CHAPTER FIVE

“Hey!” Mal yelled cheerfully to his first mate and pilot as he walked up the hatch. He had their lucrative cargo slung over his shoulder and they were soon to be back in the sky. Life was very good. “How long ‘till we can be on our way?”

“Where we goin’?” Wash asked.

“Bulwark,” Mal said.

“Bulwark?” Zoë asked, bewildered. “We’ll never get work there, Cap’in.”

“On the contrary,” Mal said, tossing Zoë a black duffel bag. “We already got work there. Mind stowing the cargo?”

“This is the cargo?” Zoë asked skeptically. “Seems a might light.”

Mal smiled as he walked past her and into the cargo bay. “Would you believe there are over a thousand condoms in that bag?”

“What exactly did you do in that jail?” Wash asked, although his tone of voice made it pretty clear that he didn’t really want to know.

“We learned that, if you know how to fence them right, those baby’s go for a credit a piece on Bulwark.”

“That’s a little pricey,” Wash said, following his wife to the nearest smugglers nook to help her remove the heavy deck plating.

“Didn’t you two know God created sex is for procreation, not for fun,” Mal said with mock seriousness. “’Thorities on Bulwark want to make sure it stays that way.”

“Well,” the pilot said as his wife threw the small, lucrative bag, in the hold, “I’m all for bringing good, fun, consequence-free sex to the people of Bulwark.”

“Feels good to do good,” Mal nodded. “And, with a generous 30% transport fee, it pays good to do good as well. So, how ‘bout we hit that sky?”

“Can’t sir,” Zoë said quickly, leaving the hatch for her husband to close alone.

“Can’t why?”

“There’s someone waiting for you up in shuttle one,” Zoë said, nodding up to the shuttle’s closed door. “Lookin’ to rent the place.”

“Oh,” Mal said, pleasantly surprised. “Great, I guess we can delay a couple minutes. But, ah, make sure we’re set to go when I say.”

“Yes sir,” Zoë clipped.

Mal smiled, “That’s what I like to hear.”

* * *

“Zhi fan shi fu xi