My Own Kind of Freedom Page 5
“Training in—?”
“Many things. How to break electronic codes, for starters; you seem to have an aptitude.”
He shrugged. “Suppose I take you up on your offer. You say there’s work to be done. What sort of work?”
She frowned. “There are things—”
“Excuse me. I asked that because I have some ideas of the sorts of things this department does, and—”
“And you want no part of them.”
Kit nodded.
“I think we’ll be able to find you work you’ll be happy to do.”
“Can you be a little more specific?”
“Not really; not until you’re sworn in.”
“By which time it’ll be too late.”
“You can always quit.”
“Can I?”
“Yes.”
Kit sighed. “You’re good at your job, ma’am.”
“Meaning?”
“In spite of all reason, something in me wants to trust you.”
Seven years previous
“Colonel, we’re just not getting the supplies.”
“I know.”
“And, so far, we’ve had four regiments assigned to the same position, with nothing but empty space on each side.”
“I know.”
“If they do try to come through—”
“They will. They’re massing. If it isn’t the biggest and stupidest bluff of the century, they’ll be coming.”
“Well, we aren’t in any position to stop them.”
“You spoke with Captain Baur?”
“Yes, sir. She gave me permission to talk to you directly.”
“But couldn’t be bothered to herself?”
Mal shrugged. “She has enough on her hands. She’s trying to scavenge ammunition. And boots. And convince three other captains to take positions that weren’t assigned to them, with no orders from upstairs.”
“Okay.”
“So, what in the gorram hell is going on, Colonel?”
“They’re panicking, that’s what.”
“Who?”
“The high command.”
“Great.”
“But the good news is, they sent me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And it is my intention to hold this valley.”
“I don’t—”
“Sergeant, you can tell Captain Baur, from me, that ammunition will be running by noon tomorrow. And we’ll have the line straightened out by this evening.”
“And if they attack this afternoon?”
“We’re humped. But they won’t; they always launch their attacks in the morning. You know that.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Oh, and plan on retreating.”
“Sir?”
“We’re out too far, which is fine, so we drop back. Slowly.”
“Suck ’em in?”
“Whenever possible. Let them win a little, then hit them when they’re taking a breath. We’re holding the ground, not the positions. So be ready to fall back, in an orderly way. We’ll be keeping our flanks connected, and hitting them every time they think we won’t. The rest of the time, we make it hard for them to hit us.”
“Yes, sir. But if we aren’t dug in, I mean, if we retreat from our positions—”
“I came with fifteen batteries of anti-aircraft guns, and with a big bundle of SAMs. And I’ve been promised air cover.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay. Go do your job, and let me do mine.”
“Yes, sir. And sir…”
“Yes, sergeant?”
“It’s good to see you again.”
Nine months previous
Supervisor White said, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Mister Merlyn. Kit. Mind if I call you Kit?”
“No problem, Supervisor.”
“Call me Jerry.”
“All right, Jerry.”
“What’s on your mind?”
“I don’t think I’m right for this kind of work.”
White frowned. “What do you mean? Are you thinking of resigning?”
“Thinking about it.”
“Can you tell me what’s caused this?”
“My last mission.”
“Hmm. I’m familiar with that mission; I was just looking over the report. Seems to have been completed satisfactorily.”
“Thank you, Jerry.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“When I was recruited, I was promised that I’d be doing work I could be happy about.”
“Happy?”
“Work I could feel good about.”
The supervisor frowned, as if Kit had just started speaking a border world dialect.
“I don’t understand, Kit. What is there about that mission you don’t feel good about?”
“Jerry, what was the net result of the whole fourteen months of work?”
“An entire region was opened up for settlers. And now it’ll be irrigated, made fertile—”
“Jerry, it was irrigated before we started. And fertile. And there were settlers there. Families.”
“And, according to your own information, at least ninety percent of them were Independent sympathizers.”
“But they were—”
“That was a region that never surrendered, Kit. Until order was established, the war was ready to break out all over again. You want to fight the war all over again?”
“Not especially.”
“We could have moved in and just slaughtered everyone there. Would that have been more humane?”
“No.”
“Then exactly what should we have done?”
“Just what we did.”
“And so?”
“But I want no part of it.”
“You admit it needs to be done, but aren’t willing to do it?”
“Well put, Jerry. That’s exactly it. Like I said, I don’t think I’m right for this kind of work. I do the right thing, and I’m sick to my stomach afterwards. You want a tougher sort of guy than I am.”
“According to your record, you’re plenty tough.”
Kit just shook his head.
“Okay,” said the supervisor. “Look. I’d rather not lose you. You’re good at this work, and I respect that you have a conscience. Speaking for myself, I’d rather these operations were carried out by people with some qualms now and then, instead of the polished thugs who usually go in for it. So let me make a suggestion.”
“I’m listening.”
“What if I give you an operation you’ll like, and approve of, and be able to feel good about? You do it, and when it’s done, we’ll talk again.”
“What’s the operation?”
“It’s on Hera, collecting evidence to arrest and convict a very bad man.”
“Okay, I’m listening.”
Chapter 4
My Own Kind of Stupid
Serenity: Engine room
HE FOUND her in the engine room, of course. She was fiddling with something that required a large wrench in one hand and a dirty rag in the other. She looked up as he came in and gave him a big smile.
“Hello, Simon.”
“Hello, Kaylee. Are you hungry?”
“A little. What did you have in mind?”
“I thought I might cook us up something to eat.”
“Simon! You cook?”
He tried to decide if he ought to be offended. “There are some things I can make.”
“And you want to cook for me?”
“If you won’t be too critical.”
She grinned her Kaylee grin at him, and he got that sensation in his stomach again. “When did you learn to cook?”
“Actually, River taught me a few things while we were growing up. She’s the real cook.”
“Wow! I never knew! Why hasn’t she cooked here?”
“She’s made snacks for me a couple of times, but, well, there isn’t much you can do here.”
“Why not?”
“For real cookin
g, you need a real stove, a real oven…you know, a real kitchen. The things they have in civilization.”
She stared at him. She wasn’t smiling any more.
“Actually,” she said slowly, “I’m not really hungry.”
She turned back to the engine. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it, then gave up and went to find his sister.
She was in her bunk, arms wrapped around her knees.
“River, are you hungry?”
“The preparation of food has been a community-building and interpersonal bonding activity since before the dawn of history. The rituals and devices associated with food preparation are nearly always, in all cultures, matters of pride and identity. You’re an idiot.”
“River.”
“I think there are some protein chips left in the cupboard and some soy dip in the cooler.”
Zoë and the Captain showed up just as he was setting out the dip. He set the chips down in front of his sister and sat down next to her.
“That was a good call, doctor,” said Mal.
“What was?”
“About Jayne selling you and your sister out to the Alliance.”
His heart sank. River picked up a chip and studied it intently. “It is carbon-based,” she said. “That makes it organic by definition.”
“What happened?” asked Simon.
“Sudden chatter on the Alliance security channel,” said the Captain, “and there’s no reason for that here. It’s in code, but we can be pretty sure what it’s about. Its origin is in the world, on this continent.
“What are we going to do?”
“Wash is checking the sky to see if we have a clear path out. No point in running straight into an Alliance ship.”
“It isn’t about me,” said River.
“No,” said Simon. “It’s about what they did to you, and what they want to do to you again.”
“No,” said River. She looked at the Captain. “It’s the Alliance agent. He’s trying to find out who you are.”
“Alliance agent?” said Mal. “What Alliance agent?”
“The one you met in the canteen today.”
Mal looked at River, then at Simon, then at Zoë, then at River again. “Doctor, is your sister reliable when she gets like this?”
“Uh, I have no idea.”
“She is completely reliable,” said River. “She is only wrong about the important things.”
“Well, I’m glad we cleared that up,” said Mal. He sighed. “A gorram Alliance agent. I’d be more doubtsome if it didn’t answer all sorts of questions.”
The Captain and Zoë were looking at each other. Simon cleared his throat. “Feel like letting me in on this?”
“Nothing much to it,” said Mal. “We saved the life of an Alliance agent today.”
“Good going, sir,” said Zoë.
Serenity: Dining room
He punched the intercom. “Wash?”
“I’m still checking, Mal, but it looks good.”
“Skip it. Can you pinpoint the source?”
“Skip it? You mean, we’re not running?”
“Wash, I need you to pinpoint the source.”
“How close do you need?”
“How close can you get?”
“Gao shenma gui, zenma hui shi? I don’t know. Give me a minute.”
“A minute,” said Mal.
He turned, leaned against the bulkhead, and closed his eyes. “Wo taoyan fuza,” he said, and headed up to the bridge. Zoë fell into step beside him.
“For someone who hates complications, sir, you do seem to go out of your way to create them.”
“You should be used to it.”
“Oh, I am.”
“Well then. I’d like to get paid.”
“Paid would be good, sir. What about the fed?”
“What about him?”
“We’re not going to do anything?”
“What would you suggest we do, Zoë?”
“I’m not sure, sir.”
“Well, if you get any ideas, let me know.”
“I have a question, though.”
“Hmmm?”
“If that was a fed, who was trying to kill him?”
“Lot of folk on this world got no reason to love the Alliance.”
“Yes, sir. But not loving them is one thing, killing a fed is another. And that wasn’t just killing a fed, that was planned.”
“There’s something to that.”
“So, what do you think, sir?”
“I think I want to get paid.”
“Yes, sir.”
Wash turned his head. “Paid? But I thought this job was legal. Are we supposed to get paid for legal jobs, too?”
“Did you find the source?”
“It came from about two miles away from us, Mal. I can bring up a map of town and show you the place.”
“Okay, take us out of the world.”
“What about being paid?”
“Don’t give up yet.”
“What course should I set?”
“None. Synchronous orbit; keep us right here.”
“Okay.”
“Sir?” said Zoë. “Why—?”
“I’m taking the shuttle down. If something goes wrong, I want Serenity to be able to get away clean so we don’t lose River and Simon.”
“And you?”
“I’m in no danger.”
“Of course not, sir. You’re going to find that Alliance agent, aren’t you?”
“Alliance agent?” said Wash. “What—?”
“Zoë,” said Mal. “Why would I go seek out a fed?”
“Because you’re curious, sir, and can’t leave anything alone.”
“What fed?” said Wash.
“I’ll tell you all about it, dear,” said Zoë. She turned back to Mal. “But sir, I don’t think—”
“You’ll be waiting on Serenity. It shouldn’t take long.”
Wash cleared his throat, “If someone could—”
“Print out that location for me,” said Mal.
Zoë looked at him.
“I just want to know what to avoid,” he said.
“Yes, sir,” she said.
Wash generated the map, and handed it to him. He folded the e-paper, put it into his pocket, and said, “All right. Get us airborne, Wash.”
“You yi tian…” said Wash, and turned back to the controls.
Zoë sat down in the co-pilot’s chair. Mal headed back down to the dining room to tell the others.
Yuva: Sakarya’s office
Rennes didn’t seem so large when he stood in front of Sakarya’s desk, trying not to tremble.
“Who did you send to do it?” he asked.
“Taylor and Falworth, sir. They’ve always been—”
“Idiots, Rennes. Like you. Big, slow, and stupid.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And what do you know about those two who broke it up?”
“I’ve got their names, sir.”
Sakarya felt his eyebrows go up. That was fast work, for Rennes. “Do you? How did you manage that?”
“They came into the office—the other office—for payment.”
“Payment? For what?”
“They’re the ones we hired to bring the lumber for—”
“Them?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you paid them?”
“No, sir. I wanted your orders on that.”
“I see. Good thinking for once, Rennes.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Sakarya considered for a moment.
“All right,” he said. “Pay them in full.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then get a crew together, follow them to their ship, and kill them.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yuva: Kit’s aparment
Once he finished his report to Asher House and admitted to himself that staying in his home was no longer safe, it took him three minutes to shut everything down and get what he needed, and
then twenty minutes to walk across town to the place he’d already prepared.
It wasn’t the safest place, but it was safer than home. And he had installed enough gear to do a reasonable amount of work once he got it set up; and certainly enough to get hold of Asher House and say, Why in the gorram hell did you just blow off my last eight months of work?
He did not, of course, get hold of the House and say that. The very best thing that could happen with such a course is that he’d get no answer. But he had the equipment to do his own checking.
Malcolm Reynolds, Zoë Washburne.
And if that didn’t bring up anything directly, it would at least be a place to start.
Those bastards in Asher House had blown eight months of investigation right at the point where—well, maybe they had a good reason. They had better have a good reason.
In any case, they had trained him to sniff out and sift through facts he wasn’t supposed to be able to get access to; so, one way or another, he was going to find out what the gorram reason was.
He set up the miscues and false addresses very carefully before entering the search parameters.
Two hours later he was scowling at the screens as if it were their fault. A little voice in his head told him that something the House went to so much trouble to hide must be too big for the likes of him.
But eight months of work, of good work, of important work, all washed away in an hour. No, no. If they were going to do that, he was bloody well going to know why.
He wiped his hands on his shirt and got down to serious work.
Serenity: Bridge
“So that’s the short version,” she said.
“You rescued a fed.”
“Yeah.”
“And now Mal wants to go back alone to get the payment.”
“To get the payment, and, unless I miss my guess, to find out about that fed.”
“He’s being a hero again, isn’t he?”
She nodded.
Wash gave the boat some throttle, and Zoë felt Serenity lift, followed by a small lurch as the I-grav kicked in.
“I don’t like him going down there by himself,” said Zoë.
“Yeah, well, the us being up here thing and the him being down there thing is a problem if anything goes wrong.”