Jade War

Tar was pleased by how smoothly everything had gone. Seizing the man had taken less than five minutes. Kehn’s patrols had ensured that the avenue had been cleared, so no property had been damaged and no civilians harmed beyond the minor inconvenience of the road closure. Janlooners were used to occasional incidents of clan violence, but the intense street war last year had sapped their patience to its limit; the Pillar would not want unnecessary disruption to cost No Peak any more public goodwill.

Tar was tempted to stop by a pay phone to call Hilo-jen with the good news but decided that would be premature. He’d wait until he had substantive information to share. Besides, he needed to beat morning rush-hour traffic before it began in earnest; already the streets were filling with bicycle couriers and delivery trucks. Taking smaller roads, he drove deep into the Junko district. He could hear muffled thumps and bangs from the back of the car, but he wasn’t worried. The trunk had been thoroughly reinforced with enough steel that even the Strength of a man with twice as much jade as Seko would’ve only succeeded in denting it. Sure enough, the noises ceased after a short time, leaving only the Perception of the man’s panicked heartbeat and the shrill texture of desperation emanating from the compartment.

They took their prisoner to an old nightclub that had originally been built as an air-raid shelter fifty years ago but had stood empty for the past several months; it was scheduled to be demolished and replaced with a condo building. Seko’s wrists were bound with chains and attached to a rope tied to a ceiling support beam. He hung with his arms pulled over his head, the toes of his combat boots barely resting on the floor. Tar studied the man. Seko wore dark clothes, jade bolts through his ears, and a jade ring in his nose. He had a short, neatly trimmed goatee and an arrogant face; even in his dire situation, his lips twisted in a humorless smirk.

“So you’re Maik Tar,” said Seko. “Kaul Hilo’s hound dog.”

The smirk left Seko’s face as Tar ripped the jade ring from his nose and the bolts from his ears. The Fist bellowed in pain. Tar motioned for his men to stand by the door, then broke the two smallest ribs on both sides of Seko’s body. “If you’ve heard of me, then you know that’s just an introduction.”

“Where’s my ma?” Seko wheezed, in quite a different voice. “Is she all right?”

“Of course,” said Tar. “She’s probably getting back from the grocer’s now. What do you think we are, animals? In the No Peak clan, we don’t break aisho. We don’t use jadeless people as our puppets and tools.” He spat at Seko’s feet. “You were good about never using your name and covering your tracks in No Peak territory, so it took me a while to catch up to you. I’ve found most of your little rats by now, but you’re going to help me find the rest.”

“You’re going to kill me no matter what I tell you,” Seko pointed out.

Tar shrugged. “Sure, but wouldn’t you rather die quickly and spare your ma from suffering? You don’t want to hang there for days, going through jade withdrawal on top of everything. I’d rather not see it myself. You’re not one of those shine addicts you kept on your leash; you’re a Green Bone of the Mountain—you’ve got some self-respect, don’t you?”

Seko’s head hung between his straining shoulder blades. He nodded.

“Good, now we understand each other, you fucking pussy.” Tar rolled the man’s jade in the palm of his hand. “Here’s the thing, see: The Mountain’s never answered for Kaul Lan. Someone gave two assassins information about his habits, handed them Fullerton machine guns, and sent them to the Lilac Divine. I’ve done a lot of asking around, and I’m figuring that was you.”

After a moment, Seko nodded again without raising his head. Tar contained the excitement he felt and said, “They worked for your mole Mudt Jin, didn’t they?”

“They were a couple of punks who held up trailer trucks of fancy handbags and wallets and shit,” Seko said. “Just two jade-fevered kids. We didn’t figure them for anything.”

“What were their names?”

“How the fuck should I know?” said Seko. “I don’t remember their names.”

That was not the answer that Tar wanted to hear. He had a bad feeling that Seko was telling the truth, but he broke another two of the man’s ribs and said, “You’d better give me more than that, you goatfucking bastard. Or I’m going to change my mind about letting you meet the gods in one piece.” Seko hung limp, breathing shallowly through a slack mouth, twisting slightly on the rope. Tar left him and went outside to give the man some time alone in the dark to search his memory. Sometimes people remembered more after a good long ponder.