NOTE BY THE ACCOUNT HOLDER: THIS STORY IS NOT MINE!

WRITTEN BY KARLA GREGORY

Chapter Twenty

Zorro moved swiftly and silently towards Monastario's house. The pathway had become so familiar that he knew every shadow; every bit of cover that could be used to move unseen through the streets of Madrid. Tonight it was almost as if he were reborn. A new Diego, a new Zorro, born from the ashes of his recent life. He breathed another prayer of gratitude for the insight of Padre Ramon. Had Zorro succeeded in killing Monastario in a quest for revenge, Diego de la Vega would never have been able to heal the wounds to his soul. It would have been better if he had died back there in that cell than to be consumed by the need for revenge. But now he had been restored in both his mind and soul. He was under no delusion that this night would necessarily turn out in his favor, but he was certain that whatever the outcome, his honor and integrity would be intact.

To that end, Zorro was carrying a second sword this night. Should his own sword break, he harbored no notion that Monastario would let him use this second blade. But should Monastario's sword break, he would offer this sword to him so that he could die fighting with a sword in his hand. Zorro would do everything in his power not to have to kill Monastario in cold blood.

From a vantage point just up the street from Monastario's house, Zorro was brought up short. With dismay he noted the presence of no less than three carriages parked in the driveway. Monastario had guests this night of all nights! He could only pray that this gathering would not last so long as to interfere with his plans for tonight.

Deciding that he needed to know what was going on, he slipped around the house and entered through his customary window. This room was seldom used and therefore not lit. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the ground floor was well lit this evening in deference to the guests. Zorro could only venture out of this room in peril of his life because there were no shadows for him to hide in this night. He could hear Monastario speaking from where he was but could not make out what he was saying. He knew that there were two large, ornate cloak cabinets in the hallway next to the salon where the meeting was being conducted. The one facing the salon was empty as he had discovered in his earlier inspections of Monastario's house when he was marking possible hiding places. This cabinet was placed strategically so that he would be able to hear clearly, but if so much as one person looked the wrong way at the right time, all would be lost. Still, he must know what was going on! So much depended on Monastario keeping to his usual late night routine.

Looking down the hallway and listening as hard as he could, he decided no one was coming. Leaving the second sword leaning against the wall in the darkened room, he stole silently along the hallway. Just as he reached the cabinet, he heard the sound of tinkling glasses from around the corner of the hallway. In seconds, the orderly would turn the corner and see him. Throwing caution to the wind, Zorro leaped forward and entered the cabinet, closing the door behind him just as the orderly rounded the corner. Zorro breathed hard for a few moments. No alarm had been raised, so he must be safe for now.

The cabinet had some open fretwork in the doors just at eye level so Zorro could see and hear everything. He recognized Monastario at once and his heartbeat quickened. He forced himself to calmness. Over to the right, Escobar was sitting with a glass of wine in his hand. To his left, seated on a couch, were two men he did not know. They were well dressed, but he could tell they were not truly of the upper class. Both men took glasses of wine from the orderly who was then dismissed.

When they were alone again, Monastario began giving instructions to them on how to intercept military goods destined for parts of the European campaign and how to hide them in a warehouse owned by Escobar. In a month or so, those same goods were to be loaded on a ship sailing for Mexico, where they would fetch an enormous price. Monastario would make sure that the military goods would be left unguarded so that the two men, whose names were Dominguez and Rivera, should have no trouble getting them. Zorro made a mental note of all the names, dates and places. Should he survive this night, there would be additional good that he could accomplish by exposing this ring of thieves.

The meeting lasted until just after nine o'clock. Zorro could hear the chiming of the church bells from the university in the distance. Escobar remained for a while after the other two men left. He noted to Monastario that he would be returning in the morning to pick up some papers he would need to help carry out their plan. He had consumed several glasses of wine by now and feeling quite happy, he stood to propose a toast.

"Here is to Zorro," he began. Monastario looked angry for a second and then broke into an evil smile as Escobar continued. "Long may we cherish the knowledge that he is dead and that there are fortunes to be made now that he cannot interfere!" Glasses clinked and there was a short silence as each man drank his wine.

"Now I really must go, Capitán. Just let me get my cloak," said a tipsy Escobar. He walked unsteadily into the hallway right toward the cloak cabinet in which Zorro was hiding. Zorro shrank back from the door and grabbed the hilt of his sword, prepared to burst through should it be opened. But Monastario came to his rescue.

Grabbing Escobar by the shoulders, he turned him around and said, "No, estupido. Your cloak is in this one. Don't you remember?" So saying, he pulled it out and tossed it to Escobar who fumbled it on eventually.

"Gracias, " he said. "I will see you in the morning then. Buenas noches, Capitán." He walked unsteadily out the front door.

"Good riddance," mumbled Monastario. Zorro heard him go down the hallway and call for his orderly who was instructed to clean up the salon and extinguish all of the lights except the ones needed by the night watch. He was also to bring some more candles to Monastario's office as he had some papers to review. The orderly bustled around and soon had his work done. It was not long before the rooms and the hallway were darkened as usual for this time of night.

Zorro thankfully slipped out of the cloak cabinet. He had been in there for over an hour and was starting to get stiff. He stretched a little, then proceeded down the hallway after retrieving the other sword. Across from Monastario's office, Zorro settled in to wait again. The night house guard would be coming on duty at ten o'clock. Once they were in place, he could begin the first part of the night's planned activities.

Everything proceeded normally. The guards were posted as usual. After they had time to settle in and become drowsy, Zorro moved through the house to the guards who were farthest away from Monastario and systematically began to knock them out. He bound and gagged them, leaving them hidden from sight. Finally, just before eleven o'clock, there were just two guards and Monastario who were free. The guards were the ones posted closest to Monastario's office.

Zorro moved to his former hiding place near the office, where he could see Monastario as he was seated at his desk. He could remember the last time he had watched Monastario from this vantage point. However, this time, he was at peace within himself. He almost pitied the man as he sat there so confidently at his desk, only moments away from death. But the time had come when Monastario must answer for his crimes. He had cheated justice long enough. Zorro and Diego both were here to see justice done, nothing more . . . and nothing less.