Jayne Cobb may not have been good at many things, but he was very good at tracking and, for a big man that normally stood out in a crowd, he could blend in really well when he wanted to. Simon felt that he was the one that stood out.
Still, the two hunters had now become the hunted. Jayne and Simon followed them through the crowded market as they searched every alley all the way back to the hospital and back again to the edge of the spaceport. It took the men nearly two hours to give up the search and accept that they had lost their marks, but eventually they did. The smaller of the two paid the larger some bills and then they split up.
"Follow the small one." The doctor said. "He's headed back to the boss."
"Gotcha. The one with the money." Jayne agreed.
Jayne Cobb could surprise Simon with his quickness now and again. The common theme in his intellectual acuity, however, seemed to be money. As they followed their lone pursuer to a completely new area of town, the buildings grew in height and the crowds thinned. Soon the streets merchants, hawkers and shoppers were gone and more elegant shops lined the streets. This was the business district, frequented by the rich and important people. Limos and cabs occupied these streets in place of the carts and livestock.
Simon became instantly less conspicuous among the bankers and doctors in the area, but Jayne's presence required them to keep their distance, as their mark took an exceeding amount of care to make sure he was not followed. Jayne's skill, experience and patience turned out to be another surprise to the doctor.
Simon considered Jayne's talent as they sat. He could see why Captain Reynolds might want someone like Jayne around, though it came with a great deal of risk. He had to be managed. Simon was learning this, and thought he might even get to enjoy the sense of power that accompanied it. After another hour of following their mark he stopped on an unremarkable street corner and waited. Simon and Jayne found a comfortable out of the way place to keep watch.
Jayne pulled out his new telephoto, digitally enhanced, gas jet stabilized, recording scope with eager pride. He then proceeded to case the surroundings, describing them with casual boredom. An office building, a lunch spot, two closed street vendors, a flower shop, a printer, a publishing house and a bank machine. It was a typical corner in any business district.
"So what's he waitin for?" Jayne complained.
"His contact, no doubt." Simon said. "And the money." He added to keep Jayne's attention.
"Picked a strange butt of a place," Jayne observed. "Out in the open like that."
"In some circles – out in the open is the least conspicuous."
The key to Jayne was money. That was plain to see. As they waited Simon's thoughts wandered to the other members of the crew. What might their key be? Zoe's was loyalty and trust, that was obvious, something she'd never have with him. Inara's, another easy one, though she would never admit it. Kaylee's…
Kaylee.
He smiled. She was such a conundrum in his eyes. As a mechanic she was like the most competent nurse and the most skilled surgeon he had ever know, wrapped up into one person. What he could do in a hospital, she could do ten fold in an engine room. How she kept Serenity flying was a source of wonder to him and sometimes an uneasiness that kept him up nights. In a hospital he had backup, he had support, his life was never in danger. But Kaylee, their lives and hers hung in the balance. Simon didn't know how she did it. She was competent and confident in her abilities.
At the same time she was a small town girl, easily impressed with the finer things in life and wholly unprepared to understand them, their intricacies, their subtleties. Everything about her was plain and simple, her passion, her innocence, her feelings unhidden – it perplexed him.
Why was she on Serenity? It was not hard for him to see. The key to Kaylee was Serenity itself. It was her pride and her joy. It was her home and she would never leave it. For River it had become home too, more than anywhere they'd been since the academy stole her away. But for Simon it was different. He was out of his element here, a fish out of water, he was he was lost. So why was he still here?
"Hey Doc." Jayne nudged him back to the present.
A well-dressed woman came from an odd flower shop in the building behind their mark. She bowed to the waiting man handing his a small bouquet. Then they talked briefly and she slapped him full across the face. He bowed in shame and left like a scolded dog.
"Oooo. Now that had to hurt." Jayne joked.
"I think we've found their base of operations."
"Hey, she's kindda hot." Jayne mused. "Well? Let's go get her."
"No, not her." Simon put his hand on Jayne's shoulder to keep him down while the woman returned to her shop. "She's not the one."
"What do ya mean?" Jayne grumbled impatiently.
Moments after the chastised man had skulked away, three ragged, beat up hoods came to wait on the corner. Again the woman came out and bowed, again she handed them flowers and again she did not get the news she was wanting. This time she just turned and walked away from the three. They seemed to protest, obviously expecting more than flowers from the woman. She just turned on them with a rather large gun that she seemed to produce from nowhere, and they quickly left.
"What kindda business is she runnin?" Jayne mumbled.
"There more to this than a flower shop. May I?" Simon pointed to the electronic optics in Jayne's hand.
The mercenary reluctantly handed Simon his scope. A closer look at the sign that hung over the door revealed red plaque adorned with a single black lotus. Simon had heard rumors on these people. He'd spent a fair bit of time underground breaking River out of the Academy she was trapped in. The Black Lotus was not something he wanted to get involved with.
"She is mid-level management." The doctor answered. "Not the client."
"How do you know so much about this anyway?"
"I spent two years getting River out of that damnable laboratory." Simon responded. "You tend not to forget this sort of thing."
"Oh – makes sense." Jayne mused. "Now what?"
"Now we wait."
"Ain't that what we been doing?"
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