Blue Blood – Chapter Ten

Write owns no rights of any kind to Firefly and intends no copyright infringements. I’m making no money for this, and write only for my own enjoyment.

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Grippen looked at the bounty notice on River Tam again, noting that the contact information hadn’t been changed. He had intended to call again, let the Sun Bonding Company know that their agents had not only failed, but died in their failure. There was always the chance that he would find someone more. . .considerate than the last two.

But there was no one to contact. He had, through some judicious searching, discovered that the Sun Bonding Company didn’t exist. Which begged the questions who were the men that had answered his wave, and who, exactly, or what, was River Tam? He’d been lucky, he admitted to himself. It had been a stroke of good fortune that the plant had been closed for whatever reason. No one had seen him, and his involvement in what had happened was known to none.

He was sure there was still a way to make money from this, and to stick a good one in Reynolds’ eye at the same time. He’d figure it out. He shut off the cortex, and left his office.

“Evelyn, I need to go out to Guilford’s,” he told his secretary. “Had a bit of a tussle out there yesterday. That damn Reynolds’ and his bunch again, I’m sure. I’ll be back late, I imagine. Be sure and let the boys know.”

“Yes, sir,” Evelyn smiled sweetly, and he returned it. She was dumber than a rock, Grippen thought, but she was pretty to look at, and did a fair job in the office.

See you later,” he told her, and walked outside. It was nearing noon, and the sun was high, though the weather was cool. Winter was almost on them.

He walked over to his mule, climbing aboard without a glance. He fired the vehicle up and nosed it onto the road, heading out of town. He’d gone about three miles when he suddenly felt a very cold, very sharp, edge under his chin.

“Just turn off the road up here a piece,” a cold voice whispered in his ear. “Me a