Mal's shuttle settled into the dirt not far from the Rusty Hinge. He, Kaylee and Simon disembarked. They all had guns drawn.

"She's close, Cap'n." Kaylee said "And, it looks like she hasn't found the transmitter we put on her."

"In her, you mean" Simon said. He was quite unhappy that he had implanted a transmitter under the skin of his sister's arm, but, Mal had seemed to think that she might sense it if it were anywhere outside her body.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Little Kaylee." Mal said. He seemed more than distracted. He seemed to be haunted.

Mal circled around the circular rock formation they had landed in. The fading sun was making things harder and harder to see. He narrowly missed stepping on a cactus, but stopped to look down sharply.

"He's been here. Recently."

"How can you tell?" Simon asked.

Wordlessly, Mal pulled a flashlight from his belt, and shined it on the ground at his feet. Dark splotches of blood were quite visible on the ground.

"Kaylee?"

"She's close, but, she's still heading south."

"Why would he leave his den?"

"How do you know..." Simon started. Mal turned on his heel and walked to the south end of the clearing. There was a cave there. Outside of it, there were fresh bones, bloodstains, and Alliance uniforms.

"If you want to investigate further, Doc, the entrance to his house is right there, but, I'm pretty sure he's not there anymore. And, seeing how Reavers like to booby trap things, you might want to step careful."

As if preordained, there was an explosion to the south.

* * *

"Jayne! Shut up!" Zoe hissed.

Normally, when on a job, you could count on silence from Jayne Cobb. After the job was over, there might be a problem, of course, but, normally, he was too intent on getting things done. He was chattery tonight, however.

"I'm just sayin's all. Captain's lyin'. Simon's putting River on the line. Book told everyone to shut up...Things ain't right on this job."

"Yes, I told you to shu