Chapter 2
The following morning, a large crowd of people had gathered in the plaza just outside the Alcalde's office, all talking about the recent attack by Zorro. Victoria and Don Alejandro were standing at the front of the people, very concerned by the anger coming from some of them, when de Soto walked out of his office, followed by several lancers who carried the emptied safe.
"Good people of Los Angeles! Here is the evidence. The myth of Zorro is simply that...A myth." de Soto shouted to the gathered crowd.
Victoria and Don Alejandro look at each other worriedly as people began to murmur angrily around them as they began to believe what their leader was telling them.
"The reality is he's a common thief!" de Soto continued.
"Why would Zorro steal our tax monies?" Don Alejandro asked perplexed.
Mendoza pointed to the huge bruise on his left eye. "Why would he kick me in the face?"
'"Zorro wouldn't do that, he's a good man." Victoria pleaded with the crowd. She couldn't believe that it was only Don Alejandro and herself who were defending Zorro, what happened to loyalty? What happened to being innocent until proven guilty?
"It's Zorro! He's robbing the bank!" said Gonzales as he ran up to the alcalde.
"A good man, is he?" de Soto sneered as he turned to gather his men together. "Get him." he ordered.
"Yes! It's got to be an impostor!" Don Alejandro implored, he too could not believe that Zorro was a criminal, a thief.
"What impostor could do this?" Gonzales turned and pointed to the back of his vest where a 'Z' was slashed into the material.
"Oh no! It's Zorro! He's getting away with the money." someone shouted from the crowd.
Victoria gasped, her hand to her mouth in shock, as she watched Zorro galloped through the plaza on Toronado, carrying the saddlebags full of money in his hands. No, she wouldn't believe it, he is not a thief, she thought to herself. He just wouldn't do this.
The crowd watched, partly in awe, as Zorro kept evading the lancers at every turn and then to the surprise of the watching people, he urged his horse up onto the back of a wagon and then onto the roof of the nearby building. The crowd gasped as Toronado sure-footedly ran across the tiles and then both man and beast leapt off the far end of the building and galloped away.
Later that night after Victoria had said goodnight to Mendoza and closed the tavern, she still couldn't believe what Zorro had done. How could he do that to Mendoza and to rob both the garrison pay as well as the bank? There had to be some explanation, his behaviour was so out of character, it just wasn't in his nature to be cruel. Perhaps it was an impostor just as Don Alejandro had said, the man she loved would never do anything like that.
She walked over to the bar and began stacking plates onto a tray when Zorro stepped up to her. She gasped in fright as she faced him, she hadn't heard him enter the tavern. "I knew you would come. Someone has been impersonating you..."
Zorro knocked the tray of plates from her hands and they clattered to the floor and broke. She took a step back as she stared at him in horror.
"The cash drawer, senorita." His voice harsh and demanding.
"Zorro, what are you doing?" Her voice shook in fear, her heart was pounding. She couldn't believe that he was doing this to her, to the woman he had professed his love to.
He grabbed her chin with his gloved hand, causing her to gasp in pain. "As lovely as you are, you ask too many questions. The money! NOW!" he yelled at her.
He was frightening her now, he had never hurt her before. She realised in that moment, that she was a woman alone in the tavern with a strong man, a man she had previously trusted her very life with but now she was scared for her safety, afraid of what he might do. She would give him the money and hoped that it's all that he wanted from her.
Victoria felt hot tears burning in her eyes as she nodded. He let her go but followed her into the kitchen, where she kept her cashbox. He grabbed it and left quickly. She sat down heavily on the bench and sobbed, her heart broken by his betrayal. It was no impostor, it WAS Zorro. What had happened to him? Why had he done this? Was he showing his true colours after all this time? Was the Alcalde right after all, that it was all a myth, that he had planned this all along? She shook her head, she refused to believe it, deep in her heart she knew the kind of man that Zorro was but she couldn't ignore his actions either. There must be something really wrong with him.
Felipe was so worried about his mentor's behaviour that he decided to set a trap in the cave to capture him. He had to find out why he had changed so much, he knew that Diego was not the type of person to commit these terrible crimes, something must have happened to him. Perhaps he had fallen off his horse and hit his head. Suddenly he frowned as another idea formed in his mind, Zorro was behaving strangely just as Diego had acted strangely when he had kissed Victoria the day before. Had that magician, Lozano, put him under another spell. It made sense, his mentor was under a spell, under a trance of some kind.
Zorro returned to the cave, dismounted Toronado and as he carried the saddlebags full of money towards his desk, he didn't see the thin wire that Felipe had strung across the entrance. When he tripped over the wire, it caused a heavy barrel, which had been placed on a ledge above him, to fall onto his head and knocking Zorro unconscious. Felipe quickly and efficiently tied him up before he moved away to wait.
Zorro recovered several minutes later and when he found that his legs and hands were bound together, he frowned as he struggled to untie himself. It was then he saw Felipe crouching nearby, watching him intently.
"Felipe, what have you done? Have you completely lost your mind? Untie me." he demanded.
The younger man shook his head, he didn't trust his mentor, there was something wrong with him and he didn't know how to help him, he didn't know what to do. It took a couple of minutes but Zorro eventually convinced Felipe that he was okay, that there was nothing wrong with him. Felipe was so convinced that he untied him. The moment Zorro was released from the bonds and without showing any kind of remorse, he cruelly hit his young friend on the chin and knocked Felipe out cold. He quickly changed his clothes and went through the secret passage and into the library.
Lozano was standing by the bars of his cell, trying to discover a way to escape from the filthy prison. He had already tried to hypnotise the Sergeant earlier with his mirror but once again the portly lancer had not succumbed to his power. He was frustrated that he was unable to bend the lancer to his will, but he would be patient, all he needed was time. He snorted, there was nothing else to occupy his mind anyway. He would wait for the right time.
And the right time had just arrived, he mused to himself as the Sergeant came through the door carrying a tray of food.
"Professor Lozano, time for breakfast." Mendoza said with a smile of his face as he unlocked the cell door, walked several paces inside before he placed the tray on the small cot.
Lozano shrugged. "I'm not hungry." he replied as Mendoza backed out of the cell and locked the door once more.
Mendoza smiled at the man. "Not even for fresh, hot tamales?" he replied eagerly.
He shook his head. "No." he replied. He frowned slightly as he gazed at Mendoza intently. The Sergeant seemed almost too eager about the tamales, even though the food did smell wonderful and despite what he had said, he was indeed hungry. But to him it was just food but what if the Sergeant thought differently? What if the soldier loved his food more than anything else? Was this the key to the Sergeant's mind, through food? He decided to test his theory, he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
He hid his smile as he picked up one of the tamales from the plate. "You know an awful lot about food, don't you, Sergeant?" he said calmly as he waved the tamale in front of Mendoza, letting the aroma float in the air.
Mendoza chuckled. "Well...Let's just say I never met a tamale I didn't like." he admitted with a gleam in his eyes.
Lozano smiled this time as he stood closer to the bars. "Yes. This is a very nice tamale. Beautiful, wouldn't you say? Focus on it." he said in a calm, low tone as he slowly waved the tamale in front of the Sergeant. "Think about its succulence...its aroma...its flavour."
Mendoza's eyes slowly followed the movement of the tamale, his jaw dropped as he drooled over at sight of the delicious food in front of him. He could not take his eyes off the tempting morsel even if he wanted too.
Lozano smirked as he snapped his fingers in front of the lancer but Mendoza didn't react, his eyes were still glued to the tamale. The Doctor chuckled to himself, he felt very pleased that he had finally found the man's weakness. "It's just a matter of finding something of interest." he muttered to himself. In a louder voice, he ordered. "Open the door."
With a blank look on his face, Mendoza took the keys off the hook and unlocked the door of the cell.
As Lozano walked out of his cell, he grinned. "Thank you, Sergeant. You should be rewarded." he paused as an idea formed in his mind. "You've just been promoted to commandant of this entire garrison. Congratulations." He patted Mendoza on the shoulder then he fled the cuartel.
Don Alejandro was in search of his son, he had to talk with him about the latest news about Zorro. He had checked Diego's bedroom but had not found him there and as he walked back through the foyer, he finally came across his son standing in the library, reading a book, as usual.
"Where have you been, Diego? Your bed hasn't been even slept in." Don Alejandro wanted to know.
"My books, Father. I was up all night reading." he replied in a flat voice, not looking up from the book he was reading.
Don Alejandro snorted. "You're amazing, Diego. Zorro's running amok and you're buried in your books." he shook his head in disgust. What was wrong with his son? How had he produced an offspring like him?
"Perhaps Zorro is finally showing his true colours." Diego continued in that same flat voice.
"Don't say that, son! Especially after all that Zorro has done for the people of Los Angeles. You know something, that's enough to have made Julius Caesar utter his immortal words, 'E tu Brute?'"
Diego shook his head as he came out of the trance, he looked over at his father. "What? What?" he was very disorientated, it took him a moment or two to realise that he was at the hacienda and not at the pueblo. How did he get here? When did he arrive home? What had happened to him? He had many questions but his father kept talking.
"You heard me. Zorro. Why has he changed so drastically?" Don Alejandro wanted to know.
"Zorro? What did he do?" He was very confused and deeply concerned. What would make his father talk about Zorro like that?
"Well after he cleaned out the bank and the Alcalde's safe, he went into the tavern, he robbed Victoria." Don Alejandro replied in disbelief. He didn't want to believe it but Victoria would never lie about something like that. It had been Zorro.
Diego put his hand over his mouth, sickened by what his father was saying.
"Let's face it. Perhaps he's just a common criminal after all." Don Alejandro shook his head and walked away.
Diego stood motionlessly, he was in shock. Was what his father had said true? That he had committed crimes as Zorro, that he had robbed Victoria, the woman he loved more than anything else in the world and he had robbed the bank as well as military safe. He frowned, he had no memory of these events. He stood there for one more moment before he turned around, he had to find out more and there was only one person who could tell him. He pressed the secret latch on the fireplace and went through the passage but he stopped suddenly at the top of the steps when he saw Felipe lying on the floor.
"Felipe!" he gasped as he rushed over to him and checked for a pulse just as the younger man started to move his head.
Diego helped him sit up. "Felipe, are you all right?" He asked worriedly.
Felipe pushed his hands away, he did not trust him. Since he had been found in the aftermath of the battle that took his parent's lives, he had instinctively trusted Diego with his very life. He knew in his heart that he would never hurt him but now he had and he felt a sense of betrayal. He knew it wasn't Diego's fault because he was under a spell but it had made him very wary of him. He didn't know what was going to happen next, was he going to hit him again?
"What is it? What's wrong?" Diego reached out his hand to him but he was knocked away again.
Felipe signed, still a little fearful of his mentor.
"I hit you? I'm sorry...I...I don't know what came over me." He was bewildered, he would never hit the young man that he was beginning to see as a son. 'my god, what else have I done' he thought to himself.
Felipe looked at him suspiciously. He had been fooled once before by his words, not this time.
"Really, Felipe. I don't know what happened." he said worriedly.
Felipe heard the genuine confusion in Diego's voice and felt that this time he was telling the truth so he signed quickly.
"A trance. I was in a trance?" Diego frowned as he sat back on his heels.
Felipe nodded.
Diego shook his head in disbelief as the realisation of what had occurred. "It must have been that good doctor, that travelling Lozano. Come on." He helped Felipe to his feet. "I think it's time we paid the good doctor a visit." he paused once more as he placed his hands on the younger man's shoulders. "Felipe I am truly sorry about hitting you. You know that I would never do that to you." he said solemnly.
Felipe nodded as he gave Diego a smile and signed his forgiveness.
de Soto had gone to check on his prisoner but fumed with anger when he saw the empty cell. He couldn't believe the incompetence of the men under his command. They couldn't even keep one man locked up in a cell for a single day before he escaped somehow. He threw open his office door and strode out into the plaza in total frustration and anger.
"Mendoza! The prisoner has escaped." he roared.
Mendoza turned towards the angry man. "I beg your pardon! You're not questioning my authority, are you, Private?" He said heatedly.
de Soto frowned in confusion. "Private? Have you lost your mind?" he shouted at his foolish Sergeant.
Mendoza hitched up his pants. "As commandant of this garrison, I could have you shot on the spot for such insubordination." he replied angrily.
de Soto's frowned deepened. "You could have me shot? The man has lost his mind." he turned to the lancers standing nearby. "I want that prisoner caught!" he roared at them. He would deal with Mendoza later as he made his way to his horse. Perhaps a reduction in rank and time in the cells, would cool his disobedience, he mused to himself.
Mendoza didn't appreciate some lowly private giving orders when HE was the commanding officer and felt he had to take back control of the situation. "I want that prisoner caught now!" he ordered the men even though they had already mounted on their horses.
Zorro watched from a nearby rooftop and shook his head at Mendoza's strange behaviour, it seemed that he wasn't the only one that the good Doctor had placed a spell on. The good Sergeant was lucky that de Soto hadn't arrested him immediately, the Alcalde would have done so if Lozano had not escaped. He sighed, everything had started from the moment Lozano had appeared in the pueblo. The man was a menace and had to be stopped and he knew that he couldn't do that while dressed in black.
Diego finally caught up with Lozano as the so-called doctor of science was driving his caravan down the road. Lozano had to leave Los Angeles as soon as possible, he had no desire to spend anymore time in that filthy cell. He slowed his horse as he saw Don Diego on horseback, waiting on the road ahead of him, at the agreed place for the other man to hand over his loot.
"Did you do as I ordered?" he asked as he pulled his wagon to a halt.
"Yes." Diego replied in a flat voice.
"Do you have the money?" Lozano asked eagerly, he wasn't going to leave without the money.
"Yes." Diego replied again in that same flat tone.
"Where is it? Give it to me now." he ordered.
Diego held up a pistol and pointed it at Lozano. "I will kill anyone who stands in my way." he said.
"Fool! I'm your master. You're not supposed to kill me. E tu Brute." he said in frustration.
"No one can stop me." Diego replied as he cocked the pistol.
"Please. E tu Brute. Please. Look, you can have the money. I don't want it. You can have it all." Lozano was becoming worried, it wasn't working the way it should. de la Vega should have come out of the trance when he had said the key words but he didn't. Not only he was still under the spell, but de la Vega had deviated from his orders. He didn't understand, had he done something wrong? Had he phrased the orders wrong? Or even the key words? He shook his head in dismay, perhaps he should never have re-hypnotised him after the first time. Well he would never do that again, he promised himself.
"You must leave California. Permanently." Diego ordered.
"Yes. Yes. I will. I'm leaving." he said frantically, he had no desire to be shot by this man.
Diego moved his horse out of the way as Lozano whipped up his reins and urged his horse on at a fast pace before he rode over to where Felipe was waiting astride his pony, who signed quickly.
"Yes. I could have put Lozano behind bars but he would soon realise his instructions to me were carried out by Zorro. And that kind of information in his hands would be very dangerous." he replied seriously.
Felipe looked worried, he knew just how dangerous that information would be and what it would mean for the man he thought of as his older brother, mentor and a father figure rolled into one. It would mean his death.
Diego chuckled. "Oh, don't worry Felipe, Lozano thinks he's smarter that he truly is. And justice has a way of catching up with such men, wherever they go." Then he sighed. "Come on Felipe, we have to return the money and I have an apology to give to Victoria, I hope that she will understand and forgives me."
Felipe smiled and signed.
"You think that Victoria will forgive me?"
Felipe nodded, grinning as he signed once more. He was startled to see a slight blush cross Diego's face.
"You think that she will forgive me because she loves me?"
Felipe nodded once more.
"I hope so Felipe because I love her too."
