Lonely on a rescue mission

Disclaimer: This story was written solely for the enjoyment of other Zorro fans and is not intended to infringe on any copyrights held by Goodman/Rosen Productions, New World Television, Zorro Productions, the estate of Johnston McCulley or anyone else.

Prologue

Panic broke out when the inhabitants of the mission of San Antonio became aware of the fire to the buildings. As the fire spread, the workers and nuns rushed out of the houses and started to extinguish the flames.

The young women in the mission's dormitory were suddenly startled out of their sleep when the door burst open. A group of men, dressed like vaqueros, was standing at the door. A few of the young women screamed and fearfully huddled under their blankets.

"Quiet, Señoritas!" One of the men ordered. "There is nothing for you to fear. The mission is burning and the Abbess has asked us to bring you to safety. Everyone dress quickly and follow us."

The women did as they were ordered when they saw the mission's buildings burning and smelled the smoke coming through the windows. The men guided them to a caravan outside the mission area that they entered one by one. Inside, two men were waiting for them who gagged and bound the women before they could warn their fellow victims. When all women were inside, the wagon slowly set into motion while everyone else was still busy fighting the fire that had broken out at the other mission buildings simultaneously.

Z~Z~Z

Chapter 1 – Los Angeles

Diego knew he couldn't stand it anymore. He had lived this double life for so long now, and it was finally wearing him down. He wanted to have a normal life, a family, a home with the woman he loved, but as long as he was Zorro he didn't know how. He couldn't let anyone know his identity, and at the same time he was forced to keep up the farce that was his life. Victoria wouldn't look at him unless he dressed up as Zorro, and he had to endure her diminishing remarks whenever she compared him to Zorro, the legend no real man could compete with. His relationship with his father had deteriorated over the years, and he knew that his father considered him a failure and a coward.

What could he do? Revealing his identity to Victoria and his father would change their attitude towards him, but it would also give rise to suspicions. He wasn't sure if his father would be able to hold back his knowledge, and it would put them in danger too. That was the one thing that he had avoided at all cost over the years.

Frustrated, Diego looked around in his newspaper office. In a sudden outburst he shoved all the papers from his desk, before he continued with the table and the shelves. He only stopped when everything was scattered on the floor. Looking at the surrounding chaos, he miserably sat down on the floor.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, but then he heard someone at the door.

"Diego, what has happened here? It looks like a tornado went through the room!" Victoria exclaimed at the sight of the room.

Diego rose from the floor and simply shrugged, "Oh, it's nothing."

"It's nothing?" Victoria questioned him. "Don't tell me you did that! What came over you?"

Diego didn't answer.

"Felipe told me that you were in your office and wouldn't come over to the tavern. Then I thought of checking on you if you needed something. What's wrong, Diego?"

Concerned, she looked at him, starting to pick up some papers from the floor and stacking them on the desk.

"Don't worry about the mess, Victoria, just leave it as it is." Without caring he stepped on some sheets of paper on the floor and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going, Diego? Shouldn't you try to clean up this mess? I'm here to help you! You haven't told me yet how it happened!"

"It's there because I threw it on the floor! That's why!" Diego yelled at her. "And now I need to be alone!"

"Diego, please tell me what's wrong. I'm your friend." Victoria touched his elbow to keep him from leaving.

"I want to be alone, because it's easier than to be lonely among people." Diego said sadly.

"Why do you feel lonely, Diego? You're among friends. I'm your friend," Victoria said, shocked.

"Actually, you're not my friend, Victoria, because you don't know me. You don't know me at all, and you probably never will, because you don't see me!" Diego accused her. "You only have eyes for your black-mask man, and you even don't know him!" He shoved her hand from his arm. "Let me go."

"But I know you, Diego," Victoria objected. "I have known you for years now."

"That's where you're wrong, Victoria!" Diego stared at her, and she could see that he was deeply disturbed. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her, but she wouldn't accept him unless he dressed up, and then the lancers would come and try to shoot him. It was hopeless. There was no peace for him, and maybe there never would be.

"Then talk to me, Diego!" She saw the despair and sadness in his eyes, before he turned around and mounted his horse. He didn't even wave goodbye as he rode away, leaving her staring after him.

Diego was soon out of sight, leaving only a cloud of dust as a sign of his passing. Victoria wiped the dust from her eyes that was mingled with tears and headed for her tavern.

She took Felipe by the arm and led him into the kitchen. "Felipe, something is wrong with Diego. His office is a mess, and he accused me that I didn't know him, and then he rode away."

Felipe looked alarmed. Without signing, he headed for his horse to follow Diego at a fast gallop. Victoria shook her head. She hoped that Felipe would be able to stop Diego. The two of them were so close, and maybe Diego wouldn't feel lonely with Felipe.

The words Diego had said to her stung in her heart, and she felt hurt. How could he say that she didn't know him and wasn't his friend? She went back to the news office and started to pick up the papers from the floor. She would clean this up and show him that she was there for him.

Most of the sheets of paper were blank, intended for the printing machine, but closer to his desk there were many covered with Diego's neat writing. As she stacked those on his desk, she found one that looked like a drawing. Curiously, she turned the page around and saw her own face staring at her from the paper. It was a very detailed portrait, and it showed her face happily smiling upwards. When had Diego drawn that? When had she looked like that?

She had never seen him drawing in the tavern and to draw her like that he must have studied her face intensely. While she looked through the other sheets, she found more drawings of her, leaving her dumbstruck. Diego must have spent hours watching her and drawing her portraits when he was alone in his office. Why? Was he in love with her? Was she the one he was secretly in love with? The more drawings she found, the more she was convinced of it. Why had she never noticed it?

With every question she asked herself, she realized that Diego had been right earlier. She didn't know him, and she hadn't been aware of his feelings for her until today. He had been so desperate today, and she had never seen him so sad. She wanted to understand him and know what he felt. How could he be so lonely?

Her self-imposed task of cleaning up took her some time, and she couldn't take her mind from the drawings, and from time to time she stopped in her work to look at them. She liked the one best where she was so happy, and she wondered if she really had ever looked like that. Taking the drawings with her, she returned to the tavern after she had cleaned up the rest of the room.

Excusing herself to her helpers, she took her cart and drove to the hacienda. She needed to talk with Diego, and she was hoping he'd be there.

"Victoria, what a nice surprise," Alejandro greeted her. "Is there a special reason for you to come to our hacienda? Has something happened?" He pointed at the papers that she had pressed against her chest. "What do you have there?"

"I need to talk to Diego. Is he here?" Victoria asked anxiously.

"No, I haven't seen him since he went to the pueblo this morning. I thought he was still in his office."

"No, he isn't there. He made a mess of his office. He was in a strange mood today, and something was definitely wrong. He...," she started, "I don't know how describe it. He said frightening things, and then he simply rode away. I'm really concerned."

"Please, Victoria, you need to explain that." Alejandro guided her to the library and had her sit down.

"Diego said that I wasn't his friend and that I didn't know him," Victoria was close to crying, expressing her hurt.

"How can he say such a thing!" Alejandro was incensed. "For the last four years he has been like a brother to you and now you're no longer his friend? I'll make him apologize to you when he gets back!"

"I don't know, Don Alejandro. Diego was really different today. I have never seen him like that. He sounded hurt and desperate and when I started to clean up his office I found that." Victoria put the paper sheets on the table, showing them to Don Alejandro. "I believe he is in love with me, but he never said a word, except that he accused me that I only have eyes for Zorro. Don Alejandro, what shall I do now?"

Alejandro leafed through the drawings of Victoria, surprised by the artistry and the details. "I don't know what to say, Victoria. I never suspected this. At least now I know why he refused to marry when he is in love with you." Alejandro leaned back in his chair, trying to make sense of it.

"How are your feelings for Diego, Victoria? Do you love him too?"

"I don't know, Don Alejandro. I never thought of him as a suitor. He never seemed to be interested in any woman and least of all in me. I am in love with Zorro and I promised Zorro I'd wait for him."

"It's a complicated situation and I understand why Diego is frustrated. There is a lot we need to talk about when he gets back."

Z~Z~Z

In the evening Diego hadn't returned and Felipe only shrugged when Alejandro asked him about Diego. Diego had returned earlier and changed into Zorro, but Felipe couldn't reveal that to his father.