Day 156 - Jade

 Jade

 Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

Jade learned at an early age what her family did to make money. It wasn’t an accident; she didn’t overhear something by mistake or walk in on a strong-armed negotiation when she shouldn’t have. Her grandparents and great aunt sat her down and explained their livelihood, some of the things this required, and what eventual participation was expected of Jade. She was twelve at the time.

Jade wasn’t appalled or disgusted and never considered going to the police. She had been raised to obey her family elders, but she was also a curious child. She knew the value of money and saw how her parents lived compared to the parents of her friends. Money determined a lot in life, and if this was the family business, then Jade wanted to make as much as she possibly could.

Queenie was her matriarch, a great aunt who had once upon a time wrestled control of the family away from the men around her. Men that included Queenie’s own brother, Jade’s grandfather, and Jade’s father and uncles. Once in power, Queenie made sure none of them ever had a chance to take it back.

Jade hated Queenie for years. The name Queenie was a joke, showy and arrogant. Jade hated the audacity it took to change one’s name and call yourself a Queen. Jade hated that Queenie slapped her father in the face, both metaphorically and once for talking out of turn. As a child she had no perspective on gender dynamics or the challenges Queenie was up against. It was hardly an excuse and didn’t sway Jade’s judgment or wrath. Jade had been taught to be loyal to family, and she knew which part of her family she was most loyal to. Even as she got older and understood more of the world, she still dreamed of the day she would stab her great aunt in the back and perhaps make her father smile.

For years Queenie had little time for Jade, but when Jade turned fifteen, suddenly Queenie took a much greater interest in her. Private conversations that were meant to make Jade feel special. Offers to mentor her as she grew up and joined the family. Most people would be thrilled when a boss offered such things, but Jade remembered his father and wondered why it was never his turn.

Jade was almost sixteen and Queenie finally called her into action. It didn’t take too much to guess that Queenie had plans, and only the women in the family would be in charge of enacting them. War was coming, and Jade was pushed to the front of the line. How much power Jade could inherit seemed restrained only by how much she tried to take. As far as she could tell, none of her sisters or cousins were given any secret assignments. Queenie was preparing her for a much larger role. Jade was not one who intended to fail.

Jade had trained with Ace for several weeks. She had sparred with other members of her family and had her first few sessions with actual Agents. Three was a cousin of a cousin or two or three steps beyond that. He was family but not close family. He was more Agent than blood, at least as far as Queenie was concerned. Queenie was after loyalty. She had plans for the family, plans that The Dragon Claw might prevent. They might be able to distract Three, but the others would be more difficult.

Queenie wanted to know what Seven was working on. She suspected Gideon gave him a secret mission. It was Jade’s job to find out what. They had worked out together once and he easily defeated her. She had hope rolling around on a wrestling mat and getting hot and sweaty might make him more open to her advances, but no such luck. He was sleeping with a woman named Kira and didn’t seem interested in a second partner. Queenie would be disappointed. This might be Jade’s sole chance to rise within her family and she didn’t want to ruin it. Jade considered killing Kira, but wasn’t sure how to get rid of the body. She didn’t want to ask for help for fear of disappointing Queenie.

Jade thought about other options and other Agents, but Queenie had been specific about Seven. Jade didn’t see what was so important about him, but knew she should stick to what she was told do. The next time Jade sparred with Seven, she was going to make sure he knew she was available. If that didn’t do it, she would find a way into his apartment building. Kira wouldn’t stand in her way.

Jade had her closest cousin tracking Seven and she got word that Seven was heading to a nightclub. Seven didn’t seem like the nightclub sort, but Jade figured she could work with that. She would bump into his there and see where the night took them.