Chapter 103 – You'll find a way, Diego
"I'm so sorry, Sir, but I didn't see it," Ojeda said, utterly mortified, lowering the catalejo. "Against this blinding, morning sun, that black ship is quite difficult to spot."
"Yes, and they surely counted on that, los malditos hijos de puta, coming from the south-east, driven by the alisios trade winds! I think they had it all planned: the angle of attack, with the prevailing wind in their favour; the low angle of the sun at this time of the day, blinding us; our position, three days away from the nearest land, with nowhere to hide… Everything!" Ulloa cried, angry as hell, as well as increasingly afraid of the looming danger, with his heart racing. "Bloody bastards… The way they are going, at full sail, they'll be onto us in only a few hours!"
"What course should we take to avoid them, Sir?" the young, second timonel said, already on edge, gripping the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. Then he added, with a broken voice, full of doubt and fear: "Can we get away?"
Ulloa took a deep breath, feeling he had to control his own anxiety and calm down, because the last thing he needed was a panic-stricken crew.
The two most experienced marinos on board looked at each other, sharing the same thoughts: in the open ocean, already far away from shore, it would be impossible to avoid that incoming, faster ship, no matter where they headed, unless the wind changed in their favour in an unexpected way, or they could somehow hold on ahead of the pirates, out of reach from them for a few hours until the nightfall, when they could have a chance to outsmart them, using the darkness to escape.
"Downwind, broad reach," Ulloa chose, resolute. "We'll head north-northwest, 338 degrees."
"If they catch up and engage on that heading, they'll hold the weather gage, Sir," Ojeda warned.
"I know. But that's the best chance we'll have to hold on until sunset," Ulloa said, using the spyglass one more time to look at the incoming vessel, and after that, at their intended heading, where the horizon was turning grey. "Besides, there could be a storm brewing that way, and that could give us an advantage. Get me Almeida. And Cárdenas. Better still, get me everybody! We must reset all the sails to tack as soon as possible!"
"Attention! All hands on deck!" Ojeda cried. "All hands on deck!"
As chief officer Ojeda stepped down, calling the men to action, Diego approached the bridge. The captain could see it so clearly in his face: that rich caballero looked distraught beside himself by a situation so out of his control, something he was probably not used to deal with, because somehow, Diego de la Vega didn't look like the kind of man who would step back and let others save the day, admitting the most useful thing he could do was praying.
"I'm sorry, De la Vega," Ulloa said, leaving the bridge to meet him on deck. "For what it's worth, and for everyone's sake, I'll do everything I can to overcome this plight, but… it won't be easy."
"I know you will, Captain. Is there anything specific I can do to help?"
Ulloa shook his head slowly.
"I wish."
"Should I tell the other passengers?"
"Not yet. That won't help anybody right now, and it would only cause unnecessary, premature panic. I'll tell them in due time."
"Please, promise me this: if it's in your hand, you'll take my wife to safety, away from those animals, no matter where I am, or what I may be doing."
"What the heck are you talking about? Where do you think you'll be, if not here with us?"
"Promise me!" Diego said, grabbing Ulloa's upper arms to shake them, such was his fervour and intense vehemence.
"All right, all right, I promise. Calm down," Ulloa said, slowly taking Diego's hands off his arms. "If I can, I'll get her out of danger."
"No matter what!" Diego insisted.
"No matter what. You have my word."
"What about that hypothetical plan we talked about a few weeks ago, to keep all the women on board safe by hiding them in the cargo hold? When will you do that?"
"As I said, there will be time to prepare the passengers. We still have a few hours left, and my crew and I have to use them the best we can, without any drama, or wasting any time in unnecessary explanations. Can I count on you to keep the passengers away from the action? Especially Don Enrique; he'll be a great hindrance for everybody if he finds out what's happening."
"Yes, I'll do my best. Sorry for troubling you at this difficult time with my demands, Captain; you have enough on your plate already," Diego said. Then he added, with a half-smile: "and… you were absolutely right: I should have let you walk around that mast as many times you wanted, without meddling with your superstitions. Please, forgive me! Never again!"
Ulloa chuckled, mildly amused, and then looked at his friend in the eye. Right then, and despite his resolution for not showing any weakness and appear fairly optimistic in the face of impending doom, the captain felt he could not lie to that man, or make jokes during that grim situation, pretending everybody on board wasn't about to be killed, or worse.
"God help us," he whispered then, dead serious.
Diego swallowed hard, no longer smiling, holding that gaze for a few seconds while he nodded in silence, because with those three words, that brave man had said it all. Then, almost dragging his feet, he headed for his cabin to tell Victoria the terrible news.
ZZZ
At the bow, Benito de Soto used his catalejo to check on their new prey. It was a Spanish merchant brig, and her clever crew must have spotted them much earlier than others did, because as he watched, the ship tacked to leeward, heading north, running away from them at sotavento.
"They're onto us, already on the run," De Soto said to his second in command, Manuel Bustamante, lowering the glass. "But we'll catch them soon. Our Burla Negra flies on this easterly trade wind!"
"Yes, she does! Go girl!" Bustamante cried, slapping the bowsprit. "Go get them!"
"Ha! I told ya' we only needed to hang out over this spot and wait for another fucker to show up! They all head north-east off Cabo Blanco. Easy!"
"I bet the damn thing it's fully loaded… What da ya' think they freight?"
"Gold and diamonds, o'course!" De Soto said, letting out and amused guffaw.
"And women. Don't forget the women!
"Neva'! Plenty of women as well!" De Soto agreed. "Dammit, mate, we got short-changed on dames on our last capture! The last one won't last much longer, but I bet they carry a few belles in that fancy ship!"
The two pirates laughed again before they walked back to the bridge, where De Soto addressed his crew, acting like a magnanimous, popular leader.
"A whole pint of rum for every one of ya' if we reach 'em muthafucka's before siesta!"
The crew roared, euphoric, willing to work harder than ever before to reach that goal.
ZZZ
"The pirates are coming? Seriously?" Victoria said, appalled, shaking her head in denial. "But you said that, as they didn't attack any ships during the last month, they had probably moved out of this area!"
"That's what the captain said, but I think it was all wishful thinking. We all wanted to believe that."
"Oh my God! I'm so scared, Diego. What are we going to do?" she said, seeking comfort in his strong arms, all shaken. Diego embraced her tightly, deeply upset because one more time, he could not offer any real protection for that petite little body he loved so much. Right then, the horrible memories of the nightmare they had endured back at the hacienda hit them both pretty hard. "You won't let them do that to me again, will you?"
Diego held her even closer, afraid to let go, since… How on earth can I promise you that? I'd die protecting you, of course I would, but… No, other than that, I can't promise you anything else. Unless…
He gently pushed Victoria off him to hold her at arm's length, so he could look at her in the eye, determined to be as honest as possible while looking sombre and deeply serious, with the grimmest expression she had ever seen on his handsome face.
"I wish I could say everything is going to be fine, my dear, but we both know I can't," he said slowly while stroking her arms with his thumbs. Looking at those sad, blue eyes, she started crying then, sobbing uncontrollably. He gently took her head with both hands to cup her face, almost crying himself. "Listen to me: don't despair. We still have a few hours before they get close. The captain and his crew will try their best to get away from that ship. If they fail, these pirates will attack and eventually board us, seeking mainly two things: valuables… and women."
Victoria gasped them, holding onto his forearms, increasing the production of tears by a tenfold, spilling them down her cheeks and onto Diego's hands.
"If they board us and we can't stop them, sooner or later, they'll kill every living soul on this ship. There would be no escape. That's what they do."
As he carried on telling her the naked, terrifying truth, Victoria grew more and more upset, but she didn't interrupt him, trying to let all that information sink in. In contrast, and despite his words of doom, the way he held onto her soaked cheeks as he talked with that husky voice, was strangely soothing for her, instead of disturbing.
"During one of our conversations, the captain conceived a plan to prevent the capture of any women on board. While the battle goes on, we'll hide you all in the middle of the ship, deep into the cargo hold, with a barrel of gunpowder close by, connected to a fuse. If we win, whoever is left still standing will get you out of there. If they win, and they find you down there, you should assume we are all dead. Then, and pay close attention to this, please: YOU MUST LIGHT THE FUSE, and come close to that gunpowder barrel. The closer, the better…"
Victoria gasped in shock one more time, trying to shake her head in horror, but he held onto it quite firmly, preventing her from doing so.
"NO! No, no, no, no, no… Por favor, no! Don't ask me to do that!"
"Listen, please. Listen to me! It's the best solution: it will be fast, immediate, and painless. And the whole ship will blow up in pieces, including them, sending them all to hell. Then, we'll meet again at the other side, you and I… That, I hope I can promise."
"I don't wanna die, Diego!"
"Nobody wants to die, querida," he said with a broken voice, done with the ominous but essential, grim talk. He embraced her again, caressing her hair as she sobbed into his chest, soaking his shirt. "I don't want to die either, but you know I would willingly give my life away for you, anytime, anywhere, if only that can save you. But, what I really don't want to see happening ever again, under any circumstances, is to see you suffer at their filthy hands, because when those animals are done with you, you'll end up dead all the same. It's not worth it. We can't give them that satisfaction, do you understand? We can't!"
He felt Victoria nodding into his chest, finally starting to calm down a bit.
"I… I know you're right. I don't want to go through that awful experience ever again, no matter what. I think I'd prefer dying in a split second, as you suggest," she said with her head still buried on his torso. Then, she slowly moved away to look at him. "However, what I really would prefer, is this: that Zorro saves the day, as he always does."
"How? How could I?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure you'll think on something, Diego."
"We are on a ship, Victoria, and I'm an inland man. I don't know the ins and outs of sailing, or how to engage in battle with another ship. It doesn't depend on me to devise a fighting strategy as I could do on land, riding Toronado."
"You said we still have a few hours to try to get away from them. Please, use that time to find a way. I trust you. You can do it." She cupped his face with her hands then, as he had done to her, to reassure him. "You ARE Zorro. Never forget. And you know how to perform miracles. Do it for me, please. Do it one more time!"
She pulled form his neck to get him closer, and then reached for his lips to deliver a gentle kiss of pure love, full of devotion and trust. He got lost in that uplifting, power-kiss that greatly invigorated him and got him out of that gloomy, mental state.
Damn, you're right! I'm the mighty Zorro. They should be the ones running away from me!
ZZZZZ