Decade of Iron

Before Teco and Lucha sensed anything, the intruders were inside the house from the front and back. They were fast. So fast, that Balalaika had just jumped up from her resting position in front of the children’s beds and was growling protectively when the door to the bedroom sprung open and two soldiers entered with carbines aimed at Teco and the dog. 

“No, Bal!” Teco screamed as the dog was about to lunge. She had been resting in the rocking chair beside the sleeping children’s cribs, and sprang up with the dog to stand between them and the soldiers protectively. She grabbed the dog’s choke collar and repeated, “No!” The dog growled. The children stirred, but remained in their deep sleep.

“What do you want?” Teco hissed instinctively, her eyes poised to defend her children. Rage had replaced the instant of fear, and she was focused, too focused, in fact, to even hear the maid screaming, doorframes snapping and glass breaking. “What do you want?” she repeated. No answer.

Two more soldiers joined the first two and the four spread out, covering all sides. They were silent; their trained eyes probed for danger areas. A hand signal from one of the men kept one rifle aimed at Teco and another at the dog. The other two men moved to the closet, threw the doors open and darted to each side, one low, one high. With the ends of their rifles they shoved aside clothing and prodded the walls and ceiling. At another signal, the searching men moved systematically and probed places where someone might possibly hide.

An incensed Teco wanted to impulsively strike out at this violation. Were she alone, it would have been a reflexive move, but she was held back by another drive, that of mother-protector. If it appeared that the soldiers were going to shoot, she would unleash Bal and strike out herself. She would not go passively. At this distance, Bal was her only weapon. For now, all she could do was position herself so that any shots would strike her before the babies. Her naked arm moved in front of her as if it held an invisible shield.

In the deepest part of her mind, she thought she heard a shrill whistle. Two of the soldiers, the ones who were searching, seemed to relax, and started to move out of the room. The other two remained strained and poised. It was two against two now, she thought. Then another soldier walked into the room--taller, an officer. He said something to the men; one of the men said something back. The officer moved alongside the two men holding the short rifles.

To Teco he said, “If either you or the dog make a move, my men will kill you both. Then I will kill every living thing in this house.” Teco did not move. “Did you hear what I said? It makes no difference to me.” The voice was authoritative and at the same time calm. “Everything will die.”

Teco started blinking. Everything. Her babies. They had no plans to kill them. At least not yet. She nodded. 

One of the men motioned to the officer and pointed with two fingers to his own eyes while looking at her. The officer said to the soldier, “Interesante. No, never in a woman before.” Then, with an arrogant smile, he said to her, “You have impressed my men with your motherly defense. I, however, am not impressed. I do have a passion for German shepherds, though, especially obedient and fierce ones. If I did not, the creature would already be dead.”

He then changed his face and his tone. In a menacing voice he said, “Listen to me carefully. We are going to search every inch of this house. If you resist, you and everyone in this house will be killed immediately. If we find anything that incriminates you in treason, you will be taken and everyone in this house will be killed. You will be tortured until you tell me everything, then you will be killed.”

He paused to let his threatening remarks register. Then he continued, “So, what I am about to say to you now is the only chance you will have to save your children. We are only bargaining for their lives, you understand, not yours. I will ask this question once and only once. Are you ready? Where are the guns hidden? Tell me now and I will spare them.”

Teco was thinking, and she kept blinking to get the blur out of her eyes. It was like a bad dream. Was she dreaming? No. She did not think it would help, but she found a shaky voice to say, “I do not know who you are but my husband is Doctór Ricardo--.” 

But the officer quickly held up his hand and spat out, “I know who your husband is! He is a traitor who has abandoned his family! And when I find him I will take great pleasure in killing him. So do not waste my time with that; I do not care. Answer my question. This is your only chance. Where are the guns?”

He is not a traitor, she thought, and he has not abandoned his family. You will not kill him. She stopped blinking and defiantly stared back at the officer. Then she vehemently exclaimed, “There are no guns in this house!” He stared back at her for what seemed a minute, a year. No bullets came. 

Then he said, “We shall see. You are either very brave or very stupid.” To the two men he said, “Watch them. If they move, kill them.”