River’s Run – Part 9

Simon had seen plenty of angry people in his day. His father, for one, when Simon had wanted to abandon his career to help his sister escape from the hands of the Alliance. Malcolm Reynolds for another, a man who punched him twice in the face within a day of meeting him. Then there was Jayne Cobb on occasion, assorted ruffians such as Stitch Hessian, and now one very pissed off former colonel of the Alliance, Justin Powers.

“Start explaining yourself, all of you,” he said in barely suppressed anger, to Simon, Kaylee, Oren, and Derek Bowen, as they sat at the dining table, Bowen handcuffed and with two guards with weapons standing behind him.

Simon nervously looked at the two guards. “Colonel, there’s things you know and things you don’t, and the things you don’t know can’t be heard by these men.”

“I don’t trust him,” Powers said, glaring at Bowen.

“He saved your life!” Kaylee said in disbelief. “He ain’t gonna kill you now. Are you?”

She asked this last of Bowen, her voice a little uncertain, and he just shook his head.

“No, Kaylee. I’m not going to kill the Colonel.”

Powers stared at him and then nodded his head for the two guards to leave. “Don’t go far,” Powers said to them and as they left he took out his pistol and stood well back from the table. “Now, let’s hear it,” he said to the four of them.

Simon started and Oren leaped in, trying to regain face in front of his hero, and after some time Powers had the whole story.

“Assassins? Cutter was training teenagers to be…assassins?”

“We’re more than assassins,” Bowen said.

“I would suggest more like a super operative, sir” Oren offered.

“Captain, who ordered you to take these men on board Serenity?” Powers asked.

“Fleet HQ, sir. I don’t know who exactly ordered it,” Oren replied quickly.

“Shin,” Powers said with a growl.

“He briefed us and ordered us to go to Taos to wait for River Tam to contact her brother,” Bowen said. “After that, Ames received the orders and now he is dead.”

“Thanks to