Disclaimer: Zorro belongs to ZPI and "Conundrum" was written by Robert L. McCullough and Philip John Taylor. Anything you recognize from the episode isn't mine.
Summary: Risendo sets a trap for Zorro but captures a different prize instead.
Author's Notes: Here we are at the penultimate episode of the series. And a perfect excuse for me to use the word penultimate.
The Puzzle
(Conundrum)
Part 1
Gilberto Risendo's Journal
Hidalgo will be buried this morning. We fought so many battles together I still cannot understand how he could have been lost in this pitiful little pueblo, much less at the hands of a masked bandit. I begin to wonder if this place is cursed. More like Alejandro de la Vega has made a pact with the devil to protect himself from the consequences of his foul deeds. Nevertheless, I will make sure he will pay.
While I have not yet determined what I shall do with it, before leaving that bloody house, I took a sample of the young de la Vega's writing, some poem he was composing in praise of his tavern wench wife, and the scratched out beginnings of a letter to some friend of his called Ernesto (I will inquire of the imbecilic sergeant about the identity of this man as it may prove useful). Not a large sample but definitely enough for me to manage a fair enough imitation to destroy my not so illustrious father's faith in the son he chose over the ones he threw away.
But that will wait until after I've dealt with the masked devil. I need a proper trap this time. Rumor has it that he was quite enamored with Diego's wife once upon a time and still seems to take her safety seriously, though why he would bother to protect a woman who abandoned him for a weaker though respectable man defies reason. Perhaps it's part of his determination to appear the "hero" even as he hides behind a mask. It's not important. The key is to get Zorro to act as I need him to, and I believe the señora will do the trick. It's all about how you set the stage.
~Z~Z~Z~
Victoria had decided to go into the pueblo in the morning to await the "return" of Diego that afternoon, though she would have preferred to have stayed with him until it was time, but with a mad Emissary still in residence, it would be better to be where she could keep an eye on what he was doing, especially as Don Alejandro had to ride out to check on some issues with the cattle, and considering he seemed to be the biggest focus of Risendo's attention, he would be far too conspicuous. Felipe had come along with her, as he was particularly good at avoiding notice, though Victoria suspected that it might also have something to do with seeing Teresa as well. She wasn't positive, but she thought she'd noticed an increasing amount of flirting between the two of them since Felipe's return from his trip with Diego's aunt and uncle. She certainly didn't object though she wondered how well this could work out long term with all the secrets Felipe was carrying for the family. But still at the moment it appeared not too serious and thus not something to worry about— yet.
However, those pleasant thoughts were soon driven out of her head when the Emissary, who she thought would be ensconced in the alcalde's office for much longer after the funeral of his aide came marching into the tavern along with half his men.
Without any preliminaries, the Emissary said, "Señora. I have heard some disturbing rumors and my men intend to search your tavern."
"What? That's ridiculous," Victoria exclaimed, watching as the guardsmen started moving through her tavern.
"Perhaps, Señora," the Emissary said with a smirk. "But I would be remiss to refuse to investigate especially since the de la Vegas seem at the center of so much of the... activity in this pueblo."
Victoria nearly bit her tongue to keep from saying that it was his actions that had made them the center of attention the past week, though she'd say the alcalde had been even more so thrust there with the threats to execute him. She clenched her fists as she watched the search, knowing that there was no point in protesting, especially since that would most likely give the man whatever excuse he was looking for to cause more trouble. Of course, not saying anything wouldn't prevent it either, she thought, not if he had a specific idea in mind instead of just general chaos. She nervously went over all the hiding places in the tavern in her head relaxing slightly when she reassured herself that there was nothing they could find.
She glanced at Felipe who stood near the door. Happily he once again appeared to be beneath Risendo's notice, so if something bad happened, he should be able to run for help. Diego should still be in the cave for another hour or so before riding back to the pueblo.
The search continued for what felt like an eternity, and Victoria's anxiety rose again, wondering what was the Emissary's purpose and what game he was playing. What did he want with her or her tavern?
Finally, the Emissary came down the stairs carrying a book in his hand. "Señora de la Vega," he said. "I wonder if this book belongs to you."
She glanced at the title. It was a book in English, John Milton's Paradise Lost, which she and Diego had been reading through together the last time they had stayed in the tavern together.
"Yes," she said, confused why he was asking.
"This happens to be a proscribed book because of its heretical content," Risendo said.
"What?"
"I had heard that you held unorthodox beliefs, since you challenged the natural order by trying to run for political office not that long ago, Señora," he continued.
"That's nonsense. Yes, I did but that hardly means..."
"With the trouble in the pueblo," Risendo raised his voice to drown out her protests, "I'm afraid I'll need to do my duty and take you before the Inquisitor General in Monterey."
"Over a book and an election that went nowhere?" Victoria exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, over that," he responded with a smug smile, gesturing to his men to take her into custody.
As Victoria squirmed in their grip, she saw Felipe disappearing out the front door and felt a small bit of relief. Diego would know what to do about this... madness.
~Z~Z~Z~
Diego checked his pocket watch again. Time seemed to be passing incredibly slowly as he waited for the right time to make his way to the pueblo. He couldn't even concentrate properly on his experiments, as he wondered what the Emissary might be doing at the moment, and hating that Victoria was in the pueblo rather than at home. But still, she had been left unbothered since that first outburst, so she should be perfectly fine— despite her ability to get in trouble anywhere, anytime.
He tried turning his attention back to his current experiment when he heard footsteps running down the stairs to the cave and saw Felipe stumbling down the last ones, breathless from running.
"What is it, Felipe?"
Felipe started signing so hurriedly that Diego had a hard time translating it.
"Risendo is taking Victoria to Monterey? Why, in heaven's name?" Diego asked incredulously.
Taking in another deep breath, Felipe managed to sign the answer a little more clearly, though Diego could barely believe he understood it.
"To face the Inquisitor General?" Diego gritted his teeth as the anger surged through him. "By the time I finish with Risendo, he'll rue the day he ever set foot in Los Angeles." He slammed his hand on the table and turned toward the clothes rack. "Saddle Toronado."
~Z~Z~Z~
Zorro wasted no time riding for the road to Monterey, sure that whatever Risendo would do, he wasn't going to delay for long. Also, it would be easier to ambush them on the road than in the pueblo. And leave them less ability to ambush him as well.
It didn't take him long before he spotted four riders on the road. He recognized Victoria's dress first, there between two guardsmen, and Risendo lagging behind. Something wasn't right with this scene, but his anger overwhelmed him as he started riding after them. A bullet ricocheted off of a rock beside him, and he turned his head to see Risendo trying to reload.
Seeing red, he loosed his whip as he charged the man. With precision, he sent his whip lashing against the man's cheeks. Once, twice, thrice, a perfect Z cut into flesh.
"Lay a finger on the señora again, Señor, and you're a dead man," he said.
Hearing horses behind him, Zorro turned his head and saw more of Risendo's guardsmen appear over the top of the nearby ridge. He should have seen that coming but self recrimination would have to wait for later. Right now he needed to rescue Victoria. Turning Toronado, he started riding in that direction. He could hear shouting behind him, but that was not as important as the racing horses in front of him.
Catching up with one of the guardsmen, Zorro leapt onto the back of his horse and pushed the man from the saddle. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Toronado running off and down a nearby hillside, but his focus now was in reaching Victoria.
He reached the horse, quickly pulling off the rider, draping her over the saddle, slowing down almost to a stop. Yet in that moment he realized something was very wrong as the figure on the saddle twisted round, revealing not Victoria but a man in her clothes, pulling out a pistol. Instinctively, he punched the man in the face, knocking him down to the ground. Another horseman nearby took aim, but Zorro lashed out with his whip pulling the man off his horse.
Looking around, he saw more soldiers coming after him and took off on the guardsman's horse as he was still too separated from Toronado to make it back to him. He managed to make it down and around a cliff before anyone could reach him and hid safely out of their view. Unfortunately he could not say the same about Toronado. By the time he worked himself around to a place where he could observe without being seen, Toronado was being pulled along by multiple guardsmen, and he had no way of rescuing him at the moment.
He rode off, knowing the rescue would take planning and a far cooler head than he now possessed. His anger had led him into too many mistakes, and it was Toronado who was currently paying for them.
He rode back in the direction of the hacienda, planning to loose the guardsman's horse on the road that led back to the pueblo. He figured that if the horse was found, the most they would assume was that he had gone to check the hacienda. He had disappeared from so many places, he doubted they would search for any deeper meaning. In any event it was the safest way to get back to the cave, with a minimum of time on foot.
Moving quickly over the ground, Zorro managed to make his way to the cave safely. Felipe rushed in his direction when he saw him alone.
"Where's Toronado?" he signed.
Pulling his mask off in frustration, Diego stalked towards the clothing rack. "Captured," he bit out. "It was a trap, but it wasn't the trap I thought it would be." He pulled at the buttons of his clothes as he angrily changed. "They didn't have Victoria with them. Just one of the guardsman dressed in some of her clothes." He almost knocked over the stand as he grabbed his pants. "And if I'd been paying an ounce of proper attention, I'd have noticed it wasn't what she was wearing this morning when she left. And I wouldn't have let Toronado get caught." He pushed his arms into his shirt. "And I still don't know where Victoria is. But I'm going to need to look as myself. And pretend I have no idea what's going on as I'm supposed to just be coming back." He clenched his fists. "Felipe, head up and get your horse saddled. I want you to head north 'looking' for me so that we don't have to waste any time for any apparent explanations before we start looking for Victoria."
Felipe nodded but then started signing quickly.
"Oh, my father's returned and gone to the pueblo to demand answers," Diego said. "Well, that will be useful, especially if the Emissary headed directly back to the pueblo after his plan failed."
Felipe mimed a fighting Toronado.
"Yes, if he hopes to hold him as a trap for Zorro, he won't have any choice but to take him straight back, but it will also take them time," Diego said, then after a pause when Felipe signed again. "No, I'm not sure where exactly to look, but we can try to figure out where they split off. Now, get going."
Felipe nodded before disappearing up the stairs.
~Z~Z~Z~
Diego took the time to ride Esperanza around the long way to the road, on the hopes of picking up some sign of Risendo's soldiers and Victoria but saw nothing before he reached the road, and it wasn't too long before Felipe met him as he rode south.
"We might as well continue to the pueblo," Diego said. "We can learn what we can there and then try backtracking to see which way she was really taken."
Felipe nodded.
As they took the road past the hacienda, Diego was taken aback when he saw three riders approaching from the left. Even more so, when he recognized Victoria riding between Mendoza and one of Risendo's men.
"Victoria!" he called out and for the benefit of the others added. "Felipe told me what happened. We were heading to the pueblo to try to find answers."
"I'm fine!" Victoria said, urging her horse towards Diego.
Diego quickly dismounted and the moment she stopped, he was quick to help her down from her horse and pull her tightly to him. "Are you truly unharmed?" he asked.
"Completely," she said, then with a glance at Mendoza. "Just bored spending time playing tres en raya with the sergeant."
"She won most of the time," Mendoza said good naturedly. "I'm sorry if you were worried, Don Diego. But the señora got to sit in the shade, while she was waiting. I looked after her as best I could."
"Gracias, Sergeant," Diego said with genuine gratitude as he loosened his grip a little on his wife. "I'm glad to hear that." He looked at the other soldier. "Though I was led to believe that something else entirely had happened to her."
Mendoza shook his head. "It was another trap for Zorro, and now that he's got Zorro's horse, the Emissary has no reason to keep Señora Victoria out of the way. That's all he meant to happen to her. And now that she's safely back with you, we can get back to the cuartel. I have a feeling the Emissary's going to need a lot of help there now."
"Yes, I can imagine," Diego said, through gritted teeth.
Looking awkwardly at them for a moment, Mendoza finally shrugged in an apologetic way before saying his goodbyes and turning his horse in the direction of the pueblo, followed by the silent guardsman.
Diego waited until the pair were out of earshot before turning back to Victoria.
"Now, was that really all that happened?"
Victoria nodded. "Essentially. After Risendo arrested me, I was taken out of town with an escort, then left in the custody of Mendoza and a couple of guardsmen at the site of Mendoza's old house. And yes, we just sat in the shade, playing games, until another of Risendo's guardsmen came and said I was free to go home and took one of the guards with him in order to help with the 'devil horse' they caught in their trap. Mendoza was quick enough to figure out it was Toronado. What happened there, Diego?"
Glancing around at the now empty landscape, Diego still spoke quietly, telling her what happened. Finishing up with "Zorro fell into the trap like an untutored school boy, and now Toronado is paying the price."
Victoria hugged him. "Despite what some may think, Zorro isn't superhuman. He makes mistakes as any other man."
"But his mistakes can cost more dearly," Diego said grimly.
"And his triumphs can save so many," Victoria said.
There was a whistle from behind them, and Diego turned toward Felipe who pointed at Victoria and then his ear before nodding and waving towards Los Angeles and making the sign for Toronado.
"You're both right," Diego said. "We need to see what has been or is being done with Toronado and figure out a plan. The sooner the better."
"Yes," Victoria said. "And hopefully the sooner to rid ourselves of the Emissary and whatever schemes he's concocting." She put a hand on Diego's arm. "Do you think he might harm Toronado?"
"I'm not sure," he replied through gritted teeth. "I have little pity for any man who tries."
~Z~Z~Z~
Gilberto Risendo's Journal
That cursed horse sounds as if it will break down the walls of the cuartel soon. Let it kick all it wants, it's not going to get loose unless I give the word. And that word will not be given. I intend to bring Zorro to his knees— and then cut them off.
I can still feel the sting of his cuts on my cheek. Not deep enough to noticeably scar as long as I take care, but still enough to make me look weak to the populace. His intention I'm sure, but it makes me wonder if there is something more to it. Could he still have a romantic attachment to his tavern wench, despite her marrying another? Or is this a sign that they are still involved regardless of her marrying another? It would not be the first time, and it is something to consider exploiting.
A pity that it is Alejandro's faith in Diego that I need to destroy, and it is Diego's handwriting that I will be copying. But now wait, I think I have a better idea of how to exploit this and sow discord among all three. Divide and conquer. Rather than the letter to the governor that was my first notion, I will make it to his apparently influential friend Don Ernesto Moraga, more scope for a conspiracy between cronies. Yes, a much better idea.
~Z~Z~Z~
Don Alejandro was standing at the bar talking to Señor Calvillo when Diego, Victoria, and Felipe walked in. The moment he saw them, he crossed the room, embracing his daughter-in-law.
"Victoria, I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you," he said. "Especially after Risendo and his men returned without you but with Zorro's horse." His gaze flickered toward Diego for a moment. "And I'm glad to see you made it home safe, Diego. I was afraid you might run into trouble on your ride back home."
"No," Diego said with a tinge of bitterness that he tried to conceal. "I seemed to have missed quite a bit, though Felipe did find me and fill me in. However," he forced a smile, "I did run into Victoria on the way to the pueblo, so I had very little time to worry before discovering it was all over, and she was well."
"Are you?" Don Alejandro asked.
"Yes, most certainly," Victoria said, as they went to sit down at a table where she explained what happened when she was taken from the tavern, finishing with, "so it seems I missed most of the excitement as well."
"Not the beginning," Don Alejandro said grimly. "The man gets more outrageous with every action."
"Surely he needs to return to Madrid soon," Victoria said. "He can't delay too much longer. Can he, Diego?"
"Considering how much the king needs money, I very much doubt it," Diego said. "Victoria's right. If we can be patient..."
"Patient?" Don Alejandro asked incredulously. "And let him do more damage? The man is a disgrace, a walking pestilence. He should be driven out."
The door to the tavern opened, and Risendo entered.
"Speak of the devil," Diego murmured.
Victoria stood up. "I think I'll check with Señor Calvillo about how business has gone today."
"Ah, Señora, don't let me drive you away. Please accept my apologies for any anxiety you may have felt today as part of my little charade," he said. "No harm to you was meant."
"I'm sure," she said, shortly, "but excuse me all the same, I'm afraid that I'm rather behind in dealing with my business." She moved off to the bar but still kept her attention on the group at the table. She felt both relief and resentment at how easily the man dismissed her once she was no longer of apparent use to him.
Risendo turned toward Diego and Don Alejandro. "I apologize to you both as well, both for using the señora as bait as well as my rather ill-considered seizure of your property. You see, this is my first imperial appointment, and in my eagerness to please His Majesty, I clearly overstepped my authority."
Diego stood up. "Forgiveness rather depends on whether such recklessness repeats itself. Now if you'll excuse me, I've had a rather trying journey today and would like to return home."
He looked at Felipe and nodded toward the door before crossing to Victoria. "Do you want to come home with me now?" he asked softly.
She glanced at the Emissary. "I think it would be better if I make sure the tavern is intact after my absence. I'll go home with your father." She smiled flirtatiously. "Besides I think you need some rest, and you'd hardly get any with me there."
"True," Diego said with his own smile and a kiss to her hand. "I'll see you later." He turned and with a last glare at Risendo, who was now sitting at the table with his father, headed out of the tavern.
Victoria moved closer to the men, using the excuse of wiping down a nearby table.
Risendo looked at the tavern door. "I can hardly blame him for being so hostile," he said in a conversational tone.
Victoria saw Don Alejandro's annoyed expression as he lifted his glass. "Neither can I." He drained the glass, sitting it down firmly before saying, "Adiós, Señor." He stood up and started to walking towards the door.
Victoria watched him, wondering if she should follow him. Was he planning on leaving entirely or just getting away from the Emissary? She was so focused on her father in law that she was startled when Risendo called to him, holding a paper in his hand.
Don Alejandro stopped, his back to Risendo. Victoria could see the tension in him as he spoke. "Talk to me, sir."
"This was on the floor, Señor," Risendo said, holding it out. "Does it belong to you?"
What was the man up to? Victoria wondered, doubt about the purpose of that paper filling her as she watched her father in law turn, patting his jacket pockets.
"I don't think so," he said. "But..." He took the paper and opened it. "Hmm, it's my son's handwriting, a letter to his friend Ernesto." His expression became stern as he read.
"Is something wrong?" Victoria asked, coming up to him.
He looked at her with a puzzled expression. "I don't know. This is supposedly a letter to young Ernesto saying Diego's grown impatient for his inheritance, wanting assistance in proving that I'm mentally incompetent, incapable of handling my own affairs. And..." He stopped with a glance at Victoria before turning his glare on Risendo.
Victoria took the letter from his hand and saw what Alejandro didn't want to say out loud, an intimation that he was unhappy being second in his wife's favors to a masked man, and wanting a way to get out of the marriage. She felt her anger rise at the blatant lies in this so-called letter. She barely heard Risendo's false shocked response.
Liar! Monster! Forger! Her inner voice screamed. She wanted to slap the smug look off the man's face.
Instead she forced herself to calm down. She wouldn't give words to the charges of the letter. And if Risendo did, it would only prove that he had not found that paper but written it.
"This is ridiculous," she said, barely managing to speak. "Diego would never think something like this, much less write it down."
Don Alejandro smiled at her taking the letter back from her hand. "Of course, he wouldn't, Victoria, and he didn't."
The emissary seemed incredulous at Don Alejandro's disbelief. "Didn't you say that was your son's handwriting?"
"I said it appears to be," Don Alejandro said with a nod. "But as you might know, the difference between reality and appearance..." He laughed. Victoria believed it was more at the transparent ploy than any real humor.
"This certainly seems real enough," Risendo said, in a tone of outrage.
Yes, Victoria thought. Outrage at his blatant forgery not being accepted. She turned away and let Don Alejandro do the speaking, as she still wanted to strike the man.
She listened as Don Alejandro said, "No, sir. I trust my life to my son. Perhaps you don't understand that since you don't have children, Señor. Tell me about your father. Did you love him?"
Victoria was curious, hoping that somehow, something would reveal what it was that Risendo really wanted from them.
But Risendo's reply only added to Victoria's confusion. "I never knew my father... until recently."
What did that mean? Was Risendo's father the inspiration for this vendetta? Victoria wondered. If so, then who was the man and what had he to do with Don Alejandro? An old friend, an old enemy? Who?
"That's unfortunate," Don Alejandro said firmly. "However, the bond between this father and his son is not so easily broken with a letter which is obviously a fake. Whoever forged this was very skilled, but not skilled enough to look into my son's heart. I'm going to show it to him. This is going to give him a good laugh like it did me. Emissary. Adiós." He turned to Victoria. "Shall we go home and let Diego in on the joke, Daughter?" he asked.
Of course, Father," Victoria said with a smile. She started for the door with Don Alejandro and cast a glance back over her shoulder at Risendo. "I think I've seen enough here for today."
~to be continued~
End Notes:
This was another episode where things seemed to happen far too quickly. Primarily, Gilberto's forged letter. Seriously, in order to get it done so quickly he'd have to be a world-class forger, and so considering the fact that he had been staying in the de la Vega hacienda and could have gotten a sample of Diego's (and even Alejandro's) handwriting then, I decided to have him take a sample of Diego's writing with him when he left, so he could get a head start on the forgery, rather than demand De Soto get one for him.
I had also had a thought of Gilberto getting hold of some of Alejandro's old letters (the ones his wife would have kept) and him looking through them for signs of his perfidy, but thought that would make things more complicated than they already are and decided to stick with Diego.
And it was a heavy challenge for me to figure out what changes to make to the forged letter. I wanted it to be something a bit different, but the final version escaped me until nearly the last minute, and even then it ended up being just minor details changed. Part of the problem is that I've really wanted to work in a married-to-Diego Victoria being suspected or even publicly accused of having an affair with Zorro, but I just couldn't make it work here. Maybe I'll write that story sometime.
I did get slightly distracted by research when trying to determine what excuse Gilberto would use to take Victoria to the Inquisitor General in Monterey. I mean they didn't bother in the episode, and I almost went that route, but then I wondered what the Inquisition actually did do. Unfortunately, I didn't find a lot of specifics, other than it tended to be less bad than secular courts or legends allowed and dealt with matters of the church (and also censorship). To the point that sometimes a person would deliberately commit an act of blasphemy so that they could go in front of the Inquisition rather than a secular court. But in any event, the Inquisition was pretty defanged by the beginning of the 19th century and ended in 1834. So anyway, since it was all a trap, I decided on possession of a proscribed book and Victoria's running for public office as really petty reasons.
Also, apparently in the movie version there was an added scene of Zorro going to the pueblo first (and being chased by De Soto and his lancers there) before finding the group on the road to Monterey, but I decided to keep with the broadcast version and have Zorro skip right to the chase. Frankly, this is one case where the added scene adds to the mystery of where exactly Victoria was during all of this. She wasn't in jail or the cuartel or with the men riding out (because of the double for the trap), and her whereabouts are just never brought up after it's over.
The game Victoria mentions playing, tres en raya, is a Spanish name for tic tac toe or noughts and crosses. I don't know how old a name it is, but the game is an ancient one and an easy time killer though rather boring, since if the players both know what they're doing, it should end in a stalemate every single time. But since this is Mendoza, who while sweet and loyal isn't always the sharpest knife in the block, Victoria won more often than she tied.
~Z~Z~Z~
To guest reviewers:
arty60 on chapter 49: Thank you. I'm glad this seems nuanced.
Debra on chapter 49: Thank you. I'm glad I'm managing suspense here.
~Z~Z~Z~
And thank you to all you have reviewed so far and to all who will leave a review as well. Reviews, follows, and favorites are just about the only rewards we get.