Chapter 24

Alejandro did his best to remain calm. His first reaction was to go straight to Los Angeles to find out whether the captured horse and rider were indeed who Manuel claimed. Manuel knew Toronado and was not easily mistaken when it came to horses.
Diego was smart enough not to get easily caught. But something could have happened that Zorro had no control over or left him no choice.
Alejandro managed to suppress his first impulse.
First, he had to be absolutely certain before he did anything. And he had to keep his head cool.
He could not risk endangering the lives of himself and his loved ones unless necessary.
"Manuel, take Calypso to the stable. Saddle Dulcinea, I'll see if I can persuade de Soto to at least give Zorro a fair trial."

Manuel made a scornful sound before saying. "I don't think that will help, Patrón. De Soto is not one known for doing what is fair."

"You're right. I merely hope to buy some time. You take Jupiter and ride to San Diego. Inform the magistrate there of what is happening. And try to persuade him to come here. I'll do what I can to at least persuade the alcalde to let Zorro live until you return."

Manuel nodded approvingly now. He turned and hurried to the stable, taking Calypso with him.

Alejandro walked back to the hacienda and saw Victoria standing there, clinging to the doorpost.
"Victoria, I want you to go to the cave and hide there until one of us says you can get out."

The woman was fearfully pale and looked like she might faint at any moment.
"I'll come with you to Los Angeles. If de Soto has captured Zorro, we must help him."
Victoria looked determined.

Alejandro did his best to stay calm. "First, we need to know what exactly is going on."

Victoria was verging on the hysterical. "What else do we need to know! Zorro has been caught and is going to get hanged!
We have to stop de Soto!
I can't believe you! Diego is your son!
We must at least try to help him! If you don't do something, I'll do it myself."
Struggling, Victoria gathered her skirts and wanted to walk out.

Alejandro just managed to grab her arm in an iron grip.
"You're not going to do any of that! You're going to do what I say, do you hear me?!."

Victoria tried to pull away. The don proved stronger than she had expected. He now had hold of both her shoulders, forcing Victoria to turn her attention to him.
"Listen to me! Manuel has not seen Zorro. There's a chance it's just a trick. It wouldn't be the first time de Soto has tried to pull something like this on us. First, we have to know what's going on!
Furthermore, Diego left instructions on what to do if something should happen to him. They're in my safe. Come with me."

Victoria had stopped resisting and was now running after her father-in-law.

As fast as his old bones would let him, Alejandro ran to his office.
To the left of a painting of his beloved wife hangs another painting. It has the outline of Madrid on it.
Alejandro took the painting from the wall and turned the lock on the safe.
"Diego gave me an envelope with instructions on what to do if something happened to Zorro. He made me swear not to look until there was no other way."
By now, Alejandro had opened the safe taken out a thick sealed envelope, and tore it open. His eyes flew over the parchment.
"Damn! What an idiot!"

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As soon as Felipe had heard Manuel tell the old don what was happening, he ran to the cave.
He had to get to the pueblo as soon as possible.
He had to find out what had happened. And he had to be careful. Manuel had said that no one had seen Zorro yet. Against his better judgment, Felipe clung to this small hope.
Had Toronado indeed been captured? That did not bode well.
Toronado was not easy to catch. The horse was smarter than most of the lancers. And if it was only Toronado, the question remained, where was Zorro?
Zorro was perhaps the only man in the pueblo who could prevent a riot. Diego had created Zorro to revolt against tyranny with as few casualties as possible. At the risk of their lives, he and Diego had succeeded for years.
Felipe shuddered with fear.
Zorro's work must not have been in vain.
Felipe put a sharp dagger in his belt and loaded two revolvers. Diego had taught him to shoot. After years of practice, his shot was as accurate as his teacher's. All the weapons in the cave were of high quality and well maintained. Felipe weighed a revolver in his hand.
He knew this weapon, down to the millimeter. He could hit a moving target at a distance of more than sixty feet with deadly precision.
Diego had left instructions on what he wanted Felipe to do should Zorro ever get caught. The instructions all were about protecting the people Diego loved rather than saving Zorro.
The boy had made a firm decision at a young age. Should Zorro ever get caught, the one dying would not be his mentor.
At all costs.

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"What does it say?" Victoria tried to read over Alejandro's shoulder what instructions Diego had given his father.

Alejandro first muttered a few curses before looking up from the paper. "It says,
I'm sorry.
Please do whatever you can to keep yourself, Felipe, and Victoria safe. Tell Victoria I love her.
The Bank of San Fernando has an account with a large enough fund to find a safe haven and build a new life. The bank account is in the name of Salvador Guilerans. Felipe is the trustee.
Don't try to save me. It is you I fought for all this time.
Forgive me. Love you all, Diego."
The old don crumpled the parchment into a wad to throw it on the floor. Spit flew around as he roared furiously.
"It's not a plan to save him at all!"

"Salvador Guilerans. Somehow I know that name." Victoria pondered. She had heard the name before, but where?

"Guilerans is Felicided's maiden name. Her brother's name is Salvador, and he is Diego's godfather," muttered Alejandro. He walked to a small cabinet on the other side of his office. It was where he kept his hand weapons.

"And it's the name Zorro used in the devil's fortress." Victoria suddenly remembered again.

"What?" startled Alejandro, the box containing the weapons almost fell out of his hands.

"My father, when Diego, rode to the devil's fortress to try and free my father out of that horrible place. You remember, Zorro was there as well.
Of course, he was there. I had asked both Diego and Zorro to go help my father."

"That doesn't help us now.
All right, Victoria, I want you to stay in the cave. Let me promise you one thing, nothing will happen to Diego, even if it's the last thing I do."
Deftly, he made the pistols ready for use. "I need to find Felipe.
Perhaps, Diego has given him the actual instructions on what to do."

Victoria ran out of the small office as she was shouting the name of Zorro's helper.

Silently, Alejandro cursed himself.
Why had he been so stupid to believe Diego that everything would be all right should he follow the instructions in the envelope exactly?
Over the past years, his son had done nothing else but risk his life to protect others, time and time again.
Damn it, he had been in the army.
Why had he so carelessly assumed Zorro's skills and that Diego's cunning was always two steps ahead of any form of danger?

Victoria came running back into the room. "I can't find Felipe!"

"Then I'll go to the pueblo and try to find out what's going on."

"I'll go with you. "

Alejandro put the weapons in his inside pocket and walked in the direction of the library. He stopped at the fireplace and pulled the lever, so the hidden door opened.
"You stay in the cave, and if you don't listen, I'll tie you to a chair if necessary.
I mean it! I will not allow you to endanger my grandchild."

Grandchild?
Victoria's mouth fell open in amazement.
It took a moment for her to figure out what the don was referring to.
"I'm not pregnant." She stammered in bewilderment.

Alejandro took the time to smile and stroke her cheek with his hand. "My dear Victoria, only motherly love can make a woman look so radiant as you do.
Si, you are pregnant with my grandchild, and I forbid you to do anything dangerous.
Felipe!"

Felipe came out of the cave. Alejandro noticed the weapons the boy was carrying.
"I see you have already heard about Zorro.
Give me another moment, and I'll join you." Alejandro turned towards Victoria again and looked at her menacingly. "Well, what will it be? Will you go into the cave voluntarily, or do we have to drag you in there and tie you to a chair? If I explain to Felipe why he will certainly help me."

"Don Alejandro is right.
Diego will consider your safety most important. He will think of your safety rather than his." Felipe confirmed.

Victoria was about to say something when there was a loud banging on the door.
Alejandro grabbed the woman by the shoulders, opened the hidden door again, and pushed Victoria into the cave. "Stay in there!"

The door was in the process of closing when the front door flew open. Two men tumbled in, surprised that the massive door had apparently not been closed properly and had suddenly given way.
Don Marco and don Sebastián saw Felipe and Alejandro standing in front of the fireplace.

Without apologising or exchanging any other pleasantries, don Marco began to speak. "Have you heard? De Soto has captured Zorro!
We came as soon as we heard. Alejandro, you will agree with us that we must not let this happen."

On the other side of the fireplace, Victoria had found a step high enough f to see and hear through the peephole what was happening in the library.

"We have to do something." She heard don Sebastian say.
"And as brave as I think you are, I think it's irresponsible to let a child get involved in this fight." Pointing at Felipe.
Don Sebastian turned so that Felipe could not see his face and tried to read his lips.

Don Marco, who seemed a little less excited than don Alejandro and don Sebastian, spoke. "I propose that I am the one to go to the pueblo to find out what is going on.
Forgive me, Alejandro. You and de Soto often have arguments. He will refuse to listen to what you are saying.
As I know De Soto, he will expect the most resistance from you. We must surprise him with unexpected behavior.
In the meantime, I think you and Sebastian should go search for other men to help. And as for Felipe..., Where is he?"

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The boy had used his talent for not drawing attention to himself and had sneaked away. As fast as his legs could carry him, he ran to the stables and started to saddle his Pinto.
He mounted the horse in the stable and galloped out. He barely managed to avoid Manuel, who was tying Dulcinea to a beam, so his Patrón could ride to the pueblo.
"Watch out!" Shouted the foreman, startled against the back of the boy, who everyone knew could not have heard him.
Manuel had seen don Sebastián and don Marco enters the hacienda. He was sure it wouldn't be long before the men came out with a plan to save Zorro, which he was waiting for before rushing off to San Diego.

.

"I think Felipe is saddling my horse," Alejandro said nervously, wondering how the hell Diego and Felipe had been doing things like this all these years.
He was going crazy. He wanted to do something. Meanwhile, he had to make sure not to betray his son. And now, he had to ditch two well-respected friends who expected him to go with them to do what it takes to save Zorro.
He wanted to ride to Los Angeles and confront de Soto.
Had Zorro indeed been captured? If so, he had to think of a way to give his son a chance to escape.
Should it come to it, he would fight Soto man-to-man.
Alejandro did not doubt that, despite his advanced age, he would be able to overpower de Soto with both sword and pistol.
At the same time, an inner voice screamed that showing his face in the pueblo at this moment might be the stupidest thing he could ever do. If Zorro had indeed been unmasked and captured, de Soto knew his identity. The alcalde was not the kind of man not to also arrest the father. If only to ensure that Diego would not try to escape.
It was a somewhat reassuring thought no lancers had yet appeared at the gate to arrest him.

Reluctantly, Alejandro agreed to don Sebastian's plan. On the condition, all would meet again in an hour at the crossroad half a mile from the pueblo.
Felipe would manage by himself. The boy was no longer a child. He would blend invisibly into the crowd and do everything in his power to help Diego.
"Sebastian, we'll do as Marco suggests.
We will gather as many men as possible while Sebastian tries to find out who de Soto has captured.
We have to do everything we can think of."

Don Marco had another suggestion. "Alejandro, Diego, is he at home? He might help us to gather more men."

Alejandro let his gaze go briefly towards the peephole. "Diego and Victoria are out picnicking near the ocean. I have no idea when they'll be back."

"Oh, that's too bad. We can do without your son. But I would have liked your daughter-in-law to be at our side." Don Sebastian muttered. "She is quite skilled to use household equipment as a weapon."
Don Marco and don Sebastian both laughed at the comment.

The men began to rush over in the direction of the horses.
Once in the saddle, the men split up.
Sebastian was the first to spur his horse on. Alejandro and Marco looked how he dissapeard in the distance.

Don Marco glanced in the direction of the pueblo. "I hope we succeed in saving Zorro without any bloodshed. But if de Soto wants a revolution, he can have it."

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Sergeant Jaime Mendoza knew he was not an intelligent man.
It was the main reason he had chosen a life in the service of the Spanish colonial army.
In the army, he did not have to think for himself.
He only had to follow orders.

During his first years as the highest-ranking officer in Los Angeles, he had sometimes felt a twinge of conscience.
After the first appearance of Zorro, life had become so much easier.
As soon as the alcalde issued orders that made him feel uncomfortable, you could bet that Zorro would appear on the scene.
Furthermore, the masked bandit took over many tasks by tracking and capturing criminals and helping people in need.

How many stagecoach robberies had Zorro prevented? How many rustlers and other scum were behind bars thanks to Zorro? And how many times had Zorro saved his life from certain death? As he had done for so many others.
And the two or three times Zorro had not shown up when Mendoza had counted on it, he had just pretended it to have happened. It wasn't hard to cut a Z in your jacket, telling your superior you did your best, but you got overpowered.
The endless need to repair uniforms was actually a small price to pay for a better conscience.

This day, however, Mendoza had a problem. For the first time in years, he was genuinely afraid.
A situation had occurred. And Zorro wasn't able to solve it if he was in jail.
The black stallion destroying the stables was undoubtedly Toronado.
Mendoza was not convinced about the man the alcalde had arrested as being Zorro. The man was so un-Zorro-like.
One plus one was two. Right?
Yet it seemed to go against all logic. Jaime had often wondered who Zorro could be, but this man had never been on his mind as a possibility.

His job was to follow orders and not question orders given by his commander.
If he refused to follow them today, it would mean his death. If he obeyed, would he take the life of an innocent person? He was the highest-ranking officer present. The alcalde would give him the order to pull the lever of the trap door under the rope of the gallows in a few hours.
The man who the alcalde insisted must be Zorro would die by hanging. Two hours ago, Mendoza had gathered his courage and expressed his doubts.
The alcalde had assured him that the man was indeed Zorro and that was that.

Mendoza did not want to be on duty today. He did not want to be the one on the scaffold at sunset, just doing what he was ordered.
Mendoza was a man torn between doing what he got commanded and a sense of morality.
At dusk, he had to choose between his own life and doing what was right.

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At the same moment, in the cave, it was beginning to dawn on Victoria.
Could it really be true what Alejandro had said?
Was she currently carrying Diego's child under her heart?
Was she indeed pregnant?

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