Chapter 10
"Are you finished with your lunch? Anything I can bring you? Sergeant Mendoza, Don Diego?" Victoria asked as she cleaned up the dirty dishes from their table.
"No, thank you. I need to go back to work," Mendoza said. "I wish we'd get a new alcalde soon, then I'd be relieved of all this paperwork. It's been two months now since the alcalde died and I haven't heard anything about a new alcalde from my superiors."
"I have to go back to work on my newspaper too," Diego said. "Thank you, Victoria." Victoria glared at him as she left the table.
"Señorita Victoria is really cross with you, isn't she?" Mendoza remarked. "She doesn't like it if you simply call her Victoria while she calls you Don Diego, and she hardly speaks to you anymore. This has been going on for weeks now. I know that neither you nor Victoria want to tell me what happened, but I still wonder what's going on."
"I'm sorry too it has come to this," Diego said sadly. "I wish we could restore our friendship, but she's very determined to keep me out of her life."
"I wonder what Señorita Victoria is going to do with her life now. She has split up with Zorro, after she found out that their marriage is invalid, but she has discouraged other suitors too. Yesterday, I overheard her talking with the matchmaker Doña Maria who offered her services," Mendoza said, leaning towards Diego and talking lowly, so their talk wouldn't be overheard.
"What did she say?" Diego tried not to appear too curious.
"She said she needed more time," Mendoza said, "but she didn't say no either. I wonder how long it will take until she accepts the courting of one of the caballeros who showed their interest in her. I need to go back now and check on the prisoners Zorro brought to jail before lunch," Mendoza rose from his chair when he saw Victoria coming back from the kitchen.
"Victoria, can we talk?" Diego walked over to the bar where Victoria had started to polish glasses.
When she only glared at him, he sighed. "Coffee, please," he ordered, because she wouldn't deny him that. Diego waited until she returned with the coffee from the kitchen, staying at the bar while he slowly sipped it.
"Victoria, this can't go on. I don't want it to end like this," Diego said.
"It can, and it will," Victoria said determined. "I only hope this will be over soon and I'm free again."
"Don't the last years mean anything to you? Maybe you're the one who doesn't know what friendship means. You were willing to die for Zorro, whose face you've never seen, but you would throw away our friendship. I thought better of you," Diego said, hurt. Ashamed, Victoria avoided his eyes and he left without looking back.
Slowly walking back to his office, Diego pondered what he could do about his marriage to Victoria. Victoria had refused to talk to him since the day he had told her the truth and she was intent on getting an annulment so she could get on with her life. She couldn't forgive him his lies and his deceit. It was the very thing he had feared from the start.
Diego suppressed a yawn. It had been a tiring day so far. In the early morning hours he had chased bandits who had threatened farmers in the northern valley, stealing food and livestock. After he had caught them, Zorro had brought them to the pueblo for the soldiers to put them behind bars.
There hadn't been any time left to ride back to the hacienda and change if he didn't want to miss his lunch with Mendoza who was always willing to chat about military affairs and efforts to catch Zorro. He had hidden Toronado with his sword behind the newspaper office, after he had changed into a set of Diego's spare clothes. Now he needed to change back and return to the cave on Toronado.
Engrossed in thought, Diego walked straight to the back of his office where he had hidden Zorro's outfit. Suddenly, the door from the wardrobe opened and a man jumped out to face him.
"Don Diego de la Vega, I have been waiting for you! The day has finally come when I see you die!" the man said with a hint of madness in his eyes.
It took Diego a moment to recognize the man. "You're Ricardo Quintana! You tried to kill me and my friends by tying us up in a room with a bomb after your partner Myatana, the medium, was uncovered as a fraud."
"Yes, I tried to kill you and all who were responsible for the death of my beloved Myatana in prison! If you hadn't stopped the bomb from exploding, I would have achieved my goal already to avenge her death. I can't get you all together again, but I can kill you." Quintana pulled out picked up a torch he had prepared and set it on fire.
"What are you going to do with that?" Diego asked, alarmed. He suddenly recognized the smell of the fire accelerant and grimaced.
"While I was waiting for you to return from lunch, I prepared the office to burn even more easily - not that it needed much with all the paper lying around," he grinned madly.
Diego wanted to reach for the burning torch, but Quintana only smirked at him. "If you try any tricks, I'll let the torch fall to the ground."
"What do you want?" Diego asked, desperately trying to figure a way out. "If you start the fire, you will die too."
"I don't care! Without Myatana my life is worthless. Seeing you die is the last thing I want to do!" Quintana let the burning torch drop to the ground.
Diego lunged for it, but he couldn't prevent it from hitting the ground. Within seconds everything around him started to catch fire. Quintana started to scream as his clothing began to burn quickly from the burning liquid he had spilled everywhere.
Frantically,, Diego looked around. He was surrounded by fire. There was no way out.
Z~Z~Z
After her conversation with Diego, Victoria was deep in thought, concentrating so hard on her glass polishing that she only noticed his father by the bar when he addressed her.
"Victoria, have you seen Diego? I know he wanted to have lunch here, but I must have missed him," Alejandro looked around in the empty tavern with only one table still occupied where several caballeros were sitting with a full pitcher of wine talking quietly.
"Yes, he had lunch with Sergeant Mendoza, but he left a few minutes ago to go to his office," Victoria said.
"What's wrong, Victoria?" Alejandro asked, studying her expression. "Did you and Diego have another fight?" he guessed.
Victoria nodded guiltily. "Diego.., he was angry at me. His words made me think. I don't know,,,.," she shrugged helplessly.
"I wished you two would work it out," Alejandro said. "He loves you and you should make up your mind, Victoria. I think.." Alejandro stopped when there were loud shouts from the outside. "Fire! Fire!" The church bell began ringing the alarm.
Grabbing the nearest buckets, Alejandro and Victoria rushed outside, followed by the remaining patrons. The soldiers and other men in the plaza were forming a bucket line from the fountain in the center of the plaza to the burning building at the end of the street.
"Look! There's someone inside!" a soldier pointed at the large front window.
Shocked, Victoria stared in horror. Behind the burning window frame she saw a tall figure moving, raising the arms in agony, burning like a living torch. A moment later there was nothing more to be seen as the fire engulfed it completely.
"No! Diego, No!" she wailed. She wanted to run to him, but the soldier held her back, "There's nothing you can do. You can't get in there. The roof is about to collapse."
"Diego! Diego!" she yelled as she ran. They had to stop at a distance, because the wooden building that used to be the newspaper office was completely on fire.
Victoria felt something heavy at her arm and she noticed Don Alejandro sliding to the ground, his hand pressed to his chest. "Diego, my son," he whispered weakly.
"The doctor! We need the doctor!" Victoria yelled, as she crouched down beside Don Alejandro.
"The doctor! Quickly! Help!" A couple peons picked up the cry and one of the soldiers ran toward the doctor's office.
"Don Alejandro, Don Alejandro, the doctor will be here any minute. You must stay awake," Victoria urged him, holding his hand. "Please, you must stay strong!"
"Diego, my son," Alejandro whispered. "The flames..."