Chapter Eighteen: Chinese Proverbs
Mei Ling.
She was sitting there before Snake, tears running down her clean, unscathed face There was a certain sparkle in her eyes that made Snake almost fall backwards, and while seeing her was not a great shock, seeing her THERE, was.
"Snake?" she cried, fitfully, as he tried to smile. "What're you doing here?" He looked at her, more surprised now than before.
"What are YOU doing here?" Snake asked, but she shook her head, trying to nudge at her cheeks with her shoulders to dab the tears away, but she could not. As she looked back up at him, she smiled.
"I can't tell you," she sighed.
"I know about People's Will, but...why would you be working on-site?" she seemed uncomfortable having learned of his knowledge of People's Will, but then continued, hesitantly.
"I wanted to do more, and my commander thinks my help is more effective here than in an office. I guess he's right, too. But, I'm not helping anyone tied up here..." She began to trail off, and then Snake looked down at her, saddened. She didn't know that Farrel was dead.
"Farrel," Snake paused as her eyes shot up at him in surprise once again, "he's...dead." Mei Ling was never incredibly emotional when she and Snake had known each other, but as Snake stood there before her, he saw a whole new part of her. She began to fall apart, not literally, and she dropped her head between her knees. Snake could hear her as she shuddered and sobbed, and he turned away, easing her tension.
"How?" she asked, raising her head from between her knees. Snake shook his head, afraid and unable to say anything more. He had witnessed it on the roof just as he was stepping out of the helicopter...he had to see it all, and while he had indeed seen death many times before, the death of that man...so close to safety, if anywhere in Hell's Outpost could be considered safe...it was beyond devastating.
"Sniper shot...one in the chest...another in the head." As he turned back to her, he could see that se had dropped her face down again, and had continued to cry, her face moistening every second. Snake wasn't one for romance, and in an attempt to both make her feel more comfortable and for himself to not have to witness her pain, he turned away and started through the crowd of hostages tied to whatever was behind, beside, or in front of them.
"One must first learn to accept misfortune, before overcoming it," Mei Ling stated as Snake lifted a shard of Turret's chain gun from the chilled floor. He noted her comment and returned to where she sat with the sharp piece of a gun barrel in his hand. As he bent down, beginning to saw through the rope that bound Mei Ling, she noticed the blood on his glove and cringed. "You have all ready killed?"
He stopped, following her eyes to his glove and closed his eyes. "That's from Farrel," he stated, continuing to cut through the thick rope. She was deeply saddened by this, but managed to compose herself in her state of sorrow. For a long while there was silence...long...cold...dead silence, the only sound in the room, which was still nearly impossible to make out, was the quiet scratching of the shard on the rope.
"He was...here?" Mei Ling asked. Snake did not halt his work, but instead answered as he tore through the layers of tough wire and rope wound up into one thick human-sized handcuff.
"He came on a chopper with Otacon. Jack and I met them on the rooftop. The sniper's name was Desperado."
"I saw you here earlier...when you confronted Turret. I could tell it was you by your voice, but I couldn't see you. There were too many things in my way," she said as he finally broke through the rope, sliding it off of her and lifting her onto her feet. "Why was Otacon here?"
"I'm here with CODE. He was supposed to be back in Washington D.C., but the Patriots caught wind of him, and chased him out. He'd been working with Farrel to get information regarding this mission, and the two ended up here," Snake said as Mei Ling unzipped her black body-suit, revealing a pair of very tight, sleek, black pants and a camouflage top. "Not like you to dress so...skimpy," Snake suggested.
"I'm a girl, you know," she laughed. "I can dress how I feel suitable."
"Still doesn't mean you should try and look like the hooker on the corner," he said playfully. Her mouth grew wide and she pushed on him, shaking her head disapprovingly. "Only kidding," he said, turning not to show her how much he enjoyed it. It was truly amazing how they managed to, in spite of the death and misfortune around them, make fun on the battlefield.
Just then, something began to ring in Snake's ear. He raised his index finger to hush Mei Ling and then `took the call'.
"Snake?" It was Otacon in his giddy, nervous voice again.
"Yea, it's me," he returned.
"You recover the People's Will operative in the hostage room?" Otacon questioned.
"Otacon!" Mei Ling cried. She'd entered the conversation at the conclusion of his question.
"Mei Ling?!" Otacon shouted in disbelief.
"How are you doing?" she asked, almost as if they were at a tea party, sitting down to a long night of gossip and small talk.
"I'm great! And yourself?" he asked.
"All right," she replied.
"We can get reacquainted later. Right now we have to find a location to meet," Snake suggested. "Otacon, have you gotten in touch with any of the other operatives?"
"Hello, Snake," Naomi answered slyly. Snake grimaced, grumbling under his breath and looking down to the floor.
"Naomi," he whispered. "What brings you here?"
"I'm here on a mission, Snake. Surprised?" Naomi replied in her usual `you-wanna-go?' tone. Snake grunted.
"Yea," he answered. "I thought you were out of the business of ruining people's lives...or taking them." Naomi snickered at his remark, thinking back to FOXDIE, the virus that had taken the lives of many in the Shadow Moses incident many years back.
"That was very long ago, and just because I work with medicine doesn't mean I can't work on-site. Do you doubt my composure?" she asked, provoking his anger.
"Not at all," Snake said, quickly, before Otacon entered again, trying to cool them both down and release the tension in the moment.
"So, there're two more operatives, right?" Otacon asked. Snake nodded, and while Otacon could not hear it, he took their silence as a resounding `yes.' "Can anyone identify them?"
"Keith Peterson, `Mimic' - a master of disguise - and Janis Trey, `Operator' - the best technical specialist we could find," Naomi stated for the entirety of the company to hear. "Operator set up post outside of hell's Outpost, and Mimic is somewhere on the second floor. We should get in touch with them before we move on."
"Heh," Snake started, "first let's figure out what we mean by `move on.' What's our plan for after we are all together," Snake asked. It was generally silent, and likewise, Naomi opted to answer his question.
"There is a lot going on here that I don't think either you or Otacon truly understand. I came here with more personal objectives," she said.
"Grey Fox," Snake added. She confirmed his reply with `Mm Hm.' "I saw him...after he was raised. How? How did they bring him back?"
"Why, I'm not sure, but he must be useful to them... they must have some motive. Nonetheless, what I can gather leads me to believe that the majority of him was...reconstructed. Ater Shadow Moses," Naomi paused to compose herself, and stop herself from breaking down in tears. "After Shadow Moses, it was clear that he had been...crushed, but somehow, whoever got a hold of him must have reconstructed his bone structure, implanted a series of biomechanical organs, and created a Feedback Link that could give someone control of his `heart,' which is most likely no more than a computer chip."
"When he looked at me, he acted as if he couldn't quite remember me," Snake commented. Naomi nodded.
"Yes. Obviously, the remains on Shadow Moses could not have been in tact, and therefore, they probably salvaged what hey could of his brain and used regenerative medical operations to build the missing parts back into a working brain, using biomechanical additions. Surely, his memory was corrupted, and that is most likely the reason for his error in identifying you."
"He seemed alive and well when I saw him. He can still handle that sword pretty well," Snake snickered.
"Seeing as he is NOT well, none of us should be traveling alone," Otacon suggested. "If he cannot remember us as friend, then he will most likely revert to treating us as foe. Naomi, don't try anything off the wall. He wont remember you well, either."
"Right," Naomi answered, her voice shaky and full of an obvious despair.
"So," Snake said, "how DO we get in touch with the others?"
"We'll have to find them," Jack said, entering the conversation.
"I thought your nano's weren't modified for communication with People's Will?" Snake asked.
"Give me some credit, Snake," Otacon replied. "I can talk and fix up some basic machinery at the same time!" There was sparse laughing amongst the company.
"Distant water won't help put out a fire close at hand," Mei Ling commented. "In other words, going for their help is futile. Anything could happen while we are gone."
"They're too concerned about us to get anything done now. We'll be all right," Jack insisted.
"This can be a test," Snake stated.
"A test?" asked Mei Ling.
"To see if your Chinese Proverbs are right, or if they're just a bunch of bullshit," Snake replied.
"We'll see," Mei Ling added. "Don't tell me I didn't warn you."
"Right. Well, who's going where?" Snake asked, trying not to go astray from the topic of importance.
"Snake," Otacon said, "you and Mei Ling; head for Operator. Jack, Naomi, and myself will get to the second floor and track down Mimic, okay?"
"Gotcha," Snake confirmed.
"Mmm Hmm," Naomi nodded.
"Got it!" Mei Ling replied, enthusiastically.
"All righty," Jack finally answered. Snake looked down and shook his head, sighing.
"Good. Over and out," Otacon closed, and the transmission ended. Snake turned to Mei Ling and smiled at her, admiring her ability to fit into tight clothes.
"You could make a hungry dog break its chain," Snake said, and Mei Ling laughed, crossing her arms, trying to shoot him down with a stern face. "Just some harmless joking," Snake said as they turned for the door, but when they had come to face with the exit, they saw someone standing there before them.
"How nice to see the two of you alive and kicking," the man snickered. One hand was over his holster and the other was twirling his handlebar mustache. It was Snake's menace. Revolver Ocelot.
Mei Ling.
She was sitting there before Snake, tears running down her clean, unscathed face There was a certain sparkle in her eyes that made Snake almost fall backwards, and while seeing her was not a great shock, seeing her THERE, was.
"Snake?" she cried, fitfully, as he tried to smile. "What're you doing here?" He looked at her, more surprised now than before.
"What are YOU doing here?" Snake asked, but she shook her head, trying to nudge at her cheeks with her shoulders to dab the tears away, but she could not. As she looked back up at him, she smiled.
"I can't tell you," she sighed.
"I know about People's Will, but...why would you be working on-site?" she seemed uncomfortable having learned of his knowledge of People's Will, but then continued, hesitantly.
"I wanted to do more, and my commander thinks my help is more effective here than in an office. I guess he's right, too. But, I'm not helping anyone tied up here..." She began to trail off, and then Snake looked down at her, saddened. She didn't know that Farrel was dead.
"Farrel," Snake paused as her eyes shot up at him in surprise once again, "he's...dead." Mei Ling was never incredibly emotional when she and Snake had known each other, but as Snake stood there before her, he saw a whole new part of her. She began to fall apart, not literally, and she dropped her head between her knees. Snake could hear her as she shuddered and sobbed, and he turned away, easing her tension.
"How?" she asked, raising her head from between her knees. Snake shook his head, afraid and unable to say anything more. He had witnessed it on the roof just as he was stepping out of the helicopter...he had to see it all, and while he had indeed seen death many times before, the death of that man...so close to safety, if anywhere in Hell's Outpost could be considered safe...it was beyond devastating.
"Sniper shot...one in the chest...another in the head." As he turned back to her, he could see that se had dropped her face down again, and had continued to cry, her face moistening every second. Snake wasn't one for romance, and in an attempt to both make her feel more comfortable and for himself to not have to witness her pain, he turned away and started through the crowd of hostages tied to whatever was behind, beside, or in front of them.
"One must first learn to accept misfortune, before overcoming it," Mei Ling stated as Snake lifted a shard of Turret's chain gun from the chilled floor. He noted her comment and returned to where she sat with the sharp piece of a gun barrel in his hand. As he bent down, beginning to saw through the rope that bound Mei Ling, she noticed the blood on his glove and cringed. "You have all ready killed?"
He stopped, following her eyes to his glove and closed his eyes. "That's from Farrel," he stated, continuing to cut through the thick rope. She was deeply saddened by this, but managed to compose herself in her state of sorrow. For a long while there was silence...long...cold...dead silence, the only sound in the room, which was still nearly impossible to make out, was the quiet scratching of the shard on the rope.
"He was...here?" Mei Ling asked. Snake did not halt his work, but instead answered as he tore through the layers of tough wire and rope wound up into one thick human-sized handcuff.
"He came on a chopper with Otacon. Jack and I met them on the rooftop. The sniper's name was Desperado."
"I saw you here earlier...when you confronted Turret. I could tell it was you by your voice, but I couldn't see you. There were too many things in my way," she said as he finally broke through the rope, sliding it off of her and lifting her onto her feet. "Why was Otacon here?"
"I'm here with CODE. He was supposed to be back in Washington D.C., but the Patriots caught wind of him, and chased him out. He'd been working with Farrel to get information regarding this mission, and the two ended up here," Snake said as Mei Ling unzipped her black body-suit, revealing a pair of very tight, sleek, black pants and a camouflage top. "Not like you to dress so...skimpy," Snake suggested.
"I'm a girl, you know," she laughed. "I can dress how I feel suitable."
"Still doesn't mean you should try and look like the hooker on the corner," he said playfully. Her mouth grew wide and she pushed on him, shaking her head disapprovingly. "Only kidding," he said, turning not to show her how much he enjoyed it. It was truly amazing how they managed to, in spite of the death and misfortune around them, make fun on the battlefield.
Just then, something began to ring in Snake's ear. He raised his index finger to hush Mei Ling and then `took the call'.
"Snake?" It was Otacon in his giddy, nervous voice again.
"Yea, it's me," he returned.
"You recover the People's Will operative in the hostage room?" Otacon questioned.
"Otacon!" Mei Ling cried. She'd entered the conversation at the conclusion of his question.
"Mei Ling?!" Otacon shouted in disbelief.
"How are you doing?" she asked, almost as if they were at a tea party, sitting down to a long night of gossip and small talk.
"I'm great! And yourself?" he asked.
"All right," she replied.
"We can get reacquainted later. Right now we have to find a location to meet," Snake suggested. "Otacon, have you gotten in touch with any of the other operatives?"
"Hello, Snake," Naomi answered slyly. Snake grimaced, grumbling under his breath and looking down to the floor.
"Naomi," he whispered. "What brings you here?"
"I'm here on a mission, Snake. Surprised?" Naomi replied in her usual `you-wanna-go?' tone. Snake grunted.
"Yea," he answered. "I thought you were out of the business of ruining people's lives...or taking them." Naomi snickered at his remark, thinking back to FOXDIE, the virus that had taken the lives of many in the Shadow Moses incident many years back.
"That was very long ago, and just because I work with medicine doesn't mean I can't work on-site. Do you doubt my composure?" she asked, provoking his anger.
"Not at all," Snake said, quickly, before Otacon entered again, trying to cool them both down and release the tension in the moment.
"So, there're two more operatives, right?" Otacon asked. Snake nodded, and while Otacon could not hear it, he took their silence as a resounding `yes.' "Can anyone identify them?"
"Keith Peterson, `Mimic' - a master of disguise - and Janis Trey, `Operator' - the best technical specialist we could find," Naomi stated for the entirety of the company to hear. "Operator set up post outside of hell's Outpost, and Mimic is somewhere on the second floor. We should get in touch with them before we move on."
"Heh," Snake started, "first let's figure out what we mean by `move on.' What's our plan for after we are all together," Snake asked. It was generally silent, and likewise, Naomi opted to answer his question.
"There is a lot going on here that I don't think either you or Otacon truly understand. I came here with more personal objectives," she said.
"Grey Fox," Snake added. She confirmed his reply with `Mm Hm.' "I saw him...after he was raised. How? How did they bring him back?"
"Why, I'm not sure, but he must be useful to them... they must have some motive. Nonetheless, what I can gather leads me to believe that the majority of him was...reconstructed. Ater Shadow Moses," Naomi paused to compose herself, and stop herself from breaking down in tears. "After Shadow Moses, it was clear that he had been...crushed, but somehow, whoever got a hold of him must have reconstructed his bone structure, implanted a series of biomechanical organs, and created a Feedback Link that could give someone control of his `heart,' which is most likely no more than a computer chip."
"When he looked at me, he acted as if he couldn't quite remember me," Snake commented. Naomi nodded.
"Yes. Obviously, the remains on Shadow Moses could not have been in tact, and therefore, they probably salvaged what hey could of his brain and used regenerative medical operations to build the missing parts back into a working brain, using biomechanical additions. Surely, his memory was corrupted, and that is most likely the reason for his error in identifying you."
"He seemed alive and well when I saw him. He can still handle that sword pretty well," Snake snickered.
"Seeing as he is NOT well, none of us should be traveling alone," Otacon suggested. "If he cannot remember us as friend, then he will most likely revert to treating us as foe. Naomi, don't try anything off the wall. He wont remember you well, either."
"Right," Naomi answered, her voice shaky and full of an obvious despair.
"So," Snake said, "how DO we get in touch with the others?"
"We'll have to find them," Jack said, entering the conversation.
"I thought your nano's weren't modified for communication with People's Will?" Snake asked.
"Give me some credit, Snake," Otacon replied. "I can talk and fix up some basic machinery at the same time!" There was sparse laughing amongst the company.
"Distant water won't help put out a fire close at hand," Mei Ling commented. "In other words, going for their help is futile. Anything could happen while we are gone."
"They're too concerned about us to get anything done now. We'll be all right," Jack insisted.
"This can be a test," Snake stated.
"A test?" asked Mei Ling.
"To see if your Chinese Proverbs are right, or if they're just a bunch of bullshit," Snake replied.
"We'll see," Mei Ling added. "Don't tell me I didn't warn you."
"Right. Well, who's going where?" Snake asked, trying not to go astray from the topic of importance.
"Snake," Otacon said, "you and Mei Ling; head for Operator. Jack, Naomi, and myself will get to the second floor and track down Mimic, okay?"
"Gotcha," Snake confirmed.
"Mmm Hmm," Naomi nodded.
"Got it!" Mei Ling replied, enthusiastically.
"All righty," Jack finally answered. Snake looked down and shook his head, sighing.
"Good. Over and out," Otacon closed, and the transmission ended. Snake turned to Mei Ling and smiled at her, admiring her ability to fit into tight clothes.
"You could make a hungry dog break its chain," Snake said, and Mei Ling laughed, crossing her arms, trying to shoot him down with a stern face. "Just some harmless joking," Snake said as they turned for the door, but when they had come to face with the exit, they saw someone standing there before them.
"How nice to see the two of you alive and kicking," the man snickered. One hand was over his holster and the other was twirling his handlebar mustache. It was Snake's menace. Revolver Ocelot.