Felipe was in the cave when Tornado returned, his thigh still bleeding. The young man noticed something was wrong with him from the way he was moving and, as he saw the blood, he also realized why his father wasn't mounting him. The next thought that crossed his mind was that Zorro wouldn't be able to outrun the lancers without his horse.
So the young man hurried outside to take Pinto and start the searches, only to return empty-handed after losing Tornado's trail, not far from the cave where his father was hiding.
Checking on the stallion's injury as soon as he came back, Felipe hurried to get some fresh cloths to use in order to stop the bleeding, while saying a silent prayer for Diego's safety. After washing the wound with saline water, he applied an ointment his adoptive father had come up with to prevent infection when the hacienda's animals got injured. Satisfied the stallion was fine for the time being, he then made his way towards the pueblo to find out if there was news of Zorro.
Leaving his Pinto in the stables behind the medical office, he headed for the cuartel, where he remained hidden, trying to hear the lancers' conversations. It took him but twenty minutes to find out that they had once again missed out on catching Zorro and, as soon as he did, he headed for the tavern, hoping to find out more details about his father's whereabouts.
"Felipe! Here you are!" Don Alejandro said as he noticed him carefully making his way inside. "Come! We should go to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." As he said that, he started towards the upper corridor and his grandson followed him.
"But it's barely 6 pm, Don Alejandro!" Victoria mentioned as they headed upstairs.
"True, but with the lancers ruining most of our clothes, I was hoping Felipe might go to Santa Paula early in the morning to have some new ones made, and I need to make a plan to capture Zorro." He answered to her dismay. "Good night, Victoria! Sebastian! Sergeant!" He wished his friends, who remained in the tavern to chat.
Making sure nobody was paying attention to them, Don Alejandro had Felipe follow him to his room and closed the door behind them. "We need to help Zorro!" He uttered as soon as the young man turned questioning eyes towards him and signed to ask what was going on. "He's been injured when the Colonel shot his horse. I know where he is, but he might have a severely injured leg he'll need help with, so, seeing how Diego is away, I'll need you to come with me."
Felipe just nodded, rather glad about the news, seeing how, when coming into the pueblo, he feared they'd be much worse.
The two exited through the window, a feat that proved easy for the young man, yet rather hard for the older caballero, who almost twisted his ankle at jumping down.
While Don Alejandro then made sure to hide, so that he wouldn't be seen by his men or the other lancers, Felipe went to get the horses, unwilling to let his grandfather know that his stallion was not, as he would have expected, with the others, in the municipal corral, then followed the older man in the direction of the ravine where Zorro was waiting.
ZZZ
In the meantime, the masked man was considering his options. The most prudent thing he could do was find another hiding place and hope Felipe would get to him in time. Yet he knew he'd leave easily-noticeable tracks leading anyone straight to him.
Then, there was the problem with his knee. He was certain it was sprained, but he wasn't sure just how badly, nor how much more damage he might do to it if he tried to climb down a hill.
He, thus, decided to trust that Don Alejandro would keep his promise and come back to help him.
"Señor Zorro? Are you still here?" He heard his father's voice a while later, just as he began to worry he might not be able to return to him before morning "I brought my grandson. He's studied with Diego, so he might be able to help you." Don Alejandro said as they neared the cave.
The black-clad man breathed easier at finding out Felipe was also there.
"It's almost nightfall. I doubt he'll be able to do much in the darkness. Besides, I can take care of myself." He answered. "I only need some light."
"Indeed… I know a place where you will be safe and able to look after that knee you injured." Don Alejandro answered, aware that any candle lit in the small cave could be easily noticed from some distance. "Just let us help you to Felipe's horse, and I'll guide you there."
"Are you sure you haven't been followed? If anyone sees me ride with the two of you, the Governor will hang you both, and I might not be in any condition to save you." He replied.
"Nobody followed us, you can be certain of that. And nobody will see us, either. I know these hills better than the back of my hand." Don Alejandro assured him. "There's a cave near my hacienda, where you'll be safe."
For a few moments, the man behind the mask and his son both wondered if the older don knew their secret, and the cave he was referring to was the same cave they had been using as a hideout. They didn't let curiosity get the best of them, however.
Felipe and Don Alejandro helped Zorro climb the hill to where they had left the horses. The masked hero on Pinto with Felipe, and Don Alejandro riding ahead on Dulcinea, they made their way towards the hacienda.
For most of the ride, it seemed to the younger men they were, indeed, heading for their cave. Some ninety feet west of it, though, they stopped before some overgrown plants cascading over what Don Alejandro showed them to be the entrance to another cave.
"I found it in my youth while playing in these hills with my brother." The older caballero said as he lit a candle. "I don't believe even my son knows of its existence. Just mind your head!"
The place was small, merely a few square yards and the ceiling was low, forcing them all to bow as they entered.
"You'll be safe here, and we can have a better look at that leg of yours." The older caballero continued.
"I'd rather have a look at it myself." Zorro answered. "For your own safety." He added, looking at both of them.
"Very well, Señor!" Don Alejandro replied understandingly, giving him a flask of water he had with him. "We'll come by in the morning to bring you food and see if you might need anything. Felipe, let's go!"
ZZZ
The younger man followed his grandfather back to the tavern, then, as soon as he could, he returned to Zorro, who had meanwhile managed to drag himself to their cave, where Felipe found him studying Tornado's injury.
"Yes, my knee is sprained, Felipe. I think it might take a few days to heal enough for me to walk normally. It's a good thing I have a good excuse for staying away from the pueblo, but it also means I can't ride as Zorro for a while. Which, consequently, means I need to find a way to finish all this tonight." Diego told him. "I need a way to force Frasquez's hand so that he leaves the hacienda and takes his men with him back to Monterey."
There was no easy solution for how to achieve that, but Diego had always been a very resourceful man, and the Governor had made the grave mistake of choosing to take refuge in the De la Vega hacienda.
ZZZ
Frasquez woke up in the middle of the night to find a sword pointed at his throat.
"Did I wake you up, Your Excellency?" The masked outlaw holding the hilt inquired.
The Governor didn't dare utter a word, just stared at the man sitting in a chair next to him, and whom he barely saw through the dim light of a lit lamp.
"You see, I am here because you forced me to come here. Your men go around the territory destroying everything in their path and behaving like common criminals; you kick out of their home some of these pueblo's leading caballeros; your Colonel threatens the Alcalde with execution. I don't like any of that, so, since I am sick and tired of how you are treating the good people of Los Angeles, I decided it's time for us to make another deal." The black-clad man said.
"My lancers are just outside." The Governor muttered, then tilted his head back as the tip of the sword pinched his skin.
"Yes… yet here I stand nonetheless." Zorro replied. "I could kill you and any one of them, at any time I so wish. Or isn't that clear to you, yet?"
Frasquez slowly nodded his head.
"Very well, then. Here is what I propose. While you have been sleeping, I took the chance to search your trunk and found a very interesting letter addressed by you to one General Iturbide. I don't suppose you know him…"
"That traitor!" The man uttered.
"Please, Governor! Don't speak like that about the new leader in Mexico City. It's not polite." Zorro chided sarcastically.
"I don't know him!" Frazquez insisted. "Why would I have a letter addressed to him?""
"I suppose so that you could beg him to let you keep your position in exchange for a nice sum of money you promise to extort from the inhabitants of this territory. I assure you that the writing fits yours perfectly. Look for yourself!" Zorro encouraged him, as he took out a letter bearing his official seal. The writing on the envelope matched the Governor's – having been copied from one of his papers a while earlier – and the man had no doubt that so would the content – which, had he inspected closely, he would have found to be nothing but a blank paper. "Now, what do you suppose will happen if this letter reaches King Ferdinand?"
"I haven't written that!" Frasquez insisted.
"No. Yet it would be very difficult to prove you haven't, I assure you. Personally, I doubt anyone will as much as give you a trial when you'll set foot on Spanish soil if I make sure this letter finds its way to the King before you leave California. I understand His Majesty and the new government only concur on one opinion: all traitors should be executed without delay, wherever they might find themselves, their fortunes confiscated and their families imprisoned." Zorro pointed out. "But I don't suppose you have anyone you care about… other than yourself, that is."
"No… You wouldn't dare!"
"I most certainly would. Unless you take your men and leave Los Angeles this very morning. And this time don't stop until reaching Monterey."
"And how do I know you won't send it anyway, after my departure? It would be safer to capture you to prevent you from sending it."
"You can't capture me, as I have already proven several times. While you try, though, this letter will make its way towards Spain, you can be certain of that." Zorro threatened, before changing his tone. "I don't wish anyone's death, Your Excellency. It is you who have come here seeking my demise. Had you not done so, I would have left the mask behind, and Zorro would have already faded into memory. Yet you decided to force my hand.
"Now, I know quite well that this letter will mean your end, just as I know it's a good enough forgery to fool even you, yourself. So I am offering you a chance to avoid execution, merely because I don't want your blood on my hands. Leave Los Angeles with your men, and never step foot here again, and I shall make sure this letter finds its way onto a fire. Try to cheat your way out of our deal again, and the next time I'll visit you in your room, it will not be for a conversation." Zorro threatened.
"Fine. You win. We'll leave in the morning." The Governor replied.
"One more thing, though. Your men had caused quite the destructions in their wake. I'll also need you to compensate those who have suffered. From your own reserves." The black-clad man informed him before retrieving his sword and hurriedly putting an ether-soaked cloth over his face, to thus avoid letting the official see he was injured.
Once he was certain the man was unconscious, he retrieved the cloth and, standing up, he walked with a limp to the door, and exited it to head towards the library, walking through the guards who, thanks to a powder Felipe had added to their evening snack, were sleeping soundly.
ZZZ
Don Alejandro and his grandson headed towards the hills behind the hacienda early the following morning, bringing some of Victoria's food for Zorro.
"Returning to take possession of your house? I see news travel quite fast around here. If only that efficiency would translate in your lancer's ability to catch the outlaws infecting this territory." The Colonel uttered as he and his men reached them on the way.
Don Alejandro and Felipe exchanged an inquiring glance. "Good morning to you, too, Colonel." The don felt it prudent to reply.
"Don't be mistaken, De la Vega!" The man continued his rambling. "I don't know what that insolent masked fiend did to convince the Governor to return to Monterey, but I assure you he will have no rest until the man is caught, and neither shall you! So I'd suggest you start training better those sad excuses for lancers you have under your command or suffer the consequences!"
"I will do my best, Colonel!" The haciendado answered, again glancing inquisitively at Felipe, who pretended he didn't even know what was happening, seeing how he couldn't have read the Presidio's Commander's lips.
Finding themselves amidst some 12 lancers who assumed they were heading in the same direction, the De la Vegas couldn't head for the hills as per their initial plan, and, instead, followed the soldiers, and arrived at the hacienda just as the governor was exiting it.
"De la Vega! I was expecting you to come see me off, but I was certain you'd bring along one of your men. Perhaps that incompetent sergeant of yours. It doesn't matter, I suppose." Frasquez said, showing an unexpectedly tame attitude towards the caballero. "I have estimated the costs of the destructions caused by my lancers to 500 pesos. I expect you to make sure the money gets to those affected." He continued, handing the caballero a small bag.
"500 pesos? The damages to my hacienda alone amount to triple that much!" Don Alejandro replied.
"I doubt it. Whatever the case, this is all I intend to offer, so take it or leave it!" The Governor replied.
Don Alejandro took the money bag with some hidden satisfaction, certain somehow Zorro was behind everything, then took his goodbye as the official got into his coach and left accompanied by his men.
"You know, Felipe," the old don muttered with some amusement, "something tells me we won't find Zorro where we left him last night!"
The young man smiled and accompanied his grandfather inside, where the servants were already busying themselves with trying to put the house in order, fix or change the wrecked furniture, and repair all other damages.
As for Diego, the caballero officially returned some five days later, after his knee had mostly healed, only a slight discomfort remaining. During all that time, he remained in the cave, taking care of the black stallion whose injury was progressing well, even if the caballero knew he wouldn't be able to use him for several more weeks, even months until he'd be fully recovered.
ZZZ
About a week later, as Don Alejandro was leaving the stables one evening, he found Zorro in his courtyard.
"Buenas noches, Alcalde!" The masked man greeted him.
"Señor Zorro! It's good to see you in good health!" The older man replied.
"I owe you my life," Zorro said with a smile, "but I am here to ask for another favor." He continued.
"What may I do for you?"
"You can lend me one of your horses. Your black mare, to be more precise. Luna, I believe you call her. As you have seen, my stallion has been shot, and it will take a while for him to be able to gallop again."
"I see. If you need any help caring for him, I'm sure my son would be happy to help." The don told him.
Zorro looked around, thoughtfully, then nodded.
"In the meantime, while I'm not sure Luna is as well-trained as Tornado, I'm sure we could reach an agreement." Don Alejandro continued.
"And I am certain Tornado might like to meet your own mares, Don Alejandro. Perhaps, one of these days, he might even retire on your pastures," Zorro answered with a large grin.
"I believe we have a deal, in that case, Señor!" His father answered, also smiling. "But you must promise to take good care of my mare… and perhaps you might teach her a few tricks, as well!"
"I'll make sure to do that. Good evening, Don Alejandro!" He replied and disappeared behind a corner of the house, pretending that he was still slightly limping.
The older don waited a few moments, then slowly headed to see where he went, yet saw nobody.
The following day, as Don Alejandro headed for the stables, he found Tornado in Luna's place, with a note from Zorro, explaining that he had taken the mare and left the stallion instead, hoping he'd be well taken care of by the De la Vegas. The caballero, fully aware of the reason for that note, which served as an alibi in case news somehow spread that the most famous black stallion was being cared for at his hacienda, informed his stable hand that his son and grandson would take care of the horses in the rear stable for the following weeks since they seemed to suffer from of disease which could be contagious and forbade all his men from going near it.
"Well, what can we do, Son?" The don asked, appearing conflicted, and Diego thought he might have underestimated his father's acting skills. "The man left us his horse in exchange for my best mare. I think we have no choice but to make sure he heals soon so that he'll start earning his keep."
The tall caballero chuckled as he neared the stallion. "Indeed, Father!" He said, patting Tornado's head. "Such a magnificent animal would most certainly produce the best offspring. It would be a shame not to see this for the opportunity it is. Besides, I am certain Zorro will take good care of Luna, as well."
Don Alejandro nodded and headed for the house, thrilled to see how easily Tornado was accepting his son as his caretaker.
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AN1: So, this story's over. I hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think about it. The next one is already written and I will start publishing it in just a few days.
AN2: I feel the need to clarify one aspect of this story for those who might have forgotten or haven't read my story GroundFox Day. It occurred to me while writing that story that a black mare in the Tv show – episode Silk Purses and Sow's Ears – which Sepulveda takes for Tornado, could very well be his descendent. I called her Luna after a black cat in the Italian version of an anime I used to like in my childhood, and, thus, Luna, Tornado's descendent was born. Just in case anyone was wondering…