Legacy of the Legend
Chapter 11: A Test of Marksmanship
Snake had never heard that voice before, codec or otherwise. And he had no idea how whoever it was had gotten his frequency.
Snake: What the hell…Who are you!?
UNKNOWN: All in good time, Snake…all in good time. And I suggest you duck.
Snake ducked, and heard the tree behind him take a hit from a very large caliber weapon in its trunk. Wood splinters rained down all around him and Anya.
UNKNOWN: Let's call this a test of your marksmanship skills, Snake…for I am the Unseen Seer! The greatest sniper the world has ever known!
Snake quickly patched Raiden into the conversation, along with a quick signal – two short bursts of static – to tell him to listen but not speak.
The Unseen Seer: No, no need to say anything more, Snake. My reputation precedes me. I see you have survived the first part of my little…test. Now begins the second half. Look sharp!
The sniper cut the transmission, and Snake found no answer when he tried calling the frequency again. He opened a transmission to the Colonel and Raiden.
Snake: Colonel, who the hell is this guy?
Campbell: The Unseen Seer is the – somewhat flawed – result of a number of experiments to create the perfect long-range sniper. His skin tone can adjust to his surroundings, which enables him to hide from enemies better. He can force all or some of his muscles to lock up whenever he chooses, so his hands never tremble when he shoots. But worst of all, he needs no sighting equipment. His eyes are telescopic, able to focus on any given object as if he were standing right in front of it. He could spot a mosquito flying from a kilometer away.
Snake: What the hell!?
Raiden: I concur. What the HELL!?
Campbell: Snake, you have a sniper rifle. My guess is that he's firing at you from across the bridge. I know how good a marksman you are – you should be able to hit him back. Raiden, I suggest you run decoy and turn the Unseen Seer's attention away from Snake. His bullets create a very noticeable smoke trail. Use that to your advantage!
Raiden sprang upwards and forwards, his blade drawn and at the ready. Suddenly, his blade was up in front of his visor and a white trail had appeared between it and the hill on the far side of the bridge. The trail had angled away at 90 degrees where the bullet had struck the blade.
Snake quickly sighted on the source of the trail, and he saw a pale figure dressed in woodland camouflage hiding behind a tree and holding a long, slender, scopeless rifle. He took aim, mentally adjusting for the light breeze, their height difference and the distance between them, and squeezed the trigger.
Through his scope, Snake saw the round impact on the tree. It had struck a very thin part of the tree, and Snake saw the figure flinch slightly. He'd scored a hit.
The Unseen Seer: Excellent shot, Snake…although you'll have to hit harder than that to kill me. That bullet didn't even penetrate!
Snake ignored him. He took aim again. Nothing.
Snake pulled his eye away from the scope and saw two more smoke trails ricochet off Raiden's sword. He focused on the pale figure again and fired.
The round hit his enemy…in the thigh.
Damn it, not enough adjustment for bullet drop. And that gust I just felt…it's as if the weather is on his side. But that's insane!
The Unseen Seer: I felt that shot, Snake! But hitting non-vital areas won't help!
Snake was about to fire again when his arm exploded with pain. As he screamed in pain, he saw that his left upper arm had taken a hit in the bicep, and the bullet had gone right through. The bullet was a small flechette, only 4mm wide. That's not to say it didn't hurt.
"Snake!" shouted Anya, from her hiding place inside a hollow log. She dived out of it and dragged Snake back inside the log, opening up his backpack and retrieving the medical kit.
"What…are you…doing?" Snake gasped.
"Saving your life. Now shut up and hold still," she replied, cleaning the wound quickly and expertly with antiseptic cream. It stung like hell. She wiped the blood off the outside of the wound, and tied it incredibly tight with a bandage.
"Thanks…" Snake said, weakly.
"No problem. Now get out there and take that bastard down!" said Anya, encouragingly.
Snake was about to crawl out of the log, but Anya pulled him back.
"What?" he asked?
Anya kissed him on the cheek.
"Just for luck," she muttered, slowly turning red.
Snake smiled, briefly, and crawled out of the log, pressing himself against the side of a large tree for cover.
Snake peered through his scope and saw the Unseen Seer firing intermittently at a figure he couldn't see. Snake guessed it was Raiden. Snake knew he couldn't hit the Unseen Seer, his angle was all wrong. But then he saw the tree behind his enemy and an idea formed in his mind.
He angled the rifle upwards, did a brief adjustment for windage, distance and elevation, and fired three rounds…at the part of the tree where a heavy-looking branch joined the trunk.
His three shots were enough. The branch splintered at the joint and came crashing down. A few seconds after it landed, Snake heard a voice on his codec. A voice lined with the sounds of a man in pain.
The Unseen Seer: No! Damn you, Snake!
The exclamation was followed by the most unsniperlike hailstorm of bullets Snake had ever seen from a marksman, as the tree trunk he was hiding behind took a dozen hits to the trunk. Splinters of wood flew everywhere and small branches came crashing down. But Snake was safe. Over the codec, he heard a series of clicking noises.
It was a while before the Unseen Seer realized that he had run out of ammo.
Snake stepped out from behind his cover and took aim exactly where he had been aiming previously. He moved to the right until his enemy was no longer behind cover.
The Unseen Seer was trapped underneath the branch. A particularly sharp protrusion had impaled his left hand, and the branch itself had broken his leg.
Snake brought the scope of his rifle to his eyes. He adjusted it to maximum zoom, and fixed the crosshairs on the Unseen Seer's forehead. The air was still, no windage adjustment was needed. Distance and elevation were easy to allow for.
Snake's finger curled on the trigger. He started to pull it back-
-when suddenly, without any apparent reason, the Unseen Seer took a direct hit to the torso.
Snake quickly lowered the rifle and looked around wildly for the shooter. Down on the beach, he saw a hooded figure holster a sniper rifle on his back and sprint away.
Snake focused on the figure through his scope. The man was dressed in a black trench coat, with no apparent regard for the heat. His hood was up. As he ran away from the scene of the battle, he suddenly vanished into thin air.
Snake looked away from his scope, confused. For the fourth time in the past hour, Snake thought to himself, what the hell?
Raiden: Snake? Did you make that kill-shot?
Snake: No…did you see some hooded guy wearing a black trench coat anywhere?
Raiden: Yeah…he vanished before I could catch up with him. Stealth camo, I think.
Snake: Anyway…apparently he's an enemy of our enemy, which has to be good. Let's go, I'll meet you at the bridge.
Snake made his way down to the bridge, where Raiden was waiting. Together, they crossed the bridge, encountering no resistance at all.
At the other end of the bridge the terrain angled upwards, creating a hill. At the top of the hill was a steep, downward slope, at the bottom of which rested their destination. The Northern Construction Warehouse.
"So that's it?" said Snake, feeling slightly skeptical. The place was only guarded by two towers overlooking the main gate…towers which were not manned as of five seconds and two bullets ago.
"Must be…and I bet inside security is tight. Let's go," answered Raiden.
Snake turned around to address their other companion. "Anya…I have a bad feeling about this. Go back and hide under the bridge," he said, and Anya, in a move that was completely against her character, obeyed.
"Wow," said Raiden, after Anya was out of earshot, "you're pretty good with the ladies."
Snake's face took on a slight red tinge. "Shut up and move in, Raiden."
And the two of them made their way down the hill. There was a side entrance near the main gate, a flimsy door which offered no resistance to Raiden's blade. Snake kicked the door open and went in gun first.
The room was empty.