"What do you mean 'dead'?" Gabriel Tam asked coolly. Vincent took a deep breath before answering the man standing before him.

"According to your son," he explained, still trying to deduce why the man was standing before him. "A stray bullet caught the child as he was being carried by your daughter. The mother of the child is still not speaking. The first mate says she's been like this since the boy was pronounced dead."

"Why are they still alive?" Gabriel hissed.

"I thought you might like to question them yourself," Vincent replied. "I had thought to bring them to you personally."

"Where are they?"

"Sir, I feel I must ask," Vincent began politely, but gave up. The money wasn't worth this much frustration. "Why are you here?"

"River's letter indicated they could be contacted on this sad excuse for a moon," Gabriel sniffed. "I didn't feel you were getting the job done."

Vincent's jaw clenched as he held himself in check. He smiled tightly and fumed inwardly. Not only had they lied about the child's whereabouts - for if they had landed here to bury the brat as they had claimed, the girl's letter would not have listed this as a reference - but this hun dan was still going to try to back out of paying him. He kept his thoughts to himself, though, and decided to let Tam figure it out on his own.

"Of course," he said, smiling tightly.

"Now, where are they?" Gabriel asked again.

"Right this way," he indicated with open palm.

There were significantly less men in his crew than he had started out on this job, and he felt no remorse in blaming Gabriel for that. The more he dealt with this particular group, the more he admired them. They were loyal to one another, not a one of them whimpered for their own life, and they were willing to die for a baby. A baby! This far from what was commonly believed to be the most civilized of the 'verse, they just continued to be decent folk...

He shook the thought away. He was being paid to retrieve a baby, not to ponder the l