"She's dead..."
A heavy weight dropped on Big Boss' chest. So that's why she wasn't in the cage next to Chico...
Slumping down to his side, Snake placed a hand over the kid's shoulder. "You tried, Chico. You're a brave man. Reckless, but brave."
He didn't need to ask in order to know that he too had been tortured. The earphones coming out of his chest and the screws in his tendons were a solid and gruesome proof.
"Let's head home and get you fixed, ok?" the man said, squeezing Chicos' shoulder softly.
"She's dead..."
And so the mission was over. With Paz dead, there was no point in remaining in that hellhole anymore. It would be hard to find out of Paz had revealed any of Mother Base's information, and while Chico was his only clue, he was almost catatonic and would be of no use to try to make him speak in this state. The kid went through hell and back, he needed a rest.
The only option now was to wait for Morpho and return to Mother Base, hopefully in time to oversee the IAEA inspection.
"...That man... Skullface..."
Snake looked back at Chico, who had curled up by his side. "Skullface?"
"He... He made me talk about Mother Base, Snake. I'm not brave, I'm a coward."
An adrenaline rush ran through Big Boss' body. He scowled and grabbed the kid by his shoulders, failing to restrain his anger. "What did he ask? What did you tell them? Chico, answer me!"
"Not much... but Paz... she told him everything... he made me lure you here..." the kid whimpered.
Mother Base was in danger.
Big Boss reached out for his radio. "Miller, get the forces ready! The inspection is a trap, don't let them in at any cost!" he barked. "Tell Morpho to get here ASAP!"
"Snake, what the hell going on? What are you talking about?"
"Just do what I say, Kaz! Now!"
There was no response, but Snake knew that Kaz had obeyed.
Morpho finally arrived, and Big Boss urged him to return to Mother Base as fast as he could. His men were in danger, and he could only hope that they had been quick enough to react.
With the chopper's door open and his weapon ready, Snake watched Mother Base in the distance. He knew that Morpho was doing what he could, but time seemed to pass too slow for him. Faster, he had to get there faster!
And then, an explosion. And another one. And another one.
Big Boss couldn't believe his eyes. Several buildings in Mother Base had exploded, and he could hear screaming, yelling and shooting over the sound of the chopper. After Morpho finally landed, Big Boss was glad to see that MSF had the upper hand on the fight.
Even Kaz had a gun on his hands, though he was not the best shooter he was at least offering some resistance. Rushing to his side, Big Boss started to empty his rifle on the enemies.
"You were right, Boss!" yelled Kaz. "These assholes set us up! If it weren't for your warning, they would have caught us off-guard and kicked our asses! But they've blown off the base's legs, this place will collapse any minute now!"
Snake grunted. "Then tell the men to evac ASAP!"
Following his orders, the MSF soldiers headed to the emergency boats and choppers while fighting off the attacking force. The base was going to sink, but at least his men would survive the ordeal.
Once onboard of Morpho, Kaz was furious, though safe. He was yelling a lot, something about fiddles or some nonsense... Snake wasn't paying attention at all. He had just watched his base sink under the Caribbean Ocean, and he couldn't do anything about it. Chico was still catatonic, whimpering and crying with guilt. The chopper's medic was attending the wounded, which luckily were few.
The MSF soldiers... his men...
Looking out through the window, Big Boss saw several choppers and rescue boats escaping the base. They were full of his comrades, his family... Yes, Mother Base was gone, but MSF had survived.
A destroyed base can be rebuilt, but a dead man is a permanent loss.
With a sigh, Snake thought about what would have happened if he hadn't given the warning on time. What if Paz had still been alive and Chico hadn't told him that Mother Base was in danger?
TIME PARADOX