Chapter One 'What Jayne Finds'

Jayne grumbled as he lay on his stomach on the cold hard earth outside the grungy, compact group of buildings that the petty little warlord of this part of the tiny moon called ironically 'Pheonix.' He mentally snorted at the name. Who would name an eternally icy hunk of rock after a bird made of fire that resurrected itself over and over. Right now parts of his body, including a few he dearly didn't want to lose to frostbite, were going numb. The below freezing wind was hitting him like that of a slap of a whore not satisfied with just her pay for a quick roll, but intent on selling you out to the highest bidder off your enemies list.

Speaking of backstabbing whores, he hated it when Mal took one of Badger's jobs. Not only was the pay lousy, the jobs difficult and the casualty rate high, but he didn't trust the little bastard. The little man's snide attitude, shifty eyes and that ugly as sin tie of his made Jayne's instincts go on alert. He knew that one day, if he could keep from being implicated, Badger would turn over Serenity to anyone who asked for only a pat on the head and a few credits. Fortunately however, the man considered them of some use and was also scared that Jayne would pay him back ten-fold for any pain he deliberately put them through.

The man was right to be scared of the merc. Just because Jayne had stayed on through some bad times on Serenity did not mean he'd gone soft on the idea of all due payback. Yeah, he was as bloodthirsty and hard as ever. That reminded him, he had to pick up something for Zoe one of these days. Before the 'baby shower' Kaylee planned, but why they were going to shower a baby he had no idea.

"Earth-that-was to Jayne." Zoe's impatient voice rang through his earpiece comm.

Jayne rolled his eyes at the annoyance in her voice. He pulled his sidearm out of its holster attached to his belt and ejected the magazine to check . "Yeah Zo, I hear ya. Somethin' change?" He tried to keep the boredom out of his voice, and was marginally successful. Grabbing something as small as the proposed haul out of a building with such lax security was child's play. Not the challenge he'd been hoping for.

"Just wanted to remind you that the merchandise is in a small trunk in the third room on your right as you enter the building."

"Got it." Jayne hit the slide lock and the slide mechanism snapped into place. He slipped it back into his right holster. He started towards the cheaply fortified building in front of him where his goal lay. He was quite ready to prove to Mal that he could be trusted to handle jobs alone. He didn't know why he felt he had to prove himself to a guy his own age, but he did.

Normally Jayne wouldn't've been sent out on a job by himself with not even back-up, but they'd been left with no other choice. Mal had been injured on a recent bank job, one that couldn't be classified as a success by a long shot, and would only be a hindrance to a job where stealth was required. And with Zoe heavily pregnant, there'd been no other option but to sent Jayne out on his own.

After all, who else would back him up? Simon? Kaylee? Jayne snorted. And River was having a bad day and was only useful if you could speak Ancient Greek. The crazies in her head had decided that she was going to be Kassandra of Troy for the day. The girl may be getting better, but at least once a month she had a 'crazy day' as Jayne liked to call them.

"Don't get shot." Zoe warned.

"Aw, Zo. I didn't know you cared." He said with a grin. Of course she couldn't see it, but he knew she could hear it in his voice.

"Cause we can't afford to spend the medical supplies on you if we don't complete the job." She told him, taking the wind out of his sails. "So if you plan to get shot at least grab the trunk first."

Jayne didn't reply. Instead he started his trek towards the building. He'd noticed that security was ridiculously light before, but only one guard in sight? Ridiculous. And apparently the guy was deaf because Jayne even stepped on a stick that cracked ominously and the man didn't turn around. He rolled his eyes a put the man in a sleeper hold. Counting off the seconds, he felt the man go limp and he laid him on the ground.

He made it up to the main building, and came up to the side door. Eying the lock, he pulled a small knife out of the sheath on his left arm. He slid it into the lock and, with a bit of brute strength, he popped out the lock. Sheathing the knife, he pulled the door open with a self-satisfied grin.

Jayne slipped inside the building, and headed down the hallway, moving silently. He laughed to himself at the fact that everyone thought he couldn't move quieter than a lumber. He could, lumbering was just more fun. He counted off the doors on his left as he passed them; one...two...

Three. A steel door set in a drab concrete wall. An electronic keypad was on the wall beside it. Only the enhanced security of this door set it apart from the others along the hallway, and assured him that it was indeed the one he was looking for. He rolled up his right sleeve and looked at the numbers inked onto his skin on his forearm. He typed them into the keypad and the little red light on the interface went out, replaced by a similiarly small green one.

He gave a self-satisfied smile and pulled open the heavy metal door. He cursed like an angry, pained sailor of the Ancient Sea when he saw what was inside.

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This is the second version of Jayne and Charlie. The first was my first fanfic, and I wanted to rewrite it because the original one was so rough.

Please review and tell me what you think. The more detailed the review, the more I can understand how I want to write it.