Mal-Zoe theft at the bank.

[badinlatin]

Shadow Planetary Financial Group. The global banking conglomerate that ate up any and all independent efforts folk laid out to control their own land. You either owed them somethin' or you worked for 'em, which meant you owed them somethin' anyway.

Mal and Zoe don't owe them jack shit. They owe Mal.

Collection's due.

It is just this thought of collection that hovers in Mal's head as he waltzes in through the front door of the bank and pistolwhips the first guard he comes across.

Comments

[badinlatin]

"I didn't get it at first, tell true." Mal attempts to stay calm, cool. It's hard, 'cause he sees his mother's livelihood being held on a piece of paper in this piyan's hand.

"Didn't even recognize you 'til you mentioned my ba's gun. You changed your name. Did you do it before or after my ma fired you?" Mal's mouth slid upward to a smile. "Ain't my fault you tried to steal from my mother, Denton."

[badinlatin]

"She didn't feed us, Malcolm! How could she expect anyone to live off o' what she paid us?!" Denton is getting careless. Careless means dangerous; Mal spots Denton's holster slung far back on his right side.

Denton continues: "'Course she invited David up for beefsteak and fancy dinners almost every night. He was too good to stay with regular folk like us."

Mal watches Denton's head tilt to one side and sneer, "Wonder if he's eatin' well in hell these days?"

[badinlatin]

A single fluid motion of the hammer of Mal's gun and boom and Denton falls to the ground dead.

"Go find out."

[righthandwoman.livejournal.com]

For a moment after Mal speaks, there's dead silence. Nobody moves. Then,

"Sir. We came here to do a job."

[badinlatin]

"I haven't forgot." I never forget.

Mal bends to pick up the piece of paper out of Denton's hand, and walks to the cashier's window, where the man behind the bars had placed all remaining deeds he had access to, as Mal shoves them roughly in his inside coat pocket.

[righthandwoman.livejournal.com]

They leave the bank in tense silence. When they're a good enough distance away, Zoe glances sidelong at Mal.

"Sir, what was that back--"

Mal doesn't say anything, but there's a shake of the head and a grim expression she knows well enough. Whatever that was, it's not open for discussion.

[badinlatin]

Mal wants to manage an "I'll tell you later." Can't though. Not yet. The whole realization that he just cut off pretty much any chance he had to stay on Shadow for awhile is hitting Mal over the head.

He'll tell Zoe later.