DIFFERENT SHADES OF JUSTICE

Chapter 8

The following day Teo was assigned to patrolling the streets of San Tasco with a handful of men. It had quickly become his least favourite assignment. By now, the people had a very good idea of what kind of a man he was. It was almost unbearable to walk past them in the street and sense the resentment and fear that was directed at him. He wanted to avert his eyes in shame, but all he could do was keep his face neutral and act like the opinions of the commoners didn't matter to him.

I wish I were positioned at the station again, he thought. At least there he could hide from the people and their rightful judgement of his actions, but he knew it was no solution. It made him feel a little better, but it didn't change any of the things he had done.

He stopped on his tracks when he suddenly overheard Diego's voice in the crowd. Teo turned to look and saw Diego, Lolita and Bernard doing some shopping at a fruit stand at the town square. He knew he should have turned his back and left, but he found himself drawn to the sight.

"Can we get some apples, too?" Bernard was asking.

"I don't know. I think we have plenty of them left at home," Diego said.

"But it's going to be hours before we get back! I'm hungry now."

Lolita paid the merchant and handed a couple of apples to Bernard. She put the rest into her basket.

"Here, I'll buy you some since Diego can't be bothered to take care of you," she said.

Diego tried to slip his hand into the basket to get an apple, too, but Lolita pushed his hand away. "Diego! You're the one who didn't want to buy them, so you aren't getting any now!" she said and hid the basket behind her back.

Diego is so lucky, Teo thought. Even though he was leading a dangerous double life and had to rely on lies, he could still be happy. His façade didn't make his loved ones turn away in disgust. Every friend he had was genuine, and it was clear to anyone that even if Lolita nagged at him about his weaknesses, she still cared deeply for him. Teo knew he could never have a relationship like that for as long as he had to pretend to be someone else.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice how Diego tried to grab the basket from Lolita and how she turned away from him, laughing as she started running away with the apples. Her attention was elsewhere, too, and the two of them didn't become aware of each other until Lolita bumped into him, dropping her basket.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she blurted out, but then she realised who she was talking to, and the smile on her face immediately disappeared.

Teo's first instinct was to pick up her basket and apologize, but he stopped himself just in time. Instead, he forced all his earlier hesitation away from his features and regarded Lolita with an arrogant sneer.

"Can't you watch where you're going?" he asked. He then turned to look at Diego who had just reached them. "And you, try to look after your woman. Otherwise she'll be in trouble."

"Hey, now. You shouldn't talk about Lolita like that," Diego said. Instead of confronting Teo like a man of his status should have, he bent down to pick up the apples. Teo and Lolita stared at him, both of them with an expression of disbelief.

"Diego! Aren't you at least going to defend me?" Lolita asked.

"It's alright. I think both of you were at fault for what happened. And look, your apples are just fine."

Lolita snatched the basket from him. Thankfully for Diego, the bulk of her anger wasn't directed at him this time. Teo had no choice but to take a surprised step back when she poked her finger at his chest and glared at him with a nearly murderous gleam in her eyes.

"I don't know who you think you are, but let me tell you that I have never met anyone as despicable as you!" she said.

"Lolita, maybe we should just leave," Diego suggested and grabbed her arm to pull her away, but she wrenched herself free from his hold.

"I know not to expect much from the army, so the problem isn't that you turned out to be just horrible as the others. But I loathe to think that someone who was Diego's friend could actually be such a rotten man. The way you talked to Diego at the party made me sick. Weren't you two supposed to be best friends?" Lolita ranted, and it was a true struggle for Teo to keep looking her into the eyes.

He laughed, hoping that it didn't sound as hollow as he felt. "In Spain, Diego was useful to me because he was the son of a rich landowner. Here he is only a burden to me and my career, so I see no reason to endure his whining."

Lolita's eyes widened at his words, and most of her anger was replaced by shock and confusion. "You can't be serious."

"I'm perfectly serious. And now if you would excuse me. I have duties to attend to and don't want to waste any more of my time talking to you."

"You're horrible! I cant' believe I liked you!" Bernard yelled at him as he was turning away.

"Just what is up with that guy?" Lolita growled.

Whatever they said next, Teo didn't hear it. He walked behind a corner and let out a sigh, feeling tired and heavy. He had done his best not to look at Diego during the short exchange, but his friend's mere presence had been enough to pain him. To everyone else, it looked like the sadness in Diego's eyes was directed at having been betrayed by someone he had considered a friend. To Teo, it was a reminder of how Diego was worried about him and didn't think this was the best of plans.

I don't deserve a friend like him, he thought. Diego was so noble, righteous and brave. Diego never made any mistakes and had nothing to be ashamed of. His worry was meant well, but it only underlined the fact that Teo was no longer worth of such devotion. At the same time, he was too afraid to tell Diego the truth of what had happened in Spain because he knew that it would make Diego look at him with the same hate and disgust as everyone else already was.

He clenched his eyes shut for a moment and told himself to get a grip. He had no time to waste feeling sorry for himself. He had sworn he'd help Diego win his battle, and the time for second thoughts was long over.


He met with Diego that night. As usual, Diego was there before him, but this time Teo was a little late. For reasons he couldn't name, he felt reluctant to face Diego now. It was only out of necessity that he did.

"Raymond is planning to -" he started as soon as he made it Teo, but Diego interrupted him.

"That can wait. Teo, are you alright?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Don't lie to me. I know the scene in town upset you, and I'm sorry it came to that. If I had noticed you earlier, I would have taken Lolita and Bernard elsewhere."

"Don't apologize. It worked in our favour. I got another chance to show how much I loathe you. Some of the soldiers saw that, and word of it might reach at least Gabriel. He can't stand you, so it's it'll be good if he thinks I can't either," Teo said.

"Teo, stop! You're ruining your whole life with this act. I've heard what Raymond has ordered you to do, and I don't think this is worth it. You can try to pretend that you aren't upset all you want, but I know that following his orders can't be easy on you. You can still reconsider this. Please, let's stop this madness when it's not yet too late," Diego said.

Don't tempt me, Diego, Teo thought. His friend had no idea how gladly he would have liked to say yes. All he had to do was to admit that this was too much for him, and then he could apologize to everyone. Then he could be there laughing with Diego, Lolita and Bernard as they went shopping instead of having to watch them from afar.

He chuckled in the most carefree fashion he could. "Diego, listen to yourself! You sound so desperate. There's no need to. I know what I'm doing, and you have no reason to be worried about me. Hasn't everything worked exactly like we planned so far?" he asked.

"Yes, but -"

"Then let's keep at it. I'm certain this is the road to victory."

"If you're sure," Diego admitted reluctantly.

Teo proceeded to tell Diego about a new tax Raymond wanted to collect from mine owners. His main target was Mr. Orellana who had recently bought Ms. Sanchez' – or Mrs. Montejo's, as she now was – mines before she had moved elsewhere with her husband. Raymond said that their goal was to ruin Orellana's business so that he would be forced to sell everything to Kapital. Since it had been Teo's fault that Kapital's original plan had failed, he would now play a major part in setting things straight.

The next day, Teo and Gabriel were to take the men up to the mountains and force the owner to hand over the money if he didn't want to have the mine closed down. Naturally, nobody would be able to pay that kind of a sum.

"If anyone puts up a struggle, we have the orders to blow up the mines to ensure the tunnels collapse and Orellana will be ruined," Teo said.

"Dozens of families will lose their source of income if the army goes through with this plan," Diego said grimly.

"I doubt it will come to that. We have to keep the mines functional for Kapital," Teo said with disgust.

"It's still going to be a tricky situation."

"I don't know how much I can do to help you. I'm sure Gabriel is watching my actions closely."

"Don't worry about that. I never had much trouble against the army even when you weren't here," Diego said. His smile was so reassuring that Teo felt a little better at least about that.

"Just make sure you make it out alive."

"If Gabriel is there, I don't need to worry. He has got it into his head that he wants to be the one to defeat Zorro. It's not unusual for him to order the soldiers to stand back while we duel," Diego said.

Teo couldn't help but chuckle. "After you defeat him, I guess I'll have to give it a try, too. It's probably for the best if I lose fast so that Gabriel's ego won't be wounded."

"We had better not make a habit out of you losing to me all the time. It's going to go into my head, and then it'll be a shock to me when have a real duel again," Diego said with equal amusement.

"I'm not sure how much longer I could come out as the winner in our duels. If you only knew how to use your speed to your advantage, you could defeat anyone."

"Now you're flattering me. Don't forget that I was never able to defeat you in Spain."

"But you were getting better all the time."

"Only because I had an excellent teacher."

Teo felt some weight be lifted off his shoulders as he laughed and joked with Diego. These meetings were the only occasions when he could be himself and not lie about everything. It was such a relief to talk to Diego like a friend and momentarily forget what he spent his days doing and how many secrets he was keeping from everyone.

Maybe this is why Diego lets Bernard help him, he thought. It must have been hard for Diego to keep his double life a secret from his loved ones for so long. Having at least one person to talk to made it so much easier.

"By the way, Lolita told me about Alicia the other day. She said she was furious because of you. What exactly did you do to her?" Diego asked next.

"Nothing. She just didn't take kindly to the information that I'm an officer," Teo said. He had nearly forgotten about the red-haired woman already, and for some reason Diego's reminder annoyed him.

"You don't want to keep her angry at you. She used to dress up as Zorro and fight crime, and nobody realised that she wasn't the real thing," Diego said.

"I don't see how that could be avoided," Teo said sharply. "This is the role I have to play."

"Sorry. I wasn't really thinking what I was saying," Diego said. He hesitated before he continued, "Lolita said she has never seen Alicia so angry. She must have liked you if the truth made her so furious."

"More like disappointed," Teo said. He didn't want to talk about Alicia with Diego, so he said it would be better for him to return to the barracks before someone noticed he was gone.


"You look a little tired, Sergeant," Gabriel pointed out the next day as they were riding towards the mines.

"I didn't get much sleep last night, sir."

"And why is that? Aren't the beds here as comfortable as in Spain?" Gabriel asked.

Teo chuckled. "Oh, they're comfortable alright. Especially when you have someone to share them with."

He had decided that he would claim he had a lady friend in town in case anyone ever saw him sneaking out of the barracks at night. It was the perfect excuse since he had no need to prove the existence of such a woman – he could always claim that he didn't want to dishonour her by revealing her name.

Gabriel snorted but didn't comment on his words. Gonzales had filled Teo in on that Gabriel had used to court Lolita but had been forced to give it up when Raymond had decided he was wasting too much time and resources on it. Teo couldn't say he was an expert on romance – he had always found swords more interesting than women – but he didn't understand how Gabriel had ever thought Lolita would be a good match for him.

Teo's amusement soon disappeared when they arrived at the mines. The workers had noticed their arrival and were all gathered outside the entrance to the tunnels. Several of them were holding their tools as if they were prepared to use them as weapons. The grim frowns on their faces didn't promise anything good.

"Who is in charge here?" Gabriel asked.

One man stepped forward.

"I am. My name is Orellana, and this mine belongs to me. What business does the army have here?"

"Don't take such a tone with me. We're here to carry out the commander's orders," Gabriel said.

"And those are?" Orellana asked in a challenging voice.

Gabriel pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, probably to make the whole scene look more official. Teo didn't think it was worth it. The commander's orders could have been written in gold and it wouldn't have made these people any more likely to accept them.

"The commander has decided that there will be a new tax on any mining business regardless of its size. The amount to be paid is determined by the annual income of the person who owns the mine and is to be paid immediately," Gabriel announced.

"What? But that's insane! My income doesn't come from the mine alone. I also have a small farm, and my wife sells our products in town," Orellana said.

"How you organize your business is of no interest to the army. All we care about is that you pay what's your duty to the king."

"Then how much is it?" Orellana asked.

Gabriel told him the amount, which shocked even Teo who had been prepared for a high number.

How outrageous, he fumed. There was no way anyone could pay that much and remain in business. Orellana would have to lay off at least half of his workers, and then there wouldn't be enough men left to do all the work. His profit would drop dramatically, and sooner or later he would have to sell the mine.

"I can't pay that much! It would ruin me!" Orellana blurted out.

"That's nonsense. You're only lying to avoid your duties to the Crown," Gabriel replied.

"This isn't a tax. This is a robbery. There has been no official announcement of this, and – hey!" Orellana's complaint was cut short when Gabriel urged his horse to get closer and gave the poor man a kick to the chest. It sent Orellana stumbling back, and only the quick reflexes of his friends stopped him from falling to the ground.

"If you don't pay the tax right now, the army has no choice but to close down the mine and blow it up!" Gabriel barked.

"What? Blow it up? Why?" Orellana asked, eyes wide with shock.

Gabriel sneered. "As a reminder to the others so that they won't forget where their loyalties are."

"This is insanity! You can't do this!" Orellana insisted, but the outrage in his voice had been replaced by despair. "I can't pay it all at once, but if you give me a little more time, I promise I'll -"

"Enough! Men, start taking the dynamite into the tunnels!" Gabriel ordered.

Teo and the others dismounted their horses and went to get the supplies from the army's wagon. The workers were huddled at the entrance to the mine and glowered at them. Teo didn't have a good feeling about that.

"Out of the way!" one of the soldiers yelled when they were about to enter the tunnel.

Nobody moved.

"I said out of the -" the soldier repeated, but he was cut off before he could finish. One of the workers brought up his pickaxe and struck the soldier in the face. The man fell with a cry, and his companions raised their muskets and pointed them at the workers.

"Don't shoot, you idiots! We'll all blow up if you do!" Gabriel snarled. His words might have saved them from a quick death, but they showed the workers that the army was unable to use their firearms against them. More of them took their tools, encouraged by their friend's example.

"Don't just stand there! Take out your swords and fight!" Gabriel ordered. He had already drawn his blade and remained on horseback where it was easier to strike at the revolting workers without them reaching him.

This is insanity, Teo thought. Someone was going to die soon, and he had no idea how to stop it. The soldiers were angry because of their injured comrade, and the workers had been forced into a corner by the army's demands. They had nothing more to lose.

"Calm down! There's no need to do this!" Teo called out, but his voice was buried under the ruckus from the others. Everywhere he looked, people were fighting. So far nobody seemed to have serious injuries, but it was only the matter of time before a soldier impaled someone with his sword or a mine worker cracked someone's skull – and when that happened, then the chaos could no longer be subdued.

From the corner of his eye, Teo saw one of the workers, a tall, burly man, raise his pickaxe with the intention of attacking a soldier from behind. Teo called out a warning, even as he knew that the soldier would never hear it from under all the noise and yelling.

He didn't even realise that he was moving until he had picked up a rock and thrown it at the worker. It him him straight in the forehead and sent him on his back to the ground. He didn't get up again.

He's unconscious, Teo thought. Everything else was impossible.

"Thank you, sir!" the soldier he had saved said, but Teo didn't feel like he had done anything worth thanking for. He knelt down by the fallen worker's side and looked for a pulse, trying to ignore how much the wound on his forehead was bleeding.

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang that made everyone freeze in mid-movement.

"Who was that? Didn't I tell you not to shoot?" Gabriel snarled, turning his horse around. He opened his mouth to yell a command at the soldiers, but the words died on his lips when he noticed the dark figure standing above them by the side of the mountain.

"Zorro!" Gabriel blurted out.

Zorro's eyes swept over them. Even from afar, Teo could see the stern and angry look in his eyes. He glanced down at his hands that were now red with the blood of the worker he had struck down. His stomach clenched with shame, and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to disappear. He didn't want Diego to see him like this.

"Look at yourselves!" Zorro called out. "Is this the way soldiers are trained to act? You're without any order or purpose! I thought I could expect more from you, especially those leading you!"

"Shut up, you bastard!" Gabriel yelled, but his words could barely be heard from under the cheering of the workers.

"And you aren't much better," Zorro said to the people, which made them grow silent in stunned confusion. "What makes you think it's a good idea to revolt against the army like this? Did you think you would accomplish something other than your own deaths?"

"But we had no choice! They would have destroyed the mine!" Orellana argued.

"Even Raymond couldn't explain something like that to the governor general. Blowing up the mine would have made too many of his superiors curious. The army's threats were empty and only meant to scare you," Zorro said.

"And how were we supposed to know that?" Orellana asked.

"You can't have known it, but you shouldn't use violence against the army for as long as they don't threaten your lives. It will only make them strike back with more force, and it will look justified in the eyes of outsiders," Zorro said.

Teo knew that everything Diego was saying was right, but he couldn't blame the workers for their angry and displeased expressions. He knew better than well what it was like to feel like you were forced into a corner and to have no other options but to hit back. It was easy for Diego to talk like that, but he wasn't the one who had to live every day of his life in uncertainty and fear because of the army.

"Enough talk! Get down here and face me!" Gabriel demanded.

"You never learn, Lieutenant," Zorro remarked, but he had already unsheathed his sword and was descending towards the clearing where they were.

With Zorro and Gabriel facing each other, everyone else lost their interest in fighting and only watched the duel. Teo decided it was better to get the situation back under control and told the soldiers to sheath their swords and retreat to their horses.

"Is anyone injured?" he asked.

"Only Pastrana, sir," one of the soldiers replied and motioned towards the soldier who had received the first hit. Half of his face was a mess, but Teo hoped it only looked that bad because of the blood. Pastrana wasn't conscious, which was probably for the better.

"Take him to town and have him treated," he told to three of the soldiers. The men hurried to it, clearly relieved that they were finally given the order to take care of their comrade. Teo couldn't help but glance at the still on-going duel in annoyance. Gabriel was so intent on defeating Zorro that he had entirely forgotten his responsibilities as an officer.

Next he took a closer look at the workers. A few of them had already hurried to help the man Teo had struck down, and a few others who were injured were being treated, too. Thankfully, nobody else but the first man had serious injuries. Teo's stomach lurched when he watched the attempts to make the man wake up and how they didn't work.

"You probably shouldn't move him. Someone should go to town and get a -" he started, but he was stunned into silence when the men turned to look at him with eyes full of fury.

"You keep out of this! You've caused enough damage," one of them snarled.

"I only want to help," Teo said, but he could tell the people didn't want to have anything to do with him. They looked ready to attack him if he took one step further, but thankfully it never came to that.

They all turned to look when there was a clang and a curse from Gabriel. Zorro had defeated him and forced the sword from his hand. Gabriel made the move to reached for it, but Zorro pointed the tip of his blade at his throat and told him not to move.

"You will take your men and leave right now," Zorro said. His voice was thick with anger that Teo had never heard before. Even Gabriel seemed to be taken aback by it because he didn't try to argue with Zorro.

Teo didn't know whether he should have challenged Zorro or not. He and Diego had planned it the previous night, but he could tell how angry Diego was. His shoulders were so stiff it was a wonder he had defeated Gabriel, and Teo could imagine his eyes burning with anger behind his mask. Gritting his teeth, he turned his back to Zorro. He felt reluctant to face him now, and it wouldn't have looked good if he had ignored Gabriel's orders.

Cheers and taunts from the mine workers accompanied them as they started riding away. They were echoing in Teo's ears long after they had travelled too far to hear them. It took all his willpower to remain on Gabriel's side and not strike his heels against his horse's sides to try to get away from the shame and guilt.