Kevin rushed towards the door, meeting Carmita as she walked out of his room. She jumped back in shock, holding a broomstick as if it were a spear. Kevin backed away, raising his hands.
Carmita relaxed and said, "Oh, you surprise me."
Kevin asked, "Why did you go in my room?"
"To sweep the floor."
"But it's nighttime. Why sweep now?"
"Because I want to clean."
Couldn't you have just waited until I wouldn't be sleeping inside?
Carmita then asked, "Where did you go? You're soaking wet."
Lying through his teeth, Kevin said, "I take a walk outside."
Carmita lifted a brow. "At night? It is raining so hard?"
"I like rain."
She shrugged in response and walked away, continuing to sweep the hallway. Although somewhat plausible, her explanation lacked logical reason and justification, but Kevin himself was questionable, so he didn't dare inquire further.
He entered his room and shut the door behind him. After drying himself and changing out of his wet clothes, he checked the coin bag resting on his pillow.
After counting all the copper pennies inside to make sure Carmita hadn't stolen anything, he tied the bag shut and stuffed it inside his pillowcase. Kevin laid back in bed, falling back into slumber to the sound of sweeping footsteps and distant firework like claps.
***
After a 20-minute walk, Caesar, Lars, and Lieutenant Sanaida arrived at Fort Paradise. The fort consisted of a series of small stone and wood buildings surrounded by a vast, barren expanse. Its outer walls were made of stone and adorned with watchtowers. The trio entered the fort through a gap in the walls. As they sauntered inside, Caesar took the opportunity to inspect his new home.
The buildings on the outskirts closer to the walls were made of wood and were built like log cabins. All of them looked to be in some state of disrepair. This section of the fort resembled a temporary military encampment more than it did a key regional installation. Progressing into the interior, the buildings increased in importance and function, as was made evident by the transition from wood as the primary building materials to stone and brick.
The pathways were empty of the hustle and bustle expected at a military installation. The area seemed devoid of life apart from a few soldiers strewn apart across the fortress. They either silently moved about on patrol duty, or to Sanaida's visible disapproval, were taking the opportunity to nap and fraternize amongst themselves with drink.
Is this considered night or day shift?
This behavior was typical of those stationed on guard duties and patrols during the night, but the sun, still high in the sky, made it hard for Caesar to comprehend the situation. Soon the group arrived at the center of the Fort, where they were greeted by a large building made of brown bricks. The influence of the Washingtonian style, a hybridization of Georgian, Neosilconism, and Colonial style architecture, could be seen in its design, which featured symmetrical windows, a flat roof, and white pillars. Unlike the surrounding buildings, this one was in pristine condition, lacking signs of wear or damage.
Waiting for them by the entrance was a tall, middle aged woman dressed in an icy blue buttoned uniform with a heavy fur jacket. She had short black hair, pale skin, a wide face, and high cheekbones. Saniada saluted her. Caesar and Lars followed suit with the latter dropping the chest he carried. The woman saluted back and said, "At peace."
The three men dropped their salutes, Lars lifted his chest back up as the woman continued, "Corporal Parna, Private Amerson, as the captain of the Greenland Garrison, I would like to formally welcome you to our humble island. You may refer to me as Captain, Captain Brown, or Captain Siku, whichever suits your preference. The building in front of you is Fort Paradise's headquarters, Blue Bergs."
Caesar felt the urge to break into laughter due to the name's connotations back in Boston, but the temptation melted under Captain Brown's gaze. Her glare was icy and analytical, as if she were sizing him up. To Caesar, her most distinctive feature was her eyes. They were both monolid and blue, which drew his amazement and wonder. The former was already rare enough on the eastern seaboard for them to be blue, and monolid was exceedingly rare and improbable.
"I would like to meet with you both individually to discuss what your immediate futures look like as you adjust to the new post. I imagine you would like to settle in, so I shall cut myself short. Private Amerson, please follow me to my office, Lieutenant. Please guide Corporal Parna to his new bed in the barracks."
Saniada saluted. "Yes, Ma'am."
Captain Brown guided Lars inside "Blue Bergs" headquarters, while Saniada walked Caesar to the barracks.
***
Carlos jumped back at the sound of banging on his door. He was woken up an hour ago by the sound of shouts, screams, and gunshots close enough to be coming from down the street. Initially, he'd thought it was simply a one-off occurrence, perhaps a well-armed robbery gone wrong, but the noise was constant and grew louder as time passed.
Just minutes ago he'd heard the voice of his next door neighbor Paulina screaming and crying as she was presumably dragged out of her home. It was at that point that Carlos realized something much larger was going on. His wife Rosa and daughters Maria and Isabella were still asleep upstairs, having slept through the noise.
Carlos slowly crept to the door and, speaking in Cubano, said, "Who is it?"
A stern male voice replied, "We're from the garrison. Our Yankee friend wants to ask you some questions. Open up!"
Carlos slowly unlatched his door and opened it, revealing five men. Four of them were dressed in the grayish tan shirts and trousers of the city garrison, their shirts as usual were partially covered by rain-slick breastplates. All of them carried either long spears or sabers. In the center of the group was a gruff-looking man dressed in a black trench coat and fedora hat. His facial features suggested he was a Yankee.
The man in the center said in Yankish "Locate the other members of the household and bring them to me!" The garrison members stormed their way into the house, pushing Carlos aside as they forced their entry. As one made their way up the stairs, Carlos attempted to race towards him but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"Take a look."
The Yankee opened up his trench coat, revealing his inner pockets. In one such pocket, the brown grip and steel frame of a revolver were visible. Carlos trembled as the Yankee said, "Why don't we both take a seat? We have a lot to talk about, you and I."
He guided Carlos to a pair of chairs near the kitchen and took a seat. Carlos followed suit. They sat in silence as a woman and two young girls in their nightgowns were forced down the stairs before the Yankee. The adult woman was of average height with black hair and light sun kissed skin. This was Rosa, Carlos's 26-year-old wife.
Holding her two children by the wrists, she looked at Carlos. With a quiver and a fearful inflection, she said, "Carlito…what's going on? Why are these men here?"
Carlos glanced briefly at the Yankee to his right, who seemed to be amused by the situation, and said, "I don't know. Just listen to whatever they say. I don't want to make the problem worse."
The garrison members scoured the house for a few minutes as if conducting a search. Once finished, three took positions around Carlos while a fourth one moved to the door, snapping shut the only escape route. One of the children, a girl with a pink flower hairpin, broke away from Rosa's grip and rushed to her father's side, the forthcoming intervention from the garrison members was prevented by the Yankee motioning for them to stop.
"Papá what's wron-"
Carlos pulled her to his side and stoked her hair, saying "Isabella...stay still and quiet ok? Your father needs to do something, ok?"
She nodded and sucked in her lips as a demonstration of her willingness to stay quiet. The Yankee next to Carlos said, "She's very cute. How old is she?"
"She is nine."
He smiled "Nine! She's a little short for her age, isn't she? Well, maybe my sisters were just very tall. If I'm not mistaken, this will be her first year taking part in the children's procession for Myami's upcoming Solsticioz celebration, correct?"
Carlos nodded. "Yes...I've been saving up to buy a new dress for her."
"You better hurry up times flying summer solstice is just over a month away....tell me, does she speak Yankish?"
Carlos's heart skipped a beat. "No they haven't-"
"Oh well, tell her that I hope her dress is pretty when you have the time."
He then yawned and said, "You can call me Agent Muhaamed, I am from the federal bureau. The reason I've intruded this night is that we are conducting an investigation in this neighborhood, the exact details of which I can not disclose. In any case, once you answer my questions, we'll be on our way….I recommend you be honest. If I have reason to doubt the truth of your words, I'll be here longer than anyone wants. Do you understand?"
In the distance, a loud groan of agony sounded out.
Bang!
The sound of gunfire silenced it swiftly.
Carlos said, "I understand, sir."
Agent Muhaamed replied, "Excellent, my first question should be simple. What is your religion?"