Ch 0: The News These Days | Ch 1: Port Introspection | Ch 2: What We Hath Wrought | Ch 3: Long Time, No Piss Off | Ch 4: The Dig Ch 5: Communication Breakdown | Ch 6: The Deep End (1/2) | Ch 6: The Deep End (2/2)

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Spinning Out by GoramMan Chapter 6: The Deep End Inara awoke startled. In her deep sleep she felt something crawl up her leg. She jostled about for a second before her eyes opened to find the intruder. It was Mal. He was ever so lightly rubbing his knuckles up and down her exposed thigh. She chuckled, “I thought you were a space bug.” She laid her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes. Mal’s bed was too small to spoon each other so they lay on their side perfectly strait. They called it knifing to stay with the table setting theme. “Well you can always tell the difference between a space bug and me,” whispered Mal. “I’m twice as handsome and carry half the diseases.” Inara laughed in response. “Inara, I think now would be a good time to suss a little bit of us out.” She twisted around to face him. Focusing on his eyes was difficult because they were nose to nose. Inara amusingly noted Mal’s hair was never too messed up. “Of course, I know I owe you that. I owed you that weeks ago.” Something about the word ‘owe’ bothered Mal, “I took it by your meaning yesterday that you and the guild are done.” She nodded and smiled. “I... I don’t know what to say to that Inara. Honestly this is what I’ve always wanted but it feels like... I don’t know what.” “You’re taking on some kind of burden?” she asked. “No. Hell no! Absolutely not.” “It’s okay to feel that way, Mal. It’s a feeling. They’re natural things. Don’t be ashamed of them.” Mal winced, “Maybe it’s something like that.” “I understand. The most important thing now is not to pressure each other. We’ve had an enormous change in our lives. It will take some time to sort through all of those feelings.” Mal sighed, “Yeah, River said pretty much the same thing.” Inara raised her eyebrows, “River?” “Yeah, she’s been giving me... well, sharing her thoughts about us with me ever since you left on a daily basis.” “That’s sweet.” “Whatever, I bet the li’l horny teeny bopper’s in here somewhere.” He looked around at the walls. “Oh Mal, stop that. I... I should have responded to your messages. I could see how lonely and tired you were.” “Its okay, Inara. If you’re here to stay then you were going through your own bit of turmoil. More than I’ll ever know probably. I’ve got no call to be mad at you now. I wasn’t mad before, you know. Just sad.” “Thank you.” Mal kissed her on the forehead. He paused for a moment before saying the next thing on his mind, “I’m going to make it... etiquette around here to be dressed when we talk about business and the going on’s of the ship but I’m making an exception right now because this is about relationships.” Inara looked at Mal quizzically, “Okay.” She propped herself up on her elbow. If memory served Inara right, he had broken that etiquette before in the desert of Belerephon. “Part of being a companion is being a counselor, right?” “Yes. Very much so.” “Well Serenity is in, what I think is, dire need for that kind of skill.” “Zoe.” Mal nodded emphatically, “She’s in a bad way, Inara. Losing Wash destroyed her. Yesterday was great. I wouldn’t dare to have thought we could have had a day so good. She and Kaylee had been carrying a grudge ever since we came out of the Black. I’ll explain it later. Seeing them come together like they did was beautiful. But she ain’t out of the Woods yet.” “I thought I detected something between those two in the kitchen.” “It was ugly. But about Zoe. I can’t stand the thought of her ending up more miserable on Serenity than how she was after the war. If that happens it’ll feel like... like I failed at life,” Mal concentrated on keeping his eyes dry. “Mal,” Inara placed her hand on his chest. She knew it would help nothing to point out he was not responsible for Wash’s death. Mal took her hand in his and kissed it. He turned on to his back to stare at the ceiling, “She’s not the only one.” “Who?” “Well there’s always River. But now Simon could use a little talking too probably.” “Simon? Why, what happened?” “He killed a couple men the other day during a job. River, crazy programmed killer River, put him up to it. Manipulated him to do it I would say.” Inara covered her mouth in shock, “My god. But surely there was a time before when...” “Nope. Reavers don’t count in anybody’s book and before that he went to great lengths to avoid such a thing. Even if he had an actual kill to his name this would still be different. He sniped these guys. One of the shots was incredible, incidentally.” “Not to sound uncaring or naïve; what’s the difference?” “Killing a man like that’s a whole different ball of wax. It’s not like coming across a blurry shape from the direction of the bad guys and pumping bullets into to it as fast as you can. You have to take your time. You study the target’s face. You see their expressions. You see them as a person basically. Then you decide to pull the trigger. He ain’t never goanna forget that one. Even Jayne understood that.” “I’ll be glad to talk to them,” Inara said quietly. “I won’t have to talk to Jayne, will I?” “No. If Jayne get’s all imbalanced in the brain pan we’re leaving him somewhere and erasing the location from navcom.” Inara laughed, “Well how do you like that?” Mal turned to face her. He detected a devilish tone in her voice, “What?” “I ended up servicing crew anyways,” she playfully slapped her forehead. Mal’s face twisted with disappointment, “Hey now.” “What,” she giggled. “We... let’s not joke about that.” ***** Two hours later the crew of Serenity was together in the dining area having a late lunch with leftovers. Everybody but Mal was present. “Hey Doc,” said Jayne. He wiped the corner of his mouth clean with his finger then promptly sucked on it, “How’s ‘bout you hook me up to an IV with this soup in it?” “Maybe after you leave some for the rest of us, Jayne,” replied Simon. He passed the bread basket to his left. Kaylee graciously accepted the basket and removed a slice from underneath the towel covering it, “Come now boys. There’s plenty food to go round.” She handed the basket across the table to Zoe. “Not if you’re talk’n about the soup,” said Zoe. “Jayne’s slurping up the last bowl there.” She took her slice of bread and passed the basket to River. “We’ll make some more tonight,” said River. “It’ll be fun. Soup is good for the soul.” River beamed while passing the bread to Inara. “Don’t we have enough left over without the soup?” Inara asked. After taking a slice of bread she handed it across the table to Jayne. “Never enough,” said Jayne as he searched the basket for his slice of bread. He pulled the towel from the basket and shook it over the table sending bread crumbs every where. “Hey! Where’s my bread?” “Where’s my soup?” asked Simon. He produced three slices of bread wrapped in a cloth napkin. “Sorry Doc. This here’s the last bowl. Early bird get’s the noodles.” Jayne held his hand out for the bread. Simon opened the napkin, “Mmm. Three slices of sour dough bread with a crisp buttery crust. Too bad I don’t have any soup to dip it in.” Jayne pointed at Simon, “That’s just down right immature.” Zoe, embarrassed by the behavior, covered her mouth and said, “For once Jayne’s right, Doc.” “Why do people keep on saying ‘for once’ I’m right?” asked Jayne, emphasizing the word once. “He stashed the rest of the soup,” said Simon. “Ugh what!? That ain’t true!” exclaimed Jayne. “Honey,” said Kaylee, “do you know that? Did you see him do it?” “He stashes everything like crazy. Why do you think the rest of us lost five to ten pounds of weight out in the Black but he stayed the same size despite exercising every day?” The table fell silent and watched Jayne. Jayne’s guilty eyes darted around the faces at the table, “Aw hell.” Jayne stood from the table and walked to his locker across the room. He came back with a thermos and an empty bowl. He set the bowl in front of Simon and filled it from the thermos of the remaining soup, “You know this thing never gets washed, right?” Simon handed Jayne two slices of bread. The third slice he dipped into the soup and took a bite of it, “Mmmm. Soup this good... I don’t care. Tastes like victory.” The table started to crack up with laughter. “Oh, ha ha ha,” said Jayne in annoyance. He took a huge bite of bread and chewed with his mouth open. He screwed the lid onto his thermos. “Ah!” said Zoe while snapping her fingers. “Over here with that.” A dejected Jayne surrendered the very last of the soup and sat down, “That’s the problem with ship life. We get to know each other too damn good.” Mal strode into the dining space with a clip board, “River, Kaylee, what is go’in on with this rutt’n fuel usage report? We’re six hundred gallons over average fuel consumption for one rutt’n night! I read these, ya’ll know.” Kaylee, who had been warned by River about the previous night’s joy ride, spoke up, “Sorry Cap’n. I wanted to tell you this morning but you might’a been actually tied up so I thought it could wait.” A collective “Whoa” rose from the table. “What had happened was the, uh, methyl-octal balance of the fuel in one of the reserve tanks was in the red and had to be jettisoned.” “Methyl-whadda balance? I ain’t ever heard of such a thing.” “Methyl-octal. It happens.” Kaylee “Yeah,” Jayne grinned, “I remember being on a ship with that problem once.” River shot him a look. “Well how does it happen?” asked Mal. “Usually,” said Kaylee, “a solid contaminant ends up in the fuel supply some how and it mucks up the fuel chemistry. Gets worse over time as it dissolves or comes apart . We’re lucky it’s just in the one reserve tank and not the main supply.” Mal slowly nodded. Kaylee’s load of crap started to make sense to him, “Do we test for this everyday?” “Nope,” replied Kaylee. “Start. Six hundred gallons ain’t chump change.” Mal tossed the clipboard onto the deck and sat at the head of the table. “Which brings me to the next bit of business.” Mal paused to look at Inara but not in a happy way. “This is the first paycheck we’re get’n in over three months. It’s quite the mother load. We sold some big weapons to small time criminals. Could’a been worse folk, that’s for sure.” River nodded in agreement. “So,” Mal continued, “everybody is going to get their fair share. That means Simon and River get’s a cut.” Simon looked at River first then Mal, “That’s really generous of you, Captain. Thank you.” “It ain’t generous,” replied Mal. “It’s what’s right. You ain’t fugitives anymore. What also is right is next job Inara gets a cut. She is Serenity crew. Just like me, just like any of you.” Mal could see Jayne had buried his face into his hands. “That’s sixty percent to payroll instead of forty percent with ten percent cuts distributed out of all revenue. Then there’s Serenity to be considered. She’s in better shape then ever, even with this octal thing. I’d like to keep her that way. There’ve been several times that she was ready to fall out of the sky and kill us all. With the money we’re making now we owe it to her to make sure that never happens. Tell’em Kaylee.” Kaylee spoke solemnly, “We’ve put off a lot’a repairs. Main bearing should’ve been replaced last year. That’s a small fortune by itself but it’ll increase our burn efficiency. Rad core test. Ain’t been do’in those like we should. Water treatment tests fine but I’m afraid to crack that system open and look inside. I could go on all day, Cap’n.” Mal nodded, “So what we’re talking about here is a reduction in pay, percentage wise.” Mal waited. Jayne’s voice was muffled by his hands, “Say it, Cap.” “Eight and a half. Two point five percent less in cuts means fifty one percent to payroll and it’s still better than the going rate out there. For that amount of money we’re going to have a larger maintenance fund and from time to time do more things like this great dinner we’re still enjoying together.” Mal took a sip of water, “I’m done. What do ya’ll think?” “I must take issue, sir,” said Jayne as he looked up from his palms. He shrugged, “I get. I do. Our former guests, the Tams, ain’t fugees no more. River’s our pilot now and helps a bit with the kill’n of folk. It don’t bother me that an eighteen year...” “Seventeen years old,” interjected River. Jayne closed his eyes and swallowed hard, “Correction. A seventeen year old girl gets paid the same as me. And Doc... I’d be a sumbitch if I complained about him picking up a cut. He’s patched me up so good that it’s been a year since I’ve got a scar big enough to claim under my good name. I appreciate that. I do. But I’ve got to wonder what ‘Nara is goanna do for her eight and a half.” “The way I see it, she’s still our ambassador. She’s still got lots of connections. These people that she’s dealt with fancy themselves as honorable so they ain’t all goanna slam the door in her face the next time she sees them. Also she’s a lot more diplomatic than the rest of us. Might save us a few bullet wounds in the future.” Inara, who had been perfectly still, looked at Jayne across from her, “Really Jayne, you might want to try to resolve something without leaving a pile of bodies behind. I think you would be surprised by the results.” “Uh-huh,” replied Jayne. “Out of everybody at this table right now, two probably agree with you.” Jayne looked to River, “Oh wait a sec. River, dear, if you came across a group of baddies meaning to kill ya would you use diplomacy and girly charm on them or would you chuck a grenade into the middle of the group then shoot down anybody stand’n after the smoke clears?” River leveled her eyes at Jayne. She paused a moment then stuck her tongue out at him. “That’s two and a maybe,” said Jayne. “But as you can see she’s having one of her whimsical days. I’m think’n that in the heat of battle it’s goanna end up four against three.” Mal had heard enough, “Jayne, we’re going to continue this discussion in private.” “Aye aye, sir! Lead the way.” The two men stomped off to the bridge. River’s face lit up with a smile, “I’m going to get a jacket, some shoes, a water color set, and some chocolate with my cut. What are you guys going to get with yours? “Mei-mei,” said Simon, “It might be time to adjust your meds today.” Mal shut the door after Jayne stepped into the bridge, “Eight and a half is still more than the average cut, Jayne.” “Maybe I always considered that extra three points a premium for dealing with your sorry ass,” said Jayne “Come on Jayne. Out with it.” “I’m not being forthcome’n enough, Cap?” “You’re bent out of shape cause I’m putting Inara on the pay roll and taking her into my bed.” “Oh wow! Did ya put that together by yourself just now? Hey, I know what would cheer me up. Why don’t I find me a little sweet thang of my own to keep in my bunk? All she’ll need is a two point cut cause she ain’t do’in nothing else.” Jayne did not dare say the word “whore”. He did not want to be hit by a wrench. Mal sneered at Jayne, “What else?” “Ho-ho-ho. You jus’ keep pushing and pushing.” “Out with it Jayne!” Mal yelled. “Just like every other gorram time in your sad life you don’t know when to quit.” “That’s right, Jayne! Still fighting the war! Gotta win! Now what the hell is it?” Mal was screaming at the top of his lungs. Jayne looked out into space. He shook his head back and forth and laughed manically. “Something funny here Jayne?” “Yeah, Mal. Something’s real funny. Your goanna laugh; I know. You like this joke. You tell it all the time to my face and behind my back.” Jayne took a couple deep breaths and threw his arms open wide, “I’m a gorram liar, Mal! All this crap about percentages and boink’n ‘Nara is smoke screen and bull shit. Here it is: I’m the most expendable person on this ship! Ha! Ha! Really rutt’n funny cause it’s true. Screw that other bull shit. If it comes down to picking me and anybody else on this ship to live, you would step right over my dying body to save them no matter what. Zoe can be trusted to take charge... I can’t. River can read minds... I can’t. Simon can bring folk back to life... I can’t. Kaylee can fix the ship... I can’t. Inara can... I don’t know... talk pretty... I fucking can’t!” Jayne took a moment to compose himself, “Every time we roll out for a dangerous mission, I’m there. The whole time I’m thinking ‘bout this. There ain’t a percentage that fixes that. Used to think their might be... not any more.” Mal almost whispered, “Do you think I’d choose my life over yours?” “You know, two days ago I would’ve doubted that some. Now that you have ‘Nara and hate life a little less...nope.” “With Sheppard Book gone it’s been...” Jayne threw his hand up in front of Mal’s face, “Don’t. That ain’t a part of this.” Mal backed off. The two men stayed on the bridge saying nothing for a long time. They merely shuffled their feet around as they looked out into space. Finally Mal said, “I hear you Jayne and I ain’t disagreeing. It’s not right. I understand if you want to do something else somewhere else. Maybe you could get a loan from one of Badger’s sharks. Get a special deal on the juice, perhaps. Strike out on your own. If you want to stay here that’s fine too. But if you do go I’ve got two things to say. One, is you had better leave in between jobs. If we start a job you ain’t goanna ditch us in the middle of it. Do that and I’ll kill you myself. Two, is if you leave you tell everybody bye to their face. You skip out without doing that and you’re a coward in my eyes. Ain’t nobody a coward on my ship.” ***** “False arrest! False arrest! You rutt’n pigs!” a panicked voice screamed. It was coming from a building on a block adjacent to Badger’s office. Feds in full body armor had stormed the building and were pulling people from it in hand cuffs and leg irons. Two prisoner transports were filling up fast with cursing and wounded people. A man was made to kneel in the dirt street in front of one of the transports. His hair was stained red with thick dark blood that oozed down his face from a scalp wound. A guard behind him kept his rifle nuzzled into his upper back. Two Feds approached the kneeling man. “Is this one of them? Is this the guy?” one of the Feds said. The guard shrugged indifferently. The Fed that spoke grabbed the man’s face with one gloved hand and with the other tried to wipe off the blood. “Gorramit I can’t tell. Box him up with the others. We’ll clean him up and sort him out at the center.” He pushed the man into the dirt. The Fed removed his bloody gloves and tossed them on top of the prisoner. “What do we do, sir?” asked Zoe. “We sure as hell can’t turn and run in the other direction,” Mal replied. “That’ll catch their attention.” They were slowly approaching the scene. At first it was hard to tell which building the Feds had ransacked. But as they neared there was little doubt that it was too dangerous to finish the deal in Badger’s office. “Gorramit. I knew not get’n paid on Athens would be a problem.” “If we walk past them they’ll question us.” “Okay. We’ll take the long way around the scrap yard then circle back on Hemlock Road. There’s a tall card game there Badger frequents. They’ll know if he’s been around.” “You think he skipped out?” “Can’t have this commotion go’in on round your criminal enterprise. And if that’s the case I’m putting a bullet to him.” The distinct pop of pistol shots sounded off. There was a split second of pause before a crescendo of automatic fire answered. Mal turned to Zoe, “Now we can run the other way.” The pair trotted back from where they came as more shots rang out. Behind them they heard a low humming noise before being overtaken by a long sleek black luxury hovercraft with black tinted windows. Mal saw the door open, “Tsai boo shr.” “Get in,” said Badger. Mal and Zoe looked at each other, as if to find a reason not to enter the limousine. The two of them slid into the back seat slowly. Although Mal was still angry he took a minute to admire the fine craft. The leather interior was exquisitely soft and gray. The floor and ceiling was upholstered in black velvet like material. A cortex monitor was mounted to the ceiling. A little cocktail bar occupied the space on the left side of the vehicle near the driver’s cabin. Across from it was long red velour couch where Ramone sat. His rifle rested on his lap pointed at Mal and Zoe. A mini flechette round loaded in the grenade launcher ready to rip them to shreds. Badger sat along the left wall next to the bar, “Up front, I don’t have the rest of your money today.” Mal shook his head and looked out the dark window, “Big damn surprise there,” he sighed. “I had a courier on the way but then all hell broke loose with the Feds,” said Badger. He nervously wrung his hands. “Do you have anything for us?” asked Zoe. “Just me apologies, love,” replied Badger. “How’s bout an explanation of why we weren’t paid on Athens,” said a disgusted Mal. “Cause I was do’in you a favor is why.” Mal’s head snapped towards Badger, “Favor? You call that a favor? What does screwed over look like in your book Badger? Oh wait, we’ve already seen that.” “You didn’t leave Athens empty handed. What’d you get? Five percent?” “Ten percent,” Mal glanced at Zoe who also recognized the error. “Did you try to exchange it yet?” “No.” Badger called up an exchange rate table on the cortex monitor, “Samuel Ling got his subsidy package through the upper chamber two days ago... guess who didn’t make out?” The screen zoomed in on the Athenian currency and displayed a downward sloping graph. “Down forty six points since then.” Mal cocked his head sideways, “Son of a bitch, you knew this was goanna happen and you let us take the hit anyway.” “Excuse me? I could’ve been a couple hundred thousand richer if I’d paid you in full on Athens.” “Gorramit Badger, it ain’t about what you can do! It’s what you should do! Which should have been a wave telling us what’s what.” “And you would’ve trusted me?” “I would’ve listened.” “Not good enough, Mal. That isn’t what I want. Ramone.” Badger’s body guard leaned to the far side of the couch and came back with a case which he handed to Badger. Badger opened the case for Mal to see, “To compensate you on your recent loss in the currency market.” Mal considered not taking the money out of spite. But after his talk with the crew and his argument with Jayne about money matters he had little choice but to accept the case. He took the case from Badger and handed it to Zoe. “When do we get the rest?” “This will blow over by tomorrow. But you should know we’re making plans to move somewhere a bit more stable. Next time you come in might be somewhere else. Whole planet’s going mad.” Badger pointed to a bottle of expensive vodka as an offer but Zoe and Mal maintained their stone visage. “So what did you think of Dedrick?” “He seems upstanding enough for a criminal,” replied Mal. Badger nodded, “He say anything ‘bout me?” Badger poured himself a shot of the vodka. “Not much. Talked about the lockup a little and your drug running. Said you were grumbly.” “What do you mean, ‘grumbly’?” “Actually what he said was that you were a, ‘grumble’. Whatever that means.” Badger’s eye twitched and the shot glass came away from his lips, “Did he now? He’s such a kidder.” Badger looked out the window, “Well both you and I’ve got things need’n done so I’ll drop you off here. You know your way back.” He pressed a button, “Driver, our guests will be stopping here.” The vehicle stopped so gently it was imperceptible if one could not see the rolling scene beyond the window stop. Mal and Zoe exited the limo. Mal spat on the trunk as it left them in a small cloud of dust. “What do you think ‘grumble’ really means, sir?” “Can’t say. Sure did get a rise out of Badger though.” Inside the limo Badger seethed with anger. He tossed the shot of vodka down his throat and poured himself another. “Boss,” said Ramone, “we got eyes on everybody but Mal and Dedrick. They don’t like you none at all. Why do you trust them?” “It ain’t that I trust them,” said Badger. “It’s that I know them. I know what Mal wants more than anything. That’s to keep away from the Alliance. Everything else in his life serves that end. The ship, the crew, the jobs, everything is used for that purpose. Sure he’ll take his little jabs and mouth off those little quips. But you can push him all over the ‘Verse as long as it’s a direction away from the Alliance. Simple as that.” “And Dedrick?” “Much the same. Only he has those brats and hangers-on that depend on him. He also isn’t as principled as Mal. Much easier to keep under control.” Ramone looked away then back at Badger, “Boss, what’s a ‘grumble’?” Badger frowned deeply and drank the other shot of vodka, “Cunt.” ***** Jayne was in his bunk, without a shirt and with his pants unbuttoned, blankly staring at the ceiling. As soon as Simon, Kaylee, and the immanently special Inara returned from shopping he left the cargo bay and returned to his quarters. He had spent almost all of the past two days there. Cleaning his guns, strumming his guitar, and perusing his many girly mags to occupy his time. What stood out most in his mind about his fight with Mal were his own words about being the most expendable. He had never thought about it before Mal pushed him. But he always felt it. Furthermore he could not believe the words came out of his mouth. Something about the experience felt like he conquered a fear by voicing his concerns. It truly put things in perspective for him. Out of everything he complained about in the past nothing compared to that feeling. His hatch beeped. It was probably the others demanding that he helped with stores. He pressed the button next to his bunk and the hatch unlocked. Jayne recognized Simon as soon as he saw the fancy shoes, “Want help with the food?” Simon walked a couple steps into the room then stuffed his hands into his pockets. Although he had never been in Jayne’s room before he didn’t break eye contact with him. “No. There wasn’t much to put away. It’s done already.” “Whad’ya want then?” “I didn’t want there to be any hard feelings about the soup.” “Psht,” Jayne waved the sentiment away, “That’s all water down the drain.” “Still... I want you to know that I think you help out a lot on board and have done more than your share to keep this ship and my sister safe.” Jayne sat up and shook his head, “Ain’t you forget’n that time I turned ya in to the Feds and all the other times I wanted Mal to do the same?” “No I have not forgotten them and I never will. But I long since have forgiven them.” Jayne looked at his boots and frowned. Simon pulled a metal chair away from the wall and sat down, “If you were hurt, Jayne, I would come to help you. I would disobey Mal if it was bad enough.” “I know that, Doc,” Jayne almost whispered the words. “I seen you put yourself in danger more than once do’in what a doctor does. But it ain’t about that. It’s about that time when Mal has to choose between me and somebody else. It ain’t goanna be me. No matter what.” Jayne curled his lip up, “So Mal told ya’ll bout what I said?” “No. You two weren’t exactly being discrete on the bridge. The Captain has been moping around since then.” “I bet.” A knock came from the hatch. “Yeah?” Slowly two feet of black hair came into view from the ceiling before revealing River’s smiling upside down face, “Can I come in?” “Sure,” said Jayne. He did not bother to put a shirt on but he did button his pants. Instead of pulling herself back up to the crew passage way and turning around River let her body fall towards the deck and gracefully twisted in the air to an upright position like a cat that weighed as much as a feather. The action did not register as odd with either Simon or Jayne. “I had fun the other night.” Simon furrowed his brow, “What does that mean?” River lightly punched him in the shoulder, “The night we left Athens I put Serenity through a few maneuvers. Jayne kept me company.” Jayne laughed and slapped his knee. “Your sister is a strait up dare she-devil on that stick. But that’s why Serenity binged all that fuel. Methyl-octal balance, my butt. Ha!” “I thought it sounded good,” said Kaylee who was coming down the latter. She stood next to Simon and draped her arm over his shoulder. “So this is what the inside of one of those clown cars looks like,” said Jayne. “Speaking of which,” said Simon, “Why don’t we go out and do something tonight. The four of us can have some fun.” “Ain’t we leaving?” “Badger’s late with the payment again. We’ll get it tomorrow.” “That figures. I don’t know, Doc. I don’t want to run into the Cap out there while I’m all drunk and happy.” “Well Mal, Inara, and Zoe are going to stick around here where there’s a curfew. Kaylee heard in the market today there’s a city on the other side of Persephone that hasn’t had a bombing and has quite the night life. We can all pile into shuttle number two, get a couple hotel rooms, and be back before Badger is ready to pay us.” Jayne raised an eyebrow, “Other side of the planet, huh?” Simon smiled and nodded, “You’ve been more cooped up than anybody on this ship since we left the Black.” “You’ll need a shirt, you know,” said Kaylee. “Okay,” replied Jayne. He pointed his thumb at River, “She ain’t my date.” River clasped her hands together under her chin and pouted with puppy dog eyes, “Oh, woe is me. Will my heart ever beat again?” ***** “... and that’s just one more example of Badger being a son of a bitch,” said Mal. He reserved the first half hour at the bar for complaining and addressing grievances against Badger. The rest of the night was for merry making. He stood in between Inara and Zoe as they bellied up to the bar. Zoe consulted her wrist watch, “You have thirty eight seconds left, sir.” “I yield the time,” said Mal. He chuckled a little, “It’s kinda nice not having the kids around on a night out.” “Yes,” Inara smiled, “But the two of us will enjoy time with you just the same.” Mal laughed and gave her a kiss on the neck. “I hope the others blow off some steam,” said Zoe. “It’s been a hell of a week.” “It really feels that way, don’t it?” said Mal. “Despite nobody get’n shot, stabbed, tortured, kidnapped, or arrested I’m about exhausted.” Inara ran her fingers through the hair on the side of his head as she rested the other on his shoulder, “You’ve been through a lot, Mal. Isolation isn’t easy to get used to but it can be even harder to come back from.” Mal took a swig from his beer. Although Inara might have a point he still felt something was amiss. Like he was getting softer in his old age. Zoe smiled, “I wonder what’s going on with the others. You know... Jayne and the Tams hanging out together. Can’t quite picture it.” “I doubt there’ll be a problem,” said Mal. “At least not amongst themselves. River will do something crazy. Simon will worry on River. Kaylee will try to flirt for Simon’s attention. And Jayne will chase the first shake’n female tail he sees. Which, I must say, I can’t believe Kaylee got you into those jeans.” Inara looked down at her hips, “They are snug but I managed on my own.” Mal smiled, “I knew that, Missy Tight Pants. What I meant was I can’t believe you went shopping with her and let her talk you into buying them. You’re always with the dresses, robes, and gowns.” “She’s doing a fine job dressing Simon. I figured why not give it a try.” “Well if you want some advice on wearing pants... I can’t really help you there but Zoe on the other hand...,” Mal turned to Zoe and stopped talking. At first he thought he had offended her. She wasn’t smiling. Her mouth was open like she wanted to ask a question but something in her eyes wasn’t right. She wasn’t looking at him. She was looking past him. Suddenly the entire bar was put into a blurry spin and his body flew through the air. Inara screamed. He couldn’t stop himself from flying into the billiard table. The players cursed at him then stopped. Whoever was behind him must have been large enough to scare them all. Where in the hell is Zoe, Mal thought. “Malcom Reynolds,” said a booming deep gruff voice “It’s been a long time.” Yep, thought Mal, definitely somebody really big. Mal clinched his fists and turned around with his guard up. Physically ready to fight but spiritually and mentally prepared for another ass whipping. “Monty!” shouted Mal. “Mal! Put your fists down and come here!” Monty put his arms out for a hug, “Ain’t nobody that takes you seriously when you’re standing like that.” Mal walked over to him and the two war veterans embraced, “Good to see you, Monty. Can’t say the same for the old chin wig.” Monty pushed Mal back and said, “Where in gorram hell did you go, Mal? I thought the Feds finally got to ya. And after Miranda you just didn’t know.” “I’m sorry Monty,” said Mal. “Things were get’n too hot and we had to step off the grid for a bit. I should’ve waved you when we came back.” “Aw, no harm done. Now let’s get a real drink and Zoe can carry you back to the ship again. Zoe!” Zoe walked to Monty with a smile on her face, “Hey Monty.” Monty gave Zoe a warm hug and growled like a bear. Monty stepped back from Zoe but held both of her hands, “Where’s that goofy husband of yours? Wash! I got your woman!” Mal closed his eyes and bowed his head. He felt Inara take his hand. Zoe kept smiling but her eyes squinted in a pained expression, “We lost him, Monty.” “What?” Monty blinked not believing what he heard. “It was Reavers,” said Zoe. “They got him ‘bout three months ago.” “Oh Zoe, I didn’t know. Those gorram animals. I... I’m so sorry, Zoe.” Monty pulled Zoe in for another hug. Mal felt a small twinge of jealousy. It would be nice to be able to comfort her like that every once in a while, he thought. After a long minute they let go of each other. “How’s about a round on me to toast Wash?” Zoe nodded, “I’d like that, Monty.” “Bartender! Four shots of your best whiskey.” Monty turned and held his finger up, “Inara, right?” “Yes, we’ve never been properly introduced,” said Inara. She extended her hand to Monty who kissed it with a slight bow. “So is this what you wear when you’re not...,” Monty gestured with his hand in a circular motion at a loss for the appropriate words. “She’s actually off the job, Monty,” said Mal. “That’s a strange way of saying I am no longer a companion,” said Inara with a frown. Monty exaggerated rubbing his eyes and shaking his head, “What? For this runt? How many times is my ‘Verse get’n flipped around tonight?” “Four whiskeys up,” said the bartender. Monty slapped a bill on the bar and said, “Get me a scotch on that too and keep the change. Glasses in the air ya’ll. To Wash; A good guy to know, a great pilot and crewman of Serenity, and the best husband Zoe never looked for but was fated to have anyway.” “To Wash,” the four of them said. Everybody tossed their glasses back then followed Monty’s lead in slamming them back on the bar. “That was really nice, Monty,” said Zoe, blinking away tears. Inara walked over to Zoe and gave her a hug. Monty picked up his scotch from the bar and sipped it, “You find work yet?” “Yeah,” said Mal. “Just finished a job, actually. Wait’n on payment” “Who for?” asked Monty. Mal shrugged in response. Monty rolled his eyes, “That damn weasel again, ain’t it? When are you goanna rutt’n learn, Mal? You’ll always get burned do’in business with Badger. One way or another.” “This job went down pretty smooth and paid off big time, Monty. We needed that bad.” “You ain’t paid yet. There’s all kinds of work out there right now, Mal. Decent money that has the benefit of not dealing with the likes of Badger.” “You’ve got some kind of connection going there, Monty?” asked Zoe. “Oh yeah. I’m hooked up pretty good now. And I just might be able to get you in on it.” Monty smiled widely. “What kind of work is it,” asked Mal. “Our kind, Mal,” said Monty. He tapped his glass against Mal’s beer and took a sip, “The righteous kind.” “I’m not so sure I like the twinkle in your eye, Monty,” said Mal. “Come on sir, we’re not working exclusively for Badger, are we?” asked Zoe. “I can set up a meeting,” said Monty. Mal thought for a moment. Zoe had not liked the idea of working with Badger from the beginning. He did have a way of leaving them with the short end of the stick all the time. But now he seemed to pursue a level of trust in their business relationship they never had. Then there was Monty to consider. He was a great friend but was not the brightest of schemers. He had been in trouble before. Trouble that the Serenity crew could not afford. Eventually Mal said, “We’ll meet.” “Alright! We’ll do it tomorrow after you get paid by Badger. You’re not goanna regret this, Mal. I gotta get back to my crew. I’ll wave you with the time and place of the meeting.”

Continued in Part Two of Chapter 6:The Deep End