Persona Non Grata

Scene 3 - Former Alliances

It was early in the morning when the Victoria found itself clashing mildly against one of the docks of the Batangas port. Around the sixth hour in the morning, when our ship was still out at sea days ago, Basilio and I had made our arrangements with the captain of the ship to make ready the deployment of our cargo as soon as we hit the shore, and so we are expecting everything to be rolled out quickly. The hour is thirty-seven minutes past nine, and nothing still seem to be unloaded from the cargo hold and our ship's stuck at the docks for almost three days.

With nothing to do but to wait for the captain as he arranges all the necessary clearances and documents to permit our cargo into the country, I busied myself by surveying the happenings in the dock's surroundings as I lit a cigarette from the upper deck of the ship, and looking down before me are the usual goings-on of the port: porters wearing their filthy camisas moving about like ants carrying their own loads towards their anthill, carriages bearing passengers entering and exiting the port, vendors and peddlers shouting about, advertising their goods and wares among a handful of passers-by walking along the sidewalk. However, on certain occasions, my eyes happen to spy on more...interesting events. From petty instances of hungry street children stealing goods from street peddlers to a pretty straightforward mugging, the port of Batangas has no shortage of sights to amuse oneself.

A few seconds later, I heard the sound of solid soles colliding against the steel steps leading towards the deck. Ascending from the stairs is a man of great built, a grey-haired mariner with a bush for a beard and brows tightly knit. The sailor is apparently in a bad mood and talking to himself, though I can't make much of what he is saying. As he drew closer, his whispers began to be audible, saying in Spanish, "Those fucking port authorities. They think they can charge this much tax on our cargo and get away with it?! Wait till my friend from the Cortes hears about this. Even in a foreign land, my fellow Spaniards can't do a fellowman a favor and even have the guts to extort money from me. Sons of whores."

When he turned to me, however, his face brightened a little, as if trying to approach me with as much good humor as possible. "My apologies for the delay, señor. We had a little problem with the port authorities here in uhh....Batangas. But no worries, I have settled what needs to be arranged and everything is in order. Your carriage is waiting below."

I paused for a moment to look him in the eye. "There is confidence in your words, however, I am compelled to challenge its integrity because of your expression. I know this country too well to know that whatever business you had below is not a small problem. Please, my friend, tell me what happened."

The captain seemed hesitant at first, judging by the silence that followed. Then, with a heavy sigh, he said, "I don't mean to trouble you on this concern, but the port authorities demanded a sum that is a thousand pesos higher than the legal charge for taxes for our cargo. I tried to talk sense into them, but those bastards...they won't listen to a word I say and started making threats. I had to compromise, so-"

"So you gave them what they asked?" a man interrupted.

"Do-Doctor Basilio." the captain replied, his head bowed and his eyes staring at the ground.

"How much is it again?" my partner asked intently.

"A thousand pesos, doctor." the captain replied.

"I see." Basilio answered placidly. He then turned to me and said, "Isagani, what do you think?"

"What do I think? Report them to the Captain-General! Let them know that we are not individuals that are to be taken lightly. That's what you would do too, I presume." I answered with a tone of pomp and swagger.

"To bring this matter to the attention of the Captain-General would be a tall order, señor." the sailor challenged. "We might as well admit of attempting to smuggle the goods into the country. Don't take this the wrong way, señores. It's just that they'll be sure to turn our own words against us if we bring this case to a local court. I suggest to let it be...for now, at least. I have a friend in the Cortes that can help us get back at them."