The space station was crowded. And that had to be the biggest understatement of the century. Jenn shoved her way forward, trying to fight against the flow of people going in the opposite direction toward the mail depot. She knew he was going to be here somewhere. She'd been tracking him for almost a month now, he had to be here.
She pushed past a man carrying a sack over his back that hissed as he passed and smelled like crap. She shook her head and kept pushing forward, passed families and couples and very strange looking people.
Finally she heard it, his big booming laugh. Not his joyful laugh, or his happy laugh, but the laugh he would laugh when he was nervous, very nervous. She surged forward faster, pushing against the crowd drawing toward his voice. She could just make out his conversation now.
". . . and as I said, as soon as I know more, you'll know more," His voice came across the crowded area clear and firm. If there was one thing to be said about Malcolm Reynolds, it was that the man could talk his way out of just about any mess there was. Even though that mess was of his own making.
"I'll give you another three days Mal," a man with a sloppy English accent said, "but after three days, I'll have to hand the contract off to someone else, and then hire someone to kill you for not coming through on something this big. And I don't really have the credits to be doin all that right now."
A cold shock passed down Jenn's spine, had that man really just talked about putting a hit out on Mal with such nonchalance? He had to have been joking. Who talked about things like that so coldly? Jenn surged forward faster, fighting harder against the crowd and straining to hear the rest of the conversation.
"Well then we'll just be on our way and see if we can't help you out with the credit problem you're having." Mal said. Even though she couldn't see him, she could hear the smile in his voice.
"Three days Mal, don't make me regret this."
"Do I ever?"
They said something else as Jenn rounded the corner next to a stand selling ice planets. She almost barreled into a small Chinese boy talking excitedly in mandarin to another boy.
"Sorry," she called behind her as she skirted to the side and continued at run toward where she last heard Mal's voice. It was no good; he was gone by the time she got there. She spun around and tried to catch sight of him, but she was short, too short to see over the crowd that was swarming in from a recent transport drop off.
"Gāisǐ," she cursed under her breath, "Mal where did you go?" She spun again, still unable to catch sight of him.
Then she heard it, his laugh, coming from behind her, back toward the mail depot. She spun on her heel and took off after him again, having a much easier time now that she wasn't fighting against a swarm of people.
A few more feet and she could just see the top of his head in the distance. She knew it was him by that same old brown duster coat he'd had for longer than she could remember. She did find it slightly amazing that this close to the central planets no one seemed to be bothered by a brown coat openly displaying his colors. Maybe these people just didn't care.
After another minute of running she was just a few feet behind him. She could see now that he had Zoe with him, as always, right at his side. She smiled and came to a halt a few feet away.
She sucked in a breath and, as loud as she could, said, "Malcolm Reynolds!"
On instinct he and Zoe turned and their hands went to their holsters. A very large man Jenn hadn't seen on Mal's left turned also and all but pulled a huge gun from inside his jacket.
For a split second Mal took in the sight of her standing there and then without warning he rushed forward and grabbed Jenn around the middle. He lifted her up and spun her around; hugging her so tight she couldn't breathe.
"Ō, wǒ de shàngdì, nǐ shì shénme doing all the way out here? Why aren't you at home? How did you get here? Who's watching the ranch?" Mal fired off questions faster than Jenn could understand. She laughed and hugged him back.
"Mal I can't understand a word you're saying. Slow down," Jenn laughed.
"Uh, Captain," Zoe said, still standing with her hand over her gun, "perhaps you'd like to explain why you're pouncing on people in the middle of a crowded space station."
"Aren't you rude," Jenn said laughing.
Mal shot Jenn a warning look and turned back to his friends, "Zoe, Jane, meet Jennifer Reynolds."