Author's note: Dear readers, thank you for sticking with me so far. I hereby reward you with a very long chapter which, for…reasons (I have a few)…, I refuse to split in two. Enjoy it and, as always, let me know if you like the story!

"Come on, you lazy bunch! Wake up!" Miguel 'encouraged' their men as the upper part of the sun was just visible on the horizon.

Angel had been barely able to sleep for a couple of hours that night, plagued by nightmares as he was. Laying on his back, glad it was already morning, he was trying to come up with a carefully-thought-out plan for the day ahead. That was, after all, his role in the gang: come up with the plans to follow. A decent swordsman and a rather good-shooter, he was not as skilled with weapons as his two brothers were, so he had learned quickly to make himself indispensable by becoming 'the brains' of their operation.

In fact, it was Angel who had come up with the plan to replace Comandante Timador and his men, after they had found the sunken ship, thanks to the log they had taken from one of their kidnap victims. He was also the one who came up with an idea on how to recover the treasure and convinced his brothers to only abduct people in the northern part of the territory so that nobody would search for them anywhere near San Diego. Had he been on the ship or at the house when it all went down, he would have certainly found a way out of that predicament, just as he came up with a plan to get his brother and their men out of jail. It was a very good plan and, had the lancers not been warned about the prison break, the entire gang would have survived, while all the lancers would have died.

Who warned them and how did he know his plan was, however, beyond his comprehension. It was also the reason why he had spent much of the sleepless nights which followed the liberation of the prisoners from the ship, by wondering about this unknown saboteur who, somehow, seemed to know all their plans. It was the same perpetrator that had entered his dreams, laughing at him from afar, at his every idea, at his every move, menacing he would always be there to make sure none of his plans would ever again succeed.

Now, his brothers and their men were counting on him to decide on a plan to defeat Zorro, preferably after he had returned the stolen gold and the ship log to them, and he was feeling the shadowy presence of the saboteur once more, even when awake.

"How do you think we should do this?" Jesus asked him as they were roasting some rabbits to eat for breakfast.

"I think we should be careful." His younger brother answered. "If the detective and the magistrate are already in Los Angeles, that means that the garrison is on alert, waiting for an attack. It would be better for me and Miguel to go first, since the lancers had not yet seen any of us in San Diego. We can take a look around and try to find out the name of the man who had been in San Diego with the doctor. When we find him, we'll need for Jose to have a good look at him. We can't afford to be wrong about this. If he is not the tracker, he is not Zorro and we will have nothing on him. If he is, we will just have to 'convince' him to give back what he took from us. After we have the gold and the log, we can get on with killing all the cabrones. As you said, it is convenient to have them all in one place."

"Yes. That is what we'll do, hermanito." Jesus agreed. "We will need to find a hiding place near Los Angeles and we'll wait for your return before making any other move."

"We know a cave…some eight miles…south…of the pueblo…You can wait there." Miguel suggested, with his mouth full while eating a rabbit leg. "Pedro knows it."

"Fine. We'll go there and you two head straight for Los Angeles." Jesus decided.

They all left together, splitting into two groups about ten miles outside the pueblo.

ZZZ

Zorro woke up alone, half an hour after Victoria. It seemed already rather late in the morning and the tavern owner was nowhere in sight. A few minutes later, just as he was checking his mask, wondering if the woman he loved now knew his identity, she came in with coffee and breakfast for both.

"I didn't know what you eat in the morning, so I made prepared you a few things." She said with a big grin on her face at seeing him awake.

"It is quite a full plate you have there!" He noticed, glancing over at the wonderful display of her cooking skills. "Enough for us both."

"No…this is just for you. I don't usually eat much in the morning." She answered.

"Then, we are to miss the opportunity to have our first breakfast together?" He teased her, but Victoria still hesitated.

"Alright…" She agreed at seeing his expression. "I will have an enchilada."

She left the tray on the bed between them and sat as if she would if they were out for a picnic.

"Did you respect your promise?" Zorro asked, silently praying she had, while eating a piece of bread.

"I did." She confirmed. "I am not saying I wasn't tempted…"

"As long as you didn't act on that temptation…Trust me, Victoria, it is better for both of us that you don't know yet." He told her while caressing her cheek.

She nodded sadly and returned to focus on their breakfast.

"Have you already opened the tavern?" Zorro asked a few moments later, as he was savoring his coffee.

She was looking at his manner of raising the cup to his mouth, thinking it seemed quite familiar, but his question interrupted her trail of thoughts, before she realized just why.

"No, not yet. I decided to only open at eight today, so I might stay here, with you, a little longer." Victoria replied with a sly grin. "I don't think I spent so much time with you since the day you proposed."

"That's true..." He agreed.

"Are you from this pueblo?" She asked suddenly.

"Does it matter?"

"Please don't do that, Zorro! You never give me any answer about yourself. I have agreed to marry you without even knowing your identity. Can't you, at least, let me know you a little?"

"As long as my answers don't endanger you…" He replied, hesitating. "Si, Victoria. I am from Los Angeles."

"Perfect!" She answered almost glowing. "Then I won't have to move away when we marry." Victoria answered an unexpressed question that had been on her mind for a long time already.

"What if we'll have to leave this place in order to marry?" He asked her. "Would you come with me? The way things are, I might only get to wed you if I get a pardon or if we go someplace else. Although, I don't want to leave, either."

"Diego told me a few days ago that Mexico might proclaim its independence by the end of the year and claim California, as well. De Soto will leave if that happens, and you will be free to remove that mask." Victoria suggested.

"That might be so…" He stated pensively. "But…I am not sure removing this mask will ever be a good idea."

"So what? I'll never see your face? Never know who you are? How will you marry me then?" She asked. "And how about our children? Will they also have to wear masks if they look like you, just to make sure no one knows who you are?"

"Of course not, mi amor!" He chuckled at the idea of a hacienda filled with little Zorros running around. "And I didn't say you will never know my true identity. It is just a matter of perspective. If I cannot remove this mask, you can still marry the man behind it."

"That I can do right now, then!"

"No, Victoria. The pardon needs to come first. If you marry an outlaw and somebody discovers my true identity, you will be hanged with me, and I cannot allow that to happen. We just need to be patient a little longer and, if the pardon won't come, we will decide together what to do at the proper time."

"Alright…Zorro. I will be patient. I have been for many years already, so one or two more will make little difference. But I am counting on you to keep your promise. I couldn't bear losing you before even getting the chance to be with you."

"I will be careful, Victoria. But, if I am to..."

"Don't even say it! You will be fine and we will both be happy and live to be eighty, and wrinkled and still in love!" She interrupted him with tears forming in her eyes. "I know we will!"

"And I will make everything I can to make that happen!" He assured her.

They took another break from the conversation while Victoria turned away to wipe a few tears.

"Do you even want children?" She asked.

"I do. If they will have you as a mother."

"How many?"

"As many as you want. I will love them all the same."

"I think you will make a wonderful father!"

"I hope so."

"Do you want girls or boys?"

"It doesn't matter. I just want them to be healthy and happy."

"Will you move here, at the tavern, or will you want me to move in with you."

"It is up to you, really. But I would prefer the second option, if you'll agree."

"You want me to move to your cave?" She teased.

"No…I don't intend to share you either with Tornado or with…" He almost said 'Felipe' but stopped just in time.

Victoria looked at him with big inquiring eyes.

"You were about to give me a big clue, weren't you?" She asked.

"Well…Perhaps it is time to open the tavern, Victoria. Your patrons might be wondering what is the reason for the delay…" Zorro tried to change the subject.

"Is there someone helping you? It's that it? Someone I know, perhaps?" Victoria decided to get one more piece of information out of him.

"I'd rather not answer those questions."

"I'd feel better knowing there is someone there for you. At least, that way, I'd be sure you are not alone when you need help." She explained, caressing his cheek and leaning in for a kiss, fully aware their first morning together was about to end soon, but also, more than relieved with his answers.

"Feel better, then." He uttered, when their lips parted for a moment.

"It's not a woman, is it?" She suddenly felt the need to know, moving a little away from him, so that she could carefully scrutinize his eyes.

"No, Victoria. Not a woman." He reassured her with a broad smile. "You are the only woman I'd ever want to take care of me."

Satisfied with this last assurance, she left him in her room and headed downstairs to open the tavern a little after eight.

ZZZ

The two brothers Ramirez arrived in Los Angeles a little before eight in the morning. Angel's first thought was to go by the tavern to inquire after the information he needed, but the door was closed. He tried to open it, just in case, and, when he found it locked, he crossed the plaza to the cuartel.

"Corporal!" Angel shouted at the half-asleep man, leaning on a wall, pretending to be guarding the Alcale's door.

"What do you want?" Sepulveda asked, annoyed by the disturbance.

"I need to see the doctor. Can you tell me where I can find him?"

"In Santa Paula!" The Corporal answered with a smug.

"Santa Paula? So there is no doctor in this pueblo? I was told to look for Doctor…." Her…something. Damn my inability to remember names! Angel thought and looked at his brother.

"Hernandez." Miguel helped him.

"Si, he is our doctor. But his son is ill. He went with him to Santa Paula to seek the advice of a colleague of his."

Angel mumbled some curses, then remembered he had a job to do. If the doctor was away, at least he needed to find the tracker and the stagecoach passengers.

"Tell me, Corporal, what time does the tavern open?" He demanded to know.

"Usually at seven. I guess Senorita Escalante woke up late today. It should open soon, don't worry." He replied, noticing Sergeant Mendoza coming out of the cuartel.

"Can you answer me one more question…" Angel tried to ask the name of the man who had accompanied the doctor to San Diego.

"Corporal!" Mendoza called him to attention as he neared his man. "Anything to report? The Alcalde told you to stay alert in case the Ramirez gang dares to show up here!"

"I didn't see them, Sergeant. It is only these two men who came to the pueblo so far."

Angel noticed the Sergeant studying him, and Miguel instinctively took his hand to the knives he kept attached to his belt. Realizing it was too soon for a conflict with the soldiers, the older brother decided to prevent it.

"We were just asking what time the tavern opens." Angel decided to defuse the situation.

"The tavern? Look! Senorita Escalante is just opening it now." Mendoza noticed, scratching his head. "I will be heading there myself for breakfast." He added, and Angel cursed again, silently, since he was too tired to think of something better to do.

Meanwhile, both Zorro and Antonia had noticed the two men discussing with Sepulveda and, although only one recognized them, they were both quite sure they were members of the gang. While Zorro made his way out of Victoria's room and into the high passage of her kitchen, from where he could observe most of the taproom without being noticed, Antonia got dressed as quickly as she could, checked that her beard, her mustache, and her wig were still fine and knocked three times in a row, then once, on the doors to the rooms occupied by the nuns and the older gentleman. It was their signal that they should stay inside. After having done so, she got downstairs and sat at a corner table, waiting for her breakfast.

Victoria hurriedly brought her some coffee and a plate of huevos rancheros with a loaf of bread. As there was no other customer at that point, she redirected her attention towards Mendoza. The Sergeant sat at the first table by the door and didn't need to order anything since Victoria knew what he wanted, so she brought him a similar plate as she had brought Antonia, but with a double portion of eggs, and a big cup of coffee. The two brothers, trying to get as far away from the Sergeant as possible, sat at the table near Antonia's and other people soon came in to fill the rest of the empty seats in the tavern. Victoria became quite busy rather quickly, and it was only Pilar's arrival that made her slow down a little.

"I think we should ask one of the tavern wenches." Miguel suggested as Angel was busy scanning the room for a tall, dark-haired caballero with a mustache, unaware that the man he was searching for was watching him from a few feet to his left and a few more up.

"We should have brought Jose with us…" Angel considered.

"You said it yourself the lancers might recognize him." Miguel stated. "We just need to find out who accompanied Doctor Hernandez. If he recognizes the man we'll know it's him. I wonder where those four might be. I see no nun here." He commented after a quick look at the people in the tavern.

"Senorita!" Angel called Victoria who was busy taking orders and had forgotten to take theirs.

"Just a minute, senor!" She answered while heading to the kitchen to bring two plates of food ordered by two vaqueros. "What would you like?"

"I would like you, bonita!" Miguel answered, trying his luck with the tavern owner.

"I'm afraid that I am not on the menu, senor." She answered bitterly as Zorro frowned.

"Forgive my brother, senorita. We will have the huevos rancehros, por favor." Angel asked, trying to appease her.

"And a bottle of rum!" Miguel stated

"Coffee would be better, Miguel!"

"Men drink rum! How many times do you want me to repeat that to you?"

"A bottle of rum for us to share and a coffee for me, in that case…" Angel conceded.

"Right away!" Victoria replied, feeling uneasy about the two strangers, and headed for the kitchen, only to emerge a few minutes later with their orders.

"Senorita! I was wondering if you could help us with some information." Angel tried to sound pleasing. "We are looking for a good tracker and I understand the pueblo's doctor knows one, but he is not here, so we can't ask him. Can you tell us who is the best tracker around?"

"That would be Zorro…but I doubt he is available…" She answered with a smug.

"Yes…no…I mean, besides him."

"A tracker? I…I don't know. Maybe the Alcalde. Or perhaps Don Alejandro."

"Don Alejandro? Yes, that might be him. A young gentleman…"

"Young? No…Don Alejandro is 60 years old…" She chuckled.

"That's not him," Angel stated, a little discouraged. "Senorita…I was told that the doctor went to San Diego a few weeks ago with a man from the pueblo."

"Diego?"

"Si..to San Diego…" Angel answered

"No..I mean he went to San Diego with Don Diego."

"Diego…?"

"…de la Vega. Don Diego de la Vega"

"The name sounds familiar. Is he a good tracker?" Angel was almost sure he had his man.

"A good tracker? He is lucky he doesn't get lost on the way to his hacienda. He is famous for being the worst tracker in Los Angeles. Don Alejandro always scolds him about that." She chuckled.

"I see…" Angel replied pensively. "Look …we are looking for a man in his thirties…"

At that very moment, before he could complete the description and Victoria could answer them, Antonia decided Victoria had said more than enough. Thus, on her way to the bar, a coffee cup in her hand, she stumbled on the tavern owner and pour the rest of the warm drink on her blouse.

"Perdoname, senorita!" She tried to apologize. "I didn't mean to! I was distracted...Please, allow me to pay for a new blouse since I clearly ruined this one!"

Victoria studied the stain and the man apologizing, and decided to be forgiving.

"It is alright…I will just leave it in water for a few hours and it will come out. It is not the first coffee stain it gets, senor." She answered, heading for her room to change.

Zorro watched the episode grateful for Antonia's intervention, while the detective looked at the two men and decided they should leave the tavern before Victoria came back.

"Hola, senores!" She greeted them. "You seem familiar. Are you from San Diego?"

Angel and Miguel stared at her, then at each other.

"No, you must be mistaken." Miguel answered while calmly pouring his brother a glass of rum, encouraging him to drink it.

"I must be." She stated and continued out loud, trying to get Mendoza's attention. "You look just like two of the Commander Timador's lancers." Antonia added with a smug at noticing the Sergeant's lethargic wheels were finally moving.

"We are no lancers, I assure you, senor. Now, if you'd kindly return to your table, my brother and I are trying to have a private conversation." Angel became annoyed at the pathetic excuse of a man who recognized them.

"Claro. Mil disculpas." She apologized to them and returned to her table to continue eating her breakfast as slowly as she possibly could while keeping an eye on them and continuing to listen to their conversation.

"We need to leave." Angel stated, finishing his glass of rum and regretting having asked for only one cup of coffee. "The Sergeant is looking at us. How unlucky can we be to stumble upon the one idiota who recognizes us?" He added.

"We just need to wait for the tavern wench to return and tell us if that Don Diego is the man we want, and we can go." Miguel stated.

Right then, noticing Victoria was about to return to the taproom, At that point, as there were no longer many patrons in the tavern, Zorro made a discreet sign towards Antonia, who had noticed him some ten minutes earlier. Leaving her table to return to her room, she stopped Victoria on her way with an undecided left, then right step, mimicking the tavern owner's intended direction. With Victoria and Antonia at a comfortable distance, Zorro decided to make an appearance. As soon as came from the kitchen, heading towards the table occupied by the two brothers, Miguel, who was on alert and saw him at once, stood up and threw two daggers at him, while Angel grabbed his gun. Zorro deflected the daggers with his sword and pushed Angel's arm, causing the bullet to spill one of Victoria's bottles of wine, rather than his blood. Taking advantage of Angel's weakened state and slow responses, he then proceeded to knock him out with a fast punch, while Miguel was pulling out two more daggers, ready to attack him with them.

The other people in the tavern stood up at noticing Zorro and tried to merge with the surrounding walls. The ones near the door, including Mendoza, quickly made their way outside, while Antonia dragged Victoria to her room in an intent to get her away from the fight. Victoria panicked at realizing she was in a room with a strange man but slowly relaxed at seeing how he was more interested in watching the fight through the slightly opened door, rather than in her.

"We are safe here till the fight it's over, Senorita." Antonia told her.

Victoria still looked around the room trying to find a weapon in case the strange man attacked her.

"I am not going to attack you." The detective assured her, as if reading her mind "I just thought Zorro might want to keep you safe. I am sure Don Diego and Don Alejandro certainly would." She added, noticing her former employer was still unconvinced.

"How is he doing?" Victoria asked, now fully relaxed at remembering the man was a friend of the De la Vegas, thus posing no threat.

"He managed to dodge quite a few knives so far!" Antonia answered, preoccupied to see Miguel was quite a challenge for Zorro who, besides avoiding the knives thrown at him, also had to make sure he was not endangering someone else when deflecting them with his sword.

Seconds after she said that, seeing how an unfortunate move left Zorro's sword caught in one of the tavern's wooden pillars, Miguel threw his last dagger at the masked outlaw, aiming for his heart. All Zorro could do was get out of the blade's way at the last moment, and the dagger continued its trajectory only to stop in the Alcalde's left shoulder. The man was just coming in, alerted by Mendoza. In pain and upset to see that the blade had ruined his new tailcoat, De Soto unsheathed his sword, intended to point it at Miguel in order to determine him to surrender. However, just as he stepped closer to him, he slid on some spilled wine and ended up thrusting the sword through the thug's neck. The bandit died, convulsing on the floor, just as De Soto retrieved his sword and focused on stopping the bleeding in his shoulder with a cloth Victoria had discarded on the bar.

"Are these the Ramirez?" De Soto asked when the man was already dead.

"These are two of the brothers." Zorro answered him after a quick look at Antonia, who confirmed with a head nod, just as she was coming down the stairs, following Victoria. "This one and the one knocked out over there…" he continued, pointing towards Angel who was lying on the floor.

"Take him to jail, Mendoza!" De Soto asked. "And ask Gomez and Reyes to come take care of the body."

"That wound will need stitches, Alcalde." Zorro pointed out after struggling a little with De Soto to let him inspect his injury.

"Yes…Sepulveda! Go to the Hacienda de la Vega and bring Don Diego here. With the doctor out of town, he will have to do…"

"I can help with that, Alcalde!" Antonia offered, realizing it was better if De Soto didn't know that Diego had also left the previous day, or he might become suspicious. "My father is a doctor and I was his apprentice when I was younger." She wasn't lying since her father had, indeed, been a doctor and she had helped him on occasion while growing up, even continuing her medical preparation while in University.

"And you are?" De Soto questioned, finding the stranger strangely familiar.

"I am Don Antonio Montez, from Santa Brabara. I am an acquaintance of the De la Vegas, here on business. I will gladly be at your service, senor Alcalde." She replied with a slight bow.

"Right! I saw you dining with Don Alejandro last evening, if I remember correctly." De Soto stated.

"Si. Don Alejandro was kind enough to lend me one of his horses during my stay in Los Angeles and I took the opportunity to inquire about some of his mares I might be interested in buying."

"I see. And you are sure you know how to stitch a wound? If I lose my arm I will make sure you'll hang, I hope you understand that!" The Alcalde decided to assure himself.

"I am very sure, senor. Do not worry. You'll be in good hands with me."

De Soto nodded and signaled Antonia to follow him to his office, where he proceeded in taking off his coat, vest and shirt. The dagger had sliced his upper muscle, but the wound, while deep, was not very serious. In the absence of appropriate medical supplies, she poured tequila on the wound, unable to hide a small grin at hearing De Soto scream in pain, then left him to drink some liquor straight from the bottle, to numb the pain. By the time she had finished stitching and patching up the wound, De Soto had deposited all the rest of the tequila in his own body, as a defiant challenge to his liver, and was completely drunk.

Meanwhile, Mendoza instructed two of his men to carry Angel to a cell and they left him to fall heavily on the floor, unwillingly causing him to sprain his right wrist, after Zorro's punch had already fractured his jaw.