Chapter 9:: Winging it
"You don't work with computers back home?" Simon Tam asked confused.
"No." The newcomer shook her head as they took a seat at an empty table in the bar. "That's something that came up in highschool." She answered promptly.
"And you're not a cook of any sort?" Kaylee exchanged the same perplexed look with the doctor.
Captain Reynolds sighed when the new girl just shook her head letting Kaylee, Simon and Jayne continue on some game of twenty questions. He didn't mind them trying to get the know the only trooper left with them. He only wished that they would do that later. It bothered him that wearing Kaylee's loose clothes helped little in blending her in. He already didn't quite like the fact that they weren't in the Maidenhead. That was their normal place of business after all.
Instead, they were instructed to meet at a bar called Goubuli. Anywhere would have been truly fine with him as long as there's work involved for certain. But Goubuli was one of those licensed restaurants with different outlets all over this rock, some of which looked better than the rest. The one they were at was pretty much the opposite of the Maidenhead. It would've looked like another dusty bar at a far border moon if not for the small screens at the corner showing random shows and the entertainment provided by one man with a guitar and a mic at a small makeshift stage.
Mal didn't like it one bit especially because they haven't landed the job yet.
"This isn't their usual style, Sir." Zoe leaned across the table keeping her eyes on the bar's patrons. "I think it's a trap."
Mal just gave his first mate a shrug agreeing with the assessment while splitting the disposable wooden chopsticks. "We need this, Zoe. Serenity ain't gonna fix herself." He replied taking a dumpling from the plate in between them. "At least the dumplings are good." He nodded appreciating the taste of real food.
Another plate of steaming hot dumplings was laid on their table much to his surprise. "Sorry, miss. This ain't ours to pay." He said automatically.
The waitress just glanced off to another table where, to his surprise, a pair of twins sat comfortably half hidden by folding screens. "The bill." She said passing on a piece of paper before moving away.
Captain Reynolds unfolded the bill and frowned at the scrawled message before giving Zoe a humourless smile. "Any ideas?" He asked showing her the note discreetly.
"They need a diversion?" She eyed the note suspiciously. "Sir, I recommend we walk away from this deal. Quite clear they do not want to be seen with any of us. It smells like trouble." She warned.
"First of all," the captain held a finger up. "They never want to be seen with us." He smiled. "And two-- it always smells like trouble." He said before muttering to himself. "Too bad Inara had people to please. Could've used her distracting skills right here." He snapped his fingers together proudly. "We can always start a tussle." He grinned.
"And attract the local authorities?" She shook her head.
The two fell silent blankly staring at each other. Suddenly, there was a sound of chopsticks breaking at the end of the table. Mal eyed the frozen trooper. "Something wrong with the dumplings kid?" He asked when her eyes closed for a moment.
"Nope." She answered curtly.
"It's the music. The song is severely out of tune." River firmly said.
The girl smirked. "Exactly. It's like you read my mind." She agreed.
Jayne rolled his eyes. "Ain't this one of em' folk songs from Earth that was?" He defended.
And that's when the Captain saw his newly adopted crew member wide eyed and slackjawed for the first time. " Folk. Song?" She repeated appalled. "The members of Bon Jovi would be rolling in their graves." She pouted.
"You think you can do it better? I don't see you getting off your behind to play some. All I hear is chatter. Is that what you used to do in Earth that was before this soldiering? Yak?" Jayne taunted popping a dumpling in his mouth.
"Jayne!" Kaylee reprimanded. "Now, Andy. Don't listen to him. He's just a big bully."
The girl stood up and crossed her arms."Actually, I used to be a musician." She revealed. "But I don't sing lead... " She flinched when the man hit a bad note that even the Captain noticed. "Seriously, anything to make him stop this insanity." She marched towards the entertainer. "Folk song." They heard her say in disbelief.
Captain Mal Reynolds watch the two talk underneath the bright lights. Much to his amusement, the man just eyed her in shock and handed her the guitar and his cowboy hat. Andy quickly lifted the strap over he head and started adjusting the strings. A bottle of beer was thrown her way marking one patron's impatience but missed. "What's that gorram girl doing?" They heard someone else demand.
"This ain't looking good sir." Zoe whispered watching the girl dodge another bottle while she tested the sound of each string.
Finally, she raised her head defiantly and raked the strings upwards. After a few seconds of playing the riffs, Mal couldn't help notice the silence that had taken over the bar. The similarities between the songs couldn't be denied. It was the very same song played differently. Brighter somehow. "It's all the same. Only the names have changed. Everyday it seems we're wasting away. Another place, where the faces are so cold. I'd drive all night just to get back home." She sang like she was just talking an invisible person infront of her.
Mal saw Kaylee elbow Jayne who had stopped chewing on his dumpling. The doctor eyed a smiling River. And Mal exchanged a knowing smile with Zoe. "She ain't bad." She commented.
"Coz I'm a cowboy. On a steel horse I ride. I'm wanted dead or alive. Dead or alive." The girl tried to conceal a smirk unsuccessfully before looking down at the guitar strings she was plucking.
"Good song." Mal smiled motioning for the both of them to slip into the twins' booth. Zoe silently inquired about taking Jayne as well by tilted her head towards the man. But Mal shook his head disagreeing with their usual protocol. After the last few days, he had taken to leaving one person with the younger crew.
Mal Reynolds let a smile play on his lips for a few seconds as they slinked towards the booth relatively unseen. This was working out better than he expected.
-- -- - - -
Robert Higgins never thought he would ever wish that he was in some bug infested place trying to kill bugs. But at the moment, that was all he could think about. Who would have thought that he would think of the bug war as 'happier times'? However, compared to their present situation, the war was, in Rico's terms, a piece of cake.
Getting Rico and Carl into a state- controlled hospital was the easy part. Zoe had dropped them all there, after all, and left them with money that she claims the Captain secretly agreed upon with Rico for helping them in Canton. Once Zoe disappeared, Dizzy ran in the hospital and a whole medical crew came out and took the two out of the ground and into the hospital. That's where all the money went. It was enough to keep the two in the hospital but it wasn't enough to pay the doctors to take a look at both troopers.
So here they were in what the hospital staff said was city hall. And here he was trying to argue with the receptionist when Dizzy was pulled away to cool off. Higgins knew he was getting nowhere with the bored expression on the man's face. "Please, Sir. We just need to see the mayor. Or an under sheriff or a government official with some capacity to get us home." He pleaded.
The receptionist just blankly stared at him. "And where is home again?" He asked.
The paperboy paused and sighed knowing how ridiculous he would sound. "Earth." He barely mumbled.
"What was that?" The man leaned in. The corners of his lips were starting to rise.
"Earth." The trooper repeated a bit more loudly this time.
The receptionist laughed out loud and Higgins sighed at the follow up. "Hate to break it to you, son." The man wiped a tear from his eye. "But you're mighty late to be going back there. There's a reason why it's called Earth- that- was. Past tense. It's been gone since way back." He continued leaning back on his chair.
"That's the thing. It's still there. Earth, I mean." He tried to reason but his persistance made the man laugh harder. "No. Really. The Anglo- Sino Alliance is part of SICON-- who we all work for and...." He sighed in defeat. "Please stop laughing, sir. This isn't something I can make up myself."
But he didn't stop. Robert Higgins turned his head at his squadmates and shrugged much to their dismay. "Sir." He tried once more. "I just need to talk to someone. Anyone that isn't you." He said a bit more forcefully this time.
Much to his surprise, the man straightened in his chair and stopped laughing. The trooper watched the receptionist's gaze shift from him to someone behind him. "Is there something the matter here?" Higgins slowly turned and saw a well dressed man in grew eying the receptionist with great severity. "We don't great our citizens with ridicule." He raised an eyebrow and the man behind the table paled.
"Apologies, Sir." The man stood from his seat. "It's just that this gentleman was telling me a tall tale- like kongxiang about Earth- that- was and a SICON and the like. I apologize." He bowed.
But that wasn't what sent a chill down the FedNet reporter's spine. It was this new person's calculating eyes landing on him and the Roughnecks. It was one of those glances he thought would rival the one Sgt. Zim casts on them. The man suddenly broke into a smile. "Well, let me handle this from here." He nodded before motioning to a hall way across the room. "If you would all follow me. I will try my best to sort this story out." He said leading the way.
Higgins felt a shove from behind prompting him to keep step with the man. He shyly held out his hand. "My name is Robert Higgins." He introduced himself politely.
The man shook his hand firmly like he has been doing this all his life. "Atherton Wing."
-- -- - --
"We see you have a new recruit and she's not half bad." Fanty said.
"You do keep surprising us with your people, Mal." Mingo grinned tossing a coin absently to the waitress they had hired to keep quiet. It was true. He's had several conversations with his brother about the Captain and his rather talented crew. Whenever they had someone even remotely talented in something they had to fight tooth and nail, often heads as well, to keep them from being pirated by other parties. The other ships they deal with often have a revolving members of which only the Captain would remain the same.
But the crew of Serenity was different. They were always the same until death comes to them. There was always Captain Reynolds, Zoe, Jayne, Kaylee their mechanic, the two that had caused trouble in the Maidenhead and until his untimely death, Zoe's husband Wash.
Truthfully, Mingo rather liked it. Having different people all the time meant not knowing if they can do the job done. It was unreliable. But having people you know have done jobs over and over again-- well, they were special. They were more reliable.
However, they were also very hard to bargain with.
"Fanty." The Captain turned to his brother before turning to him. "Mingo."
And as usual, they would both grin the same grin almost like it was their cue. They had made a living like this. This was how they tested people. "I'm Mingo. He's Fanty." His brother tried correcting the dear Captain.
Mingo saw Zoe roll her eyes in annoyance as Mal just blinked at them. "I seem to recollect that we've been through this several times." He stated plainly. "You're Fanty. He's Mingo."
"He always knows." Fanty grinned.
"You always know." Mingo said filled with humour. That was another thing he liked about the Captain. He could tell them apart even when they were wearing exactly the same things. It was another source of endless guesses between him and Fanty. The ability earned Mal Reynolds their collective respect, Fanty's ire and his fondness for the crew. "But tell us, Mal, where did you pick this one up?" He shifted his gaze to the girl who started singing another song that was prompted by the previous entertainer.
"Ta shi buguan ni de shi." Zoe waved off the question easily.
"She's right." Mal leaned back on his seat. "Let's hear it." He crossed his arms watching them both carefully.
Mingo smiled knowing his expression was one of amusement and Fanty's smile was one trying to hide his annoyance. It didn't matter much to people who can't tell the difference since he knew they still looked exactly the same on the outside. But somehow he always thought that the Captain can tell somehow. "Business then." He nodded.
"Business." Fanty echoed with his own nod. "But we're telling you now, if you are successful, our cut is forty percent." He warned.
"Again." Mal questioned the two. "I seem to recall this conversation."
"Yes." Mingo nodded warily. "But you see Mal, I also seem to recall a certain bar that was utterly trashed by your little friend." He pointed out.
"You're dangerous, Mal." Fanty said. "You make a business people nervous. It's very unsettling." Mingo resisted his urge to show just how much he disagreed with that perception of Fanty's. His brother was the one who worried too much about Serenity's crew which he didn't fully understand. They've never really failed them before. The jobs were always done. Complications always came up after the fact.
Captain Reynolds gave them a small smile. "Why don't the pair of you just tell us what the job is and then we can nit pick the commission." He suggested.
Mingo shrugged. "Fine." He sang before his brother could say otherwise.
Fanty was forced to give the crew the information on a piece of paper concerning the deal at hand. "It's a very delicate matter as you can see." He very subtly elbowed his brother-- a sign that they would be having a talk later.
Zoe's face automatically sour upon reading the note. "Captain..." She shook her head in warning.
"Of course, you'll be paid the usual. Half now, half upon delivery." Mingo tempted knowing that the lady would never disobey her superior's orders.
"And if this is done correctly, we will not be implicated." His brother continued.
"And neither will you." He reassured.
Mingo could almost see the wheels turning in Mal's mind as the silence between the two parties wore on. It was a difficult decision. There was a lot of money involved but this needed a light hand not the hard fist their usual encounters required. Even the twin himself did not know if Mal was suited for the job. But he did know one thing. Captain Mal Reynolds was one of those people who were crazy enough to try.
The twin knew he would not be disappointed when Mal lifted his gaze and smirked. "Shiny." He grinned.
-- -- - -
Jayne Cobb decided he should stop drinking sake when people were telling him stuff. It was such a waste spitting it out due to shock. The first time around they were still in the bar. Zoe hurriedly left him in charge which was normally something he'd like. Only this time, it was just a nicer way of telling him to babysit the rest of them. Jayne did not like to babysit-- especially since one of them happened to be crazy, one of them too proper, the other far too cheerful and the other he knew almost nothing about. But Mal and Zoe had disappeared before he could protest.
The second time he wasted his drink was when they were in the dining room of Serenity later that night. Apparently, the manager kept tip jars for performers and invited her back for tomorrow night's entertainment. According to Kaylee, the new girl earned enough to buy a few articles of clothing, food and maybe spare parts. So the mechanic decided to take her shopping in the midnight market.
When he thought he should maybe retire, Mal and Zoe came back up to the dining room and announced what they were going to do the next day. "We're going to kidnap Atherton Wing." Mal announced pulling a seat for himself.
And Jayne wasted another mouthful of alcohol. "What?!" He exclaimed in shock.
"Exactly what I said." Zoe shook her head seated in between them.
"Ain't he in Persephone?" Jayne questioned trying to recover from his disbelief.
"He's right here in town." Mal jabbed the table.
"Didn't he try to kill you that one time with the sword?" The bigger man pointed out before leaning towards the Captain. "In actuality, didn't he stab you one time with the sword?"
"Why Jayne, I didn't know you've got such a good memory." Zoe teased.
"I seem to recall I stabbed him twice." Mal defended himself.
Jayne's lips twitched slightly as his disbelief increased. "Gorram it Mal, ain't he some big shot noble man? Everybody's going to see him missing at that fancy party of theirs." He warned.
"Actually, he's a top of the line parliament man now." The Captain corrected him bluntly. "And in his meteoric rise to the top, he burned a few bridges, broke some ribs, stepped on a few toes." He smiled wistfully. "In fact, he's even trying to outlaw companions." He said feigning a horrified expression.
Jayne's eyes widened and his face flinched for a second just staring at a man he once thought was smart. " Parliament man..." He muttered standing up. He took several gulps of alcohol before setting his gaze on the ship's Captain. "You're psychotic." He jabbed a finger at the Captain before storming off to bed. "A man would think he'd be happy them companions are being outlawed. Gets Inara all to himself then." He mumbled as he went through the halls.
"What did you say?" The captain yelled out after him.
"Ain't saying nothing!" He answered back.
Maybe when he wakes up, this conversation would have all been a dream.
Jayne surely hopes so.
-- -- -
translation
kongxiang:: fantasy
Ta shi buguan ni de shi :: She's none of your business
Goubuli:: An actual restaurant chain in china. They have very good dumplings. Actually, that's what they're known for. It was founded in 1858 and is one of the oldest brands in China. There are different stories on how this restaurant started so I won't bore you. BUT I will say this-- if you want to eat the best dumplings Goubuli has to offer, you have to go the Goubuli headquarters in Tianjin. They even 'teach' you how to wrap your own.