Tar finished going through the photographs, then turned away and rubbed quickly and surreptitiously at his eyes. “Thanks for bringing those.”
“They’re yours to keep.” Anden glanced away, not wanting to injure the man’s pride by sounding too concerned. “Have you met people here? Made friends?” The house was obviously a bachelor’s residence, with utilitarian furniture, little in the way of interior decor, and one set of used dishes in the sink.
“A few,” said Tar. “Started playing cards with some guys I met at the gym. Got into a book group with the Espenian as a Second Language Conversation Club at the library. A few flings here and there, nothing serious. Never got married, though. Couldn’t do it, after . . . you know.” He squared the pile of photographs.
Anden was struck by an odd mixture of pity and admiration. He remembered how hard it had been for him, that first year in Port Massy as a student—and he’d had the clan’s support, a host family to care for him, and the knowledge that his exile was most likely temporary and he would return home sooner or later. Tar had had none of that. He was older and it was hard for him to learn another language. He’d had to go through jade withdrawal, find work, rebuild his life entirely. That he was not only alive, but had a modest house in the suburbs, work that suited him, and a few social connections—it was nothing short of a miracle. A decade and an ocean away from the Green Bone life that had defined him, Maik Tar was both broken and more whole. “It’s good to see you, Tar,” Anden said, and he meant it.
Tar cleared his throat and gave the stack of photographs another pat before raising his eyes to Anden with expectant understanding. “And how’s clan business?”
Despite his happiness to see a member of the family and the chance to hear about how everyone was doing, Tar surely knew that Anden’s visit could not merely be out of kindness and sentiment. Although Hilo had not expressly forbidden communication with Tar, it was understood that he was dead to the clan. The Pillar himself hadn’t spoken to his brother-in-law since exiling him. Anden knew this wasn’t out of cruelty, but kindness. It would be wrong to give the man any shred of hope. He needed to be cut off in order to accept his situation and make some sort of new life for himself. And Hilo did not trust himself not to soften toward Tar in time and he could not allow himself to do that. But Maik Tar knew enough Green Bones in Espenia to have learned by now that when Emery Anden was in the country, he spoke for the Pillar of No Peak.
Anden said, “Doing business here is more challenging for us now that Dauk Losun is gone—let the gods recognize him.” Anden told Tar about No Peak’s efforts to change the perception of jade in Espenia and remove legal barriers that stood in the way of the clan’s expansion. Some Green Bones, he explained, were defying the urgings of their peers and instead becoming notorious criminals.
“There’s one man in particular,” Anden said with a grimace. “Remi Jonjunin, or Jon Remi, who’s called Bad Keck Remi, just like a Crew Boss. And the worst thing is that he built his success on No Peak.” He told Tar about the history of Remi’s alliance with No Peak, his rise in Resville and his refusal to change his ways now that he was rich and powerful. “No one can talk any sense into him. Last month, two of his men, one of them wearing jade, were busted running a shine lab. Remi’s Snakeheads stand in the way of everything No Peak is trying to accomplish in this country.”
Tar asked matter-of-factly, “Has anyone tried to kill him yet?”
“The Crews have tried,” Anden said. “But Remi is too careful. He has at least three different apartments and moves between them. He only eats in Kekonese restaurants and wherever he goes, he sends people ahead to scout it out. He has jade-wearing bodyguards with him at all times. No crewboy assassin could get close.”
Tar nodded. “And what about other Green Bones?”
“The Green Bones in Port Massy and Adamont Capita have tried to negotiate with Remi and rein him in, but they won’t whisper his name. They don’t want to create more legal troubles and make everything worse for the community, or turn themselves into targets of vengeance for Remi’s followers. So they’ve been working with the police to shut down his businesses and have him arrested, hoping that’ll take care of the problem, or that the Crews will eventually succeed.”
Tar shook his head. “This sort of thing would never happen in Janloon.”
“They can’t help it,” Anden said, feeling compelled to defend Cory Dauk and his Keko-Espenian friends. “Without a clan or Pillar, without people like Dauk Losun and Rohn Toro, they don’t know how to act like real Green Bones. Even so, they’re our allies and business partners. Even after Remi insulted us directly, Hilo-jen gave Dauk’s widow his word that he would keep No Peak out of Resville and not do anything to create negative attention.” Anden paused and looked at Tar meaningfully. “The Bad Keck is an enemy of the clan, and the Pillar wants him gone. Since I’m the one who’s most familiar with the situation in Espenia, it’s up to me to figure out the right way to handle this problem, in a way that can’t be traced back to No Peak.”