Chapter 5: The Sheriff With Dead Eyes

Dead Man's Canyon was a wound in the earth—two hundred feet deep, a quarter mile long, with walls of striated rock that glowed red in the dawn light. The convoy route ran straight through the bottom, a narrow passage barely wide enough for two trucks side by side.
Perfect for an ambush.
Ryo stood at the canyon's edge, studying the terrain through binoculars. "There." He pointed at an outcropping halfway down the northern wall. "We set up there. High ground, good sight lines, cover from return fire."
Sera nodded, already calculating angles with her cybernetic eye. "And escape routes?"
"Three that I can see. Cave system to the west, maintenance tunnels from the old mining operation to the east, and if everything goes to hell, we rappel straight down and steal one of the convoy trucks."
"I like option three. It's stupid enough to work." She checked her weapons. "How long until the convoy arrives?"
Ryo consulted his data pad. "If they left at dawn like that hunter said, we've got maybe two hours."
"Plenty of time to set up." Sera pulled climbing gear from her pack. "Let's move."
They descended into the canyon, boots finding purchase on ancient handholds cut into the rock. The air grew hotter as they climbed down, trapped heat radiating from stone that had been baking under the desert sun for millennia.
Halfway down, they reached the outcropping—a natural shelf about twenty feet wide, sheltered by an overhang. Perfect for two shooters to rain hell on anything passing below.
Sera immediately began setting up her rifle—a long-range weapon she'd acquired in Rustbone, modified with a smart-targeting system linked to her cybernetic eye. Ryo positioned spare ammunition, laid out his revolvers, and studied the canyon floor through his binoculars again.
"Movement," he said suddenly.
Sera's rifle swung toward where he was looking. "Where?"
"South entrance. Three... no, four figures. On foot."
Through the binoculars, Ryo could see them clearly now—four people moving with military precision, checking corners, weapons ready. They weren't convoy guards. They were already here.
One of them looked up, as if sensing Ryo's gaze.
Even from this distance, Ryo could see those eyes.
Dead eyes. Empty eyes. Eyes that had seen too much and felt too little.
"Sheriff Blackthorn," Ryo breathed.
Sera cursed. "What the hell is he doing here?"
"Same thing we are. Waiting for Zero."
Below, Blackthorn raised one hand. His three companions fanned out, taking positions on the canyon floor. The sheriff himself looked directly at Ryo's position, even though there was no way he should be able to see them from that distance.
Then he smiled.
And started climbing.
"He's coming up," Sera said. "We could shoot him right now. End this."
"In a neutral canyon? With his deputies watching?" Ryo shook his head. "We'd be dead before we cleared leather."
"Then what do we do?"
"We talk to him." Ryo stood, hands carefully away from his revolvers. "Maybe he has information we need."
"Or maybe he's here to kill us."
"Only one way to find out."
Sera looked at him like he was insane, but she lowered her rifle. "This is the worst idea you've had yet. And that's saying something."
Sheriff Blackthorn climbed with surprising grace for a man who looked like he'd never smiled in his life. He reached the outcropping in minutes, pulling himself up with arms that showed no strain.
Up close, he was even more unsettling. Tall, gaunt, dressed in a long black coat despite the heat. His face was angular, all sharp edges and hollow cheeks. But it was his eyes that haunted—pale gray, emotionless, like looking into winter itself.
"Kazehara," he said, his voice a low rasp. "Sera Quinn. You're both a long way from Redwater Ridge."
"Could say the same about you, Sheriff," Sera replied, hand near her revolver.
"I'm here on official business." Blackthorn's dead eyes fixed on Ryo. "You're here for revenge. That makes us natural enemies."
"Unless we want the same thing," Ryo said carefully.
"And what do I want?"
"Zero Vance. Same as us."
Blackthorn was silent for a moment, then did something unexpected.
He laughed.
It was a terrible sound—dry, humorless, like wind through a crypt.
"You think I want Zero?" He shook his head. "Boy, I don't want him. I *need* him. There's a difference." He walked to the edge of the outcropping, looking down at the canyon floor. "Zero Vance is the key to everything. The Crimson Core. The Frontier Defense Initiative. Your father's death." His gaze swung back to Ryo. "And you're going to help me bring him in. Alive."
"Why would we do that?" Sera demanded.
"Because if you kill him, you'll never know the truth. And I think you want the truth more than revenge." Blackthorn reached into his coat—slowly, non-threateningly—and pulled out a data chip. "Your father's final message. Recorded the night he died. I've had it for five years. Never knew what to do with it. But now..." He held it out. "Now you're here. And I think it's time you learned what really happened."
Ryo stared at the chip like it was a live grenade. "You're lying."
"I'm a lot of things, Kazehara. But I'm not a liar." Blackthorn tossed the chip to him. Ryo caught it reflexively. "Watch it. Then decide if you still want Zero dead. Or if you want something more complicated."
"Why show me this now?" Ryo asked.
"Because everything's coming to a head. Zero's building something—a weapon that makes the Crimson Core look like a child's toy. If he succeeds, Redwater Ridge burns. Then the territories. Then everything." Blackthorn's expression hardened. "I can't stop him alone. But together? Maybe we have a chance."
Sera stepped forward. "You expect us to trust you? After everything you've done? The corruption, the murders, the deals with the Vultures?"
"I don't expect trust. I expect pragmatism." Blackthorn gestured at the canyon. "Zero will be here within the hour. So will the convoy. When they meet, this canyon becomes a war zone. You can fight me, fight Zero, and die accomplishing nothing. Or you can work with me, capture Zero alive, and get the answers you've been searching for." He fixed his dead eyes on Ryo. "Your choice, boy. But choose fast. Because time's running out."
Ryo looked at the data chip in his hand, then at Sera.
She shrugged. "Your call, partner. But if we're doing this, I want insurance."
"What kind?" Blackthorn asked.
"You and your deputies put down your weapons. Just for this conversation. Show good faith."
Blackthorn considered, then nodded. He unholstered his revolver—a massive hand cannon that looked like it could punch through armor—and set it on the ground. Below, his three deputies did the same.
"Satisfied?" he asked.
"For now." Sera kept her hand near her own weapon anyway.
Ryo pulled out his data pad and inserted the chip. The screen flickered, then resolved into an image that made his breath catch.
His father.
Takeshi Kazehara sat in what looked like a laboratory, backlit by emergency lighting. His face was bruised, blood running from a cut above his eye. Behind him, Ryo could hear alarms wailing, explosions in the distance.
"Ryo," his father said, voice steady despite the chaos. "If you're watching this, I'm dead. I'm sorry, son. Sorry I couldn't protect you. Sorry I couldn't stop what's coming." He glanced off-screen, fear flickering across his face. "The Crimson Core was a mistake. We thought we were building a tool to protect the frontier. Instead, we created a weapon that turns men into monsters. And now someone's stolen it. Someone who understands exactly what it can do."
Another explosion, closer. His father flinched.
"His name is Ezekiel Vance. But he calls himself Zero. He was one of us—a researcher, a good man. We trusted him." Takeshi's expression went grim. "But the Core changed him. When he bonded with it during testing, it rewired his brain. Made him faster, stronger, smarter. And colder. It stripped away his empathy, his fear, everything that made him human."
Ryo's hands were shaking. He couldn't look away.
"We tried to destroy the Core. But Zero found out. He came for us tonight. Killed the entire research team. Your mother..." Takeshi's voice broke. "Your mother died protecting the shutdown codes. Died so Zero couldn't complete the weapon. But it wasn't enough. He's taking the Core. He's going to finish what we started."
The camera shook as another explosion rocked the building.
"Ryo, listen to me. If you survive, if you grow up and come looking for answers, you need to know this: Zero isn't evil. He's broken. The Core broke him. And if you face him, you can't just kill him. You have to destroy the Core too. Both of them, together. Otherwise, someone else will find it. Use it. And everything starts again."
Takeshi looked directly into the camera, tears streaming down his face.
"I love you, son. I'm so sorry you have to carry this burden. But you're strong. Stronger than me. And I believe—"
The door behind him exploded inward.
A figure stepped through the smoke—tall, masked, moving with inhuman grace.
"Zero," Takeshi whispered.
The figure raised a weapon. There was no hesitation, no conversation. Just three shots—precise, professional, final.
Takeshi Kazehara fell.
Zero stood over the body for a moment, then looked directly at the camera. Through the mask, Ryo could see eyes that burned with cold fire.
"Tell my brother," Zero's voice was distorted, mechanical, "that this was necessary. Tell him I'm sorry. Tell him—"
The recording ended.
Ryo stared at the blank screen, his world tilting.
"Brother," he whispered. "Zero called my father his brother."
"Your father and Ezekiel Vance were brothers?" Sera asked.
Blackthorn shook his head. "Worse. They were twins. Identical twins who both worked on the Crimson Core project. When the Core bonded with Ezekiel, it didn't just change him. It made him the perfect weapon. And when Takeshi tried to stop him..." He gestured at the data pad. "You saw what happened."
Ryo felt like he was drowning. "My uncle. Zero Vance is my uncle."
"Was your uncle," Blackthorn corrected. "The man who stole the Core, who killed your parents, who's been terrorizing the territories for five years? That's not Ezekiel Vance anymore. That's Zero. Just Zero. The Core burned away everything else."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ryo demanded, rage building in his chest. "Why let me hunt him for five years without knowing the truth?"
"Because I needed to see what kind of man you'd become. If you'd turn into a revenge-blind fool or something more useful." Blackthorn picked up his revolver, holstering it. "Your father wanted you to understand that Zero can't just be killed. He has to be stopped. The Core has to be destroyed. And that requires precision, planning, and people who understand the stakes."
"So this is a recruitment pitch," Sera said coldly. "You want us to work for you."
"I want you to work *with* me. There's a difference." Blackthorn looked at them both. "Zero's building something called the Neural Cascade—a network that will let him control every piece of technology in the territories. Weapons, communications, power grids, everything. If he activates it, he becomes effectively unstoppable. A god made of circuits and bullets."
"How do you know this?" Ryo asked.
"Because I've been tracking him for five years. Same as you. Trying to predict his moves, gather intelligence, wait for the right moment to strike." Blackthorn's dead eyes fixed on Ryo. "That moment is now. Here. Today. This convoy carries the final component Zero needs. If we let him take it, we lose. Forever."
Below, in the canyon, the sound of engines echoed.
The convoy was arriving.
Three massive trucks rolled into view, their armored sides glinting in the morning sun. Guards rode on the running boards, weapons ready. The convoy moved in tight formation, ready for trouble.
"Here we go," Sera muttered, raising her rifle.
But Ryo's attention was elsewhere. At the north end of the canyon, dust was rising. Not from the ground. From the walls.
"He's here," Blackthorn said quietly. "Zero's here."
The dust resolved into figures—twenty, maybe thirty of them, rappelling down the canyon walls with military precision. They wore black tactical gear, faces hidden behind masks, weapons that looked like they'd been stolen from military armories.
And at their center, descending last, was a figure in a long coat.
Even from this distance, Ryo could feel the weight of his presence.
Zero Vance.
The ghost made flesh.
Ryo's hands went to his revolvers.
"Wait," Blackthorn said, grabbing his wrist. "Not yet. We need him alive."
"He killed my parents."
"And if you kill him now, you'll never destroy the Core. Never stop the Neural Cascade. Never save anyone." Blackthorn's grip was iron. "Your father died for this. Don't waste his sacrifice on simple revenge."
Ryo wanted to pull away. Wanted to ignore the sheriff and end this right now.
But his father's words echoed in his mind: *You have to destroy the Core too. Both of them, together.*
He forced himself to nod. "What's the plan?"
Blackthorn released him. "We let Zero hit the convoy. Let him think he's won. Then, when he's distracted, we strike. Fast and hard. Disable him, capture him, extract the location of the Neural Cascade."
"And if he sees us coming?"
"Then we improvise." Blackthorn drew his massive revolver. "But one way or another, Zero Vance's reign ends today."
Below, Zero's forces hit the convoy like a storm.
Gunfire erupted. Explosions rocked the canyon. Guards fell, trucks swerved, and chaos consumed the narrow passage.
And through it all, Zero walked calmly, methodically, toward his prize.
Ryo watched his uncle—the man who'd destroyed his family, who'd killed his parents, who carried death in his veins—and felt something cold and terrible crystallize in his chest.
Not rage.
Purpose.
"Let's finish this," he said quietly.
And the battle for Dead Man's Canyon began.
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**END OF CHAPTER 5**
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