"Gorram it where are they?! " yelled Kaylee as she sent yet another wave to their wayward shuttle, when it failed to go through she let out a string of curses that a sailor would have been proud of. "Kaylee... I think you may be spending too much time with Jayne. He seems to be rubbing off on you. What's wrong?" asked Book as he walked onto the bridge. "They are over an hour late and they aren't answering my waves... Something isn't right. If they were gonna be late the Captain would have let us know." Book looked a little concerned himself. "Let me see the cortex for a minute." he sat down and after a few seconds had managed to log into an official alliance channel. "No mention of them being captured, or even of the crime being reported. Maybe we should just calm down and see what happens." "Calm down? They are out there and they might be in trouble... now I know why Wash said he felt sorry for me when Jayne and I got together... This must be how he feels each time Zoe is out there... What if..." She looked about ready to completely break down. "Now, now it's going to be alright. After all they are all together, and they can take care of themselves. They probably ran into a situation, but they'll deal with it." He put a hand on her shoulder. "You haven't slept in two days... The ship is working again, and you aren't going to be any good to him if you can't stay awake. Get some rest, I'll stay here and keep trying to make contact and find out what happened ok?" Kaylee hesitated for a minute as she wiped some tears away from her face. "Okay... but if you hear anything at all..." "You'll be the first to know I promise. Get some rest." Kaylee left the bridge groggily, once she was gone the confidence left Book's face. This didn't look good at all, if it was the alliance there would be procedures and possible loop holes to help them. It looked more likely to him that the Captain and the others had been taken in an unofficial manner. He started typing on the cortex as he went through various secret contact points searching for any information he could get on Badger and Gracen. Badger's information came up to be around what they had been told a mob boss waning in power, but Gracen's didn't seem to match the profile. The name was an obvious fake according to the records, and what was worst none of his land or money was titled in his name. It was all filed under "Zeltenias Corp", which seemed to be nothing more than a holding company. It could be a cover to launder the money, but the corporation didn't own any businesses that would be ideal for such a task. The corporation wouldn't be much help fooling the feds, It would only take one step for an investigator to link up Gracen to the company. Book almost took for granted that Gracen would hold nearly 100% of the stocks. He paused then and opened the stock portfolio on Zeltenias. Book was right about one thing, only one person owned stock in the company, but it wasn't Gracen. "This isn't going to be good for business..." Book stood up and went to gather the others. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inara was a bit relieved that her client had been young and inexperienced. She was feeling a bit distracted and her performance had not been up to it's usual standards. He was still extremely pleased and that was all that really mattered. Serenity was her home, but she was finding it harder and harder to tolerate being onboard.

"I just need a break that's all. Maybe with Serenity down for a while I'll be able to visit some friends and get my mind off of him…" she thought. It seemed like more and more her thoughts drifted to Mal. No matter how hard she tried to ignore him, he was all she could think about. If it continued like this she'd have to go through with her plan to leave the ship.

"No time to think about that now. I'll have to go back and see how long we'll be on the planet. Then I can relax." she powered up her shuttle, but the moment she did there was an incoming wave text only. - - - - - - - "Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again."

Socrates said these words long ago, truly a wise man for them to so hold true today. When we last parted you and your champion robbed me of the property I had paid for, and my honor. Yet even now I find that the reach of my arm has grown. No longer held in check by my need to protect my reputation I can reach into the filth of humanity and bring forth those that will aid me.

Machiavelli once said "If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared." You and Captain Reynolds should have harkened to his words. For though you wounded me you left me alive and now I will take from you both until there is nothing left. For example I have already taken him from you. I enjoy watching his torment, his rage, his suffering. It's strange that he suffers this punishment out of his loyalty to a whore. He once risked his life for your honor, but with his life now hanging in the balance will you risk that and more? I suppose we will have to wait and see, if his loyalty and dare I speculate affections are misplaced. Come to my home as soon as you find the time, hopefully the good Captain will still be sentient when you arrive.

Atherton Wing - - - - -

Inara felt fear rising within her as she read the note. In an instant she fired up her engines and pushed them to the brink of overloading as she raced back to Serenity.

"It can't be I'll get there and Mal will be waiting. He'll barge into my shuttle as soon as I lock up with the ship, with a few of his best insults ready." she thought as her shuttle cut through the air. She ignored the incoming wave from Kaylee as she approached Serenity. Her computer finished the docking and the instant it was completed she burst through the door tears falling from her eyes.

"Mal?!" she called as she ran through the doors. Kaylee and Book got to her as quick as they could. Calming Inara down took several minutes as she tried to search the ship for Mal before she would listen to Kaylee.

"They haven't been in touch for hours…" Kaylee seemed to have a bit more control now, but she'd clearly been crying also.

"I suspect that you know where they are don't you Inara?" asked Book.

"Atherton…" said Inara as she held her head in her hands. "It's all my fault… I should have stayed with him… now Mal…"

"Let's try to focus here for a moment. Getting upset now won't help anyone." Book said as he stood up and walked over to her. She felt his hand on her head and remembered when she'd comforted him that way. Inara wiped her eyes and forced herself to calm down.

Simon leaned against the wall. "If it was one of us captured or even just the Captain we might be able to go with an assault to get them back, but with Mal, Zoe, Jayne and Wash gone were going to have to rely on brains rather than brawn."

"Simon you've got a plan?" asked Kaylee excitedly.

"Well… uh no, but we need to remember that while we try to figure one out."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Yer gonna rutting pay for that..." muttered Jayne. Both of his eyes were already blackened and swollen. He was currently standing in the middle of the room with a chain attached to each wrist. The chains had been tightened so much that his arms were already past their fullest extension. His shoulders threatened to pop from their sockets at even the slightest movement. Then he felt the crack of the whip on his back again. Each lash left several cuts behind, they weren't so bad on their own, but each time the whip struck it opened up older ones that had just finished closing. He couldn't see it, but his back was a crisscross of bloody wounds. Mal tried to look away as they began again, but a merc grabbed his head and forced him to watch. Jayne was taking as much as he could to buy them time, but Mal didn't know what he could do in this situation. If Atherton and the mercs left the room they might be able to get out of the chains, but even then they were unarmed and Mal could already see at least two cameras watching them. Jayne's head fell against his chest, as the whipping stopped temporarily. He was roughly yanked up by the hair as Calaz, the leader of the mercenaries, looked down at him. "Not so tough now are we? Where's your threats now?" Jayne tried to speak but the words wouldn't come out beyond a whisper. "What?" Calaz strained to listen and then leaned in. "I said... your bleeding..." Jayne whispered. Calaz turned to look at him. "What? No i'm not Where?" Before Calaz could pull back Jayne reared his head back and butted his forehead into Calaz's nose. The merc stumbled back as blood gushed down his face. "Right there." said Jayne loud and clearly as he started to laugh. That was cut off as the fists of other mercenaries rained down on him. Then he saw Calaz walking back over with a bucket in his hands. He held up the contents in front of Jayne letting the salt slip through his fingers and back into the bucket. Jayne's eyes widened, as he tried to move, but with his arms stuck he had nowhere to go as the salt was poured onto his back. Jayne let out the first scream he had during the entire time as he felt the salt seep into each open wound. It was like he felt each cut 10 times over as it burned him. Instinct caused him to thrash in pain, which dislocated his left shoulder, before they released the tension on the chains. Jayne fell to his knees teeth gritted to hold back the urge to scream again. He was dragged over to his place on the wall and chained back up next to Zoe. "I think we'll let you savor that one for a while Captain. I've got a little business to attend to, but I won't be long." Atherton got up and left taking the mercenaries with him. The second they were gone Jayne would have fallen to the ground completely were it not for the chains holding him up. "Jayne... Jayne are you ok..." asked Zoe, with unusual concern for their resident mercenary. "…Yeah... I'm rutting wonderful… nice and tenderized ready to through on the gorram grill..." "I should have gone..." said Wash. "Not your fault little man... I'm sure ya would have, but he wasn't near enough to ya. Ain't as bad as it prolly looks anyway…" Jayne was starting to pull himself back together. Mal remembered seeing the sickening look on Calaz's face as he caught sight of Zoe. "Well, well not only do I get paid well, but we've got a pretty to play with. I think I'll start with you first, no torture for you though, at least not until were all done with some free samples..." he grinned showing rotten teeth as he walked towards her. Wash and Mal struggled against the chains as much as they could, but it wasn't getting them anywhere. She had seen that look before and Zoe didn't plan on going easily. The second Calaz was near her she planned to make sure that he at least didn't get a sample. Then as he walked next to her Jayne shot out one of his surprisingly long legs and tripped Calaz making him fall flat to the floor. When he tried to get up Jayne's other foot landed a glancing blow on the side of his head before the other mercenaries got a hold of him. "A might anxious are we? Fine business before pleasure."

Mal shook his head as Jayne let out another involuntary groan. "We've got to figure something out Sir." said Zoe. "He's only going to play with us for so long." "He's not going to kill us yet..." said Mal. "because you guys at least can be traded for the other person he wants here..." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Atherton walked his control room. "I take it since you disturbed me from my entertainment that there has been some contact from Inara?" "Yes sir she's on channel 1 waiting for you." Atherton grinned as he sat down in front of his screen and activated it. "Atherton." yelled Inara into her vidscreen. "Well well what a pleasant surprise. I was beginning to get a bit worried, the captain's a strong man, but I'd hate for you to arrive after he's already dead. What a sad ending that would be for your tragic romance." "Atherton, please let him and the others go and I'll do whatever you want. I'll remove your black mark from the companion registry... I'll do anything… just please don't hurt hi…them..." "I'm afraid it's too late for that Inara. You see they've already been hurt. I sent you that wave over an hour ago, and just now I get a response. What could possibly take you that long to answer such an important correspondence?" Inara looked at the floor realizing that he knew exactly why it took so long. "No doubt you've been conspiring with the rest of your crew to come up with some gallant rescue attempt. I will warn you now that it won't work. There is a deal to be made however. You will fly your shuttle to the coordinates I am sending you now. Once you've landed several of my men will escort you to me. I'm sure you understand what any subterfuge or uninvited guests will result in. You have two hours to reach the rendezvous point. After that I will have to send Captain Reynolds to you instead… piece by piece." The screen faded to black as Inara sat back in the shuttle. "This won't be easy, say what you want about him, but he's a smart man." said Book. "He'll search the shuttle closely and have someone watching Serenity. If anyone but Inara leaves he'll know." "He takes the sky, but that isn't the only blue." River pointed to the floor of the ship. "The water... we're parked on the docks we could slip into the water unnoticed and make our way to Atherton's Castle." said Simon. "If you give me 5 minutes I'll have the suits prepped for that and we'll be ready to go." Kaylee rushed off immediately. "Inara... we'll try to find some transportation, but moving on the ground there is no chance of us meeting up with you before you reach him. You're going to be in a lot of danger there, and we may not be able to help you in time." Book's eyes showed that he wouldn't think less of her for backing out. "It's the only way... Mal... and the others he will kill them if I don't go... I won't let him die without doing what I can." she wiped her face and began readying her shuttle. "Then we all know what we have to do." Book turned and left her shuttle and climbed down into Jayne's bunk. He was grateful that Kaylee had taken to forcing Jayne to straighten up. It only looked like a storm had hit the room instead of a tornado. He reached over and pulled down the blanket which concealed the mercenary's most prized weapons. "Well now it's been a while..." he looked through all the weapons and began to take the ones he Kaylee, and Simon would be using. He picked up Vera and inspected her. "I think Jayne will be glad to see you." He quickly began loading the weapons and taking other supplies for the assault. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "River... I need you to stay here." said Simon as he sat her down in her room. "She can help." whispered River. "It's too dangerous. Just promise me you won't leave the ship." "I can shoot better than you. Simon should stay." "Mei-Mei... I don't want to argue. Besides what's the number one rule the Captain gave you." Simon held up the pistol that Book had given him. "...no touching..." she rolled her eyes. "That'll make shooting pretty hard. We'll be back soon. Now promise you won't leave the ship." "She promises..." Simon looked at her closely. "Promises what?" River let out a loud sigh of disappointment. "She promises not to leave the ship... happy?" "Thank you. We'll be back soon." "Never gets to play in the game. Not fair I know all the moves..." she grumbled as Simon left the room.

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Zoe and Wash hadn't received much better treatment than Jayne. Wash could only lean against the wall struggling to catch his breath. When Atherton talked about Zoe again he went crazy and even with his arms cuffed he was fighting with the mercs. It didn't last long before Wash was pounded into unconsciousness. They meant to move on to having their fun with Zoe, but they made a big mistake when they unchained her hands to move her. The second her arms were loose she picked up right where Wash had left off. Her first punch was to the throat of the nearest merc. As he fell to his knees gasping for breath she kicked him flush on the jaw knocking him cold. The other 4 were moving towards her now, but they still didn't understand the threat they were dealing with. The first one threw a sloppy hook at her, she let the punch get as close to her as possible before she turned to the left to dodge. The man was off balance now and it only took a light tug for her to pull him forward slamming his hand into the wall with all of his momentum. She grinned as the hand broke on the stone wall. Not missing a beat Zoe grabbed his hair and slammed his face into the wall twice before the others got a hold of her. They took a fair amount of kicks and punches before they finally secured her into a chair.

"I see were going to have a lot of fun until Inara arrives." Atherton had a grin on his face as he walked towards her brandishing a stun gun. She writhed each time the current coursed through her. Mal watched as Zoe was electrocuted again and again. Mal had been through treatment like that before, and as he heard Zoe let out a scream, he lost it.

"That's enough! You rutting jackass! You want revenge you take it, but leave them out of this!" Atherton only smiled.

"I would prefer to continue with dear Zoe since I see I've struck a nerve. It must be eating you up inside Captain. Unfortunately, Inara will be here shortly, and she believes that you've personally been tortured since I got a hold of you. I'd hate to disappoint her." The mercenaries held Mal's arms and legs back as Atherton handed brass knuckles to Calaz.

"Ugly him up some, but nothing fatal. I prefer to keep the good captain alive for some time." Atherton watched as Calaz went to work.

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The shuttle was flying swiftly towards Atherton's coordinates, Inara wondered if she was a fool for racing so quickly towards at best danger, and at worst her own death. The fear welled up in her and she thought of flying away to Serenity, or the Guild house, or anywhere but where she was going.

"Mal…" She shook the fear away and increased the speed of the shuttle to maximum. Helping Mal and the others was all that mattered now.

Atherton's guards expected to see Inara trembling in fear when the shuttle door opened, but instead they found her calm and emotionless as they escorted her to their transport. After searching the shuttle, and searching her for weapons they set off. Half an hour later she walked in through the front gate of Atherton's castle. It felt like she was walking to her own execution, but she fought the fear away again focusing only on Mal. Thinking of him normally made her distracted, confused, angry, or some mixture of the 3, but now the thought of him gave her courage as she continued forward. Then her emotions became nothing but anger as his smile greeted her. Why hadn't that smile seemed so false and empty the other times she'd seen it?

"Welcome Inara, I'm glad you chose to join us at the end." Atherton turned on a vidscreen showing Mal chained to the wall and with a mercenary's gun trained on him.

"Now!" ordered Atherton as the mercenary fired at Mal from point blank range.