Chapter 4 – Revelations.

On his way home, Snake checked the drop spot for the items he was waiting for. A package had been placed in Raiden's city-issued garbage bin. Snake hadn't said who the bin belonged to and his courier had voiced some concerns until Snake managed to convince him that there was no safer or convenient place to leave the items. The bin faced the alley behind Raiden's home and Snake sent him a text message asking him to count the eggs in his refrigerator. Nobody saw Snake retrieve the explosives and Raiden currently had twenty-three eggs, which Snake told him would make a very big omelet. Raiden didn't reply.

Snake waited until he pulled into his driveway to inspect the package. He was now in possession of a detonator and two bombs that were both the size of a Betamax tape. Everything had been professionally constructed. They looked too nice to be in a military armory. The seller had thrown in a page of scratch-and-sniff watermelon stickers and a copy of The Hollow Men by T.S. Elliot free of charge.

With his breath held, Snake stepped into the house and found Meryl playing Super Metroid on the SNES Otacon had given them. She wasn't swinging a sword around and declaring that she was Saber Alter, so Snake exhaled in relief.

"You're home early," Meryl said.

"I'm going to be busy this evening. I need time to prepare."

"Are you hitting Ocelot's house early?" Meryl asked.

"Might as well."

"Can I come?"

"You already know the answer to that question."

"You never let me have any fun."

Snake evaded her invitation to an argument and proceeded to pummel his punching bag into oblivion. At two in the morning, Snake was ready to destroy all of the electronics in Ocelot's house. He double-checked the bombs for fingerprints before stuffing them into a backpack along with a set of screwdrivers and a lock picking kit. Snake put the clothes he intended to wear in the backpack. He would put them on once he got to where he was going. He made sure his M9 was loaded with tranquilizer darts and grabbed a suppressor for it that he would attach later. Since most of the things he had with him were extremely illegal, he decided to up the number of felony counts he potentially could receive by taking a stun grenade with him just in case. Meryl was waiting for him in the living room.

"Listen to the scanner for me and send me a text if something comes up," Snake said.

"Got it. Be careful and good luck."

Snake switched the license plates for his jeep and readied the appropriate credentials before heading out. The time spent in a vehicle was always the worst part of the journey. On foot, he had a better chance of finding somewhere to hide. If pulled over by the police, he had a very small chance of convincing the officer that he had just left a late night study session with friends. A small degree of doublethink was necessary and Snake made himself believe that lie to steady how he drove.

The moment he parked a block away from Ocelot's house, he changed into an outfit that was completely black and put on a pair of gloves. He then put the backpack on and jogged towards his target. Streetlights were sparse in Ocelot's neighborhood, which was full of wealthy individuals who were in bed by ten. Only a few of the houses had lights on inside. Snake made his way into the backyard of Ocelot's neighbor, who had a tall fence that had no gaps in-between any of its planks. He put on a balaclava, attached the suppressor to his M9, and placed the gun into a holster that was strapped to his hip.

Something felt wrong, so Snake crouched against the fence for a moment and heard Ocelot's backdoor open. A motion sensitive light that hadn't been there before switched on and Ocelot stepped outside. Snake couldn't see him and was sure that Ocelot was not aware that he was nearby.

"Do you have any idea what time it is here?" Ocelot asked.

Ocelot's tone suggested that he was speaking into a phone.

"Yes, I heard about what happened to Kyle. I told you he was an idiot. Would you hold on for one moment?"

Ocelot then proceeded to search his backyard. Snake was a bit disappointed. The range of effectiveness his bombs had was rather low to prevent shorting out the whole neighborhood. He was confident that he could at least fry Ocelot's laptop if he lobbed the bombs over the fence instead of sticking them to the house in the right spots, but he wasn't going to be able to steal Ocelot's backdoor. Not this evening, at any rate. Ocelot abruptly started kicking the fence Snake was hiding behind. He had just enough time to dive to the ground before Ocelot struck the spot he had been pressed up against.

"I'm back. I don't care whose son he is, he's done. The strain works. Yes, Naomi Hunter knows how to reverse it, but worrying about that is a waste of time. No. No! I am not doing another performance. Why? Do you really have to ask? You know, you've been acting stranger than usual lately. You need to take a break until we fix that core. It's done? Will it be your highest priority to ensure that you have it installed as soon as possible? Good. Is that it? What? I can't hear you, you're breaking up."

Snake heard Ocelot slam his cell phone shut. He assumed that Ocelot had just been talking to his boss, which meant that the Patriots still communicated through avatars. He didn't know how important the core Ocelot mentioned was, but he was willing to bet that the Patriots would be even more of a headache if they got a hold of it. Ocelot opened his cell phone and began making tiny beeping noises with his mouth as he dialed a number. Out of all the things Ocelot could possibly do when he thought nobody was looking, vocalizing keypad music was the last thing Snake expected.

"It's me. The core is finished."

Ocelot closed his phone and stepped back inside his house. It was now or never. Ocelot was wide awake and moving around, but his guard was down. Snake sprang into action before the light turned off. A security camera he had previously encountered watched silently as he jumped the fence. Snake had both bombs armed in less than three minutes. One was underneath the window to Ocelot's study and the other was attached to the hood of his Oldsmobile Tornado. If Snake couldn't throw the backdoor into the alley, he'd ruin Ocelot's car instead.

Snake jumped the fence and stuffed his gun and the balaclava back inside his backpack. With adrenaline rushing through his veins, Snake shattered the world record for the one hundred meter dash and flicked the switch for the detonator. Ocelot's scream of rage cut through the night. Snake got into his vehicle, changed back into his normal clothes, and stuffed everything suspicious into his backpack.

His cell phone chimed and Snake found a text message from Meryl that warned him about a reported explosion at Ocelot's house. Snake drove two blocks away, parked, turned off his engine, and waited quietly until two police vehicles passed him. He then resumed his trip home, avoiding the main streets whenever it was possible to do so.

While on the road leading into the country, he began wondering if his little stunt had been worth it. Ocelot would undoubtedly have backups of all his major equipment stashed away somewhere. Snake reminded himself that this was payback for Ocelot attacking his house with a drone, but he did not feel any sense of fulfillment. He couldn't do anything about Ocelot. He couldn't do anything about nanomachines. Snake was throwing pebbles at a brick wall. He searched his glove box for a pack of cigarettes and came up empty.

Snake couldn't lose hope. Otacon was still scanning for the location of the Patriots. All he had come up with so far was a bunch of rumors. If he had more help, he'd be able to do much more, but there weren't many people at Otacon's level of experience who were willing to topple an organization that controlled the world. Snake wondered if the core Ocelot mentioned might help. He assumed that the core had to be a replacement for GW, the AI that Otacon's late sister had destroyed. Otacon would have a field day with an AI designed to be a Patriot or at the very least a part of the Patriots.

He arrived home safely. Snake stepped inside his house and saw that Meryl was still up. She had a Benelli M4 pointed right at him and was using the couch as cover. Snake couldn't blame her for being a little paranoid. Meryl lowered the shotgun. She had moved the police scanner into the living room. A fresh pot of coffee had been brewed in the kitchen and Meryl was currently nursing a Big Gulp cup filled with the previous batch she had made.

"Ocelot hasn't named you as a suspect and claims to have no idea who attacked him," Meryl said. "The FBI will be getting involved with this."

"Not for long," Snake said as he sat down in his recliner and took out his M9. "Is that shotgun loaded with rubber bullets?"

Meryl nodded.

"Just checking. Ocelot won't be stopping by," Snake said. "He doesn't have a car any longer."

"I should have known. I wish I would have realized that half a cup ago."

"I know what will knock you out."

Snake pointed to the bookcase where a certain white thinpak was waiting awkwardly for its owner to stop by and take it home.

"That doesn't sound like such a bad idea," Meryl said.

She got up, retrieved Aria the Animation, and put the first disc in while Snake mixed himself a drink. The pace of the show was agonizingly slow, but unlike most titles in the slice of life genre, Aria did have good plot progression. According to Otacon, at least. Snake and Meryl lasted much longer than fifth-teen minutes. It wasn't until two hours later that Snake finally passed out thirty minutes ahead of Meryl shortly after Akari Mizunashi made friends with a snow bug during the onsen episode while the plot took a break. He dreamt about her trying to row a car down the street.

X

Snake's doorbell pulled him from his dreamless slumber. He had set his Blu-Ray on repeat in case he had fallen asleep and as fate would have it, the onsen episode of Aria the Animation was playing. Akari and her friends had finally set out in their gondolas to travel to the location of the spa. According to the clock on the player, it was eight in the morning. The doorbell rang again and Meryl groaned as she stirred from her slumber. Snake grabbed his M9 and headed for the front door. A quick look through the peephole revealed that Ocelot was waiting to be let in. He was carrying the box that Mantis' drugs had arrived in. Snake would never forget a box like that.

"Meryl, Ocelot is here," Snake said.

She was by his side with the shotgun in a flash. Snake unlocked the door and opened it. Ocelot wasn't fazed by the weapons that were pointed at him.

"Open the box," Snake said.

Ocelot opened the box, revealed that it was empty, and then threw it at Snake's feet. That was definitely going to leave a mark. If Snake couldn't buff it out, he would always remember the day Ocelot came over with it and threw it at his feet. It was potentially ruined, but Snake could not weep for it with other people nearby.

"A gift from Mantis," Ocelot said.

"Turn around and put your hands above your head," Snake said.

Ocelot did as he was instructed and Snake frisked him thoroughly, looking for hidden weapons or bugs.

"What are you doing here?" Snake asked.

"I came here to talk about that SD card I intentionally misplaced that wasn't enough to convince you that I'm babysitting everyone right now," Ocelot replied.

"Liar! There was nothing but a bunch of porn on that card!" Meryl said.

"Did Snake tell you that?" Ocelot asked.

Meryl didn't reply and the look she gave Snake could freeze over hell.

"I called off all surveillance on your house for the next six hours. Would you let me in before I get frostbite, please?" Ocelot asked.

Snake pinned one arm behind Ocelot's back and escorted him inside while Meryl closed the front door. He forced Ocelot to sit across from him at his kitchen table. Snake placed the M9 on the table. The barrel was pointed at Ocelot. Meryl stood behind Ocelot off to the side with the shotgun held ready. Ocelot put both of his hands on the table and locked his gaze on Snake.

"I can tell that you are both a little tense," Ocelot said. "I was wrong to use a drone to attack your house. I apologize. I will never do it again. In return, can I expect not to have to replace every single one of my kitchen appliances all at once for the rest of my life?"

Snake nodded. Ocelot stopped talking. Nobody said a word. Snake didn't take his eyes off the other man.

"You know about the cosplay strain. I doubt that Meryl does. You can explain it to her when I have left. Why do you think the Patriots were testing it?"

"To turn everyone into mindless slaves."

"That's right. Can you blame them? Have you tried to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger lately, Snake? I consider it a miracle that most people can still tie their shoes."

"I thought that the Patriots controlled information. I thought that the various military organizations across the world were just pieces on their chessboard. That's not enough?"

"Not anymore. They want to maximize the productivity of the human race by removing free will."

"I guess you're on the list of elites who will still get to feel. What happens if they change their mind about that?"

"It wouldn't bother me. There's a lot more to this plan. If everyone has this stuff in their blood within the next few years, they can start getting rid of undesirables. The world is overpopulated. Don't let optimists fool you."

"I get it. A computer wants to turn the world into a computer."

"I suppose that's one way to look at it. Would you like to know something? There is nothing you can do to stop them. What do you think the world would be like without the Patriots? Colonial America? Rome at the height of its glory?"

"I imagine that a lesser group would seize their power during a global depression."

"Correct. It would be quite an awkward position for everyone. There are three organizations that would stand a chance at getting their power if they were to fall. These people have the same goals as the Patriots. They only differ on how to achieve them. Even if a resistance was formed and every single conspirator was killed, somebody else would eventually come along and attempt to start up the exact same system that the Patriots have put in place."

"I'm sure most people would agree with me if I were to say that anything is better than being a zombie."

"Let's look at it a different way. In their scenario, there won't be a single terrorist who thinks that he can rule the world just because he has a nuclear warhead."

"That's what bullets are for."

"I didn't expect you to accept their plan. Technically, I'm not allowed to say anything about it. I'm taking a major risk because you're worth it. I didn't come here to tell you any of that. What I did come here to tell you is this."

Ocelot paused for dramatic effect.

"You will continue to do what you are told and you are smart enough to know what will happen if you try to run from me," Ocelot said.

"So I'm still needed. That's nice."

"Needed? Do you know how many times I've been ordered to kill you? The only reason you are still alive is because I am allowing it."

"You could just pump out another clone of Big Boss if you wanted to. But you don't. Do you have a crush on me, Ocelot?"

"I wake up every morning hoping that you'll notice me. It's true that they could make another one of you if they needed to. In the VR simulations that they have run, an unmodified clone of Big Boss can still manage to get in and out of a base guarded by soldiers with cybernetic enhancements without being detected."

"Then why not make every soldier a clone?"

"Because clones of Big Boss tend to develop resentment for the Patriots."

"Couldn't you change that with nanomachines?"

"That doesn't work. Surprised? So were we. You might find this hard to believe, but making one of you is an extremely delicate process. A clone of Big Boss must be capable of questioning orders. To alter any of that diminishes your combat effectiveness by at least twenty percent. It is hardly economical. I know that some people would have you believe that nanomachines are impeccable. Ignore them. Have I covered everything, or do you have any questions you would like to have answered?"

"I have quite a few. Who ordered that merc to cut off your hand?" Snake asked.

"That is not a question that I will answer. Try again."

"Fine. Who shot Kennedy?"

"Who didn't want to kill Kennedy? His assassination set an example for every president who has served in office after him. The first bullet came from a rifle fired by a mercenary working under contract for the Federal Reserve. I guess he killed Kennedy. Don't worry, he's dead now."

"How?"

"Brain tumor."

"That's funny."

"It is."

"Did we land on the moon?"

"Yes."

"Are aliens real?"

"Absolutely."

"What's inside Area 51?"

"Something that helped pioneer modern computers, cell phones, and most of the devices you use today that emit a small amount of radiation, which we humans can barely handle without immediately contracting cancer."

Snake hesitated and decided to choose his words carefully for his next question so that Ocelot couldn't pin the EMP blast on him.

"I heard a rumor about an extra AI being put together for the Patriots. Do you know anything about that?"

"I know that it exists and that a separate team will be handling its installation."

"Really? Why won't they let you do that?"

"I do not know where they are located."

"Then where were you going when you said you were off to bury the Patriots for good while you were roleplaying as Liquid?"

"I have no idea. A Swedish brothel, maybe? The man was an idiot."

Ocelot's new cell phone began ringing in his pocket. A MIDI of Gymnopédie by Satie filled the air.

"That's very important," Ocelot said. "It's time for me to leave. I'll see you later."

He ignored the call to stop his pants from singing and then left the house without another word while Meryl and Snake remained where they were. Snake braced himself for Meryl's explosion.

"You're just as bad as Campbell," Meryl said. "I can't believe this! I know you didn't tell me any of that because you were afraid of how I would react. What else haven't you told me?"

She was handling the situation pretty well compared to what Snake had expected.

"Ocelot covered everything."

"Did he?"

"Yes, he was quite thorough."

Meryl placed the shotgun on the table and took a seat.

"He does a nice job of making you feel helpless, doesn't he?" Meryl asked.

"He's had plenty of opportunities to practice."

"So, what should we do now?"

"Isn't it obvious? I wait until he needs me."

"But you would be helping the bad guys!"

It wouldn't be the first time, but he wasn't going to tell her that. He couldn't ignore the fact that Ocelot had him cornered. There had to be some way to get around him, but Snake couldn't think of one. Snake grabbed two glasses out of the cupboard and poured himself and Meryl a drink. Meryl finished her round immediately.

"I guess there's only one thing left to do. We need to gain control over the Patriots," Meryl said.

Snake raised an eyebrow at her suggestion, but decided to play along with her.

"I would have to follow the squad sent in to install the AI."

"How would you do that?"

"Magic."

"How about something more practical? If Big Boss is actually still alive, maybe we could find him and ask him for help."

"No thanks. I can't argue that a world run like a military base would be a bad society to live in, but he is not the guy I would want to have pulling the strings. The last time we talked, it was clear to me that he had gone nuts."

"Maybe he's changed."

Snake finished his glass and poured him and Meryl another round.

"Meryl, I burned him alive. While that isn't the most horrific way you can kill somebody, it is certainly somewhere on a top ten list. If Big Boss is alive, he will be out for revenge."

"I don't know. You two should at least try talking to each other."

"Well, if you could arrange that, I'd be willing to give diplomacy a chance."

"I'll start by buying a fire extinguisher."

"I don't already have one?"

"Nope."

"Wow."

More drinks were consumed as the two steadily became more intoxicated.

"Did you get the day off?" Meryl asked.

"Something like that."

"Nothing like that!" Mantis roared.

They were jerked out of their stupor by the sound of his voice. Mantis rose up from the carpet in front of Snake with his arms crossed and his gas mask affixed to his head.

"It is not even four o' clock and you are already drunk," Mantis said. "I know you had a bad day yesterday. That's why I let you go home early. I was hoping you had slept it off. I need you at the office! We've got some lunatics to cure and Terra doesn't know how to use her size to her advantage in a grappling match against a man."

"Snake, who's Terra?"

His whole evening was now officially ruined.

"Allow me to alleviate your depression," Mantis said.

Mantis walked right up to him and put his hand around Snake's left ear. Snake gasped and felt his body go rigid.

"Let's see. Rewind. Whoops, too far back. Fast forward. Rats, missed it by fifteen seconds. Rewind again. There we are. Play. Adjust the tracking. Finally!"

Snake began feeling like he had just taken one of the pills that helped him sleep at night.

"Do you know how many people are unemployed that would beat each other unconscious with fly swatters just to work for me part time?" Mantis asked.

Snake did know because Mantis forced him to. It was quite a large number. He was also beginning to feel sober. Mantis let go of him and he was back in control of himself.

"I took a peek at what just happened. How long would it take us to become corrupted by the power we would have after taking the Patriots? There are too many variables, so I can't say for certain. That's something you should spend time thinking about at a later date because I've got four people that I have kidnapped from the asylum stuffed inside a storage closet and the noises they keep making do nothing for the people waiting in the lobby who are suffering from paranoid schizophrenia."

X

Snake held down a man posing as Duke Nukem in an empty office at the back of the Praying Mantis while Naomi prepared a needle. He had a moment to wonder why Mantis couldn't do this himself with his brain powers and then decided that he had no right to complain since he was getting paid to this.

"How do you plan on distributing this stuff?" Snake asked.

"It can be mixed with other injectable medicine," Naomi replied. "We will need to find someone who can help us with that. Until then, this will have to do."

Naomi administered the shot of Aglaophotis while Mantis supervised the situation by doing nothing. Once Duke Nukem had been cured, Snake led him into a corner to recuperate and went to retrieve Frankenstein's Monster from the break area. Rather than wrestle him to the ground, Snake chased him around with a lighter until he finally got back to the room they were using. That's when he forced him onto the gurney and restrained him.

Snake finally had a moment to think. The phone call Ocelot had made had to have been to a rival faction that he was either aiding or baiting. Both possibilities were equally horrifying. When he had talked about the Patriots, he had clearly excluded himself from their plans. Snake had a feeling that whatever was happening, it would come to a head very soon. Their vacation was ending and Snake had taken it for granted. Playing basketball with Raiden and trying to figure out why Meryl wasn't happy unless she had seven different bottles of shampoo in the bathroom were preferable to dodging bullets and having to murder people in cold blood.

"We should do something," Snake said. "All of us."

"That's out of the blue," Naomi said as she gave Frankenstein's Monster his shot.

"It will be this Saturday at Otacon's place, like always."

"Are you sure he won't be busy? He's been working on some things lately," Naomi asked.

"Otacon has yet to decline an offer to host a party."

"I guess we can put off curing these people this weekend," Mantis said. "We will need to put in some extra hours next week, though."

Snake's excitement deflated as responsibility reared its ugly head. If nothing else, working at the Praying Mantis was preparing him for the next group of mercenaries he would face. He was beginning to wonder if having a lot of time to do nothing was better than not having enough time to do anything and he kicked himself for processing that thought with Mantis around. Setting that aside for the moment, Snake returned his focus to the party. Snake would do whatever he could to make sure that everyone was able to blow off all of their stress. One final epic shindig before Ocelot screwed up everything again. Snake would be sure to spike his drink.