He wasn’t sure why the thought bothered him. He barely knew the girl. Just because he’d been wanting to bed her for a long time and finally succeeded didn’t mean he owed her anything. She’d acted like an aloof bitch to him for years, and come to think of it, she’d been rude tonight, the way she’d kicked him out in the middle of the night. The Espenians, arrogant and demanding as they were, were paying Bero well. So he was confused by his own reluctance.
“What are you going to do to her?” he asked.
Galo was also surprised by Bero’s question. “Why do you care?”
“I just want to know,” Bero snapped. “She’s just a girl, all right? A girl who got pulled into some shit by the barukan and that Ygutanian lout. If I tell you her address, what’re you going to do to her?”
A long moment of silence from the other end of the line. Then Galo mumbled, “Catfish, you surprise me. Of all the times to grow a sliver of conscience, you have to do it now?” The Espenian went on in a slower, more soothing tone. “We’re not going to hurt her. We’re not going to tip our hand at all until we have to. Your girl is a line to Molovni, and Molovni is a line to the Ygutanian military and the nekolva training program. Tomorrow morning, we’re going to watch her apartment, and we’re going to follow her until she leads us to Molovni. I promise she won’t be in danger from us.” When Bero still failed to answer right away, Galo’s voice turned sharp. “Give us the address, Catfish.”
Bero gave them Ema’s address. There was a strange, unfamiliar curl of worry in the pit of his stomach, and he disliked it. “What about me?” he asked. “What am I supposed to do? What if Molovni and the clanless find out that I ratted on them?”
“Don’t do anything,” Galo said. “Just stay out of the way. If it looks like you’re in danger, we can pull you out. Keep this number handy, and don’t say anything to anyone.” He paused and Bero heard him speaking rapidly in Espenian to someone else before coming back onto the line. “Is there anything more you can tell us?”
Bero took out the slip of paper in his pocket and rubbed it between his fingers. If following Ema failed to lead the Espenians to Molovni and his coconspirators, this would be the surefire way to find all of them tomorrow, at four o’clock in the afternoon.
But a safe house with a getaway boat . . . That could be very useful to Bero. In case something went wrong. In case the Espenians hung him out to dry after all.
“No,” he said. “Nothing else.”
Galo said, “You’ve done a good thing, Catfish.” He hung up.
CHAPTER
25
The Great Strike
the fourteenth year, seventh month
Hilo had never looked forward to KJA meetings, but he used to be able to avoid them. When it had been created forty years ago, the KJA’s sole purpose was to manage the production and distribution of the nation’s jade supply. The quarterly meetings were typically filled with discussion of budgeting, economic policy, export quotas, and domestic jade allocation. It was not uncommon for clan Pillars to let their Weather Men handle the meetings, sometimes arriving only at the end of the session to cast any necessary votes.
In recent years, however, the KJA had expanded well beyond its original purpose as a state cartel to become a wide-ranging policy group on all issues related to jade. Special sessions had been convened to discuss what the KJA’s official position should be on military reform, non-Kekonese citizens studying at Kekonese martial schools, and jadesports in Marcucuo, among other issues. The Green Bone clans had used the KJA to take unified public stances opposing decriminalization of shine, anti-dueling laws, and political extremism. On one hand, the evolving function of the KJA did make for less boring discussions. On the other, Hilo was forced to spend far more time than he wanted sitting in a room with his enemies.
When he arrived with Woon, both he and the clan’s Sealgiver were greeted with warm, respectful congratulations on the birth of a healthy child into the Kaul family. Woon, sleep-deprived and smiling constantly, was as happy as Hilo had ever seen the man. No doubt he would prefer to be with Shae and their newborn daughter at this moment, but he would be the acting Weather Man for the next several months, taking over Ship Street in Shae’s absence, as he had at other times in the past.
Ayt Madashi arrived with Koben Yiro. Over the years, the Mountain had made changes to its organization as well. To Hilo’s knowledge, Ayt had never had a Pillarman, but the insufferably grandstanding Koben Yiro appeared to have become her unofficial aide in addition to being her frequent mouthpiece. Hilo couldn’t tell if Ayt kept Koben close to demonstrate unity with the popular Koben family, or to ensure they could not betray her.