“What in the sphincter hell is the Alliance doing taggin’ my boat?” Mal growled as he came to stand besides Wash. It was certainly there, and was a loaming presence that unsettled Mal.

Wash turned to give Mal an incredulous look. “Don’t ya maybe think it might have a teeny tiny bit to do with the three gorram Alliance intelligence officers on our boat?” Wash spit out. “Oh, and maybe the two Alliance fugitives that we’ve been carryin’?”

Mal snorted and didn’t answer. He knew quite well that he was giving the Alliance more than one reason to tag his boat. But he never quite believed that it would have happened.

“Calm down honey,” Zoe said coming up and resting a hand on Wash’s shoulder. “We’ll work a way out of this.” She gave Mal a hard look, reminding him of his duties.

Mal stood up straight, crossing his arms across his chest. “Find those two henchmen of Asha’s, and gorram tell them to come work this out.” Zoe curtly nodded and turned around, but before she could get anywhere, she slowly raised her hands up in the air.

“Found one,” she calmly said.

Mal whirled around, with Wash craning his neck trying to see from behind Mal. The taller of the two men, the one Inara discovered as Lt. Phil Guliv had his gun out and pointed straight at them. “I’m afraid Captain Reynolds that there won’t be any negotiating this time. This is the kind of scene we were hoping to avoid, but it seems that we didn’t quite pick the right ship for the job.”

Mal’s anger was about to its limit. He had had about enough of everything. “Look here, I’s ain’t the one that asked to be flown all over the ‘verse, and then kept on changing plans. If’n we had been allowed to keep the original route this might’ve not have ‘appened. We’d had it all planned out nice like. This ain’t my fault or my crews. You get your gorram self on this com and tell them that everything is hunky dory.”

“I do not quite understand why I must repeat myself, Captain. As I said, there will be no negotiating or discussion with that vessel. Do what you mus