Chapter 9

Horatio drives into a parking garage area after he receives a call from a FBI agent to meet him in a parking garage downtown. Horatio didn't like the sound of that a meet with an agent is a big waste of his time and his investigation. Stetler had already brushed off Horatio's theory that Snake was framed. Horatio parks his car and walks out. He puts his gun in his holster and waits for the agent but out of nowhere, came some black agency vans and out of nowhere, agents and FBI SWAT drew their guns out.

"Drop the weapon!!!",, an agent ordered.

"I'm a COP!!!", Horatio yelled back.

"Drop it or we'll shoot!!", a FBI SWAT member ordered.

Horatio then put his gun on the ground and also drew his badge but then…

"Hold your fire."

Horatio then sees agent Walkman and an agent Burton (I say late 30s, dark red hair) who was in charge of the team that worked with police department on Mei Ling's kidnapping, her murder, and the murder of two of their agents.

"Burton, you mind telling me what's going on here?"

"How much do you know?"

"What do you mean by, "How much do I know?"."

"On Solid Snake."

"A few things other than he supposedly sank an oil tanker and the Big Shell, and also killed many people."

"Well, I have agent Walkman, here, telling me that you doubt Snake kidnapping and murdering the woman."

"What's wrong with that? It happens in these investigations and I could be wrong you know."

"Well, I don't know, it sounds like treason."

"Treason is betraying your country and how could I be a traitor?"

"That fact that you're speaking of big time eco-terrorist is innocent sounds like treason."

"That's the freedom of opinion, its not treason. Now, one of your agents called me to talk of something. Now what is it?"

Agent Burton scoffed,"You really think we're here to talk. I think you got the wrong idea. We're not here to talk of business, we're here to tie up a loose end and it's you."

The men raised their guns at Horatio, he looks at his gun on the floor and knows the second he goes for it he'll be pumped full of lead.

"So, Snake was innocent."

"For the whole time he was. Other people and I work for a bigger and higher authority than the President of the United States. A certain group I work for found the "hero of Shadow Moses" to be a big obstacle for them so they carried out a few plans and those plans worked. The public was convinced of the oil tanker and Big Shell Incident. You can say they were steps to a bigger part for our country."

"Killing anyone who got in the way of your plans."

"No, we kill the people "they" think are in the way of their plans, we're just people who take out their garbage. For example Mei Ling, Snake and you."

"Who's "they"?"

"Now I can't tell you that now can I. They'll kill me for that."

"So, why Mei Ling?"

"Well, during the Shadow Moses Incident, she was the data analyst for that mission. She was instructed by Snake to record everything that happened. After the incident, Roy Campbell, the one who was in charge of the operation, used that to protect her, himself, Nastasha Romanenko, and his daughter, Meryl from prosecution and harassment of the government. Without it then they…"

"Would be hunted like rats and exterminated."

"Something like that."

"So why tell me, when you know I'm going to die?"

"I figure you need to know before we kill you."

"And if I escape?"

"Fat chance but you should always have a backup plan. Should you escape, we planned to have you accused of treason and conspiring with Solid Snake, we'll say that you were the one that originated his escape, it might even convince Stetler and if you think we don't have proof, then think again. We already planted evidence against you and some false witnesses to testify against you."

:Sounds like you had this all planned out."

"It takes a lot out of us but we get the job done. Now that we're done talking about this, it's time."

Horatio sees them raise their weapons and flipped their safeties off. He looked around his environment, no one was around and there would be no one that'll save him. He sees that his only chance of escaping is vaulting over that railing. He hopes that he'll land on something soft but doubts it. Horatio then sprints over to the railing, the men aims their weapons and pulled their triggers. The bullets went flying past Horatio. Horatio vaults over the railing and readies himself for a hard landing. He lands on a roof and runs to the ladder while the men aimed their weapons and tried to get a shot off. Horatio then takes the fire escape and rapidly gets on the street level. He runs into crowds of civilians with the FBI all over him. He then goes into the mall and runs through the crowds. The men chased him but looked all over for him but alas he wasn't found.

"Let him go. He's dead one way or another."

He orders Walkman,"Get the word out."

In a restroom

Snake smashes the man's face into the toilet and flushes it again. This man took a lot of work to get to. Snake had to chase him all the through an apartment, on rooftops, alleys, and dangerous streets with cars speeding. He finally cornered him into a private place. The man wasn't giving him any answer so Snake think it was the time to get dirty. He then pulls the man's head out of the toilet water.

"Now I won't ask you again! Who was it!!!"

"I gave you a few names, man!! I swear that's all I know!!"

"Your facial expression tells me otherwise! Now, tell me more or you're getting another swirly."

"Okay, okay. There's this guy he works for the government his name is Patterson and another high rank is FBI Special Agent Burton and another is a former US Marine now a CIA agent his name was Matt Burns, he takes out all their "garbage" and plants evidence. That's all the people that I know are here. Please let me go."

Snake then lets him go, seeing as how he told him everything he knows and walks out of the restroom to plan with Otacon on seeing which ones he's going to have a chat with.

End of Chapter 9