Jade War

CHAPTER 50 Patience

Over the following weeks, the Green Bones of No Peak led a merciless city-wide purge targeting illegal jade dens used by the so-called new green, rockfish, barukan, and shine dealers. Dozens of criminals were beaten, jade-stripped, and imprisoned, if not outright killed. The two perpetrators that Soradiyo had paid to plant the car bomb fled Janloon and made it all the way to the city of Toshon on the southern peninsula before being caught by members of the local Jo Sun clan. The men begged for their captors to kill them, but the Jo Sun clan handed the criminals over to No Peak as a sign of allegiance and good will to the Kaul family. They were not alone in their thinking; the other minor Green Bone clans, the Janloon city police, and even the Mountain clan assisted or got out of the way—there was nothing to be gained from opposing Kaul Hilo’s rampage.

Most Janlooners, judging by sentiment on the street and coverage in the press, approved of the crackdown and saw it as necessary. The car bombing, everyone knew by now, had been the cowardly scheme of a Shotarian gangster working for an Uwiwan jade smuggler. While the Kekonese are forgiving, even comfortable, with public violence between those of equal status, the idea of dishonorable foreign crooks striking at a great and powerful Green Bone family and injuring innocent people in the heart of an affluent Janloon neighborhood was offensive in the extreme.

Even Ayt Mada’s prominence as a patriotic public figure was eclipsed by the return of Hilo’s personal presence to the streets of Janloon. After nearly four years as Pillar, his youthful, violent reputation had begun to fade. Now he made no secret of the fact that he was out for blood, and people nodded in understanding. He replaced the destroyed Duchesse Priza with a gleaming new Duchesse Signa—even more intimidating than its predecessor, boasting greater horsepower and an enormous silver grille. He roamed at all hours, at the head of a pack of Fists. Wherever he was sighted, people stepped back and touched their foreheads in nervous salute.

There was a time when Hilo would’ve taken satisfaction in all this, but now he had only one real objective in mind that eluded him: killing Zapunyo. “It doesn’t matter how many of his scrap pickers and rockfish we send to the grave, Zapunyo always has more,” the Pillar growled, dropping a map of Tialuhiya onto the coffee table in front of Shae, Juen, and Tar, and pacing around the study. “Life is cheap in the Uwiwa Islands; in less than a year he could replace everything we’ve taken from him. Meanwhile, he’s sipping papaya cocktails on the balcony over his lake.”

“He can’t have fruit juice; he’s diabetic,” Shae pointed out.

She received a predictable sneer in return for her cheek. “Can you think of a way to sneak fatal amounts of sugar into him? No? Then we need to find another way to whisper his name.” He dropped back into the nearest armchair and said to Juen, “What are the options?”

Juen blew out a pessimistic breath as he picked up the blurry photographs. They showed the perimeter of Zapunyo’s compound, taken from a distance with telephoto lenses by No Peak spies in the Uwiwa Islands and supplemented with sketched blueprints based on Teije Runo’s recollection of the property from his extended stay as Zapunyo’s guest. Not that Teije’s memory could be trusted all that much. Juen said, “It won’t be easy. Zapunyo’s compound has all the best security that money can buy. Watchtowers, guard dogs, motion sensors, security cameras, and of course his barukan bodyguards. He owns all the surrounding land so no one can get near him.”

“There has to be a way to get someone into that fortress,” Hilo insisted. “Or to buy someone who’s already inside. Doesn’t he have deliverymen, housekeepers, gardeners?”

“He doesn’t let many people near him besides his sons, his doctor, and his bodyguards. Most of the house staff have been working for him for years and he only hires Uwiwans from local families, so he can be sure they will never betray him. A few years ago, a rival shine producer tried to have Zapunyo poisoned by his own cook. The cook was sent back to his relatives over the course of a week, in seven different buckets. No one else has ever tried.”

“Then we have to do this ourselves,” Tar said, with heat. “What are Zapunyo’s cameras and hired goons next to a couple dozen of our best Fists? We fight our way in and kill him.”

Juen said, “Even if we split up and take different flights at different times, we’re not going to be able to fly in without Zapunyo getting wind of it.” The Uwiwa Islands still had a standing travel ban on all Green Bones and any Kekonese nationals with suspected ties to the clans (which could be almost anyone). “We could try to get into the country by boat, the same way Zapunyo moves his own scrap pickers. That would mean at least a couple of days at sea in a private vessel. Once we get there, we’ll need to get from the coast to Zapunyo’s compound in the hills, three hundred kilometers inland. No matter what, the barukan will Perceive us before we get there—they’ll have time to get Zapunyo to safety and to mount a defense.”

Tar turned to the Pillar. “Let me do it, Hilo-jen,” he pleaded. “When have I let you down before? Let me take ten Fists with me and I swear on my jade I’ll send Zapunyo to the grave.”

Shae spoke up. “I agree with all of you that we have to kill Zapunyo.” Hilo thought his sister still looked pale and skinny enough for a stiff wind to blow her over, though for days, she’d been studying the gathered information and the photographs on the table as obsessively as the rest of them. “But we can’t do this, Hilo. We can’t send a band of Green Bones to illegally enter another country and assassinate someone in a bloody showdown, no matter who he is. Zapunyo is sure to do what he did last time—protect himself with local police officers that will end up dead in the fighting and on the news.”

“Who cares about some crooked Uwiwan cops?” Tar exclaimed.

“It’ll bring down a lot of trouble on us from the Espenians,” Shae said, still speaking to Hilo. “You know our relationship with them is tricky. We’ve restricted jade exports and refused to contribute troops to fight on their side in Oortoko, because, as you and Chancellor Son so clearly explained to Secretary Corris, we Green Bones protect what’s ours, but we don’t invade other countries and kill civilians without jade. This would fly in the face of that and weaken our position with them. And it would undermine the diplomatic pressure the Espenians are trying to put on the Uwiwan government to take greater responsibility for combating corruption and crime in their own country.” When Hilo frowned, she insisted, “And it’s not just the Espenians—several other countries have banned civilian ownership of jade. A lot of ignorant people don’t even know the difference between Green Bones and barukan thanks to those Shotarian gangster movies. For our own good, we have to be careful not to attract even more foreign attention. If we act reckless and bloodthirsty and show no respect for the laws of neighboring countries, it’ll set us back in a lot of other ways, especially in our alliances overseas and the businesses we’re trying to grow.”

“The Espenians,” Tar spat. “I’m sick of how we—how you”—he glared at Shae—“think about the foreigners’ feelings with every decision. Ah, how are the Espenians going to like it? What about what people here will think? They count on the clans; do you want them to think we can’t do anything against enemies overseas? If we’re afraid to act, to answer an offense against the clan because of what the foreign press might say about us in the newspapers, then we’re lapdogs that don’t even deserve our green.”

Shae turned a disdainful look on Tar, eyes narrowed at the veiled insult. “I’m not saying we give up. I’m saying we have to get to him in another way, one that doesn’t involve a highly public massacre right in front of the man’s plantation house in Tialuhiya.”

“Shae-jen has a point,” Juen said to Hilo. “Zapunyo has to pay for his actions, there’s no disagreement among any of us about that. But we would risk a lot by sending a dozen or more of our best Fists to try to strike at him head-on in his own country. Those are Fists that we need, that I need as Horn here in Janloon. We can’t afford to lose those lives, especially not when we know that, truce or not, the Mountain is still our enemy at home and will exploit any weakness.”

Tar’s jade aura was crackling with frustration, and when he spoke, he seemed almost near tears. “Then let me go alone, Hilo-jen. How can I live, otherwise? At least let me try.”

Hilo turned a look on his Pillarman that was oddly gentle and also angry. “You’re talking nonsense, Tar. We have to be ready to die, that’s true enough, but not if it accomplishes nothing. How’re you going to face Kehn in the afterlife and not look like a fool? You think I’m going to let you throw your life away? I’ve lost enough brothers already. What would Wen say?” Tar opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it again as he looked away, ashamed.

Hilo sank lower into the armchair and scowled, leaning his head back. Outside the closed door of the study, they could hear the pattering footsteps of the children running up and down the stairs, and Wen calling them to eat. Hilo said quietly, “I promised my wife that I would avenge her brother and punish the people who put our children’s lives in danger. If I were to say what I want to do, it would be exactly the same as Tar.” Hilo’s mouth hardened as he lifted his head and looked around the circle of his closest advisors. “But Shae’s right. She’s always had a cooler mind than me, even when she’s angry. I’m also thinking about what Juen said. We’ve done a lot these past few weeks, but Ayt would like us to go farther than we can handle and cause problems for ourselves so she can take advantage. She’s likely even counting on that, since the Mountain was encouraging the barukan to go after us this whole time. So taking out Zapunyo—we can’t do it now, not this way.”

Hilo’s words were spoken reluctantly, but with finality. He got up, indicating that the meeting was over, but as he did so, he put a hand on Tar’s shoulder. “I don’t know what the way is yet, but it took us years to avenge Lan, remember? But we did it eventually. And that’s not even fully done yet, not until the Mountain is destroyed. So we have to be patient.”

Hilo was waiting in the lounge of the Inheritance when Ven Sando boarded his boat as usual the following Sixthday morning. The president of K-Star Freight was understandably nonplussed to see the Pillar of the No Peak clan sitting by himself in one of the deck chairs with a drink that he’d taken from the onboard minibar. Ven appeared shocked, then angry, then a little frightened. The man opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Hilo raised a hand to forestall him. The Pillar stood up in one smooth motion. “Ven-jen, I thought we were friends.”

The words were spoken with a chillingly soft disappointment. Ven Sando turned pale. “We are, Kaul-jen,” the heavyset businessman protested. “Why would you think otherwise?”

“Friends don’t make promises they don’t intend to keep,” Hilo said, walking slowly toward Ven. “The last time we were on this nice boat of yours, you gave me the impression that we would work together to create a better situation for both of our clans. That was over a year and a half ago.” Hilo pursed his lips to one side. “With everything going on in the world these days, I can appreciate that things have been busy for everyone. But my biggest problem is that Ayt Mada is still the Pillar of the Mountain. My Weather Man tells me you’ve stopped returning her calls. I can’t help but think that you’re not taking our agreement seriously.”

“Kaul-jen, I’ve been quite vocal in my criticisms of Ayt’s leadership. I’ve had fruitful discussions about the future of the clan with innumerable influential colleagues and gathered strong support for a change in direction—I dare say a return to our more honorable roots.” Ven cleared his throat forcefully and crossed his large arms. “It takes time to prepare properly for change of such an… irrevocable nature. I’ve overseen more than a few major business acquisitions during my long career, and can say—”

“This isn’t a corporate acquisition,” Hilo interrupted. “Ayt Mada came from the business side as Weather Man, but when her father died, it only took her six days to kill her rivals and take control of the Mountain. You called Ayt an inept, ambitious woman who’s made misstep after misstep. So tell me how is it that in nearly two years you haven’t managed to accomplish what took her six days?” When Ven didn’t answer, Hilo said, with a thoughtful but menacing sympathy, “I think you’re losing your nerve. The war in Oortoko has been bad for the world, but good for the national economy. With so many foreigners needing to move things around Kekon, business is going well for K-Star Freight, so you have other things on your mind. The public and your shareholders have grown to like this supposed peace between the clans. So now you’re less sure of risking your own life. Maybe you think that it wouldn’t be so bad to leave things as they are, to forget that we ever talked.”

Ven moved away from Hilo and went to stand at the boat’s railing. “I haven’t forgotten anything we discussed,” he said shortly, though he sounded less sure of himself now. “But I need the backing of the clan to make a move. The Koben family has their supporters, including the Tems and the Gams. The Iwe family has its own allies. After Koben Ento was murdered”—Ven gave Hilo a deeply suspicious look—“there were people out for blood on both sides. Ayt held an urgent, private meeting with the leaders of the Koben family and somehow quieted down the crisis, but with all this tension, it’s difficult to gather support for a third option. And with Guim taking over from Son as chancellor of the Royal Council, even Ayt’s detractors within the Mountain don’t want to show internal dissent right now.”

“Spoken like a politician instead of a Green Bone.” Hilo replied with rough contempt. “I didn’t have the full support of my clan when I became Pillar. And if Ayt had had the full support of her clan, she wouldn’t have had to kill her father’s Horn and her own brother. If you want to lead, you can’t wait for everyone to line up behind you.” The Pillar stalked over to stand at the railing beside Ven. “It’s possible that I didn’t make myself completely clear the first time around. I offered you the support and friendship of No Peak because we shared a desire to see Ayt Mada out of power and in the ground. If that’s no longer the case, if our wishes are no longer aligned, then there’s no reason for us to talk further.” Hilo tilted his head in a musing way, his voice softening ominously. “If there’s no one I can count on to challenge Ayt, then I might as well resign myself to turning over a new leaf with my old enemy and informing her of the traitors in her clan.”

Ven’s face went still. “You would place a death sentence on my family?”

“Your family’s fate is up to you, not me,” Hilo said. “Maybe if you cut off your ear and throw yourself at Ayt’s feet, she’ll spare your children, but I think it’s safe to assume that your sailing days would be over. You picked a path that you can’t turn away from. You have to follow it all the way now, or I’ll push you off.” Hilo set the glass he’d taken from the minibar down on the ledge of the boat’s railing and leaned in close to Ven, whose shoulders stiffened as the Pillar spoke near his ear. “My patience is running out. By this time next year, Ayt Mada had better be feeding the worms. Or you’ll answer to us both.”

Hilo put a hand on the railing and vaulted Lightly over it, landing on the dock and walking back along the pier to where Maik Tar waited for him next to the Duchesse.