TITLE: "TANGLES"

SERIES: THE DEVIL'S CRADLE

CHAPTER: 56. Sequel to "TWISTED"

FANDOM: "FIREFLY"

AUTHOR: Alison M. DOBELL

PAIRING: Zoe/Wash Kaylee/Simon Mal/Inara

RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: "The Minister worries that he has put

a friend in danger. The Captain starts the task of

assessing the state of those still alive on the freighter

not necessarily helped by Badger. Ryan discovers that

surviving the explosion does not mean that he is safe."

"TANGLES"

A "Firefly" Story

Written by Alison M. DOBELL

* * * * *

The summons was unexpected and beyond inconvenient. More than that it was troubling. It was the last thing he wanted to submit to but the source could not be denied or his place within that depressing but very lucrative hierarchy. Provided you played by the rules and by and large he had done just that. Minister Heyerdahl had no reason to reproach himself yet it was incumbent upon his survival instincts to do just that. The Over Sight Committee seemed to have a particular interest in his recent actions and that roused other even less pleasant suspicions. The Minister pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as he arrived at the nondescript building on Osiris.

As he approached the outer doors he was scanned from head to foot. He then pressed the thumb of his right hand over the fingerprint reader and leaned close to the retinal scanner. Seconds later the door opened and he stepped inside. The interior could not be a bigger contrast to the mundane outside of the building. Clean, efficient lines with durable but artistically fashioned supporting pillars and beams giving an impression of space and freedom to a building that guaranteed neither. He was met by the current Chair of the Committee, Ivan Rostov. The Chair circulated on a random basis and those elected to fulfill that function were chosen at a much higher level of power.

&quo