Blue Blood – Chapter Eight

No copyright infringement is intended here, just good clean fun.

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“Mal, we have a problem.” Mal turned at Harwell’s words.

“We ain’t had much but problems, last few days,” he smiled tiredly. “What’s wrong now?”

“My. . .informant, I guess, in the Sheriff’s office just called. Two of your blue suited friends just showed up, wanting to see Grippen.”

“Maybe they killed him,” Mal muttered, but Harwell shook his head.

“No, they just left the office together. My source doesn’t know where they’re going, but they did take the road out of town coming this way.”

“Ai ya,” said Mal, shaking his head. Jayne had been right.

“Likely coming here, George,” Mal looked at his employer. “I. . .we don’t have any choice, but fight, if they do. Might be best if you was to close up shop, and head on home for the day.”

“Like hell,” Harwell snarled. “You’ve stood by us, we’ll stand by you.”

“I appreciate that, George,” Mal smiled. “I really do. But this ain’t your fight. And it will get nasty. These men, they. . .they have access to some nasty weaponry, and they ain’t a bit concerned with collateral damage, if you take my meaning. Best you all wasn’t around, I’m thinking.”

Harwell looked for a moment as if he were going to argue, but finally nodded.

“All right, Mal,” he said at last. “But I don’t like this.”

“Nor do I,” Mal assured him. “But we ain’t got a lotta options. We can either fight, or we can run. We like it here, so we aim to fight.”

“Good luck,” Harwell said, and Mal snorted.

“Wouldn’t that be a change?”

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The men and women of Guilford’s were taken by surprise as the plant whistle blew, and their supervisors came through telling them that they had the rest of the day off. With pay. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, they moved quickly, and soon the plant was deserted.

Mal had thought things out fairly carefully, he hoped. He’d sent Inara, Simon and Kaylee to the hospital, with orders to stay there, no matter what. He c