All disclaimers apply

Ch. 26- Reconnoitering

Mal placed one hand on the door; they needed to get out of there. He glanced around to make sure everyone was accounted for. Jayne and River had moved back to the outskirts of the group. No one had noticed her upset moments ago. And they wouldn't have been able to guess now that she had been upset from the way she was currently beaming. Jayne's hand rubbed large, slow circles on her back as she leaned into him.

The Captain turned back to the door and reached for the handle. Just then the door whipped open of its own accord, nearly knocking Mal over. He jumped back as Zoe and Jayne jumped forward to meet this new threat.

Within seconds there were a half dozen men with automatic rifles lined up inside the doorway, yelling for everyone to put their weapons down and raise their hands. Mal quickly nodded at his crew to comply as he needed to assess this new complication without getting anyone hurt. The only positive thing he noticed immediately was that these men were not wearing Alliance uniforms. Then Lt. Shaw stepped forward.

"Sergeant, nice of you to show up." He wound his way through Serenity's crew to grasp the hand of the closest man. He waved towards the others. "You can lower your weapons, they're with me, us," he explained.

The Sergent grinned and slung his weapon over his shoulder. "Lt. Shaw, I received word that the meet didn't quite go as planned."

Shaw grinned back. "Well, I'd say it went about halfway. We met our contacts," he nodded to Mal and the others, "but we need to regain the key to the palace, so to speak."

Mal stepped in. "Alright, nows we got ourselves a little backup, let's get goin'."

After a quick check, everyone filed outside. There was no one else to be seen. They quickly and quietly made their way down several side streets in the direction of the docks, until Lt. Shaw held a hand up.

"We turn here." He pointed down an alley leading away from where they had left Serenity.

The entire crew balked. "My crew and I are going back to our ship," Mal announced in his 'don't mess with me' voice. Shaw smiled back.

"No tricks, Captain. My Sergeant has informed me that your crew has previously been in contact with them, and it was decided for safety reasons to move the ship out of portside where it could have been locked down by the Alliance long before you made it back. Your pilot was given a location near a safehouse we have on the outskirts. We should hurry before it's discovered."

Mal looked to River who nodded imperceptibly; the lieutenant was telling the truth. Inara stepped over and laid a hand on his arm. "We had agreed that Wash would move the ship if it was warranted," she said softly. She didn't want him to get upset, thinking that they had taken over his baby. "All right, let's go," he acquiesced.

They wound their way through alleys for about another quarter mile when an old, unused plaza opened up in front of them. Serenity was parked beyond in what looked to be a grassy commons.

"Captain," Lt. Shaw said, "I believe this is where my company here parts ways with you for now. I'd like to ask permission to come aboard so we can figure this thing out while my men go scout out the repercussions of today's little escapade."

Mal nodded. "Permission granted." He turned to the Sergeant. "Thank you Sergeant." The man saluted and trotted off with his men.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they walked up the ramp and into their home. Simon came charging into the cargo bay.

"Everyone okay?" despite that Inara had commed him from the warehouse, he knew that with this crew anything could have happened between there and the ship. He caught sight of River's red-rimmed eyes.

"Mei-mei? What happened? Where are you hurt?" Simon was opening his bag as he rushed over to her. The rest of the crew stopped short to look at them. They thought they had gotten through without a scrape, but River did look a little weary.

"Simon, I'm fine," she pushed her brother away. "The Captain wants to have a meeting in the mess to determine next moves." She tried to walk away from Simon.

"But River," Simon tried again. Jayne laid a hand gently on Simon's arm.

"She's okay, she's just tired, Doc. We all are."

Simon looked for a moment like he was going to be stubborn and pursue the issue, but for once backed down. He knew that Jayne cared about her as much as he did, and if anything were really wrong Jayne would bring her to Simon's attention.

As they all turned towards the mess though, Jayne looked back to David and scowled. David shrunk back, afraid Jayne was going to hit him. Jayne thought that maybe he should- making his girl feel bad was just as bad as making a play for her, wasn't it? As soon as this whole mess was over…

&&&&&&&

"Well, let's get this meeting started. First off, I'd like to thank and commend the Ladies of Serenity for doing a bang-up job of assisting our escape." Inara had been smiling right up until Mal had said 'assisting', but again, decided to let it go. Not so with Kaylee.

"Assistin'! You guys would never 'a gotten out of there…" both Zoe and Inara laid a hand on each of Kaylee's arms.

"Dear," Zoe began, "trust me, it's not worth it."

"We know what we did," Inara added, smiling serenely.

"Well I certainly 'preciate it," Jayne nodded sagely. Kaylee beamed at him, River patted his arm in approval, and Mal glared at him.

"Okay, Jayne, if you're done kissin' ass for now, let's get on with it?" All the women glared at Mal. "What?"

Wash burst in through the mess doorway brandishing some printouts. "Ah, hey, everyone's here, great. No injuries?" he looked to Simon.

"No, no, they're all right, this time." Mal glared at Simon.

"Could we please get on with this?!"

"Oh, here we go," Wash slapped the printouts down on the table. "We have a location, thanks to River, and I think we have an approach, but…" he hesitated.

"What?" Mal pushed.

"Well, what we don't have, and can't seem to get, are blueprints of the building or even an inkling of where a secure area in the building is. Apparently this facility was built recently and no specs have been listed with the local authorities. We're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way, Captain."

"Recon," said Zoe.

"Aaaww," grumbled Jayne.

"Problem, Jayne?"

"Yeah, can I sit this one out? I hate recon, it's boring."

"Alright, Jayne's volunteered for first shift, anyone else?" Mal looked around grinning. Jayne grunted and slid down in his seat. River patted his arm.

"Captain, I'll go with Jayne," she said.

"Right. Okay people, the rest of you pair up, Wash, you and River plan out our route. Let's go."

&&&&&&&

Jayne and River had been tucked into some scraggly bushes halfway up the hillside overlooking the compound for about four hours when River jerked her arm, pointing.

"See?"

"Yeah, that's the second time that guy's come out right after that light in the corner office goes out. That woman who left next to him the first time was a fluke."

"Right next to where the sensor spiked," River commented. "That's our 'in'."

"Let's get back ta the ship and put this thing together." Jayne started snaking his way backwards through the brush on his elbows.

&&&&&&&

"So, distractions here, and here," Mal pointed, leaning over Wash's printout, newly detailed with Jayne's and River's recon. "Then she," he pointed over in the direction of Inara and Kaylee, "accesses this through here," Mal tapped the map again, "and then they," he gestured across the table again, "backup here. Any questions?"

Nods of 'no' surrounded the mess table. "Well, then," Mal added, "I think some of us had better go get dressed. It's going to be a long night, people. Let's be sharp."