Jade War

Each of the Bosses had brought one of their foremen with them. Kromner’s foreman, Willy “Skinny” Reams, sat on his Boss’s left-hand side. In contrast to Kromner, he was lean and bland looking, clean shaven, in a charcoal-gray suit, holding his brimmed felt hat in his hands.

Kromner watched with arrogant curiosity as the Kekonese men entered. When everyone was seated, he swept his hand around the table as if in general introduction to everyone assembled. Then he spoke to his fellow Bosses. “You all know of the trouble I’ve been having in Southtrap with the Kekonese.” Kromner was naturally a fast, animated speaker, and his voice was higher than one would’ve expected for so large a man. “Now I’m aware this doesn’t affect any of the rest of you directly, so you’re likely asking yourselves why Bully Blaise has put you to the trouble of coming all the way out to Jons Island on a whip crack, at Firstdawn over Harvest’Eves holidays no less.” He paused as if waiting for someone to validate this assertion by asking the question out loud. When no one did, Kromner lifted a finger anyway and said, “This little dispute is about more than a few broken skulls in K-Town. It’s about the jade business. There’s big money to be accounted here, and that’s a matter concerning all of us Bosses.” Kromner turned toward the Kekonese and took a second to study the four men before picking out Dauk Losun. “Mr. Dauk here is who the Kekonese think of as their own boss. He’s asked to meet with us to work out an agreement.”

All eyes turned toward the oldest Kekonese man, who sat with his elbows on the table, hands lightly clasped and his back stiff, clearly ill at ease at being the center of attention. Dauk cleared his throat and spoke in Espenian with a slight accent. “For many years, the Kekonese community has had an understanding with the Bosses. We each mind our own businesses. No matter how long we’ve been here or even if we were born in Port Massy, we Kekonese are still seen as unwelcome strangers in this country. We stick to our own affairs. We want to be good citizens, respected members of Espenian society. At the same time, we hold strongly to our traditions, and we ask only that they not be interfered with by outsiders. So we don’t seek to interfere in anything that you do, and in exchange, we handle our own matters. This has applied particularly in the areas of gambling, protection money, and of course, jade.”

Jo Gasson said, in a reedy voice, “That’s not the case anymore, is it? You’ve opened up your gambling halls to the regular people, who’re putting down money on cockfighting or dueling instead of racing or slots. That competes with Boss Kromner’s businesses directly.”

“It’s true, we’ve opened the grudge hall to outsiders on certain days of the week,” Dauk said. “But it’s by invitation only. It’s only natural that our children would make Espenian friends and marry into Espenian families, and it’s no longer fair to say those who aren’t a hundred percent Kekonese shouldn’t be allowed to be part of our community gatherings. On those days when we open up the hall, we have cockfighting and gambling only, no duels. The fee we charge goes toward maintaining our community center and helping those in our neighborhood who need help. We’re not making any effort to draw people away from your establishments.”

“That’s not the main issue here,” Kromner said with obvious impatience. “I’m a generous man, and I’m willing to let go of small money if all you kecks were up to was a little gambling. But your not-so-secret halls aren’t just cheap entertainment; they’re where you people go to show off your jade and practice your fancy moves. You’re running the only jade markets in town, and that’s not right. The jade business is too big for you to have to yourselves.”

A flush of anger came into Dauk’s face, but he spoke calmly. “Jade is our cultural heritage. Our families brought it with them to this country and we keep it within our community. We don’t sell it for profit. And now, with the government ban and negative public perception, we’ve all the more reason to keep our jade hidden, so as not to attract the attention of law enforcement. It’s bad publicity for the Kekonese community when someone is caught selling jade or a non-Kekonese person commits crimes using jade or comes down with the Itches. That’s why we train to use our green, and we police our own if there are any problems.”

“Oh, you make yourselves sound quite innocent,” said Anga Slatter, raising thin, well-plucked eyebrows. “As if you people haven’t attacked Blaise’s bookies, or murdered his coats.”