'Serenity' Finds A California Girl in Nottingham's Court

Chapter Five~Spies Like Us

 Chapter Five~

Spies Like Us

 Bruce worked with Lucas for the government in the AIM department.  Bruce was one of the ‘boots on the ground’ and Lucas was the team leader.  Jason, the man that looked like Allan worked there, too.  He was the computer whiz.  The three of them entered my office at the end of the day.

“Hope you don’t mind some company on the ride home?”  Bruce asked, cordially.  “I  forgot about the ‘supplies’ drop that was made the other day and we need to check out the contents, make sure everything we wanted is there.”

‘I don’t mind.”  I replied.  “What is it?”

“You’ll see.”  was all Bruce said.  We reached Bruce’s car and I jumped in the back seat with Jason.  By this time we had been introduced and on friendly terms. 

Bruce took the road that we came into town on when he found me after Malcolm Reynolds left me here.  He pulled the car off the road into some thick brush.  The three men got out of the car and were rummaging through the bushes.  I  scoped out my surroundings.  This looked a lot like the place Reynolds dumped me.  I crossed the road and peered at the other side where the men were.  This was the place!

“Hey, guys!”  I yelled.  “It’s over there.”  I pointed to an area a little west of where they were searching.  Running back across the street, I showed them where Reynolds had left the storage boxes.

Lucas asked, “How did you know?” as he was loading a box into the trunk.

“If Malcolm Reynolds left this for you, then he is the odious pile of dog--  that dumped me on this planet without  even a weapon, my weapon to protect me from, at the time, I didn’t know what kind of danger!”

“Mal is a friend of ours.”  Jason chuckled.  “He wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Well, your friend said only the Feds had time travel technology and that I was trying to, his words, bamboozle him.”  My anger was very apparent to the men and they tried to convince me that Mal was a good man.

“Doesn’t he know about your quest to gain time travel tech?”  i asked.  If they were friends then he must have known. 

Bruce answered my question.  “No one knows but us.  We have to be very careful who we tell.  You never know when someone might let something slip and we could be hanged for treason if we’re caught out.”

“So in the mean time, innocent time travelers are dumped on planets to be ‘et by cyotes’!”

Lucas said, laughing, “Don’t be so dramatic, Pixie.  Everything turned out for the best. Hm?

Turning, I gazed at Lucas.  He called me ‘Pixie’ again.  The natural way he said it made me sure that it was not a coincidence. I got in the car and waited for them to finish loading the trunk.

Once the men were finished, they all got back in the car.  This time Lucas sat in the back with me.

“What was that odd look you gave me back there?”  he queried.

Turning to peer out the window, I replied.  “You called me Pixie again.”

“I did?”  he questioned.  “I hadn’t realised.  Habit, I guess.”

“Habit?”  I was facing him now. 

“Yeah, I used to call you that as a pet name, you know.  Like ‘honey’ or ‘sweetie’.  When I called you that back when we first met, I thought you would remember me, but you only seemed agitated by it.  Oh, and you passed out.”  Pausing for a moment, Lucas’ face showed a glimmer of understanding and then something else; pain.