Diego had been meeting the challenges of being the local hero for the last several weeks with a renewed dedication for the cause. He had found that he was being far less careless now that he had dealt with his depression and feelings of being trapped behind his mask. He still couldn't quite bring himself to reveal who Zorro really was behind the mask to Victoria or his father. He often found himself daydreaming or playing scenarios in his head while he was relaxing in attempts to strategize how to best reveal that he was indeed the man behind Zorro's mask.

He was in the middle of a fantasy involving Victoria and a sensual picnic when the sound of footsteps brought his attention back into the real world. Felipe had entered the library and was apparently on a mission. Diego placed his book of poetry of which he had only been pretending to read on his lap.

Felipe began to sign, "Come quickly, something is wrong!"

He quickly stood up and placed the poetry book on the seat of the chair. Needing to hear the details for himself, Diego found his father and Don Luis who was their nearest neighbor having a conversation in the open doorway of the hacienda. While standing in a secluded area just a short distance from where they were in discussion about a missing stagecoach he easily eavesdropped without being noticed. From the conversation he had just listened to, it seemed as if the alcalde couldn't be bothered to organize his men to form a search party. More than likely DeSoto may have had some kind of an interest in the missing stagecoach.

His father and Don Luis were discussing a plan of forming a search party of their own with several men from the pueblo. Diego stepped forward and made his presence known. Like his father, Don Luis was a highly intelligent man who wasn't afraid to step in and help during a time of need.

"Diego my boy, there seems to have been some trouble with the stagecoach this morning, and we are going to search for it," his father informed him even though he already knew.

"Do you need my assistance?" he asked Don Luis, knowing the likely response he would receive.

As Don Luis had begun to open his mouth to answer him, his father answered the question for him.

"Diego, I appreciate the offer, but perhaps it's best if you stay here," his father replied to him as if he were incapable of helping.

With a nod, Don Luis turned and began studying his shoes as if he was at a loss for words. His father began to gather up supplies and weapons before briskly walking out of the hacienda. After his father had closed the door Diego sought out Felipe.

Felipe accompanied him to the secret cave as he prepared to track down the missing stagecoach himself. Diego switched his clothing to Zorro's outfit with Felipe's assistance. He suddenly caught sight of the fraying rope that controlled the opening of his secret cave.

"I need to fix that," he thought to himself as he fitted Tornado with his saddle.

As the cave opened he climbed in the saddle and began riding out on his mission as he would be needed very soon as Zorro. He felt the rhythm of Tornado's pace. The hot dry air surrounded him as he urged his horse into a faster gait.

Total concentration overtook his mind as he continued on for quite a ways with no luck in seeing evidence of a stagecoach or any foul play. Surely he had been riding in the most likely direction to find the stagecoach unless it had been completely stolen and the greedy bandits were headed in a completely different direction.

When he had almost decided that it was time to reevaluate his plan he heard voices coming from an area just beyond the thick brush and brambles ahead of him. Diego mentally prepared to announce his presence as Zorro as he slowed Toronado down. He definitely recognized one of the voices that he was hearing. Hearing his father's voice meant that the search party had found something.

As he continued in the direction of the commotion from the group of men, he saw the stagecoach with the driver slumped over. The Brother Whip had begun to turn a bluish gray and had apparently been shot in the back of his head. The horses had been cut loose and were missing. Mail bags had been thrown haphazardly on the ground as if someone had been searching for something. The conductor was in a heap on the ground by a rear wheel with blood covering his shirt. The guards were scattered on the ground about a foot from him with their eyes staring up at absolutely nothing.

"Zorro!" he heard a haggard voice shout.

"Hey look, Zorro is here!" another relieved voice shouted.

He dismounted from Toronado and began to investigate for evidence left by the culprits. He made eye contact with his father who seemed happy to see him. Unfortunately his father was happy to see Zorro, but not him as himself of course.

"Zorro, are you going to join our search party?" Don Luis asked him.

"We could definitely use your help," his father added.

"Yes, you want my help now that you see me as Zorro," Diego thought to himself.

After circling around the stagecoach and not finding the strong box he agreed to join the men and search with them. He had begun to climb back into Toronado's saddle, when he heard a noise that the other men had not heard. His fox-like hearing had picked up on a vocalized sound that almost seemed to ooze with agony. While peering in the direction of where the sound had originated from he spotted the conductor attempting to lift his head. Diego rushed over to the man and began to assess his injuries with much closer scrutiny than before.

"Zorro," a faint and raspy voice fell upon his ears.

The conductor was alert and trying to communicate. After assessment of the man's wound it appeared that the amount of blood on his shirt had masked the hit to the man's shoulder. Anyone would have looked at him and thought that it was a chest wound instead. The man had been lucky that he had passed out and not been discovered to be alive.

"Look everyone, this man is alive!" he heard his father shouting.

Don Luis yelled, "¡El necesita ayuda!" as he rushed to the conductor's side and handed a handkerchief to him.

He immediately placed it over the conductor's wound and began to apply pressure. The grateful conductor began trying to speak. Although his voice was barely audible and very raspy he relayed the details of what had happened.

"We were ambushed at the top of the ridge," the conductor's weak voice faded in and out.

"There were four of them wearing flour sacks with only their eyes showing," he added between shallow breaths.

His father who had joined them said "Save your voice now, we're going to get you to the pueblo and find the doctor."

The conductor desperately continued to try to form words as he asked, "What about the senoritas who were traveling?"

As soon as the conductor had asked the question he passed out again, but was still weakly breathing. Everyone was watching him use his medical knowledge to attempt to save the conductor. He began to silently recite a prayer.

"Don Alejandro, gather up most of the men and search for the banditos and the senoritas!" Don Luis directed.

"Zorro, I will take over for you and will make sure that we get him to the pueblo quickly," he added.

A few of the men began to attach their own horses to the stagecoach with some of the ropes and supplies that the search party had brought with them. The men carefully lifted the conductor into the stagecoach where Don Luis had joined him to continue applying pressure.

He once again mounted Toronado and began tracking the murderous bandits. The rest of the available men continued to ride alongside him as he focused on every sound, his sense of smell, and his surroundings. They trusted that he, as Zorro, would find the missing women and bring the bandits to justice. His ears suddenly picked up on the faint sound of talking after they had been riding for what had seemed like forever. He woahed Toronado and motioned for the men to quiet down. The group of men and their horses stopped abruptly and watched him dismount and slowly walk in the direction of the voices. He had stopped them far enough away so that they wouldn't be heard by the bandits.

As he snuck into their makeshift camp he spotted the women tied up, but not gagged. Several horses were huddled together. The bandits could be heard making lewd remarks to the women. As he crept closer a bandit grabbed on to one of the disheveled senorita's hair and yanked on it roughly, making her face rise up to face his.

"We're going to have a great time with you senoritas!" the foul bandit exclaimed as he grazed his hand down the side of her chest and past her ribs.

The bandit had grabbed the neckline of her dress in preparation to rip the dress open when she cried out, "¡Zorro, ayudame!"

She had spotted him and had alerted the unsuspecting bandits to his presence. He didn't have time to form a plan. He quickly began to scan through the scruffy and dirty faces of the men who needed to be apprehended. He only saw four men guarding the senoritas. A few others had been conversing with each other beyond the men who had been on guard duty. He left forward towards the man who had been preparing to assault the young woman.

The bandit quickly turned around and ran directly into his fist. The large bandit did not seem phased by the contact with his fist and rammed himself into his body. He found himself falling to the ground along with the bandit as they continued to attack each other. As the rest of the search party watched, he continued to kick and swing punches while he and his target seemed to be rolling across the ground, tumbling closer and closer to their smoldering fire pit.

While struggling to get control of the situation he found himself landing in the ash and coals. Diego, noticing his slightly singed Zorro disguise quickly leapt up as the bandit, now stunned by the heat of the coals, checked his surroundings. Several of the men from the search party began to grab the bandit together before his senses returned, holding him still as they waited for Zorro to bind the bandit with a bit of rope that had been discarded on the ground.

The men worked together with him to attempt to capture the remaining bandits. Punches were being thrown, shots were ringing out through the air, and he found himself standing over one of the bandits with his sword across the man's neck. Two men from the search party quickly grabbed the bandit and secured his hands behind his back as they carried him back to where the horses were gently grazing amid the continued chaos. He looked up and saw another bandit aiming a pistol at his father. The man with the gun seemed to have appeared suddenly. All he could think of was the time when his father had been shot and killed during the strange week when he had met the romani family.

"Father, look out!" he heard himself yell.

"Lo arruine!" he thought to himself. He had messed up when he called out to his father. His secret was out.

He saw red as he ran towards his father and the man who was attempting to take his father's life. While full of rage and absolutely terrified, he cracked his whip and knocked the pistol from the bandit's hand. As the gun fell to the ground, the bandit collapsed. The fifth bandit had been shot by his own pistol.

Don Alejandro looked intently at him and asked, "Zorro, are you my son?"

"Father, we'll have to discuss this later," Diego informed him.

Don Alejandro was grinning from ear to ear as they rejoined the group of men who had captured the rest of the bandits while they had been distracted. The senoritas had already been freed from their restraints, and their dignity was still intact. They were positioned on horses with a few of the caballeros. The bandits had been slung over their horses. He used his sword to mark them each with a Z as a sign that they had been captured by Zorro.

The men from the pueblo assured him that they would turn the bandits into the alcalde. He excused himself and rode away on Toronado as they called out their goodbyes to Zorro. Hopefully no one else had heard him call out to his father. He needed a chance to think before he headed home.

Diego, still dressed as Zorro, found a secluded spot after galloping away in anguish and distress due to his blunder. He had seen his father smile, but he could only wonder if his father would still be smiling once the adrenaline wore off. He dreaded going home to face the questions that his father would have for him. After discussing his fears and hopes with Toronado for what seemed like hours he finally decided to head towards the hacienda to have a man to man talk with his father.