Page 80 of New Storm Rising
“Now, tell me again,” Señor Maximo Emilio Reyes Espiridion Victor De La Fuente said, tapping the armrest of his chair, while his gaze bored into the man cowering in front of him. “During de last sree days, what have you observed in regard to se mine in sis town?”
The man in front of the nobleman wrung his hands, glancing from left to right.
“Um…nothing, Sir.”
“Nothing? As in ‘nothing whatsoever has been happening’?”
“Err…no, Sir. Nothing as in nothing has changed. The operation is running normally.”
“Normally?” De La Fuente’s eyebrows twitched, and his friend De Ravera didn’t seem to feel much happier. “Normally?”
“Y-yes, Sir. The shipments are still leaving the mine.”
Wood creaked under the immense pressure of a tight grip. “You know, I usually try to estay calm, to follow se philosophy of estoicism,” the Spanish nobleman stated, nearly ripping the armrest off his chair. “But sis is beginning to strain my patience. Do you have eyes,pendejo, or are dere rotten eggs estuck in your head instead?”
“N-no, Sir. I’m telling the truth. The mine has been operating normally.”
Crash!
The ornamented crystal wine glass smashed into the wall, splattering wine in every direction. Red dripped down like blood, filled with dark promise.
“So…you are trying to tell me sat we have removed every single worker from his mine, and yet, somehow, wagon loads of ore are still being brought out se tunnel?”
“Y-yes.”
A fist slammed down onto the armrest. “By whom? Damnespectros?Fantasmas?”[20]
“Well, no, Sir. We, ehem, did not…not…”
“Did notwhat?”
“We…did not exactly see anyone.” The man swallowed. “All we saw were the stacks of crates filled with ore at the entrance of the mine, ready to be transported.”
Another thud sounded as, once again, De La Fuente’s fist hit the armrest. “Bastardos incompetentes!I should just hang se lot of you!”
“And if you did sat, who would slave away for us?” Out of the shadows in the corner of the room stepped De Ravera, his intense gaze fixed on the messenger. The young man gulped, his face clearly betraying the hope that the phrase “don’t shoot the messenger” applied here.
“What good are slaves and servants when se lot of sem cannot even perform se simplest tasks?” growled De La Fuente. “We might as well spare ourselves se expenses and get rid of sem!”
Reaching out, De Ravera placed a hand on his countryman’s shoulder. “Calm, my friend. Calm. Consider for a moment—what would be se simplest reason why, even wisout a single worker, ore is estill being transported out of se mine?”
“I don’t know!Maldita sea![21]How would I know how such a sing could be accomplished? It’s not as if he could just—”
His voice cut off abruptly.
“Ah.” De Ravera nodded wisely. “You noticed it, too, did you not?”
“You mean he…that sneaky bastard actually…”
“Si. It’s quite obvious really.” De Ravera grinned. “There are no workers. No new ore is being produced. Sere is only one possible explanation: sey are simply transporting out se last few reserves of gold ore stashed away in some secret corner of se mine, using what few men sey have left. Most likely sey’re pretending dese ores are freshly mined in order to srow us off. All we have to do is wait for sem to run out, and seir bluff will be revealed. Won’t sat be amusing?”
“Ha!” De La Fuente barked. “Ha, ha, hahahaha! How right you are,mi amigo, how right you are. Sis is going to be fun.” Eyes glittering, the Spaniard rubbed his hands. “Just a few days…a few more days…I cannot wait to see se expression on seir faces!”
***
Several more days later…
“Ah…mmm…ahh…yes…yes…yes!” Bonelessly, I sank back into the mattress, grinning up at Mr Ambrose, filled with the kind of bliss that only one thing in a woman’s life could provide. “That was amazing. I think I’m enjoying this honeymoon.”
