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Camouflage Ch 5
This is definitely the last update for the weekend. Next chapter gets major overhauls and then will need to be betaed. Hopefully ya'll will get something more before next weekend. Story as it is has grown on me during the reread...realize part of it was just realizing that I had a ton of exposition to get through before the action...which reads good the first time, but 50 times later is a bit repetitive and slow. Hope you all have enjoyed the ride...More to come.
And this chapter is dedicated to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
docmichelle Happy birthday again;) And ignore the chapter title...really...it has no connection to you at all.
Chapter 5: Wrinkles
Chinese glossary
Fei fei pan – big lie
Gou zoa de – this can't get any worse
Guan ni zi zi de shi qing – mind your own business
Jue shi – sir
Deng dai - wait
For a Skylark – Percy Bryce Shelley
Wash was pissed. He was pissed off at the man in front of him, at the man who suggested this entire string of events, and most of all, he was pissed at his wife. He was sure that if he thought about it long enough, he could find a way to include Mal in that list too. After all, generally when he was mad at Zoe, he was mad at Mal. Not to have Mal on the list disturbed him more than his current condition.
Looking up at Stu from the mat that he was once again laying on after being slammed down, he revised his view of the situation. He loved the Captain. He never knew what a great leader that Mal was. He certainly didn't get off on wiping the deck with the bloody body of his pilot, which is more than he could say for his current bosses.
Bosses….just to think of that made his head spin even worse. Of course, the concussion didn't help any either. In fact, he was just beginning to suspect that Stu and Zoe had a whole lot more history than they were saying and that the other man was now getting his revenge on Wash. Which really wasn't fair. He didn't think that getting married had been only his idea.
"We still have another twenty minutes, lover boy. Get up," Stu ordered. Wash just closed his eyes and groaned. He'd get up as soon as the ceiling stopped spinning. "Come on, kid," Stu repeated as he nudged him none too gently with his boot. Wash finally rolled over and slowly pushed himself to his feet. Unfortunately, his head still didn't agree with his decision and he promptly found himself staring at Stu's boots again. Wash could hear the frustration in Stu's voice as the other man helped him from the mat, "Well, I guess we can cut the training short today. If you'd learn how to take a fall already, you wouldn't still be having this problem."
If his bosses didn't insist that a pilot be trained in hand-to-hand combat, he wouldn't be in this position either. Besides, Wash had always thought that the point of a fight was to NOT get knocked down. Learning how to take a fall seemed rather counter-intuitive. In fact, he knew it was. It was much better to simply run back behind someone who was a better fighter. He'd learned that way back when he was a little kid avoiding bullies that looked suspiciously similar to Jayne. Wash had a private theory that all bullies were cloned. It was the only explanation for the similarity in facial features.
Suddenly, several of Zoe's faces appeared in front of him. "Oh, honey. I told you to duck more."
"Duck, take a fall, why don't you two make up your minds?" Wash complained.
"Does he need to see the doctor?" Zoe asked Stu. Oh yeah, Stu was still here. That explained why he was still upright.
"Nah, he's just a bit woozy and dehydrated. Just keep an eye on him," Stu said as he passed Wash into Zoe's gentler hands. Wash went where she propelled him until he was lowered on to a bed. Beds. Now why didn't they practice their martial arts on beds? They were much more appealing to fall onto than mats.
"No you don't! Sit back up and drink this," Zoe ordered as she forced a cup into his hands after pulling him into a sitting position.
"This was a bad idea. I don't know how you ever talked me into it, Zoe. This was a very very bad idea," Wash complained. "Your friend seems to be taking out his repressed war trauma on me. I need someone else to teach me, please."
Zoe began to massage his abused muscles as he slowly relaxed. "You're doing better every day, Wash. I know it seems tough, but the Admiral wants you up to speed as quickly as possible. And there is no one better to train you than Stu."
"You could train me? I always listen to you. Come on lambie-toes, he's trying to kill me slowly."
"I can't train you Wash, trust me. And Stu isn't trying to kill you."
"You don't know that. I wouldn't be bruised and hurting if he wasn't."
Zoe's voice took on a different quality as she answered, one that Wash wasn't certain he'd ever heard before. "Trust me, if he was trying to kill you, you'd be dead."
"Very reassured here sweet-ums. Really." Wash got up to get more water while thinking about Zoe's statement. He still wasn't entirely certain why she'd encouraged him to take the Admiral's offer. Surely Mal would be rendezvousing with them any day now. "Zoe, I'm still not sure about this whole thing. I mean what's the point of it all. We'll be leaving with Mal as soon as he gets here, right?" he asked as he faced her.
Zoe didn't pause as she answered, but then he hadn't expected her too. One thing he'd learned over the years was that Zoe rarely showed any sign of hesitation. In fact, he'd be willing to bet that she could pass the most sophisticated lie detector that the Alliance had. However, none of it eased the worry in his gut over the events of the past several days. "Of course, but I know Mal will think it's a good idea too. Never hurts to add a few more skills. And it's best for us to be on good terms with the Admiral and his organization. After all, they are going out on a limb to help River and all."
River. Yes of course, the girl that they hadn't been allowed to see since Wash had been so rudely drugged upon his arrival. "Speaking of River…Exactly how much do they know?"
He saw Zoe's face tighten the way it did when she was defending Mal. Anger started to pound in time with his headache. Wash was tired of being protected. He was here risking his neck with her, except he got to do it completely in the dark about everyting.
"They know what's on the cortex."
"That is a damn fei fei pan, sweetheart. If that was the case, I'm sure she'd still be in the infirmary where we could see her. Or even sharing our oh so comfortable cell-like bunk. And I wouldn't be escorted every gorram place by an overly armed relative of Jayne's," Wash responded with venom. It hurt more than he could say to see Zoe not react to a single word of his tirade. When they argued about Mal, she'd always get sanctimonious. Better, she'd get angry.
Now she was completely stone faced. Not an ounce of emotion leaking out anywhere. That was never good. Zoe only acted as if nothing could hurt, like nothing could ever touch her, when she was on a mission. Now the only question was whose mission was she on?
"Where are you going, Wash? You should rest."
Wash shut the door without responding. What could he say to change things? What could he say to get her to let him in? He'd played along hoping that she'd explain that this was all part of one of Mal's brilliantly fucked up plans and let him know what exactly the goal was. That hadn't happened yet, and he was beginning to doubt that it would. It was time to start acting like he was as alone in this as he felt.
The man in front of her was strange. His thoughts weren't empty, but rather too full. The past, the present, they blurred together all at once and River found it difficult to distinguish his plans from his memories. The only thing she was sure of was his pity. She just couldn't tell for whom he felt sympathy.
"The doctors say that you have been uncooperative, Ms. Tam. I find that disappointing. We told your brother that we thought we could help, but we can only do that if you cooperate with the tests," the man's mask said. River couldn't see through it. It was easy with the others. Easy to see that nothing resided below the surface other than their orders. But not with him.
"You promised to keep them safe. Promised that they'd stay together. But you separated them as fast as you could and made sure they'd stay that way," River stated. "She surprised you though. Chose another. Added a variable. You don't like him."
River was surprised when she felt the electrodes attach to her head. She hadn't detected anyone else in the room. That disturbed her more than what the circles might mean.
The mask smiled, tried to project encouragement. He'd forgotten how though, she could tell. Been so long since he'd meant what he'd said, he couldn't even remember what it felt like. "There now, that wasn't so difficult now was it? I know you're scared, that others haven't always understood what you've done. But we want to understand, River. And maybe we'll be able to fix it."
Suddenly, it all opened up. A gaping hole that had always been there, simply concealed before by the mask. The plans, the consequences, the lives, all tumbled past her as she fell. Quantifications, sacrifices made based on faulty assumptions. All held together by a veil of lies so thin that the slightest pressure would snap the entire structure down.
"YOU LIE," she screamed. "Don't want it finished, don't want it understood. He'll come for me, you'll see. He will."
The hole in front of her nodded and she was puzzled as to how an object could make a movement. Then she felt the solution enter her vein and didn't have time to decipher the quandary.
"Are you sure that I should leave now?" Inara asked.
Mal nodded as he looked down on the empty cargo bay. The ship seemed empty with the absence of River's combat boots and fits of crazy. Not to mention the complete lack of intelligent, smart-ass remarks. Jayne tried, but he just didn't have the intellect to replace Wash's brand of back talk. "No need for all of us to be broke on account of what's happened. Georgia is close enough that you can reach it with the shuttle and come back if you refuel."
"I'll listen to the grapevine for useful gossip as well," Inara offered. Mal knew he should refuse, but he was desperate enough that he couldn't find the energy to worry about keeping her from being implicated in the Tam situation. Besides, those womanly wiles had to be useful for something other than….well he was sure they were.
"We'll contact you if we have to change position. Otherwise just let us know when you liftoff for the return trip."
Inara paused as if she wanted to say something else, but soon turned and left. A short time later, he heard her shuttle disengage from the ship.
Mal honestly couldn't think of another time he'd ever felt more alone. War was one thing. Never being able to return to Shadow, losing his home, and his family were another. But days upon days of not knowing where the one person who'd been glued to his side throughout all of those events, well, he just felt more than a little bit like coming apart at the seams. It didn't help that everyone on the ship was tiptoeing around him as if it might happen at any moment.
Pulling his hands from his face and his mind from his problems, he intended to head to the bridge to see if something that could keep him busy. Intentions rarely meant a gorram thing though, because instead he was faced with the one person on the boat who wasn't concerned about him losing it.
"Exactly how long until you give up completely and we all fly off to the next job?" Simon asked with a less than conciliatory tone.
Someone really needed to talk to the boy about the benefits of choosing one's words carefully. Mal reminded himself that the Doc was hurting as well and forced himself to count to ten before answering. "I'm not giving up and we'll stay until we find another lead or need to refuel." Mal started to walk away with the hope that Simon would get the message.
"You mean you'll never give up on Zoe…Somehow I doubt that no matter how long I'm cooped up on this ship that you'll be racing off to save her from the almighty Alliance."
Gou zoa de! Mal was really starting to believe that the boy liked being slugged. Mal stalked over to the doctor. Holding the other's eyes in a glare that openly held the threat of what he really wanted to do to someone, anyone, he told him in no uncertain terms, "Doctor, I've told this to you before, but I'll repeat myself in case you weren't listening. You and your sister are a part of this crew. Dong ma?"
Sadly, Simon didn't back down. Mal was getting really tired of dealing with this shit. "It's not like I have a choice in whether to believe you or not, is it? I mean what are my choices? Risk being stranded on a backwater planet where I'm still not assured that I won't be turned over to the feds? Or continuing to haunt this lovely piece of machinery in the hope that we will find her?"
"Well be sure to let me know which planet you choose," Mal stated before he roughly pushed the doctor out of his way and continued to the bridge. Missing three of the crew and sent Inara off to a client, but the gorram ship was still too damn crowded!
Stu stood outside the laboratory wing with the Admiral. He was less than pleased to be here. Seeing the girl in the infirmary had been difficult enough, but here. Well, it was bound to bring back memories for both of them.
"The doctors said that her vitals were calmer during your previous visit. They thought that perhaps you could convince her to cooperate," the Admiral explained.
"Somehow I doubt that anyone is going to convince her to do that."
"Really?"
Go ahead, Stu, shoot yourself in the head. Can you think of anything else to say that would raise his suspicions more, he berated himself silently. Truth be told, he was scared to death to face the young woman while she was being monitored ten ways to Sunday. He doubted that anyone could be lucid with the amount of drugs she had been given, let alone the trauma of waking up in a reality very close to her worst nightmare. If she were to say the wrong thing, sense some of his plan...
"Look, I'm just saying that you've cut her off from the two people that remind of her something resembling safety and thrown her into a room alone while treating her not unlike the place I got her out of," Stu hedged.
Burton was silent for a long time. Stu focused on maintaining eye contact while going through recitations of every poem he had ever memorized in order to maintain a cool facade. Those things had seemed like a waste of time back in school, but now he gave thanks every day for Miss Winters' insistence that poetry recitation exercised the mind.
"My understanding is that the researchers wish to study her in a controlled environment. I'll make the suggestion though that perhaps some visits may help improve her mood. In the meantime?" Burton prompted.
Nodding at the question that was really an order, Stu carefully ensured that his mind was focused before triggering the door and entering the room. The images that greeted him were very reminiscent of the first time he had met River. Stu quickly repeated the first stanza of For a Skylark to reorient himself to the task at hand.
Across the room, in full view of the surveillance system that was positioned above the door, River appeared to sleep amid a tangle of IV tubing and wires. The only thing that was different from the other image in his head was the blessed lack of head wounds or bloody scratches.
It was in that instant that he saw her eyes open. He knew immediately that she recognized him, saw the relief and anticipation in her eyes as she tried to move her arms in the soft restraints. "No box this time, no cold. It doesn't keep the voices away and can still feel the Hands reaching, they still come two by two, no boxes!"
He quickly crossed the room and pushed her arms gently down before she could bruise her arms in the cotton cuffs. "No box this time sweetheart, I promise."
"But you'll take me to him? You're taking me to Simon? Or did we already do this? I don't think I should be here."
He hated himself for what he had to do, but he didn't have the luxury of experiencing the emotion. Especially not when he was in the same room with her. "Tell you what sweetie, you cooperate with the doctors and I'll bring him to you," Stu suggested.
River stayed silent at his suggestion and cocked her head as if she was listening to someone speak in her ear. "You're different. Changed, but the same inside."
Christ, he couldn't have this. Not now! He consciously kept from glancing up at the surveillance equipment. "Well, it's been a while since I've seen you. I think you've grown a bit too."
Her face took on a puzzled look. "You've never changed. Always lived the truth. Always seen the truth. Not like Zoe."
"Hey now."
"She didn’t mean to hurt you. Couldn't see you without seeing the ghosts. Preferred to stay in the Valley of Death rather than face the past. Found someone who shone in the darkness and had never been touched by a scythe. She would have liked the cabin if she'd seen it though."
"Guan ni zi zi de shi qing," he whispered as quietly as he could. He knew what she spoke of. Knew every syllable of it. If the Board knew she could do this, tamade. Too much at stake at every turn. Too much depended on chance and luck alone.
"I'll play along if you'll bring him to me. And try to make sure that Wash doesn't sleep too long," she told him with a sly smile. "I think I'd like to rest now."
Stu nodded and turned to leave the room. He wondered at the meaning of her last words. Wondered whose game she would be playing.
"If this is just to evaluate my piloting, I don't see what the hurry is. Surely Zoe will be done with her meeting soon," Wash complained as he hurried to keep up with the taller man's stride.
Stu didn't even look back as he answered. "The thing about being in the military is that you don't ask why, Wash. They told us to go now, so we go. Zoe of all people will understand."
Wash bit back further gripes. Stu was right; he'd signed up for this and couldn't complain. Of course, he could because this wasn't exactly his life-long dream. But Zoe had thought it was a good idea and he trusted her judgment. At least normally he did. The longer they were on the ship, the more doubts took root.
From the description, this flight would be a cakewalk. In fact, he could probably do it in his sleep. A milk-run over to Georgia for some supplies and back. No flash, no worries, just simple piloting of an extremely small cargo ship.
Upon seeing the ship, Wash's doubts about the group he'd signed up with began to grow exponentially. True it was a simple cargo ship when it began its life, but some time in recent history it had undergone a high-powered make-over. Small anti-aircraft guns were mounted inconspicuously near the engine intake. Moreover, the engine….well, the engine itself would give off a rather large explosion if it were ever allowed to overheat. Not knowing the mechanic personally, Wash felt a tad nervous to be flying it. At least with the amount of power the modified engine had, the flight would be blessedly short. Of course, they'd never have time to know it if they blew up either.
"Don't these modifications raise some suspicions at the docks?"
Stu gave him an odd look as he stowed some equipment. "Who would be nuts enough to land this ship at a dockyard?"
Great, just great. Exactly what he'd always wanted to do – fly a ship that would get him thrown into jail if an Alliance patrol even caught a spec of them on their radar. Wash consoled himself with the reminder that the flight would be short.
Ten hours later, the planet of Georgia came into view through the portal. Wash was overjoyed to see it since Stu was even less talkative than Mal in a bad mood. Which he actually found odd given their conversation when they first met. He'd have thought that Stu would have been asking him all types of questions about his time with Zoe. Or even just talkative about the Core since it was his experience that these hard-core Independent types rarely set foot on an Alliance planet if they could help it. But no, nothing.
In fact, Wash was going slightly stir crazy. Being cooped up for ten hours in a small shuttle without any return conversation wasn't exactly going to be fun. Not that he wasn't capable of dominating the conversation when it was necessary, but well, he knew how to take a hint. When Stu had gotten up to get a rather large gun and began to methodically clean it as Wash continued piloting, Wash had shut up.
In fact, Stu reminded Wash a lot of some of the crew of Serenity. He had the quiet, serene air that Zoe carried about her while still managing to radiate danger similar to Jayne and Mal. Wash was hard put to classify Stu or predict how he'd respond. Even after all their training sessions (and the bruises he remembered ruefully as he stiffly changed his position), he wasn't sure if Stu liked him or merely tolerated him. He cared about Zoe though, that Wash knew. Therefore, he couldn't be all bad.
"Anything specific I should know about landing?" Wash asked when Stu retook the co-pilot's seat.
"No, just land discreetly at the coordinates I gave you."
Wash didn't think "discreet" landings had been specifically covered in flight school, but he certainly hoped he could manage it. Visiting Georgia's prison was not high on his list of tourist attractions.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly and he powered down the ship next to a very large and expensive house. "Stay with the shuttle. I'll be back with the package," Stu ordered.
"Great, stay with the shuttle," Wash griped out loud. "Because after ten hours of silence, staying alone in a piece of tin is exactly what I want to do." Deciding that he could stay with the shuttle just as easily outside as in, he exited to stretch his legs a bit.
After walking around the ship several times, Wash was stunned to see a shuttle similar to Serenity's land not more than fifty meters away. His astonishment quickly turned to amazement when he watched Inara exit the ship.
"Flight go okay?" the owner of the house asked. Stu didn't know his name and really didn't care to learn it. He'd learned early that it was best to invest nothing in the contacts the Organization presented. Most, like this one, were simply in it for themselves. Padding their bank accounts and hoping that enough favors were given to each side so that they would ignore any involvement with the other. Personally, they all made Stu sick. None of them knew or appreciated the sacrifices that so many had made over the past decade. Few could imagine that lives were still being stolen and the war still fought.
"The pilot was acceptable. You have everything requisitioned?" The man nodded and waved for Stu to follow. "You stored them in your home?"
"But of course. Where else could I be certain that a surprise inspection would not occur?" the well-dressed bureaucrat answered as he narrowly avoided running over two toddlers who suddenly appeared in the hallway. "Back to the nursery, mashang!"
Stu followed the man up the stairs slowly, dismayed at the man's carelessness. In a few years, those children would be old enough to be curious and that could lead to very unfortunate accidents. Somehow, this particular bureaucrat would be facing slimmer bank accounts when the Board learned of his lack conscientiousness.
Briefly, Stu glanced out the window at the top of the staircase. Unlike Zoe, he'd spent the largest parts of his life on the well-manicured worlds of the Core. He still missed the sense of order found on the inner worlds as well as the abundance of life that spread over the horizons. Space was not to his liking, too metallic and empty. Reminded him too much of the last days on Kangchen.
What in the Nine Hell's was that? Stu stopped frozen as he watched the scene below on the sculpted lawn. That idiot was going to ruin everything. Bad enough that the Companion had come, but his luck was truly cursed for Wash to actually see and talk to her. Of course, he should have known better than to become too attached to a single plan. No plan was perfect, Stu reminded himself. Worse, no plan could predict the future.
"Jue shi, deng dai. I'm certain everything is in order. If you could have it delivered to my ship within the hour?"
"But of course. As always, ours is a most profitable arrangement."
Stu made the necessary courteous noises and gestures before exiting the manor as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, his hurry was unneeded. After twenty minutes, the entire shipment had been loaded and Wash was still not back at the shuttle. Just when Stu was about to take drastic action, the pilot waltzed up with a goofy grin on his face. "Everything go okay?" Wash asked with open curiosity.
Stu looked down on the shorter man with the harshest gaze he could muster. "I thought I told you to stay with the ship."
"One of the serving girls needed a bit of help."
"Zoe doesn't mind you running off to help young women with their chores?" Stu asked as he gestured for Wash to precede him onto the ship.
"Hey, I'm married, not…" Wash's sentence was cut short as Stu swiftly knocked him out. After situating the limp body securely in the hold, Stu fired up the engines as he reprogrammed the flight plan. It would be easiest for him to dispose of the wrinkle, but somehow he felt that events could still be turned to his advantage. Of course, Zoe's husband might find himself wishing that Stu had eliminated him instead if half the rumors Stu had heard about Serenity's Captain were close to true.
And this chapter is dedicated to
docmichelle Happy birthday again;) And ignore the chapter title...really...it has no connection to you at all.Chapter 5: Wrinkles
Chinese glossary
Fei fei pan – big lie
Gou zoa de – this can't get any worse
Guan ni zi zi de shi qing – mind your own business
Jue shi – sir
Deng dai - wait
For a Skylark – Percy Bryce Shelley
Wash was pissed. He was pissed off at the man in front of him, at the man who suggested this entire string of events, and most of all, he was pissed at his wife. He was sure that if he thought about it long enough, he could find a way to include Mal in that list too. After all, generally when he was mad at Zoe, he was mad at Mal. Not to have Mal on the list disturbed him more than his current condition.
Looking up at Stu from the mat that he was once again laying on after being slammed down, he revised his view of the situation. He loved the Captain. He never knew what a great leader that Mal was. He certainly didn't get off on wiping the deck with the bloody body of his pilot, which is more than he could say for his current bosses.
Bosses….just to think of that made his head spin even worse. Of course, the concussion didn't help any either. In fact, he was just beginning to suspect that Stu and Zoe had a whole lot more history than they were saying and that the other man was now getting his revenge on Wash. Which really wasn't fair. He didn't think that getting married had been only his idea.
"We still have another twenty minutes, lover boy. Get up," Stu ordered. Wash just closed his eyes and groaned. He'd get up as soon as the ceiling stopped spinning. "Come on, kid," Stu repeated as he nudged him none too gently with his boot. Wash finally rolled over and slowly pushed himself to his feet. Unfortunately, his head still didn't agree with his decision and he promptly found himself staring at Stu's boots again. Wash could hear the frustration in Stu's voice as the other man helped him from the mat, "Well, I guess we can cut the training short today. If you'd learn how to take a fall already, you wouldn't still be having this problem."
If his bosses didn't insist that a pilot be trained in hand-to-hand combat, he wouldn't be in this position either. Besides, Wash had always thought that the point of a fight was to NOT get knocked down. Learning how to take a fall seemed rather counter-intuitive. In fact, he knew it was. It was much better to simply run back behind someone who was a better fighter. He'd learned that way back when he was a little kid avoiding bullies that looked suspiciously similar to Jayne. Wash had a private theory that all bullies were cloned. It was the only explanation for the similarity in facial features.
Suddenly, several of Zoe's faces appeared in front of him. "Oh, honey. I told you to duck more."
"Duck, take a fall, why don't you two make up your minds?" Wash complained.
"Does he need to see the doctor?" Zoe asked Stu. Oh yeah, Stu was still here. That explained why he was still upright.
"Nah, he's just a bit woozy and dehydrated. Just keep an eye on him," Stu said as he passed Wash into Zoe's gentler hands. Wash went where she propelled him until he was lowered on to a bed. Beds. Now why didn't they practice their martial arts on beds? They were much more appealing to fall onto than mats.
"No you don't! Sit back up and drink this," Zoe ordered as she forced a cup into his hands after pulling him into a sitting position.
"This was a bad idea. I don't know how you ever talked me into it, Zoe. This was a very very bad idea," Wash complained. "Your friend seems to be taking out his repressed war trauma on me. I need someone else to teach me, please."
Zoe began to massage his abused muscles as he slowly relaxed. "You're doing better every day, Wash. I know it seems tough, but the Admiral wants you up to speed as quickly as possible. And there is no one better to train you than Stu."
"You could train me? I always listen to you. Come on lambie-toes, he's trying to kill me slowly."
"I can't train you Wash, trust me. And Stu isn't trying to kill you."
"You don't know that. I wouldn't be bruised and hurting if he wasn't."
Zoe's voice took on a different quality as she answered, one that Wash wasn't certain he'd ever heard before. "Trust me, if he was trying to kill you, you'd be dead."
"Very reassured here sweet-ums. Really." Wash got up to get more water while thinking about Zoe's statement. He still wasn't entirely certain why she'd encouraged him to take the Admiral's offer. Surely Mal would be rendezvousing with them any day now. "Zoe, I'm still not sure about this whole thing. I mean what's the point of it all. We'll be leaving with Mal as soon as he gets here, right?" he asked as he faced her.
Zoe didn't pause as she answered, but then he hadn't expected her too. One thing he'd learned over the years was that Zoe rarely showed any sign of hesitation. In fact, he'd be willing to bet that she could pass the most sophisticated lie detector that the Alliance had. However, none of it eased the worry in his gut over the events of the past several days. "Of course, but I know Mal will think it's a good idea too. Never hurts to add a few more skills. And it's best for us to be on good terms with the Admiral and his organization. After all, they are going out on a limb to help River and all."
River. Yes of course, the girl that they hadn't been allowed to see since Wash had been so rudely drugged upon his arrival. "Speaking of River…Exactly how much do they know?"
He saw Zoe's face tighten the way it did when she was defending Mal. Anger started to pound in time with his headache. Wash was tired of being protected. He was here risking his neck with her, except he got to do it completely in the dark about everyting.
"They know what's on the cortex."
"That is a damn fei fei pan, sweetheart. If that was the case, I'm sure she'd still be in the infirmary where we could see her. Or even sharing our oh so comfortable cell-like bunk. And I wouldn't be escorted every gorram place by an overly armed relative of Jayne's," Wash responded with venom. It hurt more than he could say to see Zoe not react to a single word of his tirade. When they argued about Mal, she'd always get sanctimonious. Better, she'd get angry.
Now she was completely stone faced. Not an ounce of emotion leaking out anywhere. That was never good. Zoe only acted as if nothing could hurt, like nothing could ever touch her, when she was on a mission. Now the only question was whose mission was she on?
"Where are you going, Wash? You should rest."
Wash shut the door without responding. What could he say to change things? What could he say to get her to let him in? He'd played along hoping that she'd explain that this was all part of one of Mal's brilliantly fucked up plans and let him know what exactly the goal was. That hadn't happened yet, and he was beginning to doubt that it would. It was time to start acting like he was as alone in this as he felt.
The man in front of her was strange. His thoughts weren't empty, but rather too full. The past, the present, they blurred together all at once and River found it difficult to distinguish his plans from his memories. The only thing she was sure of was his pity. She just couldn't tell for whom he felt sympathy.
"The doctors say that you have been uncooperative, Ms. Tam. I find that disappointing. We told your brother that we thought we could help, but we can only do that if you cooperate with the tests," the man's mask said. River couldn't see through it. It was easy with the others. Easy to see that nothing resided below the surface other than their orders. But not with him.
"You promised to keep them safe. Promised that they'd stay together. But you separated them as fast as you could and made sure they'd stay that way," River stated. "She surprised you though. Chose another. Added a variable. You don't like him."
River was surprised when she felt the electrodes attach to her head. She hadn't detected anyone else in the room. That disturbed her more than what the circles might mean.
The mask smiled, tried to project encouragement. He'd forgotten how though, she could tell. Been so long since he'd meant what he'd said, he couldn't even remember what it felt like. "There now, that wasn't so difficult now was it? I know you're scared, that others haven't always understood what you've done. But we want to understand, River. And maybe we'll be able to fix it."
Suddenly, it all opened up. A gaping hole that had always been there, simply concealed before by the mask. The plans, the consequences, the lives, all tumbled past her as she fell. Quantifications, sacrifices made based on faulty assumptions. All held together by a veil of lies so thin that the slightest pressure would snap the entire structure down.
"YOU LIE," she screamed. "Don't want it finished, don't want it understood. He'll come for me, you'll see. He will."
The hole in front of her nodded and she was puzzled as to how an object could make a movement. Then she felt the solution enter her vein and didn't have time to decipher the quandary.
"Are you sure that I should leave now?" Inara asked.
Mal nodded as he looked down on the empty cargo bay. The ship seemed empty with the absence of River's combat boots and fits of crazy. Not to mention the complete lack of intelligent, smart-ass remarks. Jayne tried, but he just didn't have the intellect to replace Wash's brand of back talk. "No need for all of us to be broke on account of what's happened. Georgia is close enough that you can reach it with the shuttle and come back if you refuel."
"I'll listen to the grapevine for useful gossip as well," Inara offered. Mal knew he should refuse, but he was desperate enough that he couldn't find the energy to worry about keeping her from being implicated in the Tam situation. Besides, those womanly wiles had to be useful for something other than….well he was sure they were.
"We'll contact you if we have to change position. Otherwise just let us know when you liftoff for the return trip."
Inara paused as if she wanted to say something else, but soon turned and left. A short time later, he heard her shuttle disengage from the ship.
Mal honestly couldn't think of another time he'd ever felt more alone. War was one thing. Never being able to return to Shadow, losing his home, and his family were another. But days upon days of not knowing where the one person who'd been glued to his side throughout all of those events, well, he just felt more than a little bit like coming apart at the seams. It didn't help that everyone on the ship was tiptoeing around him as if it might happen at any moment.
Pulling his hands from his face and his mind from his problems, he intended to head to the bridge to see if something that could keep him busy. Intentions rarely meant a gorram thing though, because instead he was faced with the one person on the boat who wasn't concerned about him losing it.
"Exactly how long until you give up completely and we all fly off to the next job?" Simon asked with a less than conciliatory tone.
Someone really needed to talk to the boy about the benefits of choosing one's words carefully. Mal reminded himself that the Doc was hurting as well and forced himself to count to ten before answering. "I'm not giving up and we'll stay until we find another lead or need to refuel." Mal started to walk away with the hope that Simon would get the message.
"You mean you'll never give up on Zoe…Somehow I doubt that no matter how long I'm cooped up on this ship that you'll be racing off to save her from the almighty Alliance."
Gou zoa de! Mal was really starting to believe that the boy liked being slugged. Mal stalked over to the doctor. Holding the other's eyes in a glare that openly held the threat of what he really wanted to do to someone, anyone, he told him in no uncertain terms, "Doctor, I've told this to you before, but I'll repeat myself in case you weren't listening. You and your sister are a part of this crew. Dong ma?"
Sadly, Simon didn't back down. Mal was getting really tired of dealing with this shit. "It's not like I have a choice in whether to believe you or not, is it? I mean what are my choices? Risk being stranded on a backwater planet where I'm still not assured that I won't be turned over to the feds? Or continuing to haunt this lovely piece of machinery in the hope that we will find her?"
"Well be sure to let me know which planet you choose," Mal stated before he roughly pushed the doctor out of his way and continued to the bridge. Missing three of the crew and sent Inara off to a client, but the gorram ship was still too damn crowded!
Stu stood outside the laboratory wing with the Admiral. He was less than pleased to be here. Seeing the girl in the infirmary had been difficult enough, but here. Well, it was bound to bring back memories for both of them.
"The doctors said that her vitals were calmer during your previous visit. They thought that perhaps you could convince her to cooperate," the Admiral explained.
"Somehow I doubt that anyone is going to convince her to do that."
"Really?"
Go ahead, Stu, shoot yourself in the head. Can you think of anything else to say that would raise his suspicions more, he berated himself silently. Truth be told, he was scared to death to face the young woman while she was being monitored ten ways to Sunday. He doubted that anyone could be lucid with the amount of drugs she had been given, let alone the trauma of waking up in a reality very close to her worst nightmare. If she were to say the wrong thing, sense some of his plan...
"Look, I'm just saying that you've cut her off from the two people that remind of her something resembling safety and thrown her into a room alone while treating her not unlike the place I got her out of," Stu hedged.
Burton was silent for a long time. Stu focused on maintaining eye contact while going through recitations of every poem he had ever memorized in order to maintain a cool facade. Those things had seemed like a waste of time back in school, but now he gave thanks every day for Miss Winters' insistence that poetry recitation exercised the mind.
"My understanding is that the researchers wish to study her in a controlled environment. I'll make the suggestion though that perhaps some visits may help improve her mood. In the meantime?" Burton prompted.
Nodding at the question that was really an order, Stu carefully ensured that his mind was focused before triggering the door and entering the room. The images that greeted him were very reminiscent of the first time he had met River. Stu quickly repeated the first stanza of For a Skylark to reorient himself to the task at hand.
Across the room, in full view of the surveillance system that was positioned above the door, River appeared to sleep amid a tangle of IV tubing and wires. The only thing that was different from the other image in his head was the blessed lack of head wounds or bloody scratches.
It was in that instant that he saw her eyes open. He knew immediately that she recognized him, saw the relief and anticipation in her eyes as she tried to move her arms in the soft restraints. "No box this time, no cold. It doesn't keep the voices away and can still feel the Hands reaching, they still come two by two, no boxes!"
He quickly crossed the room and pushed her arms gently down before she could bruise her arms in the cotton cuffs. "No box this time sweetheart, I promise."
"But you'll take me to him? You're taking me to Simon? Or did we already do this? I don't think I should be here."
He hated himself for what he had to do, but he didn't have the luxury of experiencing the emotion. Especially not when he was in the same room with her. "Tell you what sweetie, you cooperate with the doctors and I'll bring him to you," Stu suggested.
River stayed silent at his suggestion and cocked her head as if she was listening to someone speak in her ear. "You're different. Changed, but the same inside."
Christ, he couldn't have this. Not now! He consciously kept from glancing up at the surveillance equipment. "Well, it's been a while since I've seen you. I think you've grown a bit too."
Her face took on a puzzled look. "You've never changed. Always lived the truth. Always seen the truth. Not like Zoe."
"Hey now."
"She didn’t mean to hurt you. Couldn't see you without seeing the ghosts. Preferred to stay in the Valley of Death rather than face the past. Found someone who shone in the darkness and had never been touched by a scythe. She would have liked the cabin if she'd seen it though."
"Guan ni zi zi de shi qing," he whispered as quietly as he could. He knew what she spoke of. Knew every syllable of it. If the Board knew she could do this, tamade. Too much at stake at every turn. Too much depended on chance and luck alone.
"I'll play along if you'll bring him to me. And try to make sure that Wash doesn't sleep too long," she told him with a sly smile. "I think I'd like to rest now."
Stu nodded and turned to leave the room. He wondered at the meaning of her last words. Wondered whose game she would be playing.
"If this is just to evaluate my piloting, I don't see what the hurry is. Surely Zoe will be done with her meeting soon," Wash complained as he hurried to keep up with the taller man's stride.
Stu didn't even look back as he answered. "The thing about being in the military is that you don't ask why, Wash. They told us to go now, so we go. Zoe of all people will understand."
Wash bit back further gripes. Stu was right; he'd signed up for this and couldn't complain. Of course, he could because this wasn't exactly his life-long dream. But Zoe had thought it was a good idea and he trusted her judgment. At least normally he did. The longer they were on the ship, the more doubts took root.
From the description, this flight would be a cakewalk. In fact, he could probably do it in his sleep. A milk-run over to Georgia for some supplies and back. No flash, no worries, just simple piloting of an extremely small cargo ship.
Upon seeing the ship, Wash's doubts about the group he'd signed up with began to grow exponentially. True it was a simple cargo ship when it began its life, but some time in recent history it had undergone a high-powered make-over. Small anti-aircraft guns were mounted inconspicuously near the engine intake. Moreover, the engine….well, the engine itself would give off a rather large explosion if it were ever allowed to overheat. Not knowing the mechanic personally, Wash felt a tad nervous to be flying it. At least with the amount of power the modified engine had, the flight would be blessedly short. Of course, they'd never have time to know it if they blew up either.
"Don't these modifications raise some suspicions at the docks?"
Stu gave him an odd look as he stowed some equipment. "Who would be nuts enough to land this ship at a dockyard?"
Great, just great. Exactly what he'd always wanted to do – fly a ship that would get him thrown into jail if an Alliance patrol even caught a spec of them on their radar. Wash consoled himself with the reminder that the flight would be short.
Ten hours later, the planet of Georgia came into view through the portal. Wash was overjoyed to see it since Stu was even less talkative than Mal in a bad mood. Which he actually found odd given their conversation when they first met. He'd have thought that Stu would have been asking him all types of questions about his time with Zoe. Or even just talkative about the Core since it was his experience that these hard-core Independent types rarely set foot on an Alliance planet if they could help it. But no, nothing.
In fact, Wash was going slightly stir crazy. Being cooped up for ten hours in a small shuttle without any return conversation wasn't exactly going to be fun. Not that he wasn't capable of dominating the conversation when it was necessary, but well, he knew how to take a hint. When Stu had gotten up to get a rather large gun and began to methodically clean it as Wash continued piloting, Wash had shut up.
In fact, Stu reminded Wash a lot of some of the crew of Serenity. He had the quiet, serene air that Zoe carried about her while still managing to radiate danger similar to Jayne and Mal. Wash was hard put to classify Stu or predict how he'd respond. Even after all their training sessions (and the bruises he remembered ruefully as he stiffly changed his position), he wasn't sure if Stu liked him or merely tolerated him. He cared about Zoe though, that Wash knew. Therefore, he couldn't be all bad.
"Anything specific I should know about landing?" Wash asked when Stu retook the co-pilot's seat.
"No, just land discreetly at the coordinates I gave you."
Wash didn't think "discreet" landings had been specifically covered in flight school, but he certainly hoped he could manage it. Visiting Georgia's prison was not high on his list of tourist attractions.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly and he powered down the ship next to a very large and expensive house. "Stay with the shuttle. I'll be back with the package," Stu ordered.
"Great, stay with the shuttle," Wash griped out loud. "Because after ten hours of silence, staying alone in a piece of tin is exactly what I want to do." Deciding that he could stay with the shuttle just as easily outside as in, he exited to stretch his legs a bit.
After walking around the ship several times, Wash was stunned to see a shuttle similar to Serenity's land not more than fifty meters away. His astonishment quickly turned to amazement when he watched Inara exit the ship.
"Flight go okay?" the owner of the house asked. Stu didn't know his name and really didn't care to learn it. He'd learned early that it was best to invest nothing in the contacts the Organization presented. Most, like this one, were simply in it for themselves. Padding their bank accounts and hoping that enough favors were given to each side so that they would ignore any involvement with the other. Personally, they all made Stu sick. None of them knew or appreciated the sacrifices that so many had made over the past decade. Few could imagine that lives were still being stolen and the war still fought.
"The pilot was acceptable. You have everything requisitioned?" The man nodded and waved for Stu to follow. "You stored them in your home?"
"But of course. Where else could I be certain that a surprise inspection would not occur?" the well-dressed bureaucrat answered as he narrowly avoided running over two toddlers who suddenly appeared in the hallway. "Back to the nursery, mashang!"
Stu followed the man up the stairs slowly, dismayed at the man's carelessness. In a few years, those children would be old enough to be curious and that could lead to very unfortunate accidents. Somehow, this particular bureaucrat would be facing slimmer bank accounts when the Board learned of his lack conscientiousness.
Briefly, Stu glanced out the window at the top of the staircase. Unlike Zoe, he'd spent the largest parts of his life on the well-manicured worlds of the Core. He still missed the sense of order found on the inner worlds as well as the abundance of life that spread over the horizons. Space was not to his liking, too metallic and empty. Reminded him too much of the last days on Kangchen.
What in the Nine Hell's was that? Stu stopped frozen as he watched the scene below on the sculpted lawn. That idiot was going to ruin everything. Bad enough that the Companion had come, but his luck was truly cursed for Wash to actually see and talk to her. Of course, he should have known better than to become too attached to a single plan. No plan was perfect, Stu reminded himself. Worse, no plan could predict the future.
"Jue shi, deng dai. I'm certain everything is in order. If you could have it delivered to my ship within the hour?"
"But of course. As always, ours is a most profitable arrangement."
Stu made the necessary courteous noises and gestures before exiting the manor as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, his hurry was unneeded. After twenty minutes, the entire shipment had been loaded and Wash was still not back at the shuttle. Just when Stu was about to take drastic action, the pilot waltzed up with a goofy grin on his face. "Everything go okay?" Wash asked with open curiosity.
Stu looked down on the shorter man with the harshest gaze he could muster. "I thought I told you to stay with the ship."
"One of the serving girls needed a bit of help."
"Zoe doesn't mind you running off to help young women with their chores?" Stu asked as he gestured for Wash to precede him onto the ship.
"Hey, I'm married, not…" Wash's sentence was cut short as Stu swiftly knocked him out. After situating the limp body securely in the hold, Stu fired up the engines as he reprogrammed the flight plan. It would be easiest for him to dispose of the wrinkle, but somehow he felt that events could still be turned to his advantage. Of course, Zoe's husband might find himself wishing that Stu had eliminated him instead if half the rumors Stu had heard about Serenity's Captain were close to true.
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