Deceptions and Lies: After The End Game
"Snake!?" Otacon screamed frantically hoping he may hear him calling his name and come.
His eyes surveyed the scene in a desperate attempt to see any sign of Snake, but there was nothing, not even the tanker that he was on. What the hell had happened he wondered? And instantly his mind went back to about an hour ago, the last Codec call he had received from Snake, "Otacon, we've got a problem." But shortly after that cryptic message, the Codec abruptly cut off, and he hasn't heard anything from Snake since.
"Please God." Otacon prayed silently. "Please let Snake be okay."
Otacon gripped the steering wheel tightly. The water was horribly choppy, the waves crashed up against the small boat mercilessly. Visibility was non-existent due to the torrential rain and even worse was he could feel the vessel being pulled by a powerful force. The ship is still in the lower harbor, the under current shouldn't be this strong. What the hell happened out here?
Otacon continued to look for Snake, his heart was beginning to sink into his stomach. He was looking into the murky, black distance for what seemed like an eternity. Maybe Snake couldn't fight against the rain and under current. Maybe this is the end of the legendary Solid Snake. No sooner then the thought of Snake being dead came into his mind, Otacon made out a figure in the distance.
"Snake?!" Otacon called out frantically.
The figure came swimming up and Otacon's mood lifted, finally he realized that Snake was alive. Otacon released the anchor and walked out onto the deck of the boat to greet Snake and help him aboard. Snake came up to the boat and began to pull himself onto the deck.
"What happened?" Otacon asked as he helped Snake onto the boat.
"It's a long story." Snake said sounding shaken.
Just as he came aboard, the boat shook violently which nearly caused both men to nearly fall into the murky water.
"We gotta get the hell outta here." Snake said.
"Sure." Otacon replied. "Help me with Liquid first."
The two men walked into the interior of the boat. Otacon walked over to where Liquid lay and he pulled off the sheet that covered his lifeless body. Snake looked at Liquid's pale face and his mind instantly went back to Shadow Moses Island and all the mayhem he caused there, not to mention tonight? His dead body was right here in front of him, but he was alive and well inside Ocelot. Even more unnerving was now that his hair was dyed brown, Liquid looked like his exact double. A cold chill shot up Snake spine and he shuddered. Otacon bent over and picked up the top portion of Liquid's body while, Snake grabbed his feet. The boat began to rock viciously as the pair carried the body out the door and onto the small deck. Once outside, Otacon and Snake propped Liquid up against the railing of the deck.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Snake shouted against the raging storm. "I mean his right arm is missing?"
"Well if this doesn't work we'll have to come up with another plan." Otacon replied.
Snake and Otacon looked at Liquid's motionless body again.
"It's now or never Snake." Otacon shouted.
Snake nodded and pushed the corpse over the side of the railing. The two men watched silently as Liquid's carcass floated off into the distance. Once the body was out of eyesight, Snake and Otacon went back into the interior of the ship; Otacon lifted up the anchor and began to turn the boat back to shore.
"So do you wanna tell me what happened out here?" Otacon asked.
"No." Snake said bitterly.
"Why?" Otacon said.
"I really don't feel like reliving the whole thing right now Otacon." Snake replied. "I'll tell you tomorrow."
"Okay."
Otacon and Snake continued on not uttering a word to each other for awhile. As they were heading back, Snake's eyes caught a glimpse of someone swimming toward their ship. Snake dashed out to the deck to see who it was, when he realized it was one of Gurlukovich's soldiers. How on earth could this guy have managed to survive the sinking of that tanker?
"Otacon drop anchor!" Snake shouted frantically as he ran into the room.
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
Otacon released the anchor as Snake went over to the deck and waited for the solider to swim close enough to help him on board. As the solider swam closer, Snake noticed that he had another solider with him. As the pair came closer, he saw that the other solider was that woman he'd fought with hours earlier, how on earth could she have made it though that? There were enough tranquilizers in her system to keep her unconscious for weeks; there was no way she should have survived.
"Here buddy." Snake said stretching out his hands to help them aboard.
"Take the girl first." The solider said.
The solider pulled her body up to meet Snake's hand. Snake looked at her face, she was indeed still very unconscious, but considering everything that just took place it was for the best. Otacon came out onto the deck and helped the sleeping girl into a nice dry corner of the ship. He wrapped her in the blanket that had previously covered Liquid; it was the only thing he had to dry her off. While he was gently drying her off Snake and the solider came into the interior of the ship.
"Is she okay?" The solider asked instantly.
"She'll be fine." Otacon said looking at the solider.
"Thank you for rescuing us." He said kindly. "If you two weren't here we would have probably died."
"Not a problem." Snake said softly.
"Are you alright?" Otacon asked the solider.
"A little shaken up, but I'm fine." He replied with a thick Russian accent.
Snake looked at the solider silently, he wanted to ask him if he knew what happened to the tanker, but considering no one but the marine core was supposed to know about that tanker, it was best to keep quite about the whole ordeal.
"Are you sure the girl is okay?" The solider asked again.
"Yes, she's unconscious but she'll pull though." Snake said.
Otacon once again lifted up the anchor and began to make the journey back to shore.
"I am very grateful that you guys were out here." The Russian solider said. "But why were you two sailing in weather like this?"
Otacon turned and looked at Snake trying to hide his nervousness. He couldn't tell the solider that they were in the same tanker; that may cause a world of trouble.
"We're storm chasers." Snake said sternly.
"Funny." The solider replied looking at Snake suspiciously. "You don't look like a scientist."
"You wouldn't believe how much I get that." Snake answered with a smile.
The solider smiled back and before he could make any further inquiries, Olga began to stir a little, so he instantly went to see if she conscious, meanwhile Snake walked over to Otacon who was quietly navigating the ship. Snake patted him on the shoulder to let him know everything would be okay. Otacon sighed with relief.
Finally after twenty minuets of sailing though the choppy waters, they had made it back to shore safely. Snake helped Otacon secure the ship to the dock. The rain was still pouring from the sky as though it was determined to drown everyone. The Russian solider had Olga in his arms as he stepped on to the concrete dock.
"Thank you for all your help." He said kindly.
"Not a problem." Otacon replied. "Do you need a ride somewhere?"
"If it is no trouble, could you take me to the nearest hospital?" He said earnestly. "I want to make sure she's okay."
"Sure." Otacon said. "We'll just go get our car."
Otacon and Snake walked as fast as they could to where Otacon had parked his black Saturn. The pair hopped into the car and drove back to where the solider was patiently waiting. Snake got out of the car, opened up the back doors, and helped the solider place Olga in the back safely. Once everyone was secure, Otacon took off for the hospital.
It wasn't until after two in the morning when Snake and Otacon finally retuned to Otacon's home. Both men were worn out from the day's events.
"I would kill for a shower." Snake said taking the damp bandana off his forehead.
"Please don't let me stop you." Otacon said.
Snake made a mad dash for the stairs; meanwhile Otacon sat down on his long blue sofa. There was so much that needed to be done in the morning. He had to call his contact at the Untied Nations. Thankfully Philanthropy could get the support the needed now that they had the proof that the US was manufacturing Metal Gear units. He also needed to get those pictures out to every major newspaper; the government wasn't going to deny the existence of Metal Gear anymore.
Otacon yawned. All these things would have to wait until the morning; right now he was very tired. It was a long day and an even longer night. All the adrenaline must have drained out of his system and now the fatigue hit. Otacon took off his glasses and rubbed his blue eyes. Pulling himself off the soft, Otacon dragged himself up the stairs and went to bed.
The rain still pounded down outside as the morning began. Hal was already down stairs working on his third cup of coffee when David came downstairs looking groggy.
"Did you sleep well?" Hal asked.
"Yeah." David grumbled as he poured a cup of coffee for himself.
Hal got up from the kitchen table, "I'm going to get the paper, do you need anything while I'm up?"
"No thanks." David said taking a sip of his coffee.
Hal walked out of the kitchen, though the living room, and opened the front door. There on the front step was the newspaper. Hal bent over and picked it up. Brushing off the droplets of water that was on the plastic cover, Hal walked back into the kitchen.
"What's in the news today?" David asked.
Hal opened up the plastic wrapper and looked at the big bold headline.
"Disaster on the harbor." He read out loud.
He looked down at the picture; it was of Snake on the tanker last night.
"Oh my God!" Hal said sounding astonished.
"What?" David said walking over to Hal.
David saw the headline and the picture and immediately his heart sank into his stomach.
"It says that the tanker was destroyed by you." Hal said quickly glossing over the article.
"Wait a minuet." David said looking closely at the picture. "This was taken right after I fought that woman."
"When you saw the syfer?" Hal asked.
"Yeah."
Hal took the newspaper and began to read the article thoroughly.
"It says that the USS Discovery was blown up by an extreme environmental terrorist group known as Philanthropy. It also says that there is a rescue mission underway to find any survivors."
"Shit!" David said pounding his fist on the counter top. "This could be big trouble for us Hal."
"What happened last night?" Hal asked.
David sighed and sat down at the table. Who would have thought that last night would turn into a whole big incident? Hal put the paper on the countertop and sat down at the table with David.
"If you really don't want to tell me..."
"No, I'll tell you." David interrupted.
David began to tell Hal everything that took place on the taker. How Ocelot killed both Gurlukovich and the marine commander. Also how Ocelot abducted the new Metal Gear prototype. He even tried to explain how Liquid took over Ocelot's mind for a moment. Hal sat there astonished by what David was telling him.
"So what are we going to do Hal?" David asked.
Before he could answer, the telephone began to ring.
"I don't know." Hal said getting up to answer the phone. "Hang on a sec."
As Hal spoke on the phone, David's mind began to race wildly. Why on earth frame them for the sinking of that tanker? And who was Ocelot taking the prototype to? This must all be linked to whoever was eavesdropping on the Codec conversations last night. Whoever they were, they must have gone though a lot of hoops to try to stop Philanthropy.
"Damn!" Hal exclaimed as he hung up the telephone.
"Now what?"
"That was Natasha." He said sitting down. "It's all over the news about how you destroyed that tanker last night. She said that's all the news has been reporting this morning."
"Hal, do you still have the pictures from the tanker that I took."
"No." He said softly. "I had already sent them to my contact at the UN."
"Shit!"
Before Hal could say anything else another phone call came in, so he went to go answer the call.
David sat there quietly listening to the conversation between Hal and the other person. Whoever it was, they didn't say much because the conversation was really brief.
"That was the New York branch of the FBI." Hal said hanging up the phone. "Apparently I have to go downtown."
David said nothing.
"I need to identify your body and answer some questions."
"I see." He replied softly.
Hal was getting ready to walk out of the kitchen when David stopped him.
"Why don't we just end this charade?" David said. "I'll be much more useful to you if I'm alive."
"No Dave." Hal said reassuringly. "Things are going to be really bad for awhile. If they think you're alive they'll try and come after you and who know what may happen then. At least if you're dead, no one can harm you."
"But Hal..."
"It's okay." He said softly. "I'll be fine."
"If you insist."
Hal smiled and walked out of the kitchen.
Sometime later, Hal came downstairs wearing his signature blue jeans and baggy dress shirt. He walked into the living room where, David was watching the 24 hour news network. The story of course was about the sinking of the USS Discovery.
"We're getting several unconfirmed reports that the man authorities believe are responsible for the sinking of the USS Discovery has been found, it is uncertain whether or not he is alive at this time." The female broadcaster reported. "So far rescue teams have not found anyone alive who was on that ill-fated tanker, but according to the rescue team leader we just spoke to, it's still considered at rescue mission at this time, Jim."
"Carrie, when will we know if the man responsible for this horrible tragedy is in custody?"
"I was told that that information will be available sometime later in the day."
"All right, thank you Carrie. That was Newsline correspondent Carrie Milton reporting..."
David turned off the television and turned and faced Hal.
"This is awful Hal."
"I know." He replied picking his keys up off the coffee table. "But we'll get though it somehow. In the meantime you just lay low here and try to take your mind off of the situation."
Hal disappeared out the door and ran to his car. The rain was unrelenting today. It seemed even worse then it did yesterday. Placing his key into the ignition, Hal pulled out of the driveway and sped off downtown. It took nearly an hour to get into town, but finally Hal made it to FBI headquarters. With a deep sigh, Hal got out of the car and walked into the building. Walking up to the receptionist, Hal timidly asked for Sergeant Grayson. The kindly receptionist pointed out the office where he was located, bidding her a good day, Hal walked over to the office and knocked on the door.
"Come in." A gravely voice said.
Hal opened up the door and walked into the office.
"Hal Emmerick." Sergeant Grayson said. "Come in and sit down."
Hal said nothing, but did as the sergeant instructed.
"Before you go and identify your buddy, I have some questions I wanna ask you."
Again Hal didn't say anything.
"What was Solid Snake doing on that tanker last night?" He asked.
"I have no idea." Hal replied.
"Come on don't play dumb." Grayson said. "You knew he was on that tanker last night. So the question is why? Why kill all those people? Why blow it up?"
Hal said nothing.
"Answer me Emmerick!" Grayson shouted. "Your buddy is already dead. Protecting him is pointless now."
Hal still didn't answer him.
"So you're going to give me the silent treatment uh." Grayson picked up a thick file on his desk and opened it up. "I have information on the exploits of you and your little dead friend. Hal Emmerick aka Otacon and David Harker aka Solid Snake, founders of Philanthropy, a radical environmentalist group wanted throughout the world for the destruction and sabotage of countless government weapons. Stop me when this sounds familiar. Wanted in China, India, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, shall I continue?"
Hal still didn't answer him.
"Give me one good reason why I should haul your skinny ass in right now?"
"Do you have proof that I was in all those places?" Hal questioned.
"I'll ask the questions here!" Grayson said.
Hal said nothing, he knew what the sergeant was saying was true. He and Snake had been to all those places and destroyed all those Metal Gear replicas, but no one had enough concrete evidence to bring charges against them. All anyone had was speculation and hearsay.
"So I'll ask you again Otacon." Grayson said. "Why was he on that tanker last night?"
"I don't know what you're talking about Sergeant." Hal said innocently.
"Fine then." He said closing the file. "You don't have to answer me."
Grayson got up from his stiff wooden chair and opened the door to his office.
"You really came here to id your dead friend didn't you?"
"Yes." Hal answered.
"He's in the morgue." Grayson said coldly. "Come with me."
Hal got up from his the chair and walked out of Sergeant Grayson's office. The pair then headed for the elevators, which then took them down several floors. When the doors of the elevator opened, Hal and the sergeant walked out and down the long stretching hallway until they came to the door that said morgue. Grayson opened the door for Hal and he timidly stepped in. Grayson closed the door behind them and walked in front of Hal. He then went over to one of the large doors and he pulled it open. Then he reached into the darkness and pulled out the gurney. Hal's heart was pounding a mile a minuet. Even though it wasn't Snake dead on that gurney, it seemed so final and morbid. Sheepishly, Hal walked over to the gurney and looked down.
"Is that your friend?" Grayson asked coldly.
"Yes." Hal replied with his voice cracking.
"That's what we thought." Grayson said pushing the gurney back into the drawer.
Hal tears began to fall from his eyes. It was astonishing how much Liquid looked like Snake. It was a little too realistic for comfort.
"What do you wanna do with the body?" Sergeant Grayson asked callously.
"What do you mean?" Hal asked wiping the tears from his eyes.
"What are your plans for the body?" He said in the same cruel tone. "Donating it to science, burial, what do you wanna do?"
"I wanna give him a proper funeral." Hal said trying to pull himself together.
"You'll have to fill out some forms before you can have someone take his body."
About two hours later, Hal made it back to his house. That was the most horrific ordeal he had been subjected to in a very long time. But at least it was over. Thankfully Snake was alive and well. Hal opened up the door to his home and he could smell the sweet aroma of David's cooking. Instantly he walked into the kitchen and low and behold, there he was hard at work cooking dinner.
"It smells good in here." Hal said sitting down at the nicely set table.
"Oh Hal." David said. "I didn't hear you come in. How'd it go at the FBI?"
"Fine." He said. "Your funeral will be in a few days."
"Really?" David said with an odd smirk. "Today was interesting. Your phone has been ringing off the hook."
"Oh goodness."
"Mostly Philanthropy members though." David said.
"They probably want to know what's happening." Hal said. "I'll have to call them all later."
"Don't worry about it now." David said. "Let's just sit down and have a nice dinner together. We'll worry about the rest later."
David placed the food out on the table and the pair ate silently. It was going to be a difficult road before them, but they were determined not to be licked yet.
"Snake!?" Otacon screamed frantically hoping he may hear him calling his name and come.
His eyes surveyed the scene in a desperate attempt to see any sign of Snake, but there was nothing, not even the tanker that he was on. What the hell had happened he wondered? And instantly his mind went back to about an hour ago, the last Codec call he had received from Snake, "Otacon, we've got a problem." But shortly after that cryptic message, the Codec abruptly cut off, and he hasn't heard anything from Snake since.
"Please God." Otacon prayed silently. "Please let Snake be okay."
Otacon gripped the steering wheel tightly. The water was horribly choppy, the waves crashed up against the small boat mercilessly. Visibility was non-existent due to the torrential rain and even worse was he could feel the vessel being pulled by a powerful force. The ship is still in the lower harbor, the under current shouldn't be this strong. What the hell happened out here?
Otacon continued to look for Snake, his heart was beginning to sink into his stomach. He was looking into the murky, black distance for what seemed like an eternity. Maybe Snake couldn't fight against the rain and under current. Maybe this is the end of the legendary Solid Snake. No sooner then the thought of Snake being dead came into his mind, Otacon made out a figure in the distance.
"Snake?!" Otacon called out frantically.
The figure came swimming up and Otacon's mood lifted, finally he realized that Snake was alive. Otacon released the anchor and walked out onto the deck of the boat to greet Snake and help him aboard. Snake came up to the boat and began to pull himself onto the deck.
"What happened?" Otacon asked as he helped Snake onto the boat.
"It's a long story." Snake said sounding shaken.
Just as he came aboard, the boat shook violently which nearly caused both men to nearly fall into the murky water.
"We gotta get the hell outta here." Snake said.
"Sure." Otacon replied. "Help me with Liquid first."
The two men walked into the interior of the boat. Otacon walked over to where Liquid lay and he pulled off the sheet that covered his lifeless body. Snake looked at Liquid's pale face and his mind instantly went back to Shadow Moses Island and all the mayhem he caused there, not to mention tonight? His dead body was right here in front of him, but he was alive and well inside Ocelot. Even more unnerving was now that his hair was dyed brown, Liquid looked like his exact double. A cold chill shot up Snake spine and he shuddered. Otacon bent over and picked up the top portion of Liquid's body while, Snake grabbed his feet. The boat began to rock viciously as the pair carried the body out the door and onto the small deck. Once outside, Otacon and Snake propped Liquid up against the railing of the deck.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Snake shouted against the raging storm. "I mean his right arm is missing?"
"Well if this doesn't work we'll have to come up with another plan." Otacon replied.
Snake and Otacon looked at Liquid's motionless body again.
"It's now or never Snake." Otacon shouted.
Snake nodded and pushed the corpse over the side of the railing. The two men watched silently as Liquid's carcass floated off into the distance. Once the body was out of eyesight, Snake and Otacon went back into the interior of the ship; Otacon lifted up the anchor and began to turn the boat back to shore.
"So do you wanna tell me what happened out here?" Otacon asked.
"No." Snake said bitterly.
"Why?" Otacon said.
"I really don't feel like reliving the whole thing right now Otacon." Snake replied. "I'll tell you tomorrow."
"Okay."
Otacon and Snake continued on not uttering a word to each other for awhile. As they were heading back, Snake's eyes caught a glimpse of someone swimming toward their ship. Snake dashed out to the deck to see who it was, when he realized it was one of Gurlukovich's soldiers. How on earth could this guy have managed to survive the sinking of that tanker?
"Otacon drop anchor!" Snake shouted frantically as he ran into the room.
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
Otacon released the anchor as Snake went over to the deck and waited for the solider to swim close enough to help him on board. As the solider swam closer, Snake noticed that he had another solider with him. As the pair came closer, he saw that the other solider was that woman he'd fought with hours earlier, how on earth could she have made it though that? There were enough tranquilizers in her system to keep her unconscious for weeks; there was no way she should have survived.
"Here buddy." Snake said stretching out his hands to help them aboard.
"Take the girl first." The solider said.
The solider pulled her body up to meet Snake's hand. Snake looked at her face, she was indeed still very unconscious, but considering everything that just took place it was for the best. Otacon came out onto the deck and helped the sleeping girl into a nice dry corner of the ship. He wrapped her in the blanket that had previously covered Liquid; it was the only thing he had to dry her off. While he was gently drying her off Snake and the solider came into the interior of the ship.
"Is she okay?" The solider asked instantly.
"She'll be fine." Otacon said looking at the solider.
"Thank you for rescuing us." He said kindly. "If you two weren't here we would have probably died."
"Not a problem." Snake said softly.
"Are you alright?" Otacon asked the solider.
"A little shaken up, but I'm fine." He replied with a thick Russian accent.
Snake looked at the solider silently, he wanted to ask him if he knew what happened to the tanker, but considering no one but the marine core was supposed to know about that tanker, it was best to keep quite about the whole ordeal.
"Are you sure the girl is okay?" The solider asked again.
"Yes, she's unconscious but she'll pull though." Snake said.
Otacon once again lifted up the anchor and began to make the journey back to shore.
"I am very grateful that you guys were out here." The Russian solider said. "But why were you two sailing in weather like this?"
Otacon turned and looked at Snake trying to hide his nervousness. He couldn't tell the solider that they were in the same tanker; that may cause a world of trouble.
"We're storm chasers." Snake said sternly.
"Funny." The solider replied looking at Snake suspiciously. "You don't look like a scientist."
"You wouldn't believe how much I get that." Snake answered with a smile.
The solider smiled back and before he could make any further inquiries, Olga began to stir a little, so he instantly went to see if she conscious, meanwhile Snake walked over to Otacon who was quietly navigating the ship. Snake patted him on the shoulder to let him know everything would be okay. Otacon sighed with relief.
Finally after twenty minuets of sailing though the choppy waters, they had made it back to shore safely. Snake helped Otacon secure the ship to the dock. The rain was still pouring from the sky as though it was determined to drown everyone. The Russian solider had Olga in his arms as he stepped on to the concrete dock.
"Thank you for all your help." He said kindly.
"Not a problem." Otacon replied. "Do you need a ride somewhere?"
"If it is no trouble, could you take me to the nearest hospital?" He said earnestly. "I want to make sure she's okay."
"Sure." Otacon said. "We'll just go get our car."
Otacon and Snake walked as fast as they could to where Otacon had parked his black Saturn. The pair hopped into the car and drove back to where the solider was patiently waiting. Snake got out of the car, opened up the back doors, and helped the solider place Olga in the back safely. Once everyone was secure, Otacon took off for the hospital.
It wasn't until after two in the morning when Snake and Otacon finally retuned to Otacon's home. Both men were worn out from the day's events.
"I would kill for a shower." Snake said taking the damp bandana off his forehead.
"Please don't let me stop you." Otacon said.
Snake made a mad dash for the stairs; meanwhile Otacon sat down on his long blue sofa. There was so much that needed to be done in the morning. He had to call his contact at the Untied Nations. Thankfully Philanthropy could get the support the needed now that they had the proof that the US was manufacturing Metal Gear units. He also needed to get those pictures out to every major newspaper; the government wasn't going to deny the existence of Metal Gear anymore.
Otacon yawned. All these things would have to wait until the morning; right now he was very tired. It was a long day and an even longer night. All the adrenaline must have drained out of his system and now the fatigue hit. Otacon took off his glasses and rubbed his blue eyes. Pulling himself off the soft, Otacon dragged himself up the stairs and went to bed.
The rain still pounded down outside as the morning began. Hal was already down stairs working on his third cup of coffee when David came downstairs looking groggy.
"Did you sleep well?" Hal asked.
"Yeah." David grumbled as he poured a cup of coffee for himself.
Hal got up from the kitchen table, "I'm going to get the paper, do you need anything while I'm up?"
"No thanks." David said taking a sip of his coffee.
Hal walked out of the kitchen, though the living room, and opened the front door. There on the front step was the newspaper. Hal bent over and picked it up. Brushing off the droplets of water that was on the plastic cover, Hal walked back into the kitchen.
"What's in the news today?" David asked.
Hal opened up the plastic wrapper and looked at the big bold headline.
"Disaster on the harbor." He read out loud.
He looked down at the picture; it was of Snake on the tanker last night.
"Oh my God!" Hal said sounding astonished.
"What?" David said walking over to Hal.
David saw the headline and the picture and immediately his heart sank into his stomach.
"It says that the tanker was destroyed by you." Hal said quickly glossing over the article.
"Wait a minuet." David said looking closely at the picture. "This was taken right after I fought that woman."
"When you saw the syfer?" Hal asked.
"Yeah."
Hal took the newspaper and began to read the article thoroughly.
"It says that the USS Discovery was blown up by an extreme environmental terrorist group known as Philanthropy. It also says that there is a rescue mission underway to find any survivors."
"Shit!" David said pounding his fist on the counter top. "This could be big trouble for us Hal."
"What happened last night?" Hal asked.
David sighed and sat down at the table. Who would have thought that last night would turn into a whole big incident? Hal put the paper on the countertop and sat down at the table with David.
"If you really don't want to tell me..."
"No, I'll tell you." David interrupted.
David began to tell Hal everything that took place on the taker. How Ocelot killed both Gurlukovich and the marine commander. Also how Ocelot abducted the new Metal Gear prototype. He even tried to explain how Liquid took over Ocelot's mind for a moment. Hal sat there astonished by what David was telling him.
"So what are we going to do Hal?" David asked.
Before he could answer, the telephone began to ring.
"I don't know." Hal said getting up to answer the phone. "Hang on a sec."
As Hal spoke on the phone, David's mind began to race wildly. Why on earth frame them for the sinking of that tanker? And who was Ocelot taking the prototype to? This must all be linked to whoever was eavesdropping on the Codec conversations last night. Whoever they were, they must have gone though a lot of hoops to try to stop Philanthropy.
"Damn!" Hal exclaimed as he hung up the telephone.
"Now what?"
"That was Natasha." He said sitting down. "It's all over the news about how you destroyed that tanker last night. She said that's all the news has been reporting this morning."
"Hal, do you still have the pictures from the tanker that I took."
"No." He said softly. "I had already sent them to my contact at the UN."
"Shit!"
Before Hal could say anything else another phone call came in, so he went to go answer the call.
David sat there quietly listening to the conversation between Hal and the other person. Whoever it was, they didn't say much because the conversation was really brief.
"That was the New York branch of the FBI." Hal said hanging up the phone. "Apparently I have to go downtown."
David said nothing.
"I need to identify your body and answer some questions."
"I see." He replied softly.
Hal was getting ready to walk out of the kitchen when David stopped him.
"Why don't we just end this charade?" David said. "I'll be much more useful to you if I'm alive."
"No Dave." Hal said reassuringly. "Things are going to be really bad for awhile. If they think you're alive they'll try and come after you and who know what may happen then. At least if you're dead, no one can harm you."
"But Hal..."
"It's okay." He said softly. "I'll be fine."
"If you insist."
Hal smiled and walked out of the kitchen.
Sometime later, Hal came downstairs wearing his signature blue jeans and baggy dress shirt. He walked into the living room where, David was watching the 24 hour news network. The story of course was about the sinking of the USS Discovery.
"We're getting several unconfirmed reports that the man authorities believe are responsible for the sinking of the USS Discovery has been found, it is uncertain whether or not he is alive at this time." The female broadcaster reported. "So far rescue teams have not found anyone alive who was on that ill-fated tanker, but according to the rescue team leader we just spoke to, it's still considered at rescue mission at this time, Jim."
"Carrie, when will we know if the man responsible for this horrible tragedy is in custody?"
"I was told that that information will be available sometime later in the day."
"All right, thank you Carrie. That was Newsline correspondent Carrie Milton reporting..."
David turned off the television and turned and faced Hal.
"This is awful Hal."
"I know." He replied picking his keys up off the coffee table. "But we'll get though it somehow. In the meantime you just lay low here and try to take your mind off of the situation."
Hal disappeared out the door and ran to his car. The rain was unrelenting today. It seemed even worse then it did yesterday. Placing his key into the ignition, Hal pulled out of the driveway and sped off downtown. It took nearly an hour to get into town, but finally Hal made it to FBI headquarters. With a deep sigh, Hal got out of the car and walked into the building. Walking up to the receptionist, Hal timidly asked for Sergeant Grayson. The kindly receptionist pointed out the office where he was located, bidding her a good day, Hal walked over to the office and knocked on the door.
"Come in." A gravely voice said.
Hal opened up the door and walked into the office.
"Hal Emmerick." Sergeant Grayson said. "Come in and sit down."
Hal said nothing, but did as the sergeant instructed.
"Before you go and identify your buddy, I have some questions I wanna ask you."
Again Hal didn't say anything.
"What was Solid Snake doing on that tanker last night?" He asked.
"I have no idea." Hal replied.
"Come on don't play dumb." Grayson said. "You knew he was on that tanker last night. So the question is why? Why kill all those people? Why blow it up?"
Hal said nothing.
"Answer me Emmerick!" Grayson shouted. "Your buddy is already dead. Protecting him is pointless now."
Hal still didn't answer him.
"So you're going to give me the silent treatment uh." Grayson picked up a thick file on his desk and opened it up. "I have information on the exploits of you and your little dead friend. Hal Emmerick aka Otacon and David Harker aka Solid Snake, founders of Philanthropy, a radical environmentalist group wanted throughout the world for the destruction and sabotage of countless government weapons. Stop me when this sounds familiar. Wanted in China, India, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, shall I continue?"
Hal still didn't answer him.
"Give me one good reason why I should haul your skinny ass in right now?"
"Do you have proof that I was in all those places?" Hal questioned.
"I'll ask the questions here!" Grayson said.
Hal said nothing, he knew what the sergeant was saying was true. He and Snake had been to all those places and destroyed all those Metal Gear replicas, but no one had enough concrete evidence to bring charges against them. All anyone had was speculation and hearsay.
"So I'll ask you again Otacon." Grayson said. "Why was he on that tanker last night?"
"I don't know what you're talking about Sergeant." Hal said innocently.
"Fine then." He said closing the file. "You don't have to answer me."
Grayson got up from his stiff wooden chair and opened the door to his office.
"You really came here to id your dead friend didn't you?"
"Yes." Hal answered.
"He's in the morgue." Grayson said coldly. "Come with me."
Hal got up from his the chair and walked out of Sergeant Grayson's office. The pair then headed for the elevators, which then took them down several floors. When the doors of the elevator opened, Hal and the sergeant walked out and down the long stretching hallway until they came to the door that said morgue. Grayson opened the door for Hal and he timidly stepped in. Grayson closed the door behind them and walked in front of Hal. He then went over to one of the large doors and he pulled it open. Then he reached into the darkness and pulled out the gurney. Hal's heart was pounding a mile a minuet. Even though it wasn't Snake dead on that gurney, it seemed so final and morbid. Sheepishly, Hal walked over to the gurney and looked down.
"Is that your friend?" Grayson asked coldly.
"Yes." Hal replied with his voice cracking.
"That's what we thought." Grayson said pushing the gurney back into the drawer.
Hal tears began to fall from his eyes. It was astonishing how much Liquid looked like Snake. It was a little too realistic for comfort.
"What do you wanna do with the body?" Sergeant Grayson asked callously.
"What do you mean?" Hal asked wiping the tears from his eyes.
"What are your plans for the body?" He said in the same cruel tone. "Donating it to science, burial, what do you wanna do?"
"I wanna give him a proper funeral." Hal said trying to pull himself together.
"You'll have to fill out some forms before you can have someone take his body."
About two hours later, Hal made it back to his house. That was the most horrific ordeal he had been subjected to in a very long time. But at least it was over. Thankfully Snake was alive and well. Hal opened up the door to his home and he could smell the sweet aroma of David's cooking. Instantly he walked into the kitchen and low and behold, there he was hard at work cooking dinner.
"It smells good in here." Hal said sitting down at the nicely set table.
"Oh Hal." David said. "I didn't hear you come in. How'd it go at the FBI?"
"Fine." He said. "Your funeral will be in a few days."
"Really?" David said with an odd smirk. "Today was interesting. Your phone has been ringing off the hook."
"Oh goodness."
"Mostly Philanthropy members though." David said.
"They probably want to know what's happening." Hal said. "I'll have to call them all later."
"Don't worry about it now." David said. "Let's just sit down and have a nice dinner together. We'll worry about the rest later."
David placed the food out on the table and the pair ate silently. It was going to be a difficult road before them, but they were determined not to be licked yet.