He came face-to-face with Russell just as the outlaw was about to step out of the cave.
One look at the man's brutish, greedy face and the terrified woman he was dragging was all Henry needed to understand the situation.
Shhhlick.
With a single, fluid motion, Henry's dagger sliced across Russell's throat, severing his windpipe. He then hurled the blade at another outlaw three meters away, the steel burying itself in the man's neck.
He drew again.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three more knives flew, striking the remaining three outlaws in the cave with lightning speed. He didn't even need to activate his Super Reflexes; at this range, he could have hit his targets with his eyes closed. His enhanced agility allowed him to throw three knives in less than a second. The outlaws never had time to react.
The brutish look in Russell's eyes turned to one of pure, gurgling despair. He released his grip on Madeline and collapsed, his hands instinctively clawing at his throat.
Henry charged, a blur of motion, covering the five meters to the two younger outlaws in an instant.
The sudden, violent turn of events had left Bick and the other young guard completely stunned. Before they could even decide whether to draw their guns or their knives, Henry was on them. Two lightning-fast hooks, one left, one right, snapped their heads back and sent them crumpling to the floor, unconscious.
Henry pulled two gags from his space, stuffed them in the men's mouths, and then cuffed their hands behind their backs. I'm a Sheriff, he thought. It's perfectly reasonable for me to carry a pair of handcuffs.
Just then, Edith's scream finally caught up with her. She rushed to Madeline's side, only to find the brute dead on the ground and her cousin standing in a daze.
The sudden shift from sheer terror to absolute silence was too much for her to process. An unconscious, continuous scream still issued from her lips.
Then she saw him. A tall, handsome young man, standing before her like a statue of a Greek god of war.
"It's alright," Henry said, his voice low and calm. "You're safe now. You can stop screaming."
Madeline finally came to her senses. She saw her husband standing beside her and collapsed into his arms, sobbing quietly.
Henry gave Richard a nod, then put a single finger to his own lips in a universal sign for silence. The simple gesture worked. Edith slapped her hands over her own mouth, cutting off the scream.
Henry walked to each of the dead outlaws and, with a quick, efficient motion, ensured they were finished.
Just then, he heard a voice from further down the path.
"Russell, hurry it up! We want a turn too!"
Henry followed the sound. In a small, circular basin about twenty meters away, eighteen more outlaws were guarding a herd of over a hundred horses.
To prevent them from raising the alarm, he activated his Super Reflexes.
His hands became a blur, a whirlwind of motion, plucking knives from the sheath at his waist and sending them flying in a continuous, deadly stream. The combination of his storage space, his enhanced reflexes, and his agility was terrifying. He didn't even know he could move that fast.
A second later, when the talent faded, all eighteen outlaws had a knife in their throat. A few had two.
He threw one more for good measure, putting a final blade into the heart of each man still standing.
Seven new white pearls and sixteen grey ones appeared in his vision.
He quickly looted the bodies, taking their weapons and wallets, and then dragged the corpses into a shallow ditch at the edge of the basin, just out of sight.
A solo Henry was a Henry at full power. Working with others meant holding back more than half of his true strength.
He walked back to the cave and cut the ropes binding Richard's hands. The moment he was free, Richard pulled his wife into a tight embrace.
"I am Henry Bruce, the Sheriff of Frisco," Henry said quietly. "Who are you?"
Richard and Edith stared at him, their eyes wide with disbelief and dawning joy. It was really him. The miracle they had prayed for had actually happened.
Thank you, God! Thank you!
Richard, a man accustomed to keeping his composure, was the first to speak. "I know who you are, Sheriff Henry. Thank you for saving us. These men were here to ambush you. My name is Richard Mellon, from the Mellon family of Pittsburgh. We are in your debt."
"You're safe now," Henry said. "Go and sit on the rocks over there. I need to interrogate these two."
"Of course," Richard said, and led his shaken wife further into the cave. Edith followed, her eyes never leaving Henry.
Henry walked over to the unconscious Bick and ground his boot into the man's left pinky finger. The sharp pain shocked him back to consciousness.
Henry waited a few minutes, letting the man's concussed mind clear. Then he stepped on the wound again.
Bick's body convulsed, a silent scream trapped behind the gag.
Henry's voice was as cold and remote as the grave. "Who are you? How many men did you bring to ambush me?"
The man just shook his head, his eyes wide with terror.
"Impressive," Henry said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "A tough one. I admire that."
He applied more pressure, crushing the man's ring finger as well.
"Still nothing? I'm truly impressed."
Bick shook his head frantically, muffled sobs escaping from behind the gag.
"Oh," Henry said, feigning realization. "I forgot about the gag. Tell you what. You tell me everything I want to know, you nod your head yes. You refuse, I'll send you to hell. There's still another one to ask, after all."
He drew one of his double-action revolvers and pressed the cold muzzle against Bick's forehead.
The young outlaw nodded his head so hard it looked like it might fall off. He was only eighteen years old. He didn't want to die. He had been on the streets long enough to know that this man, this devil, would pull the trigger without a second thought.