"Here, look at this Mal." Jayne pointed at the viewer on his electronic scope. "He just popped her right there in the street and drove off."
Jayne sat back in the chair put his hands behind his head as he recited the story to an attentive audience. Simon joined Mal at the galley table while Kaylee curled up on the corner couch. River was busy on the bridge and Zoe was still securing Inara's shuttle, but Jayne just couldn't wait.
"And you should a see'd it. The Doc – he just jumped right up and saved that low life scum that was tryin to kill us. Yup he was a regular hero I'd say."
Mal viewed the video loop on the fancy electronic scope carefully. It confused him. Important people don't hire assassins to kill folk for no reason, then turn around and kill them before the job is done. And this guy looked important. Someone is keeping a secret, a secret they didn't want anyone to know. Mal hated those.
"Yup. Stopped her bleedin and stabilized her and all, helped them get her to the hospital, took charge when he got there, just like he belonged. All the time I was carryin two really heavy packs. Fur like an hour. And it all only set me back 9.52 credits." Jayne complained. "I was hoping for a payoff that was not so, how do you say it – negative."
"Is that so?" Mal said absently as he restarted the video and watching it again. "And you bought this thing with good money. What happened to the grenades?"
"I'd like to remember when I take a good shot." Jayne said defensively. "An' I got plenty of grenades."
Kaylee just listened intently, watching Simon's face as Jayne recounted his story. She could see how much Simon loved what he'd done in the hospital that day, what he used to do before he came here. The ghost of his old life was back to haunt her once more and she couldn't compete with that. Her smile slowly faded. As the story continued she found herself fading more and more into the corner, just a shadow. Simon quite obviously belonged there, in the hospital, part of Core society. She, just as obviously, did not.
Zoe walked into the galley and took a seat next to Mal. The captain glanced up at her, his eyes asking the unspoken question.
"Still pretty shook up." Came the first officer's quiet answer. "Cleaning everything."
"I just don't get you sometimes, Doc." Jayne continued his bellyaching. "I mean it's all nice and wonderful how you like to save dyin people, but she was tryin to make us dead."
"I couldn't just let her die, for God sake." Simon would never understand Jayne general outlook on life any more than Jayne could understand his.
"Well why the hell not?" Jayne retorted. "I shoulda just capped them two from the start. I bet they was carryin more than – now let me calculate it, negative 9.52 credits."
"It wasn't a complete waste." Simon interjected. "I got this from her belongings." He tossed a business card with a large black lotus in the middle on the table. It read 'Lee Chen - Manager'. "We know who she is."
Mal pulled out a matching card, with a bloodstain in the corner, and tossed it down next to Simon's. 'Bondar Rishna – Exterminator'. It appeared that his assassin was working for the same people.
"And I have a name to go with that face in the limo."
"So what's that name."
"Captain Douglass Loe. Sixth fleet flagship commander. Second to the Vice Admiral Pinkerton" Simon answered.
"You know the commander of the Sixth Fleet?" Jayne looked startled.
"No – not the commander, the older brother of the flagship's captain, Anthony Loe. He was over to our house on Osirus many times. He's the Minister of Justice now and a friend of my father's." Simon explained. "They're twins – well the captain is a clone actually."
"And you are sure of this?" Zoe asked.
"My father and the minister were always talking politics, about how to better the union and improving the Parliament. I grew up with him around. I had little interest in their conversations, but it was important to my father. Still, I remember the face from these visits."
"Commands the Cruiser Vanguard?" Mal stated. "So the man protecting the dead Minister hired assassins to kill us?"
"Things aren't what they seem." Simon conjectured. "Something is hidden in the shadows that we can't see."
'It's me.' Kaylee thought, but she said nothing and just let her emotions stew. 'I'm invisible.'
"If they think we had something to do with killing this Minister, why not just arrest us? They'd find out we weren't anywhere near Landsdown." Mal pondered. "So why send assassins?"
"Someone doesn't want us talking, Sir." Zoe suggested. "Want to keep something quiet."
"Any clue as to what?" Mal said.
"Minister Raven isn't the first rival Minister to die in the last month." Simon added. "Carl Tso, Minister of Security died recently. It was in my father's letter."
"I thought that was a suicide?" Zoe interjected.
Mal looked at her strangely. I wasn't like her to be following Alliance politics.
"What if it wasn't?" Simon conjectured.
"What? Why?" Mal couldn't see the sense in it.
"Both were parliamentary rivals to this Minister Loe." Simon added. "They did like his Imperialism."
"You're suggesting the Minister was murdered by Alliance?" Mal thought about it for a moment. "Murdered by pirates makes more sense."
"How does that explain the G8 attacking us, so far from the scene?" Zoe asked.
Simon glanced over to Kaylee in her corner, lost in some thought. He felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn't given her a thought since the woman on the street was shot. He had been so wrapped up in trying to become more relevant he'd completely forgotten about her. She had also been attacked and was probably as shook up as Inara, but all he'd been thinking about was Minister Loe, his father's letter and the hospital. She looked away.
"Uh – I can't answer that for sure." Simon answered.
"This is startin to hurt my head." Jayne grumbled, standing and leaning on the table between them. "Cortex says they were attacked by pirates. Doc says they were attacked by Alliance but we're the only ones getting shot at out there. I didn't see no one else and we ain't had nothin but trouble since."
"Your mouth is running, Jayne." Zoe said.
"I'm just sayin. Ain't we supposed to be gone by now?" Jayne complained.
"Port lock." Mal said flatly. "Which has got me not just a little out of sorts."
"Cap'n. I got stuff to fix." Kaylee announced.
Kaylee stood and walked out of the galley to the engine room. Her exit was abrupt and uncomfortable. Simon looked after her as if he wanted to follow, but he sat unsure of whether he should. Captain looked from Kaylee's now empty seat to Simon. The doctor didn't look happy, but he didn't have time for it, what ever this was.
"Doc, your insights are all kind of thought-provoking to me right now, but when you get a chance – check up on Inara?" He said. "She needs some tending to."
"I'll do that now." Simon said, then he stood and headed to the infirmary for his bag.
"Why we on Port Lock?" Jayne asked as the doctor left the galley.
"They want to inspect our books in the morning." Mal said with a touch of irony. "First time in years there's nothing to find."
"You think we got that long?" Jayne retorted.
"No, likely not." Mal said.
"So who's getting us off this rock?"
"River's working on it with Wash." Zoe said, her tone deadpan and expression slightly pained.
"What?" Jayne said.
"Don't ask." Mal replied.
4