Capacity Chapter 5

Joly

Rated R for violence

The crew finally get to Markham, and of course, River was right.

I don’t own the crew or the ‘verse, I just like playin’ in it.

~~~~~~~

Zoe moved the mule along at a steady clip, trying to manage the terrain.

In the distance, Mal could see a camp with a fire sending smoke up into the sky. They got closer and a short-ish, dirty man approached them.

“You Barton?” Mal asked as Zoe eased the mule to a stop.

“Might be.”

“That ain’t particularly helpful to Barton. We got his goods. Ain’t givin’ ‘em up til we get our payment,” Mal replied.

“Barton ain’t here, had stuff to do in town.”

Mal looked from Zoe to Jayne.

“That’s funny, we were just in town and no one there’d seen him,” Mal said, jovially.

The three took the other men in, watched them finger their weapons, and spread out.

“Get down!” Mal shouted, unnecessarily as Zoe dove for cover.

“Gorram criminals!” Jayne added. “I mean criminals who ain’t us… Never wantin’ to pay.”

“Jayne, you bring them grenades?” Mal continued to shout over the din of gunfire.

“One or two,” the mercenary grinned and pulled said grenades out.

“Give ‘em a taste,” Mal said, popping up to fire into the other men’s camp.

Jayne pulled the pin and tossed it into the center of the group of other men.

“I said a taste, Jayne! I didn’t tell ya to blow ‘em to gorram pieces!” Mal shouted.

“They ain’t shootin’ at us no more, are they?” the big man replied.

Mal just shook his head and motioned to Zoe, who joined him in heading into the group.

Between the three of them, they finished off the stragglers and secured the area.

“Well, sir, they’re pretty definitely dead,” she said, taking in the scene.

There was a sound from further into the encampment.

“Sir?”

Mal moved towards the sound.

“You gonna go investigate a strange noise, Mal?”

Mal stopped and looked at the other man.

“You wanna get paid?”

Jayne gave him a ‘duh’ look.

“Well, come one.”

Back in a tent at the farthest end of the camp, they found the source of the noise.

Mal, Zoe and Jayne were not expecting the tableau they walked into.

“Put your weapons on the ground or I gut him!” a man shouted.

Mal took it all in, a younger man was holding a very large hunting knife to the throat of an older man.

“Don’t listen to him, he ain’t got the balls to gut a fish,” the older man put in.

Mal just cocked an eyebrow at Zoe.

“You Barton?” Mal asked, directing it at the older man.

“Yup.”

“Got your stuff,” Mal replied.

“Thank ya kindly. I’d thank ya even more if I didn’t have this fool hangin’ on me.”

Mal shrugged and motioned to Jayne. The merc pulled his weapon in a movement so quick the young man with the knife had no time to react. In a second, the knife-wielder lay on the dirt floor of the tent.

“Good thing you came along when you did,” Barton said, “Them boys just raided my camp, started a whole mess a trouble.”

“You wanna get the sheriff?” Mal asked.

The man looked at him sideways.

“You leave any of them breathing?” Barton asked.

Mal, looking uncomfortable, shook his head in the negative.

“Well, then ain’t no need for the sheriff.” The man dug in a trunk, and pulled out a sack, tossing it at Mal, and a smaller one right behind. “Hazard pay. And tell F & M that they get my stuff out to me when I order it, not when they gorram please.”

“Look, Barton-”

“I ain’t blaming you… What’s your name?”

Mal took a second considering.

“Reynolds.”

“Well, I ain’t blaming you, Reynolds. I ordered this a month ago, and them twin bastards knew I needed it.” He stopped and then looked as if he come up with the brightest idea in the ‘Verse. “How ‘bout this? You deliver my next rounda goods, no Fancy and Minger involved.”

Mal looked hopeful a moment, then replied, “Word gets back to them, might get harder for me an’ mine.”

“Ain’t nobody have to tell ‘em. I just give you my pick up list, dates and what not and you just deliver it. Easy as pie.”

Mal took a look at Zoe. She joined him in a quiet aside.

“Might be nice to have a steady gig, sir. Fanty and Mingo wouldn’t know unless he told them. And I think we can count on him not to, if we do the jobs on time.”

Mal looked at Jayne who just shrugged.

“Money’s money. I’m with Zo.”

Mal turned to Barton.

“Looks like you got yourself a courier service,” Mal said.

Barton advanced on the man, his hand extended, they shook.

“Well, thank you, Reynolds. Here’s the list, and I’ll be seeing you.”

Mal looked curious.

“There is a mess of dead bodies out there…”

“Not your concern, Mister Reynolds.”

“No, I suppose not.”

“See you in a month!” Barton called cheerfully to their retreating figures.

Zoe put the mule in gear and turned to the captain.

“I think I might have changed my mind, sir.”

He smiled grimly.

“Too late, Zo. We’re ass deep again.”

~~~~~~~

Once they were back at the ship, River was barely any better.

“It’s just the beginning,” she whispered, alone in her bunk.

~~

Simon and Kaylee were alone in her bunk.

Visiting.

Simon’s lips were moving in a direction that had her hard pressed to use her rational mind. She moved under his hands and squealed when he hit pay dirt.

“That is… Oh, my God, Simon…” she breathed.

For his part, Simon just smiled and continued working her to climax.

After what felt like a million years, Kaylee came back to her body.

“Simon,” she whispered.

“Kaylee,” he replied.

“I love you.”

He laid stock still. Kaylee sucked in her breath.

‘Oh, God,’ she thought.

“I…” he began, “I… Kaylee…”

“You ain’t gotta say it, Simon. I shouldn’ta said it…”

Simon took her face in his hands.

“I trip over my tongue frequently, my Kaylee. You don’t have to be afraid of how I feel, or don’t. Because I do… I love you, Kaylee.”

The young woman melted into a puddle of lusty goo in his arms.

“Oh, Simon,” she sighed, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him soundly.

~~~~~~

She found Jayne alone in the galley, long after the heist was pulled and the crew was informed of their new monthly trips. He was at the table, drinking some of Kaylee’s moon shine, when she walked up to him.

“Xiao,” he said, and pushed away from the table. She was wrapped up in his arms with his lips pressed to hers before she could speak. Xiaofan squashed herself against the big man and returned the passion of the kiss. Eventually, he loosened his grip and Xiaofan found the strength to push away from him.

She paced the length of the galley, and Jayne just sat back down at the table, smirking.

“Sends them thinkin’ women into a tizzy.”

She ignored his remark and gathered her thoughts.

“Let’s set some ground rules,” Xiaofan began.

“What do you mean ‘ground rules’?” Jayne asked, sipping his inter-engine fermented beverage.

She paused her pacing, looking at him.

“I need some stability, Jayne, we’ve gone over this…”

“Yeah, and I said I wouldn’t push for nothin’ you weren’t ready for.”

She approached him, and mimicking his reaction time of earlier, he had her securely in his grasp in a flash.

“Jayne!”

“You want me to let you go?”

“I… I…”

“You want me to tell you what I think?”

“I…”

“I think you want me to do all manner of dirty things to you. You just ain’t got the nerve to say it. And…” he added as her eyes went dark with anger, “you ain’t had a proper man in so long you don’t know how to ask for with out feelin’ filthy.”

She squirmed in his arms.

“I’m here to tell ya, Xiao, you can ask anything of me, and I won’t think a thing less of ya.” He pressed his face into her neck and said quietly, “And I’ll woo ya as long as ya like, but when you’re ready, you just go ahead and ask…” His lips slipped from her neck to her ear, taking the lobe between his teeth and tugging lightly, making her shiver.

Xiaofan took a very deep breath and finally made a coherent sentence.

“I think I can stand your wooing.”