Chapter 27: Reckoning
*****
Daban was on the cusp of spring.
For the first time in months, the temperature around the city was starting to rise. The skies weren't as overcast or dreary as they'd been, and the first hint of greenery was beginning to return to the beleaguered city.
Adalbert Avila was troubled about how to think or feel about the return of spring. Like any other man, he welcomed the change in weather. He was thankful not to have to trudge through the heavy snow or feel the biting chill every time a door was opened to the outside.
On the other hand, he disliked it merely because he couldn't really enjoy the warmer temperatures by being outside. Daban itself was still under a tenuous siege by his brethren in the Swabian army, and if Adalbert was caught behind enemy lines, the penalty was going to be death.
Since the war showed no signs of coming to a close just yet, there wasn't much else he could do except stay bottled up like a rat. Neither side was strong enough to push the other out, and it seemed like everyone was content to wait until spring to see what warmer temperatures might bring.
Adalbert hoped it would be sooner rather than later. He was tired of hearing rumors about what one side was going to do or the other. With Swabian lines only a few hundred yards from where he stood, he just wanted this war to be over. He wanted to stop having to look over his shoulder in Daban, and more importantly, he wanted to find out when Jack Easterbrook was going to ride to the city's rescue.
In that regard, he'd almost given up hope. It had been nearly six months since Easterbrook left the country, and there was no word yet on his return. Adalbert was nearly to the point where he believed he might not come back to Picardy, for surely if he was going to try to save the country, he would have arrived by now.
Instead, he let Picardy languish on the brink of oblivion for months. Wherever he was, it didn't seem like coming back to Daban was a priority for him.
Unfortunately for Adalbert, it was also the only way he could go back to Swabian lines without being killed by either Magda or his cousin. He had to bring Easterbrook to them or else he would continue to live like a pariah.
Today though, he wasn't going to let any of that bother him. One nice thing about being this close to Swabian lines was the chance to catch up with his countrymen. Adalbert had discovered weeks ago that the allied lines in this section of the city didn't cover every nook and cranny of the urban landscape. It was only a small oversight on the Picard part that allowed him to slip down a backstreet, crawl under a fence, and prowl down a quiet alley until he was quite literally right on top of Swabian lines.
Of course, the first time he did this, he nearly got shot—the result of a quick trigger finger from a young Swabian recruit. Adalbert had only gotten his hood down in time, showcasing his Swabian features and avoiding a quick and unfortunate death.
As luck would have it, one of the lieutenants in charge of that section of the line was known to Adalbert, being an old chum that grew up on the same portion of Cormfeld as he did. Since then, Adalbert had a reliable contact within the Swabian army to obtain news about the current situation.
It also helped that all of it occurred under Magda's nose since he didn't doubt that if she caught him, he'd soon be resting not-so-easily on those impaled stakes she loved so much.
That evening, Adalbert snuck out of the tiny hovel he shared with Darcy the whore and joined the crowd of those that were heading home for the evening. Adalbert preferred going out at this time over all others. He could more easily blend in with the crowd, not having to worry about his features sticking out because of his covered head. It was also better than going out in the dead of night, where any single person might draw attention based on the overall lack of people. Adalbert preferred slipping by in broad daylight, so he arranged this meeting time with his Swabian lieutenant friend every week to get news.
The mass of people steadily died down as they got closer to the front lines, and then they became sparse altogether. Adalbert crept down the alley, slipped under the fence, and approached Swabian lines like he'd practiced many times, stopping when he heard the command.
"Password," said the brisk Swabian voice just ahead of him. Even though Adalbert couldn't yet see the soldier, he had no doubt that a rifle was now trained on his body. He gave the password when prompted, revealing a Swabian soldier tucked into the shadows who soon gestured him forward.
"You're late today," accused the private, a smarmy-looking fellow that Adalbert instantly disliked.
"Better late than never," he replied. "Where's Gil?"
The private gestured his head to a decrepit-looking building across the street. "Where he always is. Don't keep him waiting any longer."
Adalbert rolled his eyes and made his way quickly to the building. At one time, it looked to have been a post office, with hundreds of tiny mailboxes and large sorting rooms all along the first floor. Now it was the headquarters of Delta Company, 2nd Battalion of the 7th Regiment. The first floor entrance had been turned into two machine gun nests, and the entire building had been fortified to repel an attack.
Since an attack wasn't imminent, the second floor was being used to house the officers, and that's where Adalbert found Lt. Gil Barnes, the commander of Delta Company. Gil hadn't changed much from the way Adalbert remembered him from back on Cormfeld. He was still tall and lanky, and that overbite was never going to go away, but what Adalbert liked the most about the man was his healthy disdain for the higher leadership in the Swabian Army, including those like Magda.
"There you are," said Gil when Adalbert showed up. "I didn't think you were coming today."
"My whore kept me busier than usual," said Adalbert as he slumped down into a chair next to Gil's desk.
"What a problem to have," quipped Gil. "If only we'd all be so lucky to have such a problem."
"Trust me, even fucking the same whore over and over again gets tiring," said Adalbert. "If Darcy wasn't so easy to manipulate, she would have lost her usefulness months ago."
"Well, you can always send her my way," said Gil with a greasy smile. "I'd be delighted to take her off your hands for a while. A three-hole whore is always welcome in my book."
"I'll be sure to do that when I'm done with her," said Adalbert before gesturing outside. "Your man out there questioned me on my lateness today. That usually doesn't happen out there. They usually just point me in your direction and that's the end of it."
Gil nodded. "Rumors are rife today, my friend. I heard from the colonel two days ago that a foreign fleet was spotted off the southeastern coast of Picardy."
Adalbert raised an eyebrow. "Carinthian?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," said Gil. "Apparently, the lookout didn't get to see the flags on the vessels because it was too dark. Could be Galician for all we know."
Adalbert chuckled. "I highly doubt we'd find any Galician dogs in this corner of the world. They've been docile little puppies for the better part of a hundred years now."
"Still, it does beg a question of who it is," said Gil. "We haven't spotted the Carinthian or Picard fleets since that action off the coast months ago when we sunk several of their ships. We've assumed they've been licking their wounds in Carinthia, but it could easily be them coming back for a round two. Not to mention, no one has spotted that foreign fleet that was around nearly six months ago and then seemed to vanish."
Adalbert's ears perked up a little on hearing that. "I think you mean the Javans."
Gil shrugged. "Whoever the hell they are. It doesn't matter to me though. Ever since the Swabian fleet took up position at the entrance of the bay, any invading force is going to have to go through them before they get anywhere close to Daban. You know how the enlisted men are though. They hear the slightest bit of news that isn't entirely positive and they all start to panic."
"That's still interesting news though," said Adalbert.
Could it be that Jack Easterbrook is finally coming back to Daban after all this time?
"More interesting news would be when we're going to end this siege," remarked Gil. "The men are restless. It was a hard winter. Many of them didn't get proper winter coats or footwear until it was too late. It was only because we got reinforcements from Swabia that our army didn't fall apart completely. The flip side to that is that there are a lot of green men out there. I'll be happier once I know when we're going to finish the job."
"Any word on that yet?" asked Adalbert.
