IV. Zoe

In the short time it takes flying the shuttle into town, Zoe occupies herself thinking of all the little ways she's planning to take this out on Mal once they get him back safe. Isn't like she hasn't had to pull his pi gu out of the fire more times than she can count, way that man attracts trouble, but she's usually got a good bit more backup than a half-sane girl she's still a bit wary of trusting. Not that she's got any cause to deny River's effectiveness, and the way the girl looks at her sometimes does kinda pull at the heartstrings, but it's still a chilling thought to know River's the best, and only, fighter she's got with her.

Inara's voice crackles out after wishing them good luck. Zoe doesn't bother to return the favor, hoping like hell they won't have to depend on luck, considering the kind they tend to have. She'll depend on skill alone, and if that can't get her where she needs to be, then she don't deserve to be there, way she sees it.

The sun's starting to set when they land, and in the dim light she can just make out River smiling next to her. "You play with loaded dice," she says, slim hands twisting together like she's trying to keep from reaching out. "I'll come up sixes tonight. No gambling needed."

"See that you do," Zoe says, making her way out of the shuttle and into the twilight. "We don't have room to be making mistakes."

When they duck into the bar the boys disappeared from, seeing as it's the only lead they got right now, Zoe feels River go stiff behind her for a second, and finds herself with a hand at her holster before she's even thinking on it.

"That woman, behind the bar, with the wheat-field hair," River says, quiet against her ear. "She was here then. Caught Jayne's eye." She pauses for a second, eyes narrowing like she's caught sight of something ugly, like Jayne's face in the morning. Or Jayne's face at night, come to that. "She knows Saffron."

Zoe eyes up the woman behind the bar, taking in her abundant lot of platinum blonde curls, along with a whole lot of other assets that make her popularity with the customers easy to understand. "She the one who got them out of here?"

River frowns, her head tilting a bit. "No. Instigated the process, but didn't complete it. Not her job. She knows things, though."

"Well then," Zoe says, hand still firmly over her holster, "let's find out just what she knows."

The blonde's got a smile on her face when they sit down in front of her, but Zoe didn't miss the way her eyes narrowed when she first saw them. "And what can I get for you ladies?" she asks, eyes darting between them before fixing firmly on Zoe.

"Pair of menfolk that got left here earlier today," Zoe says, figuring small talk isn't going to get them anywhere fast. "Thinking you might have some idea of where they've got to, and why."

The smile falls off the woman's face with those words, and for a second it looks like she's thinking of turning her back on them, before Zoe notices the way she's craning her neck and realizes she's scouting the room. "I know who you mean. But not out here," she says low, leaning across the bar before she ducks out from behind it and heads for the back hallway.

"Safe to follow," River murmurs, coming up like a ghost at Zoe's side. She's not sure what's more disturbing, the fact that for all her experience and planning, things are coming down to the word of this girl, or the fact that she's willing to trust that word completely.

The back room's dark and dingy and exactly what Zoe'd expect from a place like this. Sitting in the light of a dim lamp, the blonde lights a cigarette, gesturing with a flame to a pair of chairs. Zoe keeps a hand at her hip as she sits down, and the other woman raises an eyebrow.

"I know y'all can't be foolish enough to think on shooting me, what with there being a couple dozen men out there who like nothing better than a good fight," she says, pushing a bright curl back, "so there's no need for the show. I'm willing to play along."

"So you'll be telling us where our men are, then," Zoe says, deliberately expressionless.

The blonde shrugs. "Would if I could. They were here earlier, sure enough, if they're the ones I'm thinking on – couple of big guys, handsome enough, more guns than brains? - but after they left here, well..." she spreads her hands out and blows a thin stream of smoke towards the ceiling.

"What name do you use?" River interrupts, yanking Zoe's mind off how much she hates cigarette smoke and back into wishing River'd keep herself out of this conversation. "And how do you know the red-haired thief woman? I can't complete the picture."

"My name's Lavender, sweetheart," the blonde says, turning her eyes to River. "And by red-haired thief I'm gonna assume you mean my dear sister, cause I don't know many women who'd fit that description."

"Saffron's your sister?" Zoe asks, a bit curious in spite of herself.

"Saffron?" Lavender snorts. "Not her usual type of name, but she's got a million of 'em. Goes by Ava 'round here. But yeah, she's my sister. And she came around early this morning, 'fore your people showed up here, and told me if they came in, I should make sure they weren't in any position to leave."

"So you drugged 'em," Zoe says, leaning forward just the slightest bit. "And why you tellin' us this now?"

Smoke curls through the air as Lavender waves her cigarette around, looking a bit tetchy. "Cause she's always doing this to me. Showing up out of nowhere, promising things are gonna be different this time, that she ain't gonna get me in trouble again, and then a couple months down the road, where do I end up but sitting in my own bar with a gun to my head, or with a lawman in front of me, trying to talk my way outta her mess. Had more'n enough of it."

She glares at the two of them, and Zoe hopes like hell River won't think this a good time for using that logic of hers and pointing out that none of this is their fault. "Took me years to build up this place for myself, and I ain't getting brought down from it. So yeah, I did what she said and drugged them, left them back here. She sent one of her own men to get them, I'm sure, cause they were gone when I thought to look next, and that's all I know."

Glancing over at River, Zoe finds the girl's on the edge of her seat, chin in hand like it's the most fascinating tale she ever heard. You'd tell me if she were lying, right?, she thinks, as loud as possible. River nods without turning her head, and Zoe figures she'll just have to hope that's meant for her.

"And you got no idea where she took them?" Zoe asks, crossing her arms.

Lavender shrugs once more, stabbing out the end of her cigarette. "She's running a fancy whorehouse down the road, might be there."

"They aren't," River says, very quietly, and it's to Lavender's credit that she takes notice of that, sitting up a bit straighter. Least the woman's smart enough to know danger when she hears it. "Where else is there?"

Their breathing seems loud in the silence that follows, till Lavender breaks the gaze River's got her locked into and stares off into the shadows. "There's an old farmhouse, six miles or so west of town. Belonged to her and her husband. Well, her first husband."

"Dare I ask what happened to him?" Zoe asks, standing up, River at her side immediately.

"Dead," Lavender says flatly. "And I don't know anything about that, either."

"Didn't figure you did," Zoe says. She takes a whole two steps towards the door before she notices River's not following, choosing to stand in front of Lavender instead.

"Give back what you stole," River says, and for all she's got such a girlish voice, there's a world of hurt in her tone.

It's enough to make Lavender pause in the act of lighting another cigarette, before she moves to a panel on the wall that opens on a safe.

"Can't blame a girl for trying," she says, handing over a very familiar set of guns to River.

Tucking Mal's gun into her own belt, River hands Jayne's over to Zoe at the door. "Now we can go."

"Tell my sister I said goodbye," Lavender's voice calls out, trailing behind them in a cloud of smoke.


"Alright, you understand the plan?"

Zoe senses, rather than sees, River nodding in the dark. "Shoot anything that doesn't appear to be Jayne or Mal, yes, ma'am."

"Good, then – did you just call me ma'am?"

"Shouldn't I? I could use sir, if you'd prefer. But you are my commanding officer on this mission."

Crouched outside a farmhouse so old it's near falling apart, in the dark, with a girl in a gunbelt and flowered dress beside her, it occurs to Zoe that she's not felt this much like her old self in far too long. "Ma'am'll do fine. You got any reading from in there?"

"Two active minds," River says promptly. "And one dull and hazy, full of irritation. That one's Mal."

"One of those others Jayne?"

"No. But he might be going without thought at the moment."

Tightening her grip on her gun, Zoe hopes that's just River's way of saying he's probably still out cold. She might not care overmuch for Jayne, but he's still better than having to find themselves a new merc. "Alright, let's move."

As it turns out, getting into the place is no trouble, and neither is finding Jayne, cause he's snoring fit to wake the dead.

"At least he's still alive," River whispers, though the face she's making at him suggests he might end up otherwise if that racket he's making keeps up.

It's that racket Zoe blames for her not hearing any footsteps; first she knows of Saffron's impending arrival is River going stiff, gun leveled at the door.

"I was beginning to think no one was going to show," Saffron says, and Zoe's dead certain that woman's got a smug look on her face she'd like to punch right off it. Only problem with that is she can hardly see Saffron's face, on account of Mal being held in front of her with a gun to his head. "Drop the guns, ladies. I know you value this man – though I can't imagine why – so if you don't want to see his brains decorating the wall, you'll do what I say."

"Thought you didn't kill people," Zoe says, tossing her gun aside, hearing the clatter as River does the same.

"And I thought you weren't as stupid as your Captain here," Saffron says, shoving Mal up against the doorframe, still keeping herself shielded safe behind him. "You'll have to excuse him for not trying to play the big manly hero for you, he's still a little woozy from his adventures earlier today. Honestly, doesn't anyone teach men they ought to watch their drinks?"

"You won't kill him," River says, and Zoe hopes she's half as confident of that as she sounds. "It's the one thing you're truly proud of, never having killed anyone."

"I'm sorry, who the hell are you?" Saffron snaps, looking River up and down.

River smiles, and even in this dim light it's a chilling sight. "I'm the one who'll kill you if you do him any more harm."

"Fair certain I'd let her, too," Zoe says, following River's lead, trying to get Saffron off-balance. "And we already got the kid back, safe on our ship. You'd best be making a run for it before the rest of our crew shows up." Hearing Inara's voice over the com letting them know they had the target acquired and back on Serenity had been a high point in the evening, seeing as how it gave Zoe a bit of ammunition.

Saffron laughs, the sound of it brittle and harsh. "Please. Like I actually cared about that sha gua. He was just a means to an end, which in this case meant a whole lot of platinum drained off his daddy's bank accounts. I was finished with him anyhow. All I needed was a few extra hours to complete the process, which grabbing these two morons got me."

The sound of Jayne's snoring still makes up enough background noise that Zoe feels robbed of her hearing, especially when she notices River's fingers plucking at her skirt, gathering it at one hip in a nervous motion, and wishes she knew what the girl's hearing that she can't.

"Not that I wasn't pleased to see my darling husband here," Saffron continues, jabbing her gun into Mal's back hard enough that he slumps further against the doorframe, barely keeping on his feet, "but as I recall, the last time I met up with you niao shi de du gui, you left me in a fucking dumpster to get picked up by the police. Did you really think I'd forgotten that?"

"You planning on doing something 'bout it? We already discussed you not killin' people," Zoe says, fingers itching to reach around to her back and pull out Jayne's gun, shoot that smug look right off her face.

"Oh, I won't," Saffron says, eyes all wide and innocent. "But he will."

The glance Zoe risks back over her shoulder reveals a guy who reminds her of nothing so much as that first henchman of Niska's, an ugly mountain of muscle and menace.

Course, that's only a brief kind of impression, since he doesn't get any further than the back doorway before River's hand moves in a blur and shoots him in the head with Mal's gun. Zoe'd learned early on in the war that any soldier who goes into battle with just one weapon deserves to get killed, and River'd nodded along in sage agreement with that as she'd strapped Mal's gun to her thigh in the shuttle.

It's only when she turns back and sees the grenade flying in an arc from Saffron's hand that Zoe remembers another thing she learned in the war – never does pay to underestimate your opponent.

Then there's nothing but brilliant light, and unending sound.


"You couldn't have said something?" Zoe yells, knowing her voice is raised way too high, but still only hearing it distantly, like through water.

"I didn't know! She was thinking grenade," River insists, her high voice barely managing to work past the ringing in Zoe's ears. "Didn't specify what type."

"I hate flash-bangs," Zoe mutters, or thinks she does, at least. "Think he'd wake up if we lit him on fire?" she asks, prodding Jayne with her foot. Pouring a pail of rainwater over him hadn't done a bit of good, and wouldn't it figure that the one sound she could still hear loud and clear was his snoring.

River appears to give it serious consideration, before pointing out sadly that they had no matches, leaving Zoe with no choice but to rub the lingering spots from her eyes and start hauling Jayne by his feet. Not that she'd ever let anyone call her weak, but probably the only one on the ship had a chance of holding Jayne upright when he couldn't do it himself was the Captain, and seeing as how he was currently putting most of his weight on River and blinking at them like he wasn't any too sure who they were, she'd just have to do her best.

Watching River stumble sideways a few steps, even her perfect balance upset by Mal's more or less dead weight, Zoe's none too sure they'll even make it back to the shuttle. Landing so far off seemed the reasonable thing to do at the time, not wanting to attract attention, but that's feeling a little less wise with every step.

"The journey should be within our limits," River says. "Continuous support is possible even if lifting isn't. As long as I can keep him on his feet, his weight is manageable."

One look at the girl's determined face leaves Zoe without the need to ask if she can keep Mal on his feet.

"Why do you hate cigarette smoke?" River asks, after a long period of silence filled with nothing more than a couple groans out of Jayne.

It's on the tip of her tongue to ask, don't you know already?, but something in River's expression stops her, the hopeful look of curiosity letting Zoe know either River's a mighty fine actress, or she truly wants to be told the answer like a regular person, rather than hearing something unsaid.

So she looks up at the stars instead, and answers. "In the Valley, those days we were sittin' there, waiting for somebody to come get us – didn't have a whole lot of food, or water, or anything else that'd be much use, but we did have a whole lot of cigarettes. Smoked 'em constantly, trying to keep the smell of death away. Didn't work so well."

"Now when you smell cigarettes, you smell death," River finishes, and she watches Zoe's face steadily till Mal stumbles, pulling her attention away.

"Mal smells like alcohol," River offers, and Zoe thinks she understands this awkward attempt at conversation, a thing neither one of them are too good at.

"Jayne smells like...feet," she responds, doing her part to tell River, as best she can, yes, little one, we can be friends.

River giggles, and smiles wide enough that it's plain to see, even by starlight. "I got the better end of things, I think," she says, and then somehow manages to bounce a bit, even with the Captain's weight on her shoulder, cause lao tian, the shuttle's finally come into view.

Neither of them says much of anything after that, not until they're docking with Serenity and River lays a hand on Zoe's shoulder.

"You're everything," she says. "Everything I want to be. Loyal and strong, smart and brave and beautiful. You fill up your place, always. You think I don't like you sometimes, but it isn't true. I wanted you to know."

She slips away, quick as a bird, and Zoe's barely got to time to call after her, "River? I was proud to work with you today."

River turns and smiles, hand on the door. "Thank you, ma'am."