The Andes Dream

Carmensa and Sofía reached the basement five minutes later. Sofía, seeing the hole in the wall, frowned."You don't expect us to go through that hole, right?"

Oscar nodded. "Sorry, kid, but I don't want that agent coming after you. If you leave through the main entrance, he'll follow you—and he'll probably use you as hostages. So the three of you should take this route."

Rosa, inspecting the opening, asked, "When did you even start making this tunnel? Is it safe? Did you already try it?"

Carmensa's face showed the same fear—she was clearly imagining the weight of the earth collapsing over them.

Oscar raised a hand to calm them. "Don't worry. I've already used it once. The tunnel reaches El Ávila, in the forest just under the mountain. Once outside, go up toward the middle ridge—above the coffee and cacao estates. The slavers around there are cautious; it'll be hard for any agent to track you. And since you'll be on the mountain, no one will imagine I have a hidden warehouse nearby. There are also small streams—you'll have fresh water."

Carmensa arched an eyebrow. "You planned your escape very well. It's a pity we have to use it instead of you."

Oscar shrugged. "Just be careful out there. Even though I trust the Gómez family as my saviors, it's better to be cautious than sorry. Learn from this, and make your own escape route once you reach their estate."

The three nodded and began crawling through the tunnel. Carmensa, last to enter, looked back."Be careful, Oscar… and look for us."

Oscar nodded in silence. "Once you reach the exit, place this mug of gunpowder in the opening. It should collapse the tunnel and hide your tracks. I'll stay here tonight until I see it sealed."

Carmensa hesitated, then took the mug carefully and disappeared into the tunnel. Oscar sat down on a chair to wait. Time passed, and he eventually fell asleep—until a loud boom jolted him awake. Seeing the entrance packed with earth, he exhaled in relief and headed upstairs.

He still needed to reach the royal warehouse and obtain the information his patron demanded.

After bathing and changing into clean clothes, he prepared a cart and changed into the garments of a coffee vendor. His plan was simple: sell coffee near the entrance of the royal warehouse and look for a chance

As he stepped outside, pulling the small cart, an old woman looked at him curiously."Oscar, are you going to work today? Where are your mother and your sisters? Aren't you opening the inn this morning?"

Oscar shrugged. "Sorry, Miss María. My mother and sisters had to travel urgently to La Guaira. It seems a family member passed away and left them some money. And you know how she always wanted to remodel the inn—add a few extra rooms, buy new furniture—so they decided to leave last night, just in case."

The old woman nodded, looking genuinely pleased for them. "That's good. She did well to go quickly—before anyone else gets ideas about that inheritance."

Oscar nodded. "Exactly. They left me behind to look after the place. They heard someone was sending a shipment of cacao to La Guaira and decided to follow it."

The old woman frowned, puzzled. "Shipments of cacao in February?"

Oscar resisted the urge to slap himself. Clearly, everything from the night before had scrambled his thoughts. Still, he forced a casual tone. "Yes—one of the landlords had some leftovers from October. Something like that. I'm not too sure."

The old woman narrowed her eyes with suspicion. "Really? And how come I didn't hear anything about it?"

Oscar lifted his shoulders again. "No idea. It is strange… but you know how those landlords are. If they could, they'd ship their goods year-round."

The old woman nodded slowly, still puzzled.

"Well, if you'll excuse me," Oscar said, gripping the cart, "I'm off to sell some coffee."

She nodded absent-mindedly and let him go. After Oscar disappeared from sight, she slapped her forehead."I forgot to ask which caravan took the shipment… well, whatever."

Meanwhile, Oscar was sweating cold. He knew his story had too many holes, but after everything that happened last night—Carmensa hearing his darkest thoughts, Rosa's confession—his mind was a mess.

"I need to wake up," Oscar muttered under his breath. "If I mess something up again, I might end up dead faster than I thought."

After reaching the Plaza Mayor, Oscar raised his voice:

"Coffee! Coffee—fresh coffee! Who wants some coffee?"

"Over here—how much?" asked a passerby.

"Half a real," Oscar replied seriously.

As he served customers, he kept glancing toward the royal warehouse. No change of shift yet, he thought. I'll need to wait until the guards switch to get an idea of how many soldiers there are.

While he continued selling, two soldiers approached the cart."Hey, give us two," one said.

Oscar nodded and began preparing the drinks. The soldiers, assuming no one was paying attention, began talking openly—likely because they didn't think anyone would deliberately eavesdrop.

"My supervisor was almost sent to the gallows," the first soldier muttered.

The second soldier widened his eyes. "What did he do?"

The first soldier sighed. "He was exhausted during our last shift and ended up taking the book of orders and rotations home with him. The sergeant had given it to him so we'd know who was on duty next. The sergeant nearly lost his mind—he thought someone had stolen it. The soldiers were on high alert all night. They even searched the whole city."

"So that's why there were so many soldiers on patrol last night," the second soldier said.

The first nodded. "Exactly. When my supervisor brought the book back today, the sergeant ordered a beating. He's going to be in bed for two weeks. But they forgave him in the end—since the month is almost over and a new rotation starts in two days."

The second soldier shook his head, speechless. "How can a supervisor be so careless? Everyone knows that book must be returned to the guardroom."

The first soldier quickly looked around, relaxing only when he saw Oscar serving coffee and the crowd ignoring them. "Remember—that's a secret."

The second soldier slapped a hand over his mouth and nodded.

Oscar kept a neutral face, pretending not to hear anything. But inside, his mind sharpened.

The guardroom… and the book of orders and rotations… that's a godsend.

Still, he needed a plan to enter the warehouse without being caught. And with only two days until the book was replaced, he didn't have much time.

Two days, Oscar thought. In two days, I have to steal that book.

After working for a couple of hours, the change of shifts finally came. Many soldiers began entering the warehouse while others marched out. Oscar frowned and muttered, "There are more than I thought… thirty, maybe forty. Probably reinforced because of the news from France. There may be even more inside. I really need that rotation book… but how am I supposed to get it?"

While he was still frowning, a carriage loaded with supplies came up behind him, escorted by five Spanish soldiers. Seeing it, Oscar's eyes lit up.

"The supply caravan…"

He took out a pocket watch and checked the time: 11:30 a.m.

"I need to know the approximate arrival and departure time of the caravan if I want to infiltrate later."

Seeing that most of his customers were gone, he pushed the coffee cart back toward the inn. But as he reached the door, he stopped. His expression darkened.

The door had been opened by someone while he was outside.

Before he could inspect it further, the other agent opened the door from inside and let him in.

"Mr. Oscar, we were waiting for you. I hope you managed to gather some information. But first," the agent said with a chilling look, "we need to talk about the three women who were with you last night."

Two more agents stepped out from behind the door and pushed him inside. They shut the door and forced him into a chair.

Oscar nodded helplessly. "What do you want to know?"

"Where are they?" the agent asked, staring coldly.

"Safe," Oscar answered, adding nothing more.

The agent frowned, then pulled up a chair and sat in front of him.

"So you already know you might not survive this."

Oscar shrugged. "Of course I know. I've been in your position before. I more or less understand how our patron operates."

The agent sighed. "Then how can we expect you to actually carry out your mission instead of betraying us and selling us to the Spanish?"

Oscar chuckled. "If I wanted to do that, I would've done it already. But honestly, my hatred for Spain is too strong for me to ever help them."

The agent nodded quietly. He had already read this man's background. Still, he hesitated. An agent already condemned to die could be extremely useful—yet also incredibly dangerous. And without the three women, he no longer had leverage to control Oscar.

Silence stretched between them. The candles flickered in the inn, and a cricket—probably trapped inside since the night before—chirped somewhere in the shadows, adding to the tension in the room.