Inferno - Chapter Sixteen

Author owns no rights to Firefly, and makes no coin for his troubles. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Mal arrived at Guilford’s just in time. Inara was on the bridge, doing her preflight, when she saw Mal’s ground car come barreling up the road. Smiling, she rose from her chair, and went down to the cargo bay.

“I had decided that you weren’t going to make it,” she smiled. Her smile faded when she noticed a blood stain on his shirt. Following her gaze, he hastened to reassure her.

“Not mine! One of my men got shot in the arm making an arrest. I patched him up. Must have got it on me then.”

“Anyone I know?” Inara asked, relieved in spite of hearing that someone had been shot.

“One of Liam’s brothers,” Mal grinned. “He was more mad than hurt. Managed to solve one of the troubling cases I was telling you about. That was the arrest.”

“Mal, it sounds like this job is more dangerous than we thought,” Inara said quietly. He shook his head.

“No, I don’t think so. It’s plenty dangerous, of course. Will be until we get things cleaned up. But I’m mostly an observer. The boys do all the heavy lifting.”

“Hmm,” Inara looked at him.

“Honest,” Mal told her.

“Hmm mmm,” Inara nodded slightly. The look on her face clearly told him she wasn’t buying.

“It ain’t that bad,” he murmured. “And, things are going better. This will help lay to rest a lot of the comments that we ain’t gettin’ the job done. Give us some breathing room to get organized, get some people trained up. It’ll work out.”

“Sounds like you’re starting to enjoy your job,” Inara grinned at him.

“I guess I am, in a way,” Mal admitted, thoughtful. “I hadn’t thought on it, really, but I guess you’re right. It’s a challenge, but it’s. . .I’m doing something, you know? Something with purpose. I haven’t felt this good about a job since. . .”

“Since the war?” Inara asked quietly. Mal looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

“Yeah,” he replied quietly. “Since the war. It’s a hard job, but it’s on