Duncan was glad that Jayne was along. He was very good at pointing out possible sniper locations. Most of Duncan's fighting had been with swords, and even those times when he'd been in a military which had used firearms, he had managed to avoid urban fighting. The only reservation he had was the manner in which Jayne was pointing out the locations.
With a crack and a shattering of glass, Jayne put another bullet through a third-story window. "That would've been a good spot."
Duncan signaled for everyone else to follow them around the corner. He had given up asking Jayne to just point out the targets after he'd shot out a third window. At least it was keeping everyone on their toes.
"Would you STOP that?" Amanda hissed at Jayne, who just grinned. Duncan had an idle thought — if Jayne had been an Immortal, his love of fighting would make him tough to beat. He probably wouldn't win The Prize, but a lot of other Immortals hadn't won, either.
At that moment, Ben Adams stood up straight with a startled look. At the same time, River brought her gun up and started looking around.
"Where?" said Duncan.
"Next street over, I think," said Ben Adams.
"He's moving," added River. "Coming this way." She dropped behind a parked car. "Captain, he's not thinking right. Anger, madness, swirling pain."
Amanda shut her eyes in sympathy. "He's a Reaver," she said. "I was hoping…."
Mal pulled Inara down behind another car. "There's not a lot of cover!" Zoe said, crouching next to them.
Jayne kicked a door inward, ducked inside, and broke the glass in the nearby window. Duncan joined him. Everyone else found whatever cover they could, except Amanda.
"Amanda," called Duncan, "get down."
She shook her head. "He'll see it's me," she said. "He won't attack me."
"Gorram insane," hissed Jayne.
Duncan nodded. "I gave up telling her what to do centuries ago."
Jayne said, "If he kills her, we can shoot him. Always nice to have bait for the trap." He chuckled, an amusement Duncan didn't share.
Duncan said, "He's close. I can feel him now."
"Where?" said Jayne.
"I can't tell the direction," said Duncan, shaking his head.
Motion at the end of the street drew their attention. A figure rose partly out of cover behind a car.
"Nick!" yelled Amanda. "Nick, it's me! Amanda! Nick!"
The figure flashed a macabre grin at her. She gasped. It was Nick, but not like she remembered. He a bolt through his mouth, cheek to cheek. The flesh had healed around it. Another bolt was embedded in his left knee, making him limp. He was dripping blood from his arms, and little sparks from the Quickening ran up and down them. He carried an unsheathed dagger, and he was slicing his flesh over and over.
From behind her she head River moan in sympathetic pain.
"Nick?" said Amanda. "Let me help you, Nick."
Nick's grin got wider, tearing fresh holes in his cheek from the bolt. He raised a small item in his hand, and took a quick step forward just as a shot rang out from the building on her left. Nick staggered as a bullet pierced his lung.
"No!" she screamed. "Don't! Nick, just stop!"
She looked to her left, and saw Jayne taking aim again. Nick raised his hand again, and a beep sounded from it. She was suddenly grabbed from behind. It was River, who was yelling something at her that Amanda couldn't quite understand over the roar that erupted from above. Brick facade, steel supports, and glass showered down toward them. Amanda fell forward, pulling River down with her, as the front of the building buried them.
Jayne's gun spat bullet after bullet at Nick, hitting him, driving him back, providing cover fire for Duncan, who had jumped out of the window and run toward Amanda and River. More gunfire came from the other hiding places, but Nick had already managed to duck back into cover.
"He's running!" yelled Annie, sprinting out from cover. She chased after Nick. When she ran around the corner, a shot pierced her heart, knocking her on her back.
Duncan and Michelle had reached the pile of rubble first, and were throwing bricks behind them. Mal, Zoe, and Inara joined them. Marcus went to check on Annie, and Jayne followed him. Everyone else helped dig.
Soon Amanda's body was uncovered. They heard River say, "Get off!" She had only a few cuts and bruises. Amanda was in far worse shape, but would recover faster.
Mal pulled River to her feet. "Best be more careful, little albatross, or I'll never hear the end of it from your brother."
Amanda chose that moment to come back to life with a deep gasping breath. Zoe pulled her to her feet as Inara just stared.
"I don't think I could ever get over that," she said.
"It's not as fun as it looks," said Michelle.
Jayne took that moment to run up. "He's run out of range," he said. "He's wounded pretty bad. There's a clear blood trail."
"That won't last," said Duncan.
"It might," said Zoe. She turned to Amanda. "He was cutting himself. I'll be surprised if we can't follow it."
Amanda shuddered at the memory. "Nick, oh, Nick, I'm so sorry," she said, looking away toward the direction he'd left.
Marcus spoke up. "I think he's heading for the sheriff's office. According to the records, it is a defensible building and has housing inside." He held up his map. "If we take this route," he pointed, "we could beat him there."
"Then we should go," said Ben.
"No, I reckon we should split up," said Mal. "Some of us follow him, others will take the direct route. Zoe, I, Inara, and River should do that, get the ambush ready."
"Why just you four?" demanded Ben.
Mal smiled. "He won't know we're there, unlike some immortals I know but won't mention."
"What about me?" said Jayne.
"You're the best shot," said Mal, "and the best tracker. Follow him, and keep him moving."
"I'll go with him," said Michelle. "That will help drive him on."
Amanda grabbed her wrist. "Be careful," she said.
Michelle kissed her cheek. "We'll bring him home," she said. "We will."
She ran off down the street, and around the corner were Jayne was pointing to the ground.
"Mal," Amanda started to say.
"Go!" he said. "Come on, we need to leave. River, keep 'listening' for our quarry. I want time to set up a trap before he can see us."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" she said. The four of them sprinted away.
Duncan looked at Amanda. "Ready?" he said.
Marcus didn't wait for her to answer. "Let's go," he said.