Chapter 12
Jeremiah knocked on Ophelia's bedroom door and waited for her to open it. They had arrived on Morpheus three days ago, bringing River directly to Ophelia's home above the club. He hadn't been to see the girl since leaving her in Ophelia's capable hands, but today he wanted to be there. Ophelia had decided she was healed enough to be brought out of the psychic coma. Today they would find out how much damage had been done to her memory.
"You're here early," Ophelia said as she opened her door, dragging him out of his thoughts.
"I want to be there when you wake her up."
Ophelia stepped out of her room and walked to the balcony that overlooked the courtyard that was usually filled with leather clad teenagers. "You did what you had to do Jeremiah, if you hadn't allowed Mattais to force her under, she could have lost what little control she still had."
Jeremiah leaned on the balcony railing, "That doesn't make it any easier."
"There's no guarantee that she will have suffered any kind of significant trauma. She may wake up with all of her memories intact. From what Tara has told me, she's incredibly strong, even though she's never had any training."
"I still want to be there."
"I understand," Ophelia said, "Just remember that the best way we can help her is to repair the damage to her mind and teach her how to use her talent. Everything else has to come second."
Jeremiah pushed away from the railing and nodded before striding down the hallway toward the medical wing. Ophelia watched him leave, noting the stiffness in his back. This was hard on him. She knew he wanted to help the girl, but she also knew he was afraid to believe they'd reached her in time.
The last Enhanced they'd rescued had been well over a year ago. A young boy with huge green eyes and a smile that would melt your heart. He had been eleven years old. When they'd found him he was still being held in one of the secret medical facilities and he'd clung to Jeremiah for days after they got him out.
The trouble hadn't started until three weeks after they had brought the boy out of the psychic coma. The first sign that something was wrong were the nightmares. The boy would wake up screaming, and Jeremiah was always there. Next came the outbursts...accusations, threats, obscenities...they spewed from the child's mouth with a fluency that stunned everyone. But still Jeremiah had refused to give up. He had pushed Ophelia to put the boy under again, and she had agreed.
When they had awakened him the second time the child had been quiet, almost reserved. The nightmares stopped, the verbal outbursts were gone. For a time it seemed that he would recover, Ophelia had even begun the process of finding a host family for the child so he could begin his schooling.
Three nights later, after the club had closed, Ophelia had been torn from her sleep by screams coming from the club. She had rushed out of her private residence and down the stairs. There, kneeling on the marble floor, was the little boy. Next to him was a teenage girl, blood streaming from her eyes, her fingers tearing at her own hair.
Jeremiah had appeared next to her a few seconds later. He had been the one to stop the boy from doing further damage to the girl. He hadn't even hesitated when the child looked at him and asked, "Will you still love me when she's dead?"
The next day they had sent the comatose child to one of the special care facilities and Jeremiah had disappeared for a week. When he'd come back, some of the light had left his eyes. It had been months before he would even discuss the events.
Ophelia sighed as she descended the stairs to the club below. It a matter of hours, the doors at street level would open and hundreds of young people would flow inside. The music would be loud and lights set low. Anyone watching from the outside would see just another place for the young on the fringe of society to congregate. The club's purpose was much more than that.
She saw Tara standing near the bar and smiled, pulling herself out of her thoughts, "I'm glad I found you."
"I see you've talked to Jeremiah," Tara said.
"I have. He was just upstairs with me."
"He wants to be there when you bring her out of the coma, doesn't he?"
"And you're worried about his state of mind?"
"He almost lost himself to the anger last time Phelia, if she shows any signs of the madness...if he has to," Tara swallowed against the emotion, "I don't know that I'll be able to bring him back this time."
"Mattais and I have spent quite a bit of time with River in the last three days. Her energy is surprisingly stable. That's no guarantee, but it gives me reason to be hopeful," Ophelia said, "Now, let's talk about something else. You have people watching the docks, correct?"
"Yes," Tara said, "I have a group of Thrashers positioned just inside the main dock area and a smaller group keeping watch from the corner across the street. If anyone starts snooping around, we should have plenty of warning."
oOo
Mal walked down the cargo ramp and squinted into the harsh afternoon sunlight. He wanted to get to this meet and get off world again as fast as they could. They needed to get on with the business of finding out who took his pilot.
He heard footsteps on the metal behind him and turned. Zoe stood at the top of the ramp, one hand shading her face as she looked at the crowds milling around the docks. Jayne stood next to her, his hand resting on the butt of the pistol strapped to his thigh, a surly look stuck on his face.
He waited for them to join him, continuing to scan the crowd, "Waved Tilly as soon as we landed. She's meetin' us at one of the local bars. We're gonna make this drop and get off planet as fast as we can."
Jayne followed as Mal and Zoe began making their way through the crowds of people in the dock yard. They'd landed that morning and he'd felt uneasy all day. Somethin' prickin' at the back of his mind. After they cleared the dock yard gates he moved closer to Mal, "You remember them kids that was watchin' us when we loaded Tilly's goods?"
"I do," Mal said.
"You happen to notice we got a crowd of them followin' us?"
"Hadn't escaped my attention. You think we got a problem?"
"Not sure, but I'm thinkin' it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out," Jayne said, tapping his fingers against his pistol.
"Just don't go shootin' no one without cause, Jayne, dong ma?"
Jayne nodded and slowed a bit, falling behind Mal and Zoe again, his eyes scanning his surroundings as they walked. The group of kids that had followed them out of the dock yard had split into two separate groups, one on the left side, one on the right. Like they're flankin' us, Jayne thought. He casually unsnapped his holster, allowing himself easier access to his weapon.
It didnt' take long to reach the bar where they were supposed to meet Tilly and her boys. Before he followed Mal and Zoe in, Jayne looked across the street. They were still there, gathered in one group again. It was damn disconcertin' the way just stared, not moving. His attention was pulled away from them when Mal called out to him.
"Jayne, get your ass in here. We got business to tend to."
Jayne walked into the bar and scanned the room, taking note of where people were and looking for a second exit. He liked to know what his options were and where trouble could come from if things went south.
The bar was small and dimly lit, like most of the places they ended up in. Battered tables were scattered around the room and the patrons didn't look up as they walked past. Folk used to keepin' their noses out of other people's business, he thought as he continued to follow Mal and Zoe through the bar.
Mal moved through the bar to the back room. Tilly and her boys were seated in the far corner, blocking the only other door in the room.
"This here don't sit well with me Mal," Jayne said quietly, "That there is the only other way out of this room and if things go sideways, looks like we're gonna have to go through those to boys of hers."
"Well, let's just make sure things don't go sideways," Mal said.
"Because that plan's worked so well for us in the past, " Jayne said under his breath as Mal walked to the table where Tilly sat.
Mal dropped a small brown bag on the table in front of Tilly, "Payment for the goods we dropped."
Tilly picked up the bag and handed it to one of her sons, or Mountain Number 1, as Jayne had takin to calling him in his mind. The boy opened the bag and tipped the contents into his hand, inspecting the coin before turning to his mother, "It's all here, Ma," he said as he put the coins back in the bag.
Tilly took the bag back from her son and smiled widely at Mal, "Well captain, looks like we done real good on that job," she said, "Sit down boy, ya'll are givin me a crick."
Mal looked at Jayne before sliding a chair out and settling into it. Zoe took the chair to his left, but Jayne stayed standing, his hand resting on his hip.
Tilly looked from Mal to Jayne, "Seems your man there is a might jumpy, captain."
Mal looked over his shoulder to where Jayne stood, "He likes to be prepared."
"You expectin trouble?" Tilly asked Jayne.
"Never expectin it, so best to be prepared for it."
Tilly laughed, "Fair enough," she said, returning her attention to Mal. "Seems to me this was a fair profitable job you did for us," she said as she slid a smaller bag toward Mal, "That there's your payment, but seems to me we should discuss another piece of business."
"Well, I'd sure like to talk business with you, but we got us some other things we gotta take care of first," Mal said, sliding the bag toward Zoe who picked it up and quickly tucked it away inside her vest.
He stood up and pushed the chair under the table, "We'll be back out this way in a few weeks time, maybe we can talk about it then."
Jayne didn't miss the look that shot between Tilly's sons and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. Causally he dropped his hand from his hip, preparing to fight his way out if he had to.
Tilly stood up, "Let's not be to hasty. I think you might want to hear about this job before you go turnin' it down."
A look passed between Zoe and Mal, but he didn't move to leave the room. Jayne saw Zoe shift her weight and drop her hand to her side, but she didn't say anything. Mal looked at Tilly, "As I explained, we've got business needs tending. Won't be able to get back this way for near a month."
"That's just fine captain. Cargo I need moved has to go to Persephone, figure it'll take a while to get payment back her anyway."
Jayne could see Mal thinking the proposition over and felt anger rise in his chest. They didn't need no work right now, they needed to be findin' the bastards that took River. But he kept his mouth shut, weren't the time or the place to air that dirty laundry.
"What cargo might it be you need moved to Persephone?"
"Got a load of Aldanian wine that came to me through unusual channels. Got myself a buyer on Persephone. You'd see double the pay."
"Double? That's a mighty hefty price to be offering. Especially since Aldanian wine ain't exactly illegal."
"This wine was, let's just say, it was liberated from it's former owner. Special stuff, got those little wax seals on it. Come to find out that means it belongs to someone's private stash. Can't sell it through the normal channels."
Mal thought it over for another moment before saying, "We'll take your cargo to Persephone, but payment won't come back for a month or better, agreeable?"
Tilly stood up and walked to where Mal stood. She held out her hand, "Looks like we got us a deal."
Mal shook the woman's hand, "We're plannin' on leaving tonight. Can you get the goods to us by then?"
"My boys'll have it there in two hours."
Mal nodded, then turned and walked out of the room.
Jayne followed silently until they were back out on the street and headed back to Serenity.
"We got no business takin' on jobs now. We got other things we need to do."
Mal stopped walking and looked Jayne in the eye, "Don't think I forgot what it is we need to do, but that boat ain't gonna fuel itself and if she's willing to wait for payment, then I don't see the harm. We gotta go to Persephone to see Badger anyway, might as well get us some coin in the process."
"Don't it seem just a bit convenient that Tilly needs goods shipped to Persephone, sir?"
"Might be Zo, but wouldn't be the first time we took on an ill-advised job, now would it?"
"No sir, can't say it would."
"That's settled then," Mal said, "Let's get supplies laid in and get ourselves off the world."
As they moved through the streets back to the dock yards, it didn't escape Jayne's notice that the group of Thrashers that had tailed them to the bar was still there.
oOo
As soon as Mal and his crew left the room, the door behind Tilly opened. A shrouded figure stepped out of the shadows and walked to the window, watching as the group walked away from the bar. Tilly stood waiting for him, an uncomfortable look on her face.
"Them the ones yer lookin' for mister?"
The man held out one hand, a small bag held in his fist. When Tilly opened her hand, he dropped the bag into her waiting palm, "Yes."
"So, you don't need me and my boys no more?"
He could sense her panic, reveled in it. Her kind were always so easy to manipulate, "If I have further need of you and your sons, I will let you know. Until then..." he purposely let his words trail off, allowing her to fill in the gaps. He turned and disappeared into the shadows again, leaving Tilly standing alone, clutching the small bag of coins to her chest.
Tilly watched as the Devil slipped back into the shadows. That's what she'd started calling him. He reminded her of the stories her Ma used to tell. Dark and handsome, he could be charming, set a person at ease. But when he smiled it never quite reached his eyes and a woman could tell there was mean lying just under the surface.
She felt a pang of guilt as she remembered the young girl that had come to the first meet with Malcolm Reynolds and his group. She didn't know what that man wanted with her, but she was sure it weren't nothin' good.
Enoch stood behind his mother and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Ma, I don't like dealin' with his kind. We're sure to see the business end of trouble out of this."
Tilly nodded slowly, "We'll just have to deal with it as it comes son. Ain't nothing else we can do now."