25

METAL GEAR

THE FOX AND THE HOUNDS

Chapter 1 - A Rude Awakening

He looked at the mirror and was somewhat startled to almost see the face of Big Boss, minus the eye-patch and dirty white hair, looking straight back at him. "Damn...I'm beginning to look like him now...", growled Solid Snake.

Once again staring at the reflection, Snake briefly reminisced what had happened after the events of Solidus' mad scheme to challenge the Patriots and take over Manhattan. He had finally decided to leave it all behind... the soldier part of him passionately opposed it... but the human part of him said enough was enough. "Plus", he thought, "the 'rookie's not too bad as a stand -in."

So here was Solid Snake, legendary soldier and former merc, in a small apartment in a quiet residential area of New York.

Known to his neighbours as David (Snake snorted inwardly every time he heard that name), he was to all appearance, the average male. Tall and heavily built, people just surmised he was very physically active during his youth, though now, they never saw him exercise or even join them for a morning's jog. ("Well they don't get up at 4 AM to jog...that's why", Snake thought to himself.) He was a man of little habit except for one - he was an almost uncontrollable chain-smoker ("They should have seen me 5 years ago", smirked Snake.) He didn't appear to have a job but didn't mind doing the odd heavy-duty chore or two when asked. His almost-bare apartment proved the fact that he was unemployed. And he was definitely not one for small talk as many people saw to their slight annoyance ("Like I'm bothered", growled the man.).

Washing his face and lighting up a Benson he strolled casually to his small window to get some sunshine. He looked down at the half-empty street below and watched some people shuffling about in a group. He'd seen some street gangs and even school kids forming small "gangs" like that, but something made him uneasy. Why though, he thought. Was it the way they walked – purposefully and with an unnecessary amount of rigidity? Or maybe after having to constantly watch his back at every turn, he was becoming exactly what Otacon constantly said (and which he vehemently denied): paranoid.

Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of light...

He'd seen light flash off many things, but years of field experience told him that flash came off the lens of a set of military-grade binoculars... or the scope of a sniper rifle. Now knowing that something was definitely wrong, his mind was racing and thinking in a way it hadn't thought for a few years now. Feigning a yawn and stretching his arms he casually and clumsily closed the curtains: all indications of retiring for a siesta. Once he made sure that no one from the outside could see him, Solid Snake went in action.

Swiftly and silently he walked over to the north wall and grabbed and swung open a loose wooden panel. Groping inside he took out a key and rushed over to the bathroom.

During these few moments his mind was in a mess. He knew that someone had come after him, but who and why? The veteran in him flared up again and said sternly, 'Escape now...recon later.'

Opening a steel trunk he extracted items that the "average man" would never keep in his bathroom: his old sneaking suit, his trusty (and weekly-maintained) SOCOM pistol, a few clips of ammo, his bandana (with some slight mildew), and his own modified PSG-1 (which could be folded to fit in limited space). All this he stuffed into a mid-sized backpack and then he rushed to the kitchen grabbed some energy bars, a bottle of water and some beef jerky. A quick change of clothes and he was ready to "rough it" anywhere, anytime.

His senses hadn't been idle during these preparations; he thought could faintly hear a large number of people slowly walking up the stairs. And then his intuition also told him he was on the cusp of being cornered.

All this prep work was done within a span of two minutes. And by the third minute he was back in the bathroom and standing on the bathtub. As silently as possible he pushed up at the seemingly solid ceiling and with a grunt a perfectly square portion popped straight up. As cool, damp air hit his face he took a few seconds to thank his battle-hardened tendency to take the care to discover all the best exits from a place. Grabbing the edges he hoisted himself up into the unused maintenance shaft for the apartments. He groped around, found the cover and slammed it shut on the opening, hoping that it would take a while for his apparent pursuers to find the entrance.

As soon as he did that he deeply regretted not bringing his low-glare red flashlight.

The darkness was so overwhelming Snake swore he could almost feel it trying to strangle him. The ground was damp and excessively moist; he could feel his rough palms lose their grip on the mould. The air was thick with so much humidity and heat that Snake began to sweat profusely. In the distance he could see a narrow and dulled area of light and the recurring patches of shade within that light made Snake remember that there was an active metal fan at the end to bring air into these otherwise choking tunnels. He found it almost funny to think that after all the things he'd been through, this simple tunnel was causing him so much trouble.

Shaking his head clear he made his way forward breathing hard. So quiet was the place that the silence was almost pounding in his ears and Snake almost wished he were in the middle of a gun battle at that moment.

As he slowly went on, he heard a dull crash and knew that his apartment had been breached. He immediately started moving quickly and as he went on, began formulating a plan of action. He was being chased... hunted more like it. Snake wasn't surprised - all those years of peace did little to dampen his battle alertness – he was just annoyed that it actually happened. He needed a place to hide at, he needed intel, and as much as he hated to admit it, he needed help.

But first, he needed to get out of the danger zone... alive.

Chapter 2 - Escape

Snake finally reached the fan and for once felt the slightest twinge of fear.

He couldn't help noticing that it was revolving at quite a fast rate and the edges were all unevenly serrated due to rusting. Unless his timing was perfect or he knew how to stop that behemoth of an object from moving he'd end up...

Snake broke off from that train of thought.

Observing the rotation of the blades he got an idea of how long he would have to make his getaway...

and another dulled crash told him he'd waited too long. It was now or never. He watched the fan rotating with its deadly blade, seemingly mesmerised. He tensed his muscles, recoiled like a snake ready to strike...

Within a fraction of a second he dived and rolled forward, his hands protecting his head.

"DAMN IT...", he grunted. He looked at the torn sleeve of his left arm and watched with furrowed brows as a streak of red grew. This time he didn't have any bandages either. Taking out his bandana he wrapped it tightly around the injured arm and mentally noted that he needed a tetanus shot or else he wouldn't live to find out why he was being chased.

Snake crept along the rest of the tunnel until he found what he was looking for - the maintenance ladder. He stretched his leg down the hole and tested the ladder to make sure it was safe.

He was on the 8th floor.

Feeling that he could trust the rung to hold, Snake immediately entered the small shaft and began his long descent downwards - backpack and elbows being scraped all the way.

Reaching the bottom, Snake took a deep breath.

This was it. Now it was time to see if he still had it in him.

Reaching inside his backpack he took out his silenced SOCOM, quietly reloaded it and almost smiled as he felt a slight adrenaline rush... he was back in business – for the time being.

Snake made a mental note of the surroundings - as much as he could see in the dim light. He was in a mid-sized and almost-circular room with damp concrete walls and no windows; rotten shelves made of wood lined the otherwise threadbare walls and the floor littered with wet, torn newspapers. The only way in or out was the door to his left.

He cautiously went upto the ages-old door and craned his ears to ascertain whether anyone was on the other side. "Fibre-optics are for rookies", he chuckled to himself. Once confident of his safety, he silently opened the door and crept through. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a long hallway with small, broken vents set at regular intervals near the bottom of the walls.

He bent down and peeked through one and could distinctly make out the boot of military make. It was so close that Snake felt the urge to bust open the vent and drag the soldier in to his death. Snake shook his head. He needed to remain unseen - The first rule of FOXHOUND.

He cautiously made his way to the door at the end and peeked through the keyhole. As he suspected, a guard had been placed there. But only one...Snake realised. Not only was this the way out but it was now or never for him to make his move. He firmly placed his hand on the doorknob and...

STATIC

"This is Hawk-Eye-1 to Mole-3. Stat?"

"This is Mole-3. Clear. Guarding. Over."

"Roger Mole-3."

Silence

"Shit...", swore Snake softly as he withdrew his hand from the knob. If they kept in radio contact this meant that he would have to exercise the utmost caution. He tiptoed a few steps back and leant flatly against the wall, listening intently.

STATIC

"Mole-3. Target has evac-ed. Stay alert. Burst contact every 5 mins. Over."

"Roger Hawk-Eye-1."

Silence

Five minutes… Snake knew he had to commence his assault now. In one swift motion he grabbed the doorknob and swung it open slowly but smoothly. Surprisingly, it didn't creak or make a single noise. Gun cocked he looked left and found his target. "Mole-3" was dressed in urban camo and was armed with 4 flashes, 2 frags and an AKS-47U. He softy stalked towards the guard, who had his back conveniently turned towards him. Snake lowered his gun, intent on snapping the guy's neck rather than taking a shot. His raised his left arm...

The guard casually turned around from the old desk he was examining with a rather bored expression on his face...

Both men stared at each other in utter shock: Mole-3, because he wasn't really expecting any action on his part and Snake, because he was within inches of ending his life.

Within tenths of a second, both soldiers raised their firearms reflexively into each others' faces...

Chapter 3 - A Pit of Snakes

"OKH...", gasped the guard before he fell to his knees and then leaned backwards, dying... and finally, dead.

What happened was simple enough. Seeing the look of fear on Mole-3's face, Snake took advantage of the moment. He bent his knees and shifted his body's weight to the right leg. Before 'Mole-3' could even blink Snake's left arm shot out and grasped the AK's muzzle, his thumb forcing the safety switch on. The rifle moved gracefully in a large arc through the air as the guard watched – absolutely mesmerised by Snake's speed. Simultaneously, Snake recoiled his right arm and smashed the butt of his trusty SOCOM handgun into the larynx of his would-be-executioner. What resulted was an utterly satisfying crunch as the bones shattered and blocked the guard's windpipe. Losing the ability to take in any air, the rookie slumped to the ground.

It had been a while since Snake had killed someone but even then he was surprised to see his hands shaking slightly. He was then shocked to realise that it wasn't because he was dazed but because he enjoyed every moment of it. His hands shook in excitement.

Snake took a deep breath again. This was no time for unnecessary emotion. Following standard procedure he dragged and hid the body under the desk. There were no lockers here.

He had about three minutes before the watch checked in again. Three minutes.

Before he moved on, Snake took the guard's radio with him so he could carry out a little counter-intelligence.

Looking around he saw a medicine cabinet and rushed to it. There were a few new syringes, some painkillers and some relaxants – probably expired, or close enough. Snake cupped his hand and brushed the whole bunch into the backpack. He hadn't forgotten the fact that he had been cut with a rusted metal blade - he needed the tetanus shot within 12 hours.

Snake realised that this room too had no windows. They were in an underground level. He needed to find a way into the sewers.

Snake tip-toed over to the faded brown door and flattened his ear on it. Closing his eyes he tried to make out any and every source of noise. There was nothing to be heard - just silence punctuated by dripping water.

Cautiously, he opened the door by a fraction of an inch and peeked out. It looked empty but one never knew. Snake then crept out, eyes darting everywhere - trying to get rapidly accustomed to the sudden darkness. He softly the closed the door behind him and made his way forward.

STATIC

"This is Hawk-Eye-1. Stat?"

Snake froze in place.

"Repeat. This is Hawk-Eye-1. Stat?"

Snake instantly brought the antenna into contact with the SOCOM's suppressor. With both metal objects touching each other, the static rose by many decibels.

He had seen a pack of cigarettes with the guard and hoped that he too had a raspy voice. Well it was now or never now.

"Mole-3 to Hawk-Eye-1. All clear."

Snake hoped the increased static would muffle his rather distinctively virile voice.

"Copy that. Be aware of target. Location unconfirmed as of yet. Sending two as backup."

"Roger"

Silence

Snake immediately backed away from the door he was going towards and silently slid behind a large, broken filing cabinet. Within a few minutes he heard muffled voices and soon enough, the door swung open. By the dim light that poured in from the other side he could barely perceive two soldiers similarly dressed and armed like their dead comrade. They first stopped around the centre and lit a cigarette each. The slow red glow of the lit cigs showed Snake two young faces. "Rookies again", he frowned.

Snake had to do something before they found their dead friend. Quickly he took out one of the syringes and as quietly as possible loaded it with a 60mm dose of tranquiliser. 45mm was deemed fatal.

He slid out from behind the cabinet and picked up a small bit of rubble. Chucking it away from him, he crept up behind the taller of the two soldiers. As he planned, both soldiers turned sharply to the source of the noise. Snake curled his fist around one of the syringes with his thumb lightly on the depressor. In one swift motion he reached around and plunged the syringe into the heart of the soldier and emptied the whole tube. The guard was in the process of turning around when the needle had been inserted. Snake caught the look of awe mingled with fear. The guard tried to shout something and tried to get a bead on Snake. But the overdose of tranquiliser was already in effect. What came out was a drooling slur of words and arms sagged that as he desperately attempted to aim the AKS on Snake. The other guard turned around instantly, with his rifle butt nestled in his shoulder, ready to fire. He watched his friend crumple to the ground and as he fell, the soldier found himself face-to-face with the muzzle of Snake's SOCOM. The first and last thing he remembered was a bright flash and the salty taste of blood as he too fell backwards.

Snake had taken advantage of the first soldier's height to shadow him. Once the man fell unconscious, Snake quickly drew his SOCOM and held right arm steady. The instant the other soldier's head came into view, Snake narrowed his eyes and firmly depressed the trigger thrice. With three dull thuds and a mist of dark, red blood, it was over. Snake then bent down and picked up the unconscious soldier. He positioned himself so that it looked like he was holding the man like a human shield. Snake coiled his left arm around the soldier's throat and firmly pressed into the side of the neck with his hand. Snake then wrapped his right arm across the man's forehead and firmly placed his palm over the ear. His muscles tensed as he violently jerked his arm towards the right. A sickening crunch confirmed that the soldier was now dead without a doubt. It was obviously unnecessary, but at the same time past experience told him that if he hadn't done that he would regret it later.

Dragging the bodies behind the old cabinet Snake now went up to the second door. Following the same procedure as before, Snake tried to make out if there were any hostiles in the next room. Deeming it safe he crept out into a room which was dimly lit with a small, dirty bulb. The room had a large electricity generator housed on the left side. The place was pungent with the overwhelming odour of old motor oil and grease.

Vaguely recalling the building plans to mind, he knew that the exit from this room led to the underground garage. There were bound to be more than a few guards here. Snake was still surprised that they hadn't rushed throughout the place searching for him. He guessed they wanted to do it slowly and methodically. No sense in arousing the whole neighbourhood. Then Snake also wondered why the three guards he had seen were rookies. Why would They send green troops after him? If They wanted him so badly why not send more experienced soldiers? Or was this all His doing? Snake gritted his teeth and a sudden wave of hatred passed through him. He bit down hard on his thumb and as the blood poured out, he could feel calmness returning to him. This wasn't the time for questions or emotional outbursts now, thought Snake. He still needed to get out. The rooms he had been through went in a straight line and ended in the car-park. The whole length was like a peninsula expect instead of water it was surrounded by the car-park area on the three sides. Each side undoubtedly had guards posted...

Then suddenly he had a plan. Not the quietest or most subtle but one that was bound to tilt the scales to his advantage...

"WHO's THERE...? HUH?...OH MY G...EVERYONE GET THE F OUUUUU..."

An extremely bright flash followed a deafeningly loud, yet short, explosion. The guards on the other sides immediately rushed to the area and were shocked to see their fellow soldiers lying dead there...

bloody and mutilated.

STATIC

"THIS IS MOLE-COM-2 AT ZULU POINT. THE TARGET HAS HIT 'N' RUN. I REPEAT, THE TARGET HAS HIT 'N' RUN."

"THIS IS HAWK-EYE-1. SECURE PERIMETER. SENDING REINFORCEMENTS. DO NOT KILL TARGET. ONLY INCAPACITATE. OVER."

"UNDERSTOOD."

Silence

The reinforcements came in with new orders: rush and clear the maintenance rooms. The soldiers rushed in formation as the team leader breached the door and threw in a flash bang…

None of them survived.

The flash bang ignited the motor fuel and the whole room was set ablaze with flames that reached up and licked the ceilings. Then two other explosions burst outwards.

STATIC

"HAWK...1...TEAM A TERMINATED...TEAM B WOUNDED...Mole-7...requessstee...requesting back...up..."

STATIC

Snake had worked fast. He brought some duct tape from the first room and created a hybrid "flash-frag" grenade. He then went to the generator room and quietly poured motor oil all over the floor. He looked around and smirked as he imagined what would happen if anyone dropped a lit match there. To be safe he even taped two frags on either side of the door hoping that they too would participate in his pyrotechnical orchestra. Timing was everything. He quickly opened the door, which creaked loudly and chucked his hybrid bomb out. Skipping on the floor on patches devoid of the oil he rushed back to the long corridor ignoring the explosions that took place behind him. On the way he dropped the radio and picked up one of the AK's - if things got too grim he'd have to fight his way out. He reached the corridor and immediately dropped to the floor. Looking through the vent he saw the outside area was empty. The other guards had gone to check out the source of the explosion. Pressing his back against the dirty wall, Snake grunted as he pushed hard at the vent with his booted feet. With a dull clang it gave away. The space was small but just enough for Snake to barely crawl through. He managed somehow... and then cautiously rushed towards the back of the building, ducking behind a parked car or two. A second set of explosions brought a humourless smile to Snake's face.

Now he had made it outside the building...but he was still in the fire-zone. And Hawk-Eye-1 was up there somewhere, watching...

Chapter 4 - The Bird and His Prey

Snake wondered how he was going to crawl his way out of this situation. The hell he had caused back there gave him a precious few moments, of that he was confident. But now he had to deal with a possible sniper and this time around he had no special gear and in an urban area like this, almost every building was a sniper post.

He needed his wits and cool thinking to help him but can anyone think calmly when you're thrust right into the action after years of living peacefully? No, but Snake knew that he had to.

Snake took out the urban camo from his backpack - the one he had stripped from the first soldier when he was taking the grenades. If all else failed, he could still run across the road and momentarily confuse the sniper since he would apparently look like one of their own.

From what Snake could remember in the rush of the afternoon, 'Hawk-Eye-1' was probably nestled somewhere in the line of buildings to the west of this one. Even then Snake wouldn't take any chances.

After what seemed like hours, Snake came upon a plan. Not the most effective but he had no cards left to deal so this was going to be his trump – something even more reckless and fantastical – even compared to his last one! Ideas like that were the results of spending years at FOXHOUND. Thinking 'outside the box' wasn't a prerequisite – it was another way of surviving.

Snake took the rest of the flash bangs and clipped it to his urban BDU. He was slowly circling the car-park, SOCOM in hand, eyes darting from side to side. His plan was indeed a crazy one: he would go over to the side where the sniper was apparently concentrating on and then Snake would plant the flash bangs near that area. With the pins removed and the flash-bangs left untouched, they would automatically explode within 10 seconds of each other. This gave Snake a narrow window of opportunity to make his escape. Theoretically, the brilliant flashes would temporarily blind or at the very least, distract the sniper. While he could go the other way, it made sense for this particular path to have the least number of soldiers. On top of that, the man-hole was in that direction anyway...

As he made his towards the west side he spotted the second reinforcement team going towards the area of the explosion. Three men remained to guard the area. One went further away to inspect a parked van while two others stood talking. Snake silently slid behind a pillar and peeked out. The two men continued to whisper and the third moved even further away. Snake took this chance and placed his backpack on the floor. Holding the AKS in one arm he casually walked towards the soldiers.

"Attention."

Both soldiers straightened up and faced him but eyed his facial hair and mullet suspiciously.

As convincingly as possible Snake barked,

"I'm Mole-Com-2. A group leader if you please, so I recommend you don't stare at me like that, rookies."

Both soldiers, a little shaken, immediately snapped to attention, eyes pointing forward.

"At ease", nodded Snake.

Both men looked slightly relieved and looked at Snake directly.

Snake then pointed out and said, "What's he doing all the way there? Doesn't he know we're after a very dangerous man who'd slit your throat without hesitation?"

As both soldiers looked away, Snake carefully drew out his silenced SOCOM and aimed for a shot at the head closest to him. With a dull thud, the man's head jerked violently forward as blood sprayed through the bullet hole at the back. The other soldier immediately turned around and Snake shouted out,

"Damn... That must be him. We don't have time to alert the others. Let's go back there and find our man. Imagine the rewards we could get if we nailed the legend..." His eyes glinted maniacally.

The ploy worked. Despite the soldier's urge to shout out, the rookie in him jumped at the opportunity to earn some respect and honour. He immediately nodded and started to cautiously move towards the back. Snake nodded in return and signalled for him to go first. Within seconds the man found his head caught between the vice-like grip of Snake's arms. He tried to shout out but could listen to a barely audible gurgle through his crushed windpipe. The last thing he heard was the snap of his own spinal cord...

Snake dragged both the bodies and propped them behind the pillar. Now for the third...

Snake carefully made his way forward, back hunched, gun pointed forward and senses fully alert. Sidestepping behind another pillar he peeked out and found his prey. The soldier was staring blankly into space as he rhythmically drummed the barrel of the AKS with his fingers. Snake swiftly went to the next pillar and slowly spiralled around the last so that he found himself staring at the back of the soldier's head. Just as Snake was about slam the SOCOM's butt into the guard's skull, the soldier started to move forward. Scowling Snake cupped the SOCOM in both hands and placed the laser pointer at the base of the skull - the point where the spinal nerve met the brain. For that second Snake went stock still and you could have mistaken him for a statue. His body jerked ever so slightly as Snake depressed the trigger. The guard groaned and fell face forward. Snake went up to the fresh corpse and dragged it into the shadow of the van.

Once again Snake felt that same adrenaline rush he always did as a soldier. Liquid was right and Snake always admitted it to himself only. He liked to kill.

Now was where Snake would begin his kamikaze plan to try to outwit 'Hawk-Eye-1'. He moved slowly towards the set of steel steps that would take him outside...

White dust and bits of gravel flew into Snake's face as part of the pillar next to him exploded...

"Well met Solid Snake...", echoed a voice distantly behind him. On instinct Snake dived to his left and slammed his body flat against the pillar.

"I was wondering when we'd meet in person. Of course, I've been observing you for the past couple of days...", the same voice spoke.

Snake remained stoic and did not respond.

"Anyway...allow me to introduce myself... I'm called 'Hawk-Eye-1' and killing you is a pleasure that destiny has reserved for me... So, are you going to come out and fight...or am I going to have to come after you?"

Snake wondered how the sniper had reached this area so fast... it wasn't humanly possible...unless...

"Oh by the way, I'm sure you're wondering what I'm doing here, right? I'm sure you've noticed that this building has some rather large balconies. Well I believe you saw the glare of my sniper scope as I stood on the fourth floor balcony... aiming for your head..."

Snake closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth as he heard the answer to his mental question. The sniper was never in another building. When Snake had his head jutting outside the window...'Hawk-Eye'1' was observing him from two stories below...

"Well enough talk... Snake... surrender...or prepare to be killed by the finest sharpshooter on God's earth..."

Chapter 5 - Tunnel Vision

Two shots later, more of the pillar broke with white dust and cement particles flying in all directions. Snake gritted his teeth again. The sniper rifle used by 'Hawk-Eye'1' had probably been modified, though impossible it may seem, with some sort of suppressor because each shot was no louder than a M9!

Then, Snake inwardly groaned when he realised that his own modified PSG-1 was still in his rucksack... which was conveniently near the area where the sharpshooter was. He knew he could never reach it with his head intact.

"Improvise". The second rule of Foxhound, Snake remembered. Snake made a mental note of what he had with him then: a silenced SOCOM, SOCOM clips, and a handful of flashbangs...

Another shot told him that he was running out of time so...

Snake quietly pulled out the pin from one of the flasbangs and waited for roughly 4 seconds as the timer ticked on towards the explosion...

About 50 feet away, Hawk-Eye-1 stood stock still as he surveyed the pillar and took potshots to intimidate Snake. The speed at which the bullets hit the wall slowly chipped away the cement structure and soon one would penetrate it. He knew this as did his quarry, Solid Snake...

Snake knew that the sniper was probably observing the area with utmost care so he had to be fast. Trying as hard as possible to stay within the cover of the damaged pillar, Snake knelt down and placed the 'live' flashbang on the floor and steadily slid it over to one corner so that the top end would slightly protrude out. Snake stood up immediately and slammed his hands over his ears as tightly as possible, his body rigid as he waited for the inevitable explosion. He knew that Hawk-Eye one would zero in on the exposed flashbang with his scope. The flashbang would burst in an eruption of blinding white light and a deafening 'bang'. He knew that the magnification of the sniper rifle's scope would only intensify that ungodly light…

Predictably Hawk-Eye-1 zoomed in on the flashbang...

...but within a split second, the man immediately closed his eyes. As the flashbang exploded, Snake grabbed his holstered SOCOM and was about to roll over to another pillar when another shot told him otherwise.

The drawling voice called out to him again, "Well, really now! I never expected the 'legendary' Solid Snake to try such infantile tactics! I'm amazed that you'd try a stunt like that! Well it didn't work any way...!" The voice suddenly became more serious, "Snake! I'm going to say it once: either give up or fight. You have no more time left!"

STATIC

Hawk-Eye-1 nearly jumped as the loud buzzing sound came from his radio.

"This is Mole-B5. Have heard explosion in Carpark-South. Am dispatching recon group."

"Negative Mole-B5. Belay that order. Am in control of situation. I repeat, hold positions. That is an order. Hawk-Eye-1 out."

"Understood."

Silence

As soon as Snake had heard the ominous burst of static he had immediately gone into action. The sudden noise would momentarily distract his enemy and this window of opportunity, as narrow as it was, was all he needed. Instead of going to his left or right, Snake took a life threatening risk and silently moved to the front of his pillar. As quickly as possible he tiptoed over to the pillar in front of him and then rolled over to the one to his right, hoping that his now-random location would buy him a few more minutes.

As he flattened himself against the pillar the radio conversation had stopped almost instantaneously. Snake raised his eyebrows as he realised how close he had been to being exposed.

Switching off his radio, the sharpshooter immediately looked through his scope and fired two more shots to remind the "great" Solid Snake that he was still very much in grave danger.

Snake tightened the grip on his pistol when he heard the gunshots followed by the crumbling noises of his previous "safe spot". He estimated that Hawk-Eye-1 had positioned himself behind the "left" row of pillars and he was about 4-5 "pillars" away from him. Knowing that Hawk-Eye-1 would soon find out that Snake was no longer in his previous location, Snake started to form a new attack plan...

After about two minutes of brainstorming Snake was shocked to see that he couldn't think of anything at that moment! All those years had taken its toll on Snake's mind the most and now his usually razor-sharp brain was refusing to think! Well then he'd have to follow FOXHOUND's second and most precious rule then: Improvise.

Snake ultimately decided on an almost-suicidal course of action.

He would try to sneak across the pillars one by one and then circle around and position himself behind 'Hawk-Eye-1'. And after that? Snake decided that when the time came to it, he'd think of something.

He knew the risks were tremendous. One sound, even the smallest crunching noise from stepping on sand or gravel would completely dash all of Snake's hopes for survival.

At first Snake stuck the muzzle of his SOCOM outside the safety of his pillar. When he saw that nothing happened, he breathed in sharply as he stalked out of his hiding place.

Despite the silence Snake felt as if he were walking across a raging battlefield with a red bull's-eye draped around his body. He focused his eyes in front of him and walked at such an angle that his body would hopefully be covered by the pillar to his front.

Reaching it he flattened himself on it and then with a silent SWAT-turn manoeuvre he reached the side of the next pillar.

Just as he was about to step out to progress he found himself in an unusual predicament. His noise was beginning to itch terribly and he felt the irresistible urge to sneeze!

He felt his face bathed in sweat and hands trembling as he fought to stop himself from sneezing. Feeling that he could no longer stop himself, Snake immediately held the SOCOM between his knees and tightly covered his mouth with both hands - his index fingers stuffed into his nostrils! He breathed in sharply and then...

...to his far right, more bits of concrete exploded as the pillar was shot again! Snake simultaneously sneezed, the sound stifled by his palms but loud enough to be heard! He wildly hoped that the sound of the sneeze was covered by the gunshot. His ears started to ring as he closed his eyes and waited for Hawk-Eye-1 to start shooting the pillar he was at now. He could almost hear the same drawling voice mocking him again.

30 seconds passed and nothing happened.

Snake was dazed by his own luck but once again with a deep yet silent breath he shook himself out of it. He had no time to relax!

With a strengthened feeling of hope and determination, Snake rolled across to the pillar to his left and stood up in one swift motion. A few more pillars and changes of direction, and Snake would be positioned behind the sniper, provided he wasn't discovered.

The next two pillars were reached in quick succession and now Snake stopped for a while to take a few breaths. His muscles slackened slightly as Snake gently breathed in and out. An unusually loud shot caused Snake to go rigid - his eyes darting from side to side, his leg muscles tensed very tightly and his SOCOM in both hands aimed at point blank. Snake peeked out ever so slightly to his left and was thrilled with a sudden rush of adrenaline as he realised that he could see Hawk-Eye-1! Solid Snake was hiding in the same row of pillars that Hawk-Eye-1 was using!

Throwing all caution to the winds, Snake slowly yet resolutely slid out of the cover of the pillar.

A nagging feeling of suspicion now ate away at Hawk-Eye-1's mind and he was about to move out of his position but his sniper training told him to wait for a longer amount of time. He really didn't expect Solid Snake, after being out of rigorous training for years, to pull off anything threatening.

As he peered through his scope with utmost concentration he failed to notice the menacing body of Snake emerging out of the shadows to his far left...

Snake bent his knees and spread his feet so he was as stable as possible.

His muscles bulged slightly as he slowly raised the SOCOM' sights to eye level. He had turned off the laser targeting.

Snake squinted through his right eye as he took careful aim.

He breathed in slowly and softly and could feel his heart throbbing against his ribcage.

Snake held his breath, mouthed the word "bastard" and then took his shots.

His arms vibrated slightly as he took two shots, and instantly raised his aim by a few degrees and took another.

Hawk-Eye-1 was too engrossed with scoping out Snake with his rifle and was only able to blink twice as the bullets ripped through his flesh and warm blood splattered out.

The first shot was an exquisite one. It had destroyed the left thumb of Hawk-Eye-1 and had penetrated through the middle-section of the sniper rifle. The second shot had splintered his left elbow into tiny bone fragments and bits of bloody, torn flesh. The third bullet had pierced through the base of his skull and had damaged his spinal cord.

Momentarily frozen in mid air, Hawk-Eye-1 fell.

At first his left arm bent from the elbow in the opposite direction and the sniper rifle clattered to the floor. His head jerked violently to the right side and his knees buckled as Hawk-Eye-1 fell backwards.

Snake immediately rushed over to the spot and kicked away the sniper rifle. He then moved a few feet away from the limp body of his enemy and pointed the SOCOM at his head.

"Who are y... Who sent you and why?", growled Snake menacingly.

Hawk-Eye-1 painfully turned his head towards Snake and his bloodshot eyes stared blankly.

"Are you standing there? I can't see anything..."

The sniper coughed up blood and spluttered a laugh.

"Funny...isn't it? ... "Tunnel vision"...it's a sniper's greatest enemy... yet the scope is a sniper's divine tool… cruel irony one might call it… but that sounds cliché, don't you agree?"

"ANSWER MY QUESTION!", said Snake a little more quietly but with a definite edge in his voice.

The sniper looked as if he were about to die. Taking one painful breath he managed to splutter out some seemingly cryptic words:

"...I'm a man of honour...for defeating me...I owe you...", he rasped painfully. "They did... They want... information... is power… to them... they don't need y... only the n..."

With that, more blood gurgled out of Hawk-Eye's mouth as he twitched his limbs and went limp for a final time.

Snake furrowed his brows after what he heard. This was getting even more confusing...

He needed answers and knew only one person that could help him now.