"Thank you," Simon said to Inara gratefully.

"It's just a standard Companion immunization package. I'm not sure if any of it will even help."

"It won't hurt, the supplies down there are pretty rudimentary."

"Is there anything else I can do?" Inara offered genuinely.

"I don't think so but I appreciate it." He turned to leave, but Inara's voice stopped him.

"Kaylee's very dear, to all of us." She added quickly.

"I'm sorry," Simon looked away, fumbling his words, "for my part in what happened, I've never… I don't know what to do." He confessed.

"You're lost in the woods. We all are. Even the Captain, the only difference is he likes it that way." She said gently.

"No the difference is," Mal cut in entering Inara's shuttle unannounced, "the woods are the only place I can see a clear path," and then he turned on Simon, his face hard, his voice icy, "What's your business here?"

"It's my business, the usual," Inara told him cuttingly, "I gave the boy a free thrust since he's not long for this world. What are you doing in my shuttle Mal?"

"It's my shuttle, you rent it." Mal spat out.

"Then when I am behind on the rent you can enter unasked." She retorted evenly.

Simon took it as his cue to leave and made for the door, but Mal was not willing to let him go so easily and caught up with him a few steps outside of Inara's shuttle.

"You'll ruin her too ya know." Mal yelled across the walkway, causing Simon to pause and turn, "This is the thing I see you're uncomprehendin' on. Everyone one on this ship, including a legitimate business woman like her, their lives can be snatched away 'cause of that Fed. You got a solution for that? You got a way around?"

"I don't," Simon answered quietly.

"Comes a time somebody's gonna have to deal with him. That should be you, but I don't think you got the guts." He paused before adding, "And I know you don't have the time."

"What do you mean?" Simon asked suspiciously.

Mal's face went hard, his tone even and cold as he spoke, "Kaylee's dead." He turned abruptly on his heel and headed for the bridge.

Simon bolted for the infirmary, nearly collapsing as he rounded the corner and flew through the door, only to see Kaylee sitting up a bit, speaking quietly with Riddick, something about compression coils. "The man is psychotic." He panted out, when both Kaylee and Riddick looked up at him a mixture of confusion and humor on their faces.


On the bridge, Mal, Jayne, Wash, and Zoe were in different states of hysterical laughter as Mal recounted the look on the core boy's face.

"You really are psychotic," Wash laughed out wiping tears from his eyes.

"No but you shoulda seen his face." Mal snickered, "I'm a bad man."

"And Kaylee's really okay?" Zoe asked sobering up.

"Yeah, tell ya the truth, I didn't expect her to heal this quick. The doc knows his trade, I'll give him that."

A sudden beeping from the console redirected their attention, "We're getting' waved," Wash looked over.

"That'll be Patience, put her up." Mal told him takin' a seat in front of the vid screen.

A moment later the image of an older weather beaten woman flickered onto the screen, "Malcolm Reynolds?" A bitter voice asked.

"Hello Patience," Mal greeted with false cheerfulness.

"Hate to say it, but I didn't think I'd be hearin' from you anytime soon."

"Well we may not have parted on the best of terms, I realize certain words were exchanged, also certain bullets," Mal swallowed nervously, "But that's air through the engine, the past," behind him Zoe rolled her eyes and shifted her weight, she had a real bad feelin' 'bout this whole thing. "We're business people," Mal continued, "'Sides your days of fightin' over salvage rights are long gone, hear you're mayor now." He flattered.

"Just 'bout," she shrugged, glancing at something or someone to the side of the vid screen, "you tellin' the truth 'bout that cargo? 'Cause you're askin' price is a bit generous for that much treasure."

"It's imprinted, Alliance, hence the discount." Mal's voice was all business.

"Na mei guan xi (in that case nevermind)," Patience turned her head away.

"If that doesn't work for ya, no harm, just thought ya could use a…"

"The Alliance don't scare me!" She snapped at him, "It's just a little late in the day as they say. I like the fact that you're up front about it," she smiled a smile that reeked of insincerity. "We can do a deal. I'll upload coordinates for a rendezvous outside of town."

"See ya in world." Mal said clicking off the vid screen, after a pause he added to his crew, "I believe that women in plannin' to shoot me again," he said, bitter humor on his face.

"She was plannin' to pay ya she woulda tried to haggle ya down some," Jayne told him reaching up to lean his arm against a low hanging pipe, a thumb on his other hand hooking around a belt loop. Captain was about to get himself shot again, not that it wouldn't be amusin'.

"Just a little effort to hide it woulda been nice," Wash added as Mal knocked over a pile of parts on top one of the consoles, pissed as hell, grabbing hold of the ladder to keep from tearin' somethin' they just might need later to bits.

"Sir," Zoe stepped forward, "we don't have to deal with her."

"Yes we do," Mal told her calmly looking over his shoulder.

"Here's a little concept I been workin' on, why don't we shoot her first?" Jayne suggested.

As much as Wash hated agreeing with Jayne, he had to agree on that one, "it is her turn."

"Well that doesn't get us what we need either," Mal told them both.

"There's moons on this belt we ain't seen." Zoe insisted, "We could try our luck…"

"Our luck?!" Mal snapped, "You notice anythin' particular 'bout our luck these last past couple of days? Any kinda pattern? You depend on luck up end up on the drift, no fuel, no prospects, beggin' for an Alliance meal 'cause you can't work, that ain't us," he said bitterly, the words alone living a filthy taste in his mouth, "not ever. Patience got the money to pay and she will one way or 'nother. There's obstacles in our path, we're gonna deal with them one by one." Mal said firmly, before adding, "You think Riddick's up for makin' a bit of coin?"

"Hell, ain't a man in the 'verse that ain't up for makin' a bit of coin." Jayne snorted.

"Good, he's comin'." Mal decided.

"You bringin' on more crew?" Wash asked.

"Mayhap."

"Do we trust 'em?" Zoe asked.

"Ain't killed us yet," Jayne said.

"Got a point," Mal agreed with Jayne which was beginning to happen on a more and more disturbingly common basis, "And hell, we toasted to the man when we found out what happened to the General Zoe, couldn't even walk back to the shuttle. Ain't no harm in another gun."

"'Specially if he's a big scary serial killer that's suppose to be dead? We ever get his story by the way? Like why he ain't dead? And how do we know he won't kill us in our sleep?" Wash asked.

"Man didn't get on board lookin' for trouble," Mal said, "trouble just found him, ain't got no 'cause to think he would, more liable he'll kill that Fed once we go off ship to make the deal."

"Sir," Zoe argued.

"Man, might come in useful, would really like to not get shot." Mal added cheerfully.

Zoe still had her reservations but the Captain had a point, man didn't need another bullet scar.

"Who knows maybe we'll get lucky and nobody will get shot," Wash said optimistically.

Jayne, Mal, and Zoe paused a moment to look at each other before breaking out into laughter once more.

"Why is that so funny?" Wash asked worriedly.


Kaylee drifted back into sleep, a smile still on her lips, it was nice to have someone to talk shop with, being her last conscious thought.

"That's right little sunshine, you go on and sleep," Riddick rumbled softly, girl reminded him of Jack just in a different kind of way, kinda thought Kaylee was like the girl Jack shoulda been iffin' shit hadn't gone all to hell for her.

"Little Sunshine?" Simon attempted a joke at Riddick's expense.

"Got a problem Doc?" Riddick's gentle rumble turned into a slight growl as he rose from the stool he'd been sitting on.

"None… none at all, I'm just uh, going to get something from my bag in my bunk." Simon stammered quickly, making a mental note to speak as little as possible to the mass murderer.

Riddick smirked, as Simon scurried out of the infirmary. He knew he should be playin' nice with the doc, in case he got shot and all, but then again he wasn't plannin' on gettin' shot and it was just too much gorram fun to watch Mr. Core get all riled up.

"Not nice."

Riddick smirked, as he turned his attention to the little crazy woman, "Fun though."

"Killer." It was not an accusation, merely a statement.

"Sometimes." Riddick shrugged.

"Never children."

"Ain't right." He answered plainly.

"Ssshhh, he mustn't tell," River said as she laid back down and pretended to sleep, Riddick quirked an eyebrow at her not really understanding, until Jayne appeared in the doorway.

"You just been recruited." Jayne smirked, though it faded quickly as his eyes landed on Kaylee.

"She was talkin' a bit 'fore."

Jayne grunted with feigned indifference.

"This make me crew now?" Riddick smirked following him out of the infirmary.

"Suppose so, gotta warn ya though Captain's liable to get you shot."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Riddick chuckled.

"Won't be the last," Jayne snorted, "Ain't kiddin', been shot three times in the last year and stabbed twice over his gorram dumb ass, well two of the three were grazes but still, ain't such a shiny record."

"Why stay?" Riddick asked, he didn't know 'bout anybody else but he was havin' all kinds of fun.

Jayne shrugged as they climbed the stairs into the bay, "Ten percent, my own bunk, kitchen privileges, decent lookin' womenfolk on the crew, plus workin' for Mal keeps a man on his toes, all manner of opportunities to tussel, hell Unification Day ain't all that far off, that's always a good one round here. Not sayin' I wouldn't jump ship iffin' a better offer came up, but I am less liable to shoot the man over it as I did my last employer, man gets shot enough."

Riddick chuckled, all sorts of fun.

"Hey, why's you still wearin' them goggles?" Jayne asked as they rounded into the bay.

"Got my eyes shined in no daylight Slam." He spoken the lie so many times it rolled off comfortably from his tongue without hesitation.

"No shit? Sos you can see whose sneakin' up on ya in the dark?"

"Exactly," Riddick smiled darkly.

"Shiny." Jayne replied appreciatively.


Less than an hour later, Zoe and Mal were walking down the airlock ramp, and headed North on foot, while Jayne and Riddick riding the ATV loaded with the cargo and shovels headed East.

Was a bit of a walk before Mal and Zoe reached the mouth of the small valley the coordinates lead to. "Nice place for an ambush." Zoe remarked.

"That it is," Mal said calmly, thinking to himself, Son of a whore.

Jayne and Riddick joined them a few minutes later running up at a decent clip. "Buried 'em good, equipment's back on the boat." Jayne panted slightly as he handed Mal a single brick from the load, and he and Riddick adjusted their ear pieces. "Testing, testing, Captain, Riddick, can you hear me?"

Riddick turned his head to look at Jayne, "Standing right next to ya Jayne."

"You're comin' through good and loud." Jayne answered, fiddling with the piece's placement in his ear.

"'Cause I'm standing right here."

"I meant the transmitters," Jayne scowled.

Riddick growled low, his gaze drifting out around their surroundings, a small valley, dotted with brush and surrounded by rocky hills and cliffs. "This is a gorram shooting gallery." His eyes caught the glint of metal in the distance and then another on his three.

"Ain't been overlooked Riddick," Mal informed him, "She'll figure we buried the cargo. Which means puttin' us to our ease before any action. She'll come at us from the East, talk the location of the cargo out of us, 'course she'll have some coin to show us first. We get the coin, give up the location, snipers hit us from, there and there." Mal pointed off in their directions.

"Likely there already in place," Riddick commented, thinkin' he wouldn't have exactly physically pointed them out, but also realizing he'd underestimated the Captain, and a little pissed at himself for it.

"Should be," Mal agreed, "You boys feel like takin' a walk in the park?"

"Sure ya just don't wanna piss yourself and back down like ya did with Badger?" Jayne asked grinning.

Mal stared at him until Jayne stopped smiling.

"Who's Badger?" Riddick asked.

"Another time," Mal snapped, "Walk soft. I want Patience thinkin' there in place, and don't kill 'em iffin' you don't have too, we're here to make a deal."

Both Riddick and Jayne snorted before heading off in different directions.

"Don't think it's a good spot sir." Zoe warned him again, "She still has the advantage over us."

"Well everyone always does, that's what makes us special." He smirked back at her," 'Sides, don't ya feel safe?" Mal grinned sarcastically at Zoe as they both wearily took stock of their surroundings once more. "Got Jayne and Riddick watchin' our backs."

"Mayhap, if I didn't feel like they might just shoot us all and take the coin and the ship."

"Ain't likely, iffin' it was just me I'd be worried, your husband would leave my pig gu behind to save his skin. They'll have to shoot 'em 'fore he'd leave you, and Jayne can't fly."

"What 'bout Riddick?"

Mal hadn't thought of it, "Ain't nothing to think on Zoe, deal will go down fine." He said quickly.

"Let me guess, 'cause?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, 'cause." Mal replied, as he headed down the slope, unlatching his holster.

"Shiny." Zoe said, opening her holster guard with an annoyed flick.

"No denyin' the inevitable, let's get this done." Mal said.


Aboard Serenity…

The last bit of rope fell away from Dobson's wrists and he immediately dove for his suitcase pulling out a small handheld cortex, swearing and smashing it against the wall angrily as he realized the ship was still jamming the frequency. "Gorram it!" He snapped out loud as he tore the clothes from the suitcase digging for the two guns stash inside, he checked the ammo in each before sliding one in his waistband and flicking the safety off the other.


"Mal! How ya doin' boy?" Patience greeted, a bit too cheerfully for Zoe's comfort, as she and a gang of six rode out on horseback from behind a thick bush, along with another man driving an ATV.

"Walking and talking," Mal answered off handedly eyeing the crazy old bat and the small gang of with her, one sporting a black top hat that made Mal extremely uneasy for some reason he could not yet figure.

"And is that you Zoe? You still flyin' with this old boy?"

"Awfully lotta men for three little crates," Zoe answered ignoring the greeting.

"Well I couldn't be sure my Mal here wouldn't be waitin' for some kind of payback," she answered warily. "You understand."

"We're just on the job Patience, not interested in complications," Mal reassured her, though he was feelin' the need for a bit of reassurance himself.

*

Jayne eyed his target from around the side of a large boulder, he was a little upset by the no killin' rule, not 'cause he was itchin' to kill somethin' at the moment but more 'cause he felt like it limited his options. Don't kill, keep quiet, how in the gorram hell was he supposed to do that when he brought guns and knives?

Jayne crept silently from behind the boulder grabbing the sniper's feet he yanked him back, and before the man could blink Jayne had his head smashed against a stone. He smirked pleased with himself, man was unconscious, Jayne toed him nervously, okay man was maybe just unconscious, maybe dead, either way check, done quietly, check, stop Mal from gettin' shot, well that was really more on Mal, but he'd give it a shot.

*

Riddick didn't bother to waste time on the unconscious or dead debate, the minute Mal had sent him off his guy was dead, just didn't know it yet. Fuckin' back water yokels, wasn't even amusin' really, he'd even stepped on a twig to see iffin' he could make it more interestin', gorram deaf idiot didn't flinch, deserved to be dead, woulda happened sooner or later anyhap.

Mildly irritated Riddick settled himself behind the scope, for a brief moment the idea of just pickin' them all off from up there to make up for the disappointment flashed through his head. He could see the bullet pass through Mal's skull, Zoe wouldn't even have realized what woulda happened before she'd been dropped, Patience and her crew, they'd scramble faster than cockroaches when the light's turned on, a dark chuckle escaped him, as he tried to remember the firing speed of the rifle he was holding.

Though the imagery was vivid the idea itself was fleeting and as Riddick cracked his neck and refocused the scope, the thought passed as it had never occurred at all.

*

"I don't see my cargo anywhere." Patience observed less than pleased.

"And you ain't gonna 'til I see my two hundred platinum." Mal informed her.

"Oh come on Reynolds, I'm supposed to take it on faith that you got the goods."

Mal reached to push aside his jacket, pulling out the sample bar from just above his holster, and tossed it up to her.

She ripped the foil wrapping away revealing a foul looking slab of brown and sniffed it, taking a bite after a moment.

"It's pure Patience. Genuine grade-A foodstuffs. Protein, vitamins, immunization supplements. One of those would feed a family for a month, little bit longer if they don't like their kids," Mal attempted to joke.

"Yup that's the stuff," she said, her mouth still half full, as she tossed him a bag of coins from her saddle bag. "So where's the rest?" She demanded.


Aboard Serenity….

River sat up, unable to focus for a moment, confused, where was she? Where was Simon? Something was wrong. Anger, rage, disgust, it was bombarding her, pounding against her head, "Simon?!" She called out frantically.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Kaylee asked groggily, wondering iffin' she could reach the comm if she needed to call Simon.

River ignored her, pushing herself onto unsteady feet, she fumbled toward the door, she needed Simon, Simon could make the voices stop, or the one called Riddick, the Furyan, impossible, his mind was far away. She turned to look at the other girl, who was she? Kaywinnet Lee Frye, the Furyan had called her little sunshine, she was yellow, third female progeny to Matthew Louis Frye and Mary Lynn Lee Frye, she spoke to machines. River's head twitched as the world went out of focus. There was pain, pain in her stomach, she'd been wounded, a bullet, shattered, pieces, tiny pieces tearing. River shook herself free and pulled her gaze afraid from the frightened mechanic, was she trying to call her name? Irrelevant, she required Simon.

River stumbled, a sudden riot of emotion slamming into her, self righteous rage pinning her against him, it's arm around her neck, a model T32 modified military issue sidearm, it was new, never tasted blood, didn't know what it was, its memories were empty, River felt the weight of its empty newness contradicting with the death contained within its depths and she cried out terrified of this rage and the newness and cold metal memories, screaming voices screaming.

"Well look whose all woke up," Dobson sneered as his second gun leveled itself on Kaylee, "I'm sorry about what happened before," he said to her, "but you so much as make a move and the next one goes through your throat." Dobson turned his gun back on River as he pulled the terrified and trembling girl away.


"…Then a half a mile East, foot of the first hill. You'll see where it's been dug." Mal finished, hoping like hell his hired guns hadn't turned on him.

"Reckon' I will."

"Well then," Mal rocked back on his heels.

"Yep," Patience replied.

No one moved.

"I'd appreciate it," Mal started after a moment of utter quiet, "iffin' ya'll would turn around and ride out first."

"Well now ya see Mal," Patience started leaning forward a bit, "There's a kinda hitch."

"We both made out on this deal, don't complicate things," Mal warned, there went that gorram itch again.

"I never let go of money I don't have to."

Zoe honored Mal with another one of those I-told-you-so eyebrows.

"Which is maybe why I'm runnin' this little world and you're still on that dinky old boat sniffin' for scrapes," she told him simply.

*

Jayne and Riddick watched through their respective scopes as Mal tossed the money back up to Patience.

*

"You got your money back, ain't no need for killin' now." Mal told her.

"We're just gonna walk away sir?" Zoe asked tersely.

"Guess that's up to Patience here. Could be messy," Mal warned Patience again.

"Not terribly," Patience shrugged with a slight chuckle. "Now Mal you just ain't very bright are ya?"

Mal ignored that remark and took stock of the man with the top hat's impressive looking rifle, "That's quite a rifle, must be quite a shot with that."

Patience tilted her head, "He's called Two-Fry."

The man with the big top hat smiled, Mal now understood why he had taken an instant disliking to the hat, come to think of it he was becoming mighty suspicious of hat wearers in general. Zoe's hand slid across her waist to her the Winchester holstered on her thigh. "Two Fry, nice hat," Mal complimented and the man continued to smirk for only a moment before two bullets punctured him from either side of his head, meeting up somewhere inside the core of his brain shattering on contact.

A lot of things happened next, all simultaneously, and all without a breath of a pause between them. Mal drew his side arm and nailed a second one hitting him the chest, knocking him from his horse, at the same time Zoe fired as well taking out the ATV driver. The gang opened up all at once and Zoe was knocked off her feet by the force of a shot gun blast taken to her shoulder, Mal could only afford her a quick look, which cost him a graze to the shoulder before he swore and fired back, taking semi cover behind a bramble of bushes, all while Jayne and Riddick picked off who they could from their positions above.


Aboard Serenity....

"Should think about asking the Captain to drop you somewhere else, Whitefall ain't exactly civilization in the strictest sense," Wash told Simon as he leaned back in his chair in the cockpit, genuine concern in his voice.

"You don't have to worry about me." Simon dismissed him, not thinking he could handle any more pity or reproach in one day.

"Zoe's out on a deal," Wash shrugged, "I always worry, so it's not exactly out of the way for me."

*

"He took her," Kaylee's voice came panicked and breathless over the comm, "He took River."

*

Simon bolted from the cockpit, Wash following a step behind him, freezing in the doorway when the proximity alarm began to blare. His eyes locked on the screen, "Oh don't…don't you dare," he whispered.


Mal kept firing, Jayne swore missing Patience, he nicked a man's horse throwing him to the ground, too much movement to hit anything with a gorram sniper rifle, continuing to swear he tossed it down and broke out in a run towards the fray. Riddick managed to clip another 'fore he gave up as well and made the same break for it as Jayne.

Zoe leaned up coughing, firing at a man trying to make a break for it and nailing the shot right between his shoulder blades, Mal clipped the last one standing as Patience took cover behind her horse. Mal held his fire.

"Zoe?" He called glancing over angrily, glaring at the bleeding wound in his arm.

"Armor's dented," she groaned, plucking off the remnants of the shot gun shell which stuck to her shirt revealing the thin layer of Kevlar beneath it.

"Well, you were right about this bein' a bad idea." He admitted.

"Thanks for sayin' so sir," she pushed herself up.

"Mal, don't you take another step boy!" Patience yelled from behind her horse, shot gun leveled.

Mal was done talkin', that's what a man got for tryin' to be civilized and peaceable, he got ruttin' shot, he took a purposeful step forward and shot her horse down, pinning her to the ground beneath it. "I did a job," Mal growled, towering above her, his gun leveled on her head, "And I got nothin' but trouble since I did it, like an itch I can't scratch, not to mention a whole lotta unkind words in regards to my character, sos let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job," he picked up the sack of coins, "I. Get. Paid." He pulled back his gun, "Go run your little world."

Just as Mal stood both Jayne and Riddick came barreling full speed down their respective hills, "Mal!" Jayne yelled, waving the comm frantically, "We gotta go! Those gorram Reavers followed us!"