Author's note: Sorry if it seems I take too long to update. I'm anal about make writing! I have problems! Haha, so anyways...I hope I still have people interested in my story and please, please review! Oh, and thank you to those who did review! Ok, enjoy!
Ch.3 The Burlesque Drag
"So that was sparring...what exactly is the Mecha Sim training?" Raiden asked the 'all-knowing' Kana as they sat in level fifteen's dining hall again, this time for lunch.
"The Mecha Sim is a programed room where instead of your fellow comrades to fight with, you will fight a series of robots and automated weapons in a rapidly changing environment...it's...very advanced..." Kana added the last bit, sounding slightly cocky.
"It's hard!" Meryl groaned as she finished her bite of sandwich "You can really get hurt in there!"
Raiden raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on his face "Really? So...if there are weapons used against you in that room...do we get to use weapons, as well?"
"Use weapons for what?" Snake strode in, wreaking of tobacco smoke, making Kana's nose wrinkle in disgust.
"We were talking about the Mecha Sim...you should try it!" Meryl nudged Kana, giving the asian something to smirk about.
"Yes...perhaps you can best me there, hm?" Kana followed him with narrowed eyes as he took a seat and grabbed for one of the pre-made sandwiches on the table.
"Mecha Sim, huh? Some sort of advanced V.R. training?" the brown haired soldier guessed, having missed Kana's thorough explaination.
Kana, not being one to enjoy repeating herself simply nodded with a shrugg, figuring he'd learn sooner or later what it was exactly.
"Another one of Olivia's ideas...she said she was inspired by a comic book she read, X-Men or something..."
"Where's Otacon? And Lola?" Snake added the last dismissively "I'd rather not hear her voice...I already have her giving me trouble" he glanced at Kana then resumed back to eating.
"Research?" Meryl shrugged "Lola tried explaining how to use the computers here and everything they have on file...seems like a lot!"
"Hn, I'm sure he'll be fine..." Snake shrugged "Research and computers seem to be a breeze for him...second nature, or whatever..."
"You guys have that mission tonight, right?" Raiden blurted suddenly, earning a startled look from Meryl while Kana stayed ever so calm.
"Yes...I should get ahold of Colonel Andrik to confirm our positions tonight" the asian stood up and headed for the door.
"Meryl, shall we go and practice?"
The redhead slowly got up and mumbled a "See you later" as she followed Kana out of the dining hall.
The two males watched as the two women exited then raised an eyebrow at each other.
"What do you think they're going to do?" the younger of the two asked
"Beats me...but, I think we should talk to Colonel Andrik as well...I dodn't come all this way to just sit around some fancy building and exercise"
-----
Rubbing his eyes for what seemed like the houndreth time, Otacon placed his glasses on the computer desk and stretched. He had finished only three lengthy files about different projects Deltos had a hand in.
Nothing seemed significant with the projects, they were all standard except a select few that were mostly advanced armor. He strongly hoped that this was the equipment Snake and the others would be using.
"It's practically flawless! Thin enough to wear under casual clothing, possibly even under a sneaksuit! Strong enough to deflect damage from almost any weapon! This man is a genius!"
He glanced over to see a blurry, blonde sillouette in front of a glowing screen. Without his glasses on at the moment, he couldn't exactly tell what she was looking at.
He could only assume that even if he had his specs on he would still have a hard time. All he could hear was the sound of her typing and clicking quicker than he could even attempt.
After a slower click and tap of keys did he noticed the screen fade to black. He scrambled to get his glasses on and by the time he did, Lola was already at the office's exit.
"Done?" he asked, knowing the answer was obvious, but he was hoping it was a more subtle inquiry to why she appeared to be leaving.
The blonde stretched and nodded "Need to hook up with Kana and Meryl about tonight...I should probably call Andrik, too..."
She glanced at his screen then back to him "You should take a break every once in a while...you'll strain your eyes..."
Hal just sat there blinking as she left the room, finally he heard a squawk from above him. Smiling up at his feathered friend he shrugged and went to start reading the documents again.
Squawk! You'll strain your eyes! Squawk!
He imidiately slid his chair back and sighed "Alright, so I'm taking a break then..."
-----
"What do you mean the guys should be in on this mission!?" Meryl panicked, glaring at her father who avoided her eye contact.
Andrik sighed deeply and shook his head "We don't know what could happen at a place like that...I'm not doubting your abilities, but I think we should have reinforcements handy at the time"
Kana assessed the tone and body language of her Colonel and crossed her arms "They got to you, didn't they?"
Both Colonel's lowered their gaze, knowing there was no point in lying, especially to Kana.
"They will be apart of this mission and that is final" Andrik stated
"We will have Raiden as an employee and Snake as an attendee..." Campbell explained
Lola noticed the expression of horror on Meryl's face and the irritation in Kana's features "What's so bad about it? We were going to be in a room full of strangers anyways!"
"Question!" the blonde raised her hand, Andrik motioned for her to talk with a small, amused smile.
"Ok...so...Raiden is Jack, right? Anyways, so...Jack will be doing what exactly? Not what we're doing, right?"
Kana, Meryl and Campbell shook their heads "How could she even think that!?"
"No, Lola..." Andrik let out a light chuckle but quickly covered it up with a cough "He will have a quick briefing for his job...don't worry, it's all been set up"
"Are we done here?" Kana tried to remain calm, but speaking through gritted teeth wasn't the most convincing.
"Yes..." Andrik nodded and motioned for him and Campbell to leave. When they reached the door, Andrik stopped and turned back to the three women.
"I do hope your performance goes flawlessly...", he manged to get out of the room before a chair was thrown at him by Kana.
-----
Raiden checked himself out in the full-length mirror in his private quarters, his uniform for the mission was...quite peculiar.
"I look like a Vegas show-penguin!" he noted the sparkley black vest to match his shimmering, tight, black pants and boots...nothing else.
He slicked his hair back and added the finishing touches to his 'costume', a bow-tie choker and clip-on cuffs.
"What the hell did Snake talk me into?"
-----
"What the hell did I just get involved in?" Snake stared at his freshly shaven reflection in his bathroom. It was only suggested, at first, but when he denied the idea it was then requested for him to "Clean up, a bit".
He inspected the clothes picked out for him "No way to bring any weapons on this mission...there better not be any trouble"
The fabric was new to him, it was soft but stiff with a slight shine embedded in the material. He could tell it was exspensive, just looking at the clothes made him uncomfortable and nervous.
"How much did this stuff cost? I'm not paying for it if something happens while I'm wearing it!" he told himself as he slid on the silky, striped buttondown shirt.
The dark slacks were a bit tight around the 'important' areas, but hung loose around his legs, neatly cuffed at the bottom. The blazer was a slightly grey, slate color and fit properly. The finishing touches were a belt, of course, and a pair of polished leather dress shoes.
"Hn...at least I don't have to wear a tie..." he mused at himself in the reflection, shifting 'things' in place before leaving his room to meet up for the mission.
-----
"Hey, where are Meryl and the others?" the older male asked the 'pretty-boy' in the tight, glittery outfit.
"Lola came by my room and said we have to arrive there separately...well, of course..." Raiden shifted uncomfortably in the elevator, even the jacket he wore over his 'costume' didn't ease his feeling of exposure.
"How are we getting there, then? What are the directions?"
"She said there are two cars waiting for us in the garage...both equipped with G.P.S. units, directions already programed into them..."
"Hn..." Snake shifted, also uncomfortable in his outfit "Looks like we're set up then, huh?"
"Yep..." Raiden looked around the elevator as it halted and the doors opened, he quickly made his way out first and stopped the older male from heading toward his vehicle.
"We need to arrive separately, remember? The club doesn't open for another hour...I'm supposed to be an employee, so..."
"I'll wait thirty minutes before heading out...go..." Snake pulled out his pack of cigarettes from the coat pocket and lit one up.
-----
Raiden quickly jumped into the candied-apple-red, convertible corvette set-up for him and started the G.P.S. to find the club he would meet the girls at.
Ten minutes into his drive a loud ringing errupted from the center console of the car, startling him for a second. He eyed the console for a few more seconds then opened it up to find a phone attachment, still ringing.
He finally answered it, using a voice unlike his own "Hello?" he inquired, nervous that he shouldn't have picked it up.
"Hey! Jack?", it was Lola's nasal voice on the other end, making him relax...sort of.
"Yes, it's me...what's wrong?"
"Nothing...hey...you were told what to do for this job, right?"
"Mix...drinks...right?"
"Uh...yeah...umm...hey! You can dance, right?"
"Excuse me!?" he raised an eyebrow at the phone.
"Haha! Not like...well, anyways...just...shake your groove thing while you mix, ok? Trust me, you need to!"
Raiden was so busy staring at the phone in shock and worry, he had to quickly swerve to avoid hitting a pole "Shake my groove thing!?"
"Alright, hun, I have to leave you now...later!"
The young man stared at the phone for a few more seconds before hanging it up and gripping the wheel tightly. He felt small beads of sweat already forming along his hair-line and brow from the anxiety Lola just caused him.
"What the HELL did Snake talk me into!?"
-----
Checking his watch, he noticed that only fifteen minutes had passed and he was growing impatient. He could easily smoke another cigarette to pass the time but he simply wanted to get tonights mission over with.
"The sooner this is over the sooner the real mission can start!" he growled to himself, wanting to confirm Pan's position as Lust and SinSeven's activity in the Deltos/Metal Gear program.
He climbed into the luxury S.U.V. he was assigned, the keys in the ignition already, waiting for him. He started up the vehicle and struggled for a few minutes, trying to figure out how to work the G.P.S.
Once that was all settled, he checked his coat pocket for the slip of paper with his alias for the night, then sped out of the garage.
-----
"Not in the dining hall...not in any of the training levels...I checked their rooms..." Otacon wandered around every level of the building.
"Where did everyone go?"
Squawk!
-----
"Are you our replacement?" a young man dressed similar to Raiden pulled at his arm to follow him inside the club.
"Uh...yeah...that's me..." he followed numbly as he tried to check the strange place out.
"Oh, thank gawd! I don't know what I would've done if I were stuck here alone!" the young man whined.
It was slightly crowded inside as he was pulled behind the bar, "This place gets so busy every week on these nights!"
Looking around, he spotted a bunch of tables set out like at a restaurant, and many young males dressed in the same silly outfit as him waiting on these tables.
"What kind of club is this, exactly?"
The other bartender stared at him in exasperation "You seriously don't know? Where did you work before?"
"I, uh...the Blue Oyster in California..." "Please, let this sound believable!"
"Oh, ok...well, this is similar, only with...extra entertainment" he motioned past the table to the large stage on the opposite end of the room.
Raiden looked at the stage, then looked around at the other employees, then to the young man who was now grinning at him "Creepy...wait, does he mean..."
"I don't get it, myself...but hey, if they're Bi, they're Bi...at least we don't kid ourselves" the young man winked then danced off to take an order.
"Wait...what!?" he stood there in disbelief then shook his head "Why does everyone think I'm gay!?"
"Hey! Who do I have to screw around here for a gin sour?" a hand slapped the bar counter.
Jack looked over at the 'winker' and saw him point at his own big grin and nodd in a 'deal with it like this' sort of way.
A quick sigh and forced smile later he turned to the 'gentleman' and nearly screamed.
A lanky, effeminate redhead was eyeing him up and down, licking his lips "Please, say it's you..."
"Lovelock!" Jack's mind screamed for him, he hoped that his surprise didn't show and started making the drink "Right away, sir!" giving a quick shake of his hips when 'winker' motioned for that as well.
"Worst...job...ever..."
-----
The S.U.V. pulled up into the large parking lot, his G.P.S. unit made a pleasent, but insistant 'ding' to let him know he reached his destination. He found a vacant spot, parked the vehicle, then finally took a good look at the place.
The large parking lot was now obviously due to the large, brightly lit building it accompanied.
"What the hell kind of place is this?"
Large, neon lights displayed the name Spank with an image of a woman posing in a martini glass. Several well dressed deviants crowded the outside, all talking amongst one another as if it were business as usual. The crowd outside may have been large, but there didn't seem to be any real line-up or order to get in. The only thing in their way were the large, mean looking Bouncers at the entrance.
Snake decided to make his way toward the door, checking the name written on the piece of paper in his pocket just for refreshment. He tucked the paper back inside his coat before he was visible to the bouncers, but when he reached them they held their arms out to stop him.
"I don't think so, pal!"
Snake checked his watch "This place should be opened now..." he eyed them carefully and noticed they were sizing him up as well.
"I'm on the list..."
"Oh really?" both bouncers crossed their arms, looking as intimidating as possible.
Without hesitation, Snake cooly explained "Under the name Jorgan, first name Hugh..." he paused and played the name in his head, then rolled his eyes.
One of the boucers walked away for a second, after reading the name Hugh Jorgan on the list, then came back "Alright, enjoy the show..."
Before he made it past the bouncers they stopped him again "Oh, and, buddy...I don't know what you're used to but, here, we don't touch, got it?"
He nodded promptly and they released him, giving him a rough pat on the back as he walked away.
-----
As he entered the club, smoke clouded his vision and the only light was either blacklight or neon. He finally made it to the crowded bar area and scanned the room as best he could.
"Anything to drink, sir?"
"Sure, beer!" Snake waved a hand dismissively.
Whoever asked him his order now cleared their throat for his attention, Snake turned to see Raiden behind the bar wearing the fakest smile imaginable.
"I see..." the older of the two nodded then leaned in "Where are the girls?"
The white haired, young man glanced around then answered "The show will be starting, soon...you should find a seat, soon"
Snake raised an eyebrow then looked around the room again. There was a large floor area, set up with tables and just beyond that was a large stage with poles. He was finally understanding the discomfort of the mission and slightly regret butting in on it.
"I'll get your beer..." Raiden quickly left him as the other helper behind the bar turned around to mix some drinks.
Just as he got his beer, the lights dimmed and a voice came over and intercom "Gentlemen! Grab those dollars and start those boners! The ladies have a special treat for you tonight!"
"First table, front and center..." Raiden muttered before heading to the other side of the bar to take more orders.
Snake focused his eyes on where Raiden mentioned and saw a head of spiked up red hair "There's our elf..."
A spotlight was placed upon the stage now, Snake took this opportunity to make his way to a vacant chair near the back on the right.
A curtain lifted on stage and there stood a line of about fifteen women in lingerie. The music started and the three front and center ladies on stage were very familiar looking.
It seemed that they had on either long wigs or extensions, all their own hair colors, red, black and blonde. They were heavily made-up, making it mostly hard to make out their features and their outfits left little to the imagination, but covered more than the others on stage with them.
Snake stared half amused half angry, hearing the whistles and catcalls from the crowd "What the hell are they supposed to accomplish like this?"
The ladies slunk around the stage to the beat of the music. It seemed there was an entire dance routine they were all following. It was alot of well placed steps and hip shaking to the music, a few of the girls on stage even smacked their own rears at the right timing of the song.
The loudest person in the entire club was 'Lust', himself. He hooted, whistled and cried out "Yeah, baby!" while drumming his hands energetically on the table.
It was barely noticeable, but Snake caught it, the three ladies gave each other a quick glance before breaking away from each other. Meryl and Kana weaved their way through the crowd, giving an extra shake every now and then.
Lola remained on the stage, twirled around the poles a bit and shook her hips like a pro with her back to the crowd.
The majority of the crowd kept their eyes glued on the stage, Lola did a wonderful job at distracting everyone away from Meryl and Kana's activities. Even Snake forgot to check on what the two were doing off stage, for a while.
He glanced over, finding Meryl dancing in front of the small group behind Lovelock's table. Kana was keeping the perverted elf busy with a mock lap-dance.
The perverts hands hovered mere inches away from the asian's body, he looked like he was in pain to not touch her as she continued her dance.
Kana and Meryl met eyes, a small smile tugged at the corner of their lips as they progressed through their mission.
Kana grabbed Pan on both sides of his face and buried his head in her chest long enough for Meryl to get a blindfold ready.
Kana's displeasure for this whole mission was apparent, her face remained stoney but her eyes burned with hate.
As she let go of Pan's face, Meryl placed the blindfold over his eyes, earning another shout of "Oh, yeah!" from the redhaired man.
Snake watched this all from the corner of his eye, not wanting to draw attention to what the girls were actually doing, but it seemed like everyone was still more interested in the blonde on stage.
Kana slid her hands down Lovelock's chest, down his thighs, then back up around his waist.
Meryl pushed herself close from behind Pan, whispering in his ear while Kana made was already picking herself up, hands behind her back.
The blindfold was then removed, after a second for Pan's eyes to refocus, he looked around with a hungry look in his eyes. Most likely looking for the asian that was previously on his lap.
The crowd hooted loudly then, some even stood, all eyes on the stage as Lola writhed like Madonna all those years ago.
Lovelock was amongst the few that stood up "That's what I'm talkin' about!".
Meryl made a quick snatch at his back pocket, then shimmied her way over to Kana, who was dancing near another table.
Snake watched openly now as the two females embraced for a few seconds, making the crowd cry out in excitement. Meryl then slid away from the asian and rejoined Lola on stage as Kana made her way over to Snake.
He kept his hands on either side of his chair, raising an eyebrow at the asian as she sauntered over "She's not..."
Kana gracefully placed herself on the soldier's lap, giving him a similar dance that she gave their target. Leaning in, close to his ear, she mumbled "Don't lose these", then turned herself around on him allowing two things to fall onto his lap from inside the back of her top.
When she got up to move back onto the stage, Snake quickly covered the items that were dropped and overheard some snickering from nearby tables. Checking his position, he realized it looked like he was trying to cover his..'excitement', and quickly slid the items up into his coat's inner pocket.
-----
The drive back to the base was similar to how they left the base, taking turns on when to leave, the last to arrive at the base would be Jack, due to clean-up duties at the bar.
But once they were all back at the base's garage, all hell broke loose between the agents.
"You just HAD to come along, did you? Can't let a woman do anything alone, is that it!? Did you feel inadequate? Did YOU want to do...to do THAT!?" Kana bellowed loudly, her voice booming and echoing throughout the garage.
Snake stupid there dumbfounded, every time he attempted to answer no words escaped his mouth, only strange noises and sighs.
Meryl held her long coat closed with folded arms, her foot tapped the concrete angrily as she scowled at her old friend.
"You had no right to add yourselves to this mission!" the redhaired woman hissed.
"Hey!" Raiden held his hands up defensively "I didn't care either way...he's the one that called the Colonel's!"
"Nice...blame it all on me...pussy...you're just mad that you had to play hostess"
"I think it went fine..." Lola shrugged, looking confused to all the hostility.
Kana rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath in another language, most likely Japanese, then held her hand out.
"Give me possessions we took from Lovelock!"
Snake grumbled to himself as he reached in his coat pocket, taking out the items and his pack of cigarettes "Here..."
Kana inspected a small keychain with a card attached to it, her eyes widening "Lola!" she turned to the blonde and handed it over.
Raiden and Meryl leaned in on both sides of the blonde, eyebrows raising "That looks like..."
"It's one of our cardkeys!" Lola choked out, her hand shaking slightly "But...how did..."
"Look at this, as well..." Kana handed the other item over "It's an entire list of Deltos' projects and passwords...used with our own printer..."
The folded paper that was taken from Pan's back pocket was just as Kana said, the bases' logo neatly printed in the bottom right corner.
"How did Lovelock get past security?" Lola's hands were shaking so bad at this point, Meryl took the items from her hands and placed her free hand on the blondes back comforting.
"There's no way..." Kana shook her head, eyes narrowed at the ground, deep in thought.
"Sounds to me like you have a traitor amongst you..." Snake grunted, pulling out a smoke and motioning the pack at Lola.
Lola shook her head quickly, nervously glancing at Kana as she did. Kana caught the exchange and scowled at the blonde but remained silent.
"Do you guys keep old security data?" the extremely uncomfortable white haired soldier asked as he secured his coat around himself.
"Yes...I could see when this card was issued and find out who was here when it was!" Lola jumped as she clutched his arm.
"That could prove useless...we always have our cadets here..." Kana shrugged.
"But they don't have access to this information!" Lola took back the items in Meryl's hand.
"Who does have access?" Snake puffed away at his cigarette, making Kana's nose wrinkle and step away from him.
"Besides Colonel Andrik and ourselves? Everyone that was in that photo we showed that helped developed the compatible program..." Kana frowned.
"I just can't imagine one of our own participating with a group like SinSeven..." the asian shook her head "This is twisted..."
"Hn, maybe you should tell us more about those other scientists...maybe we'll get a feel for who would be active in a local terrorist group" Snake finished his smoke and stubbed it out.
"There you guys are!" Hal walked out into the garage "Where have..." he paused and took in the sight before him. Snake, clean shaven and well dressed...Raiden, slicked back and oddly dressed...and all three girls were wearing long coats with long wigs and heavily made-up faces.
"What did I miss? Hey! Did you all go on a mission without telling me!?"
"I'm going to bed! We'll discuss the rest tomorrow...in the conference room with Colonel's Andrik and Campbell!" Kana stalked past the hacker, clearly annoyed.
Meryl and Raiden Followed close behind, "Don't even ask" the younger male grunted at the hacker, Meryl refused eye contact.
"Huh?" Hal looked over at the last two remaining, Snake pulled out his pack again and this time Lola accepted one.
"You'll hear all about it tomorrow..." the male soldier sighed "We'll all get an earful from Kana, I'm sure..."
"Hey...could you start a scan on this keycard for me?" the blonde handed it to Hal "Find out when it was issued?"
"O...k...?" Otacon scratched his head as he re-entered the building, examining the card in every which angle.
-----
It was quiet halfway through their cigarettes, Snake noticed Lola's hands were shaking again.
"Scared?"
"Huh?" she looked up and took a long, deep drag of her smoke "Well...I guess so...I mean..."
She sighed, running her free hand through her hair "I just...thought this place was safe...you know?"
He nodded, taking a drag as was, letting it fall silent again.
"Do you really think one of our own is helping SinSeven and that Ocelot guy?"
"I don't know your people well enough...but, I've seen it happen before...humans are naturally greedy, they want everything and the best..."
"Greed..." Lola shuddered "The last of the SinSeven...to think, one of our own...whom we trusted with all our secrets...could be..."
"Then we'd better watch our backs from here on..." he stubbed his cigarette out, as did she. She nodded in agreement then led the way to the elevator, pushing for levels' fourteen and sixteen.
"Going to bed?"
"No..." Lola laughed "I just thought I'd put something...a little less revealing on, before helping Hal out with the security data..."
Author's note: Alright! Chapter three is done! I'll try to get chapter four up quickly. As always, I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope you will review. Thank you!