Jade War

CHAPTER 51 The Unlucky Ones

When Kaul Maik Wen went through Espenian customs and immigration, she put her folded jacket and the locked steel briefcase she carried through the X-ray machine and walked through the metal detector. A security guard at Port Massy International Airport took her briefcase from the other end of the conveyor and asked her to come with him. The guard led Wen into a secondary screening area—a gray room with a couple of chairs against the wall, a metal table, and the flag of the Republic of Espenia hanging on the wall. Another guard joined them. They asked Wen for her passport, which they examined. “You’re coming from Kekon?” one asked. She nodded. “Ma’am, please open the briefcase.”

Wen turned the combination on the suitcase lock and pushed open the hinges to pop the latches. She opened the briefcase to reveal a crushed velvet-lined interior filled with polished green gemstones, some of them loose, others as jewelry—strung necklaces, bracelets, heavy rings set in gold. The lustrous green gleamed yellowish under the airport room’s fluorescent lights. One of the customs officers took a slight step backward; the other a slight step forward. “Is this—” the one with the gloves began to ask, but Wen interrupted him. “No, no, of course not,” she assured the guards quickly. She laughed, as if embarrassed to have startled them. “It looks like jade, no? It’s just nephrite. Very pretty, though, isn’t it?” She took one of the specimens out of the case—a nephrite necklace—and held it out to one of the guards. He hesitated, but she smiled reassuringly and said, “I’m a gemstone dealer. Nephrite is our fastest-growing business. These days everyone knows about jade, and it’s all the rage to look as fierce as a Kekonese Green Bone. In Shotar, they call it ‘barukan style’ but in Espenia, it’s ‘military chic.’ See?” She loosened the scarf around her neck to show off the three-tier choker she wore on her neck and touched the bracelets at her wrists. “I’m traveling to Port Massy, to meet with buyers.”

The guard took the necklace and examined it. “I really did think it was bioenergetic jade at first,” he admitted. He passed it to the other guard. “Can you tell the difference?”

Wen could tell from the expressions on their faces that they could not. With a loupe and a trained eye, a person could see the difference between the grain structures of nephrite and true jade. Of course, contact with the latter would provoke a physiological reaction, but even without touching the jewelry, any Green Bone would be able to tell at a glance that the gemstones in the briefcase were indeed, nothing but bluffer’s jade—they were not as hard or lustrous, and the hue was different, milkier and duller than real jade. These customs officials, however, were Espenians who had not grown up around the real substance. They could not tell that the gems in the briefcase were different from the gems she wore around her neck and wrists—real jade, worth countless times more than the pile of inert stones—and though they picked up and examined several of the items in the case, they didn’t look closely at her choker and bracelets. Wen was counting on misdirection and ignorance—the guards’ natural inclination was to pay attention to the large suitcase of gemstones, not to the few worn on her person. Some larger airports, including Port Massy International, had dogs trained to detect jade auras, but Wen had walked past with no trouble. Non-Abukei stone-eyes were rare enough that the Espenians did not account for them in their security measures. Even so, precautions had been taken: The jade that Wen wore had been treated with a slightly opaque coating to dull the color and shine and make it appear like bluffer’s jade even to the experienced eye. It could later be cleaned off with nail polish remover.

The guard said, “Do you have paperwork?” Wen did; she handed them several pieces of paper on the letterhead of a jewelry company called Divinity Gems based in Janloon, with a listing of the sample items and their estimated value. She gave them her business card. One of the guards took a few of the stones and the paperwork and left the room. The other guard said, “Thanks for your patience. We have to make sure everything checks out, you understand. I thought it was real jade myself.”

Wen chuckled. “If it was, I’d have to be the world’s most powerful Green Bone, and I’d be traveling with a dozen bodyguards to guard a case worth millions of thalirs. My samples are worth quite a bit, but not nearly that much. I completely understand the need to check, though. Jade smuggling is a real problem, I’m told.” She sat down in one of the chairs to wait. She knew they were examining the grain structure of the samples under magnification and likely phoning Divinity Gems to ascertain that she was, indeed, an employee. The call would go to an undisclosed phone line in the Weather Man’s office. The person who answered the call would assure the customs officials that Wen was, indeed, a senior sales director who’d been with the company for four years.

Wen and Shae had discussed and discarded half a dozen different options for covertly transporting cut jade into Espenia—all of them required a combination of shipping the gems through means subject to inspection or theft, or passing them through other hands: agents who might be unreliable, who might betray them or who could not handle jade without being detected. Having been privy to Kehn’s relentless campaign against Zapunyo’s operations, they knew all too well the tricks of smuggling, but also the many ways they could fail. At last, Wen had declared impatiently, “This is foolish, Shae-jen. I’m a stone-eye. Sometimes the most obvious and direct answer is the best one.” The Weather Man had balked awhile longer, but Wen knew her sister-in-law couldn’t argue with logic.

The customs inspector returned twenty minutes later and handed Wen her passport, paperwork, and samples. “You’re free to go, miss.”

Wen took two nephrite rings from the case and pressed them upon the men. “Take them,” she urged. “They’re samples, I have plenty.” One of the guards started to reach for the ring but the other shook his head and said, “We’re not allowed to do that, miss.” Wen looked disappointed and said, “Have a keychain then,” and she gave them each a nephrite keychain with Divinity Gems etched on the side. Tucking her scarf once more around her neck, she picked up her case and followed the guard as he led her back out of the room and let her through the customs gate.

Anden was waiting for her at the baggage claim area along with a lean man in a black cap and gloves that Anden introduced as Rohn Toro. Wen was pleased to see Anden. For a while, she’d found it hard to think kindly of him. She would always be grateful for the part he’d played in killing Gont Asch and saving the clan as well as her husband’s life, but then he’d turned his back on the family and left—just like Shae once had. Hilo had been heartbroken about it; he never brought up the subject, but Wen could see that he still blamed himself, no matter what she said to gently remind him that he’d only ever done what was necessary.

Now, though, she was glad to see the young man. He’d become an anchor for No Peak in Espenia and was proving himself useful here. So Wen greeted him warmly and said, “You look well, little brother.” Anden smiled the same small, reserved smile he’d always had and asked how her flight had been. She assured him that it had been fine.

They drove to a hotel and Wen checked into a suite. Rohn left, saying he would be back in around an hour. Anden stayed with Wen in the hotel room, waiting in the separate sitting area while she refreshed herself and changed. This was Wen’s second trip to Espenia—the first, taken two months ago carrying a suitcase of nephrite but no real jade, had been a test run, to establish a travel history for her role as a sales representative of Divinity Gems and to familiarize herself with what to expect when going through customs. So she was still taken aback by how cold it was in Port Massy and was glad she’d packed sweaters and scarves. She went back out into the sitting room and pulled back the heavy drapes enough to peer outside. Port Massy, smoky and gray in winter twilight, sprawled below. She was charmed by it, by the majestic foreignness of the place, even by how much smaller the Mast Building looked in real life than it did on the postcards. She was looking forward to exploring the city and seeing some of the famous sights.

Anden muted the television show he’d been watching and asked if she needed anything. Wen shook her head and sat down beside him, smoothing her skirt over her knees. “Anden,” she said, putting a hand on his arm, “Hilo knows I’m here in Port Massy, working for the Weather Man on foreign real estate projects, but he doesn’t know the other part. You must never mention to him that I was the one who carried the jade into the country.”

Anden glanced at her, then down at his hands, clearly uncomfortable with being asked to keep a secret. Wen said, “He wouldn’t approve. You know how he feels about certain things. With Hilo, you’re either a Green Bone or you’re not.”

“I know,” Anden said. “He doesn’t want me back in Janloon so long as I’m not green.”

“That’s not true,” Wen said. “We all miss you at home. But your cousins have their reasons. Shae thinks it’ll be good for you to have an Espenian education, to speak a second language and have experience living abroad. You’ll be able to put those advantages to use for the clan even if you don’t wear green. Isn’t that worth the hardship of being away from home for a little while, now, while you’re young? Hilo… well.” Wen smiled, her expression a little resigned. “Anyone without jade is somewhat like a child to him, to be kept away from the realities and dangers we’re not a part of. Even me. I know he loves me and values my opinions, but I’m not in his world, not completely. If he seems distant or unforgiving toward you, it’s because he doesn’t know where you fit now, how to treat you when you return.”

Anden turned to her with a searching gaze, serious but hopeful. Wen thought that even though Anden was not a Kaul by blood, in that moment, he looked more like Lan than either Hilo or Shae ever did. “Will you talk to him, for me?” he asked. “And to Shae-jen? Of course, I’ll keep your secret no matter what,” he added quickly, “but I know they listen to you.”

“I will,” Wen promised, touched by his earnestness. She looped an arm around one of his. “It’s not so bad living here in Port Massy, is it? Shae tells me that you have a foster family here, there’s an entire Kekonese neighborhood, and even relayball. You’ve been here for almost three years; do you feel as if you have friends here now, things that make you happy, people who you care about?”

Anden said, “Yes. You’re right, it’s not so bad. Pretty good, actually. I’m done with classes, and I’m… seeing someone.” He flushed and seemed almost surprised at himself for the admission, but Wen only smiled; they were the two unlucky members of the family, each in their own way—who better to confide such things, if not to each other? “I would never have guessed I’d find someone in Espenia, and he’s very Espenian in a lot of ways. We don’t see each other as much as we used to, though.” Anden’s voice took a slightly troubled turn. “It’s not that I’m unhappy in Espenia. But I don’t think I could ever really feel at home here. And it’s hard being so far away from everything that’s happening in the family.” He turned to her and said, “When I heard about what happened to Kehn, I felt as if I should’ve been there. Even though I know there was nothing I could’ve done, no way that I could’ve helped, and I wasn’t even close enough to the Horn to know him very well, but… I still feel as if I should’ve been there.”

Wen smiled sadly and rubbed at her eyes. “I have every reason to stay at home. Hilo would prefer it, and the children are little. You should see Lina’s new baby—he looks so much like Kehn. I miss them all very much when I’m gone. But I feel as if I should be out here, doing something more. So it’s true that you can be happy but still not satisfied.”

There was a knock on the door. Anden got up to peer through the peephole, then opened the door to admit Rohn Toro and four other men who entered quickly and closed the door behind them. It was suddenly crowded in the room; Wen was thankful for Anden’s familiar presence among the strange men. All of the visitors were Green Bones who spoke to each other and to Anden in Espenian, but they greeted Wen in Kekonese, saluting her respectfully and saying they were honored to meet her.

There were only two chairs at the hotel room table; Wen and Anden sat down and the five Green Bones stood around. Wen laid out the jade choker, bracelets, and three other coils of jade beads that she’d smuggled in under her clothes. After arriving at the hotel, she’d soaked them in solvent in the bathroom sink, wiped them clean of their coating, and laid them out to dry. Now they gleamed like nothing else on earth—unmistakable as true Kekonese jade.

With everyone watching, she used a pair of wire clippers and carefully separated the jade pieces, piling them next to each other on a black cloth in the center of the table. When she was done, there were two hundred equally sized jade beads on the table—nearly as much jade as what one might expect on half a class of Kaul Du Academy graduates. A veritable fortune. A reverential hush fell over all the men in the room. None of them touched the jade—so much of it in one place would be unwise for anyone to handle. Anyone but a stone-eye.

Rohn reached into a satchel he had brought with him and took out five small lead-lined boxes with hinged covers. Wen counted out an equal number of stones into each box. She closed the boxes and each Green Bone in attendance took one. They were, Wen had been told, well trusted by the Pillar in this city: Rohn and two of his captains from Port Massy, one man from Adamont Capita, and another who’d come all the way from the city of Resville. The exchange complete, they saluted her before they exited. “May the gods shine favor on No Peak,” said the younger of Rohn’s protégés, in accented but fluent Kekonese. In one day, the No Peak clan had supplied the Kekonese-Espenian community with as much jade as an Espenian military platoon. These leaders would grant the jade in their possession to worthy subordinates; they had all agreed to take full responsibility for the Green Bones they trained and equipped, with the understanding that prudence and discretion were of the utmost importance if they were to exert their substantial new advantage over the Crews while staying beneath the notice of law enforcement.

Lastly, Wen brought out the steel suitcase full of bluffer’s jade and handed it without ceremony to Rohn. There was no such company as Divinity Gems, but there was a recently formed Espenian firm called Kekon Imports, run by a Kekonese-Espenian businessman bankrolled in part by the recently formed Weather Man’s branch office in Port Massy. Rohn would hand the case of green gemstones over to Kekon Imports, which would indeed sell them to Espenian jewelry stores. Rohn exchanged a few cordial words with Anden, then left.

With only Anden left in the room, Wen let out a deep breath and kicked off her shoes. She relaxed on the sofa and massaged the balls of her feet. Anden remained sitting where he was, but he too looked immensely relieved. It was no small thing to have surreptitiously moved that much jade across the Amaric Ocean and passed it into the intended hands.

“Would you like to get something to eat?” Anden asked her.

Wen got up, stifling a yawn and suspecting that she had about an hour left before the jet lag set in. “That would be lovely. Take me wherever you think we should go; I’m trusting you to introduce me to good Espenian food. After that, I think I’d better get to sleep early.” She did have to be at the Weather Man’s branch office the next morning; her official job as a design consultant on clan properties was no ruse—there would be floor plans to review tomorrow.