Death Feud 4
Diego de la Vega stood in the doorway of his hacienda, Toledano's letter in his hand, speechless. His father had just thrown an insinuation at him he couldn't quite figure out. Before he had the time though to mull it over, Bernardo came onto the patio through the main gate and walked towards him. Seeing the baffled expression on his master's face, Bernardo quickly signed his question.
"My friend, I'm beginning to wonder about my father as much as about Toledano," Diego said softly. "Have I become that transparent?" Bernardo rigorously shook his head. "Then how do you explain everybody presenting me with riddles about Zorro?" Bernardo merely shrugged and grinned. Diego sighed. "I believe I will have to worry about that later. For now, I need you to ride to the ranchos with Juan and tell the dons that my father will hold a meeting here tonight after supper."
Bernardo was about to turn to fetch Juan when the peon in question appeared at the gate. "Ah, Juan, it's good that you're here. I was about to find you. My father has an errand for Bernardo and you." Diego relayed the assignment and Bernardo then went to get their horses ready.
Diego watched them leave and was about to retreat to his room when he heard the sound of another horse approach. Squinting his eyes against the sun, it took him a moment to make out who the single rider was. A smile crept onto his handsome features and he waited to greet the visitor.
"Buenos dias, Señorita," he beamed at Soledad, who dismounted almost before her horse came to a full stop. She was propelled forward by the momentum, which sent her bouncing into the tall caballero.
"Why, you seem to be in a rush, Soledad," Diego grinned as he steadied her and then reluctantly removed his hands from her waist. Soledad blushed slightly and then returned his grin.
"I think I have underestimated Stella's speed," she replied, looking at her mare to avoid Diego's gaze. Regaining her composure, she turned to Diego and took the reins of her horse, which Diego had collected, from his hands and tied her steed to the designated beam. "Aren't you going to invite me in, Diego?"
Giving himself a mental slap, the young caballero took hold of Soledad's hand and, placing a kiss on the back of it, gestured for her to step onto the patio. "It would be my honor to invite you inside. If you would care to sit with me, and a glass of wine, that is." Diego's impeccable manners kicked in again and he gracefully escorted the señorita to the table, where he held the chair for her to sit down. "If you would excuse me, I will see that we get the best of our vintage. Con permiso?"
Soledad returned Diego's pleasant smile and nodded her consent. When Diego reappeared a moment later, a servant with some wine in tow, she couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed when the servant stayed on after pouring a glass of vino blanco for them. She knew, however, that Diego didn't have a choice in the matter, unless he wanted to jeopardize her - and his - reputation.
***ZzZ***
Calisto Sola was forging a plan for his upcoming strike in the garrison. He had drawn up a crude map of the cuartel, marked the spots where the soldiers stood guard and started formulating his next step. He had to take out the twelve remaining soldiers of the Santa Ana garrison as well as the five who had arrived, as he had overheard, from the Pueblo de Los Angeles. The very same pueblo that was next on the list of his crusade.
The highest-ranking officer remaining was Sergeant Maldonado. Of course, using a sergeant for his next message to the governor wouldn't be as effective and convincing as it would have been with Capitán Toledano, but Calisto couldn't afford to wait too long for the capitán to return. He had noticed the strange looks the corporal and the other lancer had laid on him.
Thinking of the corporal made Sola frown. His rank was the same one he had achieved. He simply didn't fit his ultimate victim profile. However, he couldn't understand how a corporal could degrade himself to perform the duties of a lowly private. Orders or not, he should pull rank on the privates. He, Calisto Sola, rather Corporal Sola, would never have merely accepted such an order. And if he'd been able to master the blade more effectively, he was sure he'd be at least a capitán by now.
The blood in his veins started boiling again and Sola glanced out of the window. Oh how he'd love to punish the corporal for not standing up to his superior for ordering such a despicable task on him. But, he thought with chagrin, there wouldn't be time. The sergeant had to carry the message. It was imperative that he'd stick to his plan. The most brilliant plan he'd ever come up with. The governor would bow to his wishes when he was through with him.
A sickly, evil grin contorted the usually rather handsome features of the former corporal and he picked up a flask of his devilish water, pulling the triangular cloth up to cover his nose and mouth, making sure it was damp enough to protect him from the fumes. Then he got the biggest of his spraying devices and carefully poured the clear liquid into the container. The gurgling sound pitched higher and higher as the container filled up. When the flask was empty, Sola topped the container with the spraying device and sealed it.
A peek through the window told Sola that it wouldn't be long until sundown. The man stored the spray in a leather pouch connected to his belt, added the knife and then fetched a piece of parchment as well as a quill. He sat at the small, worn table and painstakingly spelt out his message to the governor.
***ZzZ***
Raúl Fabregás was smiling. He had made good time with his vaquero. They had arrived at San Pedro harbor about three quarter hours early and found themselves in luck. The La Paloma was just about to set sail. A few extra pesos had convinced the skipper to do everything in his power to make good time to reach San Carlos within the next day.
The young haciendado now stood at the guardrail, watching the shoreline disappear, while Tomás, his vaquero, made sure their horses were well cared for. If things went smoothly, he hoped to be back in San Pedro, with his intended bride to be, by the end of the week. He'd hate to leave his sister alone for longer than that, even though he knew she could handle the rancho they were building up. And she still had Diego for support.
Diego. Raúl smiled slightly as he thought of his childhood friend. He'd known back then already that his sister had a soft spot for his friend. She would never have admitted it then, for fear he'd tell Diego and would make fun of her. But one incident had been a dead giveaway, yet as much as he would have enjoyed confirming Soledad's fears of telling and teasing, the severity of the events had convinced him to keep quiet about it.
One day, when he was only ten-years-old, he had convinced Diego to sneak away with him to explore one of the caves nearby. Soledad had wanted to join them, but the boys wanted this adventure to themselves and had tricked Soledad into going inside to let their parents know the three of them would be out riding. As soon as she had disappeared inside the hacienda, he and Diego had bolted and were well out of sight by the time Soledad figured out their scheme.
Little did they know how adept Soledad had become at discovering and following tracks. She caught up with them by the cave and insisted to go in with them, threatening to tell on them. Raúl had been fuming but Diego hadn't been too upset. Furious, Raúl had stalked off into the cave and kept ahead of Diego and Soledad. Usually it was Diego who led the way, but his friend tagged back to make sure Soledad was alright.
The chamber was dimly lit by sunlight invading through some narrow cracks in the roof of the cave and he didn't have too much trouble finding a safe path. Behind him, he could hear the pair talking and calling out for him to wait for them, but he had just walked faster. For no other reason, he missed the crack in the floor ahead and, throwing another glance over his shoulder, he tripped on a rock right in front of him.
His momentum had carried him over the edge into the crevasse and he had just been able to grab a rock at the ledge to hold on to. Soledad had given off a frightened shriek. He had heard Diego talking to her reassuringly before his friend's head popped up right above him. Diego offered his hand to pull him up, but Raúl, in real jackass mode, had thought he could pull himself up and ignored Diego's hand.
A moment later, the rock he latched onto crumbled and he felt himself slipping. With lightning speed, Diego had grabbed hold of his wrist, saving him a fall some twenty-odd feet down. Holding on for dear life, Raúl half crawled up, half let himself be pulled up. Finally, Diego had succeeded to bring him up over the edge and Raúl had collapsed next to his friend, shaking from the close call. It was only when Diego wanted to get up again that they noticed the sharp-edged beak of rock had dug itself into Diego's abdomen. He'd never forget how his seven-year-old sister had been fussing about his friend, tears running down her face. She hadn't seemed that concerned when her own brother was hanging over the edge a few moments prior. If that didn't show her affections, what would?
The sight of his friend's bloodied and torn shirt had sobered Raúl faster than a bucket of ice cold water could have done and the siblings had dragged their friend to the doctor, who rewarded Diego's heroics with a dozen stitches along the left side of his ribcage and the promise to personally drop him off by his parents. Of course, the tongue-lashing they had received from both sets of parents didn't leave a too long lasting effect.
Smiling to himself, Raúl wondered if Diego was still sporting the scar today. Turning away from the spray of the sea, the young don went to team up with his vaquero before supper.
***ZzZ***
Corporal Reyes was sitting on a box inside the cuartel, busy cleaning his horse's bridle. His thoughts, however, were revolving around the strange looking man he had observed in the plaza just before being relieved from his post. Something about the man made his alarm bells ring, but he couldn't pinpoint it.
Sergeant Maldonado had just informed him he would need the corporal with him later, to confer with him about the shifts for the night guard. It was nice to get this kind of respect from a higher-ranking officer and Reyes relished the feeling of delight. But even that couldn't lift the dark feeling of foreboding he couldn't shake off.
Looking at the bridle, the corporal was happy with its appearance and returned to exchange it for the headstall he'd used to secure his horse. Patting it on the neck after fastening the bridle, he sighed.
"You know," he murmured into the horse's ear, "I wish Zorro was here. Maybe then I wouldn't be so on edge about that hombre loco in the plaza." Stifling a laugh, the soldier shook his head as he turned to join the sergeant in his office. "Talking about loco, here I am chatting to a horse." Muttering to himself, Reyes made his way up the steps and knocked on Maldonado's door.
***ZzZ***
Don Alejandro de la Vega left his room, ready for supper, and was about to walk over and knock on his son's door, when his ear picked up the soft talking from below. A few steps brought him to the rail and, looking down, he found his son in conversation with Señorita Fabregás. A smile found its way on the hidalgo's face and he strolled down the steps to meet the young people. His grin grew wider the closer he got to them, because as he was starting to make out the words, he realized that grandchildren for him could be just around the corner. Hearing the haciendado approach, the conversation ebbed down and the young couple greeted the older man.
"Father," Diego exclaimed and glanced in the direction of their chaperone peon, who, upon seeing Don Alejandro appear, retreated to the building. "I hope you are well rested."
"That I am, my son. Buenos tardes, Señorita Soledad. I am sorry to join you only now, but I hadn't realized Diego was expecting such a beautiful guest."
Blushing slightly, Soledad curtsied quickly. "Gracias, Don Alejandro."
"I'm sorry, Father. I didn't know Soledad was stopping by. I had rather made plans to visit her at her place, but she beat me to it," Diego explained.
"It doesn't matter now," the don smiled. "Can I convince you to join us for supper, Señorita?"
"I'd be delighted," Soledad replied, shooting a warm smile in Diego's direction.
"Con permiso?" Diego said, standing to offer her his arm. "May I escort the lady to the sala?"
"Muchas gracias," she smiled and, taking his offered arm, the couple followed Don Alejandro into the hacienda.
***ZzZ***
The sun was ready to set behind the garrison wall and Calisto Sola was ready. Ready for his mission. He'd only have to wait a short while longer until it was complete dark. Then he would make his next move. An evil grin spread on his face.
"Time to die, my dear sergeant," he sneered.