The man’s aura, normally so subdued and unreadable, was vibrating like a tuning fork. “This is your twisted idea of vengeance against me? You destroyed a helicopter, killed its pilot, and incited a violent mob to charge Anorco’s company property and attack my employees. You’re a psychopath. You have the innocent blood of a dozen dead people on your hands.”
“Spoken with the true hypocrisy of an Espenian,” Hilo said with a slow sneer, “by a man who created a company of mercenaries to fight for the highest bidder in wars around the world. What blood do you have on your hands, Sunto?”
Sunto bristled. “Only the unavoidable losses that any commander has to accept.”
“Unavoidable because they didn’t follow your religion? Or because the Espenian government was paying you millions of thalirs to carry out Operation Firebreak?”
Sunto’s jaw tightened. He didn’t ask how the Pillar knew about Operation Firebreak; the answer was obvious now that Niko had returned to No Peak. But he wasn’t about to be put on the defensive when it was Hilo’s actions he had come halfway around the world to confront.
“Don’t change the subject to equivocate on morals with me,” Sunto growled. “You’ve set off a diplomatic shitstorm that will backfire on you. I’ll see to it that you’re charged for the deaths of Anorco and GSI employees as well as provoking public violence and destroying private property. You’ll never travel to the ROE again without being arrested.”
At Hilo’s expression of utter nonchalance toward these statements, Sunto’s voice rose and gained vehemence. “The founder of Anorco, Art Wyles, is the incoming secretary of Foreign Trade. You might believe you’re untouchable in your own country, but do you think your supporters in the Kekonese government will continue standing behind you when they realize how badly you’ve jeopardized the relationship with the ROE?”
Hilo took the ice pack off his shoulder. He stood, rolling out the offending joint and stretching his neck from side to side. “You say I’ve risked Kekon’s relationship with the ROE. What have you done to Espenia’s standing in Kekon?” The Pillar’s voice was low and calm, a sure sign of danger. “For years, your jade-wearing private military contractors have been protecting Anorco’s ships as they stripped Kekon’s seafloor. Yesterday, your men opened fire on civilians. They could’ve defended themselves with Deflection or Steel, but they used their rifles. It’s all been captured on video and played on every news channel. GSI soldiers shot first, before a single Green Bone or protestor even drew a weapon.”
The glower on Sunto’s face didn’t change, but the cords in his neck tightened and his jade aura swelled. Hilo stalked toward him, head tilted. “Espenian soldiers don’t know how to use jade abilities in a crowded city street, surrounded by ordinary people. IBJCS doesn’t teach aisho.”
Sunto seethed, “Those soldiers wouldn’t have fired if their lives hadn’t been threatened. No matter how you spin the story in the Kekonese media, the fact is that there wouldn’t have been any deaths yesterday if you hadn’t gone there to make a spectacle of yourself. You started this, Kaul.”
Hilo shook his head, his lips parted with scorn. “Do you know much Kekonese history? Green Bones alone didn’t defeat the Shotarian army in the Many Nations War. They had the support of the people. In Kekon, it’s always been Green Bones who inspire the people to fight for themselves.” Lott Jin walked back into the room with a large cardboard box, which he set on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Hilo walked over to it, speaking to Sunto over his shoulder. “No matter what happens now, you and your company are done in Kekon.”
For all his anger and threats, Sunto had lived in the country long enough to know that Hilo was correct. The importance the Kekonese placed on aisho meant that the public outcry over foreign soldiers wearing Kekonese jade while gunning down unarmed Kekonese citizens was already building into a tsunami in the media, in the streets, in the Royal Council. Wen’s rapidly deployed campaign with a roster of top movie stars raising money for the families of the slain and injured protestors was only three hours old but had already amassed hundreds of thousands of dien. More people were heading to Euman Island to shore up the protest, but also gathering in outrage in front of Wisdom Hall. By the end of the week, the Kekonese government would ban GSI and any other foreign private military contractors from ever operating in Kekon again.