Second Chances

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.

Chapter 1

"Diego, where are you going again?" His father asked. "It's been two weeks now that Victoria has been missing. What do you think you can achieve after all this time? If there had been a trace of Victoria's whereabouts, Zorro would have found her and brought her home. We'll probably never find out what has happened to her! Let's face the facts, Victoria is dead or she'd have come home by now!"

Diego looked at his father angrily. The last weeks he had been searching for Victoria after her cart had been found off the road from Santa Paula and his nerves were on edge. "I won't believe that Victoria is dead until I have found proof. And why do you think I can't find out something? I'm the editor of a newspaper and I know how to research for a story!"

"That maybe true, Diego, but this is something different. Don't believe you can do better than Zorro and I don't want you to delude yourself with false hope."

"And I can't believe that you give up Victoria so easily. The fact that we haven't heard from her doesn't mean she is dead, so don't try to keep me from searching!" Diego slammed his fist on the table tumbling over the chess pieces on the board.

Alejandro exchanged a look with Felipe as Diego left the library. Felipe only shrugged with his shoulders. He was concerned about Diego too. 'He could understand that Diego didn't want to give up hope of finding Victoria, but the chance of ever seeing her alive again dwindled each day without word of her whereabouts.

In the last weeks since Victoria's disappearance Diego's mood had worsened by day. Victoria had been to the bank in Santa Paula and on her way back something had happened to her. Her cart had been found tumbled over near the road, but there was no trace of her. The road between Los Angeles and Santa Paula was frequented by many travelers and it had been impossible to discern her tracks from those of other travelers. Zorro hadn't been seen in the pueblo since, but the lancers had spotted him near the site where Victoria's cart had been found.

In the evening Diego came back in a much better mood. "I think I have found a trace of Victoria," he told Felipe in the cave. As I continued to search for Victoria's tracks without luck, I began to think of other ways to find her. If she were hurt or ill, she might have been in need of a doctor. The last few days I visited all the doctors in the area asking them about Victoria."

"And? Did you find her?" Felipe signed curiously.

"The doctor I talked to in Santa Paula today told me that he treated a woman that fit Victoria's description two weeks ago. He was summoned to a trek of Russian settlers that passed through Santa Paula that day. He treated several settlers and among them was a young Spanish woman with a head injury."

"You believe that the woman was Victoria?" Felipe signed.

"It's my last hope to find Victoria."

"What are you going to do?"

"I intend to follow the settlers on their way north. I have to see that woman with my own eyes to check if she is Victoria or not."

"Are you going to ride as Zorro?"

Diego shook his head. "No. I thought about it, but it's not wise to do so. Zorro is wanted in all California and I can't search for Victoria while I'm hunted down by soldiers and bounty hunters. I will have to ride as Diego. I can't take Toronado either which is bad, because with Esperanza it will take me much longer to catch up with the settlers. They already have a head start of more than two weeks."

"When will you leave?"

"Tomorrow. I have no more time to lose."

Diego looked at Felipe intently. "I hate to ask you this, but I have no choice. Since I don't know for how long I will be gone, it's important that Zorro doesn't disappear at the same time. I need you to ride out as Zorro and let yourself be seen by the soldiers. I haven't been to the pueblo in the recent weeks because I have been searching for Victoria. I think we need to make the soldiers believe that Zorro is still searching for her while I'm away. So don't let the soldiers get near enough for them to notice the difference in stature between me and you."

Felipe nodded and signed that he would do as Diego instructed him. "I'll ride as Zorro and nobody will make the connection between him and you. You can trust me, Diego. Toronado will let me ride him and I'll take good care of him!"

"Thank you, Felipe." Diego embraced him. "I knew I could rely on you. Without you, Zorro wouldn't be possible." Felipe smiled at him happily. "Will you help me pack?" Felipe nodded.

Z Z Z

The next morning Diego set out early for his trip to the north. The settlers had passed through Santa Paula more than two weeks ago and he needed to catch up with them while they continued to move north. He hoped that they didn't progress too fast for him to reach them before they left the Spanish territory.

Riding hard it took him less than the week he normally needed to reach Monterey. He didn't know how far the settlers would take Victoria with them. It made it necessary for him to stop at every pueblo and mission on the way to check for her. But wherever he asked, none had seen her. He had to assume that Victoria was still with them if she really was the woman the doctor in Santa Paula had treated. The trek of the settlers had moved on further north from Monterey, making it necessary for him to continue moving quickly to try to catch up to them. Hopefully, they would stay longer in San Francisco to replenish their supplies before leaving the Spanish territory. But as he arrived in San Francisco the trek had already left. He lost more than a day getting everything he needed to follow them through uninhabited area. If he wanted to take Victoria back with him, she'd need her own horse, blankets to sleep on and other things if they needed to stay in the wilderness on their way back.

Fortunately the trek of the settlers had slowed down after they had left the camino real. With his two horses he could make better speed than the settlers with their wagons, searching for a way across the country. He wasn't so easily delayed either by some boulders, fallen logs or other obstacles that the wagons had to move around in a wide circle when there was space enough for a horse to pass through.

It still took him five days until the trek of wagons came into his view.