San Francisco, Uncle's Antique Shop.
The bell over the door jangled wildly as Jade barreled inside, her backpack straps slipping down to her elbows and her hair a tangled mess from running.
"Pops! Pops!"
She rushed to the counter and slapped both hands on it, her eyes shining like lightbulbs.
"Is there going to be a fight? Is a world war about to start? I heard Uncle Jackie's phone call, and he said something about Tara and shadow soldiers. Are we going to war?"
Pops stood behind the counter, holding a blue-and-white porcelain vase and examining the maker's mark on its base in the light.
He didn't even lift his eyelids.
"Jade, did you put a listening device in Jackie's phone again?"
Jade's expression changed, and she denied it.
"No! Pops."
"Whether you did or not."
"Be quiet now."
"I'm doing business."
Jade opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat.
Only then did she notice someone else in the shop.
A middle-aged woman in glasses stood at the counter, smartly dressed and carrying a designer handbag, looking down at a jade bangle in the glass case.
Jade knew her. Mrs. Lin was a regular at Uncle's Antique Shop. Every time she came, she spent ages choosing, only to buy the cheapest thing in the end.
"Mrs. Lin, this bangle dates from the middle Qing dynasty. Hetian jade, with excellent translucency."
Pops gently set the vase on a shelf and turned to the customer, wearing a businessman's standard smile.
"The one you looked at last time has already sold. This one is in even better condition. Would you like to try it on?"
Mrs. Lin adjusted her glasses and leaned closer to the glass case, studying it for quite a while.
"Isn't the color a little greenish?"
"Mid-Qing