The new Alcalde was about to reply with a curse that might have started another duel, one Diego was rather certain his father wouldn't win, seeing how the Colonel was quite a match even for him. "Thank you for letting us know, Colonel!" The tall caballero uttered before Don Alejandro had the chance to say his mind. "Father, Felipe, we should get going. Perhaps we could also take the chance and inform the Governor about his men's behavior." He suggested, already heading out.
Don Alejandro stayed behind just long enough to ask Mendoza to see what he and his men could do to help Victoria put the tavern back in order, then followed his son and grandson. They headed towards their house by way of the pastures Don Alejandro used for the cattle, where they encountered a preview of what was waiting for them at home. The older caballero cursed rather loudly, and Diego feared his temper might result in more trouble than they were already in.
ZZZ
"What's the meaning of this?" Don Alejandro asked furiously as he entered his hacienda to find the Governor reading in the library. "Your men have just destroyed two of my cattle enclosures! I've lost tens of animals. It will take my vaqueros days, perhaps even weeks to gather them. And how dare you just come in here and take possession of my house? This time you have crossed all limits."
"My dear Alcalde, you are forgetting yourself. As Governor I am your superior, and, as such, I can have you… or any member of your family executed at any moment!" While he said that, Frasquez signaled his lancers and two of the men guarding him pointed their muskets at Diego. "All I need to do is to order them to shoot." He threatened.
Felipe looked worriedly towards his adoptive father, who just stared defiantly at the Governor.
"How dare you threaten my son?" Don Alejandro asked through gritted teeth.
"Shoot him!" The Governor ordered, and the lancers pulled the trigger at that moment, almost giving the elderly haciendado a heart attack. Fortunately, no shot followed. "You seem to be in luck, Don Diego. My men didn't get the chance to replace their gunpowder. But make no mistake, De la Vega, next time I'll give them the order to point their muskets at someone in your family, that person will not be as lucky."
Don Alejandro just glanced at Diego apologetically, in part just trying to make sure he truly was still alive, then at his grandson.
"Bring me Zorro and this can all be over." Frasquez continued. "Fail me again, and you'll suffer the consequences. I'm sure my men will draw him out at some point…"
"Even De Soto gave up on chasing him when he finally realized he is no brigand. Why do you want so much to capture him?" The older caballero asked.
"Because he defied me and, consequently, the King. Men like him give birth to independence movements, so they must be eliminated. I will have his head and take it with me when I'll return to Madrid. Or, perhaps I might even keep him alive until then. Have him paraded in chains through the capital." The man calmly answered, not noticing the spiteful looks both Diego and Felipe were giving him. "You may go collect your things. The ones my men neglected to destroy." He then informed them.
Seeing how he didn't trust the lancers populating the house at the time, Diego accompanied Felipe and his father, heading first towards Don Alejandro's room.
As they entered, it seemed to them that some kind of hurricane had passed through there. The bed was broken, and the sheets were torn to pieces. The closet's heavy wooden doors had either half or completely fallen. Most of the clothes therein were destroyed, as well, while others were missing entirely. Barely a couple of shirts, some underwear, a nightshirt and one of the suits seemed to still be in one piece. A similar sight met them in the other two rooms. In the end, they were barely able to gather enough clothes to put in a small travel bag they also found to have survived.
Making their way into town on their horses, worried for both the household staff and their animals, the De la Vegas took rooms at the tavern.
ZZZ
By the following afternoon, seeing how reports about the damages caused by the Governor's lancers were coming from all over the territory, and people were beginning to fear the increasing violence which they showed to those whose homes they visited, Diego decided the time had come for Zorro to stop the madness, while Don Alejandro decided he needed to find the fox.
Telling his father that he was going to find Judge De la Paz in the hope that the man might be able to help them, the tall caballero headed for the cave and put on his mask.
ZZZ
It was by mere coincidence that both he and his father, together with his lancers, all headed in the same direction that early evening, towards the hacienda De Soto.
Zorro headed that way because he had found a pattern to the searches and was certain it was there where the Colone and his lancers would be, and Don Alejandro headed in that direction because a boy mentioned in the plaza having heard the soldiers planning to go there.
When the black-clad man arrived, three lancers were taking apart the kitchen, while several more were destroying the wine barrels. What most worried Zorro, though, were the screams coming out of the bedroom. There, right in Ignacio and Jessie's room, the young woman was held down on the bed, while two of the lancers were trying to force themselves on her. Her two remaining servants were also shouting, doing their best to help their mistress while fighting with little success three other lancers.
About as angry as he had ever been, Zorro took out of his saddlebag a time-delay bomb and threw it through the window, hitting one of the lancers holding Jessie. The man reacted by taking a hand to his temples to see if he was bleeding, thus giving the young woman enough time to use one of her legs to hit him in the face.
A cloud of thick smoke engulfed the room in just a few moments, just as the black-clad rider made his way inside, punching and knocking out the lancers one by one.
When they were all unconscious, he took Jessie by the hand, trying to guide her outside. Terrified, though, the young woman hit him as hard as she could so that she might escape, and only stopped her efforts at recognizing the black silk attached to the glove holding her.
"Zorro?" She asked.
"At your service, as always. Please forgive my tardiness." He replied as they exited the house. "Hide among the vineyards, and look after your mistress! She means a lot to Los Angeles" He then ordered the two servants, who hurried to obey him and Jessie barely had the chance to thank him as she was being ushered away.
Glad his friend was safe, yet filled with ire at the soldiers, Zorro then proceeded to attack the ones in the kitchen, making sure he caused them enough damages to take them out for at least a few days or weeks in the case of one unlucky sergeant whose hand he twisted so hard it sprained, and the corporal who, trying to kick the masked man, ended up kicking a wall instead, and breaking his leg.
The lancers in the cellars had stopped their own work at hearing the fight and met the black-clad outlaw just as he was giving a knock-out punch to the last-standing lancer in the kitchen. He turned to face them just as one had pulled out a gun and took cover at the last moment. Unwilling to give the others any chance to follow their companion's example, he found a pan which he used to hit one of the men in the face, sending him crashing into two others, then used it to disarm the remaining two before knocking them out.
As the last two pulled themselves up, Zorro took out his sword and faced them both in a duel, which ended with the lancers disarmed and their heads knocked to each other before they joined the others into unconsciousness.
The black-clad man spent the next five minutes hurriedly tying up his defeated adversaries and leaving them in front of the hacienda, all their uniforms marked with Zs. He finished his work just as Don Alejandro and his men arrived there, and he stood to greet them.
"Zorro?" The new Alcalde asked. "What happened?"
"Two of these men tried to force themselves on Doctor Kent. I suggest you arrest them all, and I am sure she will be more than willing to point them out, Alcalde! When she'll be feeling up to do it, that is." He answered with a suggestive smile as he mounted Tornado. "Good afternoon, Señores!" He greeted them as he left.
Zorro was barely fifty feet away when a shot rang, and Tornado fell to the ground, strapping his rider's right leg under him.
"I did it! We have him!" Don Alejandro heard Costilla y Barquillo say as he came out from behind the hacienda, a smoking pistol in his hand.
The man behind the mask chided himself for having been careless enough to forget to look for the Colonel, and wondered if it was thus how his career as an outlaw would finally end: captured by the colonel and his father's men, unmasked and publicly executed, for there was no chance for him to escape under the circumstances.
Tornado, though, was not going to give up easily. Despite having been injured in his thigh, he managed to hurriedly pull himself up again and continue his gallop, even if his rider easily realized he wasn't going to last for very long.
The cave was less than two miles away, but Zorro knew Tornado would not be able to endure such a ride, certainly not at a pace that would prevent him from being captured or shot by their pursuers. Consequently, as soon as he was out of the lancers' sight, he stopped the stallion and dismounted before urging him to ride away. Then, dragging his right foot behind him, he slowly made his way towards a shallow ravine where he hoped he might find safety.
Meanwhile, the Colonel had untied one of his men, leaving him to untie the others, and mounted his horse, leading the lancers in pursuit. Don Alejandro and his own men, while not eager to capture the black-clad man, followed the others.
"There's more blood around here!" The Colonel noted as he stopped to follow the tracks. "And footprints. He dismounted and headed for the ravine! And he's injured! He won't be able to escape this time!"
As he said that, he tied his horse to a tree branch and hurriedly made his way downhill. His men, Don Alejandro and his lancers all followed suit, and they soon found themselves near a stream where the footprints disappeared.
"Alcalde, you and your men head downstream, while I'll head upstream with my lancers." The Colonel instructed.
"He's a dangerous man, Senor. We should all stay together if we want to capture him." The don replied, hoping he might help Zorro should the lancers track him down.
"Do as I say, De la Vega, or the Governor will hear about this! You had the chance to capture him at the hacienda and didn't lift a finger on him. Unless we capture him now, it will be your neck in the noose tomorrow! I promise you that!" He threatened, a threat the black-clad man hiding in a nearby cave heard clearly.
"Everyone spread out!" Don Alejandro ordered, giving Mendoza the kind of look that said "search but not well enough to find him!", and the lancers headed downstream.
In the meantime, as he followed them, silently cursing through gritted teeth, the older caballero noticed footprints leading up and, as he lifted his head to look better, he saw the small cave entrance from where Zorro was watching.
For a few moments both men's eyes met, and both wondered what they should do.
"Search everywhere!" Don Alejandro commanded his men, as he, himself pretended to be contributing, slowly heading towards the cave as soon as no one was near to see him, stepping right on the footprints left by Zorro to cover his trail.
"You should not be here, Alcalde." The younger man uttered when the older don entered his refuge, lifting his sword and doing his best not to let his father notice he was injured.
"I'm not here to capture you." The older man answered.
"Why not? I heard the Colonel threaten you." He replied, despite the fact that he knew in his gut that his father would not try to bring about his downfall.
"He may threaten all he likes. I will not betray a man who has saved my life countless times, just because the Governor wants another feather for his hat. Allow me to help you for once!"
"The only way for you to help me is by leaving before they notice you have come here." The black-clad man answered.
"Are you injured, Zorro?" Don Alejandro inquired, ignoring the implied request. "I saw Tornado fall, and I have been around horses for long enough to know what such falls might do to a man. Is your leg broken?"
"No. At least, I don't believe it is." He answered after considering his options.
"Alright. That's good to hear. Stay here while I get rid of the men, then I'll come to help you." The don told him before exiting.
"Is he there?" The Colonel shouted his question at seeing the new Alcalde come out of the cave.
"No, it's empty. I thought he might have taken refuge there. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy! Perhaps my men had more luck." Don Alejandro answered at seeing his lancers also return.
"He couldn't just escape on foot after that hit he took!" Costilla y Barquillo uttered, disappointed at seeing them return empty-handed.
"Perhaps you read the tracks wrong. He might still be riding his horse." The don suggested and the other officer just cursed loudly before returning to the horses, followed by the lancers and the Alcalde.