Happy Sunday, all! It's time for another installment. I'm so glad you all are enjoying this. It was truly a joy to write. But, now let's get back to all of the excitement.
Enjoy!
Linny
Chapter Four
"It's Zorro!"
Indeed, it was a figure dressed in black on the rooftop. A hood had been pulled up over the man's head and a mask covered the lower half of his face.
Diego shared another look with his father, but neither man moved. If Diego was to spring into action, it would draw suspicion.
"Zorro?" Garcia asked in awe. "Lancers! After him!"
A slew of short daggers being thrown at their feet caused the soldiers to pause in their attack. The black-clad figure jumped down onto the balcony below him. Another man stood there, struggling to pull his arm away from the railing, but it was held in place by another knife. The blade was stuck deep into the wood and not so easy to be removed. With his free hand, he thrust the butt of his rifle at his attacker.
A gloved fist flew through the air, knocking the man with the rifle—the man Diego assumed to be the failed shooter—unconscious. The masked man was able to pull his dagger out of the railing with little effort before producing a rope from around his hips. The soldiers were closing in, having split into three groups—two coming at him from both sides and the other standing below, waiting to see if he would jump into the crowd.
There was a flurry of movement, yet from where he and his father were crouched down near the cuartel gates, Diego could not quite see what was happening. Bodies were still crushing in from all around them as everyone fought to run for safety. People were yelling and panicking, making it impossible to hear anything other than Garcia and the Capitán shouting orders.
The fake Zorro tossed something from the balcony—the rifle—and then pushed the shooter over the railing. There was a scream of terror as those who still remained among the crowd anticipated the fall. But, it never came. Instead, the man now swung from the rope that had been tied around his torso. He hung limp as he swung back and forth like the pendulum of a clock.
"Garcia!" Capitán Estevez exclaimed, pulling his saber from its holster. "After that man!"
"Erm... which one, mi Capitán?"
"The one who is running away!"
"Sí, Comandante. Lancers, after him!"
The soldiers charged forward again, but Diego knew they would not get there in time. He watched in amazement as the Zorro impostor jumped onto the railing of the balcony and with a great feat of upper-body strength, pulled himself up to the roof without breaking stride. His movements were quick and agile as he raced across the slick tiles and disappeared somewhere behind the tavern before the soldiers could even get close.
"After him, men!" Estevez proclaimed as he and the Lieutenant joined in their pursuit. "Garcia, take some of your men and chase after Zorro. Lieutenant Allende and I shall take care of this one." The two officers flanked the still unconscious man.
"Sí, Comandante," Garcia saluted. "Lancers, to horse!" Six of the lancers and Sergeant Garcia all quickly mounted up and were soon racing away in the direction the man in black had vanished.
"Diego," Don Alejandro began as they both now could stand up to their full heights.
"Not here, father," Diego silenced his elder. "We must find Bernardo." The mute had vanished as soon as they had arrived back at the pueblo. "I'm sure he will know something about this."
Don Alejandro was confused. "How do you know?"
Diego pointed toward the man who was being dragged inside the gates by the soldiers who had remained behind. Though he hadn't seen his face earlier, he would recognize the man anywhere. "That is Don Alfonso's friend, Gilberto. And wherever Alfonso might be, Bernardo is certain to be there." Diego should have listened to his old friend earlier when he wanted to follow the two young men. If he had, none of this might have happened. "Come, we were supposed to meet in the tavern if we were to become separated." Motioning to his father to follow him, Diego marched toward the tavern at a quick pace. Almost the entirety of the district was inside the building, yet when Diego scanned the room, there was no sign of Bernardo. He was beginning to worry.
"Goodness! What is happening?" a soft voice pierced through the cloud of worry surrounding the caballero, pulling his attention in the direction of its owner. Señorita Walker was headed in his direction. She walked down the stairs, a book clutched against her chest with her maid at her heels. Both looked frightened. "Señor de la Vega, what has happened? I was resting in my room when I heard a commotion. I think I heard a gunshot as well." Diego noted that she'd changed out of her traveling dress and into a day dress of pink with silver accents along the hem of her skirt. The ribbon in her hair matched it. It nicely suited her skin tone.
Diego smiled kindly at her and bowed his head slightly in greeting. "It seems your first day in Los Angeles is an eventful one, señorita. A man just tried to kill the Comandante."
Her eyes widened in shock. "How terrible. I hope the culprit was caught."
Diego nodded. "He was."
"Thanks to Zorro," someone added for him as they passed by while carrying a tankard of ale.
"Zorro?" she questioned.
"Diego, who is this?" his father asked. He sounded a bit anxious to end this conversation, but he didn't want to forget his manners in the presence of a lady.
"Forgive me. Father, may I introduce Señorita Olivia Walker and her maid Emily, from America? Señorita Walker, my father, Alejandro de la Vega."
"Please, call me Olivia," she urged with a smile as she offered her hand for the older man to take before she realized that it was the one holding the book. Embarrassed, she chuckled and switched it to the other hand. "Forgive me."
Being the gentleman that he was, Don Alejandro made no comment about it and did not hesitate to accept the hand she'd offered. "It is a pleasure, my dear," he told her as he bowed low over her hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles. "How are you enjoying our country?"
"It is beautiful, but if the coming days are as eventful as this, I may return home early." She sounded uneasy by it all, but she managed another small laugh.
"Señorita, have you or your maid seen my servant, Bernardo? With everything going on, I feel it would be best if we returned home. Which meant he would have to rescind his offer of dining together that evening. It was quite unfortunate.
She was clearly able to read between the lines and seemed to understand his meaning. "No. Emily and I have been in my room the entire time. But, I'm sure he just got a little turned around with all of the commotion."
Her words were trying to sound reassuring, he realized, but they did little to console him. "I hope you are correct. If you'll excuse us, ladies?"
"Of course. Perhaps we can have lunch when things have finally settled down? You did promise to introduce me to a few of the rancheros," she reminded him.
Diego couldn't fight the smile that crept to his lips. "Of course. I did not forget. I will be looking forward to it, señorita. Con permiso," he said as he eased away from her and back toward the door.
His father also said his goodbyes before following. "Why did you not tell me about her earlier, Diego? She is quite lovely."
The younger de la Vega rolled his eyes at the admiration he heard in his father's voice. He could already see the plan forming in his elder's mind. A professional matchmaker had nothing on Don Alejandro. "Yes, she is, father. But, we have other pressing matters that require our attention." They could focus on his love life—or lack thereof—at a later time.
A sigh of relief escaped him when he saw Bernardo standing near their horses, ushering them toward him with a frantic wave of his hands.
"Bernardo!" Diego exclaimed as he and his father hurried to his side. Glancing around, they all made certain no one else was nearby to listen to their conversation. Still, to be certain, he lowered his voice. "Where have you been?"
With his index fingers, Bernardo traced his upper lip to mimic a thin mustache. He then shielded his eyes with the flat of his hand and pointed toward the cuartel.
"Don Alfonso and Gilberto? You followed them?" Bernardo nodded. "Usually, I would tell you about being so suspicious, but what did you find out? Where did they go?"
The mute motioned behind him toward a run of small buildings around the corner. He then mimed how he stood outside one and listened in.
"You know Gilberto just tried to kill the Comandante?" Diego asked him.
Bernardo nodded again and signed that the two young men had met up with others.
"How many?" Don Alejandro asked.
The mozo counted on his fingers how many different voices he'd been able to hear. He held up both hands, showing off all of his fingers then shrugged as if saying there could have been more.
"At least ten?" Diego asked, incredulously. While it could mean nothing, recent events told him otherwise. It sounded like there was a coup building.
"Did you see any of the men they met up with?" Don Alejandro questioned almost fearfully. Both he and his son knew that if the son of Don Cristofer Orellana could be involved in a plot against the Capitán there could be other caballeros involved as well.
Bernardo shook his head and explained that he couldn't see inside. He then continued to sign.
"He only recognized Don Alfonso and Gilberto's voices," Diego translated for his father.
"What about the Comandante? Did they say anything about him?" his father wondered.
Again, the mute shrugged and shook his head.
"Where is Don Alfonso, now?" Bernardo mimed that he saw the boy get on his horse and ride away. "On his way home? Good." Diego reached to untie his horse's reigns.
"What are you going to do, Diego?"
Shaking his head, Diego climbed up into his saddle. "I'm not going to do anything." His father clamored for an argument, but his son was quick to put him at ease. "Listen, for all we know, Alfonso might not be involved just because his friend is. Also, this gathering could have been completely innocent." His father looked like he was ready to argue some more and once again, Diego silenced him. "But, Zorro is going to find out for certain."
"And, perhaps, learn something about this impostor, as well?" Don Alejandro smiled as he released his mare and eased her back so he could mount up.
Diego's grin matched his father's as he urged his horse to begin moving. "He may as well if he's going to be in the neighborhood."
Bernardo scrambled onto his own horse and followed the father and son out of the pueblo. Things were quieter now, but there was still the surge of excitement in the air as people still lingered in the plaza. The three men rode out of town, waiting until they were well out of the city limits before racing off toward home.