Mango Seeds

This was the first time in Mango’s life that she hated being on a private jet. The aircraft itself was huge. It was luxurious and fitted with multiple sections. It had a bar, plush leather seats, rich wooden panels, and gold-trimmed décor. It was actually the type of plane Mango would want someday.

However, it was the company that Mango didn't care for. Jade was a terrible host.

Mango’s wrists were bound to a chair, and across from her sat Laz and Jade drinking champagne from the nearby bar. She glared at them with disdain. They could've at least offered her a drink. Totally unprofessional.

“I always knew you were a snake,” she said to Laz. “From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were a conniving worm. ”

Laz rolled his eyes. “Of course you did. That’s why you went along with everything, right?”

“How could you do this? What happened to that inflated sense of justice or an oath or something? What happened to doing the right thing for America?”

“This is the right thing. If there’s a new threat, I need to know about it. And if this helps me climb the ranks, helps along the way, even better.”

“How do you think they’ll feel when I tell them what you’ve done?”

Laz chuckled and lifted his wrist. “See this? It’s a tracking device. They already know where I am. The deputy director gave me full authorization to check if this lead is credible.”

Then he turned to Jade. “If it’s not… I’ll take care of her. Then leave.”

Jade let out a soft laugh. “You seem oddly confident.”

Laz stood up. “Of course I am. America makes deals with people like you all the time. This is just… protocol.”

He rubbed the code ring on his finger. “And you’re not getting this from me anytime soon.”

He walked over to the bar and poured himself another drink.

“Isn’t he adorable?” Jade said to Mango, watching Laz. “I just love a man with too much bravado. The only problem is they’re always so stubborn to break in, you know? Like a good Bronco... or a dog.”

“We’re not friends,” Mango snapped.

“But we’re like family. I mean, you’re with my brother, right? Or… should I say, were? I'm really hoping he tried to use the parachute, or else I went through all that trouble for no reason.”

Mango's face curled into a snarl. “Don’t talk about him. You’re vile. How could you murder your own brother?”

Jade pursed her lips thoughtfully, fingers tapping them as if she were pondering. “Hmm. How could I do that? Such an interesting question.” She smirked. “I thought you were there. Want me to reiterate how it happened in case you forgot?”

Mango’s stomach twisted. This woman was a sociopath. She was making such light of the situation. It wasn't like Peter, who was full of emotion. Jade felt as if she were devoid of it.

“You don’t feel anything,” said Mango. “It’s disgusting.”

“Don’t feel what?”

“John loved you,” Mango said. “You and Peter. He would’ve done anything to keep you both alive and out of trouble. Why do you think he never ratted on your family? He cared about you. And you both were so willing to kill him.”

For the first time, Jade’s smugness faded. Her face grew solemn. It was almost as if her facade was turned off with a switch.

“You say that as if I never cared about them. Of course I did,” Jade said quietly. “They were my brothers.”

She crossed her legs and continued, her voice becoming darkly askew in tone. “But in this world, you do what you have to do. Just like a bird catches fish, or a lion kills a warthog. To survive, you kill. Even if you don’t want to. I had to do it. To protect our legacy. To protect the real free world.”

“The free world? What the ‘underground’? You've got to be kidding me!”

“Then you’re just being stupid,” Jade said flatly. “I'm not saying they're victims or something, but they aren't bound to bullshit laws run by fat old people who act morally superior and then commit the same crimes but get away with it. People in your government are frequently ‘above the law’ just because of the position they hold. You can be a felon and still be president! Honestly, I don’t know what my brother saw in you.”

“Excuse me?”

Jade shrugged. “He usually goes for stronger women. A woman with a real head on her shoulders. Like that Lea woman. I'm surprised he didn't go farther with her.”

“How do you know about Lea?” Mango asked, startled.

“Oh, please,” Jade scoffed. “As soon as John left, I kept tabs on him. Intel gathering is my thing.”

“Wait, you’ve been watching him this whole time?”

“Of course,” Jade said. “He was my brother. I couldn’t just let him run off. He was always a relentless knucklehead. Diving headfirst into danger, addicted to the rush. He’s an adrenaline junkie, you know? Unlike Peter and me, who learned to let things go. I had to make sure he wouldn’t betray us.”

“John would've never betray his family. He doesn’t operate like that.”

Jade laughed, her sung demeanor returning. “You’ve known him for what? A few weeks? You don’t know him.”

She leaned forward, her voice dripping with a coy tone. “John’s done terrible things. Evil things. Things that would make you lose all faith in him. Before he was the squeaky-clean CIA desk jockey, he was a mafia prince. Maybe you should ask him sometime… about the loved ones he killed. The bodies he's put in the ground.”

“You’re lying!” Mango said, voice cracking. “John's not a psycho like you!”

“Sure, sure,” Jade replied with a shrug. She stood and walked slowly around Mango. “The day he left us, it shocked us all. After everything he had done for the family… we thought his loyalty was unshakable. I mean, why wouldn't it be? He was one of us.”

She stopped and sighed. “But I guess it doesn’t matter now. He’s gone.”

Mango’s head hung low. Reality weighed heavily on her chest. Everything she thought she had with John… it was over. He was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

“You know… you and I are kind of like sisters,” said Jade.

“We are not sisters,” Mango snarled.

“Oh, but we will be,” Jade said. “You see, while CIA boy over there wants to control the masses… I want to protect people like us.”

Mango shook her head in disbelief. “How do you figure that?”

“I’m not lying about the organization,” Jade said. “They’ve infiltrated every government around the world. They control the underworld with an inescapable grip. People think they’re making free choices, but it’s all been pre-calculated. The illusion of choice is not a real choice.”

“Yeah sure! Every job I get is on someone's vision board. That’s impossible."

“Is it? Peter tried to rule the underground with the satellite by threatening destruction. It was a decent plan. But if you destroy your own people, you’ll have no one to defend you when the real enemy shows up. I plan to liberate the underground. Let them make money how they want. And I’ll protect them from the people who are truly evil.”

Mango shook her head. "That’s just stupid."

"You’ll come around," said Jade. She snapped her fingers. A guard walked over. "Undo this woman’s handcuffs."

The guard nodded and walked over, releasing Mango’s wrists. Mango rubbed them, her eyes wide in disbelief.

“There’s nothing you can do anyway,” Jade said. “We’re almost at one of my secret bases, and since you clearly weren’t safe under John’s wing, you’ll be under mine... whether you like it or not.”

“Damn it!” Laz suddenly yelled from across the jet.

Both Mango and Jade snapped their heads in his direction.

“What?” asked Jade, her voice tinged with sudden panic.

Mango squinted at her suspiciously. For someone who normally is so smugly confident, Jade’s sudden shift was telling. What was she afraid of?

“My watch!” Laz said, gesturing to the bar where vodka was dripping down the counter and a bottle lay tipped over. “I spilled vodka all over my tracking watch.” He removed the soaked device from his wrist and began patting it down with a towel.

“Be careful with that stuff,” Jade scolded. “This is my private jet. I actually like the things on board. Ugh, you're making my head hurt."

Then, suddenly, Mango heard the FOCUS AI in her mind.

<<<>>>

[You have a gadget available that you’re not using. Suggestion: Use the gadget.]

<<< >>>

What gadget? Mango thought.

<<<>>>

[Watch.]

<<< >>>

Her eyes widened in realization. She slid her hand into a pocket hidden in her sleek black bodysuit. John’s watch. The one she had stolen long ago in Tokyo. She couldn’t risk pulling it out, not yet, but she began pressing buttons blindly. Jade turned to look back at her. Mango froze, her heart pounding. Sweat formed on her brow. Had she been caught?

Jade stared at her with a blank expression. Then suddenly she casually asked: “Tell me, did you fuck him?”

Mango’s jaw dropped. Her face turned bright red. “What?! That’s… really personal. Why do you even care?”

A wide, eerie smile spread across Jade’s face. “Well, at least now I know he didn’t die a virgin,” she said. “For some reason, I always thought he would.”

Just then, the watch in Mango’s pocket buzzed lightly. She removed her hand from her pocket and calmly crossed her legs, trying to mask the buzzing sound as much as possible.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” said Mango. “Because the second I get the chance, I will put you under.”

Jade smiled again. “Everyone wants something,” she said. “And once I give it to you, I’ll be like the sister you never had. You… and every other criminal in the world… will see me as their mother. Their savior.”

She grinned. “And that type of loyalty is something money can’t buy. Something no weapons manufacturer could ever build. At least not yet.”