Rating: PG13 (Violence and adult theme)

Events described occur several months after the events in the QoS-VS2 stories Thanks to Robin Hood and Devil Moon; thanks to Maril, Jim, Terry, and Paula.

Prologue

Monterey, Alta California

M. Louis d'Retenu closed the door to his hotel room and descended the single flight of stairs to go do his habitual early morning training regimen. He went out and walked the short distance to the stable in back. The night was cool and he noticed the full moon above the tops of the buildings and low on the horizon, just peeking through some clouds. As he tightened the saddle, he thought of the freight wagons he watched being loaded yesterday. Those wagons would be headed to Santa Helena later today and he would be going with them.

He looked forward to meeting the friends he left there several months ago, Doctor Helm, Colonel Montoya, Señorita Alvarado and her friend Marta, among others. He led the horse out into the street and stepped into the saddle. Louis smiled, thinking of Marta. He had been drawn to her during the many weeks he stayed in Santa Helena. Her calm demeanor, intelligence, and quiet beauty, had struck a chord with him.

He guided his horse slowly through the empty streets, heading east. He nudged his horse up to a canter after leaving the majority of the city buildings behind. He headed to a spot that took a five-minute canter to reach. He tried to maintain a daily martial training regimen. As a French businessman in a Spanish world, the former French Cavalry Colonel knew to be prepared for the few, who sooner or later, would challenge him. Though most only did so after much drinking.

Boom – boom – boom! The crack of cannon fire stopped him. He turned the horse to look back toward the town. Boom – boom – boom! The flash of guns from two ships in the harbor drew his attention. Louis paused, looking at the scene, thinking immediately to the story told of the raids by de Bouchard a year or so ago. He set his horse back toward town at a gallop, thinking, I must get the wagons away from the city!

He threaded his way through the surprised populace, who crowded on to the streets. As he got closer to the wagon corral, he could see people coming out of homes carrying bags with their valuables. They remembered the raids too.

Louis pulled up just outside the corral, and gave a quick grin as he saw the men were already hitching the horses to the wagons. Two of the wagons were already loaded and one was empty.

Pedro, one of his drivers, stopped momentarily when he saw Louis dismounting. "Señor, do we need to hitch the empty wagon?" he yelled.

"No, just the loaded wagons. Wait, wait, yes, hitch the empty one up too," Louis yelled back. He knew many would need a ride to get out of town.

Louis ran and began to help Pedro and the other men hitch up the three wagons. "Go get your gear and weapons!" he yelled when they finished. "We leave now!"

Louis went to his horse and pulled two pistols out of his saddlebag. He made sure they were primed and loaded before sticking them in his belt.

As his men came back with their gear, Louis noticed the cannon fire had decreased and now came the sound of ragged musket fire. Louis smiled at the thought of the arrogant Colonel Orvantes and his acolyte, Captain Estevan, having to fight the raiders. He knew the Spanish soldiers had been taken by surprise and had little faith they would prevail.

Louis called the men together. They gathered quickly. "We will take the shortest road out of town to the east and head inland until we can turn south," he stated.

"Why don't we try for the main road south?" asked Pedro.

"If I had planned this raid, Pedro, I would have landed men both north and south of town first, to pick up just such a rich prize as our wagons," Louis replied quietly.

There were several nods when he finished and Pedro said,"Yes, you are right."

Louis sent the men to get ready. He held Pedro back. "You will take the empty wagon and follow. Only stop for women and children," Louis said, giving him a pat on the back.

Louis opened the corral and then mounted his horse. He led the wagons out and headed immediately down the street to the turn that would take them east, out of town. The imminent sunrise made it easier to see. There were many more people in the streets now, headed the same way. He could hear the sounds of muskets, now concentrated from the direction of the Viceroy's residence.

A few minutes later, the two loaded wagons cleared the town and most of the crowd on the road. The drivers were able to pick up speed. Louis turned back to help Pedro.

Pedro's wagon had fallen behind as he picked people up. The wagon had several women in back now, with children. The children were yelling or crying. Louis watched both men and women hand up small children to the women in the wagon. He yelled to the parents trailing the wagon the location of a stream five miles east, where he would take the women and children on the wagon.

Several horsemen rode quickly by the wagons, intent on putting distance between them and the town. Louis watched their dust settle over the wagon tarps in the light of the newly risen sun. A smattering of musket fire south along the coast told him he guessed right. The pirates had put out men to trap people.

Louis dropped the women and children at the stream, leaving them what bread that they found in the three wagons. He headed the wagons further east to pick up a side-trail that headed south. The trail was well marked for the first mile or so. Then it began to show less and less use, finally becoming a rough path. Louis kept the wagons moving slowly. Throughout the day they saw one or two horsemen who were obviously also intent on getting away from the pirates.

Louis stopped the wagons in the late afternoon after crossing a small stream. He believed they were within a mile or so of the coast road and wanted to take a look. Louis asked Pedro and the men to redistribute the loads to all three wagons. Four of them started to shift the load and two men took care of the horses. Louis rode slowly forward, in the direction he thought the road would be, to take a look around.

It was closer to two miles before he found the road. A quick ride to look a mile or so toward Monterey showed no pirates. Louis then rode south on the coast road for a mile before heading back to the wagons. Though he had not seen anyone, he let the drivers know to keep their weapons handy because there could be the possibility of an ambush by the pirates or opportunistic bandits.

Louis led them slowly toward the road. The wagons, lightened because their loads were spread among the three wagons, did not have too much problem going cross-country. Once they reached the road, they picked up speed and headed south.

Act One

It was a bright sunny day at the market in Santa Helena. Marta and Tessa had driven in to town to do some shopping and wait for the projected arrival of the supply wagons from Monterey. Marta had walked to the Cantina to get a table for lunch. Tessa walked back and forth, absently looking at the goods on display and then peering at the door of the Doctor's office.

Tessa was annoyed with Robert. Very annoyed, as the steady tapping of her foot indicated. Imagine the nerve of the man, she said to herself, turning sharply away from where she had been staring toward his office door. She moved quickly through the small crowd toward the fruit stand. She picked up pieces of fruit and put them back, all the while thinking of last night.

Robert had visited the hacienda to check on Marta being 'under the weather.' That was just a cover for Robert to visit and check how her pistol wound from the sinister Señora Caplatas had healed. Tessa knew the wound was fine and almost totally healed, yet Robert spent a lot of time examining it. Marta did not leave them alone in the parlor for very long, though she was kind enough to announce loudly as she returned each time from getting water or whatever Robert thought of to get her out of the room for a moment. Tessa had enjoyed soft kisses with Robert while Marta was out. As she leaned in his embrace, her head at his shoulder, looking up at him, she had just started a plan in her head to meet with Robert on one of her morning rides when Marta announced her return. They separated and both wore grins on their faces when Marta came in. It was then that Robert put his foot in his mouth.

"It will be better for you, if I keep my distance from now on," he began.

"What do you mean?" she had asked him.