Author's Note: Oooh, I just can't hold it in anymore: You should be expecting some major plot points later in the story; it's going to be a while before we get there, but it has to do with Lynn…

Chapter 9: Consequence

Snake and Andrea followed Lynn out the door, who by now, was managing to walk quite well on her own. They left the apartment building, and approached the proper bus stop.

The three must've looked strange, because there was a couple at the bus stop that seemed to be staring at them suspiciously. They were the only other people at the bus stop though, and it didn't seem to bother anyone except Andrea.

The bus came some time later, and the three lumbered on (poor Andrea was forced to pay bus fare yet again), and found a trio of seats. The bus pulled out from the curb and continued on its planned route.

The whole ride was relatively quiet, as the two girls and Snake got off and headed towards the military shop across the street.

"Welcome back," O'Brian said when he emerged from the heavy curtains to see Lynn and Andrea. He eyed the larger fellow. "Who's he?"

"Dave," Snake replied before anyone else could. Not everyone needed to know who he truly was--he didn't want a name for himself, damnit. Not like the Tanker incident helped any. Damn Ocelot.

"He'll be assisting us on our mission," Lynn said.

"Anyways," O'Brian said, casting Snake a suspicious glance, "I take it you're here to order the rest of your equipment?"

"Yes, Sir," Lynn answered. She produced the 'shopping list.' O'Brian read it over.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I can get everything on this list," he said. "It'll cost you a pretty penny, but…" He wrote down a price on a piece of paper.

"It will be covered," Lynn said, examining the numerical value. She handed over the credit card, and O'Brian ran it through his funky little machine.

"Okay, now as far as the delivery goes, you know the storage facility just down the road?" O'Brian asked.

"Yeah," Snake replied.

"All items will be delivered there," O'Brian explained. "Everything should be there in two day's time; I'll mail you the key to get in."

"One other thing," Lynn said. "We need transportation from the storage facility to our target."

"Transportation?" O'Brian echoed. "I'll see what I can do…but I need to know where your destination is."

"The Manhattan Forrester Weapons Lab."

"Chri--what the hell business do you have there!" O'Brian exclaimed. He then recollected himself. "Sorry," he said in a lower tone, "I have no business knowing what's going to go down."

"We will contact you about a meeting time," Lynn said. She then turned and walked out of the shop. Snake and Andrea hurried to follow.

"T-that's it?" Andrea asked.

"All we did is place an order," Snake replied. "Nothing time-consuming about it."

"So t-that means…" Andrea said, trailing off. She looked at Lynn.

"Stealth training time," Snake answered evily. Andrea forced a weak smile as they approached the bus stop.

"Is the training working?" Snake asked.

"She's learning," Lynn replied.

"I know that, but will she be able to apply what she's learned?" Snake asked.

"Maybe," Lynn replied. The bus rounded the corner in the distance.

"I need certainty," Snake responded.

"I'll have a performance check," Lynn said. "A simulation of what a real mission would actually be like."

"S-simulation?" Andrea asked worriedly.

"A test," Lynn replied, "to see if you can actually use what you've learned." Andrea looked worried.

Snake stayed on the bus to ride it all the way home, while Lynn and Andrea got off the bus at the closest stop to the gym. It was a short five minute walk from the stop to the gym; Andrea's nervousness was building up the closer they got to the gym.

By the time they reached the gym, Andrea was noticeably shaking. She was trying to calm herself down, but today was a test. She knew she couldn't afford to fail whatever they threw her way.

Andrea saw Lynn look at her suspiciously. She tried desperately to stop shaking, but it wouldn't work.

Andrea and Lynn entered the gym.

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"Where we go now?" Czechov asked, standing outside the front gates of the Manhattan army base. "Girls not there, they say they haven't been back for while."

"So they not here," Yuri replied, his Russian accent dominating his speech.

"Where we look now?"

"We search hotels," Yuri replied evenly. The two hitmen walked down the path to their car.

"If they're with Solid Snake, they might not be in hotel," Czechov suggested.

"Boss wants methodical search," Yuri explained. "We do hotels, it's job."

"Searching hotels will take too long," Czechov complained.

"Then it take long time," Yuri answered simply. "Come on, we take break and get lunch."

The two hitmen piled in their car and headed off to the first restaurant they could find, which ended up being a burger joint.

"Can I take your order?" the young guy at the corner asked in a bored tone. The two Russians took their time deciding on the places' many burger variations. The guy at cashier sighed impatiently, probably waiting for the end of his shift.

"What you want?" Yuri asked.

"Why, you buying?" Czechov replied, studying the menu board above the cashier's head.

"I guess, must treat brother some times."

"Free meal, at last," Czechov joked. He turned to the cashier. "I take combo 3," he said simply, and stood aside for his brother.

Once his brother chose his meal and paid for their food, they walked over to a quiet little corner and sat down.

The two men took juicy bites out of their burgers.

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It was around 2:34 in the afternoon when Ocelot phoned Gagarin.

"Speak," Gagarin had said, answering his phone.

"Gagarin, I've discovered something you might find very interesting," Ocelot said intensely.

"Did you manage to find out what's on the PDA?" Gagarin asked hopefully.

"No, not yet, our men are still working on that," Ocelot replied, but brushed the issue away. "This issue is pertaining to that one girl, the one who's working with Solid Snake."

"Which one?" Gagarin asked.

"Janice Lynn," Ocelot replied. "I had some of my own men dig deep into any files regarding Lynn, her father, or relatives. And I came across something you might find very interesting."

"What?" Gagarin asked.

Gagarin's face paled a bit from what Ocelot's reply was.

"A-are you sure?" Gagarin stuttered. "Her father was a L--"

"--Yes, he was," Ocelot replied.

"It was my understanding that it was only the three of them," Gagarin exclaimed. All color had left his face. "Surely there must be some mistake--"

"--There is no mistake, the DNA confirms it, he is the fourth," Ocelot said. "I thought there was only three as well."

"B-but why would he hide all these years?" Gagarin asked.

"Wanted to live a normal life, that's my guess," Ocelot replied. The line stayed silent for a minute.

"You're absolutely sure?" Gagarin asked, wanting to know that Ocelot was telling the truth.

"Yes," Ocelot replied. "I am one hundred percent certain of his ancestry, down to the last gene."

"But if what you say is true, how could he have a child?" Gagarin inquired. "I thought that trait had been specifically engineered out?"

"I don't know either," Ocelot replied. "I'm having the matter looked into, and you should add this man to your hitmen's list of people. He is more than likely in Manhattan as well, keeping an eye on his daughter."

"Can they even get close enough to try and kill him?" Gagarin wondered aloud.

"I trust your men can handle the job," Ocelot answered. "He's probably not one of the dominant ones, so handling him should be easy."

"I hope for your sake that you're right," Gagarin said. He hung up the cell phone, and immediately called up Yuri.

"Hello?" the man's thick Russian accent said over the phone.

"We have a large problem that needs to be taken care of right away," Gagarin said in a rushed tone.

"What is problem?" Yuri replied.

"There is another man you need to kill, in particular the father of Lynn, who's one of your current targets," Gagarin rushed. "He presents a danger to this whole operation!"

"What is name?" Yuri asked nonchalantly.

"Peterson Lynn," Gagarin answered. He steeled himself for what he was about to say.

"Yuri," Gagarin said in a worried voice, "Going up against one Snake is bad enough, two is not something I need to experience." He took a deep breath.

"Janice Lynn's father is a survivor of the 'Les Enfants Terribles' project. He is Solid Snake's genetic twin."

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That night, Andrea came home still shaking. She had done the simulation; she was forced to stick to the shadows and utilize everything she'd learned.

She didn't know what the evaluation of her performance was; she had asked, but nobody answered. She knew she didn't make much noise during the whole affair, but…

They entered the apartment, which was still devoid of Otacon. Snake was sitting on the couch having a smoke, reading the newspaper. Lynn sat down at the other end of the couch. Andrea used this opportunity to make a mad dash for the shower. No one opposed her, so she went ahead and closed the door.

"What were the results?" Snake asked gruffly. Lynn looked at Snake.

"Better than expected," Lynn said, "But she's got a lot to learn. And I don't know if her performance will be the same in the field."

"Do you think she's capable of maintaining her calm? Will she be able to be rational in dire situations?"

Lynn stayed silent.

"Let's see what the end of training says," Lynn said.

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O'Brian lifted up the phone that night to call overseas. He had finally made up his mind to do it. He had considered just leaving Lynn alone to do her mission, but… seeing Solid Snake with his own two eyes had jolted him out of his little world.

O'Brian dealt with the Iraqi operator and waited for the connection to go through. A gruff voice answered the phone.

"Can I speak to Warrant Officer Peterson Lynn, please?" O'Brian asked. "Tell him it's O'Brian."

"Hold on son," the voice said. There was a dull thud as the phone was set on a table. A few minutes passed.

"O'Brian," a gruff, hoarse voice finally said over the line, distorted by the many miles between them.

"Sir, you are not going to believe who I saw with your daughter today," O'Brian said.

"Lynn…" Peterson said. "What, did she have a lover with her?"

"No, don't be stupid," O'Brian said, "you raised her with any emotions conveniently stripped away." He paused. "Solid Snake was with her."

"Solid!" Peterson exclaimed. "Solid Snake was with my daughter? When?"

"Today," O'Brian said. "They were buying all kinds of equipment to infiltrate the Forrester Weapons Lab's Manhattan facility. I'm transporting them there within the next few days."

"O'Brian, do you know what their objective is?" Peterson asked intensively.

"I don't know, but Solid Snake was with her…what do you think?"

"Jesus…" Peterson said. "I've heard a rumor about Forrester Lab's involvement with a new Metal Gear project, but…"

"What should I do?" O'Brian inquired.

"Stay put and help them anyway you can. I'm packing as we speak to come back…"

"Sir? Is this really that big of a problem?" O'Brian asked.

"O'Brian, if you only knew…She is the sole genetic child of the Les Enfants Terribles, do you get that? Getting involved with Metal Gear…it must run in the blood. If anyone finds out that she is my daughter, that I was the only clone that could 'pass the torch…' the Patriots would capture her and experiment on her to see what genes got passed on and which ones didn't."

O'Brian stayed silent.

"O'Brian, I am ordering you to keep a distant eye on Lynn before I get there. The Patriots will undoubtedly be trying to obtain that Metal Gear…I can't hide in Iraq any longer."

"I'll keep an eye on her," O'Brian said. "Liquidus."

Author's Note: Oh! Booyah! Liquidus Snake! Oh! Booyah! Lynns his daughter! Wasn't expecting that, were ya?