The captain was not at all surprised by her findings, and Zoë hadn't expected him to be. "Corruption runs deep in this town," he stated after she'd reported back to him in Serenity's cargo bay that afternoon.

"That it does," she agreed. "There's a killer on the loose here, and he's protected by the locals. Not 'cause they like 'im, but 'cause they're scared of 'im."

"I hate that!" he muttered. "I hate how the rich and powerful always get away."

Zoë studied him closely. She could see that even though there was a look of resignation on his face, he was still hard at work trying to come up with a solution. Planning, plotting, scheming…

She had to stop him.

"Sir," she said. "You promised Jayne you'd stay out of it. Perhaps we should honor that promise?"

He looked at her, his eyebrows contracted in a frown. "You think so?"

"What else can we do? We try and do anything we'll only bring a whole lotta trouble down on us and the Cobbs. You don't mess with this guy."

"Haven't even met 'im," Mal mumbled. "Haven't seen 'im, sized 'im up. But I guess I don't have to. You're right, we can't do nothin'." He sighed heavily, showing how much it bothered him to come to this conclusion. "We'll stick around for a few more days," he decided. "Try and keep Jayne outta trouble."

She nodded. "You reckon he'll do somethin' stupid?"

"It's Jayne," he said, and it answered her question perfectly. He gave her a stern look. "Don't tell 'im," he warned her. "Don't tell 'im this man killed his father."

"I won't," she promised. "But I think he knows."

Mal sighed again. "Most like. All the better reason to keep an extra eye on 'im."

Zoë felt a smile tug at the corners of h