Snake lay awake in his hospital bed unable to sleep. Glancing over in the dim light he could see Taylor dozing but he was twitching. They both had nightmares now. The horrid memories were someone's idea of a joke. The nightmares were a way for the government to fuck you and get their way even when you were alone. Their way, the government's way was the wrong way, at least in Plissken's mind.
He stared up at the ceiling again trying to trace the mess back to someone. He needed an individual to blame in order to salvage his sanity. That grasp on reality felt fragile at the moment and the only reason he knew he wasn't insane is because he deduced a crazy person would not question their sanity. Of course the government was the reason but revenge required a person who could be killed for the outrage of The Ruse.
His mind struggled through the haze of morphine and the concoction of painkillers slowly dripping into his bloodstream to find the source of The Ruse. Memories filtered back in rewind until one image, Captain Berrigan, stuck in his mind. Snake could see the mask clearly in his mind's eye. The Captain never removed it even in the sanctuary of the barracks where the air was cleansed of the poison mist.
Snake mumbled a string of slurred curses under his breath. He had no face on which to lay the blame. There had to be something else he could use to pin down his first victim when he was free of this bed and the bland white room. Nothing came to mind and he strained his memories for an answer.
Eventually, he discovered one other clue. Plissken had a voice; it was a speaker enhanced voice from within that motherfucking mask. Taylor's voice and his own had been barely changed by the microphone and reception system. It would stand to reason that the voice emanating from the mast would uncover the man beyond.
It was a start. Snake remembered that voice and locked on it dwelling on the details. He was a vicious predator now nursing his wounds to return and stake his claim and vengeance upon the one who had usurped his rights. Systematically Snake lay in his bed comparing that one voice to every other he had heard. Female voices were thrown out first. The Captain had most certainly been male.
Plissken stewed on the idea that it had been a man that betrayed him, killed his friends, the woman he loved and as Snake would soon discover his parents as well. He despised that man with a hatred that began burning like a blast furnace within. The only desire Snake had as he gazed at the barren ceiling was to see that man dead. First he had to discover who that masked coward was. Snake couldn't help but wonder if Captain Berrigan had suspected Snake would survive and purposefully hid his identity.
That brought Snake back to the voice. He resumed his methodical comparison determined to discern the bastard behind the gas mask. Every voice failed to match the one he sought. Frustration added to the burn of hatred. The Snake would not be denied that one piece of satisfaction but the more he dwelt upon it the more it seemed that was exactly what was going to happen. The government had purposefully hidden his identity. Plissken was not deterred and silently vowed to discover the identity of Captain Berrigan. Until then the government would regret hiding his face from the man he failed to send to his death.
