CHAPTER 9

Zoë woke up while it was still dark, her heart troubled, her back sore. With a deep breath and a long stretch, she reached for her toes, then pulled her boots on. For the first time in days, her leg did not hurt. In the dim lamplight, she saw that Wei had finally stopped circling and was resting next to Alegra. Tyler had somehow broken through Jayne’s defenses and was sleeping on his shoulder. Jayne leaned against the wall, one arm wrapped around Tyler, the other cradling Vera.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Zoë stood and strapped on her gun holster. It was empty. She checked the area around her, but the gun was nowhere to be found. Jayne’s holster was empty as well. The only gun in sight was Vera. Zoë walked over and kicked Jayne’s foot to wake him.

“Seems he grew on you,” Zoë remarked.

“Yeah, we’re attached at the hip.”

“Where are the guns?”

Jayne grunted, still tired, but maneuvered his way to standing, bringing Tyler with him. It took Jayne a moment to situate the boy so he could be carried with one arm, but once up, Jayne led Zoë out towards the church’s sanctuary.

“Little Fidget thought it would be fun to take all the guns apart,” Jayne explained, enjoying the look of alarm that flashed through Zoë’s eyes. He led her to a storage locker which closed with a combination lock. Opening the locker, Jayne handed Zoë her gun, Mal’s revolver, his Rutger, and the pistol Mal and Simon had bought the day before.

“Careful with that revolver,” Jayne warned. “May have a screw loose.”

Zoë cocked her head, noticing the rifle in the locker as well. “Captain and I are heading out. Could use the rifle.”

“Scoutin’ or fightin’?” Jayne asked.

“Scouting, but you never know.”

“May be best to take another hand-held. That particular rifle is illegal on the world.”

“You carried it around all day yesterday.”

Jayne shrugged. “Your call.”

Zoë opted for an autorevolver, which she tucked into her boot before heading upstairs. She found the Captain fast asleep and unarmed, drool twinkling in the