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- Metal Gear Solid: Capital Punishment
- Chapter One: The Patriots
- By: NeoNecron
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He stood there at the Queensboro Bridge, the wind passing through his glasses. The man leaned forward on the railing, looking into the river below, the water ripples seeming somewhat hypnotic. He pushed the glasses up on his face, the moon's light bouncing off the glass. "Where are you…?" He questioned, standing there, speaking to no one.
Cars drove passed him, the horns screeching as they passed. The white lab coat the man wore blew gently in the wind along with his hair. Then darkness came, the moon completely covered by rain clouds.
The man stared into the dark, gray clouds. He leaned against the railing, listening to his surroundings. He could hear footsteps coming toward him, running. The steps were heard getting closer and closer. "Ugh!" He fell over, a stranger bumping into him as he passed. "Jackass! Get out of the way next time!" The stranger yelled, running away from him. The man stood up, brushing off his coat.
"Hal? You there?" a voice came, contacting the man through Codec.
"Meryl? Glad you called. What did you find?" He asked. The voice was of Meryl Silverburgh, a woman he knew since the Shadow Moses incident.
"Nothing on this Solid Snake of yours… Sorry Hal, I tried my best." Meryl responded.
"It's okay. I doubt you would find information anyways… No one has been able to as of late." Otacon stated. He looked up at the clouds, thunder being heard in the distance. "Well… Guess bye then…"
Meryl nodded. "It was great talking to you again… hope you find who your looking for."
The Codec call ended, Otacon looked toward the buildings on the other side of the bridge. Rain started to drip down from the skies, onto the concrete of the bridge. Otacon began walking toward the other side of the bridge to where he faced.
The rain poured down on his face, his coat becoming drenched in the rain. He began walking, looking for a cab to catch, as a car pulled up beside him. He looked at the car, the window rolling down. He walked over to the car. To his surprise, Mei Ling was the driver.
"Mr. Emmerich! It's been so long! How have you been?" A grin spread across the young face of Mei Ling. "Get in, your soaking wet. You must be cold!"
He smiled and got into the passenger side of the car. He sat down, the water dripping off him onto the seats. "Mei Ling? Some coincidence… What are you doing here?"
"A convention was held here about 30 minutes ago." She replied, and drove off.
"The ICI (International Communications Intervention)?" Otacon questioned, wiping drops of water dripping down his face.
She grinned. "Yup! You know me well enough to know that Mr. Emmerich. I'll drop you off at where you live… Um… Where do you live?"
"Please, call me Hal. I'll show you where to go." It then came to him, the thought he hadn't been thinking about since he got in the car with Mei Ling. "Uh… By any chance… Do you remember a man named Solid Snake? He worked on the Shadow Moses incident."
Mei Ling looked at Otacon for a brief second then turned back to the road. She looked at him confused. "Who? I don't remember a Solid, Liquid Snake I remember, but never this Solid Snake of yours."
Otacon lowered his head. "I should've known you wouldn't know either… Uh… Turn left here."
The rest of the car ride was silent. The constant sound of thunder and the rain pounding against the exterior of the car was all that was heard, along Otacon directing Mei Ling. Otacon sat there, looking through the side windows periodically, the rain dripping down the side of the car.
"Uh… So, what have you been doing since Shadow Moses?" Otacon spoke, the silence finally broken. "Still in communications?"
"Yup. I work for a group now called the Patriots."
Otacon quickly turned toward Mei Ling. "Wha… The Patriots?!"
"Hm? You know them?"
"Eh… Somewhat… What exactly do you do for them? Turn right here…"
"What do I do for the Patriots?" Mei Ling began as she turn the steering wheel right, then coming to a stop light. "Well I'm not so sure of their purpose. I joined the Patriots because they had a spot in the communication fields for me. They aren't very well known… They are like FOX-HOUND from what I've seen. They deal with government work most of the time, ops, missions, etc."
The light had turned green, Mei Ling pressing down on the gas peddle. "Here we are." Otacon pointed out his apartment as they came to it. Mei Ling drove up and parked in section G. She stepped out, along with Otacon. The rain was still pouring down, settling only slightly.
"Hey Mei Ling, want to come in for a drink?" Otacon asked.
Mei Ling grinned. "Your such a gentleman. Sure, why not?" She answered.
The steps to the entrance of the apartments were flooded with water. Mei Ling pulled out an umbrella and stood beneath it, Otacon walking up the steps. He opened the door with his keys, the door swinging open with a slight squeak.
They walked in, Mei Ling closing her umbrella up upon entering. They walked up a few steps and they soon came upon his room. "I warn you, I haven't cleaned up for quite some time."
He swung the door open, revealing scattered newspapers, wires from his computers tangled up, paper cups left lying in random placed, and the faucet leaking water. "Oh Hal, when you say you haven't cleaned in some time, I never knew it was this bad." Mei Ling said, adding an infection giggle.
Otacon grinned. "Mei Ling? You think I can get a job at the Patriots? I'm out of a job currently and need a fresh start." Otacon asked, trying to hold back the truth about the real reason of wanting to join.
"Sure, I can ask. Always willing to help a friend!" She smiled the way she always had. Kid-like. "But don't expect that you could get in that easily… They chose me because I was apart of FOX-HOUND before it was disbanded."
Otacon grabbed a glass cup and filled it with hot coffee he just brewed a few minutes ago. He handed it to Mei Ling. "Thank you," She responded as she grabbed the handle of the cup and took a small sip, looking at her watch. "Oh no! I'm so sorry but I have to be going… I know I haven't been here long but I was expecting a call from my work. But I'll sure to mention your name."
Otacon nodded. "Alright, well I understand, and thanks for helping me out."
Mei Ling stood up and nodded. She grabbed her umbrella and stepped out of Otacon's apartment room. "Good to see you again Mr. Emmerich, erm, I mean Hal. I'll ask about the job thing tomorrow."
He nodded, "Good to see you too." Those two hugged as Mei Ling walked back to her car.
***
The next morning, Hal noticed a message left on his answering machine. He listened to it. "Hal! It's me Mei Ling! Great news! They practically insisted you join the team! They must really be familiar with your work because they seemed shocked when you wanted to join… Well you begin tomorrow; they e-mailed you the rest of the information. It's great we get to work together again. Bye" The message had ended…