A/N: this was a strange one for me, got to writing and I couldn't stop, not my usual problem, anyway I'd love to hear what anybody thinks of it since there is a lot going on, honestly I enjoy hearing what everybody thinks I'm doing right and wrong... makes my day every time

As River left the library, only slightly disoriented by the few sips she'd managed of the tonic, she ran into her brother. "He's dangerous you know," Simon told her. He meant Russell, who she'd left in the other room.

"I am aware," she answered with a nod.

"We don't know him," Simon added on as if he hadn't heard her at all.

"Simon, do you have a point?" she asked her brother.

"We known him for all of a few hours, and already he's changing you. I don't like it!" Simon told her forcefully.

"I am NOT the only person he has affected. You are inebriated," she answered.

"Don't turn this around on me," Simon told her irritably.

"I have the right to choose who to associate with and in what way for myself. Somebody else once tried to decide these things for me," River reminded him reproachfully.

"I'm not saying you can't be friends with him or not to see him, but I think you should take whatever is going on between the two of you slow, at least until we know a little more," he continued. She thought about what he was saying for a moment, considered his intent. She realized that she had become exceptionally close with Russell in a recklessly short amount of time. "I get it, he understands you in a way that nobody, not even me, can, but I don't want to see you get hurt because you rushed into things," he explained himself to her.

"You believe that Russell intends to hurt me, emotionally?" River asked him.

"No, I don't think he will mean to, but I think things may happen that end in that result anyway. Before you do anything you'll regret, I want you to be sure," Simon pleaded with her.

"When the time comes for something to be done, I will be sure," she assured him softly. He looked unsatisfied at her. "I will attempt to monitor the pace of development," she nodded. "However, I will not be a boob about it, I'll leave that to you," she added teasingly. Simon's serious face broke into a smile.

"Now we need to talk about what constitutes public information given your abilities," he added as he put one arm around her shoulders and they headed off to one of the bedrooms Russell had allowed for them.

"Simon… I am sorry," she whispered sheepishly to him.

"I know, Mei-mei and I forgive you," he told her as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side, she lay her head on his shoulder as they walked. ~

The nobleman stood there at the banister atop the balcony, overlooking the guests of the party, he gazed at them in disgust. He was bored by their self-aggrandizing importance, each of them believing that they mattered in the grander scheme of the 'Verse, each of them nothing more than debris amidst the tempest. Only he mattered, only he understood. In this place, he was a god among insects. He maneuvered the puppets beneath him, making them dance to his tune, for his own amusements, giving them their petty squabbles to entertain himself and keep them from nattering about his head and irritating him.

As he glanced down at the crowd he saw one of his agents approaching him, something had happened, it seemed even a god could be surprised. He wondered what could be so important that the fool would dare to interrupt his amusement with his nonsense. As he made his way up the staircase he could tell the other was nervous. "This had best be good," the god commented to the agent as he stood there awkwardly. The agent gazed about cautiously, then he stepped in close so that his lips were to the man's ear.

"Sir, we believe we've located the prototype," the agent said softly so as not to be overheard. The god's head jerked back in surprise.

"Adam?" he asked. This was a pleasant surprise to him.

"Yes sir, but that's not all, we might have a situation forming," the other added. The god's elation was tempered slightly, his interest piqued.

"What is it?" he asked curious.

"He was spotted in the presence of another project," he answered sheepishly. Immediately the man's elation turned into contempt.

"Allow me a guess… River Tam," he spat the name out with evident disgust.

"The very same, sir. How should we proceed?" the agent asked him nervously.

"That girl is quickly becoming more of a liability than an asset," he muttered as he considered the possible options. "Send the wraith with these orders: capture one, neutralize the other," he told his agent.

"Sir… the wraith is currently on another assignment," the agent confessed after a moment of nervous silence.

"Then reassign it!" he demanded.

"Sir… it's out of contact, not expected to resume until the end of the week," the agent admitted fearfully.

"It's never that easy is it?" the god said, more of a bored sigh than a statement. His frustration was contained. "Re-task all available assets with the warning that both targets are extremely dangerous. One of them is an irritation, together, there's no telling what kind of havoc they can cause for our plans," he ordered his subordinate. "And agent, for your sake... do NOT fail me!" he added the warning coldly. He returned his gaze the events unfolding beneath him, but his attention remained on what he'd just learned. It seemed things were finally getting interesting. ~

Russell sat bolt upright, he didn't know what had happened, but SOMETHING had definitely happened. One moment ago he was fast asleep in his bunk, the next he was fully alert. He scanned the room: no sounds, no movements, no other thoughts. He was left with one conclusion: something was VERY wrong. His instincts had never failed him, he wasn't safe. "GRIMM, somethin's wrong, take us ta full alert," he told the room as he started to dress himself.

"Sensors indicating a breach of the perimeter," the computer answered him after a moment.

"Where?" Russell asked. On the wall opposite a map came up detailing the web of sensor relays, represented as dots, he had standing vigilant over his bunker. The sensor in question was blinking red while all the others were green. A moment later one of the adjacent relays began blinking red as well. "Gimme a visual," he commanded. A moment later one of his hidden relays showed him a view of a tactical squad, approaching one of the passes into his bunker cautiously. "Only five, not near enough for what they're planning, arm counter-measures an' prepare the bunker for an assault, take the grid to full alert an' send me any security updates," he demanded as he suddenly began moving to the next room. He hit a button on his command station to send a message to the earpiece of the captain of Serenity. "Cap'n, rouse your crew an' tell 'em to meet me in the library ASAP," he commanded.

"Whaz'zat? Whaz'appenin'?" the captain answered in a drowsy tone, he'd been fast asleep.

"We got a whole mess a ugly bearin' down on us, wake the crew and send 'em to the library," he intoned urgency into his commands.

"Sure thing," the captain responded, now fully awake, Russell heard sounds of scrabbling on the other end of the line as he knew the other man was rushing to gather up his clothes.

"GRIMM, prepare program: shell game, close passes 1, 7, and 12 prepare to lock down all direct passageways between the major stations of the bunker at my command. Try to funnel them through the noose," he commanded his computer. He watched the feed before him as a sudden rockslide hit the five commandos advancing on his location, they were buried under rubble. He smiled. He'd prepared this base for just such an occurrence, this would be the first time the enemy tracked him into one of his safe houses. "And GRIMM, explain to me how the hell this slipped the net!" he commanded the system as he realized the implications.

"I will consider all options and generate a hypothesis immediately," the computer answered him.

"Not fast enough, begin scanning everybody," he demanded.

"Scans indicate a tracer on subject 'Kitten', response?" GRIMM answered him.

"Backtrack it, I need to know how it works," Russell demanded as he stepped into the hallway.

"No known methods of backtracing appear to be working," GRIMM responded politely.

"I didn't ask for excuses, I said GET IT DONE. I designed you to be capable of improvising, are you saying you're incapable?" he asked irritably of the machine.

"I am unsure if I am able to comply with your command," the machine admitted.

"Re-task all available computing power to this problem. FIGURE IT OUT!" he shouted at the computer.

By the time he arrived in the library most of the crew had gathered. Kaylee stumbled in sleepily one moment later, only River was absent.

"What's going on?" Jayne demanded, his voice was sleepy as he rubbed his eyes.

"Simon, where's River?" Russell demanded of the doctor.

"I don't know. She was gone when I woke up... I just assumed she was with you," Simon answered with a shake of his head.

"Last time I knew where she was, you were warning her to stay away from me," Russell said, his anger plain to see.

"Multiple potential breaches being tracked, sectors 8, 15, and 19 have penetrated the third layer of security," GRIMM warned them all.

"We're 'bout ta be under attack," Mal explained to the others.

"Orders?" Zoe asked the captain.

"Cap'n, get you an' yours back ta Serenity, doc an' Kaylee can show ya the way through the shortcut. I'll find River and send her after ya," Russell answered for him.

"I'm not leaving… not without River," Simon told him stubbornly.

"Doc, I can get 'er ta the ship, but I ain't got 'nough time ta go lookin' after ya in the meantime," he answered irritably.

"Then hows 'bout we lend a hand?" Mal suggested.

"How many attackers?" Zoe asked as she turned to him.

"Dozens, but it won't matter, half your crew can't fight," Russell reminded the captain as he answered Zoe for him.

"I'm up for a scrap," Jayne declared as he caught up with the conversation.

"Kaylee, take Inara and the doctor back to the ship, the rest of us will look for River," Mal commanded the mechanic.

"I'm not leaving without her!" Simon protested.

"Doc, you ain't gunna be no help in what's 'bout to happen, so you get back to the ship and the three a us will help the boy find your sister, we don't leave one of our own behind," Mal said levelly to the doctor. Simon looked pensive for a moment before he relented.

"I ain't got much in the way of bullets… or guns for that matter. Gotta admit I'm feelin' nekkid as the day I was whelped," Jayne told them.

"There's a horrifying image," Zoe snarked.

"I got plenty a rounds in the armory, I'll arm up, rest a y'all get back ta Serenity and I'll send River ta you," Russell intercepted the conversation.

"Maybe you didn' hear me, we DON'T leave one of our own behind. I like you plenty, but that don't mean I trust you. Either you help us find her and send us on our way, or we get in your way as you look for her," Mal told him threateningly as he got up in Russell's face. The young man seethed audibly as he struggled to contain his frustration.

"Y'all're a little backbirth ain't ya, I ain't tryin' ta abduct her, I'm tryin' ta save your lives an' you're tellin' me ta go ta hell," he bit out at the captain.

"She's one a us," Mal shrugged with a charming grin.

"Fine! If y'all wanna die, I ain't gunna stop ya, but I ain't lookin after no civilians, if'n ya can't shoot, get'cher keister back ta Serenity. The rest a y'all, follow me ta the armory," Russell relented after a moment.

Mal, Zoe, and Jayne followed him in short order to his armory, it was better equipped than any of the former browncoat operations that Mal or Zoe had ever seen. Jayne stood there, dumbfounded for a moment as he looked around at the wealth of weapons, armor, and attachments displayed across the room. Then he began moving from one spot to the next like a kid in a candy store. "Take whatever ya can carry, be ready ta move in five," the boy told them Russell walked over to a large glass case with a set of combat gear on a mannequin. He slipped the vest off and draped it over his shoulders as he dropped trou and threw the fatigues on.

"How long 'til breach?" Zoe asked him.

"Calculating… arrival in twelve minutes given current advancing patterns," GRIMM answered her for him.

"Give 'em the rundown," Russell demanded as he began grabbing pistols and stuffing various apertures, magazines, and attachments into his vest.

"Calculating… expect twelve teams of five, entering simultaneously from multiple entrances, each will be marked for your assistance, they carry various types of firearms, levels of armoring, and grenades. Their purpose is unknown, suspected detainment or assassination of all found within the base. Expect heavy resistance in any efforts to escape," GRIMM leapt to obey.

"Do they got any air support if'n we make it inta atmo?" Mal asked.

"Variable unknown. Enemy bears no Alliance markings, however it could be a black-ops unit," GRIMM answered him.

"Prep the bird for quick evac," Russell demanded as he pulled a gasmask off of a wall and clipped it to one of the loops behind and below his left shoulder.

He grabbed a pair of combat knives, slipping one into a sheath at his left ankle and the other to a strap hidden under his jacket around his right forearm, once he secured the second knife he recoiled his arm slightly, then shoved it back out quickly, the knife slipped into his palm, after that he resecured it. He slipped pistols into each of two holsters strapped to his thighs, one slung under each shoulder, one each into the small of his back. He used an old style of pistol, fifteen magazine guns with no coilgun functionally, instead each possessed a rail integration system, he traded off increased clip-size and utility attachments for firepower. He slipped a few flashbang and smoke grenades into the remaining pouches on his belt along with a small computer device. Finally he moved to a small armoire and opened the double doors; inside sat another of his black beanies on a mannequin head, but instead of a wave logo it had a bullseye. He swapped out the hat he wore for the other. "Looks like it's time to lay the 'inexorable tide' to rest," he muttered as he closed the cabinet and turned around.

"A new pretty hat? What's the difference?" Mal asked him.

"It's a prototype bullet resistant fabric, feels like fleece, anybody goes tryin' ta shoot me in the head's in for a little surprise," Russell answered with a smirk.

"'less they aim for the face," Zoe snarked. Russell reached down around his neck and pulled a half balaclava mask up around his nose and ears, forming a small ovals around each of his eyes with no other openings.

"What's the plan?" Jayne asked, joining the others as he cradled a handful of guns protectively.

"You can't carry all those," Mal reminded him.

"We talked 'bout this, 'member, I like ta keep my options open," Jayne answered him.

"You can have two," Mal told him sternly, almost like a parent to a child, holding up two fingers for emphasis.

"... Never git ta have no shiny toys," Jayne muttered with a scowl as he worked to narrow down his choices.

"I don't s'pose you have any more of that shiny looking body armor sitting around, do you?" Zoe asked him as she pulled a shotgun down from the wall.

"Sorry, place was only meant for me. I like y'all well 'nough… but not that much," Russell answered her as he looked out the door cautiously.

"Dibs on the armor… if he goes down," Zoe said as she turned to Mal.

"What's the plan?" Jayne asked as he came back into the conversation with five guns strapped to his back, his pockets bulging with various magazines. Zoe had found shotgun shells lying about and tossed them into every available opening of her outfit. Mal had only his own pistol, but he had taken several rounds and stuffed them into his pockets hastily.

"GRIMM: locate 'Kitten'. Soon as he gets back ta us we move out, we'll move in pairs down parallel hallways, clearing each room and passage as we go, keep your comms open, GRIMM'll give us updates as we go ta let us know what ta expect. Move quickly, but surely; use hand signals whenever you engage. I'll use every trick in my bag ta slow 'em down. Soon as we got Kitten, y'all take 'er and pull out quick as ya can, I'll draw 'em off a ya best I can so y'all can break atmo, once y'all're there, make for the rim like a bat outta hell, don't stop for nothin' shorta a reaver attack. I'll contact y'all soon as is safe, but no matter what happens, protect River," he outlined his plan for them.

"Subject 'Kitten' successfully located," GRIMM informed them.

"Update 'er as ta what's goin' on, lead 'er to a hidin' place, preferably in the vents an' tell 'er ta stay there awaitin' further instructions. Then shut down all auxiliary passages and lead us to 'er down parallel adjacent corridors with as few doors an' crosswise hallways as ya can," Russell commanded his computer with a military efficiency.

"What're the teams?" Jayne asked him.

"I dunno. Whatta ya say, boss? How we gunna break this up?" Russell asked Mal. The captain made a precocious grin.

"He called me 'boss'," he said, a childish glee in his voice, in a sidebar to Zoe. The first-mate just rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Maybe you could ruminate on this when we aren't preparing for an assault," she reminded him. His face reverted to his serious look.

"Right… I'm the boss here. Zoe; with me," he told the first-mate, who nodded her agreement.

"Looks like you're with me, tiny," Jayne turned to the young man. He nodded his head in understanding.

"Cap'n, this's Kaylee, we made it ta Serenity safe an' sound," Kaylee called out over the comm.

"Good, lock her up tight and don't open her up 'til we get there. Fire her up and don't take no waves, no matter how many times they buzz ya less it's us," Mal commanded her in a sure tone. The other three in the group just stood there studying Mal for a moment as they considered something.

"GRIMM, got those routes mapped?" Russell asked.

"Take the northeast and southeast exits from the armory, the two hallways converge on one another at the gym, where I have stowed subject 'Kitten'," the computer answered him.

"Alright, shut down any side passages you can, and close off any and all direct routes between the major hubs after we cross them, follow both teams, and prepare a route for both teams to extract from," Russell commanded. "Y'all ready?" he asked the others as he turned to them.

"Let's move out," Mal answered him with a nod. The two teams positioned them to either side of the door they were taking, weapons raised. Jayne carried an old assault rifle as his first weapon, Russell kept a firm grip on one of his pistols.

Mal reached out to open the door in front of him and Zoe stepped through in short order, gun raised and scanning the adjacent hall. "I'll take point," Russell told the mercenary, but a stubborn look came across the big man's face. "I got the body armor, 'member?" he asked insistently, at first the other looked reluctant, but after a moment his giant claw of a hand grasped the handle to the door and pulled it open, Russell slid through effortlessly with the big man hot on his heels.

They had made it almost fifty meters when GRIMM got back to them. "Breeches imminent in multiple sectors," he reported dutifully.

"Hope y'all brought lights, I'mma kill the power, let's see if we can't take 'em by surprise," Russell alerted the others. Ten seconds later the lights went out. He heard the mercenary behind him and to his left curse softly as he fumbled about to find the button for his tactical light. "GRIMM, leave our routes open, but run program: shell game," Russell commanded.

"What is shell game?" Malcolm asked him.

"Just what it sounds like, it closes off the doors, makes them make blind choices, once they've opened a door the others will lock down, once they close it again the others will open again, most of the doors will lead them in circles. It won't stop them outright, but it'll slow them down," he explained for the captain.

"Breaches in sectors 1,3, and 6," GRIMM reported.

"Simultaneous insertion… this ain't a 'Liance raid, well… ain't JUST a 'Lliance raid," Russell muttered to himself.

Twenty meters further on they came to their first hallway intersection. Russell hugged the left wall, Jayne the right, he counted down from three on his fingers, when he was done the two of them poked their heads and firearms around the corner, all clear. Russell jogged across first, followed by Jayne.

There were a few more false alarms before Russell finally felt something like a brush of fabric across the surface of his mind. "Kill the light," he whispered to Jayne as he held up a hand. He tried concentrating on the feel of the other mind before it had retreated, whoever this was, they were trained to deal with his abilities, new to it, but trained. He tried to locate the mind again, but it was lost to him, all he knew for certain was they were within a hundred feet in any direction, as the crow flies.

"Can we turn the lights on again?" Jayne asked nervously. Then they heard the sound of footsteps falling in short order, coming from up ahead. Russell listened intently.

"I count six different strides, move to the next cross-section and turn off any night vision you might be using," Russell demanded as he twisted a dial on his tactical light, it didn't pop on, instead he'd made an adjustment to it's settings. At the next cross-section the boy crouched down low to the ground and laid his left hand on the floor. "Get ready," he whispered softly to Jayne who stood above him as he sat his butt on the floor, back to the intersection. Twenty seconds later the young man laid down as he flipped on his light, it created a powerful strobe, he pulled the trigger twice. As soon as the light flipped on they heard five men groaning, the sixth fell to the floor almost immediately. Jayne peeked out around the corner and saw that the remaining men were all trying to pull off night vision goggles. The strobe of the light was disorienting for him, but the boy wasn't having much trouble, he squeezed the trigger two more times and another man fell, two holes in his neck.

Jayne pulled the trigger on one of his, it caught him in the chest, but he didn't go down. "Somethin' ain't right," he growled as another round plastered the man's chest.

"Body armor, aim for the joints, neck, or head," Russell told him as he pulled the trigger once more, a man went to one knee, Jayne turned and pulled the trigger once, this time his target's head exploded.

Then the other men regained their composure, Jayne heard several barks from assault rifles, but all of them went wide. "Why ain't they hittin' us?" Jayne asked him.

"Two things; One: don't complain, Two: they can't see us through the light, they know we ain't all on the ground so they're aimin' at chest height tryin' to catch us with a stray," Russell explained it to him.

"If you was smart you'd think a throwin' a grenade!" Jayne shouted at them.

"Please don't go givin' the enemy advice," the boy rebuked him as he turned himself about, so he was crouching properly instead of lying on the ground.

"Fire in the hole!" they heard somebody shout as a canister landed in the middle of the intersection.

"GRENADE!" Jayne yelled as he spun around, curling up and protecting his neck. Russell's response was so fast, but Jayne saw it like it was in slow motion, he slipped his legs out in front of him, his momentum causing him to slide on his back his left to the intersection, his right hand hand darted out to grab the grenade before the second bounce, and he tossed it back to his enemies, he turned to his right as soon as it left his hand, covering his neck as his body continued its slide to the safety of the far side of the hallway. A moment loud there was a loud bang as the grenade went off.

"TELL ME YOU SAW THAT!" the youngster shouted boastfully with evident self-satisfaction and obvious elation.

Jayne peeked around to see the result: six dead soldier's lying in the hallway. "Impressive," he admitted grudgingly.

"JAYNE?! We heard an explosion!" Mal called out excitedly.

"They threw a grenade at us, nothin' ta worry 'bout," Jayne answered.

"Your merc just HAD ta go givin' 'em tactical advice," Russell said as he rolled his eyes. "Next time they'll think ta cook it a little 'fore they throw it," he added confidently. "Sitrep?" he asked them.

"We been advancing slowly but steadily, no excitement yet, but I reckon the whole place heard that so we're plenty ready for anything," Mal filled them in.

"GRIMM: sitrep," Russell demanded as the two of them once more began moving forward.

"Subject 'Kitten' remains hidden, scans indicate an accelerated heart-rate, rapid breathing, and increased perspiration; all indicators of a healthy reaction to danger," the computer reported dutifully.

"How far away is she?" Russell asked him.

"Travel distance to subject 'Kitten' is approximately 250 meters and counting," GRIMM answered.

They moved ahead slowly, stopping at each door to be sure they wouldn't be ambushed as they passed. Russell kept his mind focused, always scanning for another raiding party. The next time they found one it wasn't quite as clean as it had been the first time: the route GRIMM had chosen for them required them to move through a narrow room to an opposite hallway. They opened the door as they usually had, Russell shoving his gun through the door as it swung open, when something new happened, somebody behind the door kicked it back shut, catching Russell's forearms in a quick smash and causing him to fumble his gun. Before the door moved an inch the youngster responded in kind, swinging his leg up to the already swinging in door, so that, when it was at the edge of it's arc, his foot compounded the force of the return, catching the offending party of guard and similarly disarming them. He rushed into the room following the door, counting three shots that barked out simultaneously, one from behind him, and two more from the front, one slammed into his arm just above his elbow, but the armored material held, causing one hell of a bruise to form up beneath it. He heard one of the other gunman drop as Jayne's shot found it's mark.

Russell squared off with the other unarmed soldier, choosing to let Jayne handle the gun-fight. The gunmen exchanged shots as each attempted to lay down covering fire for their exposed counterpart, before deciding to find cover themselves. Russell's fallen gunlight provided illumination for the two brawlers to see by.

The other brawler moved in on him quickly, striking high toward the face with a hard right which Russell caught on his left forearm, the other man attempted to capitalize on a perceived opening caused by the action, striking out with his left in a low-sweeping arc, he was trying to divide Russell's guard, the younger man rolled with the punch as it landed on his ribs, adding an extra half-step that positioned him just as he needed to be. He was facing the man at a forty-five degree angle, and as he finished his movement he sent his right fist in as an uppercut to the chin, the older man managed to divert the blow, but the modified positioning left him open when Russell struck hard with his left, planting a firm blow directly to his enemy's liver. It stunned the opponent, and Russell was quick to follow up, another hard uppercut to the jaw, followed by a quick chop with the inside of his hand to the back of the other man's neck, causing him to teeter forward. He was preparing to grab the other man by the face and slam his head into the wall behind him when a round from the other soldier caught him just below the left knee, causing him to kneel down onto it.

It was only a momentary lapse in his offensive, but allowed the other soldier the respite he'd needed, he'd managed to stay on his feet when Russell had been interrupted. He'd slipped his left arm to the inside of Russell's right then let loose with a heavy blow that the younger man was defenseless against. It caught him hard on the jaw, his mouth fell open as he turned away from the force of the blow spewing blood to the ground in a shocking crimson arc. He managed to stop the follow-up right with his free hand, then used his exposed right arm, which the other fighter had conveniently positioned to bypass his guard, to strike hard and fast to the throat, causing the other man to sputter, he followed up with a solid left to the back of the other man's knee, using it as a fulcrum while his right hand forced his enemy to one knee, then to his back. He was just preparing to slide over into a mount and pummel the man to death when he heard the bark of a gun from behind him, and then felt the other man go limp in his grasp. He turned around to see Jayne smiling triumphantly, he'd completely forgotten about the mercenary. "Saved'jer life," he said boastfully.

"I had it under control," Russell assured him as he rose, unsteadily, to his feet. "Still… helluva shot," he allowed.

"'S'what I do," the merc agreed with a shrug. Russell looked over to see another body lying in the opposite doorway, a pool of blood blossoming out from under his head like a burgundy pillow. The young man picked up his fallen gun and checked to be sure it was still functioning as he needed it to.

"Boss, we jus' had us another hiccup, how're things on your end?" he reported the situation to the captain.

"Things just got a mite colorful," Reynolds answered him, they could hear gunfire in the background.

"How bad is it?" Jayne asked them.

"They kinda got me pinned down, runnin' a tad low on ammo. Honestly, I dunno if I'mma-," he started to say in a very serious, very final way. Then they heard a series of gunshots come through the line, that walked over what the captain had been saying. "Nevermind, all clear here," he said light-heartedly.

"What happened?" Russell asked.

"Decided I didn't want to have to train a new cap'n, took a lotta work getting this just one how I liked him," Zoe answered sarcastically.

"Well… I shot that one," Mal countered.

"You MISSED that one, once again leaving all the work to me," the first-mate snarked. After a little more back and forth they ended their dispute to clear up the comm-line.

Things got quiet for a time as they continued on slowly, so it came as a complete shock when GRIMM interrupted the quiet suddenly, right alarm lighting went off in the entire complex. "WARNING: hostile cyberwarfare suite detected," he told them as the situation changed.

"GRIMM; divert any an' all processin' power to defendin' yourself, 'f it looks like you're compromised initiate Carthage protocol," Russell demanded.

"What the hell just happened?!" Mal shouted at him.

"They're usin' a virus ta try and crack GRIMM, he needs ta keep himself safe, we're on our own now, leastwise for a lil while boss," the boy answered him, he was trying to keep the worry from his tone.

"You don't think we might need his help a mite more?" Mal asked sorely.

"Boss, GRIMM can track a target to any point 'cross the 'Verse, they take him, ain't gunna be no more hidin' for any a us, not here, not anywhere; not today, not never. I reckon it's more important for him ta look after himself, and if he can't, he'll delete himself," Russell tried to explain just how dire the situation would be for them.

"How come it never goes smooth?" Mal complained over the line.

"I know what'cha mean, boss, it ain't never that easy," he agreed.

"So what're we gunna do?" the captain asked.

"Your path was a straight line, GRIMM set River up in a room with direct access to a secret shortcut back to Serenity, we'll continue along our path as is and hopefully meet up with y'all an' River in time ta get the hell outta here," Russell answered in short order. With the alarm beacons going off there was no point to using the flashlights, which was too bad considering how useful they'd been to this point.

As they continued along their path eventually they came to a point where they could hear gunshots up ahead, they picked up the pace knowing that their objective was close now. When they finally got to the door it sounded like Mal and Zoe might be lost somewhere amidst the labyrinth of bookshelves that made-up the more distant portions of his library. As stray bullets kept hitting the precious tomes that made up his collection, Russell couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain as each of his priceless treasures was desecrated. Then he heard the familiar whine of a minigun warming up. That was too much, he peeked out around the doorway and squeezed the trigger three times then withdrew, two rounds flew wide, the other found it's mark, burying itself in the plating of a heavy helmet. A moment later he heard the gut-wrenching sound of the gun spitting rounds with startling speed and abysmal accuracy.

He snuck his head out for a moment, the gun hadn't been directed at him but at those hiding within the stacks, the operator had fired recklessly, chewing through the entire belt in just under a minute. As he stopped to reload Russell popped out from behind the doorway again, he fired twice, one felled the man carrying the over-sized gun, striking him in the left knee, the other caught him in the middle of his right wrist. The soldier screamed in pain as Russell advanced on him, Jayne provided covering fire from behind. When he was within arm's reach of the minigun's former operator he pulled him to his knees, shoved his pistol so that the barrel was flush to the man's closed eye and pulled the trigger. He spit on the corpse as it fell to the floor, before he turned to the massive weapon, held it in a firm grip, pulled the satchel of ammunition from the lifeless body. He turned and heaved as hard as he could to send both toward the mercenary behind him.

He ducked behind the cover of a recliner as more soldiers entered from the other door. First it was two, then three more, then a line of eight filed in… just in time to hear the once friendly whine before they were cut in half by a spray of bullets, and behind it all was Jayne Cobb, cackling like a madman in the middle of a power trip. After they were all done Jayne stood there panting as he came down from the euphoric high.

"Are they gone?" Russell asked, not daring to peek out from behind his recliner.

"Clear," Jayne answered.

"'Bout time you showed up," Mal called out as he and Zoe stepped out from behind the stacks. They looked worn ragged, Mal's coat, and his shoulder, had several holes, roughly bullet-sized, that Russell was sure hadn't been there before. Zoe was another story, while she was sweating profusely, and stained with all kinds of grease, she was whole and sound.

Tentatively, River peeked out from behind the stack, only showing half her face. Russell could feel the fear rolling off of her and forming a pall over the room. As soon as he caught sight of her, Russell felt a sudden sense of relief, as if he'd been holding his breath since this all started, and now he'd let it out. He marched up to her, put on hand on her neck, his finger caressing just beneath her ear soothingly. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" he asked her protectively.

"You are wounded," she ignored his questions as she pointed to his shoulder, he didn't remember being shot, but evidently it had happened, and now that he knew about it, the wound screamed at him.

"Don't worry 'bout it," he told her dismissively, but he could feel concern radiating off of her. He forced her to look into his eyes for a moment. "Pain don't hurt," he explained with his confident smirk. "You don't have to be afraid of them anymore," he added to try and calm her fears.

"Not of them… of me… of what I will do to them," she promised him.

"You ain't gunna do nothin' more or less than ya gotta," he rationalized what she feared for her. "We're gunna get you outta here," he added when she didn't say anything. He moved to the very back wall of the library. He moved to the left-most wall and counted bookshelves on the back until he reached the fifth, then he counted shelves up from the bottom until he reached three, finally he counted individual books from the left until he hit 19, he grabbed the book and pulled it open to reveal it was hollowed out, and inside sat a small remote with a single button. He pressed the button quickly, they heard a catch, as three shelves down one swung forward perhaps an inch. He moved over and swung it open quickly, revealing a tunnel hidden behind. "Quickly: Mal, Zoe, Jayne; scout ahead, I'll cover the rear," he waved them through.

Just as River was preparing to enter the door he saw a flash of movement to one side, reacting on instinct, he shoved River to the side hard as he jumped back the other way. A moment an explosion rocked the space the two of them had occupied a moment before. As he fell he rolled back onto his side, loosing two rounds where he'd seen the movement. He watched as the would-be attacker fell down, they must've missed one when they entered the library because no others came forward. His ears were still ringing, his head was pounding, and his vision was getting blurry around the edges. He groaned as he made stand up, slowly in case of concussion.

"RIVER! RIVER?" he shouted, his voice a dull thrumming in his ears, as he cast about for the girl, he'd lost track of her. A moment later she stood up near him, her lips were moving, but he couldn't hardly hear more than a humming, he focused on her lips as she spoke.

"I am alright," he saw her lips form. He closed his eyes for a moment to focus on his hearing, everything sounded dull, or not at all. Then he started to hear something from his comm.

"- re...t … Ri...r al...t?" a voice was calling out, it sounded like it was underwater.

"Say't again," he called back.

"I repeat, is River alright?" Mal asked him hurriedly as he started to regain some more of his healing.

"Yeah… I'm good too, thanks for askin'. How're y'all?" he answered.

"Jayne's got a pretty nasty gash from a piece'a shrapnel from the blast, 'spite his bellyachin' I reckon he'll be jus' fine if'n the doctor gets a look at 'im soon," the captain answered in a relieved tone. "Look, stay where y'are an' we'll find a way to you," he told them.

"Negative cap'n, get ta your ship, let Simon take a gander at Jayne's wound. I'll get me an' River outta here 'nother way. Ain't gunna make it ta the clearing though, so get that bird in the air, I'll send y'all a wave soon as it's safe lettin' ya know where ta pick us up," Russell responded without hesitation.

"Kid, that place's gunna be crawlin' with purple-bellies inside'f a minute, ain't no way you get out 'thout help," Mal reminded him.

"Boss, I built this place… there's more'n one escape tunnel. I gotta mule stashed in a different wing, if we can make it there we'll be able ta get back ta town, we'll lie low for a few days then I'll give ya the location ta come pick us up," Russell promised him. Mal was quiet for a moment.

"You don't get that girl back, ain't gunna be no end ta the grief the doctor'll be kickin' up, not to mention the curse… you bring our albatross back to us, ya here?" the captain demanded of him.

"Sure thing, boss. 'Lliance'll be sweeping for frequencies, I'mma have to kill comms now, ditch 'em soon as you're clear a the tunnels," he instructed Mal before he pulled the communicator from his ear and stepped on it. "We should move. Stay close to me, try to hide behind my armor," he told River. She took up a spot behind him, he felt something at the small of his back, and then he realized she'd drawn one of his guns.

"I am ready," she responded confidently, though he knew she was hesitant to use the weapon. Slowly, they began the long slog to the next escape tunnel.