(no subject)
Title: Three Hills : chapter 14
Rating:PG
Timeline: Post BDM, but no-one got killed.
Comments: Sorry this has taken so long, now it's up to
cheshire_monkey
Three Hills Organizational Post
Jayne led the way into the Blue Boar Tavern, Mal and Zoe following closely behind. It was a seedy little hole-in-the-wall that he used to sneak into when he was a kid, in fact it was where he’d found his first job off-world. If his Ma ever knew he’d been in here at the age of fourteen, she’s skin him alive. Well, maybe not as badly as she was gonna do when she found out he’d been lyin’ to her all this time.
He took a table in the corner, so he could watch the door for the contact and have a good look over the room. He might be playing captain, but this was still a job…one of Mal’s jobs. He needed to keep an eye out for whatever was about to go wrong.
They weren’t even halfway through their first round when an older man, slightly rough looking but clean, came through the door and walked up to their table.
“You folks friends of a fella named Monty?” the man asked, looking expectantly between Jayne and Mal.
Jayne was wondering what kind of job Mal had gotten them into this time when someone kicked him under the table.
“Ow!” Mal was giving him that ‘catch up with the program’ look again and Jayne realized that the man expected an answer from him. This captainy stuff was harder than it looked.
“Uh, yeah, we know Monty. Do you?”
Mal rolled his eyes at the business prowess of his former merc, hoping this would work; they needed the coin. Thankfully, the contact, a man named Martens they learned upon introductions, seemed content.
“So, you must be Mabel Cobb’s boy?” the man said with a hopeful look in his eye, the roughness surprisingly replaced with a boyish charm.
“You know my Ma?” Jayne asked suspiciously. What the hell had Mal gotten them into.
“Sure do, son, and I’m hopin’ by throwin’ this deal your way that you’ll look kindly upon an old fella who’s interested in retiring and settling down.”
“Huh?” Jayne’s brow furrowed in confusion as he looked at the man. He glanced at Mal and Zoe for help, but they looked a little lost as well.
“See I met your Ma a few months back when I crashed my old freighter on the far edge of her farm. A helluva woman she is; was smitten with her right off I can tell you. I decided I’d had enough of petty smugglin’ and the like. It’s time I let a woman like her make an honest man outta me.”
Martens looked sincerely at Jayne…and then at Mal and Zoe when he didn’t get the response he’d anticipated. In fact, he got no response at all as Jayne’s face seemed to be frozen in a perpetual state of confusion. Martens got nervous real fast.
“Now understand, I’m not lookin’ to live off’n your mother, boy. I got my own money an’ I know farmin’ some myself. Just figured, she’s a widower and I’m fixin’ to settle down, so why not throw in together.”
The man paused again, still waiting for some answer from Jayne. Finally, he removed his hat, revealing a slightly balding head and said with utter sincerity, “I’ll do everything in my power to bring your mother happiness, if she’ll just give me the chance.”
Mal could see that Jayne had now moved onto the anger stage, but Martens couldn’t read it too well, or he was too blind with love to do so. He glanced at Zoe and smirked, just before Jayne grabbed Martens by the collar across the table.
“What in the hell is this? I thought you were lookin’ to make a deal on some less than reputable merchandise.”
“Captain, can I have a word with you?” Zoe wanted to step in before Jayne lost the job and Mal got mad and took over again.
“No!” Jayne shouted without thinking. This earned him a glare from Mal and a raised eyebrow from Zoe. He reluctantly let go of the man’s shirt and lead the way to the bar to talk with his merc and first mate.
Mal wasted no time getting right to the point. “Jayne, we need this job. We ain’t got enough coin to get us far from this rock, so we’re gonna do whatever the man wants us to do to get that job, dong ma?”
“It’s my mother, Mal! You want I should sell her out to some over-the-hill smuggler!”
“No, but if all the man wants is to meet with her in exchange for the job, then I think we’ll do that.” Mal said in his most threatening voice. “Your mother seems like the type to take care of herself and if she don’t want him around, I reckon she, or the lot of us, can boot him out. But we will make this deal.”
Jayne’s hands clenched as he weighed the captain’s words. He looked to Zoe, who had been the only one of the bunch so far to not make fun of him this whole time. She nodded her support. He reckoned he had no choice, but he wasn’t gonna take this easy.
“Fine, captain!” he snarled. “Wish I’d never told her that damn lie now.”
They returned to the table where Martens sat sipping his drink. They made plans for Martens to join them at Jayne’s mother’s house for the evening meal in exchange for the transport job of the merchandise. Unbeknownst to the three of them, the older man had overheard their entire conversation. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he’d bide his time until he got to meet with Mabel. Wanted to stay on her son’s good side, because he’d meant what he said before, he was pretty much head over heels about the woman.
Rating:PG
Timeline: Post BDM, but no-one got killed.
Comments: Sorry this has taken so long, now it's up to
cheshire_monkey
Three Hills Organizational Post
Jayne led the way into the Blue Boar Tavern, Mal and Zoe following closely behind. It was a seedy little hole-in-the-wall that he used to sneak into when he was a kid, in fact it was where he’d found his first job off-world. If his Ma ever knew he’d been in here at the age of fourteen, she’s skin him alive. Well, maybe not as badly as she was gonna do when she found out he’d been lyin’ to her all this time.
He took a table in the corner, so he could watch the door for the contact and have a good look over the room. He might be playing captain, but this was still a job…one of Mal’s jobs. He needed to keep an eye out for whatever was about to go wrong.
They weren’t even halfway through their first round when an older man, slightly rough looking but clean, came through the door and walked up to their table.
“You folks friends of a fella named Monty?” the man asked, looking expectantly between Jayne and Mal.
Jayne was wondering what kind of job Mal had gotten them into this time when someone kicked him under the table.
“Ow!” Mal was giving him that ‘catch up with the program’ look again and Jayne realized that the man expected an answer from him. This captainy stuff was harder than it looked.
“Uh, yeah, we know Monty. Do you?”
Mal rolled his eyes at the business prowess of his former merc, hoping this would work; they needed the coin. Thankfully, the contact, a man named Martens they learned upon introductions, seemed content.
“So, you must be Mabel Cobb’s boy?” the man said with a hopeful look in his eye, the roughness surprisingly replaced with a boyish charm.
“You know my Ma?” Jayne asked suspiciously. What the hell had Mal gotten them into.
“Sure do, son, and I’m hopin’ by throwin’ this deal your way that you’ll look kindly upon an old fella who’s interested in retiring and settling down.”
“Huh?” Jayne’s brow furrowed in confusion as he looked at the man. He glanced at Mal and Zoe for help, but they looked a little lost as well.
“See I met your Ma a few months back when I crashed my old freighter on the far edge of her farm. A helluva woman she is; was smitten with her right off I can tell you. I decided I’d had enough of petty smugglin’ and the like. It’s time I let a woman like her make an honest man outta me.”
Martens looked sincerely at Jayne…and then at Mal and Zoe when he didn’t get the response he’d anticipated. In fact, he got no response at all as Jayne’s face seemed to be frozen in a perpetual state of confusion. Martens got nervous real fast.
“Now understand, I’m not lookin’ to live off’n your mother, boy. I got my own money an’ I know farmin’ some myself. Just figured, she’s a widower and I’m fixin’ to settle down, so why not throw in together.”
The man paused again, still waiting for some answer from Jayne. Finally, he removed his hat, revealing a slightly balding head and said with utter sincerity, “I’ll do everything in my power to bring your mother happiness, if she’ll just give me the chance.”
Mal could see that Jayne had now moved onto the anger stage, but Martens couldn’t read it too well, or he was too blind with love to do so. He glanced at Zoe and smirked, just before Jayne grabbed Martens by the collar across the table.
“What in the hell is this? I thought you were lookin’ to make a deal on some less than reputable merchandise.”
“Captain, can I have a word with you?” Zoe wanted to step in before Jayne lost the job and Mal got mad and took over again.
“No!” Jayne shouted without thinking. This earned him a glare from Mal and a raised eyebrow from Zoe. He reluctantly let go of the man’s shirt and lead the way to the bar to talk with his merc and first mate.
Mal wasted no time getting right to the point. “Jayne, we need this job. We ain’t got enough coin to get us far from this rock, so we’re gonna do whatever the man wants us to do to get that job, dong ma?”
“It’s my mother, Mal! You want I should sell her out to some over-the-hill smuggler!”
“No, but if all the man wants is to meet with her in exchange for the job, then I think we’ll do that.” Mal said in his most threatening voice. “Your mother seems like the type to take care of herself and if she don’t want him around, I reckon she, or the lot of us, can boot him out. But we will make this deal.”
Jayne’s hands clenched as he weighed the captain’s words. He looked to Zoe, who had been the only one of the bunch so far to not make fun of him this whole time. She nodded her support. He reckoned he had no choice, but he wasn’t gonna take this easy.
“Fine, captain!” he snarled. “Wish I’d never told her that damn lie now.”
They returned to the table where Martens sat sipping his drink. They made plans for Martens to join them at Jayne’s mother’s house for the evening meal in exchange for the transport job of the merchandise. Unbeknownst to the three of them, the older man had overheard their entire conversation. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he’d bide his time until he got to meet with Mabel. Wanted to stay on her son’s good side, because he’d meant what he said before, he was pretty much head over heels about the woman.