Big Damn Hero

31

“Hades?” said Zoë, leaning over the comms panel on Serenity’s bridge. “You sure that’s right, Book?”

“That’s what Elmira says,” Book replied. His voice crackled, distance distorting the signal.

“As in the lesser of Persephone’s two moons,” said Wash. “Sibling to the larger, brighter Renao, and usually part-eclipsed by it.”

“Sure,” said Zoë, “but what in hell are they doing on Hades? There’s nothing there.”

“I think that’s kind of the point,” said Book. “If you take someone prisoner and have malicious designs on them, the best place to spirit them off to is somewhere remote and undesirable, somewhere no one goes.”

“And the intel’s sound?”

“Elmira has nothing to gain by lying. Put it this way. Hunter Covington enslaved her, abused her, threatened to kill her — it isn’t in her interests to cover for him. In fact, her exact words were, ‘If your friends catch up with him and manage to put a bullet in him, I’m not going to shed a single tear.’”

“Well, you can tell her from me,” Zoë said, “if I see him, I’ll do just that. Him and anyone else involved in Mal’s kidnapping.”

“I’m already plotting a course towards Hades, Shepherd,” Wash said, stabbing buttons on the control console. “Just one question. Where precisely on Hades? Any idea? Because it’s not the biggest rock in the ’verse but it’s not the smallest either, and if we don’t have any clear idea where to put down, we could be searching a long time.”

“I asked Elmira that myself. She doesn’t know. But you’ll find the location, Wash. I’m sure of it.”

“If I do, it’ll be some kind of miracle.”

“Miracles happen,” said Book.

“Not in my experience,” Wash muttered as Zoë cut the connection. He hit the ship’s intercom. “Kaylee?”

“Yeah?”

“How are the engines doing?”

“Shiny… ish.”

“Good enough, ’cause I’m about to go for maximum burn. We think we know where Mal is.”

“Oh my God! For real?”

“Yup. You just make sure Serenity keeps spaceborne.”

“On it!”

“Buckle up, honey,” Wash said to Zoë. “I’m going to give you the ride of a lifetime.”

“Promises, promises,” Zoë said, strapping herself into a seat.

Wash thrust the yoke forward, and Serenity’s tail end lit up like a Chinese lantern, coruscatingly bright. The ship diverted sleekly round onto her new course, Wash pouring on speed, extracting every ounce of thrust her engines could provide.

“Shouldn’t take us more than an hour,” he said to his wife. “Assuming nothing breaks or blows up.”

Zoë laid a hand on his arm. “Just shut up and fly, Wash. This is what you do, so do it.”