‘Cruel. So cruel.’

‘Shut up, Jeff!’ Roth growled. ‘Stop harping at me.’

‘But what you did to Nadia…’

‘Believe me, there was no way for that stiff to learn quickly. Now, will you please shut up? I’m meeting a client.’ Thankfully, Jeff did shut up, but he could still feel the judging presence Jeff had in his head.

Roth sat in the usual plush room in the Old Hag’s House. His glass of whiskey was almost empty, but he had gotten there earlier than the agreed time just so he could think. He could always walk away from this rebellion business. Especially when he looked at the ideas running through Jeff’s mind.

Rulers did come and go, and it was the luck of the draw whether you get a good one or one that’s absolutely horrible. Democracy wasn’t the solution. While it did give people a voice, a lot of smart and rich people could still dupe the populace and cause havoc. As in the case of whoever the President Zuma guy was. And even dictators and rulers held countries together better like this Saddam Hussein person did as opposed to the introduction of a failed democracy in Iraq. Then there were great monarchs in the past who had done well for their people like Emperor Cyrus II, King Louis XIV and Emperor Meiji.

It was still strange knowing all that and understanding all that, and yet he didn’t. But he knew one thing from all that knowledge Jeff had. Whoever the Red Band placed as the head of their new government had better be someone who can be wise, benevolent and cunning all at the same time if they were going to reform the city, help the people and fend off those who would try to subdue Taisao all over again.

‘Basically, yes,’ Jeff said. ‘Democracy has so many ways it could be abused without those abuses being seen by the public. At least with emperors and monarchs, you know where the problem is.’

But the rebellion didn’t know that. Democracy was never tried in Miralai. The Roku-Shinlai had warlords who competed in the strength of their land. Calcedonia had monarchs with rulership passed down by birth. Maua had rotating tribal leaders chosen in tests of wisdom and courage. Kanda had high priests drawn by lottery. To vote another person to be the leader of the land was unheard of!

The door opened and a man swept in wearing the distinctly Roku-Shinlai rich garb, consisting of an overlapping robe with elaborate silk stitches and pants that looked more like two skirts stitched together. He wore no sword or mask following the rules of the Old Hag’s House. He was a lithe man, but face, sun-kissed and hardened. Someone of the warrior class—someone who ranked high in their country.

Of course he was. Roth dealt with him three times before. Two planting jobs and one requiring him to steal a letter from a Ducass. He paid well and he was one of his best clients, but Roth didn’t know what his real name was and neither did he want to know. Business was business.

“Kuronoma,” Roth nodded for him to sit.

The man bowed slightly and took his seat. He looked at the red wine on his side of the table, but did not touch it. Odd. The man was usually relaxed.

“I’m guessing this isn’t a normal visit,” Roth said through his cloth mask.

“What makes you say that?”

“Turning down a Hecker no. 69? Not like you.”

“You’re right,” Kuronoma sighed and sat straighter. “Not everyone of the Families sees the storm brewing over the ocean.”

“You Roku-Shinlai, always metaphorical.” Roth shrugged. “I’m a simple man used to simple jobs. Storms are not things my little mind can read.”

‘I think you know exactly what he means,’ Jeff said.

‘Never let them think how much smarter you are,’ Roth grumbled. ‘Now, shut up.’

“Rebellions come and go. They’re usually annoyances that we can sweep away with a crook of a finger. But this one, I think it’s serious.”

“You mean, the attack on the Kandan lab?”

Kuronoma nodded. “Both Ducass and Lauena are brushing this off as nothing but a little problem that we can’t easily handle, but Zobu and Tailan know better.”

“So they got lucky.”

“That wasn’t lucky,” Kuronoma leaned forward. “The Zobu family will not admit it, but what was stolen from them is something that was highly guarded to the point that they were willing to hire our elite forces. In exchange, we would be the first they would sell it to. But they completely evaded our forces and got out before they could step in.”

“Like I said, lucky.”

‘I can’t believe you’re so chill about this! You know in the end he’s going to ask you to sabotage the Red Band.’

Roth sighed internally. ‘Can you please shut up for a bit and let me work, Jeff.’

“Resourceful. They got information about a secret development that only a handful of people know. They knew where to find it and how to evade our forces.”

‘Well, the evasion thing was more like luck.’

‘Shhhhhh!!!’ Roth almost lost control and clenched his teeth, but he caught himself before he reacted.

‘Sorry.’

“I can’t do anything about the past,” Roth said feeling calmer than he felt dealing with Jeff.

“Of course not,” Kuronoma said bringing out a pouch of money. “I want you to eliminate the heads of the rebellion.”

‘Okay, this is worse…’ Jeff grumbled.

Roth ignored Jeff’s comment. “You know who?”

“That, unfortunately, I don’t.”

“You know we don’t deal with information. All that digging is bad business for us. Things get too complicated with information—even if the information is nothing but about a street urchin.”

“Then we’ll find out and you make the hit.” Kuronoma slid the money bag to him. “We’ll add the pay depending on the number of heads they have.”

Roth took the money and looked inside and took a deep breath. How much was in here was enough for five hit jobs. He looked back at Kuronoma who was standing up.

“That’s half the payment. I’ll come back with the information you need and the rest of the payment.” He bowed slightly. “Pleasure doing business with you, as usual, Shadow.”

“No,” Roth tossed the pouch back to Kuronoma who caught it glaring at him. “I want payment in jade. Blocks of jadeite and nephrite spearated.”

Kuronoma grinned and tossed the bag back to him. “Take this, and we’ll give the rest of the payment in blocks of jadeite and nephrite.”

‘Call him back! You can’t do this!’ But even as Jeff screamed inside his head, Kuronoma walked away closing the door behind him and Roth did nothing. ‘You’re just going to accept that?’

Roth retied the strings, pulled his mask down and downed the last of the whiskey. ‘Business is business.’

‘Are you kidding me right now?’ Jeff was practically screaming in Roth’s head, which was worse than screaming in his ear. There was no blocking it. ‘You’re helping the rebellion. People who have no hope. Who are in need and neglected and treated as nothing but amusement. And you’re just going to kill the people you’re helping?’

‘You said it yourself. Who’s to say the new leadership won’t be as bad or worse than the one they overthrew? Do they even know what they’re doing? Will they even succeed? Yes, WindWhisper might be working with them, but he’s not the only genius strategist in Miralai.

‘In this world, you don’t put all your bets on one position. Especially in my line of work. If they succeed, where does that leave me? This is the only trade I know and I’ll be out of business. Or if I’m still in business, they would know who to arrest.’

‘But…this is betrayal.” Jeff sounded desperate.

“You lived in a world where you had opportunities. Where people like you have…welfare, as you call it.” Roth started talking aloud and downed the wine that Kuronoma left. “Maybe if I was born in any of the other countries where the rulers are much more benevolent to make sure that their people give them more power, I could probably be the better person that you’re thinking of. But this is Taisao. The one place those rulers turn a blind eye to because this is nothing but a factory of jade to them. This is a source of money and power that they can exploit, which is why it’s held by the Families who bring the jade back to their countries. No one cares about Taisao. They only care about the jade.”

‘Then, isn’t that all the more reason why you should help change Taisao?’

Roth laughed. ‘I’m sure you know the countries won’t turn a blind eye to this. A government that controls most of the jade in Miralai? You think the rebellion will end with just overthrowing the Families?’

Jeff stayed silent. He knew. They both knew. The battle was uphill and against them. Jeff knew from the very beginning of the domino effect that the rebellion would bring. He knew that it would be bigger than a civil war inside Taisao. He knew and it was only then that both Jeff and Roth really thought about it. It frightened Jeff, and he was sure it frightened Roth making him play both sides.

‘Then why did you agree to help the Red Band if you didn’t think they would win?’

‘If you didn’t think they would win. You knew the repercussions and kept them from me. I’m not as smart as you.’ Roth sighed. ‘I agreed because I want to hit the people who hurt me. That’s it.’

‘Is that really it?’

Roth didn’t answer. Right, now, he was conflicted. He didn’t know what to do, but instincts told him to play both sides. To survive. And right now, that was the only thing that could be a reasonable course of action.