Part of this and the following two chapters are based on episode 26, Pepita, the Liar. The events of that episode are quite convenient for my plot, and Pepita is my favourite minor character in the series, so I wanted to take my time with this episode.
I'm of the opinion that Gabriel and Raymond are the respective characters' surnames. In this chapter, I'll mention a first name for Gabriel, but it's going to be the only time in the whole fic. Calling him anything other than Gabriel just feels wrong somehow.
THE RIGHT TURN OF THE ROAD
Chapter 16
"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" the owner of the tavern asked as Gabriel handed him the payment for his final night in his room.
"I have found better accommodations," Gabriel replied. It was of course a lie. The truth was that he hadn't found any work, so he could no longer afford to live in a tavern. He still had a little money left, but it was now a choice between sleeping with a roof above his head and eating.
"Of course," the owner said.
Gabriel picked up his bag that held everything that he owned. It wasn't much, just some civilian clothes, a comb, a razor and a knife his father had given him when he had turned ten. He had got almost everything he needed from the army, so he had never bought many thing.
Once he left the tavern, he spent a moment just standing at the door and looking at the street in both directions. He wasn't sure where to go. He had no job, no friends and no place to spend the night at. He was sure that Gonzales would have done everything in his power to help, but Gabriel didn't want to ask.
He felt everyone's eyes on him as he walked through the town. By now, everyone in San Tasco knew what had happened to him. Few had said anything to him, but he was sure he could see dark amusement and malice on the faces of everyone he met. These people loved to see him miserable; the more he suffered, the more it soothed the wounds he had inflicted on them.
Nobody had even considered giving him a job. He had lied to his best ability and tried to convince them that he was a changed man and wanted to start a new life, but not many had believed him. Those who had had simply told him that even if everything he said was true, he didn't deserve any help and should be ashamed of himself for even asking.
It was starting to look like he would have to leave San Tasco. It was clear there was no future for him in the town. Maybe it had been foolish of him to ever think otherwise. Nobody had any use for a former lieutenant who had trouble using his arm and whom nobody liked. It might be for the best to give up and go. The idea had some merit – if he left, he could put his life back together without having to endure the ridicule of these people. He could return once he was powerful again, and then he'd have his revenge on everyone who had mocked him.
It was a few days' walk to the next town. He didn't feel wistful about leaving the town that had been his home for several years. He had never liked San Tasco very much, and now there was nothing left there for him.
Other than the sweet promise of revenge. One day he'd be back, and nobody in San Tasco would forget that day.
"Pepita, watch the flowers while I'm gone, alright?"
Pepita looked up from her doll to see her mother towering over her. She quickly turned her eyes back to her toy and shrugged dismissively.
"Sure," she said.
Anita sighed and shook her head in worry. There were days when she didn't know what to do with her daughter. She knew Pepita was a good girl, but she was getting more and more withdrawn each day. She hadn't made any friends since they had arrived in San Tasco. She spent all her time with her doll, telling the toy lavish stories that she made up. It was like Pepita was getting bored with the real world, and Anita had no idea how she could help her.
"Make sure you give people the right amount of money back if they buy anything," she said before turning around and hurrying down the street. Selling flowers didn't bring them as much money as they needed, so she was determined to find a new job. A friend had recently told her that Don Augusto, a rich landowner from Spain, was hiring people to work on his wine fields.
When she arrived at the right place, she saw that there was already a good number of people there. Most of them were men, but there were a few women and even some children there. Many people in San Tasco were without work. Even those who had something often had to struggle. If Anita had known how strict the army was in the area, she would have decided to move to another town with Pepita.
She took her place in the long line of people. As she glanced over the next person's back, she saw that there was a broad-shouldered man talking to the people in the beginning of the line. He was dressed like a don, so Anita guessed he had to be Don Augusto himself. By his side there was a young man who kept yawning and looking at everywhere but the potential workers in boredom.
After what felt like an eternity, it was finally her turn. Augusto gave her a long look that made Anita suddenly very aware of her worn-out clothes and the messy state of her brown hair.
"What makes you think a woman like you can work in my fields?" Augusto asked.
Anita blinked, surprised by the question. She had thought he would first ask her name.
"Well?" Augusto prompted.
"I'm used to hard work, sir. I know what I'm getting into," Anita replied.
"Hmm." Augusto turned to the man beside him. "What do you think, Rafael?"
"It doesn't matter to me. Hire her if you want to."
"You should show a little more interest! These people will be your workers!"
"But father, this is so boring!"
Anita felt a little awkward as she watched the brief argument. She tried to look somewhere else and appear like she didn't hear or see what was going on, but she found her eyes drawn to the two men. It was fascinating to see men of their status act that crudely.
"And you!"
"Yes, sir?" Anita asked, jumping a little when Augusto suddenly turned his attention back to her.
"If you know it's hard work, why do you want to do it?"
Anita pressed her lips into a tight line. "I need the money, sir. My husband died three months ago, and I live alone with my daughter."
"Is that so?" Augusto asked, and for a moment Anita was sure she saw his eyes soften a little. He turned to look at his son again. "People who are desperate will often work hard because they know they're ruined if they lose their job. On the other hand, if they're too desperate, they might steal."
"Sir, I would never do that!" Anita snapped at once, offended at the mere suggestion.
"I hope so. If you're ever caught taking something that isn't yours, I will hand you over to the army."
"Does that mean you'll hire me?" Anita asked.
Augusto nodded. "Yes. You will start tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, sir! I promise you won't regret this!" Anita said, feeling joy and relief wash over her. Now she could finally afford to buy good food for Pepita. Later, once she had some savings, maybe she could get her daughter some better clothes, too.
"What about your daughter? Can she work?" Augusto asked.
"Pepita is too young, but she could start in a few years," Anita said. That wasn't really true. The children she saw in the line, hopeful to get this job, were her age or even younger. Pepita could have come to work in the fields, but Anita didn't want to exhaust her like that. Her husband had died when he got sick from working too hard to support them, and the thought of the same happening to Pepita chilled her.
Her heart felt light when she returned to the flower stand. Pepita was sitting with her shoulders hunched. Anita saw her lips move as she whispered something to the doll in her hands.
"Pepita, guess what?" she said, her face breaking into a wide smile.
"Oh, you're back already."
"I found new work. Now we don't have to worry about money so much anymore. Isn't that great?" Anita said, hoping to see at least some of her own enthusiasm on Pepita's face. Her daughter only looked at her in curiosity.
"So you saw him already?" she asked.
"What? Who?" Anita asked.
Pepita nodded to her left. "There was a man called Adans here. He said I should tell you that he has work for you."
"Adans? No, I have no idea who that is. But it doesn't matter. I was hired by Don Augusto. I'll start working on his wine fields tomorrow."
"Father used to work in the fields," Pepita mused, keeping her eyes on her doll.
Anita thought her heart might break as she looked at her daughter. Pepita had been close with her father. The two of them had often sat together as he told her wild stories of heroes, magic and fair maidens. Anita had sometimes felt a little left out; she was much more down to earth and didn't know how to enter the world of fantasy that her husband and daughter loved so much.
Much to her surprise, Pepita hadn't been crushed when her father had died. She had cried only once, and ever since then she had looked at her with that frighteningly serious look in her eyes whenever they spoke of him. It was like her enjoyment of life had died together with her father.
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to me," she said as she sat down beside her daughter.
Pepita was silent for a while, but then she turned to look at her mother with such worry that Anita was startled for a moment.
"Did something happen when I was gone?" she asked. She glanced at the woman who was selling her goods next to them, but she was engaged in a conversation with a customer. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and she was sure the woman would have notified her at once had something been wrong.
"Mr. Adans bought a flower, but he gave me too much money, and I forgot to give him some back in return and then I went to find him, but he was talking to these men who were angry and -" Pepita started to blabber in an urgent tone, but Anita couldn't make any sense of what she was saying.
"Wait, slow down. What are you talking about?"
Pepita drew a deep breath and started over. Her story was still a little jumbled, but Anita thought she got the most of it. Apparently, Pepita had run after a customer to give him some money back and had overheard a business conversation between him and some men.
"The men said that they'll force Mr. Adans into selling if he won't do it willingly," Pepita said.
Anita smiled reassuringly at the intense worry in her daughter's eyes. Pepita was no doubt taking this too seriously and was adding things to her story. She was always like that, imagining vivid things that would never enter the minds of most people.
"Don't worry. I'm sure it's not that serious."
"But -"
"People often get angry when they talk about business. Those men probably just mean that they'll make Mr. Adans a better offer later," Anita said. She hoped that Pepita wouldn't go and tell her story to anyone. Most people didn't understand what an imagination she had and thought she was making things up on purpose.
Pepita lowered her head and nodded, but she still looked troubled. Anita noticed that she was clenching something in her fist. When she asked Pepita to tell her what it was, the girl showed her a coin that she was holding.
"Is that the money you got from Mr. Adans?"
"Yes. I never got the chance to give him anything back."
"Don't worry about that. You can keep selling these flowers here for a few more days. If Mr. Adans is bothered by the money, he'll come back and you can pay him then," Anita said.
"Are we going to close down the flower stand?"
"I think that's for the best. I'll be working in the wine fields, so I don't have time to look after the stand anymore. I don't want you to do that either. You should be out playing with other children."
Pepita didn't say anything, just looked at the doll in her hands. Anita felt worry gnaw at her heart. Now that she would start working in the fields, she'd had less time to spend with her daughter. She wished from the bottom of her heart that Pepita would find friends soon.
Gabriel chose the road leading south. He didn't have a particular reason to do so, and after a while he started to think he should have picked another direction instead. The road went through large wine fields, so there was no shade where to escape the sun. It didn't take long before he was sweating and feeling irritated.
Though he had thought that San Tasco would no longer be on his mind apart from his revenge, he found that his thoughts kept going back to Gonzales. He hadn't told the sergeant that he was planning to leave. Admitting defeat tasted bitter. Hearing Gonzales offer his help would have been frustrating – the sergeant had already done so much that Gabriel already felt a little pathetic about it. Not just that, but he knew Gonzales was no doubt busy with extra duties now that Gabriel was permanently out of the army.
"Hey! Out of my way!"
Gabriel nearly jumped off the road into the wine fields when there was a sudden yell behind him. He had noticed the sound of someone approaching on horseback, and now when he turned to look, he saw a young man riding a brown horse. The only problem was that they were coming straight at him.
He dropped his bag and leapt aside just in time to avoid the collision. The man on the horse wasn't as lucky; the animal reared, and the man fell to the ground with an alarmed yelp. For a while, he just remained unmoving on the ground. Just when Gabriel was starting to think that he had been hurt, he slowly sat up, holding his head.
"What's wrong with you, you idiot? Can't you see where you're going?" Gabriel barked.
"Ow, my head! It hurts!" the man moaned. He turned to look around him in mild panic. "And where did my horse go?"
"It's right over there," Gabriel said and pointed towards the horse that was calmly eating grass by the side of the road.
"Well, that's a relief. If it had run away, you would have been in serious trouble."
"Me? For what?"
"For scaring my horse and almost killing me," the man said. He got up on his feet and tried to brush dust off his trousers. He made a disgusted face when all of it didn't come off.
"That was all your fault! The road is wide enough for three horses, but you came straight at me!" Gabriel yelled. He tried to recall if he had ever seen this man before, but there was nothing familiar about him. He was well-dressed and probably belonged to a higher class, so Gabriel was sure he should have seen him somewhere.
The young man gave him a long look over his nose. "I'm sorry, but it's hardly my responsibility to make sure peasants don't get trampled. If you want to walk on a road that goes through my father's lands, you had better watch your step."
"I'm not a peasant!" Gabriel snapped.
"Oh?" the young man asked. "Then who are you?"
"I'm a lieu – I mean…" Gabriel trailed off, realising that he had no idea what to say. The smug satisfaction that appeared on the young man's face at his loss at words made him bristle.
"As I thought. You're probably no better than a vagrant," the man said. "I, on the other hand, am Rafael Alvarez, and my father owns all this land. I would advise you to show proper respect before me. You should apologize for upsetting my hor -"
Rafael never got to finish what he was saying because Gabriel gave him a heartfelt punch to the face and sent him back to the ground. He didn't even realise what he was doing until he felt the burn in his knuckles, but he welcomed the pain.
"Damn you!" he growled. For days now he'd had to listen to everyone talking like they were better than him and treating him like trash. At least the people in San Tasco had an excuse, but this pathetic wimp had no right to treat him like this. It wasn't Gabriel's fault if he couldn't control his stupid horse.
Rafael sat on the ground, looking up at him with a baffled look on his face. Then he suddenly seemed to realise what had happened and grabbed his jaw with both of his hands.
"You hit me!"
"And what are you going to do about that?" Gabriel asked. He was hoping that Rafael would get up and hit him back. What he needed now was a good fight to let off some steam. Rafael probably wouldn't be much of a challenge, but Gabriel wasn't in the position to be picky.
To his surprise, Rafael didn't get up and defend himself like almost any man would. Instead, he buried his face into his hands and started to cry.
"What?" Gabriel asked, lowering his fists and feeling suddenly very awkward. He couldn't recall ever seeing even Diego be that pathetic. "Hey, get up! I didn't even hit you that hard!"
His words got no reaction out of the crying man. Just as he was starting to consider just leaving him there and continuing on his way, he became aware of the sound of more horses arriving from San Tasco. When Gabriel turned to look, he saw three men riding towards them. They all stopped when they reached them.
"What's going on here?" one of the men asked.
"Oh, Pablo!" Rafael wailed. "This horrible man just hit me!"
"Did he now?" Pablo asked and turned to look at Gabriel with stern eyes.
"Yes, and I want you to do something about it right now!"
"If he can scream like that, it can't be that serious," one of the men muttered under his breath.
"Shut up! You have no idea how much it hurts!"
Gabriel wasn't interested in wasting his time watching this sorry scene any longer. He grabbed his bag and told the others that they could deal with their problem alone, but a sharp command from Pablo made him stop and turn to look back.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"We can't just let you go. You assaulted my employer's son," Pablo said.
"There's nothing wrong with him. At least not something that I caused," Gabriel said.
A smile was tugging at the corners of Pablo's mouth. "That could be, but it's still my responsibility to take you to Don Augusto. He can decide if this incident needs to be reported."
"And if I don't want to come?" Gabriel asked. If father and son were at all alike, this Augusto would probably demand Raymond to throw him in prison or have him whipped in public. And Raymond would do it, partly because he'd want to please a rich landowner and partly because he would find it most amusing.
"Then we'll have to force you," Pablo said. To underline is words, he pulled a pistol from his belt and pointed it at Gabriel.
"Fine," Gabriel growled in irritation. He could hardly argue with armed men.
The others briefly discussed what they would do next. Based on what they said, Don Augusto had been in the city to hire workers for his wine fields together with his son. He had been unimpressed by his son's involvement in the affair, so he had returned home and left Rafael alone in the hopes that it would force him to be more active. Apparently that hadn't worked because Rafael had slipped away and gone to a tavern the first chance he got, leaving Pablo and the other servants to finish his work for him.
"And then I decided to go home. It's so boring in town," Rafael said.
"You could have at least told us. We would have been waiting for you in town all day if someone hadn't told us he had seen you leave," Pablo said.
Rafael snorted. "I'm sure you'd have found something to do. It's not like you have such refined tastes that you'd be bored in San Tasco."
The more Gabriel listened to Rafael's whining and insults, the more convinced he became that Rafael was the most annoying and pathetic excuse of a man he had ever met. He had always thought that Diego was bad, but compared to this, Diego might have just as well been Zorro.
Gabriel watched the wine fields as they travelled through them. The vines were heavy with ripe fruit, and it looked like it would be an excellent harvest. He wondered how much Don Augusto had had to pay to acquire the fields this time of the year and whether it was worth it. He would have to take care of the fields for many years before they paid themselves back, and Gabriel wasn't even counting the pay of the workers or the damage the army would no doubt cause.
They finally arrived at the estate. The house was built of white stone and had three floors. From the outside, it reminded Gabriel of the de la Vega residence, except that this place looked a little scruffy, like nobody was taking good care of it. The vine growing against the wall had consumed a few of the windows, and trash lingered by the corners of the house.
"I'm going to get someone to treat my wounds!" Rafael announced and marched inside the house.
"You two take care of the horses. I'll deal with the rest," Pablo said to the others. He gestured for Gabriel to follow him. Despite the severity of the situation, Gabriel didn't get the impression that Pablo or any of his companions had anything against him. They didn't seem to have any idea who he was. Maybe they had accompanied Don Augusto all the way from Spain.
Pablo led him inside the house where it was pleasantly cool. They went upstairs and stopped before a thick door. Pablo knocked on it and entered when he was given the permission. Gabriel went inside after him.
"Yes, what is it?" Don Augusto asked. He was seated behind his desk and shoved aside some paperwork when the two men entered.
"I came to tell you that your son has been in a fistfight," Pablo said.
Don Augusto jumped to his feet. "What? Really? That's great! Did he win?" Then he noticed the look on Pablo's face, and his excitement promptly died. He slumped back into his chair. "Yes, I guess that was asking for too much."
"Rafael has gone to tend to his wounds," Pablo said.
"Are they serious?" Augusto asked.
"I think he has a cracked lip."
"And I bet he's crying about it like a three-year-old," Augusto grumbled. Then he turned his eyes to Gabriel. "And who is this?"
"This is the man who attacked your son," Pablo said.
"I see." Augusto spent a moment looking at Gabriel with a thoughtful frown on his face. Most other men probably would have been intimidated, but Gabriel had stood before Commander Raymond so many times that Augusto was hardly impressive. He had no trouble staring back at him.
"You can get back to work. This won't take long," Augusto said and motioned for Pablo to leave the room. Once he was gone, he leaned back in his chair and nodded at Gabriel. "Why did you hit my son?"
Gabriel didn't think lies would be getting him far now. Nothing would change the fact that he had punched that idiot. He didn't think even he could lie so convincingly that anyone would believe Rafael had hit him first.
"Because he's an irritating wimp and insulted me," he answered. "But if I had known that hitting him would make him even more annoying, I wouldn't have done it."
Augusto grunted in what Gabriel guessed was agreement. "That may be, but I still don't appreciate it when people try to hurt my son."
"I was expecting he would put up more of a fight," Gabriel pointed out. Any man with any self-worth would have done it. Watching a grown man cry on the ground had been mortifying.
"Then you don't know my son very well," Augusto muttered.
"I don't know him at all," Gabriel said, though he felt he already knew more than enough. "I'd like to know if you're planning to punish me or not. I have to be on my way."
"Punish you? If you had beaten him up, maybe then, but a cracked lip isn't worth the trouble. I'm sorry that my men brought you here and wasted your time. But out of interest, why were you walking through my lands? There's nothing here but my fields," Augusto said.
"I'm moving to another town to look for work."
Augusto's brows shot up in curiosity. "Why? A man of your build shouldn't have trouble finding work in San Tasco."
"Normally, yes. It's because of who I am. Nobody here will hire me," Gabriel said.
"Then who are you and what have you done?" Augusto asked, surprising Gabriel a little. He had assumed that of course at least the don himself would know about him. When he hadn't asked for his name right away, he had thought it meant he recognised him.
Augusto noticed his hesitation right away. "You aren't wanted criminal, are you?" he asked. The friendliness that had been on his face only a moment ago turned into a stern glare.
"Of course not. My name is Antonio Gabriel, and I used to serve as a lieutenant in the army here," Gabriel said.
"Yes, I think I heard someone say something about a lieutenant who was removed from service recently," Augusto said. Gabriel kept waiting for him to say that he was free to go since there wasn't anything left for them to discuss. Instead, Augusto kept looking at him with a thoughtful frown on his face.
"But nobody told me why that happened," he mused.
Gabriel didn't find that surprising. He was certain everyone had been too busy to gloat about how he was getting taste of his own medicine to bother with the details. But it didn't really matter. If Augusto had talked to the people in town, his opinion was already against him.
"Was it because of drinking?" Augusto asked.
"What? No!" Gabriel blurted out. He didn't really want to think back to his embarrassing defeat and the shame and horror he had felt when Raymond had removed him from service, but he'd rather go through that than let anyone think he was just a common drunkard. "I was shot in the shoulder, and it didn't heal properly. I can't wield a sword like I used to, so the commander decided he didn't need me anymore after I failed to protect the army's property from rebels," he explained. Every word tasted bitter in his mouth. He tried, but he couldn't really keep the sour expression away from his face.
"Rebels." Augusto spat the word out like it was poison. "I can't stand that scum. I have always been loyal to the king, and it disgusts me how the people here look up to such outlaws. The worst is this Zorro. They worship him like a hero!"
Gabriel felt his mood suddenly brighten. Augusto's words were like music to his ears. When was the last time he had heard anyone talk about Zorro like the bastard he was? He was sick of hearing how much good Zorro did or what a great man he was. Zorro had destroyed his whole life, first by ruining all of Raymond's operations and then by causing his injury.
"I couldn't agree more. Zorro is a menace," he said, his voice full of hatred.
"It seems to me like the army lost a good officer in you. It strikes me as odd that the commander would do that after one mistake."
"Thank you, but I'm afraid the commander expects perfection," Gabriel said. He couldn't very well explain that the true reason behind Raymond's actions was that he was no longer useful for his illegal operations.
"Hmm," Augusto hummed, rubbing his chin and turning around to look out the window for a while. Gabriel noticed only now that the window offered a good view over the large wine fields. He wondered what it would feel like to watch that view every day and know that all of that land belonged to you.
"I have an idea. How would you like to work for me?" Augusto asked as he suddenly turned around again.
"What?" Gabriel asked in surprise.
"I think I have a need for someone like you. Today, I was hiring people to work in my fields, but I wasn't very impressed by what I saw. Even the best people I got looked half-starved and lazy. I don't want to see anyone being idle on my land. With your army experience, I'm certain you know how to keep people in line and make sure they follow orders," Augusto explained.
"Of course I do," Gabriel said, blinking and trying to understand where this sudden idea had come to Augusto's head. Leading soldiers and making sure peasants did their work weren't anything alike. He didn't even know what kind of work was required of those labouring in the fields.
"Good. That's all I need to know," Augusto said.
"But -" Gabriel started.
"Don't you want to work for me?" Augusto asked. "Because if you aren't interested, I'll stop wasting our time."
"What? No, of course I'm interested," Gabriel said. He decided that he didn't even care what Augusto expected of him. If the man really wanted to hire him, he was willing to do anything. This way, he could stay in San Tasco and better prepare his revenge.
"In that case, I want you to be the foreman in charge of the workers in my fields."
"And what does that include?" Gabriel asked.
Augusto motioned for him to join him by the window. As Gabriel did so, Augusto nodded towards the fields that spread far to the horizon. "These fields are filled with ripe fruit that needs to be picked and made into wine. When that is done, the fields need to be looked after so that next year's harvest will be just as good. Do you have any experience with work like this?"
"I'm afraid not," Gabriel said. He had grown up in a fairly large city. His knowledge of wine didn't go much beyond that it came from a bottle.
"That doesn't matter. Pablo is the one in charge of making the wine. He can fill you in if you're interested. There are only two tasks for which you're responsible. One is making sure that the workers pick the required amount of wine every day, no matter what. I won't accept any excuses," Augusto explained.
"And the other one?" Gabriel asked. He was sure he could fulfil the first task. If there was something he liked to do, it was ordering people around.
Augusto sighed and closed his eyes. "I bought these wine fields as a project for my son. He has no experience with business or any work, but it's high time he learns something. I will soon have to travel away on business for a long time. I will leave my son in charge of this estate."
"And what does that have to do with me?" Gabriel asked.
"I know my son. He will try to escape his responsibilities. I don't think Pablo and the other servants can do anything about him because my son knows them too well. I would like you to look after him and try to keep him in line," Augusto said. He turned to look at Gabriel and noticed the disbelieving expression on his face. "You must think it's insane."
"Uh, no," Gabriel said quickly. "I just don't understand what I could do. If I'm supposed to work here, your son will be my employer," he said. Oh, how that thought burnt. He had already hated the idea of being in someone's employ, but he had thought he could take it if the man in question was at least semi-competent. Having to answer to Rafael would be endless torture.
"I don't want you to give him orders or threaten him with violence if that's what you're thinking. Just be of guidance to him and resort to drastic measures only if it looks like he's going to gamble the estate away," Augusto said. In a quieter, almost sad tone he added, "It wouldn't really surprise me."
"I'll do my best," Gabriel said, though he wasn't really sure what good it would do. Rafael didn't seem to be the kind of man who would listen to anyone. He would need all of his self-control so that he wouldn't punch him again next time he threw a tantrum.
Raymond examined the delicate statue on Kapital's desk and ran his finger down the smooth porcelain. It was a statue of an angel, and he found it most amusing that Kapital would keep such an item in plain sight like that.
"I hear that you've been acquiring most of the mines in the area," he remarked.
"That's right. I find it an excellent way to start business here," Kapital replied. He was standing by the window with his hands crossed behind his back. The curtains were half-closed so that the office was left shrouded in shadows. Raymond wondered if this was Kapital's attempt at trying to intimidate him. If it was, then it was a complete failure.
"I hope you'll be successful," Raymond said. He had never been very interested in the mines. As he had told Kapital during their first meeting, the mines were owned by private people. There was no concentrated effort to make the best profit. He could have confiscated the mines in the name of the Spanish Crown any time he wanted, but he found it to be too much work.
"I'm sure I will be," Kapital said. He walked to his desk and placed his finger on the map that he had spread on it. He was pointing at a spot between two large mines in the mountains. "We have already bought this mine here. Once we have this one as well, we will connect the two so that supplies can be moved easily between them. It'll make it easier to work in both mines, and the profit will double."
"Who owns that mine?" Raymond asked, intrigued.
"Some man called Adans. We're experiencing some trouble because he is refusing to sell, but that's not going to be a problem for much longer," Kapital said.
"I see. What do you have in mind?" Raymond asked. He felt a little irritated that he still hadn't received a reply from the Governor General. He was anxious to have a new officer appointed in Gabriel's place so that he could see whether the new man would be beneficial for his plans. If not, he might have to promote one of the soldiers who had been working on his operations earlier.
Kapital chuckled at Raymond's annoyed tone, and the commander realised he would have to be a little more careful in the man's presence. Kapital could read people frighteningly well.
"Don't worry, Commander," Kapital said. "My men know exactly what to do, but I will still need your assistance. What we have in mind will no doubt lead to an official investigation."
Raymond nodded, knowing what Kapital was asking. "I will make sure nothing leads back to you or your company."
"Good. I don't need any dents in my public image, especially now that we're just introducing ourselves to the people."
Raymond only smiled pleasantly. With the way Kapital was leading his company, it was a given that sooner or later he would cross paths with Zorro. The commander was looking forward to that because of several reasons. Firstly, he was interesting in how Kapital would try to deal with that menace. Secondly, Raymond thought it would be amusing to see the man humbled a little if his attempts to kill Zorro failed. If they worked, all the better. Raymond didn't care how Zorro died and who did it.
"You have nothing to worry about. I'm sure everything will go exactly as planned," Raymond said.