(( Simon says: ))<br/><br/>The "conversation" with Kaylee and Natasha had been brief and utterly fruitless.<br/><br/>"With the group?  What group?  Where is this so-called group now? Are you the group? Obviously not, since River's not with you.  Who's responsible for her?  The Captain?  JAYNE?"<br/><br/>It was all directed at Kaylee, of course, since Simon hadn't had a chance to express to the newcomer just how "different" his sister was.  He felt like Kaylee wasn't taking any of this very seriously.  "Your sister is fine, Simon."   Where has he heard those words before?  Oh yes, right after they started experimenting with his little sister's brain.  It didn't take Simon long to realize this conversation was going nowhere, and allowed the ladies up the ramp and onto the ship.  Then he turned back to yell at them "Where did you last see her?"<br/><br/>Finding her in this crowd would be a long shot, but at least it would feel like he was doing something.  Tossing Kaylee's parasol down onto the chair, he went running off in the direction from which the girls had come, bounding up on his toes occasionally to try to look over the heads of the crowd that just seemed to get thicker the closer he got to the markets.<br/><br/><strong><em>"River???  River???" </em> </strong>No response.  For several minutes he looked and saw no one from the ship.  Not even Jayne, who should have been hard to miss given his imposing height accented by the unique knit cap he was probably wearing.  After several minutes, he realized his best bet might be to return to the ship, after all.  Otherwise, how would he know if she was back?  From the distance, as the crowd started to thin out, he saw the unmistakable figure of his little sister floating along as if in a musical number of sorts.  He called out to her, but was too far away to be heard above the ambient noises.  Walking faster, trying to keep an eye on her, he knew she had to be heading back to the ship, but anything can happen.  And, it appeared something was happening.  That man.. was following her!  Simon broke into a run, but was still several yards away when River stopped at the bottom of the ramp and turned to speak to the man.  He couldn't hear what she said, but was upon them a moment later, panting, out of breath.<br/><br/>"River ... River.. I... you.. can't go wandering off from the group like that."<br/><br/>Simon was not the most brilliant tactician in the 'verse, but he was determined to do what it took to protect his sister.  One eye on the man who had been following her, and one eye on Kaylee's parasol on the nearby chair, Simon had decided it could be used as a weapon, if needed.  A very colorful weapon, but one that could cause a nasty wound with sufficient thrust.  He put a hand on River's shoulder to try to guide her onto the ship as he positioned himself between River and the man, not taking his eyes off the possible threat.<br/><br/>"Hello there.  This is my sister ..."  There, that should let the man know he's going to be in for a fight if he tries anything...   "and you are?"<br/><br/>Simon nervously glanced up the ramp into the cargo area, thinking how nice it would be to see Jayne, for once.  Then he recalled how Jayne would probably just watch as the strange man beat him senseless.  But he might serve as a deterrant.