Mal visibly bristled at the mentioning of someone attempting to harm River. The reaction might have been something new for the Doctor, as Mal's interest in keeping River safe had grown greatly since the beagle escapade. Still, there was at least one other woman who sat higher on the proverbial totem pole of Malcolm Reynold's interest.
"Well, the best this place can do is provide me with my ship and clear skies. I ain't the difficult to please type." Mal's hands were set upon the tabletop, pushing himself up to his feet leaving the mildly, picked at lunch there in front of the doctor's soup. "Speakin' of that which tickles my fancy.. it would please me a great deal to know jus' where in this City Zoe's holdin' up."