Ch.1- The Obstinate Ninja

Downtown Detroit- 11:32 PM, 3/15/08

They had received the call about ten minutes ago. Someone had broken into FBI headquarters in downtown Detroit. Somehow how they had made it in undetected but after about ten minutes of waiting for a status report from an entire wing, people started to worry. A live feed seemed to show that something had killed about twenty or so guards, leaving their bloody bodies scattered throughout an entire hallway but no one had heard a single gunshot. When the call was radioed in the person on the other end said it was like the intruder was a ninja…

"Ninja?"

"That's what they said."

"Damn…didn't think there were any ninjas left, much less in Detroit city."

Charles Monroe strapped himself into his flak jacket, trying to get comfortable in the heavy Kevlar jacket. He was about six foot five, shaved head and nearly as dark as Eddie Murphy but nearly twice his size and it all muscle. In fact the only one in the Detroit SRT (Special Response Team) that could match his size was probably the massive Irish Catholic man standing in front of him.

"You and I both know the crazy kind of shit that you can find in this city." Said Keegan Reilly.

Keegan was pretty much the same height and build as Charles, but with thick, red hair on his head as well as intoxicating green eyes that were set cleanly in his face. He had a square, chiseled face and a cleanly shaped, Roman nose. He shared a few more chuckled comments with Charles as he checked and holstered the heavy HK 9mm. It was a heavy tactical weapon that Keegan had to come to trust with his life, almost more than Charles. The only other weapon that he carried was the compact M4 Carbine. Which was small but undoubtedly big.

The SRT unit piled into the SWAT van. Twelve men, all of them the perfect mix of brain, brawn and stealth. Twelve men. Twelve trained killers. One ninja, hidden somewhere deep with a government controlled facility.

"Is he in?"

"Of course."

"Why the tone?"

"You know how I feel about him."

"He wanted in. I didn't have a choice, besides we needed him."

"…I still don't trust it, much less like it."

"No one said you had like it—"

"I know just live with it right Snake?"

"Right Otacon, just live with it."

Raiden watched as the screen flickered to life. A blue glow washed across his face and the USDOD symbol popped up in front of him. He began to type quickly, pulling from memory the exact codes and lines that Otacon had made him memorize by heart. Raiden's blue eyes scanned each page on the screen, eventually finding the correct link. He glanced once more over his shoulder, making sure there was nothing preventing him from completing his mission. If that's what you could call it.

The whole thing smelled- bad. Raiden had wanted back in, but not for this.

"We don't need heroes," echoed Snake's harsh voice in Raiden's head, "we just need soldiers."

That was the one thing that Raiden had taken to heart through the whole lecture that Snake had given him just three weeks ago. He thinks I'm only in it for the honor and glory. Raiden Really wasn't sure why he had signed back on with Foxhound. Maybe it was that Snake was in charge of it now, or maybe that he was only after the glory that came with being part Foxhound and the NGSF (Next Generation Special Forces), whatever the reason, it had really gotten to Jack, along with other things. Rose… Jack thought to himself.

"Raiden!" rang the Codec stuffed in Jack's ear, his face flinching in pain.

"What the fuck do you want?" snarled Jack, trying to sound as pissed off as he was.

"… I'm not liking your attitude Raiden," replied Snake after a moment of hesitation, then coolly added, "maybe you need to be pulled from this operation?"

"Sorry," answered Raiden," I'm just a little on edge. This… mission hasn't exactly been easy."

"I know. You certainly weren't discreet in your infiltration." Said Snake, agitated.

A twisted smile spread across Raiden's face. He could see himself moving quickly and deadly through the compound, steel katana in hand.

"I think it went well," said Jack smugly.

"This is a stealth operation. It's sup—" Snake was cutoff by Raiden's impetuous voice;

"Supposed to be a one-man infiltration and self extraction mission. Enemy deaths are to be kept at minimum based on the operative's personal opinion and view of their own skills," Raiden snapped with a harsh emphasis, "I remembered the brief word for word."

Snake hesitated, causing a smile to spread slowly across Raiden's face. He had gotten to Snake for once. Raiden reveled in the moment before Otacon's high voice broke in,

"Snake, Raiden! We have a problem…"

Raiden switched the download screen back to the camera monitor. SRT units stormed through the hallways of the complex.

"Raiden," Snake's voice broke into Jack's head, "you must complete the mission…at all costs."

As Raiden registered the last few words that Snake had said, he slowly extracted the steel katana from its sheath. The same sinister smile spread across his face as he listened to the echoes of footsteps in the marble hallways of the complex.