Diego was finishing his lunch when they both heard shouts outside. Diego raised an eyebrow at his younger friend, opened the door and stepped outside.
Shielding his eyes against the sun, Diego surveyed the scene playing out in the plaza. Five riders were shouting and letting off their pistols into the sky. Troublemakers, Diego decided. He paused and considered them quietly.
Would they cause more trouble than noise? What was their purpose in the pueblo? Thievery or letting off steam? Were they caballeros who'd had too much to drink, as sometimes happened? Or were they set on robbery and mayhem?
The alcalde was doing more than surveying.
"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded. A soldier flanked either side of him, he wasn't a complete fool. Ignatio de Soto was a military man who'd earned his position, working his way through the ranks, putting in hard work. He was a man of strategy and thought, but he was acting rashly, in Diego's opinion.
The eldest man appeared to be their leader, Diego noticed. He approached the alcalde, not bothering to dismount.
"We're here to restock and relax. If that bothers you, Sir, that is unfortunate," the man said with a scowl. The 'sir' was said with a sneer, and the man spat in the dirt, the spittle falling to the side of the alcalde. Diego could see the alcalde bristle with indignation from even this distance.
Calm, keep calm, and be firm, Diego willed him. I can't come to the rescue every day. But he knew the alcalde well by now. He was a man quick to take offence and give it. De Soto could be very arrogant, and pompous.
"Guards, arrest these men!" De Soto ordered, his voice raised above the shots. "Disturbing the peace! Disorderly conduct!"
The man frowned, and considered the alcalde before him. He raised his weapon to aim at the commander, considering his opinions clearly.
"Let my men be, soldiers, or you will need a new alcalde," the man said evenly. He dismounted without a break in his concentration and without lowering his aim. He was a tall man, muscular and formidable. The alcalde paled and swallowed, and clearly struggled to resist backing away from his new enemy.
Diego considered his options. With the alcalde out of the way, he could have a few months peace while the Spanish authorities decided on a successor, but maybe it was better the devil you knew. He was aware of this alcalde's character and probable stratagems. He was a slightly kinder man than his predecessor, but that wasn't saying much. Risendo had been a selfish and power hungry man, a coward when faced with true adversity, while de Soto at least had some backbone. A new one would cause new problems, and part of him decided he was getting too old for more problems. He would have to act.
The soldiers backed up, and released the men they had managed to contain. Diego approached the alcalde slowly.
"What seems to be happening here, alcalde?"
"Nothing I cannot handle."
"Obviously," Diego said, containing his sarcasm with difficulty. "Gentlemen, do we have a problem here?"
"Not if the alcalde keeps to himself," the man said with a sneer. "Who might you be, senor?"
"The editor of the newspaper," Diego said with some pride. It wouldn't do to introduce himself too early. The de la Vega name was famous and powerful, but even that could backfire if used too early.
It inspired a hearty laugh from the leader, and a thump on the back. Friendly? He wasn't sure. He'd had to anchor himself firmly to prevent the 'friendly' gesture from knocking him over. Unless the man didn't know his own strength, which was always possible, from the smell of alcohol that permeated from all of them.
"I am sure these men are harmless, alcalde," Diego said firmly, his eyes meeting the leader's in an effort to fully gauge his purpose. He knew as he spoke that the opposite was more likely true. He had a mind to fetch his spare black outfit, in case of future potential risks.
"Newspaper man, join me for a drink at the tavern," the leader said with a smirk. Better than a sneer, Diego mused. If that man was entering the tavern, of course he would accompany him. Diego glanced at the alcalde, who raised a questioning eyebrow at him, shaking his head.
Obviously the alcalde thought his tactics had something to be desired, Diego thought, but he'd never pretended to be military minded, even in a classical sense. The alcalde knew a threat when it rode into town, and Diego had eased it just by speaking softly but only postponing the eventual conflict,. It was not going to be an easy afternoon.
Zzz
Diego allowed the man to buy him a glass of madeira, although he didn't drink it. He was aware of Victoria's worried glances in their direction, and her raised eyebrows when their eyes met. Diego smiled thinly when he was engaged in conversation, but otherwise kept his face expressionless. The leader had taken a liking to him, giving him quite a few friendly thumps on the back.
"Name's Mackay, newspaper," the leader said after a few swallows of a much harder drink than madeira. "Frank Mackay. I'm headman at the new hacienda, you know."
Diego nodded, as expected of him. He didn't ask questions to prompt the man, he seemed quite happy to talk.
"De la Tava...or was that...Mala?" He glanced around the room at his loudmouth friends as if for a reminder but they had all but forgotten him. He glanced at Diego expectantly.
"De la Tava has just moved here from Madrid," Diego said, a little blandly. "I suppose you mean that family, senor."
"Call me Frank," Mackay said, swinging an arm around him with a jovial gesture. The leader seemed to be more mellow than his friends and colleagues. Some were leering suggestively at the serving girls, and other ladies of the pueblo.
"Frank," Diego said with a nod. "I need to get my paper out early tomorrow…"
"You aren't going so soon, newspaper man. Drink some more, more madeira senorita!"
He hadn't noticed that the first glass had not been touched, and Diego dashed the liquid to the floor before he did notice.
"Don't get Don Diego drinking too much," one of the rougher customers said. "Boy can't hold his liquor. He'll fall asleep on you, Mackay."
"Don? I knew you was a gentleman," Mackay said, slurring a little. "Oh well, go and pretty up your paper. Leave me to the wenches and the drink."
Diego grimaced a little, extricating himself from his new friend's heavy embrace. If that man thought he would touch Victoria he had another thing coming, Diego thought darkly, as he headed back towards his newspaper office. The cool of the night helped clear his head and focus his thoughts.
Victoria was returning from the water fountain with a bucket of water. Replenishing the water from outside instead of the indoor supply was an indicator of her discomfort, Diego noticed. She was overly warm from her efforts, and her jerky efforts with the bucket discouraged any approach to help her. She was irritated.
"I'm surprised at you, encouraging those men to drink so much," she said scoldingly.
"No friends of mine, I can assure you," Diego said with feeling. "Maybe it would be better if you don't go back inside at the moment?"
"And leave my girls to the attentions of those beasts? Are you mad, Diego? Pilar and Lucia are only girls, not even grown. At least I can put those men in their place," Victoria said.
Sometimes he wished she wasn't so headstrong, so confident, but she was beautiful in the fire of anger. Five men against his beautiful beloved, it wasn't a fight she could win. Not if the men were intent on harassing the women. Diego sighed.
"I am going to inform the alcalde about the situation," he said. She frowned and sighed.
"And what is he going to do? For all his experience, he is incompetent in protecting the people," she said. A light came into her eyes, and she glanced at the horizon.
He knew what she was looking for. Her Zorro, her hero. He sighed a little, he hated to seem powerless when he could just overpower the men in the tavern without his black mask on his face. Presenting himself as less than a man in front of the woman he loved, enforcing her idea that he was merely a coward in the face of adversity.
"I am going to hurry. Maybe he can do something about them. I still think you should stay outside the tavern for a while."
She huffed at him, and carried the full bucket inside the tavern. He had to hurry, she was going to get herself killed.
Zzz
He felt a surge of confidence fill him, as the black silk settled against his warm skin, cooling and calming him. Strange how a change of clothes could enforce a change of emotion, he thought. He closed the hidden door thoughtfully, as he examined his spare sword. A fine sabre, but not quite as strong as his normal sword. No matter, it was the wielder, not the weapon that counted. He flexed his spare whip, testing the fibres for soundness.
All these movements took mere seconds, but speed was certainly of the essence. His eyes caught those of his reflection and he frowned at the man in the mask. There was something about his alter ego that challenged him, although he couldn't place what it was.
He strode out into the plaza, another man entirely. He scanned the garrison for any sign of life, but there was none. He frowned again. So much for duty to the people of the pueblo.
Stealthily he crept towards the tavern, keeping to the dense shadows.