Chapter 3:
Chavez Almarez had been laying low for at least a day before he risked stepping into the alcalde's office. Zorro was popular among the people, and so was the young Don that he suspected to be the town's hero. He wanted to get the reward money, but he wasn't suicidal. He wanted to claim the money and be on his way as far as possible, as fast as he possibly could, before someone figured out that he was the one who had pulled the trigger.
Chavez knocked on the alcalde's office door before entering.
"Did I tell you that you could enter?" Desoto asked without looking up from his papers.
The bandit placed the gun on the wooden desk with a loud smack, "I am here to claim my reward money." He said coldly.
Desoto looked up not being impressed by all of this, "Your reward money? For what? catching a chicken or something?"
The bandit shook his head, "I am the one who shot the man known as Zorro."
"The only knowledge that I have is that Don Diego jumped in front of a bullet. If you are here to tell me that Don Diego, the coward of the pueblo, is Zorro, then I want you to leave before I arrest you for shooting an innocent citizen." Desoto said, looking up from his paperwork now. He wasn't amused at all.
Chavez wasn't going to give up like that though, "Think about it alcalde. What is the best way to hide an identity as to act like the total opposite of the town's hero? Why else would he take a bullet for the tavern owner?"
"That's no proof that he is Zorro! Mendozaaa!" Desoto yelled.
The good sergeant came in his own a bit clumsy way, "Si, mi alcalde." he saluted.
"Take this man to his cell, he is under arrest for the attempted murder of a distinguished local, he is the man that shot Don Diego De La Vega," Desoto ordered.
"Si, mi Alcalde." Mendoza nodded before leading Chavez away towards the prison cells.
Desoto leaned backward in his chair, his elbows resting on the arm rails while the fingertips of his one hand touched the fingertips of his other hand. He started to think about every encounter he had with Zorro. Surely Diego had to be present one time? He thought long and hard, but couldn't find one single moment. It also occurred to him that Diego always disappeared with every first sign of trouble. He was in the tavern or at least in the pueblo most of the time and he had seen first hand that Diego was a pretty good rider.
"Mendoza!" Desoto yelled again.
The sergeant came running inside from where the prison cells were, "Si, mi alcalde."
"Call your men and follow me," Desoto said with an evil smirk on his face.
"Where are we going, mi Alcalde?" The sergeant asked curiously. He wasn't prepared for things that he was going to hear next.
"We are riding to the De La Vega hacienda. We are finally going to arrest Zorro." Desoto was so happy about that. Finally, the day was coming closer that he would go back to Madrid as a hero.
"Arrest Zorro? At the De La Vega Hacienda? But, mi Alcalde, who are we going to arrest? Don Alejandro is way too old to be Zorro and Felipe can't speak." The sergeant said a bit confused.
"Yes, Mendoza I know that we are going to arrest the man people would suspect the least. Don Diego is the outlaw, Zorro." Desoto grinned, touching his beard with his hand.
"But…" The sergeant started but was soon stopped by Desoto.
"No buts sergeant, you are going to do your duty or you will be hung beside him for treason towards his Majesty the King, aiding a known criminal," Desoto said sternly.
"Si, mi Alcalde." The sergeant said with sadness in his voice. Don Diego was his best friend, but what else could he do? He was going to hang anyway and the sergeant didn't want to join him. The sergeant and the soldier all mounted their horses. The Alcalde was riding in front of them with a smile on his face. Finally, the day has come.
The sergeant gathered his troops. They all rode towards the hacienda with the alcade in the front. He was wearing the biggest smile on his face. The trip to the hacienda took about twenty minutes.
Don Alejandro almost jumped out of his chair when he heard the banging on the door. It was like someone tried to ruin his it.
Juan, one of the servants, ran to the door to open it. Desoto pushed him to the side.
"I want two guards this door," Desoto ordered to two of his soldiers.
"What is the meaning of this?" Don Alejandro yelled when he came running from the library, even Victoria came to have a look to see what was going on.
"Your son is under arrest," Desoto said trying to hide his grin.
"Diego? For what?" Don Alejandro asked angrily.
"Don Diego has done nothing wrong," Victoria said in an agitated tone of voice, with her hands on her hips.
"The fact that you are defending him is the last proof I need." Desoto said, "Don Diego is the notorious outlaw Zorro." Desoto looked at two soldiers, "You and you, guard the door of the prisoner. He can't leave his room," he pointed towards two other soldiers, "You two will stand guard underneath the window. We can't take any chances."
"This is outrageous, Alcalde." Don Alejandro yelled, "You know as well as I do that Diego isn't a fighter."
"That's the beauty of it, Don Alejandro, I didn't think about it until recently. What better way to hide in plain sight than to pretend to be the total opposite of what we are looking for. The fact that he took a bullet for Victoria is the best proof. Only someone who is in love would take that bullet." Desoto grinned evilly.
"You can't be serious about this, Alcalde?" Victoria said, "Don't you think I wouldn't have sensed if Don Diego and Zorro were one and the same?"
"Who says that you are speaking the truth now, Senorita Escalante? Who says that I shouldn't hang you beside him for treason and helping a known criminal?" Desoto said with a grin, "I could have you hung right next to him. So I would be silent if I were you."
"You don't have any proof of anything you are saying? It's easy to arrest a man on the verge of dying. Who can't defend himself." Victoria huffed, "If you need me, Don Alejandro, I will be looking after, Don Diego."
"Oh, but Senorita, I am a patient man. I will be waiting for Don Diego to heal properly before hanging him. I want to look him in the eye and see the knowledge that I have won." Desoto grinned, "Sergeant, I leave you in charge here, make sure they can't transport the prisoner." Desoto ordered before he turned around and left the hacienda.
"Si, mi Alcalde." Mendoza said in a very sad tone of voice.
"I can't believe you are okay with this, sergeant. I thought Diego was your friend." Don Alejandro hissed between his teeth.
"He is my friend, Don Alejandro, please don't think this isn't hard for me but I am merely following orders." The sergeant swallowed, trying to hide his tears.
"I am not going to wait and let Diego die. I am going to my lawyer myself. I am leaving immediately." Don Alejandro turned around and left a shocked Mendoza, his friend Diego Zorro nobody is ever going to believe this was the only thing he could think.
An hour later, the soldiers were waiting at the front door when a tall man arrived. Don Alejandro had just left.
Both soldiers stopped the man by making a cross with their guns, "Stop! Who are you?"
"Let's say that I am an old friend of Don Diego. I heard that he is terribly wounded so I wanted to see if I can do something for him." Lucifer said with a smile.
"We can't let you see the prisoner!" The other soldier announced.
"Prisoner? Why in Dad's name is he accused off?" Lucifer asked. He had a pretty good idea what the reason was but he still hoped that he was wrong.
"The man is the outlaw, Zorro." One soldier said in a whisper, "We don't want him to die but we don't want to die either and that is what will happen if we help Don Diego."
"I still demand to see him," Lucifer said firmly.
The guard on the left shook his head, "I'm sorry but we can't."
Lucifer smirked, "Then, my dear soldiers, it's time to go night-night." He moved his hands to a downwards movement like he was closing their eyes without touching them. The soldier started to yawn and lean on their guns. They were fast asleep in no time. "Nobody, outside my dad, denies me entrance. The bastard," he growled.
He started to look in every room until he found two other guards standing on each side of a wooden door, "I have a suspicion that, that will be the door I need to enter to find the body."
"Stop!" Sanchez, one of the guards said, "We can't allow you entrance."
Lucifer rolled his eyes, "Not again." He said in a whisper, "I don't have time for this." He did the same movement as with the guards at the front door. No desire mojo, just the plain old let them sleep trick. A power he hated to use because it wasn't part of free will, but this was an exceptional situation.
Again, the trick worked. The two soldiers fell asleep. Like the others leaning on their guns.
Lucifer opened the door and saw a young man sitting at the edge of the bed and a woman taking care of the man's wounds. They both jumped up.
Felipe immediately recognized the man from the time Diego had helped an angel. Victoria on the other hand didn't know him.
"Who are you?" Victoria asked trying to hide the fear in her voice, not the fear for her own life because she had been Zorro's girlfriend for years now but more for Diego's life.
"You must be the beautiful Victoria Escalante. Diego told me so much about you." Lucifer said with a smile coming a few steps closer towards the bed.
"You obviously know who I am but I ask again who are you?" Victoria asked again this time with anger in her voice, ready to defend Diego with her life.
"I am sorry, where are my manners, my name is Lucifer Morningstar," Lucifer said with a grin.
TBC.