This chapter may feel a little like a filler, but I didn't want to just skip these scenes. The next chapter will have far more substance in terms of plot.
THE RIGHT TURN OF THE ROAD
Chapter 4
Gabriel woke up to the sound of shouts and horses neighing in the distance. He blinked a few times in confusion, wondering why the men had started their morning practice without him and who was leading them. He couldn't recall being informed of any changes in the schedule.
He tried to sit up, and the pain that shot through his shoulder brought all memories of the past few days back to him. He spent a moment collecting his thoughts and took a look around his room. Everything was still just like that morning when Zorro and his little helper had shown up. Even in his nightclothes were still crumpled on the floor.
That Zorro! He would have his revenge, no matter what he had to do. As soon as he was well again, he'd concentrate on nothing else but capturing and killing that masked rebel. Maybe he'd shoot Zorro in the shoulder and let him bleed to death, just like he had almost done to him.
But all that would have to wait. Right now he was in no condition to have revenge on anyone. He didn't feel sick anymore, but his shoulder still ached, and he was sure that the fatigue would come back if he as much as stood up. He would need every day of the two months Raymond had given him if he wanted to get back in shape.
He was about to get out of bed and test how he was feeling, but it was then that he noticed he wasn't wearing his shirt anymore. He spotted it folded on the chair and was certain that he hadn't put it there himself. Come to think of it, he knew he hadn't lied down facing the right end of the bed either.
"That Gonzales," he muttered in irritation at the man's nerve. Hadn't he explicitly told him to leave him alone? Either he had a death wish or he was even stupider than Gabriel had thought. Why else would he go against his orders in such a way? He'd have to have a word with him later.
As if on cue, there was a knock on his door. A little surprised, Gabriel gave permission to enter, but he almost regretted it when he saw who it was.
"Good morning, sir," Gonzales said with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"What are you doing here?"
"Captain Jekyll asked me to drop by to see how you're doing," Gonzales said.
Gabriel just grunted. He supposed he couldn't fault Gonzales if he was following orders, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He didn't need anyone to look after him.
"Would you like to have some breakfast? I could quickly drop by the -" Gonzales started.
"I can get breakfast myself!"
"But, sir. You should perhaps be a little more careful," Gonzales dared to object.
"Whatever I do is none of your business. I don't need anyone to treat me like I'm crippled," Gabriel said. Then he wished he hadn't. Even talking about the injury with someone like Gonzales was humiliating; without proper use of his right arm, he felt like the most important part of him was gone.
"That's not at all how I mean it!" Gonzales said.
"I'm not interested in what you mean. Just get out of here."
Gonzales sighed with a defeated frown on his face. "Yes, sir."
Once Gonzales was gone, Gabriel spent a moment just glaring at the door. He would have to talk to Captain Jekyll about ordering Gonzales to stay away from him. After all, he was on leave, so there was no reason for him to have to endure the sergeant's company.
His suggestion of breakfast hadn't been that bad, though. Gabriel hadn't eaten anything after he had left the de la Vegas. Even if he wasn't hungry, he knew he had to eat if he ever wanted to have his strength back.
He picked up the shirt he had worn the previous day and started the difficult task of putting it on and buttoning it with just one hand. His shoulder didn't hurt as much as before, but he knew it would be a long time before he could use it normally again. The bandage was wrapped so that it supported his arm near his chest as a sling. He could easily wear the loose shirt without twisting his injured arm into the sleeve.
It took him over twenty minutes to get the shirt on, and during that time he went through most of the profanities he knew. When he was finally done, he was bristling with so much rage that it was tempting to kick over the chair just to let off some steam. It took all of his self-control not to do it. He could hardly believe it, but his struggle with the shirt had got him a little out of breath, and he didn't want to waste what little strength he had.
Once he was done, he got up to leave the room, trying to ignore the way the world was spinning before his eyes. He had to lean against the doorframe before stepping out to make the room steady in his eyes again. As he was closing the door, he heard an angry yell coming from his right. He turned to look and saw Dr. Timothy marching towards him with a bag in his hand.
"Where do you think you're going?" the doctor asked when he reached him.
"To have breakfast," Gabriel replied in irritation.
"No, you're not," Timothy said. He kicked open the door to Gabriel's room and shoved the lieutenant back inside.
"Hey! You can't just -" Gabriel tried to protest, but he was momentarily too stunned to fight back against the stubborn doctor. He was pushed down on a chair and got an annoyed glare from Timothy who was staring at him with his hands on his hips.
"Who gave you the permission to get up so soon?"
"I don't need permission from anyone!" Gabriel snapped.
"Yes, you do. From me! I told you to stay in bed for longer." Timothy placed his bag on the table as he spoke, but didn't tear his eyes from Gabriel even for a moment.
"I'm fine," Gabriel said. Even if that wasn't exactly true, this man had no reason to order him around. Nobody had the right to that if they didn't hold a higher rank. He most certainly wouldn't take orders from a civilian.
"Like damn you are," Timothy said. He opened his bag and pulled out a dark bottle. He unscrewed it with a swift movement and took a long gulp.
"Isn't it a little early?" Gabriel asked. This excuse of a doctor was just unbelievable.
Timothy put the bottle away and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "I need it when I have patients like you," he said. He frowned and tapped his chin, as if a thought had just occurred to him. "Then again, since you don't want to listen to my advice, maybe I won't have to deal with you for much longer."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Gabriel asked.
"That you'll die if you don't rest. Don't you realise how weakened you are? You shouldn't be getting up from bed in your condition. I'm surprised you didn't faint yesterday, but you can't go on forever with mere willpower. Your body needs time to recover from the blood loss," Timothy said.
"So, you just expect me to lie in bed and do nothing?" Gabriel asked. He clenched his fists at the frustration of the situation; he desperately needed a solution. Sitting still and waiting patiently just didn't work for him.
"That's what sick people generally do," Timothy mused. "And from what I hear, you have two months to dedicate to it. I would recommend at least three or four, but we'll work with what we have."
Gabriel couldn't bring himself to say anything. This wasn't going anything like he had wanted. If he was being completely honest with himself, he was almost scared of the upcoming months. There was nothing productive for him to do.
Dr. Timothy noticed the unhappy expression on his face and shrugged. "It's not like you have to stay in bed all the time. You should be feeling a little better after a week or two," he said.
The doctor moved on to checking his wound and changing the bandage for the last time. He said the shoulder was healing so well that there was no point in him coming to see him every day. Gabriel got the strict order to drop by his medical office for some instructions on how to exercise the arm once he was feeling better, but that was it. If the bandage needed to be changed again, he could ask someone at the barracks to do it.
"And now you're going to have some rest. I'll tell someone to bring you something to eat on my way out," Timothy said.
"You're one of the most insufferable people I have ever met," Gabriel remarked.
"You'll thank me later," the doctor said cheerfully as he left and closed the door.
Gabriel was glad to see the irritating doctor gone, but that was only a small silver lining in his dark cloud. Just when he was thinking that his morning couldn't possibly get any worse, there was a knock on the door and Gonzales' voice came from the other side.
"Lieutenant, I've brought you some breakfast."
Gabriel groaned but told the sergeant to step in. Gonzales entered, looking oddly cheerful given the circumstances. Had it been anybody else, Gabriel would have taken it as an insult, but he knew that Gonzales wasn't the type of man to feel gleeful pleasure at other people's problems.
"Don't you have any duties?" he asked. What were the odds that out of all people at the barracks, Dr. Timothy had run into the sergeant?
"Not at the moment, sir. Captain Jekyll volunteered to take the men on patrol," Gonzales said. He put down the tray he was carrying and took a step back.
Gabriel supposed that when it came right down to it, he preferred Gonzales' company to that of Jekyll. He didn't like the thought of facing a superior in his condition, and with Gonzales he didn't have to watch what he was saying. Soldiers got on his nerves even more than Gonzales sometimes. The sergeant was a familiar presence, so maybe having him around every now and then would make it easier to endure two months of doing nothing.
"Is there something going on?" he asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. The captain simply feels it's our duty to ensure the safety of the people," Gonzales replied.
Gabriel made a face at the comment. As soon as he had met Jekyll, he had known he would never like him very much. He had to admit that Jekyll was an excellent officer, but he took his honour and duty a little too seriously for Gabriel's liking. Jekyll wasn't dim-witted like Gonzales, so he always had to be careful around the captain. He couldn't understand why Raymond kept such a troublesome man around.
He was about to start eating, but he noticed that Gonzales didn't look like he was in a hurry to leave any time soon.
"Do you need something?" he asked.
"I'm just wondering if there's anything else I have to do," Gonzales said.
"Didn't I tell you that I'm off duty? Ask Jekyll when he comes back."
"I wasn't talking about work. I'm ready to help you with anything you need," Gonzales said.
Gabriel regarded the sergeant with a curious look. Gonzales had never struck him as the kind of man who could recognise and seize an opportunity to suck up to his superiors – and since Gabriel was very good at it, he was familiar with the type. "What are you trying to gain?" he asked.
"Nothing," Gonzales said, managing to look proud when he said the words. "I mean, we've been working together for two years now. It just wouldn't be right to turn my back on you."
Gabriel's first reaction was to roll his eyes and tell the sergeant to leave and stop talking such nonsense, but he thought better of it at the last moment. Dr. Timothy's words were nagging at him in the back of his mind. No matter how much it hurt his pride, he wasn't stupid enough to ignore them. He needed to be careful, and he would need help during his recovery. If he had to choose between Gonzales and some soldier who would no doubt smirk at his weakness behind his back, he'd rather deal with Gonzales.
"Fine," he grunted, suddenly feeling awkward for a reason he couldn't identify.
"Oh, that makes me so glad, Lieutenant! You'll be back on your feet in no time!"
"Whatever you say, but now you can go. My breakfast is getting cold," Gabriel said.
"Right away, sir!" Gonzales turned around and promptly left the room with determined steps.
Gabriel sighed and shook his head. He couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't made a mistake after all.
"Hurry up, Diego! We don't have all day!"
"Lolita, don't go so fast! I'm the one carrying all the bags!" Diego protested as he tried to carry all of Lolita's shopping without dropping anything and keep up with her pace. He couldn't understand why she always had to buy so much at once. Even if he had let go of his disguise and used all of Zorro's agility and strength, he probably wouldn't have faired much better.
"Why do I always have to wait for you?" Lolita asked when he finally reached her. She was standing with her hands on her hips and glaring at Diego with an annoyed frown on her face, but he knew she wasn't really upset with him. This same thing happened almost every time she asked for his help with her shopping, and he was used to it by now.
"I'm sorry. If you didn't buy so much -" he started, but he was quickly interrupted.
"And what's that supposed to mean? I'm only getting the basic necessities."
"But do you really need to have two pairs of new shoes? I thought your old shoes were still really good. Isn't that right, Bernard?" Diego asked and glanced at his young friend for support, but Bernard only shook his head in silence and tried to pretend that he was looking elsewhere.
"Men!" Lolita groaned. It looked like she wanted to continue, but then she noticed something behind Diego and stopped to stare.
Diego turned around. He was a little surprised to see a group of soldiers approaching on horseback. Everyone at the marketplace hastily made way for them, and the people working behind stands did their best to avoid looking at any of the men. Whenever soldiers came to town, it usually resulted in stolen goods, broken property and bruises and black eyes for those who were stupid enough to resist.
This time, however, it looked like it was going to be different. The soldiers sat straight in the saddle, and their faces showed none of the usual malice. They actually looked like they were trying to do their job.
The reason for this sudden professionalism was obvious to everyone. Captain Jekyll was leading the group. He let his stern stare sweep the town square, but there was nothing threatening about him. Diego felt a little wistful as he watched the captain. If every officer was like him, the people of San Tasco wouldn't have to be afraid of the army. Then he wouldn't have to live a double life and look like such an idiot before Lolita's eyes. At the same time he was hopeful; if there were still men like Jekyll serving in the army, there was always hope that the corruption could be rooted up.
"Good morning, Captain," he said when Jekyll passed him. The man stopped his horse and nodded his greeting.
"Good morning." He turned to look at the marketplace and frowned. "Is something going on? The people seem tense."
"That's because there are soldiers in town," Lolita said before Diego could try anything more diplomatic.
Jekyll looked at her in confusion. "Why would the presence of soldiers have this effect? We're here to protect you," he said.
"Oh, please!" Lolita huffed, brushing some of her hair behind her shoulder. "Soldiers do nothing but cause trouble around here. They steal and beat up everyone they don't like."
"What nonsense are you talking about? You can't expect me to believe that," Jekyll said. His voice was tight and doubtful, and he was glaring down at Lolita like she had just insulted him personally. Diego guessed that it wasn't too far from the truth.
"But it's true."
"So, I'm to assume that the officers here have failed to keep the men under control?"
"It's more like they encourage them," Lolita muttered.
"Now, now, Lolita. Let's not get into a fight," Diego said, plastering his face with a nervous smile.
"You're such a weakling, Diego. You know just as well as I do what the army is like." Lolita snatched all the bags from his hands and started marching towards her carriage. Diego rubbed the back of his head and watched her go, wondering where she got the energy to have such a temper.
"You got told off again," Bernard observed.
"Looks like it."
"Why does she have such a negative opinion of the army?" Jekyll asked. He was watching his men with a critical eye, but they were on their best behaviour. Had Diego not known better, even he could have been fooled.
"The army hasn't always had the people's best interests in mind in this area," Diego said.
Jekyll lifted a brow in curiosity. "Oh? Would you mind telling me what happened?"
Diego had to grit his teeth to keep himself from telling everything to Jekyll. He knew the captain wouldn't believe him. His trust in the army was too strong; he had to see the atrocities himself before his opinion would change. If he told him everything now, he'd just get defensive. Besides, it wasn't like Diego de la Vega to get involved in risky politics.
He chuckled light-heartedly. "Oh, you know. Stories go around."
"Hmm," Jekyll said doubtfully.
"But say, how is Lieutenant Gabriel doing? We are all worried about him because he got up so early," Diego said, ignoring how Bernard snorted behind his back.
"He's fine. I've been informed he'll be off duty for two months so that his injury will heal sufficiently."
"Two months?" Diego asked. That was good news. It would slow down all of Raymond's operations for a while. The people deserved a break and a chance to get their lives back in order.
"So that's why you're leading the troops today," Bernard guessed.
Jekyll nodded. "Yes, but I might have done it anyway. I feel I don't know this area and its situation well enough yet."
"Well, I wish you luck," Diego said. He waved at the captain as the man ordered his horse to the other end of the town square.
Diego's expression grew serious once Jekyll was gone. For a while he simply stared after him.
"What are you thinking?" Bernard asked.
"Nothing," Diego said with a shake of his head. He felt like he could find an ally in Captain Jekyll, but he wasn't sure how to win the man's trust. They had already fought side by side, but that hadn't been enough to make Jekyll see Zorro as anything more than an outlaw.
"Come on. Let's find Lolita," Diego decided. Things weren't going to change right away whether he kept worrying about it or not. They had enough time to make plans later. For now he deserved to have a fun morning with his friends.
Gabriel spent most of that day trying to get some sleep. Once he stopped trying to convince himself and everyone else that he was fine, it became obvious how tired he was. It was like he had suddenly been given a new body. This one ached and felt sluggish; he didn't even want to think about getting on horseback or having a swordfight, both of which he usually enjoyed.
In fact, he was doing his best to avoid thinking about swordfights. He hadn't had the nerve to ask Dr. Timothy about it in the morning, but he was worried about how his shoulder was healing. He couldn't imagine what he would do if there was a lasting injury, especially if it had an effect on his fencing skills. The uncertainty that was gnawing at him was almost painful.
The only thing that could distract him from his worried thoughts was Zorro. He had thought he had hated the masked outlaw in the past, but that had been nothing compared to the white-hot hatred that had now consumed his thoughts. He no longer cared whether Zorro had done this to him on purpose or whether it had been an accident. All he knew was that he would see to that Zorro suffered pain ten times worse before he died.
The worst part about the whole incident was how Zorro had brought him to the de la Vegas and saved his life. Gabriel felt no gratitude, but he was certain that everyone else would see Zorro as a noble hero who had had mercy on an enemy. Saving his life had almost been like an insult. As far as Gabriel was concerned, it only made him want to kill Zorro even more.
There was a knock on his door, and he sat up in his bed. As he suspected, it was Gonzales again.
"What do you want?" Gabriel asked.
"One of the soldiers brought the newspaper from town. I thought you might want to read it."
Gabriel snorted. "You should know that this paper is full of lies.
"Yes, well…" Gonzales said and turned the paper over in his hands. "It is quite critical of the army. But at least it has interesting news on Zorro."
"Lies," Gabriel insisted. Getting that damn newspaper shut down was near the top of Raymond's list of things to do. Having someone spread news about their operations and what they were doing to the people gave the locals a sense of community, as if they could stand up against them. It was dangerous to let so many people read the paper and feel emotionally connected over the articles.
"You shouldn't waste your time reading that," he said. The last thing they needed was to have Gonzales start thinking that there was any truth in what was written in the paper.
"Maybe you're right. I just thought you might want to see it since you're mentioned, too. Gonzales as already about to put the paper back under his arm, but Gabriel's yell stopped him.
"What? Give me that!" he ordered, and the frightened Gonzales had no choice but to hand over the paper right away.
Gabriel snatched it from the sergeant's hands and scanned the front page. He felt his eye twitch as he read the biggest headline.
ZORRO SAVES LIEUTENANT GABRIEL'S LIFE
His fingers were clutching the paper so hard that he almost tore holes into it. He tried to concentrate on reading the article, but the words were blurred before his eyes and he kept reading the same few lines over and over again. From what he gathered, the whole article was praise of Zorro's selflessness and how he was so good-hearted that he helped even those who would kill him. There wasn't a single word about how he had been injured in the first place.
"What is this garbage?" he asked, turning to glare at Gonzales.
The sergeant almost jumped at the harsh tone of his words and immediately stood straighter. "It's what the local newspaper thinks of the issue, sir," he said.
"This is all wrong! How dare they spread these lies and call Zorro a hero?" Gabriel raged, again turning his eyes to the newspaper he was holding. It was shaking in his hold, and he swiftly crumpled it into a ball in his hands, ignoring the burning pain that went through his shoulder.
"Have that outlaw arrested at once!" he snapped.
"As you know, sir, all our efforts are continuously directed at capturing Zorro," Gonzales said.
"Then try harder! I can't get any peace before that piece of scum is in my clutches," Gabriel said. He started down at the ruined newspaper in his hand. "And while you're at it, arrest whoever wrote this."
"Of course, sir! I'll do my best, but… I can't promise anything. After the incident with Mr. Sancho, it has been difficult to control the newspaper," Gonzales said.
Gabriel grudgingly had to admit that it was true. After the founder of the newspaper had been assassinated, another writer had quickly taken over his work. However, Sancho's death had made everyone involved careful. They no longer distributed their writings as openly as before, and the army had no idea where they were hiding their printing press. Raymond suspected that the writers had teamed up with some local rebels and were hiding in the mountains, but so far there was no proof to support that idea.
"Then maybe you should get working on it instead of wasting your time here," Gabriel suggested.
"I'll give the men the order to look more carefully."
Gabriel didn't think it would do any good. With Gonzales leading the men, they'd never find the men responsible even if they were printing their paper right before the front gates of the barracks. He wished he could have got up and led a surprise inspection in town himself. Even if they didn't find anything, beating up and arresting someone always spread fear into the people and made him feel important.
"Is there anything else?" he asked.
Gonzales shook his head. "No, sir. It has been a very uneventful day."
Gabriel made a face. He had been hoping that something interesting might happen to distract him. It was just the first day of his leave, and he was already bored. He would never live through this ordeal.
"Maybe I should bring you something else to read? There is a bookstore in town that -" Gonzales started, noticing the lieutenant's unhappy expression.
"No. I don't like reading," Gabriel said. That was actually one of the reasons he had joined the army. His mother had wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer, but he had baulked at the thought of studying and spending so much time indoors.
"Oh, that's too bad. I hear they just got a great new collection of poems," Gonzales said.
"You read poems?" Gabriel asked.
"Not really. I just heard someone talk about it in town the other day."
"You're wasting my time. If there's nothing else, you're dismissed," Gabriel said. Maybe he'd try to get some more sleep and hope that he'd feel better soon.
Sergeant Gonzales sighed when he left Gabriel's room and closed the door. He supposed he should have felt glad that he hadn't got yelled at even more, but he couldn't really bring himself to feel happy about anything. It was clear that the lieutenant wasn't feeling good, and Gonzales knew there was very little he could do about that.
The most sensible thing for him to do was to ignore Gabriel and try to focus on his own work. Now that he was working directly under Jekyll, who was far more patient and understanding than Gabriel, he might actually get some recognition for his efforts. And yet he couldn't help but worry about the lieutenant.
"Mother always said I was too soft-hearted for the army," he muttered as he went outside to make rounds around the barracks. She had probably been right. Gonzales had full faith in that Commander Raymond knew what he was doing, but sometimes he got the feeling that there was something wrong with the army. Too often he had to witness how their actions caused pain and spread fear and hate among the people. He hadn't joined the army to do that; he wanted to protect the people.
Another thing his mother had always said about him was that he had better leave thinking for others and just follow orders. It hadn't taken him long to see that she was right, so that was exactly what he was doing. He was probably getting the wrong idea anyway. He didn't know all the details, and why should he? He wasn't a high ranking officer, so he could only do as he was told and not worry about it.
He probably could have done that without a problem if it hadn't been for Zorro. Before the masked rebel had arrived, it had been easy to close his eyes from what was happening and justify it somehow. But with Zorro had come doubt. Gonzales still found himself following every order Raymond and Gabriel gave him, but there were times when he hesitated first. Zorro was clearly helping the locals, and trying to capture him made Gonzales feel like he was the criminal, not Zorro.
He still didn't know what to make of the recent incident with Lieutenant Gabriel. He couldn't believe that Zorro would do something like that on purpose, but Gabriel insisted on that. Gonzales didn't want to doubt his superior, especially since Zorro was a wanted criminal, but… It was just too complicated.
"Sergeant Gonzales!"
Gonzales froze when he heard his name being called. He turned around to face the speaker and saluted as he saw that it was Captain Jekyll.
"Sir!"
"Did you just talk to Lieutenant Gabriel? How is he doing?" Jekyll asked.
"Yes, I did, sir. He's getting better, but he's understandably frustrated," Gonzales replied.
Jekyll nodded. "I would very much like to have a word with him, but I don't want to trouble him with work right now."
"Is there something wrong?" Gonzales asked.
"When I was in town with the men today, I was told that the people here don't trust the army. I would like to know why that is," Jekyll said.
"Ah," Gonzales said, feeling like he was suddenly being interrogated. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong, but Jekyll's stern eyes unnerved him.
"Do you have an answer for that, Sergeant?"
"Commander Raymond prefers to have a tight hold over the area. I'd imagine that some of his decisions have made the people unhappy with him," Gonzales said.
"Hmm. Maybe I'll talk about this with him later," Jekyll said.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea. The commander doesn't like to be questioned."
"I'm not going to question him. I just want him to explain his procedures to me. I'm new here, so I think it's my right to be fully informed of what is going on."
"Of course, sir," Gonzales said. He wanted to wish the captain some good luck, but he didn't yet know him well enough to guess if he'd be insulted by that or not. It was better to be safe than sorry.
"Anyway, I had something else to tell you, too. I'll be taking over Lieutenant Gabriel's duties for the time being. I want to get to know the men better. You will assist me when I order you to, but otherwise your main duty is to keep everything in order here at the barracks," Jekyll said.
"Yes, sir," Gonzales said, but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He had been hoping he could fill in for Gabriel since he was the highest ranking officer after him. Then again, this order would make it easier for him to keep his promise to Gabriel. He couldn't possibly help the lieutenant very much if his duties took him away from the barracks.
"Good. You're dismissed, Sergeant," Jekyll said. He turned around and marched towards the entrance to the main building. Gonzales hoped that he wasn't going to talk to Raymond. It would just make the commander angry, and then things would get difficult for all of them.