Chapter Eleven River's Match Part III
River and Kaylee laughed as the trio climbed up the ramp to the cargo bay. Cameron smiled at the pair's mirth. It had been a good morning for all of them. Sensing something out of place, Cameron came to a halt and reached for her Glock's.
Kaylee bumped into Cameron. "What is wrong, Cameron?"
"Look! Blood stains on the mule!"
River closed her eyes and reached out. Her eyes opened and she looked in horror at Cameron.
"Jayne the grandpa was ambushed. His life is in Simon's hands. Zoe and the children were kidnapped."
Cameron sprinted to the stairs and climbed them two at a time. River and Kaylee followed behind, making their way to the infirmary. Standing outside watching through the window were John and Derek.
Speechless, Cameron looked inside and watched as Inara handed Simon one surgical instrument after another. Jayne lay on the operating table with tubes protruding from his arms and wires from his body. Simon's arms were covered in blood. His focus was complete as his hands moved quickly inside Jayne's chest.
"Our daughter," Cameron whispered, fighting to control the raging panic in her CPU.
John swallowed and wiped a tear from his cheek.
"Jayne and Zoe had the girls. They were going to meet Ma Cobb. I'd just dropped them off and was going to drop Simon off when we heard the attack. They'd grabbed the girls and Zoe and left Jayne to die. He got nine of them," John added, as if somehow that was important.
"And you did not pursue them?"
"No," John answered, glancing at Cameron for the first time. "Simon believes these were professional kidnappers and I agree with him."
Cameron tilted her head for a moment and considered the possibility.
"It is likely. Had they been amateurs Jayne would have terminated all of them and returned with Zoe and the girls."
"Figured they'd contact us when they were ready to make their demands. Couldn't let Jayne bleed out and there were no clues where they went."
"They could have left Sihnon," Cameron speculated.
"We checked the arrivals and departures," Derek said. "Nobody has broken atmo."
"The kidnappers might not be at a port," Cameron argued.
"We didn't check with the port authorities," Derek replied.
Cameron nodded in understanding. Derek and John had checked with other smugglers.
Simon stood up and pulled the bloody surgical gloves from his hands and tossed them in the hazardous medical waste bin. After washing his hands he stepped out of his infirmary.
"I still have to repair his femoral artery, but the chest wound was the serious one."
"Will he live," Cameron asked.
"It's a good thing Jayne's tough and when I put him under he was rather angry." Simon smiled. "Jayne intends to kill a significant number of people as soon as he is able."
Cameron watched Jayne's chest rise and fall slowly as she spoke. "Did he say anything useful that might allow us to hunt the kidnappers down?"
"I'm afraid not. If he did, I wasn't paying attention," Simon replied somberly. "I was more focused on trying to stem the bleeding and prevent his lung from collapsing."
"Understandable," Cameron replied.
John took his wife in his arms and felt her frame vibrating. "You need to sit down and turn off for a bit."
"No. I must prepare for the hunt. Nothing must be allowed to happen to Kacy."
"What's happened to Kacy," a worried Sarah called.
John pulled Cameron closer, allowing his wife to bury her face against his chest.
"Mom, you might want to take a seat."
"What is wrong with my granddaughter?"
"It's not your granddaughter I want to talk to you about."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The hours passed slowly. Simon had finished treating Jayne and informed the crew there was nothing to do now but wait.
Wait to see if Jayne lived. Wait for the kidnappers to contact them.
From the depths of the cargo bay a loud, angry female voice carried up to the common area.
"I thought you people had more manners! I certainly thought my boy had better manners! I had to walk here by myself, carry my luggage and everything!"
Ma Cobb stormed into the dinning area and noticed the silence and somber expressions on the crews face. Sarah's face was red from crying and her cheeks dirty from the tracks of her tears.
"Where's my boy? Where's that great granddaughter?"
"Ma," Sarah said softly.
"Jayne got himself killed?"
"No, Jayne's not dead." Simon stood up quickly and extended a hand to Ma Cobb. "Come with me and I will explain."
"Doc, was you able to patch my boy up?" Ma asked, shedding her own tears. She reached out a hand to Sarah who took it. Ma yanked Sarah to her feet and pulled her along, following Simon to the infirmary.
"Doc, please tell me you was able to patch my boy up. Jayne says you're the best cutter he's ever seen!"
"Ma Cobb," Simon replied in his best bedside manner. "I believe Jayne will survive. He's in excellent physical condition, quite fit, and very tough. A lesser man would have died before I could operate."
"Doc, is my boy going to live?"
"We'll know in the next 24 hours."
"You come with me, Sarah. We're going to sit with Jayne. You tell me what happened."
Simon let Ma Cobb talk to the unconscious Jayne for a minute or so before demanding politely she wait in the corridor with Sarah. Ma opened her mouth to argue and recognized the expression on Simon's face and nodded in submission.
"Jayne said the Doc was fierce when it come to carin' for his patients."
Sarah leaned against Ma Cobb and nodded. "Simon's no help in a fight. But you want him to be the one who operates. That's for certain."
"Where's my great granddaughter? Emma and Zoe?"
"Oh, Ma. The people who did this to Jayne kidnapped them."
Ma Cobb's face turned red from anger as she led Sarah back to the common area. With surprising gentleness the Cobb matriarch helped Sarah sit back down before turning to face the crew.
"Nobody takes family. Jayne says y'all are his family and little Kacy is my first great granddaughter."
"We're waiting to hear from the kidnappers. Then we can develop a plan," Cameron explained in her monotone.
"We need to start gettin' ready now," Ma ordered. "There's killin' to be done!"