"Have Gun, Will Travel" pt. 1.5

Mal looked back at River, the wind whipping his face as another bullet whizzed past his head. "What do you mean, landlock?!" Mal jinked the Mule to the left to avoid a pallet of crates with Blue Sun markings on them. His comm buzzed, he pulled it out. "This better be good, I'm a mite busy at the moment!"

* * *

Simon stood at the gangway to Serenity, the comm to his ear. He was just out of sight. "Captain, I have a problem. There's men guarding the ship."

Mal shouted "What do you mean there's men guarding the ship?!" so loud that Simon pulled the comm away from his ear. "Well, there are men... men with guns standing around the ship... and they've all got uniforms."

"Alliance?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"Bribe 'em."

"What?!"

"Bribe THEM!"

"With what?!"

"Are you carryin' a million squar in that sack, or a pile of laundry?!"

"Aside from the fact it came from Badger and it's probably counterfit to be laundered, yes."

"You never even met Badger, how could you know that?!"

"Nevermind, what do you want me to do?"

"Soft currency or hard currency?"

"What?"

"Bills or coin?"

"Bills..."

"Tell the guards it's laundry and that you're the cook. Tell 'em that you know where the captain keeps the petty cash and that if they lift the landlock you'll give them all of it. If they agree give 'em 250 thousand. NOW" There was an audible beep and Mal hung up. Simon stood up, dusted his designer black trousers off and sighed to himself. "Now I'm a petty thief AND a con-artist." He shook his head, picked up the sack with the money, and headed towards Serenity.

* * *

Another bullet zoomed past Mal's head, the second Mule was back on their tail with the side-gunner now driving. He was firing one handed while the other Mule was still intact with two. "Jayne, what the hell is goin' on back there?!"

Jayne ejected yet another spent clip from Vera and slammed a fresh one home. "The drivers' a