Chapter 9: Shore Leave
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
Mal nodded. "You're fond of Kaylee, ain't you?"
"She's a very nice girl." Standish emphasized the word 'girl;' the ship's mechanic was pretty, but much too young for him. She reminded him of Nettie Wells' niece, Casey.
"She wants a little shore leave. Simon thinks a change of scene, some fresh air, might do his sister good. Two questions. If I sent you out with the three of them, would they come back safe? And would you come back?"
"A primitive backwater planet like this? Where would I run to and why would I bother?" Standish took a deep breath. "If you want me to escort Miss Kaylee and the Tams, I shall endeavor to ensure all four of us return to the ship safely."
"Good." Mal handed him a gunbelt and three five-credit notes. Standish pocketed the notes, then checked the gun. "Couple hours ought to be enough time. Not that much to see or do here. Show 'em the town – what there is of it – buy yourselves lunch. Let Kaylee get a souvenir or two if she wants to. Be back before dark."
Standish nodded. "Yes, sir."
Standish beckoned to a flower-seller. He looked over her tray. "Lilacs, I think. Lavender for Miss Kaylee, white for MissRiver." He took the corsages and handed them to the girls.
"Ezra, you didn't have to do that." The delighted expression on Kaylee's face belied her words.
River sniffed hers. "They're beautiful."
"Beautiful ladies deserve beautiful flowers," he replied gallantly. He dug into his pocket for a few coins to pay the flower-seller.
The girls pinned the corsages to their blouses. Simon merely looked chagrinned, although whether his expression was because he hadn't thought of buying flowers first or that Kaylee had attached the lavender blossoms to her bosom without his help, Standish couldn't tell.
"Now then, dear ladies, what is your pleasure? Shopping, dining, or merely a constitutional down the main thoroughfare – such as it is – of this humble hamlet?"
"Constitutional?" Kaylee repeated inquiringly.
"He wants to know if you want to take a walk," Simon translated.
"I saw a used book and vid store," River suggested.
"Fresh entertainment we have not seen or read a dozen times would be welcome, I admit." Standish slipped his left arm through Kaylee's right, and his right arm through River's left. "Shall we proceed?"
Simon frowned, less than pleased at the way Standish had outmaneuvered him.
Watching River Tam in the book and vid store, Ezra Standish was less reminded of the proverbial kid in the candy shop than of a butterfly in a garden, flitting from orange blossoms to orchids to pansies to bluebells. She dashed from shelf to shelf: children's literature, science, history, poetry, philosophy. Standish watched her with amusement, Kaylee in amazement, and her brother Simon in dismay.
"Uh, River, why don't you stop now. I'm not sure I can afford all that," the doctor confessed.
"At the very least, MissRiver, have mercy on my arms and limit yourself to what I can carry," Standish added.
Ignoring both of them, River grabbed two more vids and yet another book. Her choices were spilling out of her basket; she didn't seem to notice.
"I've never seen River this excited before," Kaylee told Standish quietly. "At least, not when she was …"
"Lucid?" suggested Standish
"You got any books you wanna trade?" the shopkeeper asked. "The way she's going, I won't have much left for any other customers."
Kaylee nodded. "We could go back to the ship and fetch some."
"You folks just visiting? Or new immigrants?"
"We're from Serenity. Just delivered a load of quadro-triticale seeds and farm equipment."
After a few moments, the four finally decided on their purchases. Standish limited himself to one adventure novel; he needed something to provide at least temporary escape from his bondage. Kaylee bought three vids – two romantic comedies and one horror vid. Simon bought nothing, since paying for River's purchases took all of his pay. River, however, chose six poetry books in four different languages, seven children's books (ranging from 19th century to contemporary), two instructional vids on Scottish country dance (beginning and intermediate), a book on the history of ballet, an astrophysics textbook, a collection of essays on military strategy and tactics, three vids of Chinese opera, a biochemistry book that must've weighed at last five kilograms, an animated vid of erotic Persian folktales, a book on mycology in German, a collection of essays on macroeconomics, a four vid set of the history of the Incan empire back on Earth-that-was, and a book on symbolic logic (filled with more symbols than words).
"Your sister certainly has eclectic taste," Standish observed.
"She's always had widely diverse interests," Simon agreed.
After they had paid for their purchases, Simon, Standish, and River divided her choices between them.
"I can carry one or two of those," Kaylee offered.
The gentlemen rearranged River's books and vids, and the four of them started down the road.
"I have some of the captain's money left," Standish announced. "Would anyone be interested in stopping for a cup of tea, perhaps some sandwiches or pastries?"
"That sounds good," Kaylee agreed enthusiastically.
Standish smiled indulgently at her. Her youthful appetite was a compliment to any cook.
"I thought I saw a teashop earlier," Simon said.
"Yes," Standish agreed. "I believe it was on the left side of the street."
Three local hooligans approached them.
"Two pretty girls," one observed. He was tall, with a scar running from the corner of his left eye to his chin.
"Pretty girls ought to be with us, not with strangers," declared one of his comrades, who was a good head shorter than his fellows.
"Get lost," ordered the third, a young man with carroty-orange hair.
"Excuse us, please," Simon said, trying to push past them.
"That ain't polite," Scarface said.
"Not polite at all," Shorty agreed.
Carrot Top said, "Maybe we need to teach them some manners."
"Not interested," Kaylee told them.
The three formed a line in front of Serenity's crew members. "You two, get lost," Scarface ordered. "These here girls is gonna keep company with us for a bit."
"No, we ain't," Kaylee retorted.
River turned to her brother and murmured something in Chinese.
"We really don't want any trouble, gentlemen," Standish told them, his voice deceptively mild.
"Good, then we don't have to hurt you none." Shorty drew a knife from his belt and ran his finger along the blade.
"If you are also desirous of avoiding trouble, I recommend you remove yourselves. Post haste," Standish continued.
The trio stared at him, uncomprehending.
"You ain't dumb enough to threaten us, are you?" Carrot Top asked.
"I never waste time on threats." Standish dropped the bag with River's books, glad that Simon had taken the lighter (but more fragile) vids. He pulled out his gun. He shot the knife from Shorty's hand. He fired again, grazing Carrot Top's shoulder. He aimed the gun at Scarface's face. "That's your warning. Do I need to take more serious action?"
Scarface shook his head.
"Miss Kaylee, can you manage my bag along with your own?"
"I think so," she whispered, still stunned by the speed and accuracy with which he'd shot.
"I suggest forgoing the trip to the tea shop and returning to the ship. I'll prepare some refreshments for us there." Standish kept his gun on the hooligans.
"Sounds good," Simon muttered.
The four of them proceeded down the street, quickly, but without running. They turned the corner as soon as was humanly possible.
"Doctor, ladies, I recommend removing ourselves from this vicinity before the local gendarmes ask inconvenient questions."
"Best damned idea I've heard all day," Kaylee agreed. "I never seen anybody shoot as fast as that."
Standish holstered his gun and took the bag full of books from the young mechanic. "That's much too heavy for you, Miss Kaylee."
"Where'd you learn to shoot like that?" Kaylee asked, hero-worship in her eyes.
"Necessity is a good teacher, Miss Kaylee. There have been times when superior marksmanship was more vital to my survival than a gentleman's education." He thought for a moment of his former colleagues. Mr. Larabee would've been faster; Mr. Tanner would've been more accurate. Still, he'd been good enough, even if not their peer.
"You should've seen him, Mal. I never seen anybody that fast," Kaylee said at the dinner table that night.
"The young lady exaggerates," Standish said modestly.
"She's telling the truth. He'd shot two – nonfatally, but enough to convince them to leave us alone – before I'd even realized he'd drawn his gun," Simon verified.
"Maybe he ought to go up against me, see who's better," Jayne growled. As usual, there was a mean look in his eyes.
"Thank you, no," Standish declined.
"Chicken?"
"No," the gambler lied, "it's simply that the captain has saddled me with too many chores to have time to waste on petty contests."
Mal nodded. The last thing he needed was Jayne picking on Standish, and getting himself killed. Jayne Cobb was an idiot, but he had his uses.
After dinner, Mal pulled Standish aside for a private word. "Good work, today. Worth a bonus, I think."
Standish raised an eyebrow.
"Taking a month's pay off your debt."
"I did it for Kaylee and River, not for the cash. Nevertheless … thank you. Sir."