A/N: Comment! Please! I can't know how I'm doing unless you guys let me know. Thanks so much for reading my work.
Wash snuggled closer to Zoe and smiled to himself. He knew he was lucky. Zoe's got a lot of walls that she won't let down for anyone and he felt privileged to be able to be so close to her, both emotionally and physically. Though the physical side didn't hurt. He felt her tense in his arms. "What is baby"
"This moon is getting under my skin, in the worst way. I don't like it here"
Husband and wife shared one of those loaded, intense gazes. Alot can be said without saying it. A full minute passed and Wash nodded his head and said, "Alright then"
Wash got out of bed and began to dress. Zoe smiled and got up to dress as well.
When Inara had been perusing by herself for an hour she started to wonder if Kaylee was giving the shopkeeper trouble. A smile spread across her lips as she thought about how excited Kaylee got over anything that clicked or buzzed or hummed. When she exited the store to go look for Kaylee, she saw Shepherd Book and Mal on the side of the road. They both noticed her and walked to meet her. "Find any supplies?" Mal said that last word with a great amount of sarcasm and disdain.
Inara gave him that 'thank you so much for the underhanded insult' smile and said, "Mmm, no, Mal. But I did see some very disreputable men. Perhaps you could enter into some kind of illegal dealings with them"
Mal smiled and noticed that Inara was by herself. "Where's lil' Kaylee"
Inara gestured with her hand, "She got a little distracted at another store. I was just about to go join her"
"We'll join you." the shepherd said, trying to move the lack of conversation along.
The three of them started off towards that part of town.
Kaylee very slowly started to come back to consciousness. She was extremely cold and lying on metal. Everything was so fuzzy, and her head was pounding, and when she tried to move her hand up to touch it she felt a steady stream of blood coming from her hairline right above her right temple. She tried to sit up and got very sick to her stomach. She could taste blood and something else...? It tasted almost like metal. She couldn't think straight her head was throbbing so hard and she felt like she was going to be sick.
She blinked several times and carefully pushed herself up into sitting position. It was very dark but there was a light coming from another room so she could barely make out her surroundings. She was in a room a little smaller than the size of her own bunk. It was completely empty and sharp and cold. Along with the sick feeling deep in her stomach she felt the sharp pang of something else rise up. Fear. She was shaking terribly now, from the cold or the panic she couldn't tell. She looked down at herself and saw the dress all scuffed and torn in some places. She fingered one of the harsh rips on her left side around her thigh. One tear fell down her cheek as a barely audible whisper came from her, "Nara's dress...".
"Two sides to the coin...heads or tails...heads or heads...never tails...coin never lands right side up..."River was in the infirmary and Simon was checking her over.
"River? River, can you tell me what you mean?", he dropped his instrument and held her shoulders. If he could only make her focus maybe he could get a steady, comprehendible flow of dialogue from her. He gently grabbed her shoulders and looked her square in the eyes. "River, what do you mean"
"He's not who you think he is. Locked her up. Swallowed the key. She's scared"
"River, honey. There's nothing to be scared of"
"Not me. Kaylee."
Simon's face was confused and alarmed. "Kaylee? River, why is Kaylee scared"
River was looking off into space, not being able to keep her eyes on one thing for long. "Doesn't taste good …got the wrong one and doesn't even know it…and now it's ripped…" River looked into Simon's eyes. "…she's sad." Simon's mind raced and did all manner of flip flops in the small span of mere seconds. He was aware that his sister sometimes knew things that she couldn't, but even the idea of Kaylee hurt…well. That hit him in the scary place. Simon gathered himself together and shook her shoulders lightly, "River. Mei mei, you have to tell me where she is. Where is Kaylee"
"Cold and dark…cold and dark…can't see from all the blood"
Simon's heart sunk into the pit of his stomach. He quickly moved River off of the infirmary bed and guided her to the bridge, where Wash and Zoe were talking. At Simon's face they both stopped and stood. "I think Kaylee might be in trouble." Wash grabbed the com and clicked it on. "Captain."
Mal nodded at the salesman and walked over to Inara and Book. "He said he saw a girl in here bout an hour back, matched my description, but she was only in the store for about five minutes." His voice held that serious tone that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. "Did he happen to see which way she went?" This came from Book, who even when worried held that no nonsense tone.
Inara's eyes were wide with fear, but she tried to verbalize her self-consolation. "Maybe she's back on the ship"
Just then Mal heard his com click on and Wash's voice say, "Captain"
"Yeah, Wash." Mal clenched his jaw tightly. Wash offered the handset to Simon and he took it readily, "Captain, River thinks Kaylee might be in some sort of trouble. Do you know where she is in town? Or Inara?" Simon's voice held a little more edge to it than usual. "Inara's here with me. No sign of Kaylee. Zoe, you and Wash come on to town. We got some lookin' to do. "
Mal sent Inara back to Serenity against her own wishes, but if folk were disappearing' around here, the last thing he needed was her to get gone too. "See if you can't River to tell us where she's at"
Mal, Book, Zoe and Wash all met up and divvied up directions to search in. For good measure Mal added, "And if you see Jayne, get 'im all filled in, dong ma?" They each dispersed and not a single one wanted to think on what kind of trouble Kaylee might be in.
Jayne sneered at the bartender and took another shot. Weren't right. Not a single woman in the whole gorram bar. He mumbled to himself and held out his glass for another shot. While the bartender was giving Jayne a refill, there was a bit of a disturbance comin' from the back room. Jayne thought to himself, 'well, at least ifn' I can't get some trim, a nice tussle's good entertainment'
One very beaten up man came flyin' through the back door to land roughly on the bar floor.
A not so smallish man followed him quickly, towering over him. Everyone in the bar seemed alarmed and quieted until Thayer walked in casually as if nothing were wrong. Then every patron seemed to start that uncomfortable forced kind of chatter He nodded his head at the henchman and then nodded to the door. In response, the bruised and bleeding man got pulled up off the floor and shoved, none too gently, out of the front door. The henchman walked over to Thayer and joined him at the bar. The bartender poured a couple of regulars for the men and quickly scurried away. "So you're certain we've got her then?" Thayer spoke in a softer voice but he also spoke as though he wasn't worried that anyone would challenge him, no matter how legal his conversation was.
"Yes, sir. The men say she didn't even put up a fight"
Jayne's interest was piqued, so he hung over his glass and listened intently. "Good, good. He'll be happy to hear that his wayward companion is due back." Thayer grinned and took a long sip from his glass. At the mention of the word companion Jayne's interest had gone from piqued to full blown.
Thayer and his man left the bar without another word.
Jayne waited about thirty seconds and stood, flinging some credits on the table and leaving to follow them. He had been trailing them for about two blocks when Mal popped out of a store and blocked Jayne's path. Jayne moved to see where Thayer and his man were headed, but they had just rounded a corner.
"Mal, we might wanna follow 'em. They got 'Nara." Jayne sounded irritated. "What, Jayne? Inara's on the ship"
Mal face mussed up in confusion for a split second and then clicked into comprehension.
"But Kaylee's missing"
Both Men clenched their jaws and turned to follow Thayer and his man.
Kaylee shivered uncontrollably and huddled in the corner of the very tiny, very cold room. She thought she could hear voices in the next room, but her head wasn't letting her brain function properly. Suddenly, the door flung open and the light was so bright that it blinded Kaylee. She blinked and tried to stand up but was shoved back down roughly. "Wh-what do you want?" her voice quavered and shook.
"Well now that's the question, ain't it darlin." he leaned down to her and ran his finger down the side of her face that was covered in blood. Kaylee jerked her head away and tried to scoot away from him but she was already in a corner.
"No need to be shy." he said as he played with a piece of loose fabric on her left shoulder.
"What are you doin'?" Another man appeared in the doorway.
"Aw, Jackee-boy, I'm just havin' a little fun with her"
"Don't call me Jackee-boy and DON'T mess with the girl. We're getting a fair amount of coin fer her and I don't want any of your niou-se muckin' that up." He looked at him squarely and then turned his eyes on Kaylee. "Go on now." The man leered at Kaylee and winked before he stood to leave. "She's all dirty and bloody, anyhow"
Jack moved to shut the door, but Kaylee's voice stopped him. "Please. Please, I…I think I need a doctor. My head"
"This here's just a holdin' place for you. You're not long for this little moon, so don't cause a fuss.
And with that he slammed the door shut.
Inara walked up Serenity's ramp into the cargo bay to find Simon and River waiting.
Simon looked up at Inara expectantly but she just shook her head.
After revealing her newfound knowledge River had been very tight lipped. Barely speaking at all.
Both Inara and Simon tried to get River to talk to them but they were both becoming quickly frustrated.
Mal nodded once at Jayne who nodded right back before Mal kicked down the door and they both stormed in, guns drawn and pointed at the four inhabitants of the room.
One man slid back from the table, where the four men were seated, in surprise but Thayer just continued to shuffle his hand of cards coolly before saying, "Well Captain Reynolds, I didn't send you a WAVE and you certainly didn't send me one, so you can understand as to why I'm a little upset by this, how shall we say, unfriendly disturbance"
Thayer looked at Mal like he was a youngin' being chided for pulling a prank.
"I like my entrances to make a statement." Mal quipped with a humorous shrug of the shoulders.
One of Thayer's men stood and shoved his chair back into Jayne which caused quite the upheaval. Jayne bent over from the pain in his gut for all of two and a half seconds before quickly hitting him hard enough to knock him up and onto the table, and then he moved to fight the second man who had run up behind the first, "Ooo, goodie, seconds."
Thayer nodded his head to his large henchman and looked at Mal. Even though Mal still had his gun trained on Thayer, when the henchman stood to his full height, Mal's face twisted in the most comical 'holy crap' kind of way. About a full second of stunned silence passed before Mal said, "Alright, then." and nodded his head matter-of-factly before deftly moving to shoot him in the chest. The henchman stumbled backwards for a second and glared at his chest and then back at Mal before walking towards Mal again.
Mal's frame shook with disbelief as he said high pitched and incredulously , "God! Don't you die"
Two more shots to his chest and he dropped to the floor in a dull thud.
When Thayer realized his men were so easily dispatched he stood quickly and moved to leave the room, but as he turned to the exit Jayne stood there leaned up against the doorframe and picked his teeth with his left hand, having easily induced a nap in the other two men.
Mal came up beside Thayer and with his outstretched arm, aimed his gun at his temple. Thayer's demeanor had not changed during this, he didn't look to be bothered in the slightest.
"You recently acquired somthin' 'o mine. And I want it back." Mal let his gun inch so close to Thayer's head that he could feel it without his skin ever making contact with metal.
"I assure you Captain"
Thayer's words were cut off by the deafening sound of Mal pulling back the hammer of the gun. "Don't believe I was done talkin'."
Dong ma…..understand Niou-se……cow dung
...to be continued