Jade War

The guard said, “Do you have paperwork?” Wen did; she handed them several pieces of paper on the letterhead of a jewelry company called Divinity Gems based in Janloon, with a listing of the sample items and their estimated value. She gave them her business card. One of the guards took a few of the stones and the paperwork and left the room. The other guard said, “Thanks for your patience. We have to make sure everything checks out, you understand. I thought it was real jade myself.”

Wen chuckled. “If it was, I’d have to be the world’s most powerful Green Bone, and I’d be traveling with a dozen bodyguards to guard a case worth millions of thalirs. My samples are worth quite a bit, but not nearly that much. I completely understand the need to check, though. Jade smuggling is a real problem, I’m told.” She sat down in one of the chairs to wait. She knew they were examining the grain structure of the samples under magnification and likely phoning Divinity Gems to ascertain that she was, indeed, an employee. The call would go to an undisclosed phone line in the Weather Man’s office. The person who answered the call would assure the customs officials that Wen was, indeed, a senior sales director who’d been with the company for four years.

Wen and Shae had discussed and discarded half a dozen different options for covertly transporting cut jade into Espenia—all of them required a combination of shipping the gems through means subject to inspection or theft, or passing them through other hands: agents who might be unreliable, who might betray them or who could not handle jade without being detected. Having been privy to Kehn’s relentless campaign against Zapunyo’s operations, they knew all too well the tricks of smuggling, but also the many ways they could fail. At last, Wen had declared impatiently, “This is foolish, Shae-jen. I’m a stone-eye. Sometimes the most obvious and direct answer is the best one.” The Weather Man had balked awhile longer, but Wen knew her sister-in-law couldn’t argue with logic.

The customs inspector returned twenty minutes later and handed Wen her passport, paperwork, and samples. “You’re free to go, miss.”

Wen took two nephrite rings from the case and pressed them upon the men. “Take them,” she urged. “They’re samples, I have plenty.” One of the guards started to reach for the ring but the other shook his head and said, “We’re not allowed to do that, miss.” Wen looked disappointed and said, “Have a keychain then,” and she gave them each a nephrite keychain with Divinity Gems etched on the side. Tucking her scarf once more around her neck, she picked up her case and followed the guard as he led her back out of the room and let her through the customs gate.

* * *

Anden was waiting for her at the baggage claim area along with a lean man in a black cap and gloves that Anden introduced as Rohn Toro. Wen was pleased to see Anden. For a while, she’d found it hard to think kindly of him. She would always be grateful for the part he’d played in killing Gont Asch and saving the clan as well as her husband’s life, but then he’d turned his back on the family and left—just like Shae once had. Hilo had been heartbroken about it; he never brought up the subject, but Wen could see that he still blamed himself, no matter what she said to gently remind him that he’d only ever done what was necessary.

Now, though, she was glad to see the young man. He’d become an anchor for No Peak in Espenia and was proving himself useful here. So Wen greeted him warmly and said, “You look well, little brother.” Anden smiled the same small, reserved smile he’d always had and asked how her flight had been. She assured him that it had been fine.

They drove to a hotel and Wen checked into a suite. Rohn left, saying he would be back in around an hour. Anden stayed with Wen in the hotel room, waiting in the separate sitting area while she refreshed herself and changed. This was Wen’s second trip to Espenia—the first, taken two months ago carrying a suitcase of nephrite but no real jade, had been a test run, to establish a travel history for her role as a sales representative of Divinity Gems and to familiarize herself with what to expect when going through customs. So she was still taken aback by how cold it was in Port Massy and was glad she’d packed sweaters and scarves. She went back out into the sitting room and pulled back the heavy drapes enough to peer outside. Port Massy, smoky and gray in winter twilight, sprawled below. She was charmed by it, by the majestic foreignness of the place, even by how much smaller the Mast Building looked in real life than it did on the postcards. She was looking forward to exploring the city and seeing some of the famous sights.