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- CHAPTER 1 -


2010 A.D.

Virginia Coastline

The yacht that rocked back and forth in the murky ocean water had the name Otaku painted on its side. It was currently anchored 11 miles off the coast of Virginia, and the city was barely visible. It was the middle of the afternoon, and the sun was casting glares off of the ship's windows. On the top deck sat a scrawny man on a laptop. He was typing with one hand, using the other one to adjust his glasses, a look of seriousness on his face.

Below him in the cabin, sat another man in boxers polishing a SOCOM semi-automatic pistol. On the television screen was a CNN reporter talking about an elementary school bombing in Atlanta.

Ex-FOXHOUND member Solid Snake stood up and placed the weapon in its holster. Then he threw himself back onto the bed and listened to the reporter. He was in a pretty decent mood after last night's operation, though it had left him exhausted. He heard footsteps approaching, and the door slid opened. His partner and long-time friend Hal Emmerich stood in the doorway.

"Snake, I think you might wanna see this," he said, squinting.

"Anything new, Otacon?" asked Snake, getting up from the bed.

Otacon was Hal's alias, as Snake was his.

"I think I might have found us a new lead," he replied.

Snake knew what he meant and followed Otacon back to his computer. Otacon sat down and began.

"Do you remember the Umbrella Corporation?" he asked.

Snake did not even have to think about it.

"You mean those bastards responsible for the Raccoon City catastrophe? How could I forget?"

The Umbrella Corporation had been the leading pharmaceutical company in the country for nearly a decade. It had been recognized all over the globe as one of the driving forces towards economic superiority. However, Umbrella had its own agenda. While maintaining its public face as a cosmetics producer, Umbrella was actually involved in genetic engineering and bioweaponry. Not only that but it was also a major international player in a number of markets including pharmaceuticals, medical hardware, defense, and computers. They were even the parent company of their very own private military company. But about twelve years ago, there was an outbreak involving one of their products in a small mountain town in the mid-west, and the government was forced to sterilize the city with a surface-to-air nuclear warhead. After that, the U.S. Government suspended Umbrella's market trading rights in the United States. Their "business practices" were eventually discovered, and after losing its shares, went bankrupt.

"Well, I was digging around through the data you recovered last night and for some reason Umbrella kept popping up. It turns out that Umbrella has been doing pretty good for itself lately," he explained.

"And why is that important?" Snake asked.

"I asked that exact same question," stated Otacon, opening a new file. "I didn't think it was that important until I found this."

Snake bent down to read the file. His eyes widened as he finally realized Otacon's news.

"Apparently the U.S. Government has been backing all of Umbrella's latest movements. And when I say the U.S. Government, I mean-," but Snake cut him off.

"The Patriots," muttered Snake.

"Exactly," replied Otacon.

Against all the principles of the founding fathers, the Patriots were the true rulers of the United States. Only a handful of people were even aware of their existence. They were the sole authority in the U.S. and the President answered directly to them. The government was a lie. It was only a puppet, and the Patriots were the puppet masters.

Snake began to think to himself as Otacon continued.

"If the Patriots are interested in Umbrella's success, then that must mean that they're planning something big," Otacon stated.

The same idea had been running through Snake's head. He and Otacon were members of an organization known as Philanthropy. Philanthropy was an anti-proliferation organization whose goal was to stop the spreading of nuclear weaponry into other nations. Snake and Otacon were vital to Philanthropy's success, and stopping the Patriots was their highest priority.

"But what would the Patriots want with Umbrella?" asked Snake.

"I have no clue, Snake, but it's the only lead we have," responded Otacon.

"You really believe this is something to look into?" asked Snake.

"Absolutely," responded Otacon.

"I just wanted to hear you say it. Alright then, what do you have in mind?"

Otacon brought up a building schematic on the screen.

"This," he began, pointing at the screen, "is Umbrella's last corporate headquarters, Vertigo Plaza, in New York City. Whatever these guys are up to is bound to be stored in there somewhere."

Snake agreed, as he began to see Otacon's plan unfold.

"How fast can you get us to New York?" asked Snake.

Otacon adjusted his glasses. "I've already got us a jet waiting."

Snake smiled. "Good old Otacon. Always thinking ahead."