The Kidnap of the Governor’s Daughter Part 1

The dashing rogue known as Zorro comes rushing through skies to help save the kidnapped governor’s daughter but is there more to kidnapped than the dapper hero knows?

Somewhere in the sky over New Mexico

1935

 

“Where the hell is he?”

“I don’t know, I lost him.”

“Someone finds him and shoot him dow--- aaa,” the voice screamed over the radio with the Boeing P-26 Peashooter flashing into a ball fire before hovering only for a second in the clear blue sky and taking a nosedive straight the world below. The man flying the plane, Captain Smith Crew had no idea what his name was, died before hitting the ground. Then again, the air pirate could care less about the death of a hired gun. All he cared about at the moment standing on the bridge of the Adventure Galley was the black and red plane racing in the sky around them.

The plane built by a man with no name and held a Tesla cell in its engine was called Tornado, but of course, Captain Crew didn’t know of any of this, nor did he care about the name of the plane or what kind of engine it had. Although, maybe, after he killed the pilot of the devilish plane, he might enjoy taking it as a keepsake, until that time all he growled about ---

“There he is,” a pilot barked over the airwaves before he blasted from the sky by the passing demon. Tornado zipped by the bridge of the airship faster than a falling stone and Captain Crew spun on his heel shouting, “Why isn’t that man dead yet?”

“Sorry, sir,” one of the crewmen said, looking down at the Captain’s boot, “he is too fast.”

“Don’t we have more guns them,” the Captain grabbed the boy’s collar.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then blow him out of the sky before I send you out there after him,” the Captain said, who was nothing more than a hired gun himself and this wasn’t his normal crew tossed the man backward. Most of his crew, of his own airship, turned up either dead or in some jail. He had to get the money up to break them, oh, he planned to get his boys out of the big house. He would show the law that they can’t mess with Captain Crew.

He would show them all.

“He took out all of our planes,” Someone bellowed from around him, “and he is gone again.”

How in God’s green earth were they losing a black and red plane in the middle of the day?

There wasn’t a cloud in sight, and this plane seems more like a ghost than a demon, but the Captain had heard stories about a plane like this over the skies in the Southern West part of the States. He didn’t believe them, what normal person would, but now, he stood there starting to rethink many of the things he didn’t believe were true.

“Any idea where he is?” Captain Crew shouted, looking around the glass walls of the bridge for his foe.

“No, sir, no one has eyes on him,” one of the bridge mates told him trying their best to keep calm. None of them were sure who’s bullet they would meet their end by, the Captain or the mystery plane.

“Damnit,” Captain Crew mumble under his breath spinning on his heels. He knew better than to take his job. He could feel it in his gut it was going to be a bad one, but he needs the cash to get his boys free. No one kidnapped a Governor’s daughter without hell to pay and boy, oh boy, he was paying for it now. He glared at the young lady tied to the chair at the back of the bridge with a hood over her head. All he had to do was get her to the rendezvoused point, get his money, and be on his merry way. It almost looked as if it was going to happen to until this blasted demon showed up.

“Captain,” someone shouted, making him almost fall over his boots as he spun around to see the man pointing ahead. Swinging down through the glass was a tall man dressed in ebony wearing a black mask covering the top half of his face. His bright piercing blues beat out the sky behind him, and the blue of the world shirked in horror as he crashed through the window. His black boots landed against the chest of a crewman holding a rifle dropping the poor fool to the floor.

The man shot up with a Colt 45 in one gloved hand and a fine black and golden rapier in the other hand. “Good day, gentlemen,” the dashing, dapper rouge said with a charismatic smirk,” if you would be so kind as to hand of the lovely Dagmara Iguanada, I’ll be on my way.”

Captain Crew growled like the beast hidden in him, “Kill him.”

“As you wish,” the masked man said never letting his smile fade and jumped from his spot into the fray. He spurts into action with his pistol roaring over the shout of the wind from the hole the window. The bullets landed against their marks as if this man wasn’t only a skillful athlete and acrobat, he was also a top-level marksman to boot. When he guns went cold his thin needle blade picked up the slack against the crew of the airship until at least, the masked man was standing in front of the Captain with the women tied up behind him.

The masked man grinned watching the Captain pulled a long hunter’s knife from his side. “You’re costing me too much here. I’m going to enjoy craving you up.” He pointed the tip of the blade at him.

“O’ Captain! My Captain!” The masked man dashed forward and then to the side as if he could see the Captain making his move before he even thought about doing it. He tried with the rage and might hide in his soul to stab the masked man, but the hero was too fast for the pirate. He swung again, this time too wild and he could see his mistake in the miss of making it. The masked man with a flick of his sword cut the hand of the Captain making him drop the knife. He cursed as he was kicked back against the wall and the point of the sword was placed under his chin.

“Uncle,” the Captain said with enough venom in the single word to make a rattlesnake recoil.

The masked man winked with three quick cuts to the Captain’s flesh leaving a neat ‘Z’ on his body. He groans from the shock of the speed long before the pain reached him. He glanced down at his bleeding chest and then back up in time to see the elbow from the masked come crashing against his nose. The hit dropped him to floor out cold.

Author's Note

I found out, not too long ago, that Zorro was public domain and was like well, why not use him? Thus, this short story was born. I wanted to put him in my steampunk world, which meant I had to change a few things here and there, but I think it holds true to the heart of the character. Another thing I did in this story which you will soon see, is you never know who the masked hero is, in fact, most of the story is from other people’s point of view facing Zorro.

Artwork: Cover to Dynamite Entertainment's Zorro #2 (March 2008) by Mike Mayhew