Zoë still had her ear pressed firm against the door and Mal was still trapped on the other side, undoubtedly at Niska’s mercy. Zoë stood firm against the door eavesdropping on the occupants of the room, but she only managed to catch bits and pieces of the conversation that was happening on Mal’s side of the door. The information Zoë did gather wasn’t quite enough for her to piece together what was exactly going on, but it was more then enough to point her in the direction of where she might need to be heading next.

If Zoë had heard correctly Niska had made a deal with some men who ached to get their grubby hands on Simon and River. I guess this is what it felt like to be between a rock and a hard place; Zoë didn’t want to leave Mal but it wasn’t like she could exactly get to him either. And if she did manage to somehow pry open the door that seemed to be cemented in its place, then what? What lay on the other side of that door was news to her; she was neither prepared nor willing to risk barging into a dangerous situation with no means of getting out.

Beside the others needed her help, Zoë had no intention of leaving them either. If she had learned anything from their last encounter with Niska it was that he feasted on other people’s pain, the kind of pain that made death seem like the best option. Niska would keep Mal alive as long as he could so he could put him through hell and back, over and over again, this Zoë knew was a fact. A fact that had made her decision less easy but also caused weary to creep over her composed demeanor.

Zoë took a deep breath, gulping the air that flowed into her throat down fast as though it might be the last one she ever took. Then she slowly removed her ear from the door, the voices on the other side had ceased, a thought Zoë dared not dwell on. It was hard leaving the captain behind, especially given his present company, but what had to be done, had to be done.

Zoë turned expertly on her heels and proceeded to walk down the dank corridor. “Hang