Bane found Karl lifting weights in the cargo bay, late in the evening. Mal had agreed to Karl’s suggestion that he should be the one to go to jail, based on his prior knowledge of the place. An extra night and day would allow them to come up with an escape plan. Kaylee had made a technical drawing based on Karl’s descriptions of what he had remembered. Karl was not entirely comfortable returning to that particular jail, as it was one of the most violent jails he had ever done time in. It was little more than a cattle market for scum from the docks and only the strongest and wiliest survived. He hoped Mitchell was one of those or he would be dead before Karl got to him.

“I’ve got something that might be useful,” he heard Bane say. He placed the weights on the stand and sat up, reaching for a towel.

“Pretty much all I will need are my fists and wits,” Karl replied, flexing his hand in demonstration.

“And after those are spent, you can use these,” replied Bane with a smile, opening her hand. “Used them to get myself out of a few extra tight spots.”

“What are they?” he picked one up and inspected it closer. They were half-inch sized balls, much smaller than the bullets he had seen her making. He then handed it back. “No good – they make you strip and change clothes once you’re in.” Bane grinned knowingly.

“These are designed to be ingested, not hidden about your person.” With the sweat having cleared his forehead of hair she saw his eyebrows raise.

“Let me guess, EMP?” Bane pouted, good-naturedly disappointed at his accuracy.

“Am I getting that predictable?” Karl shrugged with one shoulder.

“Seems to be what you are best at creatin’. ‘Sides there’s not a lot else that can get me outta there. How do they work?”

“Well, once you’ve swallowed them, we wait about an hour then I set the timer with this,” she produced a small remote from her pocket. “We can set it for any number of hours. When it goes off it has about a ten foot radius. It’ll knock out any electronic locks that you’re close to