The Nine – Chapter Twenty-Nine

Author owns no rights to Firefly, and no copyright infringement is intended.

--------------------

"River," Simon said quietly, his tone urgent. "That was Becca. She and Gerald, and Chelsa, are on their way here in a shuttle. Liam's been shot." River started at that.

"I'm on my way down there, now," he added. "You may want to come and get Chelsa. She's rather torn up."

"Of course," she nodded, seeing two deputies hurrying down the hall.

"What?" They turned as one of the deputies held an ear piece tighter to his ear.

"Okay, one of us will head back." He said something to the other man, and he took off running the other way.

"What's happening?" River asked, Zoe coming to her side.

"Gunmen hit the jail," the harried deputy said quietly. "Two men down."

"All of us at once," River said softly. Zoe looked at her.

"What?"

"The ships were hit, as well," River said. "Liam was shot. Hurt badly it sounds like. They have hit us here, hit the jail, and the ships, all at the same time. All out war."

"So it seems," Zoe sighed.

---------------------

Simon had contacted Doctor Simpson, who had met him in the emergency area of the hospital.

"I know I'm not on staff here," Simon started, and Simpson raised a hand.

"Don't be absurd," he said at once. "Lad needs a trauma surgeon, and you're the only one around. I'll deal with the technicalities later." Simon nodded in relief, and starting scrubbing.

River appeared, looking concerned.

"Do you know how badly he's injured, Simon?" she asked.

"No, mei mei, I don't," he shook his head. "It sounded bad. Point blank shot high in the chest."

"He has armor," she pointed out.

"Then perhaps it won't be too bad," Simon nodded, and headed for the OR.

River heard the whine of the shuttle, and walked to where she could see the ship landing. As soon as it was on the ground, attendants hurried to the hatch, and River followed.

She watched wordlessly as they pulled Liam from the shuttle and wheeled him away. Gerald Frye stood by, covered in blood, watching them go.

"Are you injured, Gerald?" River asked.

"No, ma'am," he shook his head. "Boy's blood." River nodded. Chelsa came out of the shuttle then, and seeing River, ran to her, sobbing.

"It's my fault!" she wailed at once, and River hugged her tightly. She looked at Gerald, who nodded.

"She was 'sposed to wait in the ship. Came running out 'fore it was over, and the last one drew a bead on her. The boy stepped in front of the rifle. Killed the hundan though," he added, admiringly.

"It's my fault!" Chelsa screamed again, and River tried to comfort her.

"Don't think on that now, Chelsa," she soothed. "Let's just wait and see if Simon can fix him, okay?"

Becca Phillips came out of the hatch, looking pale.

"I tried to stop her," she said quietly. "She was too fast for me, and wouldn't stop when I called her. I'm sorry," she added.

"Not you fault," River assured her. "She knows better."

"We best be gettin' back, I guess," Gerald said quietly. "Might try again."

"All right," River nodded. "Be careful. They have attacked here and the jail as well," she told them. "No more mister nice guy."

"That works two ways," Gerald said grimly, and Becca nodded.

"We'll be careful," the pilot promised. The two went back aboard the shuttle, and in two minutes were on their way back to Guilford's. River wrapped an arm around Chelsa's shoulder and guided her toward the hospital, where Simon was already working to try and save Liam's life.

-------------------

"They hit the hospital, too," Toby said quietly, as he, Blade and Pistol sat in the lobby. Paramedics had removed the two wounded officers, and the coroner's assistant had removed the dead gunmen.

"Anyone hurt?" Blade asked.

"No, they ran into Cobb and Washburn," he smiled. "Misses Cobb, and Washburn. Never knew what hit'em." Blade paled slightly at that, remembering her own encounter with Misses Cobb.

"Hit Mal's ships, too," he added. "Shot that boy that Cobb's so fond of, Liam Greggs. Two of my deputies are his brothers."

Before Blade or Pistol could comment, Jayne and Goldie walked in from the rear of the building.

"Need to talk to you," Jayne said without preamble. "Outside." Toby nodded, and stood. Blade and Pistol followed, and the five of them walked outside.

"Nice car," Toby commented, seeing where Jayne was leading them.

"Belongs to a friend," Jayne said grimly, raising the boot hatch.

Inside, still unconscious, lay the hooded man from the hospital.

"Wo de mah," Bontrager breathed. "Where'd you. . . ."

"In the hospital parking lot," Goldie snarled. "Right as he set them hundans on the others."

"He dead?" Pistol asked, not really caring.

"Nah, just tapped him a little to keep him quiet," Goldie answered. Jayne closed the hatch, and looked at Toby.

"With Mal down, you're in charge," he said stiffly. "I aim to convince this man to talk to me, and I'm fair sure you won't like how I do it. We gonna have a problem?" Bontrager studied Jayne's face for a moment, then shrugged.

"Nothin' else is workin'," he said. "Can't hurt." He looked up at Jayne. "You know about Greggs?" Jayne's face turned ashen.

"Liam?" he asked. Toby nodded.

"Took one in the chest, at the plant," Toby said softly. "Simon's workin' on him now." Jayne hesitated for a moment, then his face went stony.

"Simon'll look after him. I got other cat's to skin." He looked at Blade.

"Reckon we can use your place for our little palaver?"

"Sure."

-------------------

Inara and Kaylee had eased out of the small waiting area once the shooting stopped, stunned by the devastation. Zoe was watching as the dead gunmen were hauled away.

"Where's River?" Kaylee asked. "And Simon?"

"Liam got shot, defending the ships," Zoe told her, face stoic. "Simon went down to work on him, and River went to take care of Chelsa."

"It's too much," Inara said quietly. "This is too much."

"It's too late for that," Zoe snorted. "This is war, now, Inara."

"Zoe, we can't keep going like this!" Inara exclaimed.

"Ain't got no choice, now," Zoe told her plainly. "It's root hog or die. They ain't playin'. And neither are we," she added grimly. "Jayne and Goldie are onto something. We'll see what they turn up."

--------------------

"Holy shit!" Bontrager blurted as the hood was taken off the unconscious man's head.

"Know this guy, I take it?" Jayne asked. He wasn't familiar with too many people in the area.

"Know him?" Toby was stunned. "Everyone knows him!"

"I don't," Jayne replied calmly.

"Me neither," Goldie peered at the man. "He's kinda. . .ugly. I'm sure I'd remember seeing him."

Toby looked around him in shock, realizing that none of the others had ever met him.

"That's Mason Bickford! The whole gorram Parish is named after his ancestors! And he's one of the men Mal trusted to know everything!"

-------------------

Inara looked up at the flurry of activity around Mal's bedside. She rushed over to the window, looking inside. The nurse's were all running to and fro, looking rather excitable. Just as Inara had decided to demand some information, one of the nurses came to the door.

"Miss Serra? He's asking to see you," the nurse smiled. "And he won't settle down until he does. Please come in."

"It's a good sign, right?" Inara asked hopefully. "That he's awake, I mean?"

"A very good sign, ma'am," the nurse smiled again. Inara walked into the room, hesitant at first, but growing more confident as Mal smiled weakly.

"Hey you," Inara smiled, wiping a tear from her face.

"Hey yourself," Mal grinned weakly. "I kinda got blowed up a little," he told her. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Well, long as you live, it's okay, I suppose," she laughed. "Mal, I want you to listen to the nurses, okay? You're still not in good shape. Let them see to you, and we'll talk more after a while."

"Kathy?" Mal asked, and Inara smiled.

"That's not later," she evaded, scolding. She didn't want to have to tell him the young woman was dead. "Now do as they say, and I'll be right outside. I'm not going anywhere. I promise," she added softly.

"Okay," he nodded slightly, eyes closing. "See you in a little while."

"Thank you," the nurse murmured. "He's a very stubborn man," she grinned.

"You have no idea," Inara told her, and walked back to the waiting area to tell Kaylee that Mal was going to be okay.

-------------------

Mason Bickford came to slowly, shaking his head slightly to clear it. He realized with a start that his hood was gone. He jerked awake at that, raising his head to look around him.

"Evening, Commissioner," a rather large man wearing a mask smiled. "Glad you could join us."

"Do you know who I am?" Bickford demanded, trying to hide his concern. The man laughed.

"I sure do," he nodded. "Know all about you, in fact. Know how you're part of the Nine, probably the leader. Know you tried to kill the sheriff. Tried to kill a lot o' people tonight, in fact. Did kill some of them," the man's tone took on an edge. "And some may yet die."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Bickford bluffed, testing his bonds.

"Save your strength, Commissioner," the man advised. "You're going to need it." The man approached him, drawing a very ugly looking knife.

"How 'bout we start by finding out who the rest of you are?"

Bickford was a tough man, it turned out. He lasted five full minutes before screaming.

It was ten more before he started talking.

--------------------

Simon walked out into the waiting area, his face a mask of exhaustion. He conferred briefly with Simpson, who then departed. Simon took a deep breath and walked over to where River and Chelsa were sitting.

"Uncle Simon, is Liam okay?" Chelsa asked, trembling.

"He's alive,sweetheart," Simon smiled tiredly. "That's all I can say for now. We'll see how he does over the next day or so," he added, looking at River. "It's. . .it was a rough wound. Hadn't been for his armor, he'd have died."

"It's my fault!" Chelsa wailed, crying again. "Please don't let him die, Uncle Simon! Please!" She grasped his surgical gown in her small hands and buried her face in his chest. Simon hugged her to him, soothing her as best he could, looking over her head at River. His eyes told her more than his words, and River fought to keep her own tears at bay.

Simon had done his best, but he didn't expect the boy to recover. River closed her eyes, and leaned back. Jayne would be devastated if Liam died.

Please, she pleaded to whomever might be listening. Let him be okay.

------------------

"This goes way beyond this parish," Bontrager breathed.

"We knew that it went at least as far as Mount Talmidge," Blade pointed out. "But I agree, this is. . .bigger than I had imagined."

"What are we gonna do?" Pistol asked, nursing a rather impressive bruise on his shoulder. He hardly felt it, though, still basking in Susan Pelham's admission that she loved him. That was all the medicine he needed, he figured.

"I can't do nothin' 'bout all that," Jayne pointed to the list of names Bickford had provided. "But I aim to put an end to what's happenin' around here. For good."

Bontrager looked at him, frowning.

"Jayne, with this, we can arrest them all. Try them in open court, expose the whole thing!"

"Arrest them on what?" Jayne snorted. "Information gotten from their leader, after he'd been. . .counseled with?" Bontrager shivered at that. He'd known that Cobb was a violent man. Mal had mentioned it before. But nothing had prepared him for what Cobb was really like. Even the two mercs, hardened as they were, had been cowed by him.

"Point," he sighed. "I just. . . ."

"It goes against your grain," Goldie finished for him. Bontrager nodded.

"Well, that's where we come in," Goldie told him, and Bontrager fought another shudder. Tarrant might be the lesser of two evils, but it wasn't much less.

"It don't go against our grain," the lesser evil grinned. "And I don't aim to let it keep goin', neither," he added, his grin still present, but his eyes going cold. No, not much less at all.

"Well, I don't much care for vigilantism," Toby sighed. "But, if we're gonna do this, we need a plan."

"I take it you got one?" Jayne leaned forward, interested.

"I got the beginnings of one, anyway," Toby smiled.

--------------------

After their planning session, Jayne and Goldie returned to the hospital. Blade and Pistol had assured them they could take care of the 'minor detail' in their basement, and Bontrager needed to set things in motion for the coming day.

The mood at the hospital was a combination of subdued excitement over Mal's brief period of consciousness, and less subdued anxiety over Liam's condition. Jayne took the news about his protégé with a stony face, scowling slightly when he heard the cause.

"Jayne, she already feels bad enough," River said softly.

"She should feel bad," he pointed out. "Had she done what she was told, Liam might not be hangin' by a thread right now." His voice wasn't angry, just matter of fact.

"She knows that," River assured him. Jayne sighed.

"He's a good kid," he said finally. River took his hand in hers, leaning against his shoulder. He reached around her, pulling her to him, and she readily snuggled into his great bulk.

"I'll have to leave again, in the morning," he told her softly, where only she could hear. "We aim to hit back. Hard." River looked up at him.

"It's bigger than we ever imagined," he admitted. "Stretches a long way, ai ren. We can take care of what's around here, okay. The others?" he shrugged. "Have to wait and see. At this point, if they leave us alone, I'm willin' to return the favor."

"How long will it take?" she asked.

"Couple days, most like," he told her. "Depends," he admitted.

"You will be exercise caution," she ordered. "You will come back to me. Or I will be upset. And angry."

"I'll come back," he nodded, kissing her on the forehead. "Can't have you all upset and angry."

"Jayne?" she looked at him, searching his face.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go to Inara's shuttle," she rose, pulling on his hand. He stood with her.

They walked to the shuttle together, his arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist. Kaylee had offered to watch Chelsa, with Jayne growling that she had better do as she was told. Still in shock over what had happened to Liam, she had nodded wordlessly.

The couple entered the shuttle, and closed the door. Jayne looked down at her.

"Don't speak," River placed a hand to his lips. "Just love me, Jayne. Like there will be no tomorrow. Love me."

Jayne lifted her in his arms, and carried her to the bed. They undressed each other, never a word passing between them. Then, with a passion and tenderness born of fear, love, and hope, they comforted each other in the way that lovers had for centuries.

Like there would be no tomorrow.