AN: WOW! I have to say I have never gotten so many reviews that quickly! Thank you to hana, chakra, , Rachet, Moon FireStar (warning you may scream again after this update), LeaFairy124 (wow talk about a comprehensive review! I am really happy you are enjoying the updates), and hideher for the reviews =) I was going to wait to post this small bridge chapter but your reviews made me speed up that idea LOL. What can I say, I like to keep the readers happy.

Chapter 27 Love the Way you Lie Pt II

XXX

River's POV

She sat in bed, taking in the scene before her…the shredded clothes, the weapons strewn about the room; it was the aftermath of a tornado and volcano.

On the first page of our story, the future seems so bright.
And this thing turned out so evil, I don't know why I'm still surprised…

She looked down to the naked man asleep on his stomach next to her now, his back covered in bloody welts and claw marks; his arms had similar scratches.

She closes her eyes and the memories come flooding back in flashes.

Even angels have their wicked schemes and you take death to new extremes.
But you'll always be my hero, even though you lost your mind…

She finally pushed him to his breaking point…she knew it was inevitable…their blows no longer missed their mark or fell short…they connected with full force behind them.

Now this gravel in our voices, glass is shattered from the fight.
In this tug of war, you'll always win, even when I'm right.

"Why the FUCK are you so damn stubborn?" He asked her as she swung wildly at him.

"YOU ARE ONE TO TALK!"

Cause you feed me fables from your hand, With violent words and empty threats
and it's sick that all these battles are what keeps me satisfied…

She opens her eyes and trails her fingers lightly up her arms, tracing the many bruises that stained her skin like watercolor on paper. She closes her eyes again and lets her head fall back against the wall…allowing more flashes to come to her.

So maybe I'm a masochist…

"Why do you insist on pushing my buttons River?"

"Because you refuse to admit the truth!"

I try to run but I don't wanna ever leave.
Til the walls are goin' up in smoke with all our memories…

His fist connects with the wall near her head. "You drive me crazy you know that?" He says as his lips come crashing down on hers. It's not what she wants to hear…but it's close enough…for now…Now…a very different kind of passion fueling their fire.

then after that, shove me, in the aftermath of the
destructive path that we're on, two psychopaths but we
know that no matter how many knives we put in each other's backs
that we'll have each other's backs, 'cause we're that lucky…

"She loves you too." She says under her breath. He doesn't hear her though.

I love the way you lie…

She relented…she knew she was going to have to pick her battles more carefully now…she gave him the answers he was looking for. After they had both recovered enough…she told him what she knew, of the secrets left behind in her mind…

of the calculated attack on Furya by the Council…

"They feared your kind…you were a threat to them."

of his heritage…

"An Alpha…the strongest of your kind."

He had questioned her accuracy, asked if it was possible…if what she was saying was possible.

"Why would she lie?"

She moves out of bed now, looking around the floor for any clothing that he didn't shred in his fit of rage, and manages to find a pair of cargo pants. She grabs one of his shirts from the wreckage as well and pulls it over her head as she walks to the ladder leading out of their bunk.

It's late… and she can feel the peaceful sleep of the crew floating around Serenity. All but one mind is fast asleep and she walks towards that particular mind.

He's seated above the cargo bay, which is now filled with Harrow's cattle, nursing a cup of Kaylee's inter-engine wine.

She walks up and sits next to him, dangling her feet over the edge.

"Rough night?" He asks questioningly as he hands her his cup. She can feel his eyes rake over her visible bruises.

She takes a swig and hands it back. "She is quite satisfied."

He squeezes his eyes shut now. Trying to shake the image she conjured in his mind. "I don't need to be hearing that."

She laughs. "The Alliance psychiatrist in the Academy once asked me if I thought sex was dirty. She told him only when it's done right."

Now he just stares at her. Not sure what to think. "Bit are you sure that's healthy?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "It is for people like us."

"How the hell do you figure that?"

"It's an animal thing."

Now Captain Daddy is a little confused. "A what?"

She smiles and shakes her head. "You wouldn't understand."

"You know your all kinds of unpredictable right?"

"She has been told this before…she is beginning to think that she is so psychotic and so mentally ill that if she could tap into that she could do something really interesting."

"Remind me not to piss you off again. I don't need to be the target of your 'something interesting'."

Again she shrugs. "The outcome couldn't be any worse than one of your ill-conceived plans."

"Hey!" He says as he throws an arm around her and pulls her closer to him so he can run the other hand over her head and mess up her hair.

She swats the arm away from her head but allows the other to stay around her.

They sit like this in companionable silence for a few minutes, just looking at the cattle below them, before he breaks the silence.

"You didn't have to say that in front of Inara you know."

She rolls her eyes at his fatherly chastisement. "Someone had to get you two talking…you probably would have waited till the threat of thousands of Reavers were upon us before you said anything yourself."

He chuckles a little now. "Hey give me a little more credit than that."

XXX

The time stamp reads 0300 hours. She is walking down the hallway of the facility, clad in nothing more than a little paper hospital gown. Her hands hang in small fists at her side and the skin of her arms has a noticeable pale blue hue to it.

As she comes to the next corner an orderly appears from one of the rooms, but fails to notice the girl standing in the middle of the hallway. He's too busy skimming over his paperwork. It is a careless mistake on his part, one that probably could have swayed the outcome.

She continues on her way, quickly coming to a door and entering. There are no camera's in that room though, and the next time she appears on screen is five minutes later. There is blood on one of her hands. She pauses and looks up at the surveillance camera and smiles.

"Stop." He says.

The screen freezes and he steps through the holographic image.

"Lovely." He says to no one but himself. He stands there and studies the image before him.

However, he is soon interrupted by a group of people. "Excuse me! No one is allowed in the records room without my express permission." The man in front says. His white coat sets him apart from the two others in his little group.

"Forgive me. I prefer to see the event alone, without bias." He says.

The man looks at the hologram and realizes which incident it is. He blanches slightly. "I need to see your clearance."

"You're right to insist. I know you've had security issues here within the last few days." He places his hand on a screen as he says this. The good doctor looks at the readout, and drops the bluster he once had.

"Apologies. An Operative of the Council will of course have full cooperation….I'm not sure what... I see no listing of rank, or name."

"I have neither. Like this facility, I don't exist. The Council calls me in when...when they wish they didn't have to." He says as he turns back to the doctor before him.

"She was the only success of the Teltain facility. A prodigy — A phenomenon….Until she was able to escape her room and set about destroying the facility and the people that worked there…And someone outside this facility was able to hack through the firewalls and access her files within the last few days."

"It's not that simple." The doctor says.

He eyes the doctor now, almost as if he is prey. "I'm sure it's not."

The doctor looks uncomfortable now. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here because the situation is more complicated than you think." He pauses. "Do you know what your sin is, Doctor Freeman?"

Again, Doctor Freeman blanches slightly. "I... I would be very careful about what you…"

The man merely shakes his head, almost sadly. "It's pride."

He touches a small control stand near the hologram and the holographic image jumps to the Doctor and River in front of a group of council members. The deceased Doctor Mathias, River, and Doctor Freeman stand before them.

"Key members of the council. Key. The minds behind every diplomatic, military and covert operation in the galaxy, and you put them in a room with a psychic."

"She was... she... was out greatest success, our only success after years of…" But he doesn't get a chance to finish before the Operative cuts him off.

"It's come to our attention that River became much more unstable, more ... disturbed, after you showed her off to the council."

"If there was some... classified information that she... well she never spoke of it." Doctor Freeman supplies hurriedly. "I don't know what it is."

"Nor do I. Secrets are not my concern. Keeping them is." He moves to his briefcase now. "You know, in certain older civilized cultures, when men failed as entirely as you have, they would throw themselves on their swords."

"Well I forgot my sword today, so…" And the sound of a sword rings clear through the room as Operative pulls out his sword.

"The council has no further interest in psychics. They represent a threat to the harmony and stability of our Alliance.

"I would put that down right now if I were you." But he doesn't have time to make any other threats as the operative quickly dispatches of the two men standing beside the doctor with grace.

Doctor Freeman attempts to turn and run, but the Operative pins him to the wall. He bunches his fingers and jabs the side of the Doctor's spine. Freeman stiffens, suddenly, agonizingly immobile. The Operative steps back, observes the Doctor's rigid grimace for a moment.

Almost ceremoniously, he drops to one knee and holds the blade out to one side, hilt to the floor and point tilted toward the doctor. The Doctor stares at it in horror as his paralyzed body begins to tip over toward it. He falls onto the sword, turning to look at the Operative as he dies.

"This is a good death. There's no shame in this, in a man's death. A man who's done fine works. We're making a better world. All of them, better worlds." He pulls his sword from the deceased doctor and wipes it off while walking back over to frozen image of River, drugged beyond belief, standing in front of the council.

"Where are you hiding, little girl?"

XXX

AN: Cue the dramatic drum roll please! I mean really, did you guys not expect there to be some consequences after Mr. Universe got her files? Hope you guys enjoyed this little bridge. I won't be following the exact episode arc from here on out, but promise to update soon. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this…Till next time. ;)