Chapter 110 – No matter what

Bullets kept flying by Pirate Roberts as he destroyed the rigging of the foremast. Luckily for him, none of them hit him as he went along, because all that booze running through the drunken pirate's veins made them pretty inaccurate. And that included Benito de Soto, who still shouted orders and insults from the Santa Eulalia while most of the pirates reluctantly gave up the wild party to return to the Burla Negra.

At least, the bastards had left the women alone, for the time being. Relieved, Zorro thanked God and all the saints in Heaven because he had engaged the pirates just in time, before Victoria got raped and harmed again. The mere thought that she could end up like that French woman acted as a boost of much needed energy, providing the drive to destroy the whole pirate ship singlehandedly, just in case he would fail to blow it up.

As Zorro slashed the last cable holding the upper topsail in place, he cursed under his breath when he spotted five pirates climbing up the foremast, using the shrouds as rope ladders; ropes he hadn't had the chance to cut off yet. It was a worrying sight, because if they attacked him at the same time, all together, they would have the advantage, as he wasn't used to fight with his sword while balancing on a boom, too focused already on not slippering to avoid a deadly fall.

When the loose topsail flew away with a gust of wind to fall in the ocean, De Soto cried one more time, like a kid with a tantrum, putting a smile on Zorro's face.

"La madre que le parió! Get him! Kill him!"

Delighted to annoy the bastard so much, Zorro ignored the approaching pirates for a moment while he carried on destroying the rigging at the top of the foremast, including the top gallants and royals, making sure the Burla Negra became useless for sailing, unable to catch any wind to move forward. However, before he could also destroy all the stays and cables holding the jibs, the last set of sails still in place at the bow, he had to fight the incoming bastards, that greatly outnumbered him, while more and more pirates gathered on deck.

ZZZ

At the Santa Eulalia, Almeida fired another two guns, but he missed one of the shots, only killing another pirate. Without time to reload, he handed a spare sword to Ulloa, and together they fought the remaining ones. Or at least Almeida did, because the captain could hardly stand, let alone fight, just using the sword in awkward, defensive moves, with no other real aspiration than staying alive a bit longer. However, the remaining pirates were so drunk they retreated a bit, and Almeida managed to clear the way to the hatch.

"Over here!" Ulloa shouted to the group of women, including Victoria, who had joined them. "You should all hide at the hold again!"

Some of the ladies aboard had already been raped, while some lucky ones got saved by the bell, like Katie. Chosen by Bustamante over the others, when he left momentarily to assist De Soto, no other pirate had dared to finish the job the second in command had started, and the young girl was spared. After Zorro distracted everybody, the women had helped each other up to fix their ripped clothes as much as they could, for decorum, and had moved to the other side of the ship, as far away from the remaining pirates and the ongoing fight as possible. However, rather than returning to the hold, some of them wanted to check on their loved ones, because a handful of the badly injured men were still alive on deck, crying for help.

"We'll help them when the fight is over!" Victoria said, rushing the women to the hatch. "It's very important that we stay out of the way, so nobody gets captured again and we don't give the bastards an excuse to bargain with our lives!"

"I can't leave my husband here!" one of the women cried, stopping by one of the injured passengers. "Dios mío, look at the state of my Antonio!"

"We'll help you to carry him inside," Marta Hidalgo said, helped by Katie. While the three women carried the injured man, Terrance joined the captain and the contramaestre, demanding a weapon.

"Here," Almeida said, handing the boy a sword. "You earned it."

"We need help reloading the guns," Ulloa said, standing by the hatch, bent at the waist with his hands resting on his thighs, once again out of breath. "Do you know how to reload, chico?"

"Yes, Captain. My father taught me how."

"Good. Stay by the stairs and keep us in business then," Ulloa said, making way for the women. "Ladies, you should gather around that gunpowder barrel again, just in case De la Vega doesn't succeed."

They all looked at Pirate Roberts then, as he carried on destroying the pirate ship. Nobody could believe the posh, quiet caballero from California and the daring guy in black slashing everything with his sword could be the same person. For the first time, Ulloa truly accepted his friend could be the man he claimed to be: Zorro.

"He will," Victoria said. "He always does."

"My daughter! I can't find my daughter!" Mary-Jo cried then, reluctant to leave the deck. "Kim! Kim!"

The poor woman darted around that side of the ship, looking for her little girl, but she couldn't find her. Instead, she stumbled upon her lifeless husband. He had a stabbing wound in his abdomen, and a slit throat. Mary-Jo cried with the shock and fell by his side, convulsing in tears. Victoria tried to comfort her, closing those glazed, opened eyes that looked at the sky, into the infinity.

"I'm so sorry, but there's nothing you can do for him now. Please, go back to the hold with the others. I'll find your daughter."

"I told her to ran away and hide when the pirates came onto us! She loves hide and seek. She's so good at it, sometimes it takes me ages to find her. Kiiimm!"

"I'll find her, don't worry. Please, go back with the others. We're still in danger. If my husband doesn't stop them, we should blow up the ship, as the captain said. As we had planned."

"Who is he?" she asked then, looking back at the Burla Negra. "How does he know how to fight like that?" Her husband didn't have any fighting skills, and had been one the first men to fall in that carnage of a battle.

Victoria didn't know what to say. Instead, she helped her up, insisting to push that woman toward the hatch to the lower deck. If any of them made it that day, Diego would have a lot to explain to the survivors.

"Kim!" Mary-Jo tried one last time. "You won! Please, come out now!"

The little girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere, running to find her mum.

"Oh, my God! Kim! You are all right!" Mary-Jo cried, lifting her daughter up in her arms, embracing her tightly.

"Please, get down below deck now, with the others. Come on," Victoria said, guiding the young woman to the hatch. Her friend was still there, waiting for her. "I'll leave you in charge, Doña Margarita. Be ready with the candle, and please, don't get fooled as I did: unless my husband or any of us come down first, blow it!"

"What are you going to do, mi niña?"

"I'll stay with the men, guarding the hatch," she said as she helped the older woman to the stairs, grabbing one the of the available firearms. "In California, women know how to defend themselves!"

ZZZ

De Soto couldn't help but wondering how things had gone so bad for him, so fast.

Watching his men, the pirate captain regretted to have offered them so much rum, as he regretted being so drunk himself, because otherwise, he would have put a bullet into that cabrón in black already. But, above all, he regretted being so naïve as to think he could recruit the Santa Eulalia's captain, the doctor, and his young helper. He should have killed them all when he had the chance, because the bastards had got hold of some weapons somehow, killed two of his men with them already, and now they guarded the entrance to the hatch to protect the women, who had gone below deck again, out of the way, probably to gather around that gunpowder barrel one more time. All except the fierce brunette, who was still over there, helping the men with the guns, and that, increased his rage even more.

"Get up!" De Soto shouted to his second, who was still down, dressing his knees with the sleeves torn from one of the sailors' shirt.

"I can't! That son of a bitch sliced my tendons!"

"What? Are you a cripple now? Get up, for fuck sake! And you, bunch of cowards, get back over there and kill those motherfuckers! There's only two of them!"

Four, really, if he counted the woman and the boy. And they were in a better position to fight than his men, at least the tall, dark skinned doctor, who fired another shot when the drunken pirates made a move. Shortly after, the woman fired as well, aiming at the Burla Negra.

Bustamante tried his best, growling in pain, teeth gritting, but it was hard to stand like that, let alone walk.

"Ese jodido cabrón fucked me well!"

"Here, try this," De Soto said, handing his second a long piece of wood to splint the legs.

"Watch out!"

De Soto heard a loud thump behind him, as if someone had suddenly landed on deck, but before he could turn to find out who that was, he felt the cold, sharp edge of a blade pressing on his throat.

ZZZ

Zorro climbed down to the foremast top platform just as the first pirate reached it. He kicked that man in the face, so hard the pirate lost his hold and plummeted down to his death, landing on his back on the hard, wooden deck. Then, as Zorro hit the shrouds with his sword, cutting the ropes on that side, another pirate with a hook for a hand reached the platform from the other side. Right after Pirate Roberts managed to hack all the ropes, sending the next climbing pirate on a deadly fall before he could reach the top, the incoming one-handed pirate attacked him from below, sinking his hook in his thigh.

Zorro cried when he felt that sharp, deep pain, and again when the pirate pulled back, ripping the muscles brutally as he retrieved the hook. However, despite the pain, Zorro was faster, and dispatched that pirate swiftly as he got up onto the platform, running his sword through his chest before he could hit him with the hook again. That pirate fell from the top to join the other two dead men, but soon was replaced by another pirate reaching the platform: a menacing, burly man wielding a huge cutlass.

Hobbling, Zorro had to retreat, hardly able to stop the pirate's blade when he charged using rough but powerful, lateral slicing swings, forcing him to leave the relative safety of the upper foremast foot.

Son of a bitch! Zorro thought as he stepped back, balancing on the topsail boom, a situation he wanted to avoid at all costs, even more with a non-responsive leg, as the last pirate climbing up the shrouds also reached the top foot.

At least Ulloa and Almeida seemed to be getting the situation under control, shooting one more time to keep the pirates at bay. From that height, Zorro spotted Victoria with a rifle, and then he knew they still had a chance, if only he could manage to get all the pirates back onto the Burla Negra somehow.

As the pirate kept charging forward, Zorro kept retreating further over the naked boom, with no ropes or canvas to hold onto as the sail was already down in tatters. Finding increasingly difficult not to lose his footing while he fended off the offending blade, he reached for the whip he carried in his belt at the back, his situation looking rather hopeless.

ZZZ

From the Santa Eulalia, Victoria shared the same thought when she looked up and saw Zorro struggling so much. She didn't know exactly why, as she had missed the attack with the hook, but Diego looked injured, limping noticeably, and in deep trouble. Determined, she set the rifle butt against her right shoulder and aimed up, to the burly pirate, but then she had second thoughts, unsure what to do. She could try the shot, but she could easily hit Diego instead, as they were so close. Too risky.

Oh my God! What should I do?

She hesitated while the end of the barrel danced in front of her right eye, swaying between the two, close targets while her chest raised with each rapid breath she took, as she was so anxious. Unwilling to miss the shot and accidentally hit Diego, she also knew that in order to help him, whatever she decided to do, she had to do it fast.

Diego retreated further onto the boom then, balancing dangerously over it, hardly able to parry the pirate's blade without falling over. It didn't look as if he could hold on for much longer. Right then, Victoria reckoned the other pirate still at the platform looked like an easier target, not so close to her beloved, so she aimed at that man instead, hoping her shot would scare and discourage the brawny pirate to go any further.

Holding her breath as her heart raced wildly with the worry and the uncertainty, she pulled the trigger. Then she gasped, horrified by the result. She didn't hit Diego, but she was too close for comfort, and certainly, when he fell, it didn't look like she had helped him at all.

ZZZ

Victoria's bullet hit the wrong pirate. Shot on his side, the muscular man fighting Zorro fell forward, pushing his sword, finally setting the masked man off-balance. As they both fell off that boom, Zorro used the whip just in time to wrap it around the lowest one, the main beam of the foresail. With the impulse of the fall, he held onto the whip with his left hand and carried on moving forward, swinging over the edge of the ship. When he let go of the whip, he landed awkwardly on the Santa Eulalia's deck, just behind De Soto, still holding the sword in his right hand. Ignoring the pain in his leg, he moved fast to hold it over the pirate's throat.

He could not have planned it better if he'd wanted to.

"Don't move!"

"What the hell? Fuck off!" De Soto cried, wriggling, but when Zorro pressed with his blade on his neck, he stood as still as required.

"Order your men to return to your ship!"

"No chance in hell, motherfucker!"

"Do it if you want to live! And do it fast!"

As he pressed harder, drawing blood, De Soto gave up the bravado. After all, most of the pirates were already at the Burla Negra, and the remaining, cowardly ones, had taken cover to avoid the bullets rather than doing anything useful to resolve the situation.

"Diego! Are you all right?" Victoria said, handing Terrance her rifle so he could reload it. "I'm so sorry I made you fall!"

"Diego? Diego Roberts?" De Soto said, greatly amused. "I knew you was a fake. You ain't no pirate, ar' ya?"

"Shut up! And call your men back to your ship!"

"You heard 'im boys! Back to the Burla Negra! It doesn't matter; we'll chase them again if they try to escape! We still have the jibs!"

As the pirates walked over the boarding planks they had set on the gunwales to join the two vessels, Zorro looked back at the Burla Negra's bow. The pirate captain was right: those sails still looked in good order, much better than the ones they could use at the Santa Eulalia to escape. If he had had the time to destroy them as he did with all the others, he could send all the pirates to the other ship, cut the ropes, and sail away to safety, but that strategy would not work anymore. He had to blow that ship as he initially planned. And there was only one way to do it now: he had to stay behind.

As the last pirate helped Bustamante to walk over the planks, Diego looked at Ulloa, who had come closer with a gun, ready to help.

"Remember! You promised!"

Ulloa looked at him, sad, knowing what was about to happen, nodding slowly.

"Promised what?" Victoria said, alarmed. "What's going on?"

"Come on, let's go over there," Zorro said while pushing De Soto towards the planks.

"No! What are you doing?" Victoria cried, running to his side to stop him, but still keeping a safe distance from De Soto. "Are you insane?"

"I'm sorry, dear. There's no other way."

"Dear?" De Soto said, laughing, not missing a beat. "Don't tell me this putita is your woman… Damn, you have good taste!"

"Shut up!" Zorro growled, pushing him forward again, limping behind him.

"No! There must be another way!" Victoria insisted, even more alarmed when she spotted the blood dripping from Diego's leg, that had created a string of small, red puddles on the wooden deck boards.

"No. I can't allow them to follow you."

"You can't allow us? You and what army?" De Soto said then, laughing again. "Yes, dear Diego, come to the Burla Negra; we'll tear you apart like chopped meat! Then I'll return to finish the job I started with your little bitch."

"Shut up already!" Zorro cried, all too willing to cut that man's throat right then to silence him forever. Benito irritated him no end, just like his cousin Ignacio. Birds of a feather.

He looked at Victoria then, deeply sad because he could not kiss her, hug her, or say goodbye properly while threatening De Soto and making sure he used him as a shield, because the pirates had reloaded their guns and aimed at him from the other ship, ready to retaliate the moment he let go of their leader. Although, unlike his cousin, Benito was so short he hardly offered any cover for his upper body, forcing him to squat a bit behind him, putting some extra pressure on his injured leg.

"I'm so sorry, Victoria."

"No. Please, no. Don't go," she said, shaking her head, breaking down in tears. "Not like this. Please!"

"You'll be fine, and that's all that matters to me." He wanted to add she should make it, and look forward to the future to take care of their baby, but he didn't want to give more ammunition to De Soto to laugh at his vulnerability. Or hers. "I love you, always remember that."

"No! Don't go!"

"Walk!" he ordered again, pushing De Soto forward.

"As you wish."

De Soto laughed evilly as he walked over the planks, stepping onto the Burla Negra. His men came closer then, looking ready to kill the man in black the moment he lowered his sword.

"Break off now!" Zorro cried, but the captain hesitated, also unwilling to let that brave man behind. "You promised me, Ulloa! Remember: you'd take her to safety, no matter what. Break off!"

Ulloa nodded again. Then he looked up, checking the direction of the wind on the sails.

"For a better chance, keep them al pairo for as long as you can, heading into the wind, southwest."

"You heard him," Zorro said, pressing the blade a bit more against De Soto's throat. "Give the order to your helmsman: southwest."

"Cut the ropes. Keep the planks and the hooks at this side," Ulloa ordered to Almeida while De Soto addressed his timonel. "So long, De la Vega."

"Go! Largaos!"

As Almeida slashed all the ropes that kept the two ships close together, Ulloa headed for the bridge to grab the Santa Eulalia's unresponsive helm.

"No! Don't leave him there!" Victoria cried.

As Almeida hacked the last rope, she tried to step over the gunwale, but the Andalusian stopped her in time, dragging her away from the edge.

"Don't be a fool! There's nothing you can do!"

From the bridge, regretting what he was about to do, Ulloa looked back at Diego for confirmation, admiring that man's bravery. Diego nodded in encouragement, so Ulloa turned the wheel to port to move away from the pirate ship. As their badly damaged sails and rigging caught some wind, the Santa Eulalia broke off, slowly sailing away while the Burla Negra's helmsman turned to starboard.

"No! Diego!" Victoria cried one more time, wriggling off Almeida's hold. Diego just looked at her, not saying a word, still holding onto De Soto. Then, he turned around to concentrate on his next fight, as the pirates circled him, coming closer.

Victoria ran to the bridge then.

"Turn back! Don't leave him there! Please!"

She tried to stop the captain, holding onto the wheel, but he pushed her off as gently as he could, to look at her in the eye.

"I'm sorry. As he said, this is the only way. That man clearly sacrificed his life for yours, and I'll keep the promise I made him: I'll take you to safety. No matter what."

With those words, she broke down completely, seeking comfort in the captain's arms, releasing all the tension she had accumulated over the last few hours, giving up to despair with a downpour of tears, her face buried on his chest.

Ulloa held her up with one arm, comforting her while he used the other one to steer the Santa Eulalia in the desired direction, away from De la Vega and the pirate ship.

Goddammit! That man was really Zorro. And he deserved to live.

ZZZZZ