Jade War

“He’s frustrated,” Hilo said, passing the plate of duck skewers to Tar. “Zapunyo has plenty of dirty money and cheap lives, but if he can’t get jade out of Kekon and move it to buyers, he doesn’t have a business. The Ygutanians, the Oortokon rebels, and the barukan who’re supporting the rebellion because they hate the Shotarian government—those are his biggest customers, and with the heat you’ve put on his routes through the Origas Gulf and East Amaric, he’s stuck.”

The Pillar seemed less upset about the slain rat than Kehn had expected, or perhaps he was simply preoccupied, thinking about his upcoming trip to Espenia. While he was gone, the Weather Man would be in charge of No Peak, and although Kehn liked Kaul Shae well enough, she worked behind a desk and had no real understanding of the military side of the clan. He was accustomed to being able to consult with Hilo-jen about every aspect of the Horn’s responsibilities. “Zapunyo’s starting to look to other markets,” he said. “He already brews SN1 to keep his scrap pickers and rockfish and polishers from getting the Itches; it’s natural that he’s also making it to sell for profit, especially now that the Mountain’s factories in Ygutan are gone. We’ve heard he’s trying to partner with other groups—drug cartels, arms dealers, prostitution rings—to distribute jade and shine in other parts of the world.”

“Why can’t the Espenians get the Uwiwan government to deal with Zapunyo?” Tar asked. “They know where his mansion is; why not just kill him?”

“The Uwiwan government is a corrupt black hole,” Hilo said. “Parts of that country are lawless, and half of the foreign aid that goes into that place disappears.”

“Ti Pasuiga pays the police more than the government does,” Kehn said. “And Zapunyo makes himself out to be a generous man, giving money to the local towns to build roads and schools and temples. He’s practically untouchable in that country. We may be harming his business, but as long as he’s alive, he’ll keep being a problem for us.” Kehn scratched his jaw. “Hilo-jen, we have to think of how to whisper his name.”

Hilo barely reacted to his Horn’s pronouncement. Kehn expected the Pillar had already thought about this but not come to any satisfactory conclusions. “We have enemies here at home that we’ve been trying to put into the ground for years. We can only handle so many things at one time,” Hilo said.

Two weeks ago, on the Pillar’s discreet instructions, the Janloon city police had arrested and interrogated the shine dealer Shae had spoken of and Kehn’s Fingers had quietly tracked down. The man cut a deal by naming several high-profile Green Bone clients, including immediate relatives of Iwe Kalundo, the Mountain clan’s Weather Man. No Peak made sure that news of both the arrest and the clients who’d been named was leaked to the press. Ayt Mada was not the only one who could use the media to paint her rivals in an unflattering light. The story had reignited a public debate about the evils of SN1, but more importantly, renewed concerns about the leadership of the Mountain clan possibly falling to the Iwe family.

Meanwhile, No Peak had solved some of the problems it was having on Poor Man’s Road by offloading it onto their rivals. On Hilo’s orders, Kehn’s Green Bones had shut down prostitution in the gambling triangle of the Armpit district; pimps were forcefully run out and warned not to be caught anywhere near the casinos. Instead, the No Peak chance houses put up posters and distributed leaflets advertising the strip clubs and brothels in the nearby Mountain-controlled districts of Dog’s Head and Spearpoint. Rowdy Espenian servicemen were migrating their money and troublesome disorderliness into Mountain territory; recently a group of three drunken foreign sailors had gotten into an altercation with some Green Bones of the Koben family and wound up in the hospital, which forced Ayt Mada into the humiliating position of having to publicly support the imprudent Kobens while quietly paying off the Espenians.

Kehn admired Hilo-jen’s tactical cunning, though he could not help but think that the Pillar’s preoccupation with destabilizing the Mountain was like trying to light wet grass on fire: They were making a lot of sparks and smoke, but so far no roaring flames had erupted.

Perhaps Hilo was thinking the same thing because he pushed his plate of remaining food aside and said to Tar, “Have someone in the Koben family killed. Not the kid or his mother, but a Green Bone man, someone close to them. Not by you or any of your men; the job has to be hired out, and it can’t be traced back to No Peak in any way. Make it an obvious thing, not an accident.”

“The kid’s ma has a brother who wears jade, and an uncle,” Tar said.