoming a man than anything else. To the young male's left was a slender woman with long dark brown hair. Dressed in combat boots, cargo pants and a purple leather jacket.
River walked up right behind the young woman and proceeded to launch a kick using the slender woman's head as a target. Before River's booted foot could land the desired knockout blow, the other woman spun and struck River in her sternum, sending the little assassin flying across the room.
"Uh oh, Mal," Jayne shouted. "We got us another Moonbrain."
As the huge mercenary took off for the stairs, Mal closed his mouth and shook his head in astonishment.
"You two stay put," he warned Mingo and Nandi. "I reckon any movin' bout during this here ruckus would make the two of you a target of sorts. Wouldn't want anything to happen now would we?"
"Deceiver you are," River shouted as she pulled herself up from the floor.
Mal shook his head in disbelief. "Simon has some explaining to do when we get back. He didn't ever say nothin' about River having a twin."
Silence fell over the bar as the patrons slowly moved back. Familiar with River's talent for mayhem, they merely wanted to reach a safe seat from which to watch the brawl.
"I have made no effort to deceive you," her twin in pants and leather answered, tilting her head to the right. "Please explain why you assaulted me without provocation?"
"Room only for one. You make two," River screeched as she launched herself at the emotionless woman still standing by the bar.
"Hey, you," Jayne shouted, drawing the attention of the woman in purple. "Don't go causin' no trouble in this here bar. It's our place and you bein' a stranger an all, you need to jess leave."
Without speaking, the woman in purple leaned slightly to her right and struck out with blinding speed with her left leg, sending Jayne flying back in the direction he'd come from.
"We don't want any trouble," the dark haired woman said, standing up from the bar. "We'll go. Pay our tab," she ordered to the man on her right.
"Not from now, not from our day," River sang. "Time in a straight line does not move," she taunted.
Stumbling to his feet, Jayne rushed at the strange woman. River launched another attack in the same instant. Both collided with River's twin, knocking the woman down. Screams erupted, both deep and high. Jayne rolled away collapsing in the fetal position, gasping to draw a breath of air. River sprang up, holding the back of her head, fury and hate blazing from her eyes.
"It makes no logical sense for you and your partner to attack me. You have neither the weapons nor the tactics to defeat me. I provoked neither of you," the woman informed River in a monotone. "Attack again and I will be forced to cause serious injury."
The smaller of the two males, pulled the young woman's sleeve as he and the other two older adults moved towards the exit.
"It's okay," he said calmly. "It's just a territorial misunderstanding. There is no threat to me if we leave."
Looking down at the left sleeve of her purple jacket, the woman noticed a scuff. "She damaged my jacket," she said in her monotone. Pulling away from the smaller male, she took a step towards River and increased the volume of her speech.
"You damaged my leather jacket. It was a gift from my John. Damage it again and I will terminate you."
River watched as the group of four left quietly. Jayne stood up and groaned in pain. "Moonbrain, don't go startin' no fights you can't win."
"Deceiver she is. Is not what she seems."
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