Jade War

Dauk Losun called and asked if he and his wife might pay the Hians a visit one afternoon. He explained that they would like to invite the Hians to their home, but the police knew that Sana was connected to the grudge hall and suspected the couple was not telling the whole truth about the shooting and arson, so they were paying extra close attention to their part of the neighborhood. The Dauks did not want to put Mr. and Mrs. Hian to any trouble, however, so they would bring something to eat. And could Anden please be there as well?

The Hians nervously agreed, although Mrs. Hian cooked a large amount of food anyway, so when the Dauks arrived with white plastic bags filled with half a dozen takeout dishes, there was far too much to eat. Extra chairs were brought into the Hians’ kitchen. Anden saluted the Dauks respectfully, but he was on edge. Why had the Pillar asked to see him? Did it have something to do with Cory? Did he know about them? Would he place the blame on Anden and forbid them from seeing each other?

“How is Coru?” Mrs. Hian asked the Dauks. “Has he settled into AC now? Have his law school classes at Watersguard started yet?”

“They started this week,” Dauk Sana said, passing out paper plates and plastic cutlery. “He sounds happy there, but that’s Coru—always free spirited. He hasn’t had to work hard yet, so we’ll see. I’m just glad he’s safely away and busy.”

Anden had forgotten that law school had already begun. Cory hadn’t phoned him from Watersguard, not yet. He was probably busy. Moving in, student orientation, new classes… Still. A curl of hurt turned the food in Anden’s mouth tasteless.

As they ate, Dauk Losun asked, “How are you all doing? Has there been any trouble lately?” He listened, nodding sympathetically, as Mrs. Hian talked about how the neighborhood wasn’t safe anymore and how their son wanted them to move away. Mr. Hian said, “Kromner’s thugs are hurting innocent people and businesses, and the police do nothing.”

Dauk Sana said, “It’s because they’re paid by the Crews to look the other way. We have some of the police in our pocket, it’s true, but they have more. At the end of the day, Kromner and his men are Espenians, and we are foreigners, so the police take their side. And so do people in general, because they’re told by the news that Kekon is harming the war effort in Oortoko by hoarding all of the world’s jade, even though that’s not true. Sometimes they even confuse us for Shotarians.”

Mrs. Hian cried, “What can be done, Dauk-jens, if the law won’t allow people to wear jade to protect the community, but the police can’t be trusted? It is so unjust.”

Dauk Losun’s expression was grim. “I’m afraid this question has been keeping me awake at night for months.”

“It’s true,” his wife said. “He has to take anxiety pills.”

Anden listened to all this with a growing sense of anger and disgust. In Janloon, the combatants in a clan war would not attack blameless civilians, not even if they were Abukei or foreigners. If either side started doing that, what was to stop a society from losing all sense of aisho and descending into savagery? And the police! They had taken tribute from the grudge hall—Anden had seen it with his own eyes—yet they did not protect it. Dauk Losun had likened the local law enforcement to another clan, but they were not a clan at all, simply another predator, like the Crews. Meanwhile, it was the Kekonese who were persecuted and treated like criminals simply for wearing jade to defend themselves and manage their own affairs.

Dauk Losun’s heavy frame seemed to sag into the kitchen chair. In a resigned voice, he said, “I’ve been in this country for forty-five years. In truth, I’m almost Espenian. Maybe that’s why I prefer to solve problems quietly, with money and influence. But all these years, I also knew we could back up our words with force if needed, because we were the only ones with jade, and the only ones who could use it.

“But times have changed for the worse. With jade now illegal, the Crews no longer see the need to respect us. They know we can’t retaliate against them without making ourselves vulnerable to prosecution. The experienced Green Bones from the old country, the ones to really fear, like Rohn Toro—they are few and aging, and the younger ones who were born here are not as well trained or serious. Look at my own son for example, as much as I love him. Or someone like Shun Todo, who has talent in the jade disciplines but is too Espenian—he wants to leave home and join the military.” Dauk shook his head. “I’m worried there’s no longer any way for us to stand up to tyrants like Blaise Kromner. Rohn is the greenest man in this city, but he’s only one man. And I lie awake at night afraid they’ll get to him; sooner or later, they’ll kill my good friend. It seems we have no choice but to agree to whatever terms the Bosses lay on us: paying their protection rackets, shutting down our grudge hall, letting their drug dealers and pimps into our neighborhood.”