AN: I don't own anything. I just like getting Mal in trouble.
Old Friends
Seeing old friends during intense situations was never a good sign. Somehow it always seemed like Mal ended up getting shot at, or stabbed, or robbed. Add that to the fact that this particular woman had kind of annoyed him back in the war and he could tell things were going to get bad real soon.
Admittedly Mal had been cheating in the card game and he had been stupid enough to leave Zoe in charge of Serenity and to allow Jayne to disappear into a crowd of disreputable looking women. He had also been caught cheating, which wasn't entirely his fault, or so he tried to convince himself. Then Mal had caught sight of Cody Jameson in the bar. Well, technically he had landed on the table she was sitting at after being thrown by gentlemen who had an unhealthy attachment to their money.
"Mal Reynolds?" Though she looked surprised to see him, he was irritated that she had somehow managed to keep a hold of her drink when the table had collapsed under him.
"Cody." he struggled gamely to his feet, trying to do so before the aforementioned gentlemen got close enough to grab him.
"Let me guess, cheating?"
The man that Mal had privately dubbed 'Ratface' said. "Out of the way Jameson." Mal groaned, an old friend who appears to have a reputation among people wanting to hurt him meant only more badness.
Cody scowled, apparently she disliked Ratface which was yet another bad sign to add to the grand total. "Who died and made you the king of me?"
"He was cheating!"
"Which you only caught him at because you play with a stacked deck, marked cards and a handy guy who signals what everyone else is holding."
The other two players turned away from Mal to glare suspiciously at Ratface. "That true?"
The fight was now neatly diverted along another track which did not involve Mal. He grinned as Ratface was tackled by a man who hadn't even been part of the game in the first place. "This would be a good time to leave." Cody picked up a coat that annoyed Mal by not being brown enough for his taste and walked out, leaving her mostly empty glass on a table that had yet to be destroyed by the latest brawl.
Since she was right, Mal followed. "Any truth in those accusations?"
Cody shrugged. "Probably, seems like the type of thing he'd do."
Mal was impressed, despite all the bad signs he hadn't really been injured and he'd walked away with his winnings.
Or at least he thought he'd gotten away with all his winnings. River had helpfully pointed out that Cody had taken exactly ten percent of his money.
Yup, meeting old friends was definitely a bad sign.