Disclaimer: Firefly and her crew are not mine, all hail Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy etc.
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Chapter 2 of the ongoing story. Y'all know I share the Jaynegang's obsession with all things Jayne…
Chinese translations:
Gou shi: crap, worthless thing
Dai tu sha: massacre
lan diao la ji: rotting trash
Ai ya: damn, oh my
Hua le: ruined, spoiled, exclamation of bad news
Wo men wan le: we're finished, doomed, in big trouble
gou cao de: dog-humped
wei bing gou: guard dog
feng kuang di hou zi: crazy monkey
le se: garbage
LiesJayne's next thought was that he must have fallen asleep. He had, in fact -- he guessed that the drugs the slavers gave him were still in his system. The lights were dimmed down, and although he could see the pilot's chair, he could not see Selene. He tried to turn his body but found the metal strap held him fast. He could still turn his head though, and he surveyed his surroundings as best he could. The shuttle was very clean, neat, a little like Inara's but not so much frippery. Didn't look like the inside of a genie bottle. He tried to look over his shoulder and was rewarded by the sight of Selene, curled on her side and half covered with a white blanket, as she lay on the only other major piece of furnishing in the shuttle, a bed draped with sheer white curtains. She was still fully dressed in her finery from the station, clutching that blanket to her body a little. Through the gauzy curtains, her eyes closed and face softened, her hair removed from its confines and curls falling all over, she looked much gentler than when Jayne had first encountered her on the slavers' space station. He wondered at her age —- he had never been good with guessing a lady's years, but if he had to, he would guess she was older than 30, but maybe just. Older than Inara, then. Older than Saffron or whatever her name was, though her hair was a like shade. Likely younger than him. But without a doubt way smarter. He wondered all sorts of things about who she was and why she came to get him outta that slaver station, but his thoughts kept returning to the scent of her, fresh apples.
She stirred, and Jayne turned back. Best to keep his mouth shut and his mind clear, he thought, otherwise he didn't stand a chance.
Selene woke with a start, with the distinct impression she was being watched, but when she sat up, the only other person in the shuttle was faced to the front, as he had been when she saw him fall asleep. She looked at a small readout beside her bed —- she had slept for only about an hour. Enough to refresh her, but now she had to change and get back to her ship. She pushed aside a gauze curtain and left the bed, barefoot, passing behind a black lacquer screen, painted in gold and red with designs of ancient China from Earth That Was. A real antique, one that she was quite proud of. She pressed the series of buttons to reveal the hidden compartment in the shuttle's deck containing her regular clothes, and removed them from their hiding place. She slipped out of the fancy silk tunic and skirts, and the gold bracelets (and her little knife and holster), and pulled on her soft brown cotton trousers, a matching fitted tank top, and a soft cream-coloured linen shirt. She pushed her feet into her favourite boots and zipped them up. She re-affixed the holster and knife, over her trousers, at her upper thigh. At a small vanity she splashed water on her face and used a facecloth to wipe off most of her dramatic make-up. When she was done, she surveyed the results in the small mirror, and felt like she was finally staring back at herself. The companion garb and accoutrements were becoming too heavy for her to bear, she thought. She used to enjoy playing dress-up, but now when she had to resort to the role of companion for a job, she felt trapped, somehow, in an image that wasn't her.
Jayne, meanwhile, listened to her movements. The impatient and impulsive part of him wondered if he should speak, 'cause waiting for her to say something to him was driving him nuts. The tracker, the calculating part of his brain said, patience Jayne, don't reveal anything. Let her make the first move, listen and learn, and make your plans from there.
Selene paused for a moment in her toilette. She also listened, although it seemed there was little noise in the shuttle besides the little she was making herself. She smiled. "I know you're awake, Mr. Cobb", she simply stated. Jayne was startled, it was as though she could hear him thinking. When Selene came out from behind her screen, she saw that Jayne's head was now turned towards her, and his eyes followed her as she made her way to the front of the shuttle. Jayne thought she was perhaps even more striking now, in her more mundane clothes, but did not say so. He tried to direct his thoughts and remain calm. "Really wanna know why I'm here", he said curtly, as Selene stopped, and sat on the edge of the table only a couple of feet from him. She didn't touch him this time. He could smell apples.
"Would you rather have remained with Mr. Clem and his friends? I rather thought you would show me a little more gratitude for … liberating you from that particular set of circumstances." Selene said it with a slight smile playing on her lips, although that smile did not carry to her eyes. In fact, her eyes betrayed no amusement at all. She leaned forward a little, studying Jayne as he considered his reply.
Jayne kept his eyes on her throughout. It was spooky, those eyes had been blue, he swore, now they looked kind of greeny-bluey, he just wasn't sure, even up close, what colour her eyes were. Right now, they were cold, calculating. He was very sure that this woman meant a world of trouble for him, and again schooled himself to be patient, and let her reveal her intentions to him. He finally spoke, "I would be much more grateful if I weren't still trussed up like a ruttin' bird for a holiday dinner. But at least the company here is a mite more pleasant" and with that Jayne gave her his very best leer, and grinned. To his amazement, he saw her smile move to her eyes for a brief moment before her eyes widened slightly, and she frowned at him.
Selene couldn't help herself, she actually found him a little charming. He was obviously smarter than she had initially thought, when she had first viewed his profile, and she saw in his eyes that he was also playing her, seeing what she was made of. That's when she caught herself, and frowned. Jayne Cobb was a dangerous man -- perhaps much more dangerous than she first had believed. And she had to get down to business.
"Mr. Cobb, I assure you that you will not find me pleasant at all should you not be completely cooperative with me. I am in no mood for games, and although we have some time to discuss what happens next, I will entertain no more nonsense from you. Are we clear?"
"Yes ma'am", Jayne said obediently. He thought once again how suited this woman was in her role as a companion, even though the clothes didn't match the cultured voice anymore. She was used to giving orders, and having them obeyed, that much was certain.
"Alright then. We might as well get started. My name is Selene. I am not a companion, as you may have already surmised. I was trained as a bounty-hunter and assassin. Freelance, I am not affiliated with the Alliance or any particular entity, although I pick up contracts from them from time to time. You would be Mr. Jayne Cobb, mercenary, wanted by the Alliance to answer charges of theft, assault, armed robbery, and murder of at least five men. I've been tracking you for a number of weeks, traced you to Hereafter, where you disappeared. Didn't take much to guess you'd been taken by slavers. So now you have become my latest capture. I had planned to turn you in to the proper authorities for a rather ridiculously large reward. But I got curious as to why the Alliance was offering such a large sum for what appeared to be a small-time crook and piece of gou shi such as yourself."
Jayne had been staring her right in the face from the moment she started talking. He was trying to absorb all she was saying; that was difficult because she was talking so quick and sounding so officious. Bounty hunter, assassin, charges, murder, reward…. Well, now he was a little steamed at that gou shi comment, and Selene paused right then to let her meaning sink right in, and she noted his anger at her insult. She smiled coldly, and continued.
"The big reward on your head is a result of your affiliation with two fugitives, Simon and River Tam, initially wanted for a double homicide on Osiris. Your warrant was posted after you were seen with the Tams on Ariel, and upon the discovery of the murdered bodies of eight federal police officers at St. Lucy's hospital in Capital City. The Alliance believes that you are a direct link to the Tams, and probably participated in the murders of the police officers in question. That is, of course, in addition to your own illustrious crimes."
"The reward for the capture of Simon and River Tam is substantial. Much more than I would get for turning you over to the Alliance. It is my belief that you are acquainted with the Tams, that you are either travelling with them, or have direct knowledge of their whereabouts. The Alliance, I imagine, is also working on this assumption -- that having you will lead them to the Tams. Now you know why I "rescued" you from that slaver station -- and my question to you is, Mr. Cobb, will you help me willingly, or do I have to wrench the knowledge of the Tams' location directly from your brain?"
With that, Selene sat back, took one last look at Jayne, and stood up. She sat in the pilot's seat, and checked her controls. "We have approximately 45 minutes until we reach my ship. I have facilities on board which can … encourage your cooperation. Take your time, and think carefully about how you would like this to go, Mr. Cobb." Selene was reasonably sure that the merc would help her to preserve himself -- she held back the discussion of money, leaving it up to him to bring it up should he appear willing to deal. What she saw before she turned her back was encouraging; although he appeared angry and, she was certain, felt trapped, she could see the wheels of his mind turning. She just needed to be patient, and let him think things through a mite.
Jayne, meanwhile, was incredulous —- his mind was travelling a mile a minute, trying to figure what to do, or what to say. He had done a good many things that he was not particularly proud of, and many other things that were just a part of the life he had chosen. He knew he had killed more than five men, but most all had been threatening him with imminent death themselves, and murder amongst criminals was hardly something the Alliance was interested in. But the murders of eight federals was another thing entirely. And what about the two others Simon and River were accused of?
Jayne considered for just a moment telling her what he heard and saw on Ariel, the screams, River's fear, all that they went through on Ariel, but he thought she would be unlikely to be persuaded by his story. In short, she wouldn't believe him —- he was supposed to be a murderer and a thug. She would believe his betrayal of the Tams, expected it, but she wouldn't understand his loyalty to them, or to anyone other than himself. That, he realized in the calculating part of his brain, could be the key to getting himself out of this in one piece.
Still grated him, her thinking that he was the scum of the 'verse, though why it bothered him so much he didn't rightly know. His arms had gone numb. It was making him tetchy. "Never killed no-one weren't threatening my life or the life of my crew", he muttered to himself, but loud enough that Selene could hear.
Selene, who had been leaning back in her chair, facing toward her console, spun around with that comment. "Eight federal officers, all threatening your life? Oh please, Mr. Cobb, your warrant suggested impulsive and violent, not delusional!" She stared straight at him. Jayne stared right back.
"Nope", he growled, "I'm not delusional, just that … you weren't there." And with that, he lowered his eyes and fell silent.
Selene sensed a whole host of emotions before Jayne lowered his gaze: guilt mostly —- hey, killing eight federals must have been an unusually violent day, even for this man -— but there was something else, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She would need to keep a close eye on this one; there was definitely more to him than his profile hinted at. She spun back to her console and tried to put her attention back to the navigation controls.
Jayne, meanwhile, stayed quiet for many long minutes, turning his situation over and over in his mind. He kept thinking about how the gorram hell he was going to get out of this without betraying his shipmates —- even the idiot doctor didn't deserve this woman dragging him back to who knows where to collect some big reward. And River -- well, she'd been through enough. Did get him to wondering though, who the Tams were thought to have killed on Osiris. Should he risk asking? He decided he should…
"Who'd they kill on Osiris?" Jayne just blurted out, breaking the silence in the shuttle like shattering glass. Selene started a little; she hadn't expected him to have much to say but his question coming out of the blue, after such a long silence, and while she was deep in her own thoughts, was a mite jarring. She turned her chair around to face him. Jayne was looking at her, a slight frown (confusion?) on his features.
"Their mother and father" she replied simply, her eyes on Jayne, watching for his reaction. She saw shock register in his eyes, and she herself was a bit surprised by that. Could he have figured out she was a reader? No, his emotional responses seemed genuine enough. Maybe he really didn't know what kind of people he had taken up with. They certainly had the tools to appear to be respectable, the Tam siblings, but surely he would've figured out by now what they were capable of, she thought. Well, he would certainly know now, as she continued.
"Mr. and Mrs. Tam were found in their home on the Tam Estate on Osiris, slaughtered, there was blood everywhere, a real dai tu sha from the reports I've seen. Family belongings and heirlooms were missing, and at first officials believed the Tams had been unfortunate victims of a home-invasion robbery; however they couldn't find their two children, Simon and River Tam. Simon Tam didn't show up for his shift at the hospital where he worked, and River Tam was reported missing from her school only hours after that. The family belongings and heirlooms were found a few days later. They had been sold to an antique dealer, who swore a statement that the persons who sold the stuff to him matched the descriptions of Simon and River Tam."
Selene watched Jayne as his features registered this report with little emotion. It was strange, she thought, like he was wrestling with something she didn't quite understand. Then it was like a door in his mind slammed shut on her, and she was unable to get any reading at all from the merc. She frowned. How could he be blocking her?
Jayne meanwhile tried to organize his thoughts. It seemed unlikely, Simon and River, killing their own parents. But he remembered that first day, while River was still in that box, the Fed, Dobson, had shot Kaylee, and the doc refused to treat her until Mal turned the ship away from the Alliance. Mal's accusation rang in his ears: "What'd you do? Kill your folks for the family fortune?" Simon's face, panicked, when he denied it: "I don't kill people". And River, she knew her way with weapons. Knives, guns, she might not seem to like 'em much, but she sure knows how to use them. Cut him, shot those fellas on Niska's station. Jayne frowned, thinking to himself that he wasn't cut out for deductive reasoning; he was just a dumb merc, hired muscle. Likely he didn't know anything about the Tams at all. Who's to say that Simon didn't go crazy when he found out how bad off his loony sister was at that place, and gone all violent on dear old mom and pop for sending River off to the Academy? Or that River herself didn't do the honours before she and Simon hoofed it off that planet?
He struggled to put what he knew into some sort of order. He knew there were warrants out for the Tams; no secret that. But this bounty hunter, Selene, she never mentioned the Academy, and what happened to River there; she had said River was reported missing from school. The earlier warrants like the one Jubel Early had for the Tams' arrest didn't have anything about the Academy either. He didn't think Early hadn't mentioned the death of their parents neither. Something smelled about this, but for the life of him, Jayne couldn't figure it. Like he was missing some pieces of a puzzle. And his arms were truly fallen asleep.
"Huh", Jayne finally grunted. Selene was still watching him, still trying to see into him, get an idea what he was thinking. When he spoke again, he sounded resigned. Jayne wasn't putting on an act, he really saw no other way out, whether or not the Tams had really done this terrible thing.
"What kind of percentage can I expect for helpin' you out?" he asked. Selene grinned. She had him. She didn't need to see into his head to know.
"Well, Mr. Cobb", she began, "here's the thing. You are a wanted felon. But, since the Tams are wanted even more than you, capturing them will mean the likely cancellation of your warrant, and you would be free to go on about your usual business. I could ensure that your current problems with the law disappear. At least, until you get into trouble again, which considering your history would not take long. But that would not be my concern. The clearing of your warrant, plus a small bonus, say, 10,000 in platinum, would be your payment. For that, I will require detailed information on where to find Simon and River Tam, and in whose company I might find them. While I am on the bounty, you will remain my guest, and upon their capture, I will release you, and deliver your payment immediately."
Jayne guffawed. "Yeah, and I'm just supposed to trust you on that".
Selene got up from her chair, and sat on the edge of the table in front of Jayne. She looked right into his eyes, and put her hands on his knees. "I don't like to lie, Mr. Cobb" she began.
Jayne was keenly aware of her physical proximity to him, and struggled to keep his composure with her. He stared her right back in the eye, saying, "And playing a companion, getting on that slaver station, the stuff you told 'em, what are your feelings on that?"
Selene, her hands still on his knees, her eyes still locked with his, nodded, and smiled, although he noted that smile didn't reach her eyes. "You're quite right, of course. My profession and lifestyle necessitates lies; my very life depends on my ability to lie convincingly. I don't necessarily enjoy that aspect of this job. Of course I don't feel it necessary to fill in some gou shi slavers on my actual intentions; they don't need to know the truth about who I am, and who you are. Also, if they did know, they would very likely endanger my life and yours as well." With this she leaned in just a little further.
"The difference is, Mr. Cobb, that I am making you a promise. Now, if you were to ask those for whom I have done business about the quality of my word, each and every one of them would tell you that, come hell or high water, I keep my promises. So, when I promise you that in exchange for your cooperation, I will reward you with your freedom, a chunk of cash, and the clearance of your record; I will do my utmost to ensure that this is the result."
He watched as her eyes grew very cold then, the colour of icy cold steel, a hard blue-grey. "On the other hand, if I promise you that your refusal to cooperate with me will lead to me very painfully torturing you, and that I will retrieve the required information from whatever recesses of your brain I need to dig into, I can guarantee you that will happen. And I will get my information, one way or another."
She leaned back slightly now. "The way I see it, Mr. Cobb, what we require of one another right now is a measure of trust. Unfortunately, neither of us is willing to take those first steps to begin to trust the other. I don't trust that if I let you loose, you won't try to kill me and steal my ship. Given your record, you must see that this is a reasonable worry, on my part. And your dealings with the lan diao la ji of these backwater systems has left you with little ability to trust anyone at all, let alone a bounty hunter who you have just met, who has essentially kidnapped you, and makes promises which she can easily ignore once she gets what she wants. Do you think that is a fair assessment of our current situation, Mr. Cobb?"
Jayne held her gaze, a little sardonically, and nodded. Coulda said it with far less words, but that was about it.
"Well then Mr. Cobb, you are just going to have to decide to trust me, and decide what you are going to trust me to do."
Part of Jayne was still mesmerized by the sound of her voice, the low and rich timber of it, the scent of her hair, the warmth of her hands on his knees … but he also heard what she was saying. Didn't think he could trust her as far as he could ruttin' throw her, but he heard. A little part of him whispered that she sure seemed sincere though. Jayne, he thought to himself, don't be a fool. Keep her thinkin' she's gonna get what she wants from you, and maybe, just maybe, you'll get out of this with all your limbs and your brain (such as it is) intact.
Jayne nodded again, but before he could speak, a warning claxon sounded in the small shuttle. Selene broke contact with him, and jumped back to her console.
"What the hell is that?" asked Jayne, over the wailing siren.
"Damn" was all that Selene said for a moment, then "Ai ya! Hua le!".
The Alliance cruiser August filled the viewscreen of the shuttle. A number of smaller ships buzzed around her, like metal insects swarming a monstrous floating hive. The cruiser was directly between Selene and her ship, parked as it was on a small moon orbiting an uninhabitable gaseous planet.
Selene silently cursed a bit more, as this was possibly the worst thing that could have happened at this time. She thought there were no Alliance patrols in the area, let alone a cruiser. She actually let out a little laugh, the situation was so damn absurd. Jayne, from his view from the getting-to-be-less-comfy chair, figured things had just went from bad to worse, and he blurted it right out. "Somethin' funny 'bout this?"
Selene whirled around, ready to take the merc's head clean off his body with one of her best scathing looks, but he looked pretty damn pathetic pinned to the comfy chair right now, with a big freaking Alliance vessel looming in the viewscreen. She couldn't help it, she felt the laughter welling up. The last thing she needed now was the giggles, she thought. Too late. She started laughing out loud, and continued, while Jayne just stared like she had weasels in her hair. The look on his face just made it worse, until she could hardly stand up from laughing. Jayne, not too convinced that his kidnapper wasn't crazy to begin with, was now entirely convinced. Off her nut, she was.
As Selene gasped for breath, and finally felt like she could stop laughing, she looked up at her prisoner. "Oh, Mr. Cobb! Wo men wan le!" she said breathlessly. "This rather imposing Alliance cruiser is hailing us, and they are between this wee shuttle and my admittedly not much bigger ship. We are gou cao de, my friend".
Jayne just gaped at her. This woman was truly crazy. And he was at her mercy, tied to a chair. This was great. Just great.
Selene's survival instinct was kicking in, and she was figuring on a plan that would not change Jayne's view of her as a crazy woman, not one little bit. She steeled herself, approached the merc, and sat again on the table in front of him, keeping his eye contact, but not touching him. "Mr. Cobb, we have very little time before I have to answer them, and we are subject to a search by federal soldiers. I really don't see a way to avoid it. The biggest problem I see is that you are a wanted felon, and if they find out who you are, they will take you in. We both lose: you will definitely lose any chance you have for freedom and I will lose my very best chance to locate the Tams and collect my bounty. Because I am not an employee of the Alliance, and any property I have on board can and will be confiscated if they decide that I am harbouring a wanted fugitive. I am not willing for that to happen. But to avoid that, I will need your help."
Jayne's eyes widened and again he silently questioned the sanity of his captor. "Not really in much of a position to do that now, am I?"
Selene nodded. "Of course, I can't very well expect you to help me as my prisoner. So, for this to work, I have to free you; then we will both be in a position to help each other. This is my suggestion: I will forego the bounty on you, Mr. Cobb, if you will agree to join me to find Simon and River Tam. Together we'll split the reward. Say, 70/30. Do we have a deal?"
Jayne considered his options. That Alliance cruiser now filled the viewscreen completely, and the hail was getting more insistent. "How do I know the second these guys take off, you won't decide this conversation never happened?"
Selene expected that. She held his accusing gaze, unwavering. "I swear to you, on my honour, that I will keep my promise, Mr. Cobb. I may be a hunter, but I'm not a crook. I don't play games, I don't double-cross, I don't play one side against another for a buck. This will be a business arrangement, and I will consider you my partner in this enterprise. I want you to understand that, as my business partner, I will always be honest with you, and I will expect the same from you. I asked you before for your trust. Now it appears we really are forced to trust one another. I will keep up my end. I now need you to offer me some assurances."
Jayne saw nothing in her eyes that was insincere. That was a little daunting, he thought. He had no time to suss this out. He had to decide right now…. "Alright, I'm in", he spat, "For 50/50, I'll do my part and won't try to steal your ship or nothing'. Now get me out of this chair before my gorram arms fall off".
"60/40" Selene countered.
Jayne grinned, a little grimly. "Done".
Selene had kept watching him. All her instincts were screaming at her not to do this, but the thought of losing her bounty entirely and having to answer to the Alliance was putting her in a corner. She hated that feeling. She didn't believe she could trust him, really, but now was a moment of truth and they were going to need each other to pull this off. She moved to the back of the chair and released the restraining metal band, and pushed his shoulders and back forward. "Scoot up a bit", she said. Jayne found he was able to do so, with some effort. Selene reached to the knife holstered on her hip, and used it to cut Jayne's hands free. Jayne's arms were almost completely numb, and he was not surprised to find he couldn't seem to easily get up out of that chair. Selene's left hand was still on his shoulder.
"Sit tight for a minute, until the feeling comes back into your arms and hands. I'll speak to our friends, and we'll prepare to be questioned."
Selene then turned to answer the now very insistent Alliance hail. Jayne watched as she spoke with them, apologized for the delay, and agreed to a search by the federals. Selene turned back to Jayne, who was massaging the feeling back into his arms, and outlined her plan.
When the Federal sergeant boarded Selene's shuttle, he was greeted by the sight of "Fergus Mitchell", who stood blocking his view of Selene in her pilot's chair. Private Johnson approached him first, and briefed him. The woman was carrying a companion ident and the man was identified in the ship's logs as her bodyguard, been with her less than three months. The sergeant took in the sight before him. The big man was shirtless and looked vaguely embarrassed. Selene herself was a bit dishevelled since she had very little time between explaining her plan to Jayne and donning the makeup and clothing of her companion character. The sergeant made the leap which Selene was sure he would, that he had "interrupted" something between the companion and her bodyguard. He snickered. "Companion Selene Nolan, please call off your wei bing gou".
With that, Selene reached up and gently pushed Jayne off to the side, gave him a warning look upon seeing the responsive, instinctive anger in his eyes and nodded at the Sergeant, but made no move to get up from her chair, nor approach him across the ten or so feet separating them. Her posture was straight, and her tone imperious. "Sergeant, is there a reason why I am being treated in such an appalling manner? I have been nothing but cooperative with the Alliance, and yet I am detained, boarded, and your feng kuang di hou zi soldiers have made a mess of my shuttle. I would very much appreciate being told what you are looking for and why I am being held here".
The sergeant raised an eyebrow. Johnson, still at his side, reported in a low tone that there was nothing suspicious on the shuttle, and that they had found the companion and her bodyguard in the condition they now were. Selene continued to regard the sergeant as he spoke in a low tone with the lower-ranking soldier. He then strode up to the detainees.
"What is your purpose in this sector?" He ignored the bodyguard and spoke directly to Selene.
"I have completed some business in Salt Flats Township and am returning to my ship. As you can see, this is only a small shuttle. My ship is on a moon orbiting this planet".
"We found your ship, Ms. Nolan. It was searched for contraband, just as your shuttle was searched. Have you been on or in contact with anyone from Hereafter?"
"No, Sergeant… ?"
"Kennedy."
"Sergeant Kennedy, thank you. No, I wouldn't land on Hereafter, as I'm sure you are aware that it is not suitably civilized for my … services".
Sergeant Kennedy was studying his portable vid-screen; the companion's identification checked out, and the shuttle's logs confirmed her story of where they had been. Selene hoped he continued to ignore Jayne, but luck was not smiling down on her quite yet.
"And your bodyguard, Mr. Mitchell? Has he been on Hereafter?" He asked without looking up.
Jayne opened his mouth as if to speak, forgetting for a moment Selene's most explicit direction to "say nothing unless you are ordered to speak by me", but luckily Selene jumped in very quickly.
"He has been with me at all times, except during my appointments, when he was guarding the shuttle. He cannot pilot the craft and so could have taken it nowhere". Selene's imperious tone reminded Jayne of his "place" and he shut his mouth and looked down at the ground. Keep your head Jayne, he admonished himself, let her do the talkin', she's good at it.
Sergeant Kennedy did not see Jayne's initial reaction, but he looked up at the end of Selene's comments. He stared at her for what seemed an eternity, and did not speak. Selene met his stare with her own direct and, she hoped, honest-appearing expression. She also said nothing further.
Sergeant Kennedy finally broke the silence. "There are reports of illegal and unauthorized slaving activity in this sector, would you know anything about that?"
Selene's mind worked quickly: if the federals had caught the slavers, Clem could have sold her out -— but he didn't know where she was heading exactly. This was likely just a coincidence, and the Sergeant was fishing for information. She betrayed nothing but disdain when she spoke. "Sir, I do not associate with slavers, human le se, I have no need to do so. I hire my employees on the basis of references and recommendations, and pay them a decent living wage. I believe a companion cannot be too careful about such things. Mr. Mitchell here is currently my only employee." She then looked down, as if she were a little flustered, as if that was not all Fergus Mitchell was….
Sergeant Kennedy considered the large, muscular man again; he didn't seem to be a prisoner or there against his will; there were a few bruises on his face though. The Sergeant pointed at Jayne's eye and jaw. "What happened there?"
Selene quickly interjected again, "This is a dangerous part of 'verse, Sergeant, and I'm afraid my presence in Salt Flats caused a little commotion. Mr. Mitchell was protecting me from … some local colour, when he acquired those". Jayne nodded in agreement.
Sergeant Kennedy regarded Selene seriously. "There was also an attempted robbery on Hereafter a couple of days ago; some individuals tried to relieve a local magistrate of his payroll. You wouldn't happen to have heard anything about that in Salt Flats now, would you?"
Selene winced inwardly. She highly suspected Jayne had been involved in that robbery attempt, when she tracked him as far as Hereafter. A look over at his face, which was now deliberately blank instead of embarrassed, confirmed it. She thought fast. "Now that you mention it, Sergeant, I think I may have. The men who attacked my bodyguard spoke of being some sort of big bad thieves, legends in their own minds if you ask me. I must say they did seem terribly coarse, especially in the quaint setting of Salt Flats." Selene hoped this tidbit might send Sergeant Kennedy rushing off to Salt Flats Township to check out her lead.
Sergeant Kennedy whispered something to a soldier next to him, and once again regarded the companion and her bodyguard. He was looking for slavers or thieves, and these two seemed to be neither. As for being a slave, Fergus Mitchell didn't appear to be ill-treated; he seemed protective of the companion, and embarrassed by his current state of undress. By all appearances, he was the companion's lover. This was a false alarm, he thought. No point in pissing off the companion guild any more than he already had.
Selene and Jayne didn't realize they were holding their breath until Sergeant Kennedy finally spoke again. "Alright then. Alpha unit, return to the August." As the troops filed out, he turned back to the companion, eyeing her and her "bodyguard" again. "Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Nolan, sorry to … disturb you. Would you like an escort to your ship?"
Selene smiled graciously, relieved, and replied "No, thank you Sergeant, I will be … well looked-after." With that, she lowered her gaze, as if she were too embarrassed to meet the Sergeant's eyes.
Sergeant Kennedy turned and strode out, laughing a bit to himself as he left. Guess she had something other than ice running through her veins, he thought.
With her heart still thumping in her chest, Selene piloted the shuttle to the small moon, and docked her shuttle on the back of her Mermaid class ship, The Circe. Mermaids were usually used as small supply ships, sometimes bought as private "yachts" for rich travellers not wanting to depend on Alliance schedules. They could be easily run by one or two persons, and after docking, Selene showed Jayne the rest of the ship.
"Shuttle is my quarters, ship's helm is at the other end. In between is a galley and lounge, down below is the engine room, a small infirmary, and two additional guest quarters. You can have your choice, though the port side might be a little noisier than starboard, as the engine sometimes reverbs on the port. My quarters are off limits, as is the helm. I have force-field locks on all doors on board, and I will not hesitate to lock you out of any area, or lock you in your room at night if I suspect you of planning any mischief."
Jayne took in the elegantly decorated, small ship, and looked again at Selene. "Looks just like a companion lives here".
"That's rather the point, Mr. Cobb. I rely on that cover quite frequently, and I can't have the Alliance becoming suspicious when my transportation fails to match my ident."
Jayne continued to look at Selene. "Just fancy is all. Shiny." He leaned back against the bulkhead and crossed his arms. "Won't be any need to lock up nothin'. We got a deal and I like the idea of getting' paid. Not gonna risk that".
Selene considered the big merc, and then nodded. "Then let's get underway, shall we?"