Chapter 86: Transition
The soothing sound of the chalk stick against the blockboard was all that could be heard in the conference room. We watched Vicente write on the board what was written on the piece of paper I had handed him beforehand. He had neat handwriting—plain and utilitarian, as if he had trained himself to conserve ink with every letter.
He moved quickly, and soon enough, the last title and its accompanying colon had been written at the bottom of the board.
I shifted my gaze from the chalkboard to the people seated at the table. Present were the principales of Boac—those who had bent the knee. And they were about to be rewarded.
With my authority established, it was time for a transition. It was time to smoothen the operation of the province under Martial Law. Roles had to be defined. It would be impractical to burden every task on me and my small cabal of officers. The civilians had to do their part.
"I have failed to inform you... that the gobernadorcillo has been dismissed from his post," I opened the meeting, clasping my hands in front of my lips. "Thus... his post is vacant."
I pointed at the board and to what was written on it. "And so are these posts, which will be necessary in directing the entire province for the war effort."
They shifted in their seats. Some cleared their throats. A few whispered to their seatmates.
"Señor Augustin Nepomuceno... I will appoint you as the new gobernadorcillo de Boac," I announced. "You shall see to its daily affairs and serve as an intermediary between the public and the military."
It was silent at first—perhaps because they had not expected it to be so unceremonious, or maybe they had expected an election. But eventually, Señor Nepomuceno—father of officer cadet Mario Nepomuceno and one of my most enthusiastic supporters—stood up.