Chapter Fourteen – River's Match Part III
"Forty-two?"
"Yes, Captain." Cameron replied, pacing to and fro in front of the kitchen counter. Everyone noticed her left hand was opening and closing rapidly.
Cameron's pacing did little to help the tension in the common area. John finally snapped at his wife. "Sit down, Cameron."
"Don't yell at Twin," River screamed, lunging at John from her seat at the table. Derek was barely able to restrain River in time before she launched herself into a fist throwing frenzy.
"Sit still," Derek ordered in a harsh tone. Simon frowned at the mercenary's rough edge. To everyone's surprise, River complied though if looks could kill John had died a thousand deaths. In her typical brattish impudence, River stuck her tongue out before informing John how he was likely to meet his maker.
"I can kill you with my mind."
"Mal," Jayne protested, clutching his bandaged chest. "Moonbrain is actin' up again. You can't let her act like that!"
"Cameron, best you sit down. Pacing won't help no one and it's bout to make the rest of us go off our rockers. River, keep that tongue of yours under control."
Mal watched Cameron take a seat next to John. The hint of red light finding its way through her otherwise brown eyes unnerved the Captain. Cameron was on the verge of becoming uncontrollable.
"We're goin' to get the girls back. Zoe too. Forty-two hired hands are a lot, especially with Jayne down, but we'll get it done, I promise," Mal informed Cameron and John.
"I'll let Derek use Vera," Jayne offered. He looked at Derek with a frown on his face. "One time use only cuz I can't be there to handle things personally."
"We'll have the element of surprise," John volunteered.
"I will absorb whatever damage necessary to rescue Kacy. In the process, others should be able to rescue Emma and Zoe."
"I suppose the sooner we get this done then, the better." Mal nodded at Cameron. "Draw up the details so we know exactly what we're up against."
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A meal consumed in silence by the crew was followed by a mandatory two-hour rest period as ordered by the Captain. Mal knew nobody was sleeping but rest was critical. His days as a Browncoat fighting the Alliance had taught him rest was a weapon.
In the early hours of the morning when sentries were notorious for being asleep or drowsy was when the strike would take place. Mal wanted Serenity's crew to be alert and ready.
"Mal?"
He looked about in the dimly lit common area, looking for the source of the soft, feminine voice.
"'Nara?"
"Mal, I need to tell you this, but I had to do it without any of the crew present."
His stomach fell. Inara was never bashful about sharing information in front of the crew. Whatever she had learned while making the social rounds in the city had alarmed Inara enough to keep it a secret until now.
Frowning at his beloved, Mal made himself speak.
"Does River know?"
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Cameron scanned the building for a third time. Using the tablet she carried, Cameron marked the location of forty-three individuals. Others in the crew might have been worried about the arrival of one additional kidnapper. Cameron was not. Each of the crew had tablets with the updated information.
The plan was good. Both John and the Captain had said so.
Just over a kilometer away, Derek was hidden with Vera. The three sentries on the east side of the building would crumple silently to the ground on Cameron's signal never to move again.
Sarah carried with her the breaching charge for the main entrance. Dressed in all black, the Connor family matriarch had moved to within twenty meters of the entrance. Waiting in complete stillness, Sarah would cover the twenty meters in mere seconds. Once Derek fired the first round, Sarah would charge the door and place the charge. By the time the last of the sentries was dispatched, Sarah would be ready to blow the door.
Cameron, followed by River, would be the first to enter and would make their way towards the room believed to be the holding area for Zoe and the girls. The Captain, followed by Sarah, armed with her Benelli combat shotgun, would provide both covering fire for Cameron and River and look for targets of opportunity.
Tasked with driving the mule, John would pull up to the entrance ready to evacuate at a seconds notice. Ma Cobb manned the machine gun, eager to take revenge on those who had harmed her oldest son.
Waiting in hiding at a safe distance was Simon and Inara. Armed only with his trauma kit, Simon watched through a pair of night vision goggles, praying his skills would not be needed. Dressed in a pair of Sarah's black cargo pants, combat boots, and one of Jayne's old, dark colored t-shirts, Inara sat holding her Luger, praying like Simon, she would not need to use her weapon.
Waiting on Serenity, Kaylee sat alone in the engine room, monitoring the engines and ships systems. Jayne sat on the open cargo bay door, holsters on both hips and Cameron's Barrett sniper rifle cradled across his lap. The big mercenary adjusted his crutches to a different angle for the twelfth time before picking up his night vision goggles and peering down the street leading to Serenity's ramp.
Jayne hated not being present for the fight. The guilt the big man felt over allowing his granddaughter with Emma and Zoe being captured ate at him. The thought more of the crew could be injured without him being present tormented Jayne. Time seemed to stand still as Jayne worried. Making his fears worse was the fact he'd never hear the end of it from Ma if something went wrong.
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A single touch on the pad and the first sentry slumped over. Derek's next shot was just as clean, dropping the second sentry as he lit a cigarette. The third shot was off slightly, striking the sentry in the shoulder.
It made no difference as Sarah had already covered the open ground to the entrance and was mounting the breaching charge. The fourth shot finished the job. Seconds later the door was blown from its hinges.
Cameron hurled flash bang grenades through the destroyed entrance and charged through opening. River followed behind, pulling her earplugs out as she shed the protective glasses.
Spotting a staggering thug, Cameron fired three rounds into his center mass, dropping him. To the right of the room was a table where five kidnappers had been playing cards. Not making a sound River descended on the five, armed only with her sword and battle-axe. In seconds she dispatched all five.
Two more thugs met the same fate as the first Cameron encountered. Charging towards the door to the room where her daughter was held captive, Cameron ignored the three bullets that impacted her torso. She kicked the door off its hinges and entered, scanning the room.
Zoe was bent over in the far corner, shielding Emma and Kacy with her body. The adult women made eye contact. Zoe nodded and stood up with both girls, one under each arm. The First Officer handed Kacy to her mother and reached out with an open hand.
Cameron placed one of her pistols in Zoe's hand and fished out a pair of extra loaded clips of ammunition. Kacy let out a loud shriek of terror upon noticing her mother's wounds.
"It's okay, Kacy," Cameron said in her monotone, unsure how to comfort her daughter. "Your mother is okay. These wounds will heal quickly." Kacy was having none of it and continued to howl.
"Let it go, Cameron. That's an order," Zoe snapped. "Let's get the girls out of here and then you can make Kacy understand."
Zoe watched Cameron's reaction, hoping by ordering Cameron to drop the effort to resolve Kacy's fear would prevent her friend's terminatress programing from causing Cameron to focus on the child's fear and not the combat situation at hand. Relief swept through Zoe as Cameron slipped Kacy into the child harness on her back.
Gunfire continued to rip through the building as Sarah and Mal engaged the kidnappers rushing downstairs to secure their prize. Cameron checked the open area and noted the kidnappers were all dead or dying. River was nowhere to be seen and Sarah and Mal had stopped firing, their attention focused on the staircase.
Motioning for Zoe to follow, Cameron ran across the room towards the smoldering entrance and the waiting mule. Ma Cobb moved quickly from the gun mount with arms extended. Cameron paused long enough to scan Kacy's vitals before handing her daughter up to Ma Cobb.
"Oh, you are so precious Kacy," Ma Cobb crooned, comforting the frightened child. "You come to your Great Grandma Cobb right now so your mother can go take care of those hun dain who hurt your Grandpa Jayne!" With Kacy on her hip, Ma Cobb reached for Emma as well.
"John, Kacy is fine," Cameron shouted. "Take her and Emma to safety."
Cameron turned away quickly so her husband would not fixate on the gaping wound on her face that had so terrified their daughter. The sound of automatic gunfire ripped through the darkness. Two rounds struck Cameron, one in her chest plate and the other in her repaired shoulder. Zoe grunted and fell to the ground, clutching her thigh.
As Cameron scanned the building for the sniper, the .50 cal mounted on the mule started to bark as Ma Cobb opened fire while letting loose with a stream of curses in Chinese with only an occasional word of English. Two bodies fell from the window where the sniper had made the mistake of firing from and revealing his position.
"I'm okay," Zoe gasped in pain. "Just kill those gou cao de hun dan, dong ma?
Cameron nodded and helped Zoe to her feet. "Go on. I can make it into the mule on my own."
Entering the building again, Cameron scanned the area. Sarah and Mal were gone. The only logical place to search for them and the missing River was on the second floor of the large building.
Without warning, Cameron's limbs seized preventing her from moving. She called up her HUD and selected her diagnostic routines. Within seconds her CPU informed Cameron her systems were in a state of overload.
Pausing to evaluate the crisis, Cameron sensed data rushing to her CPU of a type she'd never experienced before.
The need to kill to protect John was not new to Cameron.
The desire to kill to protect Kacy was.
Cameron made a conscious decision to shut down any sensory programs including the coding that now allowed her to experience real emotions.
There would be time later to sort the data out after she was done with the killing.