Wash makes it to cover by the skin of his teeth and takes a second to breathe and observe. Okay. Okay, the next step is-

Is one of them breaking off, drawing a fucking sword, and heading forward to join Wash in the underbrush.

Well. Fuck this guy. The last guy who thought he could beat Wash in a knife fight ultimately got a spaceship dropped on him and then got flung off a cliff, and while Wash doesn't have nearly the advantages here that he did on Chorus, this asshole is no Felix either. He can do this. He just needs to be smart.

He leaves a piece of rope behind, loosely tying several branches and bushes together. The knot will slip in a matter of seconds; hopefully, it'll be enough to draw Cashmere's attention. It's enough time to move away as silently as he can and wait.