Chapter 3

Capitán Monastario had been pacing up and down in his office for twenty minutes, and Lieutenant Guerrero was starting to worry. A knock on the door brought the pacing capitán to a halt.

"What is it?" he growled.

The door was opened and Sergeant Garcia popped his head in. Seeing the sour expression on the capitán's face, he scowled and inched into the office.

"There is a courier with a letter for you, mi capitán," Garcia reported meekly.

"Well, take it from him and let me have it!" Monastario bellowed and the sergeant hastily retreated and reappeared a few moments later, letter in hand. The capitán snatched the letter from Garcia's hands and dismissed the man. He briefly studied the wax seal and his jaw set.

"El Sigilo won't be pleased with the latest failure to capture Zorro, will he?" Guerrero said, getting up from his seat. His superior glared at him.

"Of course he won't be pleased. I am beginning to wonder why he appointed you to help me. Apparently, you're not such a good shot after all. I'm getting tired of drawing the fox in your line of fire only for him to escape."

"So it is my fault Zorro is still on the run, Capitán?" Guerrero sounded slightly exasperated.

"Naturally," Monastario replied. "Do you doubt it?" His tone took on a menacing vibe. Guerrero opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it. Capitán Monastario was starting to get to him and he found himself feeling for the locals for the first time. If he'd always been this arrogant and self centered, no wonder Zorro took every opportunity to ridicule the capitán.

"I see you do not contradict me, Lieutenant." Monastario sounded pleased. "Let us find out what El Sigilo wants." He unfolded the letter and the men started reading.

Capitán,

I'm beginning to doubt I have the right man to eliminate Zorro. I will arrive in Los Angeles in two weeks' time. By then, I expect Zorro to be in your custody, or better yet, dead. I won't consider making a man governor who can't even catch one outlaw.

El Sigilo

Monastario had visibly blanched while reading the words. He crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it in the corner. Then he thought better of it, retrieved the paper and touched the corner to the flame of the candle. He let it burn almost completely before he dropped it to the floor.

"So that's your prize. Governor." Guerrero sounded pleased with himself. "I can understand your motivation."

Looking sharply at the lieutenant, Monastario seemed to contemplate something. Finally, his dire expression lit up as a smile started to form on his face. "I have an idea, Lieutenant. I admit, my previous attempt to discredit Zorro and turn the people against him didn't work out the way it was planned. But I think it would already be a success if only a few were starting to doubt." He waved to Guerrero to come closer. "Here's what we'll do."

***ZzZ***

Padre Felipe was sitting at his desk in the adjoining room to the mission church. He was studying an old piece of parchment that a fellow padre had sent to him to decypher. The handwriting on the parchment was old and faded in parts, making it difficult to read. Sighing, the padre lowered the parchment to his desk and leaned back in the chair. It was getting late and he'd have to be up and about early for morning prayers. Stifling a yawn, the grey haired man stood and extinguished the candle on the desk, leaving only the lantern burning to guide him. He wanted to do a last check up outside, like he usually did before he retired.

Breathing the clear, warm night air, the padre smiled to himself as he walked towards the small graveyard. A soft noise behind him made him stop in his tracks to listen. As much as he strained his ears he couldn't hear anything. Shrugging, Padre Felipe resumed his round. Just when he was about to turn around the corner of the mission wall, he again heard a noise. But before the good padre could turn to investigate, he received a blow to the back of his head and collapsed to the ground, never even having seen his attacker.

***ZzZ***

Diego de la Vega was whistling to himself as he jogged down the stairs towards the patio, pulling on his gloves along the way. He was going to ride out to the pueblo this morning with his father. As he rounded the bottom of the stairs, heading towards the sala, he heard the sound of approaching horses. Adjusting his direction, he pulled on the second glove and opened the patio gate to stand face to face with Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes.

"Buenos días, Sergeant, Corporal. Won't you come in?" Diego stepped back and gestured for the soldiers to enter, but the sergeant simply shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Don Diego, but no. We are just here to get your permission." Sergeant Garcia sounded quite uncomfortable and was playing unconsciously with the hilt of his saber. Corporal Reyes was bearing an equally sheepish look as his superior.

"My permission for what?" Diego asked.

"To search your lands and every building on it," the sergeant elaborated.

"Search for what?" Don Alejandro's voice was floating across, as he was approaching the three men.

"Buenos días, Don Alejandro. We need permission to search your land to uncover the whereabouts of Padre Felipe, who has been kidnapped by Zorro last night. We are searching all land in the immediate area."

Diego and his father looked at each other, speechless. Alejandro knotted his eyebrows together, as did his son. "Padre Felipe has been kidnapped?"

"Sí, Don Alejandro."

"By Zorro?" asked Diego.

"Sí, Don Diego. One of his Indians went to look for him early this morning when the padre failed to appear for the prayers. When he couldn't find him they searched the whole mission and the surrounding grounds. All they found was a torn piece of black fabric."

"From Zorro's cape," Corporal Reyes added. Garcia shot him a warning glance and Reyes stepped back a bit, lowering his eyes.

"Thank you, Corporal," Sergeant Garcia chided him.

"But Sergeant," Diego chimed in, disrupting the stare Garcia graced Corporal Reyes with. "How do you know the cloth belonged to Zorro's cape? Black capes aren't exactly rare."

"There was a note," Corporal Reyes piped up, earning himself another glare from Garcia.

"There was a note," Garcia repeated acidly, still looking at the corporal, "which read: If you want to see Padre Felipe again alive, leave a bag filled with 10,000 pesos at the crossroads sign to San Bernardino. Zorro. That is how we know Zorro has Padre Felipe."

Diego gaped at the sergeant's words for a moment before he caught himself. "Are you sure the note really is from Zorro, Sergeant? Demanding a ransom sounds even less like Zorro than kidnapping a priest."

"It does not matter what I think, Don Diego. But Capitán Monastario is very sure Zorro is behind Padre Felipe's disappearance." Garcia sounded contrite.

"We know Monastario has tried to discredit Zorro before by using this impostor Martinez to steal the mission jewels," Alejandro grumbled.

"Sí, Don Alejandro. You're right. But orders are orders and Monastario will polish his boots with our behinds if we fail to carry them out."

"By all means, Sergeant. Is there anything we can do to help?" Don Alejandro's question was followed by a quick side glance at his son. He could see Diego was itching to get away, dress in black to free the padre and clear his name. But Alejandro knew this was a trap for Zorro, a fact of which Diego was obviously well aware of. Still, the glance the men exchanged conveyed a message to use caution.

"At the present, no. But we must ask you to stay in the hacienda until we have finished our search."

***ZzZ***

Padre Felipe opened his eyes and squinted against the rays of the sun that entered his prison through some cracks between wooden beams. He surveyed his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was and what happened. The last thing he remembered was walking along the graveyard wall and turning to investigate a noise. Beyond that, he remembered nothing but a relentless pounding in his head, which told him he must have received a blow of sorts that knocked him out.

Sitting up straight, his eyes got used to the unusual light conditions. He could make out tools and stacked up wood in the room. A pitcher with water was standing in a corner and the padre scrambled over to have a drink. He realized the only door to his prison was barred and though there were tools, he saw none that could help him escape.

Soft footsteps outside made the padre stand up and a moment later the door was unbarred and in came a man dressed all in black. Gasping slightly, the padre was about to call out in joy, thinking Zorro had come to his rescue. Then he realized something was off. This man was dressed in black from head to toe, a mask covering the upper part of his face, but as much as he looked like Zorro, he didn't feel like Zorro.

It was hard to make out the differences in the relative darkness, but even though the height was fitting, the bearing as well as the moustache didn't. When the padre looked up in the man's eyes, he was sure it wasn't Zorro who was before him.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Padre Felipe demanded. But the masked man didn't reply. He only put a pouch containing food on a little wooden rack and retreated through the door again. A loud banging sound told Padre Felipe that the bar was being replaced. With a sigh, he walked over to inspect the pouch. He found a piece of bread and some cold chicken in it and hungrily finished both.

***ZzZ***

Zorro was riding across the de la Vega lands, carefully observing the landscape for clues. He was certain that Monastario was trying to set him, Diego de la Vega, up again to arrest him. That man just could not be deterred from his conviction that he was Zorro.

Slowly venturing around a bend, Zorro pulled Tornado back sharply when he saw movement in the distance. A rider was approaching. A rider, who was dressed in black, wearing a mask. Smothering his first impulse to dash out and confront the man, Zorro decided it would be more valuable to find out what this man was up to.

By a group of bushes he saw the rider reining in his horse. He looked around to check his surroundings and Zorro crouched lower on Tornado's back. Next, the man disappeared between the brush. Zorro wondered whether to follow but decided to wait. After a few minutes, another man appeared from the same brush. Zorro shook his head. This man was wearing a lancer's uniform. But it was definitely the same horse. After scanning the area again, the soldier kicked his horse's sides and galloped towards the pueblo.

Zorro waited until the man was out of sight and then rode up straight to the bushes he had seen the man disappear into. He dismounted and parted the them, only to find a little clearing in the middle of it. There on a heap lay the black clothes the man had shed. Picking up the mask, Zorro was pondering the meaning of all this. Obviously, Monastario had one of his lancers dress up as Zorro. But why? To frame the real Zorro, no doubt, Diego thought.

Returning to Tornado, Zorro decided to try and follow the man's trail back to where he came from before he saw him. Maybe he could find out where they held the good padre. It didn't take Zorro long to realize he was headed towards the de la Vega woodshed. Urging Tornado to a faster pace, Zorro reached the shed in no time.

"Go hide, Tornado," Zorro instructed his horse, which immediately obeyed. One could never know with the soldiers searching when they would stumble across the shed and Tornado unless he was hidden. Stealthily, the masked man approached the shed, peering in through the only window. He saw nothing but dust and wood. The door to the adjoining room was barred, he noticed. That was very unusual, as there was only one beam to bar the shed and that was meant for the outside door.

Sneaking around the corner, Zorro found his suspicion confirmed when he saw that the outside door lacked the barring beam. He glanced over his shoulder one more time and swiftly entered the building. As he was busy unbarring the door to the tool room, he heard someone shuffling inside.

"Don't worry, padre. I'm here to release you," Zorro called just loud enough to be heard on the inside. There was a moment of silence when he slid the beam aside. He opened the door and stepped inside. It took him a moment to adjust his eyes to the lighting inside, since there was no window here.

"Zorro!" Padre Felipe smiled broadly as he joyously called the bandit's name.

"At your service, Padre." Zorro grinned broadly. "Are you alright?"

"Sí, apart from a small lump on my head and a slight ache inside the same one, I'm alright. I have to warn you, though. I believe someone is impersonating you again and..."

"Sí," Zorro interrupted the padre. "I don't mean to be rude, Padre Felipe, but tell me on the way. I don't know when the impostor or the lancers pitch up here. I'd rather not be caught like a mouse in a trap." Outside, Zorro helped the cleric to mount Tornado and then swung up behind him.

"Where are we going, Señor Zorro?" Padre Felipe asked.

"I will take you to the de la Vega hacienda. It's closer than the mission or the cuartel." Padre Felipe smiled knowingly at the outlaw's words. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Not much, my son. I do know, however, that a man dressed like you brought me some nourishment. I am sure someone is trying to set you up. On first glance, I almost thought it was you, but his bearing was nothing like yours. His eyes were different."

Zorro was quiet, trying to digest the words of the padre. They only served to confirm his own suspicions. When they reached the hacienda, Zorro let the priest dismount, saluted and galloped off. Just as he had turned Tornado, a group of lancers appeared from around the corner, lead by Capitán Monastario himself.

"It's Zorro! After him!"

The lancers gave chase and Zorro's laugh could be heard before he gave headway to his stallion and raced off.

"Why are you pursuing this man, Capitán?" Padre Felipe challenged. "He was the one who found and freed me."

"You think?" Monastario laughed and dismounted. "We have proof that he is the one that abducted you in the first place. And now I am going to catch him."

"And I tell you it was not Zorro who did this to me," Padre Felipe said defiantly.

"Then who did?"

"A man dressed in black from head to toe, including a hat and wearing a mask. But..."

"Sounds like Zorro to me," Monastario interrupted with a grin.

"Looked like an impostor to me," Padre Felipe insisted.

The outside patio gate opened and Don Alejandro, as well as Bernardo emerged. "Padre Felipe!" the don called happily. Then his expression darkened. "Capitán. What is all this commotion about?"

"We freed the padre from Zorro's clutches and now my lancers will catch him. Where is your son?" Monastario glanced past Alejandro and smirked at Bernardo, while the padre gasped at the capitán's words, unable to believe his ears.

"He is busy at the moment. He'll be here in a moment," Alejandro said evenly, hoping his words would prove true.

"Busy, eh? Doing what? Riding around in a masquerade?" Monastario stepped around Alejandro, only to find his way blocked by Bernardo. "Don Alejandro, please remove your servant from in front of me!"

"I'm sorry, Capitán. But only my son can ever make Bernardo understand," Alejandro smirked. Then he gestured to Bernardo to move. The manservant shrugged and slowly took a step aside.

"Hrmpf," growled Monastario and proceeded to push Bernardo further aside to pass, when rapid hoof beats made him turn around. Lieutenant Guerrero rode up to them and reined in his horse.

"Capitán," he called. "The sergeant told me I'd find you here. He's still busy chasing Zorro."

"Still on the chase, eh? Don Alejandro, for the last time, where is your son? I demand to search the hacienda, pronto."

Alejandro opened his mouth to reply but caught the wink that Bernardo directed at him. He stepped aside and gestured for Monastario to pass. "Be my guest, Capitán."

A bit surprised, Monastario and Guerrero strode past him towards the sala. Alejandro curiously looked at Bernardo, who closed the gate behind them with a grin. Shaking his head slightly, Alejandro quickly walked after the soldiers, Padre Felipe hot on his heels. They caught up with them in the sala where Capitán Monastario was already waiting for them.

"Where is he, Don Alejandro? Where is Diego?"

Alejandro saw Bernardo had moved behind the soldiers, who both were looking at the haciendado. Padre Felipe had taken his spot at the library door and watched the don and the soldiers from there. He didn't miss the worry in Don Alejandro's eyes and prayed. Bernardo gestured something the padre couldn't make out, but it looked like Alejandro did.

"He was feeling upset after the news of the padre's disappearance, so he went to draw up a letter..."

"Pah! You and I both know that isn't true. Now for the last time, old man. WHERE is your SON?"

Just then a dull thud came from behind Padre Felipe.

"Aha," Monastario yelled and, shoving the padre aside, he stormed into the library. Padre Felipe and Alejandro rushed in afterwards. Alejandro almost collided with the capitán who had stopped dead in his tracks, seeing the object of his irritation sprawled out on the settee, his arm flung across his eyes. On the desk there was pen and paper along with an unfinished letter. A heavy book lay on the floor, face down.

"Diego," Alejandro called, running to his side. Diego removed his arm and grinned sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Father. This whole affair upset me so much that I developed a headache. I'm afraid I dropped the book when it became too much and I needed to lie down."

"You should not look at books, de la Vega, as they seem to give you a headache," Monastario sneered. "Or could it be that you're dizzy from running from my lancers, Señor Zorro?"

"I do not understand, Capitán," Diego said, sitting up. "I've been in here ever since Sergeant Garcia told us about... Padre Felipe!" Seeing the padre, Diego broke into a smile. "I see I can forget about my letter. It's good to see you well."

"I'm fine, my son. Zorro found me and brought me here. I believe Garcia and his men are still chasing the rascal." Padre Felipe walked up to Monastario. "Don't you have to agree that Diego can't be Zorro? He could not be here if he's still being chased by the military."

"I... I'm not finished with you, de la Vega," Monastario sputtered. "You're full of tricks, but I promise you again, I will catch the fox in disguise!" With that, he turned on his heels and stormed off.

"He's so even tempered," Diego said solemnly and his father as well as the padre chuckled. "Shall we move to the sala? I think I need a drink."

***ZzZ***

Lieutenant Guerrero had stayed in the sala when the others went to investigate the thud. It was his first time inside the de la Vega hacienda, and he was impressed by the interior. A set of rapiers above the fireplace caught his attention and he stepped closer. Only once had he seen rapiers of Toledo steel with these kind of ornaments on the hilt. A friend of his, Manuel de la Fuente, owned one. He had received it for winning the royal fencing competition at university in Madrid a few years back.

Squinting his eyes, Guerrero scrutinized the ornaments. There was no doubt. Whoever put these rapiers on display had won the competition not once but twice over. He remembered Manuel telling him about a friend he had at university, who had proceeded to win this competition the following two times. His name was Diego. Could it be de la Vega?

Monastario had told him that Diego de la Vega claimed he did not know how to handle a sword. Guerrero knew, however, that the capitán was adamant it was all a ruse, that Diego de la Vega was indeed a master swordsman and the outlaw known as Zorro. The last point was of no relevance to the lieutenant, since he had seen at least once that Diego de la Vega could not be Zorro. And today's events also pointed to his innocence.

Heavy footsteps drew the lieutenant from his thoughts. He pivoted around to see his capitán stalking from the room. Shortly thereafter Don Alejandro, his son and the padre followed him.

"Ah, Lieutenant," called Diego. "We were about to have a drink. Will you join us?"

"Gracias, but no, Don Diego. I am on duty."

"That's too bad," Diego replied, taking a glass of Jerez from the tray that Bernardo held out to him.

"I do have a question for you, though," Guerrero added. Noticing the curious looks of the other men, he continued. "In private, por favor."

"By all means, Lieutenant. Let's step outside." Diego shrugged slightly towards his father and followed Guerrero onto the patio.

"I've noticed the royal fencing champion rapiers, Don Diego," Guerrero started. He was looking at the windows of the sala and missed the subtle flinch Diego gave. "A friend of mine also has one. Manuel..."

"Manuel de la Fuente is your friend?" Diego asked quickly.

"Sí. He told me of a fellow student from California named Diego who beat him the next time and who proceeded to win it back to back. Would that be you?"

Diego's eyes nervously flickered towards the sala and his licked his lips. "Sí. Let me explain..."

"Oh, don't worry. I know you aren't Zorro. You can't be in two places at the same time. I've seen you in the plaza and Zorro still riding in the distance. Sadly, the capitán refuses to accept it. What I was wondering, though, was if you are willing to do a friendly joust with me. I'd love to see if my friend Manuel was telling the truth about your swordsmanship."

Diego hesitated, clearly not knowing what to do and how to act. "I'm not sure it's a good idea. If anyone sees us, they could begin to think the capitán might be right."

"Nonsense! We'll do it here, with no witnesses. Only a few friendly minutes. You decide when."

Pondering for another few moments, Diego failed to come up with an excuse to refuse the joust, so he reluctantly agreed. "I will let you know when, Lieutenant."

Smiling, Guerrero hastened to get to his horse to catch up with Monastario. Diego was left standing in the patio, scratching his head. Bernardo approached his master, who turned upon hearing the mozo's footsteps. Holding out his hands in an unspoken question, he looked at his friend. Diego merely shrugged and rolled his eyes, before downing the Jerez in one go.