CHAPTER 10

The next morning found Kaylee at the dining room table, lacing wires through the cage watching Bristles nibble at them. The critter seemed to have more interest in gnawing cables than he did any of the food Kaylee offered. The ship was stirring, but there was no breakfast prepared. Book wandered in, pulled out a few mugs, and started boiling water for tea. Jayne hobbled in as well, sat at the table, and propped his leg up on one of the chairs. He looked hungrily at Bristles, but made no request for food. As the animal curiously pawed at a bundle of cables in the corner, Mal entered, heading straight for the teapot. Instead of his usual mug, Mal drank out of a dainty, floral cup – the one Inara always liked to use.

“Kaylee, get that rat off my table before he pees on everything,” Mal snapped as soon as he’d taken his first gulp. As the others filled their cups as well, their minds seemed to awaken.

“Are you feeding him wires?” Book asked incredulously.

“He likes to chew on them. He only goes for the thick ones… more so if they got power in ‘em.”

“You think he was trained as a mole?”

“I thought it was a hedgehog,” Jayne grunted.

“I mean trained to sabotage,” Book clarified.

“They can do that?”

Kaylee shook her head, still tired. “Don’t know that he’s trained, but he certainly mucked up our ship.”

“Trained or no, get him off the table,” Mal ordered again, pouring himself a second cup.

*~*

Mal needed a show of strength if he was going to get anything out of Caddock. The pirate had no fear of brute strength of physical harm, so Mal decided to bring Book along. The Shepherd could outwit Caddock and hopefully Caddock would respect that enough to help them find Inara.

Book came armed with a tray of food and a quiet demeanor. Caddock lay face down on the bed, his arms and legs securely tied behind his back, lice crawling through his thick mange. The stench in the room was worse than some corpses Mal had been unfortunate enough to encounter, but the steady wheezing made Caddock’s p