TITLE: "GREY GHOSTS"

SERIES: THE DEVIL'S CRADLE

CHAPTER: 29. Sequel to "INSTINCT"

FANDOM: "FIREFLY"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

PAIRING: Zoe/Wash Kaylee/Simon Mal/Inara

RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: "Suzie and Davie find themselves in a race

against time on Osiris. Mal convinces Jerrod Perkins that

it is time for them to leave Anaeron only to find nothing is

quite that simple."

"GREY GHOSTS"

A "Firefly" Story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

* * * * *

It was more than confusing watching all the comings and goings but Suzie did not dare to drop her guard. They needed to get off the huge transport ship before anyone noticed them. Davie was getting not only restless but more and more anxious and she was afraid if they did not make their move soon he would do something that would draw attention to them.

'I am not stupid, *dong ma*?'

'*Wo zhidao* it's just that this is dangerous, we cannot be too careful.'

Just then Suzie saw the opening she had been waiting for and with a quick nudge to Davie to stay close she darted out from behind the storage crates. Whether by luck or shrewd judgement they managed to mingle with the press of people milling around the docks and disembarking. Suzie dd ot dare to relax but kept Davie on the move, tagging on to families when they seemed to be going in the direction she wanted then breaking off seamlessly to tag on to another group when they turned off. As they threaded their way through the busy dock foot traffic began to dwindle and Suzie had them peel off and leave before they got close to any port officials. Only when they were safely away from the immediate area did she allow them to take a short rest. The ara of greenery was not much, a bit of overlooked shrubbery and thorny bushes that had once been open ground before the concrete jungle of the docking area took over. The occasional stunted tree made t all look rat