"Pleasure doin' business with ya, as always," said the short balding man known only as Badger.
"Wish I could say the same," Malcolm Reynolds replied in a dark tone, then turned to leave, counting his coins, but stopped at the door. Turning back, he asked "What're you doin' on Paradiso, Badger? Your normal stompin' ground is Persephone."
"Ran into a little trouble core-side," the cockney replied, "thought it best to lay low for a while."
"And if Book was right," Mal replied as he left, "if there really is a God in Heaven, you'll stay there."
Mal passed through the hallways of the small establishment leading back to the main bar, and sat at the table with Simon and Zoë. The doctor had taken to wearing jeans and t-shirts ever since Jayne's death two months ago. At first it was the shirts, then one day Kaylee talked him into wearing jeans to relax and he had been wearing them ever since. He still couldn't abide wearing dirty clothing, however, and maintained his tidy appearance.
Zoë drained her glass and looked at her watch. After a moment she spoke "Kaylee was supposed to be here over an hour ago."
"Do you think something happened to her?" Simon said, not bothering to hide his fear.
"We have to consider that she's been found, sir," the first mate said, "we may want to cut our losses and—"
"We are not leaving her!" Mal half-shouted, slamming his fist down and glaring fiercely at his first mate.
Zoë knew better than to say anything now, she simply nodded, and looked down at her drink. A few minutes passed in silence, which was broken by the cheery voice of the ship's mechanic calling "Hey, guys, cap'n."
Simon immediately stood and hugged the lovely Kaylee, and Mal asked "Where in the jiu céng de dì yù you been?"
"Sorry, cap'n," Kaylee said, her arms still around Simon, "but took some time t'hash out where the bèn dàn hid himself."
"So did you come up with anything?" Zoë asked.
"Sure'n I did," Kaylee replied happily, "Got us a real good payin' one, too."
"Well don't hold us in suspense, darlin'," Mal urged, "what is it and how good payin'?"
"I ain't sure what exactly," Kaylee admitted, "but it's right here on Paradiso."
"So what about this 'good payin'' part?" Mal asked.
Kaylee grinned and cupped her hands in front of her mouth, tittering with excitement, and after a moment of suspense, said "One hundred thousand."
Zoë remained silent, jaw hanging. Simon started "One hundred thousand, that's . . ." but trailed off, unable to process it.
"Cí cái shén, shén wo de nèi xin , that's a lot, is what it is!" Mal finished for him.
"Who is giving us this job?" Simon asked finally.
"Remember those folks t'the north with Bowdan's Malady?"
"As I remember," Zoë replied, "they were indirectly involved with the captain losing an ear."
Mal nervously scratched his ear said "We ain't bein' hired by Niska again, are we?"
"Oh, no, Cap'n," Kaylee assured him, "It's the folks themselves. The sheriff there wants us to meet with 'im in a couple hours."
Mal nodded, and said "Right, then, looks like we're off. Doc, you go back to Serenity with Kaylee, Zoë and I'll head up, see what th' good lawman wants."
The situation was settled, and the four split to head their own ways. Simon and Kaylee watched the captain and first mate get into a horse-drawn carriage and pull away, then started their own journey back to Serenity. Despite his initial reaction to seeing her safe, the doctor said very little on the trip back, remaining uncharacteristically introverted. Kaylee had gotten used to this. Ever since the raid where Jayne was lost to them, he'd grown more and more distant. She began to see that they had been the best kind of friends, but never would have admitted it. He was wearing the same kinds of clothes the mercenary had worn now, even took to swearing every once in a while. Jayne's death must have done something terrible to him.
The mechanic tried every way to help ease him of his burden, but for some reason, everything she tried just seemed to make him sink farther into himself. She didn't understand it, the time should be helping him recover, not making him worse. Even Zoë had gotten over Wash for the most part. Sure, she had her days; Kaylee would walk by her bunk and hear her crying. But they became less and less frequent; she had even regained her humor. She still had difficulty talking about it, but she could do it now. But for some reason, Simon just wasn't coping. The more she thought about it, the more Kaylee was sure that she was causing this, especially with the way River had reacted.
----------
Back on Serenity, River sat in Jayne's old room, staring at a picture of him with his mother. She had stopped crying about an hour ago, but she knew that she would start again soon. She did this whenever she was alone on the ship, or when everyone else was asleep. She would cry herself to sleep and wake up and cry some more. No one saw her, though. She moved into his room soon after he had been buried, and spent most of her time there. Simon tried periodically to comfort her, to help her deal with the loss, but she just dismissed him, not wanting his help. Jayne wouldn't want her to be dependant on her big brother anymore. So it was when the tears started flowing again. She was so hurt by her loss, so regretful that she'd never told him how she really felt, so angry with her own weakness, she started punching the wall, causing the sheet metal to dent and her knuckles to split open. She collapsed again, sobbing on the floor, wishing she would have died instead. Jayne was so much stronger than her.
"Oh my god," carried to her ears from the entrance in the form of Inara's voice.
River looked up, but couldn't stop the tears, she knew she couldn't lie her way out of this. Inara rushed to River's side and held her, offering soothing sounds and phrases. When the ship's pilot finally quieted, Inara asked "Is this how you've been spending your time alone?"
River said nothing, but the look in her eyes was all the confirmation Inara needed, holding her close, saying "Oh, mì you. Why didn't you tell anyone?"
The girl cradled in the companion's arms was silent for a moment, then said quietly "Because Jayne wanted me to be strong."
"Ài cheng," Inara soothed, "Even Jayne grieved. You have to share this with us. We all want to help you. I know how you really felt about him, even if the others didn't."
"Jayne wouldn't want me to—" River began, but broke down into more tears, hugging Inara tightly.
A few minutes passed, and the girl regained her composure, and Inara said "Listen to me, honey, there is no shame or weakness in crying."
"I can testify t'that," Kaylee said from the open entrance, "I seen him cry more'n once, on account o' less important things."
River stared at her friend, who appeared to be holding back her own tears as she descended the small steps and walked over. Kneeling, Kaylee placed her hand on River's shoulder, her held back tears now escaping in streams down her face. River saw, though, that Kaylee's tears weren't just over this. She was nearly crying before she stumbled upon this situation, it just augmented things. River asked sympathetically "What's wrong?"
Inara heard this and looked more closely, and saw that something else was indeed causing Kaylee's distress. The mechanic remained perfectly still for a moment, biting her lower lip, then she began to sob as well. This cause River to respond in kind, and the two simply held each other in tears. Inara comforted them both, making an interesting triad for Simon to stumble across. He saw what was happening, but said nothing, and retreated to his infirmary.
---------
The carriage pulled into a large house in the mining colony towards the center of town. Mal thanked the driver and stepped out, followed by Zoë's stoic form. Looking around, the gaze of Serenity's captain fell on a well-maintained building citing the word "Sheriff." Looking back at his first mate, he said cheerfully "Looks like we're here"
and walked into the structure.
Zoë followed, and was unimpressed by the meager accommodations. The main room was demure, lacking any real decoration save for a desk by the far wall. Sitting behind the desk was a man they both recognized as the same sheriff who had allowed them to escape after the initial train job. Standing, the surly man gave a slight nod and said "Malcolm Reynolds, is it?"
"That's my proper name, yes," Mal replied.
"I can't remember what you told me your name was last time," the sheriff continued, "But it's nice to see you again."
Mal nodded and said "So I understand you have some business you wish to discuss?"
"That's right," the sheriff responded, "It's about Bowden's Malady. More specifically the fact that an alliance medical research facility on Osiris, called the Omicron Center, has developed a cure that they're refusing to share."
"Wait," Mal interrupted, "hold on, now, I think I see where this is goin'. You want us to mosey on into an alliance den on a core planet to steal what is likely highly protected stuff, right?"
"The job pays one hundred thousand platinum, half up-front," the sheriff tempted, "We need that cure, Captain Reynolds."
"This 'Omicron Center,'" Zoë said, "doesn't happen to be headed by General Ryan Gates, does it?"
Mal looked at her quizzically, and the sheriff nodded. Zoë huffed and said "We can't do this job, sir," addressing Mal.
Serenity's captain looked back and forth and said "Why not? Who's General Ryan Gates?"
"My brother in law used to work at that facility," Zoë said, "it's protected by a dedicated response force that's always stationed right there on the grounds."
Mal's head jerked in the direction of the sheriff and said "There's a dedicated response force on the grounds?" then turned back to Zoë asking "What's a dedicated response force?"
"It's a seventeen man squad of highly trained alliance killers," the sheriff responded, "and they've already been taken care of."
"I'm supposed to believe that you have somehow magically nullified the threat of a gorram dedicated response force?" Mal demanded.
"I haven't," the sheriff replied calmly, "He has," and indicated towards the side door, where a man stood just outside, visible through the window.
Mal looked the man over with suspicion, not convinced that their troubles were so easily dissuaded. He was a man of average height and a broad build with semi-long brown hair tied back, wore a long black coat over blue jeans and a red shirt, and carried a large black duffel bag. His face was handsome, though not overly so, strong cheekbones and jaw with deep eyes was tempered by a hooked nose. When he noticed that everyone was looking at him, he entered and set his bag on the floor, nodded to the sheriff and stood silently.
"Captain Reynolds," the sheriff addressed, "I'd like you to meet Mark Maliss."
The newcomer extended a hand which Mal shook out of courtesy, then asked "How'd you gum up the attack monkeys?"
"I have my ways," Mark replied simply, "But I'll ensure that they stay that way during the mission."
Mal stared blankly for a moment, then said "Wait, you want him to go with us?"
"He's the only man who can neutralize the response force," the sheriff said, "And don't worry, he's already been paid, you still get your full wage."
Mal looked at Zoë, who shrugged, saying "I'll keep an eye on him."
"Just a minute ago," Mal said, "you said we couldn't do this job, now it seems like you're all for it."
The first mate shrugged again and said nothing. Mal puffed out an exasperated breath and said "Fine, come with us, but so long as you're on my ship, you follow my orders, dòng bu dòng?"
Mark nodded and Mal approached the sheriff, saying "Alright, we'll do it. But I swear to tian tang bìng dì yù you'd better be bein' straight with us," and with that, he left, followed by Zoë and their new accomplice: Mark Maliss.