The secret room just off Diego's bedroom was more crowded than usual. Bernardo was having a difficult time getting Diego ready to ride because of the two extra bodies in the room-Anita, sitting with her eyes closed in the corner, and Alejandro, arms crossed, watching the proceedings.

"This had better not become a habit," Diego warned, tying his bandana over his hair. Bernardo nodded in agreement, making motions as though he was trying to push through a crowd.

"I thought perhaps if Anita could see how you prepare, she may not be so worried about you," Alejandro explained. He glanced at his daughter. "Anita, you can open your eyes."

Anita peeked out from under one eyelid, relieved to see her brother had changed outfits. "I know that he can take care of himself," she repeated. "I saw him that night. You are amazing, mi hermano." She looked down at her feet. 'I'm sure you just think it is because I am a woman, that I am afraid for no reason."

"I do not think that at all," Alejandro disagreed. "M'ija, I cannot tell you how much sleep I lost when I realized that Diego was Zorro. Every night after that…I stayed up late, waiting to hear hoofbeats, or watching the horizon."

Diego turned to him. "Father, you never told me that."

Alejandro shrugged. "I did not think you needed that on your mind every night," he admitted.

"Another secret," Diego muttered as Bernardo helped him with his cape. Bernardo shot him a sympathetic glance. He knew Diego was still adjusting to his father's most recent secret…who was rubbing her arms nervously in the corner.

Alejandro sighed. "I know. Lo siento. I am working on it."

Diego belted his sword around his waist and turned so his sister could see the full ensemble. "El Zorro, at your service," he said with a sweep of his arm.

"You still look funny," Anita said, an attempt at levity. Diego grinned under his mask.

"Be careful, my son," Alejandro said.

Diego touched two fingers to the brim of his hat and then, he disappeared down the tunnel.

Bernardo turned to Alejandro and made a motion as if he was pouring a drink. Alejandro gave him a small smile.

"Make it two?" Anita asked hopefully.

Alejandro shot her a look. "Absolutely not."

Diego spurred Tornado through the hills. The sun was just setting over the horizon as he kept an eye out for signs of life. In the low light, he thought he could just make out a column of smoke trailing up into the sky against a backdrop of purples and reds. He nudged Tornado, but the horse had already moved that way, as if he could sense it too.

Diego slowed Torando as they approached. He frowned. He could hear something screeching, and the familiar laughter of the two idiotas from the plaza that morning. He slid off Tornado's back and made his way toward the racket. What he saw made his blood boil.

The two men from that morning-and they weren't really men, he could see it now, they were not much more than teenagers-were poking at the branches of a tree. The screeching, he could just barely see it now, was coming from a cat.

"Perdon, gentlemen," Diego said, leaning against a second tree. "How about you come and pick on something your own size?" he questioned.

The two boys turned. "It's Zorro!" one of them breathed.

"Fifteen hundred pesos for his capture," the other said.

Diego grinned. "You would not know what to do with that money if you got it," he said. He gestured to the treed kitten. "You can hardly handle el gatito!"

"I'll show you what I can handle!" The boy unfurled his whip and cracked it at Diego. Diego stepped sideways. The boy didn't have much skill with the weapon, nor did he have power behind it. Diego waited as he lashed out again, and this time, he caught it with a gloved fist, then used the momentum it had to yank the boy forward and off his feet. He landed face-first in the dirt.

The other boy chose a more direct approach, coming at Diego with his fists. This one, he noted, must have been taught to fight by someone at some point, because he was more careful, measured. But he was young, and he was cocky, and Diego used that to his advantage. He let him get a couple swings in, then used the power of another thrown punch to grab his wrist and throw him into his friend, who had just gotten up. The two of them crashed to the dirt.

Diego hauled them both up by their collars. "Your fun is over," he told them. "Do not let me catch you in the plaza tormenting the market again, or next time I may not be so forgiving." He pulled them closer. "And if I ever catch you teasing another animal, I will take my whip and do some teasing of my own. Comprende?"

The two nodded, and Diego let go. They scrambled for their horses, leaving their fire and their weapons behind. Diego shook his head. Hissing caught his attention from the tree, and he stepped closer to the bottom to get a good look at the animal. The kitten had clearly come from a rancho, as it wasn't a breed of any of the desert cats that roamed the Mojave at night. It was white, with tufts of black at the tips of its ears and a patch of black on its nose. "You are a brave one, gatito," Diego noted. "But you do not belong out here." He reached up for it.

The kitten hissed again and took a swipe at him with claws extended. Diego retracted his hand. "Still frightened, eh? Can't say that I blame you." Slower this time, he extended his hand again. "I won't hurt you," he told it, softening his tone. "In fact, I know of someone who would take great care of you, and spoil you to no end. How does that sound?"

The kitten's hackles were still up, but it wasn't trying to attack him anymore. Diego took that as a good sign. Still speaking quietly, he added, "Also, if you stay out here, something certainly will eat you." He set a gloved finger on the kitten's back, and ran it from his head to his tail. The satin on the glove must have felt reassuring, because the next thing Diego knew, the kitten was rubbing its head against his fingers. Carefully, he loosened its claws from the branch it was on, and brought him down.

Tornado came over to see what the fuss was about. "We have a new partner, Tornado, at least for tonight," Diego said, holding the kitten in his hands. Tornado brought his nose closer to the kitten.

The kitten bopped him on the nose with one paw, and Tornado snorted indignantly. Diego laughed. "Oh yes," he said, swinging onto Tornado's back with the kitten tucked tightly into his arm. "You'll fit in quite nicely at home."