Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly, unfortunately; Joss Whedon is the brilliant mind who has come up with it. I am just borrowing the characters for a spell.

A/N: It's been ages since I've first posted, so here's a little refresher.


Captain Malcolm Reynolds swore, and looked at Zoe's cards. "Zoe, that's the fifth round you've won in a row! Can't ya jus' let your Cap'n win every once in a while? I ain't takin' too kindly to bein' outdone."

After receiving the Look, however, he took that as a no and pushed away from the table. "Well, I'm gonna get a drink, anyhow. Bu huihen de pofu."

Walking to the counter, he noticed a cute little redhead sitting at the counter. Swinging gracefully into the seat next to her, startling her, he ordered his drink. He gave her a roguish wink, and could practically feel Zoe rolling her eyes. She smiled prettily, a deep blush instantly flaming up her cheeks. Mal grinned and took a swig.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she seemed to consider something. Having apparently come to a decision, she turned suddenly and looked at him. Mal blinked at the quick movement and wondered if the alcohol was actually starting to affect him.

"Sir. I need to talk to you." Well, now, that's an odd request. Hardly know the girl.

"Sure, little missy. What can I do for you?"

She glanced over her shoulder nervously, and continued. "Sir—"

"Call me Mal." He leaned a little closer.

"Okay, Mal it is. Have you ever heard the name 'Badger'?"

At these words his stomach turned to stone, and he slowly turned to fully face her. Pinning her with his stare, he said in a low, dangerous voice, "Now we paid him, y'hear? Gave him back the money. We don't want any trouble, see?" All traces of his sloppy grin were gone, his eyes cold as ice.

She looked confused for a moment, that was not the answer she'd expected, nor the reaction. "No, you've got it all wro—"

He cut across her. "Y'know what? Never mind. Let's go."

Once outside, Mal held her to the wall, gun cocked at her face. Seeing that had an effect, he asked her, "What does he want. Tell me, now."

The girl stammered, her eyes wide. "W-well, I h-heard two men talking, they was talking, 'bout you guys."

Clenching his jaw, Mal pressed, "And what was they sayin'?"

"The one guy, Grimes, was tellin' the other guy that Badger tipped 'em off, an' he better do the job real quick-like an' subtle."

Mal relaxed his grip a little, she wasn't goin' anyplace. "What was the job? Did they say?"

"I dunno, they didn' really, he just said to keep it quiet, real quiet. So the other guy went in, an' so I thought I'd warn you guys, I seen you here earlier."

"Oh, so you come here to warn us, s'that it?" At her timid nod, he uncocked the gun and put it back in the holster, a mite sceptical. He pulled her away from the wall in front of Jayne, saying, "Jayne, bring her. We're goin' back to the ship, now."

So, on with the story...


Brianna stumbled, but Jayne's firm grip on her arm kept her from falling. Breathing heavily, she sighed in relief when Mal held up a hand, halting them in an alleyway on the way to their ship. She shrugged off Jayne's hand and sat down to catch her breath.

"Zoe, you researched the lay of the land here, which way are we goin'?" Mal asked.

"The docks are that way, over east – I reckon we better get there quick. What d'you think's the situation here?" Zoe asked, jerking her head at Brianna.

Mal turned to look at Brianna. "Well? Care to clear anything up?"

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I told you everything already! All's I heard, this 'Badger' tipped off them two as to your location. So, seeing as you ain't exactly from around here, I may as well warn you. No need to get all tetchy 'bout it."

Raising an eyebrow, Mal remarked, "S'funny, that. You only warned us because you heard some stuff about somebody and figured it was us, the poor outsiders drunk in the bar that might've needed some savin'? There ain't exactly anything in it for you in that equation there, sweetheart."

She shot up, fuming. "Why's that so hard to believe? Do ya always just assume everyone only look out for themselves? Can't someone warn someone else just in the interest of helpin' them? I ain't got no hidden agendas."

Mal's eyes turned hard as he locked eyes with her. "After all I've seen, I have a hard time believin' that someone would do this outta the pure goodness of their heart." He turned to Zoe. "Which's the fastest way to the ship?"

"That'd be over that way, through the alleyways, and past some patrol office or other. After that, it's a clear shot to Serenity."

Brianna gasped in alarm. "That's no way to go! That goes straight past one of Their buildings! We'll all be caught! That can't happen!"

Mal shot a glance at Jayne, who was standing guard with Vera. "Well, now. Now we're getting somewhere. Seein' as we ain't from around here, mind tellin' us who They are?" His tone became dangerous. "That wouldn't happen to be the Alliance, by any chance?"

Brianna shuddered. "No, They ain't Alliance. They're Regulators. Under no one's authority, They are. They have an understanding with the Alliance, see? They govern K'ton and the rest of the system by themselves, and in exchange, the Alliance leave them alone."

Mal frowned. "That don't seem like the Alliance. They don't get much outta that deal."

Brianna sighed, "The Alliance first came 'round here 'bout three, four years ago. Waltzed right in and demanded they be made the boss of these parts. Not much to show for it, really, just a couple o' squads and their guns. Well, the Regulation runs a tight operation 'round here, and they weren't about to give it up to some hoity-toity Alliance. Not much's known 'bout what they did to show the Alliance the door, but they sure left in a hurry with their tails between their legs. Ever since, Alliance's been keeping pretty quiet, stayin' well away. They don't bother us, we don't bother them. 'S pretty simple." She shrugged.

Zoe interjected. "So that's why we've never heard of K'ton. Alliance don't like not gettin' what they want."

Mal was grim-faced. "They want to appear in complete control, full power – no wonder they don't mention some backworld that managed to trounce 'em. Anyhaps, still don't solve our problem at hand, how to get to Serenity."

Brianna's eyes lit up. If she could get aboard that ship, she'd be out! "Well, quickest way's the route she mentioned earlier, but I know a way that would only pass by one, maybe two Regulators. Heck of a lot safer."

Mal narrowed his eyes. "Still rarin' to help us out, huh? There's gotta be something you want. What is it?"

"Well, I guess you'll owe me, so I'll figure it out later. Meanwhile, someone named Anderson's after you, followed you to the bar. We need to shake him."

Jayne grinned. "Guy in a white dress? Yeah, we shook 'im alright. Pretty hard, too."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "When was that?"

Mal frowned. "Before we went in the bar. Why?"

"The two men I heard talking, one of them was wearing a Regulator's uniform – I don't think Anderson would pose as one too, that'd be way too dangerous." Her eyes went wide as she gasped, "You killed a real Regulator! We gotta move, now!"

Mal started to speak, but Brianna slapped a hand over his mouth at the sound of footsteps. He grabbed her arm and pulled her hand away sharply, glaring at her, and dragged her into the small gap between two buildings. Zoe followed, then Jayne. With her arm squashed awkwardly between Mal and a wall, and unable to move it from his grasp, she inhaled sharply when he shifted to watch the alley, prompting him to cover her mouth this time with another hard glare. Brianna stiffened, as the four of them froze there, waiting for the footsteps to pass by. They became increasingly loud, and then the fake Regulator she overheard came into view. She relaxed slightly; the real Regulator, whatever shape he was in, had not drawn the attention of the rest. Yet.

The sound of his footsteps faded away, and Mal removed his hand from her mouth, but kept a firm hold on her wrist. Jayne left their hiding place, gun first.

"All clear."

"Let's move, people. Which way?" Mal addressed Brianna.

"Over that way, it brings us 'round another way instead of passing the Regulation building, and we'll have the cover of those shipping containers there to get to your ship."

Mal frowned at her use of "we" in respect to reaching Serenity, then reloaded his gun and jerked Brianna in the direction she had pointed.


They reached the storage containers, and came into view of the docks, and Serenity. Brianna's heart beat faster, they were almost there! Mal drew her aside as they kept out of sight behind a big orange container, couple hundred yards from the ship. He faced her.

"We've reached our ship, thanks to you. But I think, you don't wanna leave just yet."

She eyed him anxiously and said, "What makes you say that, exactly?"

He crossed his arms. "Well, I got the notion that you plan on coming with us, aboard our ship. Now what makes a pretty little girl like yourself need to leave? It ain't so bad, really. No Alliance, that's for sure. I can't help but thinkin' you mighta got yourself knee-deep in cowpies."

He stepped closer and gripped her upper arm, holding his gun in his other hand as a firm reminder.

"What'd you do? 'Cause I ain't doing nothin' for anybody that might endanger my crew. Helping you already mighta been just enough for these Regulators to come looking for us." He fixed his eyes on hers. "I can't have that." The gun twitched threateningly.

She swallowed, and opened her mouth to speak, but Zoe spoke first.

"Sir, there's someone approaching the ship." Brianna's heart leaped into her throat.

They looked and saw a man in white stride towards Serenity. Brianna's breath returned to normal somewhat as she realized it was still the fake Regulator.

"Captain Reynolds, that's the fake one. We need to get to your ship before the real ones arrive – he's easy enough to deal with."

Mal nodded. "Okay, Jayne, you go first with Vera. Zoe, you're with me." He looked at Brianna and decided, "You, you're not comin'. I want you to go back around that container there, and hide. Don't you dare move until after you know we've taken off, dong ma? Then I don't care what you do, just don't get caught."

Brianna flared and opened her mouth to protest, but Mal just turned away and crouched beside Zoe, ready for action. Jayne started out; Mal whipped around again.

"An' just for the record, if you do get caught, would you mind not tellin' them anythin'? That'd be right helpful. Thanks."

With a grin, he turned around again, only to come face-to-face with a gun barrel pointed straight between his eyes, the grin sliding right off his face. Brianna gasped as the fake Regulator came out from behind some fuel barrels holding Vera, to join Grimes who was currently pointing a rather big rifle of his own to Mal's face. The sound of a gun cocking was heard from behind her, and she turned to see a third man pointing his weapon at her.

"'Bout time you showed up, Anderson." Grimes, still trained on Mal, said, "We was beginning to worry. Hey," jerking his head at Mal, "'O's the redhead? Never seen 'er before. Not part of your posse, if I'm not mistaken."

"Just a stray we picked up along the way. By the by, Badger, if you're trying to hide yourself, try dropping the accent next time. Kinda dead giveaway." Mal smirked.

Brianna started. This is Badger?

Badger snarled. "Didn't take you long, did it 'ere, Sergeant? That's right – I get you to pull the job, and even after you gimme back the money I paid you, I still 'ave it in for ya. Strange little world, aye?" He started walking over towards Zoe. "Now, you're probably asking yourself, 'why in the 'verse would Badger have a problem with poor little us?' Well –"

"- we're not." Mal interrupted. "But please, continue. We're dyin' to hear your grand little plan." He gestured with his hands still in the air.

Badger tilted his head and squinted. "That almost sounded like an insult, there. I wouldn't be disrespectful, if I were you. I 'ave the upper hand, 'ere." He stepped right up to Mal's face and sneered. "I'm the one with the gun." He shoved the barrel into Mal's jaw.

As he went to cock the rifle to further prove his point, Brianna blinked and felt a weird sensation come over her that made her weak. The others all seemed to feel it too, Badger, his cronies, and the three outlanders alike all went weak in the knees, wavering a little. As the feeling passed, Badger looked in amazement as his rifle started to move and bend in on itself, the barrel coming right around, making a big crumpled mess of the weapon; Anderson's gun soon ended up the same way. Badger dropped it in surprise and backed up a few steps. Mal, looking as bewildered as Brianna felt, hesitated, then grabbed his own gun and pointed it at Badger, now in control.

"Aargh!!" The fake Regulator stepped forward, brandishing Vera angrily, but Zoe soon had her gun trained on him, and he dropped it instantly.

Mal grinned smugly. "I have no idea what just happened, but it looks to be in our favour. So, where were we, Badger?" Badger shrugged feebly, and gave a meek smile.

All of a sudden, their little standoff was surrounded by four men in white uniforms. Brianna's eyes widened, her breath hitched in her throat. The real Regulators had finally caught up with them.

"Captain Reynolds?"

"Yeah?"

"These ones are real."

"Yeah, thanks a bunch." Mal tensed, still pointing his gun at Badger, and addressed the closest man. "Howdy. How can I help you today?"

The Regulator just scowled at him. "Drop your weapon, sir, and you may survive."

Mal smiled genially. "We don't want any trouble, sir. Just lookin' to get to our ship and leave, we'll be outta your way in no time. Don't need no formal escorts or nothin', we'll be fine." Brianna noticed Jayne come up, nursing his head, and stop short at the sight. He slowly withdrew another gun from his ankle holster.

The Regulator commanded, "I will not offer again. Drop your weapon."

Mal shifted, but did not let go of the gun. When the Regulator saw he wouldn't back down, he nodded to the rest. They slowly started to bring their hands up over their heads to clasp them together; warning bells went off in Brianna's head.

"No! Don't let them!" She shouted in alarm, and the captain moved in a frenzy of motion. Mal spun and grabbed Brianna in a strong headlock, pointing the gun at her.

"Stop! Or I'll shoot!" He barked. The Regulators froze mid-action. Brianna struggled to move his arm, but it didn't budge.

"Now, seein' as you have some sorta quarrel with us, I'm gonna get me some answers right here and now, or she dies!" He shouted.

The lead Regulator smirked. "We have no problem with you. We're after her." He pointed at Brianna. "If you surrender her to us, you may leave. She cannot be damaged."

Mal clenched his jaw. "You think I'm stupid as all that? If I let her go, I ain't got nothin' to bargain with – we become a mite expendable. Now, this is how this is gonna go. You fellas stay right here, and I take her to our ship, and once I'm standing solidly on the ramp of my ship I'll let her go, and you can do whatever you want. Dong ma?"

She blanched. He was going to give her to Them! She began kicking as he started walking backwards, dragging her along with him, gun to her chin. Zoe and Jayne followed, keeping their weapons trained on the Regulators.

They reached the ship, and Zoe took out a squawk box. "Wash, open up. We're here." The ramp descended, and they backed onto it. They came to a stop and Brianna stood still, breathing heavily.

Mal relaxed his grip a little. "Well, we made it. She's all yours, as promised. One more thing – I'm gonna hit this little button here, close up the doors, and then I'll let her go." As he turned and punched the mechanism, Brianna grabbed his arm from around her neck with both hands, twisted underneath it and grabbed his gun.

The Regulator who had come up to the ship to collect her came to a dead stop as she pointed Mal's gun straight at him.

"Don't you move!" She shouted. She could feel the rumble of the ship's engines starting up. Then the ramp began to close as the airlock sealed tight, and she swung the weapon around to point at Mal, who put his hands up.

"I'm sorry I had to do that, I couldn't let you give me up." He set his jaw. Looking around her, she realized she didn't know what to do next. She felt the ship leave the ground, and closed her eyes in relief. She was safe. Then she heard the sound of a gun cocking and looked to see Zoe's gun on her.

"Just drop it." She snapped. Sighing, Brianna dropped the gun. Mal gave a wry smile, came up to her and picked up his gun, and the next thing she knew was a blinding burst of pain. She dropped, unconscious.

Mal hefted the gun in his hand and breathed sharply as he looked at the girl out cold on the deck. "O, zhe zhen shi ge kuai le de jin zhan."


Chinese:

Dong ma? - Understand?

O, zhe zhen shi ge kuai le de jin zhan. - Oh, this is a happy development. (Hee.)

So, I finally updated. I really have no words to describe how ashamed I am that it's BEEN OVER A WHOLE YEAR since I have updated – I really hate that when I read stories, so I'm really sorry. I recently reread the chapter when I received a review, and it got me reinspired. (Hopefully, that can happen for my other story, which is in similar shape...) If you enjoyed it, please let me know!