Before his torn mind could decide the door opened behind him and two men walked in the room. "Hello, Mr. Cobb," the taller man said.
Jayne leaned against the nearest wall, crossing his arms. "Yep. Heard you wantin' to talk? Let's talk."
"Please, Mr. Cobb. Sit down."
Jayne decided to be defiant. "Been sitting awhile. I'll stand."
The other man nodded. "Understood. We have some questions for you, Mr. Cobb."
"Ain't stopping you from asking," he told them.
"Tell us about the girl."
Jayne snorted. "Which one? Been with many."
The men did not look amused. "The Tam girl," the tall one stated. "River Tam."
He shrugged. "What's to tell? She's fa kuang."
"What has she said to you About her past?"
"Nothin'."
The man looked skeptical. "Nothing?" the shorter one repeated. "She was always vocal before."
"Nothin' that came out of that girl's mouth ever made 'nough sense to listen to," he told them. "Garbles 'bout blood colors and abstract planets and things that ain't there. Never listened to her. No need." He shrugged again. "Dunno. Maybe the other crew know something different," he suggested.
The men exchanged looks. "I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"You let them go then?" Jayne asked with curious nonchalance.
"They are gone from us."
"We are in need of your help in that aspect," the other said.
Jayne narrowed his blue eyes at them. "Explain," he demanded.
"As you can probably tell this place isn't populated by brawn. We would like you to prove your loyalty to our cause."
"In what way?"
"Disposal of trash."
Jayne didn't have to look under the black plastic wraps he was led to to know what he would be disposing of. "Bodies," he said, dully. He had a sneaking suspicion of who they would be. "You want me to throw away bodies?"
The tall one had the nerve to smile at him. "My dear Mr. Cobb, it is, after all, called 'body waste'."
Jayne had the urge to snarl but resisted. He felt the eyes of the men on him. "One by one takes time," he told them evenly.
The shorter one answered. "One trip will be suffice. We provided you nylon with which to tie them together and then to yourself."
Injustice, inhumane, incomprehensible. These were the men who made River the crazy murderess she became. Jayne did glower at the men but he did the task handed to him without a grumble.
It was once he was in the incinerator room and actually alone that he allowed himself to think about his situation. Decisively, he reached to the closest bag and unzipped it. His hard stomach immediately revolted. What used to be a face was reduced to a bloody pulp. But the clothes were as familiar as his own. All of them were. Swallowing hard Jayne gently lifted the first body into the burner.
Then he started formulating a plan.
