Spies

Written by: James Guy (jimguy46@hotmail.com)

Beta’d by: MnD (yuanne@aol.com)

Archive: Manzana Core (http://www.oocities.org/manzanacore)

Rating: pg-13

Characters: TQ V G DrH CM M

Synopsis: The Queen of Swords finds that even a gossip-loving Dona is not what she seems, in the little pueblo of Saint Helena.

SPIES

The horses stood together, grazing on the sparse grass as the sun set over the ocean. The two riders had dismounted and were sitting on an incline overlooking the horses.

The woman was dressed in dark clothing with her long hair in a braid curled up under her pork pie hat. Her riding pants were of leather and her blouse was of silk. The quality of the garments spoke of wealth. The man was also dressed in dark clothing, and he wore a saber and presented a military bearing. His scruffy beard and dusty clothing told of a few days of hard riding.

"This letter must reach Monterey as soon as possible and then on to Spain." Said the woman as she handed the dispatch to the man.

"It will be done as you so order," was his quick reply. He tucked the letter inside his coat as the two walked to their horses and mounted. "It is a dangerous game you are playing, Senorita," said the man.

"That is Senora," replied the woman as she nosed her horse back towards the pueblo, "be sure you do not forget it."

She pondered the letter as she rode away. She had a job to do and she would do it; even if it meant she had to stay in this backwater territory instead of returning to Spain. She was, after all, the fourth cousin to the Spanish Queen. She would continue to portray herself as the spoiled wife of a Don. Too bad the fourth cousin to the Queen was raised poor. Wealth did not necessarily run down bloodlines.

The thought made her laugh. She was never one to limit herself to one man; especially when there was a man who would do exactly what she wanted. The arrogant Americano Capitan Grisham, Colonel Montoya’s guard dog, was pleasant enough in bed. She did not fool herself. If the captain or the colonel discovered she was a spy for the Crown, she would suffer an unfortunate accident.

Her marriage had been "arranged" when Don Hidalgo had traveled to Spain on business. He had complained to the Crown about the situation in California. His words did not fall on deaf ears. Colonel Montoya was carving out his own dictatorship and stealing from the Crown. Only a very small percentage of the taxes ever reached the Crown, and any investigators that were sent assured the Crown that all was well or ended up dead.

The Don and the senora were officially married by the state, not the Church. Gespard also was playing a game. He was ingratiating himself to the Crown and getting a beautiful and vivacious wife. One whom he could bed whenever he wanted and also strike a blow against Colonel Montoya. He may look like a fat old man, but the Senora enjoyed the bedding as well as the gifts he showered her with.

The surprise to the Senora was the sudden appearance of a young agile woman known as "La Reina des Espades", the Queen of Swords. She took the heat and suspicion away from the Senora. Colonel Montoya had his anger directed towards the Queen of Swords, and the Queen of Swords only.

On a hill nearby, a figure in black with a red sash watched as the two riders rode away. Through a hand telescope, the figure had see the two figures talking and exchanging the envelope. \\Do I follow the man or the woman?// Pondered the watcher. Following the man made more sense, as the woman’s destination would be for home.

Instead of following behind, the Queen of Swords rode parallel to the male rider. After an hour of riding, she saw that another man in uniform was pursuing the man. The distinctive hat made her recognize Captain Grisham at once. Suddenly a shot rang out and the stranger slumped over the saddle horn, but still clung to his horse.

Urging her horse toward the fleeing man, she saw the Captain reload his rifle and fire again. This time his rifle bullet hit the man’s horse and both horse and rider fell to the ground.

The Captain galloped towards the man but the Queen was on a direct intercept course and would reach the stricken rider first. The Captain had not yet seen her. The man rose from where he had fallen and was looking toward his attacker when he became aware of the Queen.

"Senor, climb up behind me" she yelled as she arrived at the man. The man grabbed her outstretched hand and swung up behind the queen. Immediately, they were galloping away from the dumbfounded Captain. Where had the Queen come from? He never saw her until she suddenly appeared and rescued his prey.

Captain Grisham shrugged. \\All the better to have two dead bodies to bring back to Montoya// He grimaced as he raced his horse after the fleeing the couple; so intent on the chase that in the dusky light, he did not see the barren limb until it was too late. His head struck the limb with such force that it broke off. Fortunately for Captain Grisham, he was already unconscious as his limb body fell from his horse, the limb landing on top of him. His quarry fled into the night.

The Queen of Swords knew of several box canyons. She led her horse towards one of these. They would be safe for now. There was an old cabin, deserted and in poor shape, but it had a roof and four walls, and that was all that mattered. There was a meadow and a small stream. She dismounted and helped the man down. He was bleeding badly. In the cabin, she found a stub of a candle and lit it. Checking the man for injuries, she found that the bullet had entered his back and tore a ragged hole in his chest. He was barely conscious.

The man weakly grabbed the Queen’s wrist. "This letter must reach Monterey quickly." He uttered feebly.

"Who does it go to? I need the name," said the Queen.

"Be careful, only give it to . . ." the man coughed deeply, and blood gushed from his mouth as he fell back. His grip on the Queen loosened as his life drained away. "It won’t matter to you now," said the Queen. She blessed herself and said a prayer for this stranger’s soul.

The Queen realized her back was sticky as she looked at the dead man. First she must retrieve the letter, then bury him. There was no shovel, but at least she could cover the body with rocks. A short while later she stood over the grave and again prayed for the man’s soul. Then, stripping to the waist, she washed her clothes in the stream. Standing there half-naked she thought benignly, "Wouldn’t Captain Grisham or Doctor Helm love to see me now?" Later, she dressed in the damp clothing. "Glad is it summer time" she said out loud to her horse, and it whickered a reply. The dampness would keep her cool in the summer’s night warmth.

She lit a small fire and set down to read the letter in the firelight. Having finished, she folded it up and tucked it into her waistband. "Senora Hidalgo, you are not the only one who hides behind a mask," She said to herself. Since she didn’t know who to deliver the letter to, she would return it to the sender.

Early the next morning, the Queen of Swords left the canyon to return the way she came. A few miles from the canyon she found Captain Grisham’s horse munching on some wild grass. Leading the horse, she found the unconscious Captain Grisham still trapped by the limb. Pulling the limb away, she quickly disarmed her foe before throwing water from a canteen on her saddle onto his face. Grisham became conscious and sputtered

"Enjoy your nap, Captain? I wouldn’t move too suddenly as you have a nasty lump on your head." She mocked him laughingly. The Captain reached for his pistol, then dagger, then sword; all of which were gone. "I wouldn’t leave you here to poison the coyotes or mountain lions. But now since you are awake, I will say adios."

As the Queen rode away, the Captain stumbled to his horse and found his pistol. He raised it and fired. Nothing happened. Swearing, he grabbed his rifle. "Damn," he swore. " I forgot to reload, but she probably would have unloaded it anyway." He swung up on his horse, or tried to, but his head hurt too much. Slowly he climbed aboard and walked his horse back to the pueblo. Every step of the horse echoed painfully in his head.

In the early afternoon, Senora Hidalgo walked in her garden. A piece of paper drifted from above to land on the ground in front of her. She picked it up and gasped as she opened it to find her letter and a card bearing the Queen of Swords.

"Your man was ambushed by Captain Grisham and was killed. He couldn’t tell me who to deliver it to so I returned it," said the Queen of Swords. Vera watched the black clothed figure emerge the shadows. The Queen just stood there.

"I don’t know what you are talking about," said the Senora.

"Don’t be coy," said the Queen. "I watched you give that to the man and since Captain Grisham attacked the man, he was surely was watching also.

Only he doesn’t know what was in the letter. I would be careful if I were you," the Queen warned.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Vera. "Some say you are a terrorist, others say you are a vigilante. If I sent word to Captain Grisham, he would come and kill you." "He might bring two ropes to hang both of us, especially if he saw the contents of that letter." Replied the Queen as she faded back into the shadows and was gone.

Captain Grisham agonizingly dismounted from his horse. The ride to the pueblo was long and painful. The welt on his head was still pounding. Dried blood was cached on his forehead. "Having a problem Captain?" said a male voice from the doorway.

"I had an accident, Doctor. Do you have anything to stop this headache?" Snarled the Captain, not appreciating the man’s smug grin.

"The simplest way is not to hit your head on anything in the first place. Good thing you have a hard head." Doctor Helm replied; entirely too cheerful for Grisham’s taste. The doctor came out of the doorway. "You dropped something getting off your horse. Let me get it for you." Said the doctor bending down and picking it up. That young woman is everywhere, thought the doctor. Captain Grisham grumbled and staggered away.

Colonel Montoya watched the exchange from his balcony. \\I wish I knew what that was all about// he thought. \\It must have had something to do with the Queen of Swords. I want her head but if she can put down our young captain, so much the better//

Tessa relaxed in the hot bath water, soaking away the trail dirt and the memory of blood off of her. She pondered the contents of the letter as Marta read the copy that Tessa had made. "This is becoming very complicated, Tessita," said Marta. "The Queen of Swords will need to be careful. Santa Helena seems to be a breeding ground for spies."

"Si, but who knows where this will lead La Reina des Espades?" she asked in turn.

END