Meet the New Boss

  -ISLA ALFOMBRA-

At the seat of government of Isla Alfombra, the current president, Reynaldo Guadarrama, looks out the window and sighs. He wasn't one for getting sentimental, but the week of his brother's birthday always snuck up on him. Ten years on, and he still wasn't half the leader Ignazio had been.

Of course, if you'd asked most any citizen of Isla Alfombra, they would have told you Reynaldo was a wonderful leader. He'd won his re-election through skills and promises, not through trickery and fakery. Yet the doubts still plagued Reynaldo, the man even leaving Ignazio's portrait up in his office so that he could talk out his doubts.

"Ahhh... another complaint from our friendly Minister of Economics. Nothing I do will ever make him happy, will it? But that's part of the problem with promoting by skill. You would have known how to keep him in line, wouldn't you..."

Reynaldo sighs as he rolls his wheelchair back to his desk. If only he had known what sending Ignazio into space would have lead to. The Robot that had accompanied Ignazio had offered to help, but Reynaldo turned it down - he needed to become a leader in his own right to succeed him, rather than rely on the ghost of his brother. Still, sometimes he couldn't help but wonder if that was the right decision. There was so much, even on a small island in the north Caribbean. The military, the economy, the social services...

The presidente's musings are cut off by the sounds of gunshots. He starts to roll his chair, remembering the emergency procedure - but as he makes for the exit, the door swings open. They'd waited to open any fire until someone was right outside his office. A familiar face... with an unfamiliar one next to it.

"...General Castillo. Is this what I think it is?"

"Why, yes it is, Reynaldo."

General Castillo was one of the new men who had risen up the ranks after Ignazio's death. Reynaldo had never felt confident in his reading of people, so he'd ignored his gut yelling at him about Castillo and how untrustworthy he seemed. Now... well, small comforts. At least he knew to trust himself next time.

"A coup. And after I did so well in the last election."

"Oh, it's not about your popularity. I admire you, Reynaldo. You are truly a man of the people! But a man of the people is not what Isla Alfombra needs in the modern world. It needs a strong man."

"And you're strong enough."

"Not until now, no. I would have never risked this before! I knew I was not the man to lead, no matter my dreams... until I met a new friend of mine."

"Let me guess, the man standing next to you?"

The unfamiliar man laughs. "HAhahahaha! Is it true that someone in this region of the world really does not recognize me?"

"No," General Castillo shakes his head. "we simply have a mutual friend. This is the famed explorer, Matthieu Rivaleux."

"Greatest when it comes to the mysteries of the Americas!"

"...Tell me." Reynaldo cautiously asks. "What do you get out of helping Castillo?"

"HA! Wouldn't you like to know, so you can scoop me on it! No, no, no. This is between myself and the General." Rivaleux replies, laughing. General Castillo steps between the two, and three soldiers move into the room. Oddly, they all seem dazed... but they're still active, and they still have guns.

"Reynaldo, my friend. I certainly do not want to hurt you. I've avoided hurting as many of your guards as I could. The people love you, and I want to help the people. I'm not expecting you to endorse me yet, but please do come quietly."

Reynaldo looks around. Between Castillo, his soldiers, and Rivaleux, he knows when he's beaten for now. He puts his hands up, and Castillo brightens up.

"Excellent! Thank you very much. Soldiers! Make sure to treat Reynaldo with the best of care. Don't harm a hair on his head, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir!"

The soldiers escort Reynaldo out, while Castillo and Rivaleux remain. For a moment, Castillo just looks around the office. The chair, the desk, the papers.... everything, except the portrait of Ignazio, which he just ignores. Eventually, Rivaleux coughs.

"So, our end of the bargain..."

"Yes, yes, of course!" 

Grabbing a paper, Castillo begins to fill out his first official edict. He stamps it.

"As promised. You, and any associates you may have, now have exclusive rights to all archaeological investigations and studies on Isla Alfombra."

"Wonderful, wonderful! Helping you was absolutely worth it."

Rivaleux smiles. The man in purple had come through again! All it took was a man with a dream, and the secrets of Isla Alfombra were his to plunder. He knew enough to know that the island hid at least some of the clues to his true goal. Yet, Reynaldo's government had turned down his applications.

So, it was a simple matter of changing the island's government.

"I'll be off for now, General."

"General...? No, no." Castillo grins. "You mean my new title.

El Presidente!"

El Presidente (General Castillo)

Blue 8 of Edicts

Matthieu Rivaleux

Green Jack of Ruins