![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
The Missing Chapters (3/4) - Firefly
The Missing Chapters (3/4)
author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jebbypal
Rated: Teen -- some swearing.
Characters: Simon, crew, OCs.
Summary: Everyone's curious, but Kaylee finally asks. Exactly how did Simon rescue River?
written forles342
1, 2
Mal spends the night thinking of Simon and his sister. Both make appearances in his dreams, which is not something he ever wants happening, even if it does mean a break from the usual nightmares of war and failure. He isn’t surprised when he finds Simon up and awake before everyone else on the ship. Well, everyone except Zoe, but she hasn’t slept much of late unless Mal issues an order or Jayne gets her drunk.
Simon nods to him and Mal smiles a bit at how much the doctor isn’t a morning person. Upon first laying eyes on the core-born, rich Simon, Mal figured he’d have been perky right throughout the day. Instead, Simon rivals Jayne for early morning surlishness.
Still intrigued by last night’s tale, Mal decides to take advantage of the absence of the rest of the ship. “Seemed like you cut your tale off a little abruptly last night.”
Simon’s brow furrows. “You were eavesdropping?”
“Those dorm walls are thin. I think Jayne started out listening to something else, but when Zoe and I joined, it was the Dashing Adventures of the Heroic Simon,” Mal says.
“Anything but.”
“Was it for Kaylee that you stopped or River?”
“What makes you—“
Mal shakes his head. “You’d met your contact. Figure you were going to ask for proof next. Given how things turned out, I’m willing to bet that he gave you some.” When Simon remained silent, Mal continues. “Figure whatever they gave you was probably dangerous. Guilt ridden, honorable fella like you probably didn’t share whatever evidence you had with anyone. Otherwise I suppose your folks or someone might have helped you a little more in your adventure.”
“It wasn’t an adventure, it was a nightmare.”
Mal nods and takes a long drink of his coffee. “Been awake during a few of those myownself. Thing I’ve learned is that the nightmare doesn’t return as often if you have someone else around that understands it. Zoe knows about the war. Wash, well, we shared Niska. That monster didn’t haunt me much till I was the only one left.” Mal doesn’t like being this open with things, but right now it’s just him and Simon. The ones their memories will hurt aren’t around and that can be a freeing thing.
“It’s not just that I don’t know how much of that time that River remembers. You all look at her as different enough. I don’t want to set her apart anymore.”
“Your sis has been apart all of her life. She’s an odd bird, but she’s a part of this ship and ain’t nothing going to change that. The worst that nightmare you’re holding back can do is give the rest of us a little bit more understanding about just what she’s been through.”
Simon nods and then they both sit in silence finishing their coffee. Mal’s about to give up and go about his business when Simon starts speaking quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, Mal spots Kaylee and Zoe in the doorway behind Simon. With his eyes, Mal tells Zoe to go away and she takes Kaylee with her. Best to hear exactly what Simon was protecting them from rather than betray Simon's confidence.
Red, as Simon nicknames him when it becomes apparent that no real names will be offered, gets down to business quickly once he has Simon alone in what appears to be a storage closet full of bottles. Simon tries not to wrinkle his face - something in the room smells like rotting meat.
“First off, lose your friend, Omar. We see you talking or communicating with him, you’ll never hear from any of us again. Don’t get me wrong, he was a good bloke back in the day, but now he comes with the wrong kind of scrutiny. He’s fooling himself if he thinks he’s ever been off the Fed watch list after his youthful indiscretions.”
“He won’t like that,” Simon says. Fact is, Simon doesn’t like it either. Omar comes from the same background as Simon, but Omar’s the rebellious one who’s reached out for every type of experience available. Simon can’t imagine doing this all on his own.
“Well, I don’t give a fuck. All I want to do is stay out of a dark, wet cell. You wanna see your sis again, you better get in the same mindset,” Red says, punctuating his words with a firm finger jab into Simon’s chest.
“River – how soon can you get her out?”
Red snorts. “Listen, Doc, this ain’t going to be any quick and easy thing. Even if we could lay our hands on her right this second, you have to know that those who have her will come after you strong and hard to get her back. Not to mention the fact that she’s probably more dangerous than those that will be hunting you.”
Simon shakes his head. “She’s just a little girl. Besides, she’d never hurt me.”
Red looks down on him as he lights up a cigarette. Simon glances at the corner of the room where a puddle has formed from several leaking bottles. Hopefully the contents aren’t flammable.
“How long has it been since you’ve seen your sis?” Red asks after Simon refuses a cigarette of his own.
“Almost two years now.”
Red jumps when they hear a loud crash from upstairs. He grabs Simon and pulls him out of the closet and starts leading him down a set of stairs deeper into the bar. He whispers as they walk. “In that time, four kids have come out of that place. Three dead. My source says they were suicides. The fourth, he’s in St. Lucy’s.”
St. Lucy’s is the largest mental hospital on Osirus. “Why?”
“Paranoid schizophrenia or something that looks just like it. They got enough sedatives in the kid at any time to put down an elephant, and they still have to keep him in restraints to keep the staff safe. There’s nothing to say you’re sister won’t be the same.”
“What are they doing to her?”
Red stops at a metal door and opens it to the outside. Torchlight drifts in and highlights the blue tattoos on the man’s face. “If I knew that, we’d be putting it on the Cortex and get all those kids out. You figure out a way to help your sis, you’re going to let us know. Lots of other families will need that info.”
Red whistles and a skinny, black girl with more piercings than Simon’s ever seen appears out of the darkness. Red takes off his coat and gives it Simon. “Rain’s not gonna stop any time soon and you can’t risk a Fed pulling you in for looking like a public drunk. We’ll be in contact. In the meantime, there’s a chip in the pocket with a bank account number. Deposit a thousand credits every week and we’ll start the ball rolling. Don’t go over a thousand or eyes might start looking into your finances.”
“Wait, I’m just supposed to believe that you know where River is? Or that any of this is true?”
Shouts from down the street attract Red’s attention. “Look, Doc, I don’t have time to convince you right now. They’re doing a sweep. Get out of the zone. If you still have doubts, come back here next week.”
Pierced Girl doesn’t offer her name either. “Don’t fall behind. I ain’t a nanny.”
“Charmed, I’m sure,” Simon says as he takes off in a jog to keep up with her loping pace. She deposits him at a different entrance and doesn’t ask for anything in return. “Get bound, you better forget where this is,” she says as she dismantles a metal door from the wall. He crawls through and when he looks back, seamless metal is all that he sees.
“Wham, bam, thank you, Simon,” he says to no one before looking down at his clothes. Once blue scrubs are now brown and he can no longer see any design through the dirt on his vest. He shrugs on Red’s coat and is unsurprised that what on Red was knee length almost drags the ground on him.
He makes his way back to his apartment without any problems. On the way, he begins to feel that the entire night has been one huge waste. He has no intention of turning money over to these people without any way to contact them other than hoping they’ll flag him down if he returns to Bilter’s Cave. More likely, they’ll all have moved on and be enjoying the high life with any money he deposits in their shadow account.
Once inside, curiosity causes him to pat down the coat to find the banking chip even before getting clean or changing his clothes. Surprisingly, he finds two – one a normal banking chip, the other, a cortex memory chip. The paranoia that Omar has worked so hard to cultivate prevents Simon from playing it on anything other than his stand-alone source box that lacks a constant connection to the United Cortex feed.
The words R Tam Session 1 excerpt appear and then Simon gasps when he sees his sister smiling back at him. She’s talking about her college classes and the nickname that she hated. “They call me Little Mouse,” she says. He remembers her complaints about it and agreeing with her that she had the other students fooled. In his opinion, there’s never been anything quiet about River. Simon sits down on the couch and watches the interview continue.
The screen fades to black after she asks the interviewer if she can still dance at the special school. Static takes over for a second before more black and white footage fills the screen again. R. Tam Session 22 excerpt. The interviewer is the same man as before, but River seems different. Unsure.
River has never been unsure for a moment in her life.
"I don't think – I'm sorry – I think there's been an error. I don't think…I think I may not be the right subject for these…for this program," River says, stuttering. Simon finds it hard to breathe suddenly. River’s never stuttered; not even when she started talking at the age of two. No, it’s always been full sentences for his little sister with hardly a pause to catch her breath.
The interviewer argues with her, says that she was the one that wanted out of Gen Ed. The look of despair on River’s face makes Simon resolve to throttle the man if he should ever come upon him.
A stutter on the video and then River utters something that Simon can’t quite catch. “Tell me what you see,” the interviewer instructs.
River describes a failed medical procedure. Simon’s blood chills when she echoes what the interviewer once said: “We’re doing such good work.” After, it looks like she’s going to throw up.
Simon’s heart breaks when River asks to see him. He wants to scream when the man tells her that Simon is too busy. He’s never in his life been too busy for River. Never.
Static flashes once more and then another title card: R. Tam Session 165 excerpt. This time River isn’t sitting. Her voice has the same haunted quality as the previous recording, but it’s also manic. Nothing she says makes sense. Red’s description of the boy committed to St. Lucy’s could well apply to River, except for the lack of violence. But then River begins to talk about not trusting the mattress and gutting it.
“Oh, River,” Simon says. “What are they doing to you?”
Worse, River seems to know that no one understands what she’s saying. The words of both the interviewer and River only confuse Simon more. Movement trainers? What does that have to do with his sister becoming delusional? Why does River want a mission?
“I am not here for nothing,” River practically shouts. “I am a…spy. You know I’m a spy. There’s something wrong with the body politic.” Simon jumps and almost drops the player when River falls over the table screaming in pain, in fear. “Cut it out, cut it out.”
Static. R. Tam. Session 416 First Excerpt. The room is darker than in the other sessions. Simon can’t figure out how much time is passing between any of them, but River’s appearance is messier than ever. Her hair hangs in her face and she slumps forward. Instead of manic, she seems depressed.
“How did your session with Dr. Matthias go?” the interviewer asks.
“He gave me a mission,” River replies. Her tone is flat.
“Really?” the interviewer asks, skeptically. “Did he tell you your mission out loud, or did you just hear it?”
“He plays hide and seek with me,” River says.
“Dr. Matthias?”
“My brother,” River answers. Simon pulls the player closer, looking for a clue. “He’s a doctor. He thinks he can find me, but I’m deep down and I do not make a sound.” Simon pauses the video and replays that section. He wishes he knew when it was taken. Was it when he was desperately trying to figure out the coded letters? Or later, when he was keeping up appearances at the hospital waiting for Omar. Finally, he lets it finish.
“River, what mission did Dr. Matthias give you.”
River refuses to answer. “I’ll have to write it down,” she says as she holds her hand out.
Static again. R. Tam. Session 416 Second Excerpt. River is absent. The interviewer begins to choke and then to grab at his neck. Wet sounds, ones that Simon recognize as blood pouring into a windpipe take over. The interviewer throws a pen on the table. Black wetness smears the table and the interviewer’s hand. He tries to get up, but falls to the ground. Simon startles when River appears in frame. Her hands are covered with black wetness as well. Her eyes are haunted. “I can see you,” she says before static blacks out the screen.
Simon drops the source box. Shocked, he tries to deny the implications of the vid and the info that Red gave him.
They’ve made River mad. Worse, they’ve made her dangerous.
But she knows Simon is looking for her. She still knows he’s her brother. He can only pray she knows he’s on her side as well.
Mal waits for a bit when Simon falls silent. "What did you do with the memory chip?"
Simon plays with his empty cup. "Played it back a few hundred times before I started to worry what would happen if anyone found it. I dumped it in a bottle of sulfuric acid."
"Anyone ever tell you that you have an inclination for overkill?"
"The same one that said you make crappy plans."
Mal laughs. Collecting the dirty cups, he turns his back on Simon. "It's your story to tell when you feel like it," he says as he washes the dishes.
The rest of the day is spent like so many of the previous. Despite how hard he's ridden the crew to keep their focus on fixing the ship instead of falling apart, Mal guesses that the repairs are just about as done as they are going to get. River has also told him point blank that she's had quite enough of the remedial piloting sessions that he's been giving her.
It'd been Zoe's idea that they'd need a third person to pilot the ship. Neither of them were in the mood to hire a new pilot, which left them choosing from the crew. Jayne wasn’t a candidate for obvious reasons, Kaylee would be too busy with the engines. Inara…Well, they couldn't count on Inara staying with the ship. He'd asked Simon about it when River started laughing out loud and Simon's cheeks turned blood red.
"What's so funny?" he'd demanded.
"I think she remembers how many shuttles I crashed in secondary school," Simon mumbled as he grabbed his sister's wrist and dragged her from the room before she could elaborate.
That had left River. He'd been ready to bring up the topic of a new hire with Zoe, but had abandoned it when he found her crying over a load of clean laundry, one of Wash's Hawaiin shirts held tightly in her hands. The next day, he'd started training River. If you could call it that.
After River ends the latest tutorial, Mal takes stock of the state of the ship and finds that everything should be ready to fly. Five hours later (and one less Operative that he hopes to never see again), he and Serenity are where they belong. In the black.
Dinner that night is subdued until Jayne, of course, breaks the silence.
"So, what'd you and the tattooed man get up to in the back room?" Jayne asks with his characteristic leer.
Simon rolls his eyes. "Is there anyone on board that didn't listen in last night?"
Inara raises her hand. "But Zoe filled me in this morning."
"Good to know everyone's up to date. I do so hate repeating myself," Simon replies. His glance at Mal holds a question and Mal shakes his head. He's a little insulted that Simon would have to ask if Mal had kept his confidence, but now's not the time to fight that battle.
"My contact gave me a banking chip with the information of how much money they expected and showed me to the door after telling me not to try to contact them," Simon summarizes. “I didn’t see or hear from them again for months.”
"Knew it was gonna be boring," Jayne grumbles before Simon goes on.
Simon's jaw drops when he sees Omar standing in the hallway in front of Simon's apartment. It's been months since they last talked. Simon has avoided giving any explanation for the silence, choosing instead to ignore calls and forget dinner plans instead. It took a few weeks, but eventually Omar, like the rest of Simon's friends, gave up and stopped calling.
Simon wastes no time shutting Omar down. "I just worked a double shift and the only thing I want to talk to right now is my pillow," he says as he puts his palm on the key panel to open the door.
"A pot of coffee will cure that in no time," Omar answers with characteristic cheer as he slides past Simon and through the now open door.
Simon rolls his eyes and goes along with Omar for the moment. He's done all that Red and his colleagues have asked without question. Surely they won't blame him for being ambushed at his door by an overly persistent friend. Rubbing his face to try to wake up, he follows Omar inside and pulls up short when he runs into Omar’s back.
"All you had to do was say you had company," Omar says. Simon steps around his taller friend to see that Red is sitting on the sofa with a small gun aimed at Omar. Simon tries to turn off the surgeon's voice in his head that helpfully points out how many organ systems will be destroyed if his friend is hit at this range by the weapon.
"This wasn't part of our agreement," Red drawls. Simon finds it difficult to read the man's face behind the multitude of tattoos, including a new holographic one that goes from the top of his left eye and down to his left ear, but the tone of voice carries Red's disapproval clearly.
Simon triggers the door to shut before any late night wanderers can spy in. "I don't recall giving you permission to enter uninvited either."
Red shrugs. "Figured this would be safer since you got collared the last time you tried to visit my place."
"Simon, could you get your boyfriend to put the gun down?" Omar suggests.
Simon glances around the room and sees that Red has already drawn the blinds. "Why exactly are you both determined to keep me from my precious three hours of sleep?”
Red laughs. "You've gotten a thicker skin since we first met, I'll give you that, doc."
"And hopefully with what I pay you, I've earned a little trust. That's definitely not necessary," Simon says as he crosses to the kitchen. “Glad to know my funds are still enabling your tattoo aquisitions.
"You have, he hasn't,” Red says gesturing towards Omar. “Now isn't a time to risk everything. He might be your buddy, but people change. You willing to risk that?" Red asks.
Simon’s frustration at Red’s slow pace in devising a rescue for River to explode. “And exactly what am I risking? It’s been months and as far as I can tell, I’m no closer to even seeing my sister, let alone getting her out.”
“I think you forget who’s helping who here,” Red growls.
Simon starts to charge Red, but Omar moves between them and pushes Simon back a few steps. Hand in the center of Simon’s chest, Omar takes over the conversation. “Fine, why are you here?”
Red finally lowers the gun, though he doesn’t put it away. “We’ve got just about everything we need to break your sis out. Our insider tells us that we need to move soon, or … it’ll be too late.”
The news renders Simon speechless. It’ll be too late echoes in his ears and his vision goes dark. Distantly, he hears Omar take over. “What do you need us to do?”
“Doc needs to take a vacation from the hospital. Preferably one with a paper trail. We’ve got a kid that can pass for him so long as it’s nowhere with ret scans. In the mean time, we’ll prep him with what he needs to get in and out.”
“I’m sensing a but,” Omar says.
“We’ve got a transport lined up that’ll take them both to Persephone. Trustworthy as far as any in the smuggling business can be, but it’s going to be best if they only see the Doc. Less risk for everyone involved if the girl is kept under wraps until he puts distance between them and the Core. A lot of distance.” Red pauses. “From what we know, you probably won’t be able to tell her to sit nice and quiet in her bunk.”
“Cryogenic stasis,” Simon says instantly.
Omar turns. “That’s insane. If River’s unstable, cryo isn’t going to help her recover mentally.”
Simon shakes his head. “We have to get her out and off planet if she’s going to have a chance at that. If I put her into cryo on the ship, all the smugglers will see is a box. Physically, she can safely stay in cryo for up to three weeks.”
Red nods approvingly. “Three weeks would give you lots of time for traveling. No one ever looks twice at a traveling doctor on the Rim. Too busy asking for help to care why you left the Core. Expensive though.”
Omar shakes his head. “Money isn’t a problem. I can hack the supply order at the hospital. Who’s miss one little cryo chamber?”
“I don’t like it,” Red growls.
“He won’t know anything else. I can tell you what day the cryo chamber arrives and you can arrange a pickup for it,” Simon suggests. “If anything, Omar will be assuming the risk. You’ll know he’s defrauded the hospital and the government.”
The prospect of blackmail seems to mollify Red. “Fine, I’ll have some help there to unload the merchandise at the docks,” Red says as he stands and crosses to the door. “A car will pick you up at work tomorrow, Doc.”
“Wait, I have things here I’ll need.”
“Pack ‘em tonight, but leave them here. We’ll have your stand-in deliver them to your ride in due time.” Standing at the door to the apartment he looks back at them. “I still don’t trust you, O, and I think the more involved you are, the more chance your boy has of getting spotted by the Feds.”
“As long as you can deliver what you’ve promised, I don’t really care what you think of me,” Omar replies as Red shuts the door.
His exhaustion evaporated, Simon leans against a wall for something solid to remind him that all of this is real and not a dream. It’s happening. If everything went right, River would be safe. He doesn’t know what kind of a life they’ll have, but they’ll be together and she’ll be safe.
“Anything I can do?” Omar asks.
Simon shakes his head. “Just get the cryo chamber. And, Omar, thanks. For everything.”
“Just don’t let your little sister forget who the real hero was here,” Omar replies with a smirk before exiting.
Conclusion
author:
jebbypalRated: Teen -- some swearing.
Characters: Simon, crew, OCs.
Summary: Everyone's curious, but Kaylee finally asks. Exactly how did Simon rescue River?
written for
les3421, 2
Mal spends the night thinking of Simon and his sister. Both make appearances in his dreams, which is not something he ever wants happening, even if it does mean a break from the usual nightmares of war and failure. He isn’t surprised when he finds Simon up and awake before everyone else on the ship. Well, everyone except Zoe, but she hasn’t slept much of late unless Mal issues an order or Jayne gets her drunk.
Simon nods to him and Mal smiles a bit at how much the doctor isn’t a morning person. Upon first laying eyes on the core-born, rich Simon, Mal figured he’d have been perky right throughout the day. Instead, Simon rivals Jayne for early morning surlishness.
Still intrigued by last night’s tale, Mal decides to take advantage of the absence of the rest of the ship. “Seemed like you cut your tale off a little abruptly last night.”
Simon’s brow furrows. “You were eavesdropping?”
“Those dorm walls are thin. I think Jayne started out listening to something else, but when Zoe and I joined, it was the Dashing Adventures of the Heroic Simon,” Mal says.
“Anything but.”
“Was it for Kaylee that you stopped or River?”
“What makes you—“
Mal shakes his head. “You’d met your contact. Figure you were going to ask for proof next. Given how things turned out, I’m willing to bet that he gave you some.” When Simon remained silent, Mal continues. “Figure whatever they gave you was probably dangerous. Guilt ridden, honorable fella like you probably didn’t share whatever evidence you had with anyone. Otherwise I suppose your folks or someone might have helped you a little more in your adventure.”
“It wasn’t an adventure, it was a nightmare.”
Mal nods and takes a long drink of his coffee. “Been awake during a few of those myownself. Thing I’ve learned is that the nightmare doesn’t return as often if you have someone else around that understands it. Zoe knows about the war. Wash, well, we shared Niska. That monster didn’t haunt me much till I was the only one left.” Mal doesn’t like being this open with things, but right now it’s just him and Simon. The ones their memories will hurt aren’t around and that can be a freeing thing.
“It’s not just that I don’t know how much of that time that River remembers. You all look at her as different enough. I don’t want to set her apart anymore.”
“Your sis has been apart all of her life. She’s an odd bird, but she’s a part of this ship and ain’t nothing going to change that. The worst that nightmare you’re holding back can do is give the rest of us a little bit more understanding about just what she’s been through.”
Simon nods and then they both sit in silence finishing their coffee. Mal’s about to give up and go about his business when Simon starts speaking quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, Mal spots Kaylee and Zoe in the doorway behind Simon. With his eyes, Mal tells Zoe to go away and she takes Kaylee with her. Best to hear exactly what Simon was protecting them from rather than betray Simon's confidence.
Red, as Simon nicknames him when it becomes apparent that no real names will be offered, gets down to business quickly once he has Simon alone in what appears to be a storage closet full of bottles. Simon tries not to wrinkle his face - something in the room smells like rotting meat.
“First off, lose your friend, Omar. We see you talking or communicating with him, you’ll never hear from any of us again. Don’t get me wrong, he was a good bloke back in the day, but now he comes with the wrong kind of scrutiny. He’s fooling himself if he thinks he’s ever been off the Fed watch list after his youthful indiscretions.”
“He won’t like that,” Simon says. Fact is, Simon doesn’t like it either. Omar comes from the same background as Simon, but Omar’s the rebellious one who’s reached out for every type of experience available. Simon can’t imagine doing this all on his own.
“Well, I don’t give a fuck. All I want to do is stay out of a dark, wet cell. You wanna see your sis again, you better get in the same mindset,” Red says, punctuating his words with a firm finger jab into Simon’s chest.
“River – how soon can you get her out?”
Red snorts. “Listen, Doc, this ain’t going to be any quick and easy thing. Even if we could lay our hands on her right this second, you have to know that those who have her will come after you strong and hard to get her back. Not to mention the fact that she’s probably more dangerous than those that will be hunting you.”
Simon shakes his head. “She’s just a little girl. Besides, she’d never hurt me.”
Red looks down on him as he lights up a cigarette. Simon glances at the corner of the room where a puddle has formed from several leaking bottles. Hopefully the contents aren’t flammable.
“How long has it been since you’ve seen your sis?” Red asks after Simon refuses a cigarette of his own.
“Almost two years now.”
Red jumps when they hear a loud crash from upstairs. He grabs Simon and pulls him out of the closet and starts leading him down a set of stairs deeper into the bar. He whispers as they walk. “In that time, four kids have come out of that place. Three dead. My source says they were suicides. The fourth, he’s in St. Lucy’s.”
St. Lucy’s is the largest mental hospital on Osirus. “Why?”
“Paranoid schizophrenia or something that looks just like it. They got enough sedatives in the kid at any time to put down an elephant, and they still have to keep him in restraints to keep the staff safe. There’s nothing to say you’re sister won’t be the same.”
“What are they doing to her?”
Red stops at a metal door and opens it to the outside. Torchlight drifts in and highlights the blue tattoos on the man’s face. “If I knew that, we’d be putting it on the Cortex and get all those kids out. You figure out a way to help your sis, you’re going to let us know. Lots of other families will need that info.”
Red whistles and a skinny, black girl with more piercings than Simon’s ever seen appears out of the darkness. Red takes off his coat and gives it Simon. “Rain’s not gonna stop any time soon and you can’t risk a Fed pulling you in for looking like a public drunk. We’ll be in contact. In the meantime, there’s a chip in the pocket with a bank account number. Deposit a thousand credits every week and we’ll start the ball rolling. Don’t go over a thousand or eyes might start looking into your finances.”
“Wait, I’m just supposed to believe that you know where River is? Or that any of this is true?”
Shouts from down the street attract Red’s attention. “Look, Doc, I don’t have time to convince you right now. They’re doing a sweep. Get out of the zone. If you still have doubts, come back here next week.”
Pierced Girl doesn’t offer her name either. “Don’t fall behind. I ain’t a nanny.”
“Charmed, I’m sure,” Simon says as he takes off in a jog to keep up with her loping pace. She deposits him at a different entrance and doesn’t ask for anything in return. “Get bound, you better forget where this is,” she says as she dismantles a metal door from the wall. He crawls through and when he looks back, seamless metal is all that he sees.
“Wham, bam, thank you, Simon,” he says to no one before looking down at his clothes. Once blue scrubs are now brown and he can no longer see any design through the dirt on his vest. He shrugs on Red’s coat and is unsurprised that what on Red was knee length almost drags the ground on him.
He makes his way back to his apartment without any problems. On the way, he begins to feel that the entire night has been one huge waste. He has no intention of turning money over to these people without any way to contact them other than hoping they’ll flag him down if he returns to Bilter’s Cave. More likely, they’ll all have moved on and be enjoying the high life with any money he deposits in their shadow account.
Once inside, curiosity causes him to pat down the coat to find the banking chip even before getting clean or changing his clothes. Surprisingly, he finds two – one a normal banking chip, the other, a cortex memory chip. The paranoia that Omar has worked so hard to cultivate prevents Simon from playing it on anything other than his stand-alone source box that lacks a constant connection to the United Cortex feed.
The words R Tam Session 1 excerpt appear and then Simon gasps when he sees his sister smiling back at him. She’s talking about her college classes and the nickname that she hated. “They call me Little Mouse,” she says. He remembers her complaints about it and agreeing with her that she had the other students fooled. In his opinion, there’s never been anything quiet about River. Simon sits down on the couch and watches the interview continue.
The screen fades to black after she asks the interviewer if she can still dance at the special school. Static takes over for a second before more black and white footage fills the screen again. R. Tam Session 22 excerpt. The interviewer is the same man as before, but River seems different. Unsure.
River has never been unsure for a moment in her life.
"I don't think – I'm sorry – I think there's been an error. I don't think…I think I may not be the right subject for these…for this program," River says, stuttering. Simon finds it hard to breathe suddenly. River’s never stuttered; not even when she started talking at the age of two. No, it’s always been full sentences for his little sister with hardly a pause to catch her breath.
The interviewer argues with her, says that she was the one that wanted out of Gen Ed. The look of despair on River’s face makes Simon resolve to throttle the man if he should ever come upon him.
A stutter on the video and then River utters something that Simon can’t quite catch. “Tell me what you see,” the interviewer instructs.
River describes a failed medical procedure. Simon’s blood chills when she echoes what the interviewer once said: “We’re doing such good work.” After, it looks like she’s going to throw up.
Simon’s heart breaks when River asks to see him. He wants to scream when the man tells her that Simon is too busy. He’s never in his life been too busy for River. Never.
Static flashes once more and then another title card: R. Tam Session 165 excerpt. This time River isn’t sitting. Her voice has the same haunted quality as the previous recording, but it’s also manic. Nothing she says makes sense. Red’s description of the boy committed to St. Lucy’s could well apply to River, except for the lack of violence. But then River begins to talk about not trusting the mattress and gutting it.
“Oh, River,” Simon says. “What are they doing to you?”
Worse, River seems to know that no one understands what she’s saying. The words of both the interviewer and River only confuse Simon more. Movement trainers? What does that have to do with his sister becoming delusional? Why does River want a mission?
“I am not here for nothing,” River practically shouts. “I am a…spy. You know I’m a spy. There’s something wrong with the body politic.” Simon jumps and almost drops the player when River falls over the table screaming in pain, in fear. “Cut it out, cut it out.”
Static. R. Tam. Session 416 First Excerpt. The room is darker than in the other sessions. Simon can’t figure out how much time is passing between any of them, but River’s appearance is messier than ever. Her hair hangs in her face and she slumps forward. Instead of manic, she seems depressed.
“How did your session with Dr. Matthias go?” the interviewer asks.
“He gave me a mission,” River replies. Her tone is flat.
“Really?” the interviewer asks, skeptically. “Did he tell you your mission out loud, or did you just hear it?”
“He plays hide and seek with me,” River says.
“Dr. Matthias?”
“My brother,” River answers. Simon pulls the player closer, looking for a clue. “He’s a doctor. He thinks he can find me, but I’m deep down and I do not make a sound.” Simon pauses the video and replays that section. He wishes he knew when it was taken. Was it when he was desperately trying to figure out the coded letters? Or later, when he was keeping up appearances at the hospital waiting for Omar. Finally, he lets it finish.
“River, what mission did Dr. Matthias give you.”
River refuses to answer. “I’ll have to write it down,” she says as she holds her hand out.
Static again. R. Tam. Session 416 Second Excerpt. River is absent. The interviewer begins to choke and then to grab at his neck. Wet sounds, ones that Simon recognize as blood pouring into a windpipe take over. The interviewer throws a pen on the table. Black wetness smears the table and the interviewer’s hand. He tries to get up, but falls to the ground. Simon startles when River appears in frame. Her hands are covered with black wetness as well. Her eyes are haunted. “I can see you,” she says before static blacks out the screen.
Simon drops the source box. Shocked, he tries to deny the implications of the vid and the info that Red gave him.
They’ve made River mad. Worse, they’ve made her dangerous.
But she knows Simon is looking for her. She still knows he’s her brother. He can only pray she knows he’s on her side as well.
Mal waits for a bit when Simon falls silent. "What did you do with the memory chip?"
Simon plays with his empty cup. "Played it back a few hundred times before I started to worry what would happen if anyone found it. I dumped it in a bottle of sulfuric acid."
"Anyone ever tell you that you have an inclination for overkill?"
"The same one that said you make crappy plans."
Mal laughs. Collecting the dirty cups, he turns his back on Simon. "It's your story to tell when you feel like it," he says as he washes the dishes.
The rest of the day is spent like so many of the previous. Despite how hard he's ridden the crew to keep their focus on fixing the ship instead of falling apart, Mal guesses that the repairs are just about as done as they are going to get. River has also told him point blank that she's had quite enough of the remedial piloting sessions that he's been giving her.
It'd been Zoe's idea that they'd need a third person to pilot the ship. Neither of them were in the mood to hire a new pilot, which left them choosing from the crew. Jayne wasn’t a candidate for obvious reasons, Kaylee would be too busy with the engines. Inara…Well, they couldn't count on Inara staying with the ship. He'd asked Simon about it when River started laughing out loud and Simon's cheeks turned blood red.
"What's so funny?" he'd demanded.
"I think she remembers how many shuttles I crashed in secondary school," Simon mumbled as he grabbed his sister's wrist and dragged her from the room before she could elaborate.
That had left River. He'd been ready to bring up the topic of a new hire with Zoe, but had abandoned it when he found her crying over a load of clean laundry, one of Wash's Hawaiin shirts held tightly in her hands. The next day, he'd started training River. If you could call it that.
After River ends the latest tutorial, Mal takes stock of the state of the ship and finds that everything should be ready to fly. Five hours later (and one less Operative that he hopes to never see again), he and Serenity are where they belong. In the black.
Dinner that night is subdued until Jayne, of course, breaks the silence.
"So, what'd you and the tattooed man get up to in the back room?" Jayne asks with his characteristic leer.
Simon rolls his eyes. "Is there anyone on board that didn't listen in last night?"
Inara raises her hand. "But Zoe filled me in this morning."
"Good to know everyone's up to date. I do so hate repeating myself," Simon replies. His glance at Mal holds a question and Mal shakes his head. He's a little insulted that Simon would have to ask if Mal had kept his confidence, but now's not the time to fight that battle.
"My contact gave me a banking chip with the information of how much money they expected and showed me to the door after telling me not to try to contact them," Simon summarizes. “I didn’t see or hear from them again for months.”
"Knew it was gonna be boring," Jayne grumbles before Simon goes on.
Simon's jaw drops when he sees Omar standing in the hallway in front of Simon's apartment. It's been months since they last talked. Simon has avoided giving any explanation for the silence, choosing instead to ignore calls and forget dinner plans instead. It took a few weeks, but eventually Omar, like the rest of Simon's friends, gave up and stopped calling.
Simon wastes no time shutting Omar down. "I just worked a double shift and the only thing I want to talk to right now is my pillow," he says as he puts his palm on the key panel to open the door.
"A pot of coffee will cure that in no time," Omar answers with characteristic cheer as he slides past Simon and through the now open door.
Simon rolls his eyes and goes along with Omar for the moment. He's done all that Red and his colleagues have asked without question. Surely they won't blame him for being ambushed at his door by an overly persistent friend. Rubbing his face to try to wake up, he follows Omar inside and pulls up short when he runs into Omar’s back.
"All you had to do was say you had company," Omar says. Simon steps around his taller friend to see that Red is sitting on the sofa with a small gun aimed at Omar. Simon tries to turn off the surgeon's voice in his head that helpfully points out how many organ systems will be destroyed if his friend is hit at this range by the weapon.
"This wasn't part of our agreement," Red drawls. Simon finds it difficult to read the man's face behind the multitude of tattoos, including a new holographic one that goes from the top of his left eye and down to his left ear, but the tone of voice carries Red's disapproval clearly.
Simon triggers the door to shut before any late night wanderers can spy in. "I don't recall giving you permission to enter uninvited either."
Red shrugs. "Figured this would be safer since you got collared the last time you tried to visit my place."
"Simon, could you get your boyfriend to put the gun down?" Omar suggests.
Simon glances around the room and sees that Red has already drawn the blinds. "Why exactly are you both determined to keep me from my precious three hours of sleep?”
Red laughs. "You've gotten a thicker skin since we first met, I'll give you that, doc."
"And hopefully with what I pay you, I've earned a little trust. That's definitely not necessary," Simon says as he crosses to the kitchen. “Glad to know my funds are still enabling your tattoo aquisitions.
"You have, he hasn't,” Red says gesturing towards Omar. “Now isn't a time to risk everything. He might be your buddy, but people change. You willing to risk that?" Red asks.
Simon’s frustration at Red’s slow pace in devising a rescue for River to explode. “And exactly what am I risking? It’s been months and as far as I can tell, I’m no closer to even seeing my sister, let alone getting her out.”
“I think you forget who’s helping who here,” Red growls.
Simon starts to charge Red, but Omar moves between them and pushes Simon back a few steps. Hand in the center of Simon’s chest, Omar takes over the conversation. “Fine, why are you here?”
Red finally lowers the gun, though he doesn’t put it away. “We’ve got just about everything we need to break your sis out. Our insider tells us that we need to move soon, or … it’ll be too late.”
The news renders Simon speechless. It’ll be too late echoes in his ears and his vision goes dark. Distantly, he hears Omar take over. “What do you need us to do?”
“Doc needs to take a vacation from the hospital. Preferably one with a paper trail. We’ve got a kid that can pass for him so long as it’s nowhere with ret scans. In the mean time, we’ll prep him with what he needs to get in and out.”
“I’m sensing a but,” Omar says.
“We’ve got a transport lined up that’ll take them both to Persephone. Trustworthy as far as any in the smuggling business can be, but it’s going to be best if they only see the Doc. Less risk for everyone involved if the girl is kept under wraps until he puts distance between them and the Core. A lot of distance.” Red pauses. “From what we know, you probably won’t be able to tell her to sit nice and quiet in her bunk.”
“Cryogenic stasis,” Simon says instantly.
Omar turns. “That’s insane. If River’s unstable, cryo isn’t going to help her recover mentally.”
Simon shakes his head. “We have to get her out and off planet if she’s going to have a chance at that. If I put her into cryo on the ship, all the smugglers will see is a box. Physically, she can safely stay in cryo for up to three weeks.”
Red nods approvingly. “Three weeks would give you lots of time for traveling. No one ever looks twice at a traveling doctor on the Rim. Too busy asking for help to care why you left the Core. Expensive though.”
Omar shakes his head. “Money isn’t a problem. I can hack the supply order at the hospital. Who’s miss one little cryo chamber?”
“I don’t like it,” Red growls.
“He won’t know anything else. I can tell you what day the cryo chamber arrives and you can arrange a pickup for it,” Simon suggests. “If anything, Omar will be assuming the risk. You’ll know he’s defrauded the hospital and the government.”
The prospect of blackmail seems to mollify Red. “Fine, I’ll have some help there to unload the merchandise at the docks,” Red says as he stands and crosses to the door. “A car will pick you up at work tomorrow, Doc.”
“Wait, I have things here I’ll need.”
“Pack ‘em tonight, but leave them here. We’ll have your stand-in deliver them to your ride in due time.” Standing at the door to the apartment he looks back at them. “I still don’t trust you, O, and I think the more involved you are, the more chance your boy has of getting spotted by the Feds.”
“As long as you can deliver what you’ve promised, I don’t really care what you think of me,” Omar replies as Red shuts the door.
His exhaustion evaporated, Simon leans against a wall for something solid to remind him that all of this is real and not a dream. It’s happening. If everything went right, River would be safe. He doesn’t know what kind of a life they’ll have, but they’ll be together and she’ll be safe.
“Anything I can do?” Omar asks.
Simon shakes his head. “Just get the cryo chamber. And, Omar, thanks. For everything.”
“Just don’t let your little sister forget who the real hero was here,” Omar replies with a smirk before exiting.
Conclusion