AN: Did I write an entire story just because I wanted to write the first scene below? Of course, I did! Let me know what you think!
ZZZ
"EVERYBODY" the cruel caballero underlined again "KNOWS THAT YOU ARE…"
Those in the plaza could have sworn to have heard the rumble of thunder, so loud was the sound of the gunshot in that silence.
Victoria let out a screamed "No!" and watched in horror for the man she loved to fall dead, never to be hers. Don Alejandro, holding his daughter-in-law to his chest, remained paralyzed, expecting a similar scene to unfold, while Felipe ran out of the tavern, fearing that his adoptive father would never again hear his voice. Their horror was mirrored by the faces of all the men and women in the plaza, who were, at least for those few terrifying moments, convinced that what should have been a happy event, had just turned into a tragedy.
Don Alcides' last word died on his lips, just as he was about to pull the trigger. Wide-eyed, he crumbled to the ground, first on his knees, then face-down on the tavern's terrace.
Diego was the one to look flabbergasted this time, as he raised his eyes from the don's body and traced the bullet which had ended his life back to the gun held by De Soto. The white-haired man was standing some twenty feet away and had a strange look on his face, not much different than the one he had worn when he had shot Gilberto. As a sense of déjà vu hit the caballero, looking towards Ignacio he realized that, unlike the last time his former nemesis had saved his life, this time he knew exactly who he was saving, yet still decided to pull the trigger, just at the precise moment when his secret was about to be revealed.
A tense break followed, giving the Alcalde time to wonder whether he had taken the right decision, for the right reasons, or had just made the biggest mistake of his life. It's too late to change my mind! He reminded himself.
"Wh…What was he going to say? What does everybody know?" The Governor broke the silence that immediately retook the plaza.
"I'd hardly venture to guess, Your Excellency." De Soto stated, doing his best to act natural, as people stared at him in disbelief. "The man was a…vindictive criminal with a price on his head. Whatever he wanted to say…I'm afraid it will forever remain a mystery!"
Relieved his son was alive, Don Alejandro finally let go of Victoria, who hurried to hug her husband, for the first time in over two years, smiling gratefully at the man who had just saved his life. As for Diego, all he could do at that moment was to embrace his wife, grateful he had just received a new chance on life.
"I..I didn't know you were such an accomplished fighter, Don Diego!" The Governor again interrupted the silence. "I was always led to believe you were inept with the blade. Why were you keeping those skills a secret?"
"A secret? Hardly!" The Alcalde replied with a chuckle, instead of Diego, who found himself looking inquisitively at De Soto. "Everybody knows he's probably the most accomplished swordsman in the territory. His ineptitude with the sword is just a…rumor…Don Alejandro had started…as a joke. He takes great delight in having Diego give the occasional fencing lesson to those who believe it."
The old caballero also found himself grinning gratefully at the man who had saved Diego twice at that point, very much liking that impromptu explanation.
The Governor looked around wondering if he was being told the truth. The Los Angelinos, after glancing between him and De Soto, smiled and nodded, confirming the Alcalde's words, despite the surprise still clear on their faces.
"You must be the best swordsman I've ever seen!" The official noted, again addressing Diego, who was now lost in his wife's brown eyes.
"He was Sir Kendall's best student." Mendoza stated, instead. "And he's also great with any weapon…"
"Except he hates guns." Sepulveda mentioned.
"And so does his horse." Another lancer intervened.
"And…and he's known to be the best tracker in the area!" Sanchez added, as everyone in the market nodded again.
"But everybody knows all that, Your Excellency!" Don Leopoldo sincerely assured the Governor.
Diego, raised his eyes and looked around the plaza with a grateful smile on his face, certain that, at that point, except for the Governor, the Emissary and, probably, some of the wedding guests, everyone else knew the identity of the man behind Zorro's mask.
The high-ranking official glanced again at the people around him and decided he had all the information he needed, so he turned towards the Emissary who, as if reading his mind, nodded.
"Don Ignacio, Don Diego, we have something to discuss with the two of you in private. If you would be so kind as to accompany us to the Alcalde's office..." The Governor requested.
Diego hesitated as he was worried about the lancers and knew that the doctor was overstretched with so many injured men to care for.
"It will not take long. You'll be able to help the doctor afterward and it will give you the chance to have a little rest! After all this fighting and almost ending up shot on your wedding day, you must be needing it." The Emissary assured him, knowing him well enough to guess the reason for his hesitation.
The two former adversaries exchanged a glance, then did as asked, Diego first signaling to Felipe to go help the doctor in his stead, until he was to get there. Victoria almost followed her husband to the office, unwilling to let go of his hand, had Francisco and Ramon not held her back, assuring her everything was going to be fine.
ZZZ
The four men stood in silence for a few moments after entering the office, as the Governor took a seat behind the Alcalde's desk and gestured for the other three men to also sit down.
"Not the wedding you were expecting, I suppose, Don Diego…" The Emissary broke the ice.
"No…not exactly…" The caballero confirmed.
"Yes…Right…However, I have to hand it to you both! I, frankly, was doubtful we stood a chance when the attack began and my men told me there were at least twice as many bandits as lancers!" The Governor stated. "Are there any casualties on our side?"
"Four of my men were rather badly wounded and nine more suffered different injuries, including two of your guardsmen. We'll only know their state after Doctor Hernandez has a chance to look at them." De Soto replied. "Had it not been for Don Diego's timely intervention, though, the things would have, quite probably, been much worse." He then added, looking intently towards the younger caballero.
"I'm sure they would have." The high-ranking official agreed. "Which is why we no longer harbor any doubts about the subjects we wanted to discuss with the two of you." he continued and Don Santiago approved silently.
"The first one concerns your fate, Alcalde." The Governor started as Ignacio took a deep breath. "As I had told you, last week, before we departed Monterey, I was waiting for a message from the Crown. When that message came, I was doubtful of what to do with it. You see, as I had mentioned before, the King of Spain has a certain regard for the De la Vegas and, after you saved Don Diego's life a few months back, as a sign of gratitude, His Majesty asked for my recommendation to name you to a coveted position with the Colonial Office. I admit I was unsure whether to make the recommendation, mainly due to the blunders you committed lately. Frankly, I was even starting to suspect that you might not be the leader and the soldier I had believed you to be, all these years. I cemented that opinion of you when you were injured and named Don Diego in your place because, I confess, I had a very mistaken idea about the reasons behind your choice of replacement. Of course, it only took a couple of weeks for me to realize how wrong I was. By that choice, you have, in fact, proven, once again, to be a true leader, concerned with the wellbeing of your citizens and a damn good judge of character.
After what just happened in the plaza, and considering your fast thinking in, again, saving Don Diego, I find that all my hesitations have been groundless. I, thus, want to inform you of my support for the position you were offered and which will be, without a doubt, a huge step in your career. However, that also means you'll have to return to Spain on the next ship leaving from San Pedro."
"I…I don't know what to say, Your Excellency!" De Soto uttered, finding himself at a loss for words, just staring at Diego who was doing his best to hide his amusement.
"Say yes, Alcalde! You deserve it, and I believe we all know how much you miss Madrid!" The Governor encouraged him.
"Yes! Certainly! Thank you!" De Soto agreed.
"And, of course, before you leave, you can also cash the 6,000 pesos reward money for Don Alcides." His superior continued.
Ignacio de Soto briefly wondered why had he not allied with Zorro years earlier, so that he might have left California long before.
"The second subject I wanted to discuss with the two of you, is the matter of your succession, Alcalde, Since the Royal Emissary is here not only as a representative of the King, due to attend today's wedding in his place, but also to find out, first hand, the challenges facing this territory, Don Santiago was given the power to directly name, at my suggestion, any new local officials,. Thus, after much consideration, we both reached the conclusion that you, Don Diego, are the most indicated person for the job, should you choose to accept it. We know you are not a military man, but you have certainly just proven yourself to be more than qualified for the job. I am, thus, happy to officially offer you the position of Alcalde of Los Angeles, should you decide to accept it, senor." The Governor stated addressing Diego.
"Well…Your Excellency..." Diego tried to formulate an answer in spite of the very contradictory ideas in his head "I…"
"I think he wants to say that he'd be glad to accept." De Soto answered, again, in his place. "After all, what better way to serve the people of Los Angeles?"
"Exactly" Don Santiago approved. "Not to mention, after only one month in office, everyone here believes you to be the best Alcalde they ever had! No offense, Don Ignacio."
"None taken, Emissary!" De Soto replied, half-bitterly, half-amused as Diego found himself cornered into agreeing to take over the office.
"Perfect. Now that everything is settled, we will leave you both to discuss the details amongst yourselves! Shall we, Emissary?" The Governor stated, getting up and indicating for Del Castillo to follow him out.
"I was wrong," Diego admitted as soon as he and Ignacio were alone. De Soto looked towards him inquisitively. "I said nobody will ever cash that reward money…" The two men chuckled for a few moments. "Thank you for saving my life, Ignacio!"
"Right back at you, De la Vega! You took a big risk doing what you did today!" De Soto replied. "So…that horse of yours…not a new horse, is he?"
"No...Old horse, new white star on his head."
"I should have known! Kendall's best student…"
"Gave me his sword…"
"And Mendoza and the other lancers…"
"They figured it out while you were in Monterey."
"That explains quite a few things, to be honest."
"Perhaps we can leave this discussion for later. Doctor Hernandez might need my help…"
"Yes…Of course. Go take care of…your men!" De Soto bid as the younger man stood up and exited the office.
"See you at the hacienda, later?" Diego turned to ask, just as he was leaving.
"I'll be there! Perhaps I'll finally succeed in getting you drunk…"
"Don't count on it! I doubt my wife would appreciate it!"
After the door closed, De Soto was left staring at the wall across his desk, in his mind, going over all the mistakes he had done during his stay in Los Angeles, and finding himself to be, once more, grateful to the caballero who chose to defy him. He also contemplated the irony of the fact that saving the same man he had for so long dreamt of destroying was what eventually gave him everything he believed would come with succeeding in killing him.
ZZZ
The Governor and the Royal Emissary had headed for the tavern, as soon as their discussion with Diego and Ignacio was concluded, and both felt a little lost to interpret the angst they saw on everyone's faces as they entered the suddenly-silent establishment.
Nobody dared to speak for a few minutes, the people gathered there watching them closely.
"Whe…Where is Diego?" Victoria asked when she could bear it no longer.
"Your husband is with Don Ignacio, Senora. They are discussing the transfer."
"The transfer? What transfer?" She asked and the two men watched puzzled as the worry of the people around them grew.
"The transfer of office. Don Ignacio is due to be promoted and return to Spain, so Don Diego accepted to take over as Alcalde." The Emissary informed.
People stared at each other in utter disbelief.
"You mean…Diego will be the Alcalde?" Don Alejandro asked.
"Yes…" The Governor questioned his decision for a little while, as nobody seemed to manifest any joy at the news. "I was given to believe he did a good job while temporary in office, and, since Don Santiago has been given the power to name him to the position, we both thought he would be the right choice."
"You mean…De Soto is no longer Alcalde and Diego will remain in his place?" Don Leopoldo asked, just as confused as everyone else there.
"Yes…" The Governor, cautiously stated again.
The cheers they heard after that statement were enough to convince the two officials that they had taken, at least one very good decision that day. A few minutes later, just as Diego came out of De Soto's office, the entire pueblo echoed the reaction of the people in the tavern, everyone celebrating the news which had spread with lightning speed across Los Angeles.
The tall caballero took a deep breath and smiled at the people around him, wondering what exactly they were cheering, then headed for the tavern to inform his family that he intended to stay in the pueblo a while longer, in order to help the doctor with the wounded men. Victoria kissed him and watched him cross the plaza, then, grabbing Pilar's hand, she hurried towards her room, where he asked her employee to help her out of the wedding dress. Having changed into a white blouse and a red skirt, she followed Diego to the cuartel to help him help the lancers.