The Cannery

The Old Cannery sat on the edge of the bay, a rusting skeletal structure jutting out into the black water. The rain hammered against the metal roof, deafening and relentless.

Ren moved through the shadows. He was a ghost again.

He neutralized the perimeter guards silently. A knife to the throat. A body dragged into the dark. No heartbeat spike. No hesitation.

He reached the main processing floor.

Vance was there, standing on the catwalk overlooking the machinery. Below him, the rival syndicate members were loading crates.

"You're late, 33," Vance’s voice echoed over the PA system.

Ren stepped out from behind a pillar, gun raised.

"I'm not here to work, Vance."

Vance laughed. "I figured. You always were stubborn."

Vance snapped his fingers.

Floodlights clicked on, blinding Ren.

From the shadows, a dozen mercenaries emerged, weapons trained on him.

"You really thought you could take us all?" Vance called down. "You're good, Ren. But you're not a god."

Ren didn't lower his gun. He aimed at the fuel tank next to the catwalk. If he blew it, the whole building would go down. Including him.

"I don't have to be a god," Ren shouted. "I just have to be the end."

He tightened his finger on the trigger.

"REN! DON'T!"

The scream tore through the noise of the rain.

Ren froze.

Maya.

She ran onto the processing floor from the side entrance. She was soaked, wild-eyed, holding her camera like a shield.

"Maya, get out!" Ren roared, his focus shattering.

"I knew you were lying!" she screamed, running toward him. "I saw your eyes! I followed you!"

"Grab the girl!" Vance shouted.

Two mercenaries lunged for her.

Ren moved. He fired—*bang, bang*—dropping the two men closest to her.

But he exposed himself. A bullet grazed his shoulder. He spun, shoving Maya behind a rusting conveyor belt.

"Why are you here?!" Ren yelled, returning fire. Concrete chips exploded around them.

"Because you're not a monster!" Maya yelled back, grabbing his arm. "You're trying to save me by dying! That’s stupid!"

"It’s the only way!"

"No, it's not!"

From the catwalk, Vance laughed. He held a detonator. "How touching. Romeo and Juliet. Let's skip to the end, shall we?"

He aimed a sniper rifle at the conveyor belt. The laser dot danced near Maya’s head.

Ren looked at Maya. She was terrified, but she was holding his hand. She wasn't looking at the guns. She was looking at him.

"Ren," she whispered. "You don't have to die to be good. You just have to live."

Ren looked at the laser dot. He looked at Vance.

He realized he had been fighting to die. He had been fighting as a suicide bomber.

But Maya needed him alive.

The shift was instantaneous. The despair vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating clarity. He wasn't the boy anymore. He wasn't the monster. He was the protector.

"Stay down," Ren said.

He stood up.

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