Mamãe Mariana: Oh, more visitors?
Vertin: ...?!
It's Lopera. She's safe.
But where's Sotheby?
Vertin: Thank goodness. You survived, too. What about Sotheby?
Lopera: Oh, something happened in the favela earlier, so she decided to stay there. Don't worry. Duncan's with her.
Vertin: We've got bad news. Dr. Dores has been abducted by the Brotherhood.
Lopera: What? Idiots! What's wrong with them?!
Lopera: Ugh, guess I'll call the base. My father will figure something out.
White Rum: Sink me! Lopera! I thought you'd been sent to Davy Jones's locker!
White Rum soars through the air and lands squarely in Lopera's arms.
The ferocity of the embrace is enough to knock a grown man to the ground.
Lopera: Hahaha! Why did you think that? I'm tougher than the stubble on the chins of the old geezers here!
Lopera: I'm like you, a ship that'll never sink!
Lopera: Umm, Timekeeper, who's that over there?
Kimberly is peeking out through the doorway, only a sliver of her face showing through the gap.
Lopera: Kimberly? Did my father let you go?
She's been released?
Lopera: Oh, Timekeeper, let me explain. When we were routing out the deserters, we found Kimberly hanging out with the Manus thugs.
Lopera: Pa took her off somewhere, and he always has a plan, so I didn't bother asking where she ended up.
Lopera: Hey, come over here and say hi. When did Pa let you go?
Lopera: Or did you sneak out somehow?
Kimberly's eyes shift, her claws tensed, as if ready to spring into action at any moment.
Vertin: I think ... Ms. Kimberly, didn't you pull me out of the water?
Ms. Kimberly: ...?!
Ms. Kimberly: How did you know?
Vertin: Shortly after my fever subsided, I started to remember what happened just before I lost consciousness.
Vertin: There was a voice ringing in my head. It was you calling out to me, "Vertin, I can't have you dying here! You mustn't give up!"
Ms. Kimberly: What?! I did not say that! I just took you to the doctor and left!
Her protestation is almost a scream.
White Rum: Aye, 'tis true what Vertin says. Though Kimberly denies it, she chose to save her—even when she had plenty of chances to blow the lass down.
White Rum: She's a good lass at heart. Not an enemy, Lopera.
Lopera: ...
Ms. Kimberly: ...
Lopera lowers her guard, offering a friendly wave to Kimberly.
Kimberly cautiously steps out of the doorway but maintains some distance between the two of them.
Lopera looks at her new "friend." Her attire has given her a totally different appearance.
After a brief pause, Lopera smiles at her.
Lopera: You have to understand, it's pretty hard not to suspect someone who hangs around with the Manus.
Lopera: Anyway, I guess there must've been some kind of misunderstanding. Back then, I didn't have time to ... In any case, I'm sorry, Kimberly.
Lopera extends a hand in a gesture of peace, but Kimberly hesitates, her claws tensing once again.
Ms. Kimberly: It's fine. But don't think I'll forgive you so easily.
Ms. Kimberly: Speaking of the Manus and the Brotherhood, I never quite understood what they were trying to do.
Lopera: I don't blame you. I still don't really get it, either.
Lopera: So you're really not in the same boat as them?
A sudden yet perfectly reasonable question.
Ms. Kimberly: Of course not! I don't have a boat, no, I mean, I'm not in any boat with anyone!
Ms. Kimberly: If only I'd found my ...
She looks around as if she's forgotten something but finds nothing.
Ms. Kimberly: Listen, I don't know who it is you're looking for, but it's not me. I've already told you everything I know. If I'm not welcome here, I'll get out of your way.
Ms. Kimberly: Just please don't take me back to that place. I don't want to see that thing ever again.
She refuses to look at the weapons around Lopera's waist. Perhaps in a restrained sense of rejection or fear, or something hidden deep within her heart.
Mamãe Mariana: Alright, girls. If you want to have a chat, at least take a seat first.
Mamãe Mariana: It simply won't do to have you all standing around the entrance like this.
Mamãe Mariana takes Kimberly with one hand and Lopera with the other and leads them back to the courtyard. When they arrive, she lays out some paçoca for them to snack on.
Lopera: Eating candy's bad for your teeth, Grandma.
Mamãe Mariana: Oh, I'm much too old to worry about that. When you reach my age, and just waking up each day is a blessing, you'll eat whatever you want, too.
Vertin: Mamãe Mariana, could I have a word with you, please? I have some questions about Mr. Duncan.
Mamãe Mariana: Oh, Duncan, what kind of trouble has he stirred up now? Alright then. Why don't we head inside and give those two some space?
Mamãe Mariana: And Lopera, apologize to that poor girl properly, you hear?
Every lost friend is worth remembering.
Lopera: My father released you, which means you can be trusted.
Lopera: And you saved Vertin's life, too. I guess I shouldn't have been so hostile toward you.
Ms. Kimberly: I ...
Lopera: Here, have a drink, as a token of my apology.
She hands her a warm cup of something dark. It has a rich smell.
Lopera: It's Salvadoran coffee. Great if you need to pull an all-nighter!
Kimberly raises the cup to her mouth with both hands and curiously sticks her tongue into the liquid.
Ms. Kimberly: Bleh! It's so bitter!
Lopera: Yep. Bitter like the old days.
Lopera falls silent for a while.
Kimberly glances at the gun around Lopera's waist.
Lopera: You know, back in Colombia, my father did horrible things to his plantation workers.
Lopera: Well, my biological father. Not Igor.
Lopera looks off into the sky and laughs resignedly. It's as if she just spoke of a stranger rather than her flesh and blood.
Lopera: He said, "No, that's not the sound of gunfire outside. The workers are setting off fireworks. They're celebrating."
Lopera: But they weren't fireworks. He betrayed his workers—his compatriots. It wasn't a celebration; it was a massacre.
Ms. Kimberly: ...?!
Lopera: After that, I ran away from home. One day, the admiral and Molly found me. That's how I joined Zeno.
Lopera: Betrayal's as common as dirt here. Comrades, friends, family, anyone could sell you out, and for cheap, too.
Lopera: I hope you can find your boat soon. You know, a place where people have your back.
Ms. Kimberly: Umm, can I not drink this?
Lopera: Hahahaha, of course. Don't force yourself. I know the taste isn't for everyone.
She clinks cups with her new friend.
Lopera: Carlotta Lopez Rivera.
Lopera: That's my full name. Bit of a mouthful, huh?
Lopera stretches out her arm, closes one eye, and lines up the moon between her fingers. She closes her fist but catches nothing but the air.
Lopera: I wanted to erase it from my profile, from everywhere, to be honest, but my father disapproved.
She fiddles with her fingers, her eyes lingering on that unattainable celestial body.
Lopera: Molly agreed with him. She said, "You mustn't forget your past, Pera."
Lopera: So I let it go. But "Lopera" sounds so much nicer, so I prefer to go by that.
Lopera: And you, Kimberly? What's your real name?
Kimberly hesitates.
Anjo Nala: Nala. Nala Hari. The residents of Heartfelt Home called me Anjo Nala.
Vertin: How long ago did Mr. Duncan move here? Do you remember?
Mamãe Mariana: It must have been ... five, maybe six years ago? I'm not entirely sure.
Five or six years ago. Nowhere near the '20s. What's going on?
Vertin: Do you have any photos of him?
Mariana nods and pulls a photograph from the storage room.
Mamãe Mariana: We do have one, but it's been gathering dust for years. Let me see. Ah. Here. This is him.
She points to the man who looks like Mr. Karson.
Vertin: I knew a gentleman who looked just like him.
Vertin: His name was Karson. Did Mr. Duncan ever go by that name?
The old woman blows the dust off the frame.
Mamãe Mariana: No, not that any of us are aware of anyway. And I've known him since I was a medic in the army.
Mamãe Mariana: Back then, people called him "Duncan the Dauntless" or "The All-Powerful Duncan." I never once heard "Karson" or anything of the like.
Mamãe Mariana: Sorry I couldn't be of more help, my dear.
It seems an in-person meeting with Mr. Duncan is in order.
As they head outside, black flashes across their vision as a crow swoops down from above.
It releases the letter clutched in its claws.
Vertin: A crow?
The crow perches nearby as the letter flutters down and lands at their feet.
The old woman picks it up and breaks the seal.
Mamãe Mariana: Oh, dear. This looks like bad news.
Vertin: Santos.
It's a cleanly written ransom note, signed "Santos."
Vertin: Dr. Dores is being held captive in the colonel's manor.
Vertin: He's given us three days.
Vertin: He says that if Zeno doesn't return the deserters they detained, he'll execute the doctor.
...
Vertin: Mamãe Mariana, please contact Admiral Igor. We need Zeno's help.
