Job? What job? | open
Jayne finally heard the captain’s voice coming from the kitchen area and he turned around, grumbling.
He walked in just in time to hear Mal say, “No one’s gettin’ buried. We’ve got more than a few waves out, we’re just waitin’ to hear back. So quit stompin’ around this bird like you’re tryin’ to crash her, dong ma?”
Jayne didn’t know what it was about the captain. He was confident that he could best Mal in a fight, but something about the look on his face, or the tone of voice he used stopped Jayne from taking that first swing. Guess he’s the cap’n for a reason… he thought as he sat down at the opposite end of the table.
“But Mal!” he started whining, ” Just ‘cause you ain’t had sex in yer life, don’t mean the rest of us gotta follow yer shinin’ example! I ain’t been sexed in weeks! Hell, let’s just go to some bar and beat the money outta folks like we used to.”
Zoe was used to hearing Jayne shouting about and although it could be endearing at times, the whining she heard now was most definitely not. She followed the sound of his voice into the kitchen and stopped in the doorway, cocking one hip and folding her arms casually over her chest. “Beatin’ the money out of folks ain’t gonna get us any more jobs, Jayne. It won’t get you any sex either, if the women are smart.”
She walked further into the room, pulled out a chair at the table, and took seat near Mal. She nodded at him in greeting followed by her customary “Sir.” Zoe turned in her chair just slightly so she was facing Jayne more. She was as desperate for jobs as the rest of the crew. Being planet-side wasn’t always her favorite thing, but she did love working. She didn’t think Jayne’s methods would get them there though.
Mal smirked at Zoe’s entrance, grateful he had someone on this boat he could rely on without question. After acknowledging her with a nod, he focused intently on his task at hand. Carefully working the rag into the barrel of the gun he gave his first mate a sideways glance before returning his eyes to Jayne.
“She’s got a point you know.” He said as he pulled out the rag and held the barrel to his eye, inspecting it. ”I don’t reckon punchin’ up fellas who don’t deserve it’s gunna get you sexed. The only one’s that get hot from that are whores, and we’ll be steerin’ clear of house for a while now.” He laughed to himself as he reassembled his weapon. ”Gunna have to turn up your charm, or just become better acquainted with your hand.”
Returning the pistol to the holster on his hip he relaxed in his chair, leaning onto the back two legs as he crossed his feet on the table. ”Everyone we warned when we was being chased down is holding back, and if we don’t hear back by the day’s end I reckon I’ll have to ask after Inara, see if she can hunt around. Something I don’t quite like doing. If worse comes to worse, we’ll make a stop at Persephone, pick up some new passengers. There’s them always willin’ to pay there.”
