"Have you decided what you're going to do with me?"

Simon was perched at the edge of a rather uncomfortable chair in Badger's office, and for the last hour or so he'd done nothing but silently watch the criminal conducting his business from behind his desk. But now his patience was wearing thin and he finally asked the unavoidable question.

Badger looked up from his pad long enough to shoot him a warning but somewhat amused glare. "Not really, no," he said.

"You've held me here for three days. I did what you asked me to. I solved your murder case."

"That you did," Badger replied, but he'd already returned his attention to the pad.

Simon stretched his back and quelled a sigh. Then he looked down at himself, frowning. He'd worn Wash's ugly shirt for three days straight now; he was dirty and tired and hungry. Badger had fed him rather scarcely and his appetite hadn't really been that great after all, with all that poison seemingly floating around here.

"Why do you keep me here?" he dared ask.

"I see why Reynolds finds you useful," Badger said without looking up. "And I'm not quite done with you." He tore his eyes away from the pad and flashed that ugly grin of his at Simon. "I want to see just how desperate he is to get you back."

Simon stayed quiet; quite frankly because he couldn't think of anything to say. Badger went back to his work, but the sudden sound of some commotion emitting from the hallway made his head snap back up, the grin even wider on his face.

"Ah, they're here. Finally."

He got up, circled his desk and stopped in front of it, casually leaning back, and he looked extremely pleased and triumphant as the door was opened and his henchmen stepped inside pulling Mal, Zoë and Jayne along.

Simon jumped instinctively to his feet at the sight of them. His felt his face contract in a worried frown as the captain met his eyes. He looked ra