Chapter 2
Mal stared after the young woman with what he was sure was a dumbstruck look on his face. He glanced over to Inara, who looked surprised and... slightly upset. Not that anyone who didn't know her would be able to tell; she was a pro at masking her emotions. It was even hard for him to tell how she really felt most of the time. But this had been so abrupt it had obviously taken her off guard. Mal wanted to know what it was about some stranger kissing him that would get Inara looking so unhappy; but he also wanted to know where the girl had gone. It only took him a moment to make up his mind to go after her, and he gave a nod to Zoe to let her know he was going.
"Cap'n?" the word, so familiar on her tongue, stopped him. "Really?"
"I'm curious is all," he answered. "I'll be back in two shakes."
He strode away from his crew, not wanting to lose sight of the girl in the crowd. He heard Jayne behind him sneer, "wish some pretty young thing would use me as a distraction," then an "Oww" when someone, probably Kaylee, hit him. Mal quickened his stride when he saw her duck out the door, and followed quickly outside.
It was already dark out, and it took him a moment for his eyes to adjust, and then another moment to find her again. Her form seemed to blend into the darkness so that it was hard to pick her out. But he saw her walk through a small crowd, turn a corner and disappear. He jogged over, turned the corner and caught sight of her walking briskly down the alleyway. An alleyway that didn't look too welcoming for a slip of a girl like her.
He lengthened his stride to keep up with her, but hell, she was a quick little thing. He almost had to go into a run just to catch up to her, but finally he was just a stride or two away. He could almost reach out and touch her, but decided against it. "Uh, wait, girl-woman-person."
At his call she stopped and turned with a look of disbelief on her face. "What are you doing?" she finally asked him, her brown eyes wide. Mal took another step closer, searching her gaze. He found that, even in this dim light, her eyes were bright, and not the brown he had originally thought, but almost golden hued, with flecks of green and brown. He could tell that she was panicked and flighty, she nearly trembled. He wondered, not for the first time, what she was hiding from.
"You ran out on me," he stated, taking another slower, more deliberate step forward. Something in her manner reminded him of a young filly; easily frightened and spooked, but graceful and quick.
"And you thought you'd follow me," she replied, taking a step back.
"I thought it was a mite rude of you, to be honest. Kissin' someone like that and then runnin' out, not even givin' me a name to call you by." Mal hooked his fingers into his belt, trying to exude confidence and calm.
"You want to know my name?" the girl asked, dumbfounded. Then she laughed.
"I'll even give you mine first. Mal Reynolds." He made an awkward bow; bowing not being something he did generally.
The bow must have looked even more awkward than it felt, because she laughed again, and Mal thought it was a sound he could listen to for awhile. It wasn't tinkling or bell-like, which is what you would almost expect, coming out of the mouth of a fragile-looking creature like her, but it was a real laugh. "Dani," she finally replied with a grin, and he found himself grinning back, for no good reason.
"Well, Dani, seems we're doin' this part backwards, but it's nice to meet you," Mal said, and stretched out his hand, which she took and shook. He was pleased to find she had a decent handshake; firm with a good grip. Mal met her gaze and held it, and something about it, something about her, he liked. A lot. It was like there was a spark between them that intensified the longer they held each other's gaze.
Suddenly something flickered in her eyes, and a panicked look entered them. "Wait. Mal Reynolds. Captain Malcolm Reynolds?" she asked, and something about the way she held herself told him she was going to bolt.
He nodded slowly, "Yeah, that's me."
"Gorram it all to hell!" she exclaimed, snatching her hand out of his and taking a few steps backwards, out of his reach. She ran a hand over her face.
"Why exactly is that so terrible, Dani?" he asked her, trying to keep his voice calm. "I know I'm not anybody's favourite Captain, but I've done nothing awful. At least for a while." But it didn't look like his cajoling words had any effect on her, because she still had that panicked look on her face. "Dani, you mind tellin' me what's so terribly awful about my name being Malcom Reynolds? Cause in all honesty, your reaction is hurtful."
"I-I don't believe this...oh gorram it!" she swore again, "it figures. Aiya!" She looked at him sharply. "When, or if, you see me again, you have to act as though it's the first time you've ever laid eyes on me, dong ma?" As she spoke she stepped closer, and he could see in her face that she was dead serious.
"Yeah, fine," he found himself answering. Then, he shook himself, "What? Hold on just a tick, what exactly is your meaning?"
Instead of answering him, she turned and ran. And she was fast. In the blink of an eye she was already halfway down the alley, and Mal was just considering letting her go when, out of nowhere, two large shapes came hurtling out of some side-alley and barrelled into her, eliciting a sharp cry from her. It was the two thugs from before.
Mal could do nothing but watch, and try to catch up, as they knocked her over, winding her. One of them, the tall one, leaned over and picked her up by the arm. It was obviously an easy feat for him, because he did it with one hand. He then grabbed Dani's chin in his other hand and said something to her. He obviously didn't like what she replied, because he immediately struck her in an open-handed slap across her face. She didn't make a sound, but to Mal's ears it was loud, and sounded painful.
Then, with no further words, they dragged her back into the side-alley they had came from, and Mal followed and quickly as he could. But when he got there, they were gone. He reached up to his shoulder, clicked on his two-way transmitter that he always kept clipped on his suspenders (or his jacket), and buzzed Kaylee.
"What's the problem, Cap'n?" came her overly cheery voice, crackling and tinny over the walkie.
"I need you all out here, quick as ya can. Someone's snatched the girl, and I lost 'em," he replied.
Kaylee gave him a "Yessir," and in a moment or two they were all out in the alley with him. He explained to them what had transpired and that he wanted to find Dani. Zoe gave him a look.
"Would you mind explaining to me, sir, exactly what we're hopin' to accomplish here?" she asked him in undertones while everyone else spread out and started searching.
"What I aim to accomplish here is to find the poor girl who got herself nabbed by some rough characters, whose likely aim at capturin' her wasn't to dress up and have a tea party," Mal answered brusquely, really not wanting to imagine exactly why those men had grabbed Dani. That didn't mean his mind didn't go to some terrible places.
"Why we doin' this?" Jayne hollered from the end of the alley. "We ain't gettin' paid for this, are we?"
"You're doin' this because I'm tellin' you to," Mal replied. "Now get searchin'."
More than an hour later, and Mal was pretty sure they had been all through the south-side portion of the Eavesdown docks, with no sign of Dani. Mal was exhausted, and his crew was too, so he called off the search. Plus, he had a meeting in the morning with a disreputable gent about some cargo.
Dani could taste blood. The coppery taste coated the inside of her mouth and wouldn't go away, even when she spit. She was pretty sure she had bit her tongue when Hugo had hit her. Well, she had bit it one of the times he'd hit her. She also had a headache, probably from when Jacko had run into her and knocked her to the ground. She was fairly certain she was going to have a bruise or two on her face in the morning. Probably one on her hip too, she'd landed on it pretty hard.
Not for the first time she inwardly cursed Len and his thugs, and wished she was in a position to exact some vengeance on them. But she wasn't in any position to go around beating crime lords up. "Why did I have to go into that tavern?" she asked herself out loud, not worrying too much about being heard. Hugo and Jacko had dumped her in a dark holding cell by herself, and she knew the doors to the holding cells were a couple inches thick, and while they weren't a hundred percent sound-proof, people on the other side couldn't hear her if she talked quietly to herself, that was assuming anyone was on the other side listening.
She suddenly heard the hum of the door, and she scooted farther into the room and sat with her back against the wall. The lights in the room came on, bathing her in a harsh white light. She watched as the door opened and she saw Len standing there, a smug smile on his face. Her hands positively itched to wipe that grin off his face, but she sat still.
Len, otherwise known as Leonard Julius, was the big man on Persephone. He had his finger in almost every pie, a foot in every door, and an ear at every wall. Some of his business pursuits were completely legal, but most of them weren't. His specialties included trafficking, not just of drugs, and the transport of cargo of indefinite legality. But he dabbled a bit in everything.
He was a tall and imposing man, and always wore a black suit, complete with pristine white gloves, and often a top hat. He was in his late forties or so, according to what Dani could dig up. He was bald, with dark brown eyes, a hawk nose and a severe mouth. Everything about him, from his appearance to his manner, screamed power and authority. And he liked to show that he had power.
At the moment he was pulling off his gloves, his mouth turned down in distaste. He handed his gloves off to an attendant and then strode into the small room with Dani, until he stood right in front of her, so all she could see were his feet.
"Dani, Dani, Dani, what have I told you about running off?" he asked rhetorically, his voice pitched to sound like a disapproving parent. "Look at me when I talk to you, girl!" he barked out when she didn't answer him. She craned her neck so she could look up at him. "Tsk tsk Dani! What is this?" he gestured at her face and sighed dramatically. "Stand up then, so we can have a proper look at you." Dani stood up slowly, wincing at the pain in her hip. Len turned and walked to the doorway of the cell, and told her to step into the middle of the cell.
She stood quietly as he walked around her. Her skin crawled when he took her face in his hand, moving her head this way and that, as if she were a horse or a dog he was inspecting.
"You've gone and gotten yourself bruised," Len accused her, as if it was her fault. "It's a good thing I'm not trying to sell you in the morning. Do you know what a buyer would say if he saw you? Spoiled goods! And he'd want a discount, which I would be forced to agree to. Do you know how much I loathe giving discounts, Dani? I loathe it a great deal. Still, as I'm not trying to sell you it doesn't matter so much. But it looks bad on me, do you understand? Well, do you understand me? Do answer me when I ask you a question, Dani."
"Yes sir, I understand," Dani answered obediently.
"Well then, you understand that such a thing must be punished. Don't you, my dear Dani?"
"Yes sir, I understand."
"Good, good. Now then, Hugo will come in and deliver your punishment, and then you'll make yourself presentable for the morning. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir, very clear."
Len said nothing more, just nodded his head, turned and left the room. The lights in the room went out behind him. No sooner had he turned and left her line of sight was Hugo standing in the door, a leather belt in his hand and a smile on his face. Dani's heart sunk.
"Turn around and take your shirt off," Hugo demanded, smacking the belt against his hand. "Len doesn't want your face marked up any more than it already is, but your back is another story." Dani complied, turning around swiftly and unbuttoning her shirt. She let it slide off her shoulders and tossed it in the corner. Then she put her hands on the wall and bent forward. "Fifteen strikes, count 'em out."
Dani heard the crack of the belt, and then felt the sharp pain on her back and only just refrained from crying out. "One, two, three..." her voice was hoarse by the end of it, and tears streamed openly down her face, which made her thankful for the darkness of the room. As soon as Hugo left the room she collapsed onto the floor, her shaking legs unable to hold her up any more. He had accused her of miscounting, and made her start over. They had been at thirteen.
