Chapter 7
Sergeant Mendoza was just about to blow out his candle and sink into his nice warm bed when a noise from the window made him turn.
"Zorro!" He choked out the name with a mixture of surprise and fear.
"Sergeant!" Zorro saluted with his drawn sword. He was seated, framed by the window, with one foot propped on the windowsill, the other dangling free, almost reaching the floor. "I need your help," he said simply.
"My help? … Of course, Señor Zorro, I am always glad…." The sergeant's thoughts jumped around very quickly when Zorro was present. "Zorro…you are inside the quartel….this is the soldiers' barracks!"
"Yes, I know."
"You just can't come in —"
"Sergeant, since I am already here, and I could just as well be holding this blade to your throat, I think the wisest thing for you to do would be to listen to what I have to say."
"Si, Señor Zorro." Mendoza sat down meekly on the bed.
"I want to tell you what kind of a day you are going to have tomorrow." Zorro smiled.
Felipe was waiting for Zorro in the cave. He tried not to show the relief he felt when Tornado and his rider came through the entrance.
With the quick movements of a well-practiced ritual, Diego whisked off the black outfit and was soon truly Diego once more.
"Felipe! I have remembered!" His excitement was contagious.
Felipe began a flurry of signs.
"Yes, most everything! It is quite a jumble up here," he pointed to his temple, "but it was as if a floodgate opened up all at once." Felipe came closer and impulsively gave him a hug. "Thank you. I know how much you have been worried."
Felipe drew away from him and began signing.
"What triggered it? That's the part you won't believe! Remember Luiz Ramon's brother? I saw him tonight! He is the one behind all this. And De Soto is in it up to his eyeballs, as well. We have plenty of work to do. Is Father in bed? Good. I don't think I could deal with telling him tonight anyway. But, you had better go answer the door."
Felipe looked doubtfully at his friend. The doorbell hadn't rung. It was well past the time for visitors anyway. But just as he was beginning to doubt Diego's sanity, he heard the bell ring.
Diego smiled. "Go on. It is Victoria. She came in the wagon. Zorro gave her a safe escort to the door!"
Once Victoria was safely settled in one of the extra bedrooms for the night, and after making sure everything was all locked up securely, Diego returned to the cave.
Felipe would spend the night on guard, pistols in hand, just in case Victoria had been seen coming to the hacienda. Diego was taking no chances with his lady. He packed the bottles of liquids he would need in his saddlebags and guided his great, black steed back out into the night.
He left Tornado some way away from the camp and stole quietly back to his hiding place behind the huge rock.
The men were all in various stages of sleep. A drunken sleep! The panther-like figure of Zorro slipped from one sleeping man to the next dispensing his potions. He gave each man a good whiff of ether and each man's gun powder a generous helping of glycerin. The ether would buy him time. The glycerin would buy some degree of safety. These guns would be fairly useless.
He paused over the sleeping form of Ramon and fought an impulse to haul him off to Mendoza's jail cell right now. But he had no proof yet against any of these men, and unfortunately the word of Zorro didn't carry much weight with the Alcalde. Patience. One of the more difficult virtues!
When he came to Señor Stanton, he carefully placed his fingers to the man's temples and pressed lightly. The man's eyes flew open. He had not been offered any of the free flowing liquor that night. He trembled in fear upon seeing the masked man staring down at him. Zorro put a finger to his lips and offered a gloved hand to the man. He looked around quickly and, seeing that he alone was awake, he let this masked stranger help him to his feet. Without a word, he followed Zorro from the camp. Zorro would have loved to see Ramon's face when he woke and saw that Señor Stanton had "escaped" right from under his nose.
When they reached Tornado, Señor Stanton hesitated. "Am I being kidnapped?" he whispered nervously.
"Yes," Zorro whispered back, and indicated the stirrup. "Mount up."
He clumsily climbed up on to the horse. He didn't know which was scarier, the masked man or the black horse. Both were so big! Zorro swung himself up into the saddle behind the Señor in one smooth move, and quietly eased Tornado back to the road.
When they were far enough from the camp, Zorro began asking his questions. "Señor Stanton, just what am I to do with you? I take it you are responsible for this monstrous concoction that makes people behave so strangely?"
"Yes, this is all my fault!" The man seemed about to cry.
"In that case, I think you should help set things right, don't you?"
"Yes, yes, I will. I will do anything you say. Just don't hurt me!"
"Relax. I have no intention of hurting you. Will you calm yourself! Tornado doesn't like whining."
The man straightened immediately. "What do you want me to do?"
"I am going to take you to a place where you are going to divulge to me everything you know about this heinous "discovery" of yours. But first, I am going to blindfold you. The place where I take you is a secret. You would be in danger if you were to know the way."
Once inside the cave, Zorro removed the blindfold. The Señor was amazed at what he saw. A new respect for this masked outlaw grew in the Señor. He walked over to the laboratory area and said. "This is all yours? You are a scientist?"
"Not really. I just dabble."
Zorro removed his hat and gave the man paper and pen. "Now, Señor Stanton, you will write down all you know about the drug and its antidote. And once you have done so, you will forget everything you have written. Be precise and complete. I wouldn't think about fooling me, if I were you. I can have a nasty temper when I'm crossed."
Zorro poured his guest and himself some juice. He then made himself comfortable in the chair while he waited on the Señor to finish his writings.
Once the man had completed his task, Zorro took the papers from him and scanned them lightly. "Very good, Señor, you can rest assured that I will keep this in a safe place. And now that you have purged your mind of this," he held up the paper, "I must exact the promise from you that you will never do any research into this type of medicine ever again. For if you do, do you know what I will do to you?" Zorro asked the question with a broad smile.
The man shivered visibly.
"Yes, I believe you do." Zorro picked up his hat from the table and said, "Señor, I believe it is time for you to leave us," as he gave an elegant wave toward Tornado.
In a few minutes, the two were once again riding out into the black night, Señor Stanton blindfolded yet again. This time, Tornado stopped at a stream just outside of the pueblo. When Zorro removed the blindfold, he saw another horse, saddled and ready, before him.
"Señor, I suggest you go somewhere North or East. Just do not let me hear of you near this pueblo ever again. Is that clear? A little knowledge in the wrong hands can be very dangerous. I think you have discovered that. You were almost responsible for the death of many good men today. You should have the deaths of five people on your conscience already. No amount of regret on your part is going to bring them back. One of those five was a mere girl of fifteen with her life ahead of her. I want you to think about her, the next time you are tempted to share a discovery of some dangerous formula. Her name was Marisa."
Zorro mounted his horse.
"You have a true gift, Señor. It is up to you to use it wisely." Within moments, Zorro was gone into the night.
Diego caught Felipe dozing in the chair just outside Victoria's room. He woke the boy and sent him off to his own bed.
Throwing caution to that proverbial wind, he slowly turned the knob and let himself into the room. He could hear her soft, rhythmic breathing from where he stood. He sank into the chair beside the bed to watch over his lovely guest until morning. After awhile, he closed his eyes, confident in his own reflexes to react to any emergency that should arise.
When Victoria opened her eyes to see Diego asleep in the chair beside her bed, she wasn't the least bit surprised. What a man this was! This combination of gentle, kind, sweet Diego and strong, brave, capable Zorro. And both were hers. She was a lucky woman indeed!
"Diego?" With the one word, his eyes flew open and he smiled at her.
"Good morning, Bella." He stood and bent down to place a quick kiss on her lips. "I had better get back to my own room before the house awakens." His eyes couldn't help but drop lower than they should have. But almost immediately, he shook his head, blushed and quickly left the room.
Victoria had to stuff the corner of the sheet in her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
The next morning, Victoria prepared herself to be kidnapped.
She had her girls do all the serving and kept herself busy in the kitchen. Knowing that Zorro was hidden just behind the cupboard gave her some sense of ease, but it was still unnerving knowing someone would be bursting through the door any moment now to abduct you! She was almost beginning to think that the plan must have been changed when there was a knock at the back door.
She opened the door to a man with the lower half of his face covered with a bandana. He held a pistol to her throat and reached one arm through the door to grab her.
In one swift move, Zorro plucked the pistol from his hand, pulled the man into the room and knocked him out with one punch. Not one person beyond the curtain ever heard a sound.
Zorro bent over the unconscious man and quickly began removing his clothing. Before long, Zorro stood before Victoria in the clothes of the kidnapper.
"If we meet a tailor along the way, I shall die of embarrassment!" Zorro said as he rolled his eyes. The kidnapper was not nearly as tall as Zorro and the fit left a lot to be desired. But it would have to do. They tied up and gagged the man securely and left him in the storage room off the kitchen.
"Are you ready, mi preciosa?"
She nodded.
They went out the door as kidnapper and victim. Zorro held the now empty gun to his love's throat and pushed her up into the back of the wagon that waited outside.
The lookout posted by the corner of the building signaled that all was clear, ran up and jumped up onto the wagon seat, drove around the corner and into the street. Once they had a straight shot to the gates, the driver gave a yell to draw everyone's attention. He whipped the horses, urging them to their greatest speed as they raced out through the gates. Before long, surely Zorro would know his special lady had been kidnapped.
The ride was rough, but the toughest part for Victoria was trying not to smile whenever she looked at her "kidnapper." Twice, when she glanced over at the disguised Zorro and her lips began to turn up at the corners, he shoved the barrel of the gun a little closer to her face. It wasn't fair! She knew he was probably grinning from ear to ear beneath that bandana!
When they reached their destination, Zorro made a show of dragging her from the wagon rather roughly, while in reality holding her as gently as ever.
There were only two men to greet them. A big, burley man waited just behind Ramon. "Now why didn't you send that guy to do the kidnapping? His clothes I could wear!" thought Zorro.
Zorro noted that Ramon wore his sword, and the big man had two pistols in his belt. Hopefully, they were two of the ones he had "doctored" last night. But one couldn't be sure. He didn't remember seeing this man last night; he could be a late arrival. The driver of the wagon went to tie the horses.
Ramon's eyes were centered on Victoria. "Señorita Escalante! Welcome! I hope your journey was not too unpleasant." He certainly had the same flair as his brother.
"Vincente Ramon!" she cried with feigned surprise. "What is the meaning of this? What do you want?" She knew her part well.
"Why, Señorita, why does anyone ever kidnap you? To get to Zorro, of course! We expect him shortly. This shouldn't take too long. Make yourself at home."
He turned to his men. "Get ready! I want him taken alive, but if you have to, kill him. Either way, he will be mine!" He turned back to the fire where a small kettle had been set on a rack dangling above the flames. "It looks just about right. Curse that man for getting away just when I need him the most!"
Zorro was inwardly gauging his next move when Ramon suddenly straightened and moved toward Victoria. He held a small vial in one hand. "Here, my dear, have a drink. It's very refreshing." The cruel look in Ramon's eyes as he approached Victoria was enough for Zorro. He leapt forward and snatched the sword from Ramon's scabbard with his right hand and dashed the vial of liquid from Ramon's hand with his left. Ramon stepped back in utter astonishment.
"What the devil are you —"
Ramon's words were cut short as he was knocked to the ground with a kick to his chest. The big man was pulling his pistols as Zorro reached him, but the pistols went flying when the hilt of the sword crashed into the man's Adam's apple. He joined Ramon on the ground.
"I think you have more dealings with the devil than I." Zorro said, as he held the blade at Ramon's throat." Victoria, tie them up, please. Start with the big one."
"Zorro!" Ramon gasped as realization dawned on him.
"Yes, not exactly my usual style of mask today, but it did serve its purpose.
"What are you going to do?"
"I take it you mean what am I going to do with you?" Sometimes this sort of work was so predictable. Ramon was telegraphing with every muscle in his body that the wagon driver was coming up behind him. "Well, to begin with, I am going to take away your hope that this man will save you!" Zorro swiftly stepped to his right two feet, and the blow the driver was about to deliver carried him 4 feet forward and he fell against some rocks, knocking himself out cold. "And secondly, I think a nice bumpy ride in the back of this wagon all the way to Mendoza's jail will just about make your day."
"You think you're so smart! Mendoza and his men are dead by now. You think this was the whole of my plan!" Ramon could sneer just as wickedly his brother.
"I think," Zorro warned ominously, as he brought the tip of the blade in closer to Ramon's jugular, "that you shouldn't assume I can control my temper!" With a quick twist of his wrist, Zorro nicked Ramon just under the chin with the blade. Ramon's hand flew to his throat and he panicked as he saw the red blood.
"Madre de Dios, I'm cut! Help me, I'm cut!" As Ramon railed like a baby, Zorro winked at Victoria and began shoving him over to the wagon.
They had all three men tied up and gagged before too long and were on their way back to town. Once through the gates, Zorro turned the wagon towards the street behind the tavern. He wanted to don his own clothes before showing up before the lancers with his prisoners.
Mendoza was all smiles as he greeted Zorro outside the quartel. "Zorro, everything worked just like you said. I now have 14 men in my jail! Not one of their pistols would fire at us! It was the easiest time capturing criminals we have ever had!"
"That's wonderful, Sergeant. I hope you have room enough for three more! There is one prisoner here you might want to put an extra guard on tonight." He pulled Ramon from the wagon.
"Zorro, it's —" Mendoza looked ready to faint.
"Sergeant, I give you Vincente Ramon, brother to our late Alcalde! Guard him well. You will be receiving a detailed explanation of his crimes in the next few days. The proof you need will be coming from the governor." Zorro leaned close and whispered "And the Alcalde, Sergeant?"
"He had to take a sudden trip out of town." Mendoza whispered back. "He received a letter that required his urgent attention." Mendoza winked at Zorro. "You know, Zorro, I'll just bet the Alcalde will be bringing that proof himself!"
Zorro's opinion of the good Sergeant shot upward. The man was smarter than everyone gave him credit to have figured out that one. Perhaps he would receive a promotion from all this. The missive that De Soto had carried to the governor would certainly call attention to the way Mendoza had handled his men in this crisis.
"Sergeant! Señorita!" Zorro saluted and Tornado galloped off toward the pueblo gates.
"He sure is something, isn't he?" Mendoza exclaimed to Señorita Escalante who was standing beside him.
"He sure is. I will miss him!"
"Miss him?" Mendoza was puzzled. "Is he going somewhere?"
"No, haven't you heard, Sergeant Mendoza? Zorro and I have had, well, a parting of the ways."
Mendoza looked shocked. The soldiers had been so cut off from the people lately, this was news to him.
"But I thought you and Zorro —"
"Zorro is a wonderful man, but I have wasted far too much of my life waiting for him. He may be needed to fight for justice for a very long time. And almost losing Diego has shown me how much I cared for him all along. Diego has asked me to marry him, Sergeant, and I have said 'yes'." Her eyes were twinkling as she planted the first seeds of gossip for the town. Mendoza would spread the word, and before too long, the people of Los Angeles would accept the change in her affections and hopefully understand them.
"But this is wonderful, Señorita! Diego is a good man. A fine caballero! I always thought he was a little sweet on you," Mendoza teased. "And Zorro, well, we all know how hard it is to pin him down for very long!"