Inara lay on the sheets, her body trembling, unable to cover herself. This was her punishment for not telling him she had regained feeling in her arms and torso last night. She was to remain cold for him. How long was this to go on? *** "A Captain Reynolds to see you, sir," Sibley said from the doorway. "Shall I send him in?" "Please," Godfrey stood, putting aside his notes. The man who walked - no, 'strode' was a better word for it - strode into the library wore the simple clothes he had expected: plain brown boots, khaki pants and a dark blue shirt. And all under a brown duster. How appropriate. "Captain Reynolds," Godfrey greeted him, coming around the desk with an open palm. "How good it is to meet you. Won't you sit down?" "Thank you for seeing me like this," Reynolds acknowledged, shaking Godfrey's hand firmly. "I appreciate it, knowin' how busy a man you must be." "It is no trouble at all," Godfrey smiled, leaning his generous form against the oak and marble desk. He waited while Reynolds took the seat. "May I offer you some refreshment of some kind? Wine or tea?" "I thank you, but if it's all the same, I'd like to just get down to business," the captain declined graciously. Godfrey smiled again, noticing how the man before him did not seem inclined to play along well. "Of course," Godfrey assented, watching how Reynolds never looked away from him. "But I do find business rather dry, don't you? I'll ring Sibley. Perhaps I'll persuade you before he arrives." Reynolds waited. Godfrey hated men like this. He rose and made the journey around his desk to alert the butler to a need for refreshments. Reynolds finally looked away from him. He slipped the pill into his hand deftly. *** Inara shivered again and tried once more to pull herself into the meditations taught to her at the Training House. It would have worked better, she was certain, if she could calm her breathing, but she was getting closer to that. Small steps, she reminded herself. A wind that touches a lake begins as a ripple along the surface... She focused on her breathing once again. She would get out of here. *** "That's quite the garden," Reynolds commented, rising from his seat. He crossed to the large bay window looking out over the hedge maze. "My brother was a fan of horticultural hideaways," Godfrey explained as Sibley brought in the wine decanter and glasses. "As you can see, he felt it was worth the gardening expenses." "And you didn't?" Reynolds turned to face him just moments after the pill had left Godfrey's hand. He was almost smiling. "I find it amusing that he connected it to the house," Godfrey chuckled. "It seems he did not wish for guests to leave so easily." "Why don't they just go out the front door?" the Captain asked, curious. "This house is a bit of a maze itself, Captain," Godfrey answered as he handed his guest a glass of wine. "I assumed that if a guest were to leave without permission, they would discover that all doors but one lead to the maze before you." "That's a funny turn of a phrase," Reynolds said quietly, looking at the labyrinth that stretched out before him. He held the wineglass delicately in his hands, slowly swirling the rosy liquid within. "I beg your pardon?" Godfrey asked, mesmerized by the man's wine. "If a guest were to leave without permission," Reynolds repeated. He looked at Godfrey squarely. "It seems to be an odd way of putting things." "What good is a hedge maze if you don't have people to run it?" Godfrey asked as he leaned in conspiratorially. "Or a monster in the middle of it all?" Reynolds smiled. Godfrey's smile faltered. "Well," he said uneasily. "There is business to be done." "Indeed there is," Reynolds said, his smile still on his face. "Let's to it, then, shall we?" "Yes, let's," Godfrey took a deep drink from his wine and set it on the desk. He made his way around to his chair once more. *** Her breathing now under control, Inara focused her energies on rising her body temperature. She knew it could be done...it was a lie of the mind, really, but she had to regain control over her body before he came back. She knew he would return to her soon...but the drugs kept her in a constant state of confusion. Time was slipping away from her at an alarming rate. She had to focus. Then she heard it...the door...he was coming for her already? *** Godfrey took another deep swallow of his wine, gleefully watching as Reynolds downed the last of his. Any moment now, the common vagrant would lose the capacity to hold his own head up, let alone keep that smile on his face. He would then know exactly what happened to fools who meddled in Godfrey's plans. "So your brother," Reynolds was saying as Godfrey played at searching his records. "Where is he now? Growin' another trap for friends who won't play at his games?" "He died," Godfrey answered, watching the captain's shoulders for signs of the drug kicking in. His fingers stopped tapping at the screen before him. He licked his lips in anticipation of the coming events. "Died? That's a shame," Reynolds replied. "Yes," Godfrey let a small laugh escape his lips. "It was quite tragic. He fell." "Fallin' can be problematic," came the slow response. "Yes," Godfrey smiled, his shoulders relaxing heavily. "It was especially problematic, as you say, when he fell out the window." "How long ago was this?" the question seemed to come through a fog... "A week...ago..." Godfrey found it difficult to breathe. He fell forward, his arms unable to support him. What was happening to him? "Did anyone witness his fall?" There was a hard edge to the voice...why did Godfrey feel afraid now? "Only his...pretty...little...whore..." Godfrey managed to croak out. He had not seen his guest exchange wine glasses...he couldn't have done it...could he? A fist smashed into his nose. Blood spurted onto the desk. "Where is the lady, you ta ma de niu-shi?" "Sibley..." Godfrey whispered, trying to call for help. "Where is she?!" *** The door opened, casting the light across her face. A small cry came out of Inara's throat as she closed her eyes against the pain. She felt the tears come and silently cursed herself for thinking she could have the control she needed. "Wo de ma," a husky voice came from the doorway. It sounded familiar... "Inara," Mal was at her side. Was she dreaming? "Inara, can you hear me?" She swallowed convulsively. Strong arms were lifting her carefully and wrapping something warm around her shoulders...it smelled like home...like Serenity... "'Nara, you hold on, we'll get you home again," his voice was like waves of comfort, caressing her. She had to be dreaming. "Inara, look at me," the voice commanded. She opened her eyes slowly...his neck...his chin...his lips, set in a firm line...the shadows played at his features, but it was Mal. Mal was there. Mal was holding her. "We're gonna get you home," he promised. She let her eyes close again with his promise still fresh in her ears. *** Mal picked up the Companion, wrapped in his duster, and made his way from the cold, dark room. She had been clad in a gossamer gown that left nothing to the imagination; abandoned to freeze against the silk sheets. He had seen how the room had been arranged so that no matter how one opened the door, the garish light fell upon her eyes - probably the only time she had seen light in the past week was when that door opened. Mal wanted to beat the man's face against the stone desk again for this. His first priority, though, was the woman in his arms. He kicked the nearest door open and saw it led to the hedge maze. Maybe he should have left Sibley conscious after all... Mal carefully placed Inara on a bench in the sunlight, keeping one hand to shade her eyes while he reached for his comm. He had instructed Zoë to fly Inara's shuttle back to Serenity, once they had found it empty of the Companion. They had found her schedule listing this house as her client's residence. "Zoë," he called into the comm. "Have ya docked yet?" "Just finished now, Sir," came the response. "You find Inara there?" "You could say that," Mal said, looking at the still-shivering beauty in his coat. "Anyone know the best way to get through a labyrinth?" "Pardon?" Zoë's voice transferred her confusion perfectly. "Mal," Wash's voice crackled through. "Kaylee's saying if we don't leave within the next hour, we will not make it to the drop-off no matter how we re-wire Serenity." "It's never easy," Mal sighed. He spoke next into the comm. "Zoë, you give your husband directions to this house. I'll meet you at the back of the residence." "Copy that," Zoë's voice responded. Mal stood, looked at the sky and the hedge before him. "Well, here's one way," he murmured to himself. He pulled Zoë's shotgun out from where they had strapped it to his back and blew a large hole through the hedge. It wasn't his choice of weapon, but Zoë had insisted. Something was not right, she'd said. He might need it before she did. Mal returned to Inara's side, picked her up delicately, and began the journey through the smoking hedges. ------------------------------------------------ Chinese translations: ta ma de niu-shi: mother-humping piece of sh*t Wo de ma: Mother of God