Daylight on Iron Mountain (36 page)

What concerned Tsao Ch’un most, however, was the re-formation of the North European mercenary armies. How big a force would they be able to get together? And how long would it take? Days? Weeks? If the latter, then he needn’t worry, for it would all be over long before then.

He slowed his breathing, calming himself. And then he laughed, realizing just how much he had missed this. The excitement, the challenge of it. For
the first time in years he felt alive, a sense of purpose coursing through him.

It felt almost like his blood had slowed, become silted like a river, but now…

Turning, he looked to his Chief Steward, Ling Yu.

‘Steward Ling… have my marshals report in to me, within the hour! And I want to know what the latest word is on each of the remaining T’ang. Where they are, what they’re doing, who they’ve spoken to. And my sons…’

Tsao Ch’un smiled; a smile that might easily have been misinterpreted as a snarl, so fierce it was. For a moment he had forgotten. For the briefest moment he had let things slide, underestimating his enemies. But now he knew. The scene from Bremen had reminded him. There was still much to be done if he was to destroy them.

Alive. Yes, he felt suddenly alive again.

As his men ran this way and that to do his bidding, Tsao Ch’un gave a great roar of laughter and, rubbing his hands together, began again to mould events, like he had once before, back when this world was young.

Back when it was all fresh and new.

J
udge Yo leaned forward in his chair, his sculpted, skull-like head tilted towards his right, where the Changs and their lawyers sat.

‘Advocate Hui,’ he began, his voice cold and clear and emotionless. ‘I understand you have moved to have this case thrown out.’

Hui Chang Yeh heaved his massive bulk out of his chair and stood, head bowed, before Yo Jou Hsi.

‘I have, my Lord.’

‘May I ask on what grounds?’

Hui remained as he was, head bowed, as if Judge Yo were the Son of Heaven himself.

‘I would refer my Lordship to the decision of the
Ta-li ssu
in the case of Chu versus Chi. My Lord has the papers. There the precedent is firmly established that any contract entered into by the past owners of a registered trading concern is not necessarily binding to the new owners.’

‘And on what basis was this claimed?’

‘It is claimed on the basis of the
Ko-hou ch’ih
, my Lord… the Edicts Subsequent to Regulations, which ruled…’

Jake leaned in to Advocate Yang. ‘What is he talking about?’

Yang glanced fearfully at Judge Yo, then whispered back.

‘
The
Ta-li ssu
is the Supreme Court of Justice. And the case of Chu versus Chi has stood for more than a thousand years.
’

And this was the first time he had been told of it! Jake looked past Yang
at Advocate Meng, as if something should be done to counter what he was hearing. Only Meng appeared to be dozing, as if he had no interest in the case whatsoever.

What in God’s name is going on?

Out in the space below Judge Yo’s chair, Advocate Hui was busy piling precedent upon precedent, citing case after case, while Judge Yo nodded from his position up on the dais, the faintest rictus of a smile animating his face.

We’re having our arses kicked
, Jake thought.
And where’s the reinforcements GenSyn promised?

Detained somewhere else
, he answered, his spirits sinking.
Tied up on some other case while the world falls apart!

That morning’s news had not been good. Rumours were that at least three of the Seven were already dead. After the uncensored images that had been screened the previous day – images Jake himself had missed – people were terrified that things would escalate and everyone get dragged into the conflict. It wasn’t helped by the fact that the news channels had been shut down most of the day. And even when they were broadcasting, the news from them was mixed. The Bremen declaration was decidedly so, and whilst part of him silently cheered on the Seven and hoped they’d have the victory, another part feared the outcome. For if Tsao Ch’un were to triumph, anyone who had been associated with GenSyn and the Eberts in any way was likely to get it in the neck, his son Peter and himself included.

Jake had been surprised that the hearing had continued, when there was every reason to postpone it until the troubles were over. But the Ministry, it seemed, had decreed that all government functions be maintained, and so here they were sitting in court, as if nothing in the outside world had changed.

‘
Advocate Yang
…’ he began, only this time Judge Yo turned to him, his eyes blazing with anger.

‘
Shih
Reed! You will be quiet or I will have you removed from the courtroom!’

Jake bowed his head. ‘Forgive me, my Lord.’

Yo glared at him, then turned back, smiling at the fat man who stood before him in his expensive silks. ‘Continue, Advocate Hui.’

Before Hui could say another word, the doors at the far end swung open.

‘My Lord…’

If Hui was big, the newcomer was huge, twice Hui’s size at the very least. Only unlike Hui, the newcomer had a distinct air of elegance. His long dark hair was braided with pearls, while his flowing silks were a beautiful olive green, bordered in black. Most distinctive of all, however, was the golden staff he carried.

Jake stared at the man, astonished by the sight. Yet when he looked back at Judge Yo, he was surprised to find not derision, but a kind of shocked awe on his features.

Yo Jou Hsi was afraid!

Beside him, both Yang and Meng had suddenly woken up. Their faces shared an expression of delighted expectation.

Who the fuck…?

Was this what they had promised him? Was this what Meng Hsin-fa had meant when he’d told him ‘Wait and see’?

Judge Yo swallowed, then gestured towards the newcomer.

‘Shu Liang… have you an interest in this case?’

The big man – Shu Liang, he presumed – looked puzzled. ‘An
interest
?’ He came down the steps, then smiled at Jake. ‘
Shih
Reed…’ He bowed respectfully, then turned back to face Judge Yo.

‘I understand Judge Wei is dead. An
accident
, I’m told…’

There was no hint of threat, yet Judge Yo looked like he’d been struck.

Shu Liang walked slowly on past Jake and Yang and Advocate Meng, until he stood just below the Judge, with his opponent, Hui, a mere arm’s length away.

‘Has he cited Chu versus Chi?’

Yo nodded.

‘And the New Code, the
Hsin-lu
… has he quoted from that, too?’

Again Yo nodded.

‘Hmmm… I thought as much. And you’ve
allowed
this, Yo Jou Hsi?’

Yo didn’t answer. He seemed to have shrunk back into his skin.

Shu Liang slowly shook his head, as if disappointed. ‘No doubt our friend here will be quoting from the
Wu-te
code next. Or is that too
modern
for him?’

Beside Jake, both Yang and Meng laughed.

‘
Too modern!
’ Yang repeated delightedly, then nudged Jake, as if he too should get the joke.

But Shu Liang wasn’t done. Suddenly the gentle, mocking tone was gone, and in its place…

Jake felt a tingle down his spine. Suddenly it was as if a snarling tiger stood before them. The look on Shu Liang’s face was predatory and his voice…

‘Yo Jou Hsi…’

Judge Yo quailed before him. ‘Yes?’ he said, his voice faint, apologetic.

‘Are you going to listen to this drivel, or are you going to call a recess? Because if you really
are
going to waste our time in this fashion…’

Yo swallowed again, then, as if he’d made the decision unaided, reached for his gavel and brought it down hard.

‘An hour’s recess,’ he said, looking to Shu Liang, who smiled and nodded. ‘But be back here in good time.’

Then, as if he couldn’t get away fast enough, he was gone.

For a second or two, Shu Liang watched the space Judge Yo had vacated. Then he turned back to them, smiling broadly, his mouth the tiniest of slits in the middle of those folds of flesh that were his chin and neck. ‘
Shih
Reed… forgive me for my lateness… As you’ve probably gathered, I am Shu Liang, your Senior Advocate.’

Jake took the massive scented hand, his own dwarfed by it. ‘Shu Liang…’ Only as he looked up, meeting the big man’s eyes, he caught his breath.

A Han with green eyes! It was unheard of. Or were these fake? Lenses, perhaps?

‘My own,’ Shu Liang said, smiling, as if he’d read Jake’s thoughts. ‘Or rather, my mother’s. She was
Hung Mao
.’

‘Ah…’ Even so… it felt wrong. Wasn’t there something about dominants and recessives? Shouldn’t his eyes be dark?

Shu Liang looked about him. ‘Advocate Meng, Advocate Yang… friends… is there a room we can use? If we’re to have a strategy…’ He paused, then laughed. ‘Did he really cite Chu versus Chi?’

‘He did,’ Meng answered, grinning.

‘Then maybe we won’t need to use anything stronger than irony.’

Seated in one of the smaller anterooms, Shu Liang faced Jake across the table, while the rest of them looked on, Meng holding Shu Liang’s staff.

‘Doubtless you want to know who I am, is that not so,
Shih
Reed?’

Seen close up, Shu Liang really was something. Precious stones had been sewn into his olive-green silks – stones that looked like tiny tiger’s eyes – interspersed with tiny butterflies made of golden thread. From his clothes one might have mistaken him for a dandy, a dilettante, except for those eyes. Behind the green,
embedded
in the green, was an intelligence that was somehow cold and machine-like.

Jake smiled. ‘You must be someone very special, Advocate Shu…’

‘Oh, I
am
, friend Jake. You might also think that I think a great deal of myself, saying that. Then again, there is a great deal of me. Appearances might suggest that I have a whole school of lawyers in here, fighting to get out!’

Shu Liang let the laughter die, then spoke again. ‘But let me be serious a moment. This case… it
interests
me. The very fact that the Changs should pursue it through a court at this level says a great deal about their motives. They wish to establish a precedent, I imagine. To win two or three such cases. Enough to establish them in law. As for what Advocate Hui was doing back there… it stank of obfuscation, neh? Chu versus Chi…’ He laughed. ‘Only, if he thinks he can play such games with me, then he’s very much mistaken.’

Shu Liang shifted a little, as if uncomfortable on the small chair he was sitting on. ‘Your case,
Shih
Reed… the truth is, it should not have needed to be heard. The Judge should have ruled, at once and without need to have considered anything but your original agreement with MicroData. A contract is a contract, after all, and anyone who buys into that contract does so as if they stepped into the shoes of the previous owner.’

He sighed. ‘Only the fact is this… we live in dark times. Our sense of yi, of social rightness, upon which all of our law is based, has been worn down, our social conscience abraded. As a result, self-serving lackeys like our friend Yo Jou Hsi have proliferated, like bugs on a bloated corpse. Judge Wei’s death – his “accident” – surprised me somewhat. It was somehow too bold, too…
direct
. Perhaps Wei simply got too greedy. Or, more likely, Judge Yo promised to undercut him. To deliver the verdict at half the cost. Whatever… the one thing we can be certain of is that Yo is
their
man, and that given the chance, he will rule for them.’

Jake frowned. ‘Then that business of the auction?’

‘Was, I believe, to test your resolve to continue with the case. To see whether you would not rather prefer to settle than to fight on. Judge Yo may be venial, but he is not stupid. I can’t believe he would have accepted a higher bribe from you, even if you had offered such. He is, I am sure, conscious now of just how ruthless his employers can be. Wei’s accident will have told him as much.’

Shu Liang smiled. Then, lifting himself up out of the chair, he walked over to the far end of the room, where shelf after shelf of leather-bound volumes filled the wall from floor to ceiling. Idly, he pulled one down and studied it a moment, then put it back.

‘You see, the problem is not in winning this case, but in making it stick. Making it…
unchallengeable
. Making it so that the Changs – and others like them – will be discouraged from bringing a similar case against someone new. Someone who, unlike you,
Shih
Reed, is not so willing to fight for what is theirs.’

Advocate Meng spoke now for the first time. ‘So what next, Master Shu? You spoke of a strategy…’

Shu Liang turned back, facing him.

‘I think our first task is to expose Advocate Hui for the fake he is. To shoot down all his ducks. All of his Chis and Chus. To blow the dust away and get down to the facts.’ He smiled. ‘I’ll enjoy that. It’ll be fun.’