Fonda Lee - Jade War

“They weren’t after the body,” Maik grumbled. “They got what they wanted.” It was not the murdered groundskeeper that had raised suspicions, but the black garbage bag found near him, containing two heavily soiled cemetery staff uniform shirts and hats. That had motivated an examination of the last grave the groundskeeper had dug—Kaul Seningtun’s—and led to the discovery of the loosely repacked dirt wall and Kaul Lan’s damaged casket behind it.

“Double the number of guards you have,” Maik told the manager, “and tell no one of this. Understand?” The man nodded vigorously. The Horn felt no need to threaten him further; the cemetery would certainly not want word to get out that it had been infiltrated by grave robbers on account of a bribed staff member. Already the manager was tugging anxiously on his earlobe, perhaps to ward off bad luck, perhaps contemplating cutting off the ear entirely and sending it to Kaul Hilo to forestall the Pillar’s reaction. Kehn made a mental note to himself to increase the clan’s own security in Widow’s Park. Then he made two phone calls.

The first was to his girlfriend to let her know that he couldn’t see her today, as he would be occupied with clan business. Lina took the news with aplomb. She was a kind and practical woman, beautiful in a simple way, robust and curvy in just the way Kehn liked, and most importantly, she was not a Green Bone. Being the Horn of No Peak consumed most of Kehn’s waking hours; he didn’t need jade in his bedroom as well. He’d seen how Tar’s relationships flamed out. Kehn had met his girlfriend through his sister, Wen. Lina was a teacher at Janloon City College and came from a large family; she had her own life and career and friends, and little nieces and nephews to keep her busy, so she wouldn’t be overly resentful that the Horn’s first priority was always the clan.

“Will you still be able to come to my grandma’s eightieth birthday party on Fifthday?” Lina asked him over the phone. “My parents would be delighted if the Horn made an appearance.”

Sometimes it amused Kehn that people now invited him to all sorts of events and considered his presence a sign of clan favor and prestige. As a child, he’d rarely been invited to anything, as no one wished to associate with the disreputable Maik name. The Maik family’s rise was something of a fairy tale within No Peak, spawning admiration and jealousy and an increasing number of social obligations. “Maybe,” he said noncommittally.

Kehn’s second call was to his brother.

Tar swore long and vociferously and then said, “We’d better tell him together.”

Kehn agreed; he was already thinking about how best to break the bad news to his boss. Hilo-jen expected to be told important things right away, but he also didn’t like to be informed of problems without hearing what was being done to solve them. Otherwise, he might step in and handle it himself. Although Kehn appreciated the Pillar’s continued involvement in the military side of the clan, it would be impossible to command as Horn if his own Fists kept going straight to Hilo-jen the way they used to. Over the past year, Kehn had begun making more of an effort, where possible, to keep the Pillar from the Horn’s job.

So later that afternoon, he started the conversation off on a positive note. “I finished assigning the new Fingers we got out of the Academy this year,” Kehn said. “Put most of them in the Docks and the Armpit, where the Mountain’s more likely to try something. Also Junko and the Forge, where we’re seeing trouble with smuggling and shine dealing. Handed out promotions too—about half of the big Academy class we took in last year went up to third or second rank.”

Hilo nodded and asked for details, but didn’t crack a smile. The Pillar had been morose ever since Kaul Sen’s funeral. Perhaps the old man’s passing bothered him more than he let on. Or maybe Kehn’s mention of the Academy graduates reminded the Pillar of his kid cousin Anden, whom he’d had to send away.

After they’d discussed business a while longer, Kehn and Tar shared a glance. Tar motioned for the waiter to refill their water glasses. Hilo ate the last crispy squid ball on the plate, then looked impatiently between the Maik brothers. “Stop acting like nervous schoolgirls and get around to it, then. What haven’t you told me?”

Kehn explained that the Kaul family gravesite had been robbed. He could usually keep calm and say things matter-of-factly even in bad situations, so it was better that he did the talking instead of Tar, even if the matter would likely fall to his brother to deal with in the end. As Kehn spoke, Hilo grew unnervingly still and quiet. The three of them were in a private booth in the Twice Lucky restaurant during the middle of a Firstday afternoon, so there was no one around to overhear, but Kehn could not help casting a glance around, in case there were other Green Bones in the dining room who might Perceive the Pillar’s jade aura flaring like a grease fire.

“I’ve posted people around Widow’s Park,” Kehn said. “We’re talking to anyone who knew the dead groundskeeper and getting the word out to our informers—not giving them details, but we’ll have them watching. Maybe someone in the Mountain is trying to lay claim to Lan-jen’s jade.”

“I can’t believe it was the Mountain,” Tar put in. “What kind of Green Bone would stoop so low? Or be so shoddy as to leave a body and discarded disguises almost in plain sight?” He palmed a few of the roasted nuts from the dish in the center of the table. “If the Mountain wants to start something with us again, there are a thousand other ways for them to do it. Ayt’s a cunning bitch, and who knows about Nau, but they wouldn’t touch a dead man’s jade.”

The Pillar still hadn’t uttered a word or moved. Kehn said, “Whoever the thieves are, if they try to move that amount of jade on the black market, we’ll know about it.”

Hilo spoke at last. His voice was chillingly soft at first. “The only people who knew that Lan was buried with his green have the names of Kaul or Maik. Except for the dogfucking piece of shit who ambushed and killed him. Some hired goon, some nobody .” The Pillar’s voice rose to a shout and his hand came down hard on the table, making the plates jump. His aura churned so violently that both of the Maik brothers had to resist the urge to edge back from the table. “We thought he was long gone from the city or that the Mountain already killed him, but he’s still alive. And he has Lan’s jade .”

The Maiks were silent. Tar would not look the Pillar in the eye. A year ago, Hilo had tasked the Pillarman with locating the remaining owner of the machine gun left at the scene of Lan’s murder. Tar had accomplished nearly all the other things Hilo had set him to, mercilessly rooting out dozens of the Mountain’s informers and jade-wearing criminals from No Peak’s territories—but that particular bit of clan justice remained undelivered.

“The Mountain may not have been behind this.” Hilo pinned his brothers-in-law with his stare. “But they sent assassins after Lan and someone in that clan knows who the thief is. It doesn’t matter who you have to go through— find the fucker . And tell me once you do.”

Maik Tar rededicated himself to the task the Pillar had given him. There had been two Fullerton machine guns and the body of one teenager discovered at the pier on the night of Lan’s murder. Some months ago, after considerable legwork, Tar had identified the dead young man as a member of a robbery ring based in the Docks and run by a Mountain informer named Mudt Jindonon. There was a good chance the surviving assassin had been part of that same gang. The problem was that Mudt Jin was dead; Tar had already killed him last year.