Chrysabel frowned at the half of her screen displaying her business accounts, and then at the man who occupied the other half. His smile was one of unflappable calm. Somehow he even managed to be a bit ingratiating. The perfect gentleman, this one was. She did not trust him a millimeter. She checked her accounts again. The balance had increased. The man had actually come through. “Well it appears you are a man of your word after all,” she dryly commented. He smiled genially.

“As I promised. I know the amount is not as much as what you would have received from the Alliance, but I would feel remiss if I did not compensate you some for your trouble.”

-Trouble indeed,- the gangster of boats thought. “I appreciate the gesture.” She was sorely disappointed at missing out on the million credits, but fifty thousand was not a paltry amount. The whole deal had turned into one big cluster, and she was ready to take anything away from it that she could.

“I thank you for your assistance. The information you provided is of great importance to my purpose.” His smile was just as smooth as ever.

“You’re welcome,” she replied, wondering suspiciously who had gotten the better end of the deal.

“Good day, Miss Chrysabel,” he inclined his head gracefully and terminated the wave from his end.

Shuttle two lurched as it disconnected from Serenity’s docking bay. Inara wrapped her hands around the controls so familiar. It was a small comfort against a journey that was otherwise going to be nerve-wracking by any stretch of her imagination. She let the shuttle’s momentum carry it a little away from Serenity.

“Okay, Inara,” Mal spoke to her over the radio. “Take her in, get what we need, and get out. No sightseein’. Call for us the minute you get back here and we’ll come runnin’. Got it?”

“Yes, Mal, I’ve got it.” She let her irritation cover her nerves. Serenity’s navigation thrusters fired, pushing her farther away from the shuttle. Inara threw the switches to activate the engines and pushed the thro