The job would take them back and forth across the galaxy, more than Malcolm Reynolds cared to do. The Bulger brothers had arranged this job for them, setting up a very complex affair of a heist of Alliance surplus energy heating converters on Stonybrook, a terraformed moon out on the eastern part of the rim, and a run straight across the galaxy, past every Alliance cruiser and criminal in operation, to deliver them on Hanover, a similar terraformed moon. The purchasing price on Hanover had already been negotiated and settled, and the Bulgers were expecting thirty-five percent, leaving Serenity with a healthy earning, making the risks of carrying this merchandise well worth it. But Mal just couldn’t get into it, his heart wasn’t there. His mind was still on Beline. He felt so empty and dead inside, it was hard to get interested in anything. His crew was keeping a safe distance from him, especially Inara. He felt a powerful guilt for the way he had lashed out at her, but she should have just left him alone. Because that’s really what he was, wasn’t it? Alone. He remembered visiting planet where men took multiple wives, and one man telling he loved three women equally. He had thought a lot about that man in recent days. He couldn’t conceive of loving more than one woman at the same time. He couldn’t begin to see how a man could do it more than once in a lifetime. Annabelle had taken something inside of him and killed it dead, and the worst part of it was the fact that he knew full well if she called him again, he’d come running. He’d run as fast as he could and leave everything behind to get there. The thought made him disgusted with himself, but he knew it was true. But it went beyond just that. He kept thinking about Minerva. He kept seeing himself behind the woman whose name was Felicia, drawing his piece and airing out the top of her skull. He kept thinking of the endless dreams where he had seen this play out, and where she has still come back, despite the headshot, and where she pointed her finger at him in accusation. He kept hearing her call him murderer, kept hearing himself try to explain that it was the merciful thing for him to do. Every time, the dream ended the same way, with her teeth finding his skin, and Mal waking up in a cold sweat. He wondered if he had finally gone just too far, if he had finally done that one thing too many for himself to be able to live with. He knew such a day would come, it came for everybody, but was this it for him? And what would that mean for the rest of his life? But he would do the job, because the job meant money, which they needed desperately. Serenity was fueled, Billy and Jimmy Bulger had fronted them the cost of that, but that was about all they had going for them at the moment. Their food storage was looking mighty thin, and the promise of work will only keep an empty belly quiet for so long, he knew. The heist had been made without any incident, and the cargo was stashed throughout the ship. Serenity had more stash holes than even Mal could count, and they had all come in handy. So Mal found himself wandering the ships, wrapped in his own thoughts, exhausted by too many nights of not enough sleep, and aching to return to Beline. Zoe Washburn stood on the second tier of the cargo bay, watching her captain pace aimlessly. She was deeply worried about him, worried in ways she never had been before. She was unsure about his state of mind. He had been causing a ruckus in the middle of the night with his bad dreams, enough to wake her and her husband, both of whom were light sleepers. Kaylee bunked far enough away form the Captain’s quarters not to hear him, and the Shepherd and the Tams were in the guest dormitories, too far to notice. Of course, Jayne was right next to Mal, but that ape could sleep through a bomb. Zoe wanted to approach the Captain, but she was unsure how. Annabelle had been the trigger of it, she knew. Her Malcolm Reynolds, the proper Malcolm Reynolds, had been the man she had jumped from planet to planet with, fighting the Alliance. She had seen him do the impossible time and again. Though she bore no romantic notions towards him, she loved him as dearly as she loved her own husband. This was a powerful man, a leader, a warrior, and a man who was so passionate about the wellbeing of his own people. She knew he was bleeding inside, bleeding out of his heart. It broke her own heart to see him like this, and she damned that woman in her mind for the millionth time. She was a pure fool, Zoe felt, for casting aside the colossal love that the Captain had to give her. When she did it to him the first time, it had been bad, but this time, it was ten times worse. Why couldn’t she have just left him alone? There was more to it, though. She was certain it went back to the thing on Minerva. She knew something had happened that only the Captain and Simon knew about, but when she tried fishing on the elder Tam, she came up empty. She knew Simon was afraid of her, and rightly so for him to be, but he told her flat out that he had given his word to keep his mouth shut, and wasn’t going to break it. She let it go at that. Simon hadn’t lied to her, and a body’s word had to count for something. Still, she was worried. This was a large job they were taking on this time, with a lot of ground to cover and a lot of trouble to steer clear of. They needed someone strong making decisions to follow, not someone who had lost faith in himself. She wanted to discuss this with someone, someone who would understand. Her husband, unfortunately, would not. He had never been a soldier, and while he had lived through hairy situations while on Serenity, he didn’t understand the field of battle. Confidence to the point of arrogance was what a leader needed to possess, so the troops could feed from it. She wondered if she was the only one to have seen it. Her husband, Wash, hadn’t said anything, and she didn’t credit Jayne with the sensitivity to see when someone was hurting, unless he meant to exploit it. Simon Tam knew, but he wasn’t talking. His sister River probably knew too, but that was River. She had a powerfully unsettling way of just knowing things. Inara, she was sure, had noticed something, but she would not go anywhere near the Captain. Zoe knew that Inara had tried to approach the Captain once, and had come away from it hurt. Their relationship was……difficult. There was not a soul on the ship, except maybe Jayne, who didn’t see the feelings that both parties had and hid from each other, and this caused them to fight with one another more often than not. She thought gladly, not for the first time, that she and Wash had come together with a lot less drama and fireworks than those two continued to generate. That left the Shepherd. She wondered if he had noticed anything in the Captain’s behavior. The man didn’t miss much, she knew that much for certain. Whatever he had been before he became a Shepherd (a topic everybody on board Serenity was curious about), it had taught him to be observant. They had eleven hours left until Hanover, and she wanted to use the time as well as she could. She walked quietly to Inara’s shuttle and knocked on the door, entering when the Companion welcomed her. “How goes it, Inara?” “It goes, Zoe. I will just be glad when we reach Hanover.” “Really? Got some clients lined up for yourself?” “Only the one, but he’s engaged me for several days, and I will be happy to get a break from Serenity,” Inara said with a sigh. “Getting sick of us, are you?” “No, no, Zoe, not at all, I love all of you dearly, you know that.” “Even Jayne?” Zoe asked with a smirk. “I have always tried to find the very best in people, Zoe, and so when I think of Jayne, I try to limit it to his gift of apples and helping to rescue mal from that awful Niska.” Zoe chuckled at that. “You have a better talent for diplomacy that I ever could.” “You’ve got something on your mind, I can see it all over your face, Zoe.” “Yeah, I ‘spect I do, Inara.” “It’s Mal, isn’t it?,” Inara asked. “You’re very worried about him, aren’t you?” Zoe sat down next to Inara and sighed aloud. “Girl, I am powerful worried about that man. I look at him, and just don’t know the man who is wearing his skin.” “You know how angry he would be if he knew we were talking like this, don’t you?” Zoe nodded her head. “I do, and I don’t ‘spose I’d really care to be on the receiving end of that anger right about now.” “No, Zoe, you wouldn’t. Trust me, you wouldn’t.” “He lashed out at you hard, did he?” Inara lowered her eyes. “It was my fault, really, I handled the situation badly. I just………..Zoe, promise me you will never repeat this, will you?” “You got my word, darlin’. This little palaver stays right in here.” “My heart was breaking for him, Zoe. The night…….the night she turned him away, I heard him in his quarters……I’ve heard men cry before, Zoe, but not like that. I never….I never thought that about Mal. I never imagined him having that sort of passion towards a woman. I could never imagine him loving a woman like that. And I did something very stupid.” “What?” “I offered him my heart in substitution.” Zoe cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. “No, no, no, I don’t mean I offered him sex, thought I would have if he had asked. I told him that I would take the love she had thrown away.” Zoe closed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh, Inara, darlin’, I told you to walk softly, I can only imagine how bad that must have gone.” “I know, Zoe, it was just so stupid of me, but you weren’t there, you didn’t see him. He just looked…..he looked damned, Zoe. I don’t know how else to say it.” “I’ve seen you keeping much to yourself since.” “Zoe, I just don’t know what to say to the man. Have you ever had your heart really and truly broken?” “Really, Inara, no. Of course, the stupid teenage things, but remember, I have always been a soldier. I’d get with a man for the sake of a good grapple, usually before or after battle, and on a few times, even during,” she said with a smile. Inara looked at her wide eyed. “During combat, you’ve had sex?’ “Oh, girl, it’s incredible! Knowing you can get killed right in the middle of it……I can’t describe how good it is!” “Zoe, you wild woman!” The dark skinned woman laughed. “To answer your question, no, not really. Wash is the only man I can really say that I have given my heart to.” “I can’t really say that I have, either,” Inara said. “But obviously, in my business, things are a little different.” “I would conjure they are.” “But I know what a broken heart is. Right now, his sense of self worth doesn’t even exist. He tried to give that stupid bitch everything he had, and it wasn’t good enough for her. He is utterly devastated inside. He bet everything on this going right for him and her, and I don’t think he ever saw the potential that it might not.“ She slapped her hands down on her knees. “Why wouldn’t that damnable woman just leave him alone, Zoe?” “Inara, I’ve thought that m’self more than once. I even entertained taking the other shuttle back to Beline and putting a bullet to her.” “We’ll go together in my shuttle,” Inara said with a laugh. “It’s a deal.” Zoe paused for a moment and looked directly at Inara. “You really love him, don’t you?” The question took Inara by surprise, and she opened her mouth to protest, but shut it before she spoke. “Zoe, it’s…….difficult. And pointless, now. He wants nothing to do with me.” “Give it time, hun.” “I don’t honestly think that there is enough time anymore Zoe.”

They were only a half hour away from hitting atmo. Mal was up on the bridge with Wash and Zoe. “Beginning entry sequence now,” Wash announced. “You’ve got the coordinates for the drop,” Mal asked. “Yup, all plugged in, we should be there fairly shortly.” “Zoe,” Mal said. “The Bulgers set us up with a fellow name of Hochin to deliver to. Wash has the location. Why don’t you send them a wave, let them know they can pick up their goods in about an hour.” “Yes sir.” “Wash, let Inara know she can be on her way. We’ll lay over and wait for her, take a few days off for all of you.” Wash wondered why Mal didn’t just tell her himself, but decided not to pursue it. He touched the comm button, and told her she was cleared for takeoff. Inara was in her pilot’s chair. “Separating on three, two, one, shuttle separation.” Her shuttle disengaged from Serenity, its wings extended, and she was off. Her client was a 40 minute flight from her present location, and the trip was smooth. She put her shuttle down on a landing pad outside of a sizable estate, and was met by three servants, who were eager to usher her inside. She was accustomed to this treatment, not always, but sometimes. It wasn’t until entering the house that she knew something was amiss. The house was empty of furniture, and had a stale smell to it. Immediately, she turned to run, but was blocked by the three “servants” who were now holding guns. This was bad, very bad. She had heard stories of Companions engaging the wrong client, and wondered if this was her time. And then she heard a voice that told her it was much, much worse. The heavily accented voice said, “Miss Sera, I am so glad you could join us. We will have more guests before long, I think, yes. Yes, I think you will a very familiar face today.” She saw the smiling face, and muttered “Oh, my God.”

Serenity extended her landing gear, and the ship was put down on bare ground outside of a sizable township. “Zoe, you and Jayne are with me. Wash, you and Kaylee start seeing about what work you want to do to the ship.” Mal and Zoe started loading the converters on the mule, and were joined by Jayne. In typical Jayne fashion, he was armed to the teeth. He had a large semi-automatic on his right hip. And a massive knife sheathed behind his left. Under his coat was a small submachine gun. “Jayne, do you go anywhere without an arsenal?” Zoe asked. “Well,” Jayne said, sounding unsure of how to answer. “I try not to,” he said with utter seriousness. “Well, keep your arsenal to yourself,” Mal said. “We don’t know these people, they don’t know us, and I don’t want things to get off to a bad impression. We need to come across as real neighborly, friendly folk.” “When did they become our neighbors?” Jayne asked, again with utter seriousness. Mal looked at him, then at Zoe, said nothing, and climbed on the mule. The ride took them twenty minutes, and there was a crew of seven waiting for them. Mal got off the mule and waved, smiling, and said, “Hi!” “You Malcolm Reynolds?” The tallest of them asked. “I am unless you have a warrant.” All seven laughed at that, and the speaker stepped forward. “I’m Mayson Grey,” he said, extending his hand. Mal shook it. “These boys work for me. Are those our energy converters?” “They will be right after I see some currency.” “That’s fair enough,” Grey said. He reached in his pocket, and pulled out a large sack of platinum, and handed it to Mal. ”This is what we agreed to.” Mal looked into the sack, handed it to Zoe, who looked into it and nodded to him, and said, “I ‘spect it is, and I ‘spect that these are your energy converters after all.” The transfer was made, hands were shook, and both parties parted company. As they rode back on the mule, Zoe commented that aside from the actual flying time, the job had been relatively easy. Mal looked at her and just nodded. Now that the job was done, he was sinking back into herself, she saw. She would have to talk to him, she knew this, but not in front of Jayne. On returning to Serenity, they found River and Kaylee throwing something up in the air to one another, while Simon ran back and forth between them. Whatever the game was, Mal, Zoe, and Jayne couldn’t tell what it was. Kaylee saw the three of them staring and said, “We’re playing keep away!” River caught what could now be seen as a ball, laughing, and sidestepped her brother to throw it back to Kaylee. Shepherd Book was watching the game, along with Wash. “Why aren’t you two in on this,” Jayne asked/ “I’m afraid I don’t have the energy that these two young women do anymore,” Book said. “I’m conserving my energy for my wife,” was Wash’s reply. “Just don’t break anything,” Mal said, and went up the loading ramp into the ship. “Did everything go all right?,” Book asked, concerned by Mal’s behavior. “Don’t pay him no mind, Preacher,” Zoe said, trying to sound convincing. Book looked closely at her, but said nothing, for which she was grateful. She was going to have to talk to the captain, she knew it, and didn’t look forward to it. But it was a task that would have to be done, and done soon. The man seemed to have lost interest in living, simple as that. She saw him turn himself on for the drop, and then shut right down again. She stood where everyone else was watching Simon get run ragged, thinking hard on the matter, and was snapped out of her reverie by the captain almost staggering down the loading ramp. “Sir?” “Get in here Zoe. Now.” Turning, he went back into the ship, followed by his first mate. They were both on the bridge. “I got a pre-recorded wave, must have been sent while we were making the drop.” He punched a button, and a familiar face came on the screen. “Mr. Reynolds? You remember me, no? It is I, your friend Adelie Niska. You are surprised to see me, yes? I am not surprised to see you. I have spent much time thinking about you. Very big time, in fact. “I have some guests here today, Mr. Reynolds. Very dear guests to you, I think. I have been following your actions very closely for some time now, and I have a wonderful surprise for you.” The screen shot panned out, and Zoe was horrified to see two female forms suspended from the ceiling by shackles. More horrifying was who they were. One was Inara. The second was Annabelle. Neither women were moving. “Do not worry, Mr. Reynolds. They are quite alive, but I cannot guarantee for how long.” Another figure walked onto the screen, an enormous, heavily tattooed man with a bearded face and long, wild hair. “This is Durcee. He is quite disturbed, you know. He likes to hurt women, and I am afraid he will only listen to me for so long. “I think you should reply to me soon, Mr. Reynolds. As soon as you can.” At that, the screen went blank. Mal looked at Zoe with a mash of emotions across his face: fear, horror, and, she was glad to see, rage. Wherever Malcolm Reynolds had been, she thought he was about to come back. “What have I done, Zoe? They are both probably dead by now.” “I think you should return the wave and find out.” He hit a button, and after a moment, Niska’s face appeared on the screen. “Mr. Reynolds! Mr. Malcolm Reynolds. This is a treat!” “Niska, you jug-fucking prick, I should have killed you when I had the chance!” “But you didn’t Mr. Reynolds, and that is no one’s fault but your own, no?” Mal closed his eyes, opened them, and asked, “Are they still alive?” “Yes, yes, of course, for now, but I am afraid Durcee has not been able to completely control himself. I am very-” “Fuck what you are. What do you want?” “I want you, Mr. Reynolds! What else could I want? I trade them for you!” “Show me they are alive.” “You will not take my word for this?” “Balls to you word. Show me them.” “They are special to you, both? I followed you to and from Beline, Mr. Reynolds, and I watched you, I watched you ever so closely. Do you know that the man she loved more than you, he sold her out to me. He is not so remarkable a man as you, I think. “And the Companion, she is so lovely, Mr. Reynolds! What a lucky man you are to have two such women in your life! Too lucky, perhaps, too much good fortune.” The screen panned out, and he saw both women, and it had gotten worse. They were both naked, and he could see that their legs had been whipped. Annabelle raised her head and said, “Malcolm, please, Malcolm….” Inara’s voice was stronger. “Mal, run, take the crew and run!” The screen panned back to Niska’s face. “A trade, I think. You for them. One for two, a good deal I think for you. I have sent coordinates for you to go to, if you take this deal.” Mal put his face close to the screen. “You want me, Niska? You get me. Here I came, you son of a bitch.”

Mal stormed to his quarters, and climbed the ladder down. Rage burned through him, wild animal rage, clean and pure. At exactly that moment, he was ready to go to war. He strapped his sidearm on, and then put on a pair of shoulder holsters on, which carried a semi-automatic in each. Four extra clips went into his pockets. He lifted his right leg and put the foot on his table, strapping to it an ankle holster which held a snub nosed magnum revolver. He hooked a large holster to his left hip, and slid a sawed off, pistol-gripped double barrel shotgun. Extra shells went into the pocket of his brown coat, which he shrugged onto his shoulders. He felt ready to do some killing. His plan was to take the extra shuttle close to the coordinates Niska had given him, and take him by surprise. He reminded himself to get an assault rifle out of the weapons locker. He closed his eyes and breathed very deeply, trying to get his calm back. He was going to be no good all edgy-ed out. He needed to be in a thinking position, if he was going to do this right. He climbed back up and found a surprise. His crew were standing in front of him, bearing arms. Even Kaylee. “We’re coming with you, sir,” Zoe said flatly. The swell of pride he felt for his crew filled his chest fit to burst. “I can’t order, or even ask any of you to take part in this--” “Mal, Inara’s family,” Wash said. “And so are you. And we know the other woman is important to you. So I guess that makes her family too.” “I’m in, too, Mal,” Jayne said, who was armed beyond what Mal had ever seen him. “Stormed him before, I’ll storm him again.” “I’m with you as well, Captain,” Book said. “I may have more to contribute to this than you expect.” “That sounds rightly ominous,” Jayne muttered. “River and I want to help too, Captain. You’ve gone out of your way to protect us. We want to do the same for you,” Simon said. River smiled and nodded enthusiastically. “I’m in, too, Cap’n, thought I don’t know what all use I’ll be,” was Kaylee’s vote. Mal stood and looked at his crew of misfits, killers, and fugitives, and felt a lump in his throat. “I’m right proud of each and every one of you,” he said. “Right gorram proud. You’re about the finest crew a man could have. I know I haven’t been right lately, and some know why, and some don’t. None of it matters now. “We are going to raise some ruckus. Niska declared war on us and our family. This will not stand, I say. We are going to go and make that sumbich wish he never heard the name Serenity!”

Their plan was pretty straightforward, which made Jayne happy. He didn’t like complicated plans. They were hard to follow and they rarely worked. This involved a high-flyover to scope the place out, a distance landing, and a fight. He liked the sounds of the plan just fine. Kaylee had the belly doors of Serenity open and she was picturing the layout of Niska’s coordinates. The ship’s camera system scanned the area closely, and an hour later, and soon after Kaylee had a schematic spread across the dinner table. “Judging by the heat signatures, it looks like Niska has about twenty men with him, plus Inara and….what’s her name, Cap’n?” “Annabelle.” “That’s a pretty name,” Kaylee said with a smile. She looked back down at the map. “I’m guessing by the intensity of the heat signatures, they are in the basement of the mansion we flew over.” “That means we’re going to have to take the place hard and fast,” Mal said. “I’m all for that,” Jayne said. “Let’s just go in and start shooting. I got just the thing to help us with that.” He left the room and came back a moment later, holding a silver tube about a foot long. “EMP grenade, good for about a hundred foot radius,” he said, smiling with pride. “I’ve been saving this for something special. Kill all their lights and power to knock ‘em off balance.” “Jayne,” Zoe said. “You know all the mean things I ever said to you about all your toys? Consider them all taken back.” “We go in two teams,” Mal said. “Jayne, you Wash, and the Shepherd secure the upstairs. Zoe, you and me take the basement. When you’ve secured the upstairs you come and cover us.” “Do I have to get dropped out of the ship again?” Jayne asked. “No.” “I like this plan more by the minute.” “Captain,” Book said. “Just you and Zoe? Two against twenty-five?” “Preacher, we are a bit limited in resources. The Doc is going to stay on Serenity and guard Kaylee and his sister. I also want him ready to receive casualties. That leaves five of us.” “According to young Kaylee, the upstairs portion would seem to be empty. Perhaps I would be of more use to you and Zoe.” “Preacher, I almost get the inkling that you are sort of eager to see our Mr. Niska. That does strike a cord of curiosity with me,” Mal said. “Let’s just say I know his reputation.” Mal looked at the Shepherd, and decided to just let it pass. “Well, there it is. Jayne will knock out the lights, and we’ll go in shooting.” Mal looked at his crew gathered around the table. “I want you all to know that I thank you for this,” he said. “Now, let’s go and get to some killing.”

They approached the mansion from the wooded west side, all of them bearing the most arms they could carry. They paused at the treeline, which was about 30 feet from the house, and Mal scanned the place with his binoculars. There were no signs of life in any of the windows. He turned and whispered, “Jayne.” That was the big mercenary’s cue. He broke cover, and ran zig-zag towards the house, and lobbed the EMP grenade through a window. Bells rang when the glass broke, and after a silent flash of light, all went quiet. “Here we go, people!” Mal hissed at them, and all four broke cover. They broke through the front door, and Wash and Jayne headed for the staircase. Mal, Zoe and Book tried doors until the found the basement entrance, and as they opened it, they heard numerous steps coming up to meet them. Mal tuned to Zoe and Book, nodded, and they waited on either side of the door. They were all carrying assault rifles with underslung flashlights. The first soldier came out, and got a bullet in the head from Mal, who grabbed him at the chest before he could fall and pushed him back down the stairs. They heard tumbling and yelling, announcing the dead body had created the domino effect he had desired. Mal, Zoe, and Book turned their flashlights and barrels down the stairway at the same time, and began shooting, blinding their adversaries with lights and muzzle flashes. They took one stair at a time, working their way down to the floor. They were soon joined by Jayne and Wash. They reached floor level, where bodies made the footing tricky. Mal wanted Niska, but he also wanted the one called Durcee. He knew Durcee had hurt his two women, and Mal had a mind to put a hurting onto him. All five flashlight beams scanned the basement area, and there was no Niska or Durcee, and neither did they see Inara or Annabelle. Jayne had a pair of enormous pistols in his hands. He had always had excellent night vision, Three men came from behind a wall, and he brought both guns up. The reports were ear-shattering as he fired three times, two from his left hand, and once from his right. His bullets found their targets and dropped them to the ground, two with chest wounds, and one man whose head ended at nose level. The other four turned to look at him. He grinned and said, “Well, hell, I had to get some play here.” Book announced he had found another way out of the basement, and the others turned to follow him. As they ran up the stairs and out onto a field, they saw Niska and Durcee, who was pulling Annabelle along by her wrist, and carrying Inara over his shoulder. “Niska!” Book shouted. “Adelie Niska! Stop moving now!”

Niska stopped dead in his tracks, and so did Durcee. The larger man put Inara down, and she looked almost unable to hold herself up. Even from that distance, they could see that she had been terribly beaten, as had Annabelle. All five had their guns trained on the two outlaws, and while Durcee scanned the group, waiting for a command from his master, Niska was focused on Book. “You. Derial Book?” “Why, Adelie, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” the Shepherd said, advancing from the group a few steps. “But…..you are dead!” “Apparently not,” said Book. “I’m walking and talking, just like you.” Niska turned from book to Mal. “Mr. Reynolds, you do keep some interesting company,” Niska said, smiling again. “Two such lovely women, and such a bad man as this. Perhaps you should not have two to one, yes?” Niska moved his arms quickly, and two small pistols popped out of his sleeves. “Perhaps you should choose one, yes, one good to one bad.” He had a pistol trained on both women. “You do not have to choose if you should want not to,” he said. “I could just shoot them both, if you would prefer.” “You’ll never walk away from this, Niska,” Zoe said. “This is about a second from going all bloody.” “I think you maybe plan to end old Niska today. So I will never get to hurt you again, Mr. Reynolds. But maybe I can hurt you now, I think.” Mal was confounded. For one of the first times in his life, he didn’t know what to do. He looked back and forth at two women who meant so much to him. “Malcolm, please, I don’t want to die,” Annabelle said weakly. Inara looked at her, and back at Mal, took a deep breath, and spoke. “Mal…..it’s okay Mal….save her……I forgive you, really, I do.” Niska’s face brightened as he took his gun off Annabelle. “So you choose this one? Are you sure you choose her?” “Niska, we can all walk away from this,” Book said. “Right, Captain? We can still all walk away from this.” Jayne muttered “bullshit” under his breath. Mal spoke. “Let them go, and we let you go, Niska” “Oh, now that I know who you travel with, I am not so sure, Mr. Reynolds. I think you choose her,” nodding at Annabelle. “I think she is more important to you than the Companion.” “Niska, don’t do this,” Mal implored. “But it is done, I think. Now, I know who is important to you, I can truly hurt you.” And with that, he swung his pistol around and shot Annabelle in the back. The bullet blew through her lower abdomen, and she dropped to her knees, holding her hands over the exit wound as blood poured through them. “Noooooooo!” Mal screamed. Niska ducked behind Inara, as Mal ran to Annabelle. She had collapsed onto her left side, and there was blood everywhere. Jayne’s hands moved like lightning. He filled them with his two massive pistols, and his left hand shot out Niska’s exposed ankle, while his right hand shot the gun out of Durcee’s hand. Niska dropped to the ground, writhing in pain, and Durcee looked up at him in shock. Zoe and Book moved quickly to pin Niska down. She looked at Wash and barked an order at her husband. “Get the doc, now!” Wash bolted towards where the ship had landed, while Mal screamed at Annabelle to hold on, just hold on, they were going to get her patched up, it didn’t look so bad, really, and his pleas were drowned out by her screams of pain. Jayne stormed towards Durcee, dropping his guns behind him as he went. He took his leather jacket off and tossed it to Zoe, who draped it over Inara. Durcee swung at Jayne with an overhand right intended to stun the big mercenary, but Jayne moved far faster than anyone would expect of a man his size. He blocked the blow, and brought his forehead crashing down onto the bridge of Durcee’s nose, shattering it. Durcee staggered backwards, disoriented, and Jayne hit him three left jabs onto the nose, followed by a massive right uppercut which lifted the other man off his feet and dropped him to the ground. Jayne pounced on him, beating his face bloody, screaming as he hit the hairy tattooed man. With cat-like speed, Jayne was back up on his feet, and he pulled the other man up, and dragged him to Inara and Annabelle. “See what you done, motherfucker? Take a good look at what you done! Take a good ruttin’ look!” Suddenly, Jayne’s right hand was holding the huge hunting dagger he wore, and in one motion, he had spun Durcee around and buried the blade in the man’s crotch, and pulled it up to his ribs, disemboweling the psychotic. He turned towards Niska, wild-eyed in fury, and Book stepped in front of him. “Get out of my gorram way, Preacher,” he growled. “Leave him for the Captain, Jayne,” Zoe shouted at him. Like a switch, her order shut him off, leaving him with the childish look he could sometimes wear. “Oh, jeez, you’re right.” Mal was oblivious to all of this, entirely focused on Annabelle. She was screaming and crying his name, and he was nearly hysterical himself. He didn’t notice, even, when Serenity came flying over the treeline and landed close by. The loading bay door opened, and Simon came running out. Kaylee followed behind him, carrying a folded stretcher. “Wash brought the ship so we can get her to the infirmary,” Simon explained to them. Kaylee dropped the stretcher and unfolded it, and they got Annabelle onto it. Zoe took the front, and Jayne took the rear, running as they carried her, with Mal holding her hand all the way. Book had his gun leveled on Niska. “I would so very much like to kill you right now,” he said. “Of course you would. It is all you have ever done,” Niska said. “But today I think I will let the Captain decide what he wants to do with you.” Fear had dawned on Niska’s face for the first time. The reality of being left to Malcolm Reynolds after all that the gangster had done was sinking in to him. Book grabbed him by his collar and dragged him to the ship. River was standing at the bay door, watching it all with a blank look on her face, and she pressed the button to close the ship up. In the infirmary, they got Annabelle onto the operating table. Simon gave her a shot to put her out so he could get to work. “Doctor,” Mal said as evenly as he could. “Please……just please.” “Let me get to work, Captain.” “I ain’t leaving here.” “Then just get out of my way.” Mal stepped back. Simon began to work. For three hours, he did his best to repair the massive internal damage that she had suffered, until she began to hemorrhage and buck up and down on the table. Blood sprayed everywhere as he tried to stem the flow, and then she stopped bucking. The monitor began to whine as it showed a flatline. Simon grabbed the electric paddles and hit her once, twice, three times. No good. Mal was screaming at him, but he barely heard it. He hit her a fourth and fifth time, but she was gone. “Captain, I’m sorry, there was too much damage. I did all I could do,” Simon said. Mal looked at him, blankly, and past him at Annabelle’s body. “You need to leave me alone right now, Doctor. I don’t blame you none, but you need to walk away and leave me with her.” “Of course, Captain.” Simon nodded. “Of course.” Simon walked out of the infirmary, and did his best not to look back as he heard Mal’s howling sobs. Simon walked into the cargo hold. All eyes were on him, and he shook his head no. Everyone looked down, except River, who began to cry. Niska was trussed up on his knees, is ankle wrapped up. There was tape across his mouth. “I’m going to go see on Inara,” Simon said. “Is she in her shuttle?” Kaylee told him she was. She stepped forward and took his hand. “I know you did everything you could,” she said. They all nodded and agreed with her. “That’s not much consolation to the Captain, I’m afraid,” Simon told them. “I don’t think anyone should probably go back there.” “We won’t, Doctor,” Book assured him. “The Captain needs his privacy now more than anything, I’m sure.” In Inara’s shuttle, Simon tended to the scrapes and bruises after examining her for internal damage. She would be fine, he told her, in no time at all. She looked at him and tears welled up in her eyes. “He didn’t rape us, he just wanted to hurt us,” she said. Simon cursed in Chinese. “Sadist,” he hissed. “I don’t even want to try to think about how Mal is right now,” she told him. “I wonder if this won’t finally destroy him.” “Who was she?” “She is the one woman that Mal loved no matter what she did to him, Simon. That man had more passion in his heart for her than any ten men I’ve ever known.” “I never had any idea--” “No, of course you don’t. It’s a very painful subject for him, not one he would ever discuss freely……..I’m very worried about him.” Wash and Zoe were up on the bridge. “I wonder how he’s doing right now,” Wash mused. “Gotta be powerful bad right about now. No one ought to bear the kind of pain he has.” “Will he get through this, do you think?” “Honey, I just don’t know for sure.” They fell into a silence that was broken by the squawk of the comm. Mal’s voice spoke. It was weak, but it was him. “Wash, set a course for Beline, best speed.” Wash looked at Zoe questioningly, and she shook her head no. “Zoe,” Mal said. “Wave the Bulgers that we may be a bit delayed, but not to worry, will be along presently.”

Serenity landed on Beline near Annabelle’s township. Inara and Zoe had dressed her and made her as presentable as possible. Jayne and Wash had rigged a metal casket for her, and she rested in the cargo hold. Mal went alone. Zoe had protested that he should bring company, that he ought not to do this alone, but he dismissed it. “I have to go and face this man, Zoe. It’s on account of me that this happened to her, and he’s got a right to hear it from me.” She knew better than to argue any further.

Of course the scene was terrible, as bad as Mal could have expected, and in the end, her husband and his brother came to Serenity to gather Annabelle. The crew had gathered in somber silence to observe. “I’m sorry,” Mal told him. Her husband looked at him. “So am I. I never should have left her alone so much, she never should have fallen in with outlaws like you.” The statement cut, but Mal let it go. They took Annabelle away, then, because there was nothing left to say. As they left the loading ramp, Mal stood alone at the opening, and said “Goodbye.”

When Mal came back into the hold, Zoe asked if they were taking off. “Not just yet, Zoe, Got one last bit of business on this rock before we get on our merry. This time, you are free to join me. Fuel up the mule, we’re going for a ride.”

His name was Harmon Mueller, and when he answered the door, Mal smiled and said “Hi! Are you Harmon Mueller?” “Who are you?” “Funny you should ask that. I’m Malcolm Gorram Reynolds, and your day just went to hell!” With that, Mal punched him as hard as he possibly could, knocking him out. Mueller was only coming around as the mule pulled up onto the loading ramp of Serenity. His hands and ankles had been tied, and there was tape over his mouth. He began to flap around violently, and Mal gave him another love tap to quiet him down. Inside Serenity, they brought Mueller to the dorm room where Jayne was keeping an eye on Niska. Recognition shone in Mueller’s eyes, and sudden realization dawned across his face. “That the one sold her out?” Jayne asked. “That’s the one,” Mal said. He looked at the two of them and sat on the bed. “Now, you’re probably wondering what I am going to do to you. The idea of handing you both over to Jayne here--” Jayne smiled and waved at them”--had certainly occurred to me, but I am a selfish sort, and I get a mite possessive about things like this. So, that left me with beating you to death with my hands, or sending you outside for a swim in the black. Neither one of those ideas seemed to really do it for me. “So I’ve got something special in mind. Don’t even bother trying to think of what it is, because you ain’t never seen anything like this before.” Mal left the room, punched a comm, and told Wash where to fly to. “But Mal, that’s--” “I know gorram well what it is,” Mal snapped. “Just get me there.” Eleven hours later, Serenity put down planetside. Mal went to the dorm room, and opened the door. Both men had small bloodstains all over themselves. “Jayne, you been cutting on these two?” “Yeah.” “Good man. Help me get these two up to the cargo hold.” When they got to the hold area, he told Jayne to cut their hands and feet free. Zoe and Book both stood there with guns, and the rest of the crew had assembled as well. Jayne got a shotgun from the locker, and opened the cargo doors. There was no movement near the ship, but moans could be heard in the far distance. Mal had told Wash to land far from any city to avoid engagement. “Gentlemen, here is what I have in mind for you. Welcome to Minerva.” With that, he pushed both men down the ramp and onto the soil. “I don’t ‘spect we will meet again, so I suggest you start running soon!” Jayne and Mal came back aboard the ship, and the door raised shut. “Wash, get us to Persephone. Zoe, let the Bulgers know we are coming.” “Captain, are you really just going to leave them here?” Book asked. “Preacher, it was the worst thing I could think to do. I still may have undershot at that. “I think I may need a little time to m’self, if you all don’t mind.” Mal walked out of the cargo bay, and Inara followed after him. He turned to face her when she called him. “You never chose,” she said. “Inara--” “No, it’s all right, I just wanted you to know I knew that.” She paused for a moment. “I remember when your war buddy was onboard, Tracey, and what he said: ‘When you can’t crawl anymore, find someone to carry you’, isn’t that how it went?” “Yes, that’s how it went.” “I just want you to know, Mal, not just me, but all of us, we are ready to carry you if you need it. You’ve carried all of us so many times, it’s our turn to do it for you.” Mal opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. When he opened his mouth again, he simply said “Okay, I’ll try to remember that.” With that, he walked away.

Sleep came hard for Malcolm Reynolds that night, and when the dream came, and Felicia came to him, this time, he welcomed her.