EXT. DIRT AND GRAVEL ROAD

Mal, Zoe, and Jayne trudge along the road, their steps purposeful. Jayne has slung his rifle across his back. Mal takes a swig of water from a small flask tucked in his overcoat.

ZOE: Captain, are you sure we should just stroll into town like we won the election?

Mal looks a little offended.

MAL: I know I heard myself say 'subtle'. I meant it. I'm not lookin' for the gunfight at the OK Corral or nothin'. I just want to get the job details and hightail it out. I've had enough of brawlin' to last me at least another week.

JAYNE: Ain't nothin' wrong with a good tussle now an' then. Gets the blood pumpin'.

MAL: Shiny. Next time there's a couple dozen Reavers anglin' in to try out some new recipes, we'll step aside and let you have all the fun your fuzzy little heart can handle. As for today, I'd prefer it to be a 'tussle-free' day. You only reach for that street-sweeper on your back if our lives depend on it, dong le ma?

Jayne grunts. The town is beginning to appear in the distance. Mal veers off the main road onto a path barely perceptible to the eye. The surrounding vegetation is nearly dead, brown as the earth beneath it.

Mal walks with certainty between the growth. Zoe and Jayne follow close behind, Jayne regularly checking their rear flank.

ZOE: Taken many a walk down this sun-kissed path, sir?

MAL: Once, many moons ago. A mite prettier then. This path'll take us 'round the east o' town. Just hope we put down far enough away to avoid much fuss.

ZOE: River brought us in quiet as a mouse thieven' cheese. Much as I enjoy a nice stroll, I don't feel like hoofin' forty clicks.

MAL: Wouldn't dream of askin'. Jayne, maybe, but not you.

Jayne snorts.

JAYNE: Forty clicks? Shoot. Might actually work up a sweat.

They clear the dried-up foliage thirty yards from the rear of a fairly large house. It's one of several that line what serves as the main street. One hundred yards down, the street branches in both directions.

ZOE: So, wher