Chapter 2 - The Knife and the Shadow
Somewhere dark.
"Did he agree?" The woman slid into her chair, only semi-asking the question. The other half of her statement was pure rhetoric. She knew, really, that her plans were a success.
The man stood above the table and lay a briefcase down upon it. "All we need are the other three to meet him, and it will all be in motion," he said in a slow monotonous drawl.
The woman sat back. "Excellent, we shall arrange a meeting in the next couple of days."
"Don't worry," said the man, opening the briefcase, "I've already arranged the meet. They will be seeing him tomorrow. We can relax for a while." He flipped the briefcase around to show the contents to his comrade.
She peered in, and was unable to hide her obvious smile. "Did you count it?" she asked.
"All fifty thousand accounted for," he said, also bearing a smile.
"Good work, Puma," said the woman, "did Ivan say whether any of his own unit will be involved?"
"Yes, two," said Puma, showing two fingers, "a guy named Fokker and a woman named Silver Wolverine."
The woman smiled wider at the mention of Silver Wolverine. "So she made it out alive."
"Am I missing something?" asked Puma with intrigue.
"We were in Outer Heaven together. Silver was my nickname for her. Wolverine was the name given to her by the leader. We were a great team. We killed everything together."
"Sounds like quite the childhood friendship," said Puma, sarcastically, but his teammate was in no mood to indulge him.
"It was." she said quietly, her mind drifting of into nostalgia.
"What happened?"
Wiping a tear from her eye, she looked up at Puma, remembering with heartfelt sadness the last time she saw her Silver Wolverine. "We were only truly beginning to put the operation into action. Then Grey Fox arrived on the island. The boss changed that day. He wouldn't speak to us personally, only over radio. And even then, he was only dishing out orders. We didn't know what was going on with him. Nobody did. We all new about the hostages and the weapon, but it was the boss' fury that scared us the most. Then, on that day, 'he' arrived."
"He?" asked Puma, "you mean Solid Snake?"
"Yes, the now infamous Solid Snake, on the operation that made him a legend," she replied, grinding her teeth. "People in the fort began to be found dead, important equipment started to go missing. Something had become very wrong in Outer Heaven that day. Silver and me were doing a routine search of the perimeter, when an explosion separated us. I had thought to this day that she was dead. But now I wish she had been."
Puma laughed. "A heart-warming story," he said, still grinning, "but why the sudden change in your heart?"
She looked up at him, amazed at his apparent stupidity. "Why? Do you honestly think that she would be pleased to see me, the one who left her to die?"
"We have all been in that position," said Puma, now showing some of his intellect, "she knows as I do that its every man for himself out there."
"You don't realise," she said, looking down at her hands on her lap, "there was more to us. A history."
Puma became deeply intrigued. "Explain."
She shook her head quickly. "No, not now. It is not the time."
"Fair enough," replied Puma, removing his gloves, "were are the other three? I need to speak with them."
"They're in the safe house," she said, eradicating Silver Wolverine from her mind. "What time will Shalashaska meet with them?"
"He didn't say exactly," said Puma, acting the tough leader. He had a right to. After all, it was he who arranged all the meets with their allies and other shady dealings. He also attended a good ninety percent of the meets. He was the face of their operation. "He said he would call with the specifics in the next couple of hours, so keep the line clear."
"Understood," she said, nodding.
"I'm leaving to see the others. Call the safe house after he makes the call." And without a simple 'goodbye', or 'see you', he left his companion to her thoughts in that dingy room on the dark side of America.
Somewhere else. A time before.
"But sir."
"Crimson, this is your job, its why I brought you here in the first place," said the boss, a tall ex-military man. He had a gruff voice and thick facial hair. He also wore a black eye-patch over his right eye. He was a man she had looked up to, but she was utterly disappointed with her new orders.
"You brought me here to secure the perimeter? With respect sir, I don't think you are thinking clearly. I should be here, fighting alongside my master."
"Crimson, I brought you here because I know I can trust you," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking deeply into her eyes, "I need you to this for me. I don't want you here. I want you to be safe, and that is not here."
Crimson Blade looked up at her master. His face was earnest and his intentions were honest. It was true; he cared for each and every one of his soldiers. All of the members of FOXhound were like members of really big family. A family who had one major thing in common with each other. Killing.
"Sir, I don't want to leave you. I want to stop the intruder at your side." Tears began to run down her face, sparkling as the fell of her cheeks.
The boss smiled. "This is my battle," he said, moving his hand to her face, wiping away the streaks left by the tears. "I want you and Silver safe."
"But."
The boss knew his strategy wasn't working. He had to appeal to the soldier in his young protégé. "These are my last orders to you, soldier!" He roared, standing in an authoritative stance.
It was at this moment, that the young and beautiful soldier known only as Crimson Blade, realised that she would never see her master again, beyond the next couple of moments. She wanted to say something to him, something that would have meaning, that they would both remember, as master and student. But she could only say two words:
"Yes sir!"
Saluting, she turned on her heel, and left the room, leaving the man she had come to know as a father, to die.
As she left the room, the automatic door slid back to its closed position, as her counter-part, Silver Wolverine, approached her. She was as cheery as ever.
"What's with your face?" she asked, smiling, "we're about to change the world forever, and you look like your dog just died! What's up?"
Crimson forced out a laugh. She couldn't let her best friend see her like this. She had to keep her morale up, for her and her compatriots. "I'm fine," she said, smiling, "its just this place, y'know, it gets to me."
"I know what you mean, darlin'," she replied, surveying her surroundings, "he could have picked a better place to start a revolution, but hey, beggars can't be choosers!"
Crimson felt some of her happiness returning. She was always amazed at Silver's ability to see the humour in any situation. Maybe that's why she admired her so much. In the end, she was glad that at least they would survive together.
"What are the orders?" asked Silver, obviously ready for battle.
Crimson could see the soldier awakened in her friends pale eyes. Gulping, she told her the orders. "We are to patrol the perimeter."
"Man, could he be more boring," said Silver. Crimson was surprised with her response. She was ready to stop her barging into the boss's room, kicking and screaming for new orders. But she was mistaken. Obviously her friend had tamed since there days at the FOXHOUND academy. She was now a soldier willing to accept her duty. To her, any work on this exercise was meaningful. They were going to change the world after all.
"Yeah," said Crimson, smiling, "lets get it over with."
"You're, of course, right," replied ever-cheerful Silver, already making her way towards the tunnel that led to the perimeter fence.
It was a fifteen-minute walk from their location to the tunnel on the bottom floor. Silver hated using lifts. She saw them as 'a sign of laziness' and much preferred a slow walk down to the lower reaches of the base. That way they could talk. They were war-buddies, Silver and Crimson. Back when they first joined up, they didn't know anybody, so they decided to work with each other, two strangers in an even stranger situation. They would sign up for the same missions. They were lovers in a way. But instead of kissing, they killed. A sordid relationship born from the suffering of others. In the field, all they had was each other, but that's exactly how they liked it.
They were walking through the tunnel, a stretch almost a mile long. It led to the outside of the perimeter fence. They were discussing guns.
"I would've much preferred a FA-MAS over these old AK's any day," explained Crimson, as they neared the end of the tunnel.
Silver laughed. "Always with the technology," she said, in a teasing tone, "I love these old-school guns. Reminds me of back home."
"That's what I mean."
Suddenly, shouting could be heard from the end of the tunnel nearest the base, followed by a volley of machine-gun fire. Silver looked into Crimson's eyes. Crimson shook her head. She knew they shouldn't. She knew what the master intended for the two of them. She couldn't allow his last wish for her to not be fulfilled. For the first time, she had to say no to her friend.
"They need our help, Crimson, you know that they are in trouble without us," shouted Silver angrily, shaking her gun all around.
"We have specific orders."
"Screw the orders!" cut in Silver, "the boss didn't anticipate this! We have to help!"
"I can't go against his orders," said a melancholic Crimson, looking at the ground, close to tears. Silver could not believe her ears. Her companion, her best friend, who had stood by her through the worst of times, was refusing to grant her wish. Looking into Silver's cold eyes once again, Crimson began to cry, the tears rolling of her face speedily. Silver, holding back her true emotion, grunted and turned her back on her friend for the first, and last, time.
"SILVER!!!" Crimson screamed as Silver dashed into the darkness towards her doom. Falling to her knees, Crimson wept heavily, her tears creating a small puddle on the floor. She knelt there for what seemed like an eternity. But then, from the light at the end of tunnel, a voice shouted. A voice she recognised. A friendly voice.
"Crimson!"
"Puma?" Hearing the voice of her other team-mate, she stood on her feet as quickly as she could muster. Dashing to the end of the tunnel, she was greeted by blinding sunlight, and KA-60 Kasatka helicopter. Puma was standing outside of the chopper, waiting for his friend. Crimson was shocked at the situation.
"What's going on?" she shouted over the loud rotating blades.
"I'm here to lift you out, orders from Big Boss himself," he shouted, signalling her to get into the copter.
At first, she hesitated, but was soon dashing into the helicopter as the tunnel behind her exploded, causing a deafening explosion.
"NOOOOO!!!!!"
Somewhere dark.
"Did he agree?" The woman slid into her chair, only semi-asking the question. The other half of her statement was pure rhetoric. She knew, really, that her plans were a success.
The man stood above the table and lay a briefcase down upon it. "All we need are the other three to meet him, and it will all be in motion," he said in a slow monotonous drawl.
The woman sat back. "Excellent, we shall arrange a meeting in the next couple of days."
"Don't worry," said the man, opening the briefcase, "I've already arranged the meet. They will be seeing him tomorrow. We can relax for a while." He flipped the briefcase around to show the contents to his comrade.
She peered in, and was unable to hide her obvious smile. "Did you count it?" she asked.
"All fifty thousand accounted for," he said, also bearing a smile.
"Good work, Puma," said the woman, "did Ivan say whether any of his own unit will be involved?"
"Yes, two," said Puma, showing two fingers, "a guy named Fokker and a woman named Silver Wolverine."
The woman smiled wider at the mention of Silver Wolverine. "So she made it out alive."
"Am I missing something?" asked Puma with intrigue.
"We were in Outer Heaven together. Silver was my nickname for her. Wolverine was the name given to her by the leader. We were a great team. We killed everything together."
"Sounds like quite the childhood friendship," said Puma, sarcastically, but his teammate was in no mood to indulge him.
"It was." she said quietly, her mind drifting of into nostalgia.
"What happened?"
Wiping a tear from her eye, she looked up at Puma, remembering with heartfelt sadness the last time she saw her Silver Wolverine. "We were only truly beginning to put the operation into action. Then Grey Fox arrived on the island. The boss changed that day. He wouldn't speak to us personally, only over radio. And even then, he was only dishing out orders. We didn't know what was going on with him. Nobody did. We all new about the hostages and the weapon, but it was the boss' fury that scared us the most. Then, on that day, 'he' arrived."
"He?" asked Puma, "you mean Solid Snake?"
"Yes, the now infamous Solid Snake, on the operation that made him a legend," she replied, grinding her teeth. "People in the fort began to be found dead, important equipment started to go missing. Something had become very wrong in Outer Heaven that day. Silver and me were doing a routine search of the perimeter, when an explosion separated us. I had thought to this day that she was dead. But now I wish she had been."
Puma laughed. "A heart-warming story," he said, still grinning, "but why the sudden change in your heart?"
She looked up at him, amazed at his apparent stupidity. "Why? Do you honestly think that she would be pleased to see me, the one who left her to die?"
"We have all been in that position," said Puma, now showing some of his intellect, "she knows as I do that its every man for himself out there."
"You don't realise," she said, looking down at her hands on her lap, "there was more to us. A history."
Puma became deeply intrigued. "Explain."
She shook her head quickly. "No, not now. It is not the time."
"Fair enough," replied Puma, removing his gloves, "were are the other three? I need to speak with them."
"They're in the safe house," she said, eradicating Silver Wolverine from her mind. "What time will Shalashaska meet with them?"
"He didn't say exactly," said Puma, acting the tough leader. He had a right to. After all, it was he who arranged all the meets with their allies and other shady dealings. He also attended a good ninety percent of the meets. He was the face of their operation. "He said he would call with the specifics in the next couple of hours, so keep the line clear."
"Understood," she said, nodding.
"I'm leaving to see the others. Call the safe house after he makes the call." And without a simple 'goodbye', or 'see you', he left his companion to her thoughts in that dingy room on the dark side of America.
Somewhere else. A time before.
"But sir."
"Crimson, this is your job, its why I brought you here in the first place," said the boss, a tall ex-military man. He had a gruff voice and thick facial hair. He also wore a black eye-patch over his right eye. He was a man she had looked up to, but she was utterly disappointed with her new orders.
"You brought me here to secure the perimeter? With respect sir, I don't think you are thinking clearly. I should be here, fighting alongside my master."
"Crimson, I brought you here because I know I can trust you," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking deeply into her eyes, "I need you to this for me. I don't want you here. I want you to be safe, and that is not here."
Crimson Blade looked up at her master. His face was earnest and his intentions were honest. It was true; he cared for each and every one of his soldiers. All of the members of FOXhound were like members of really big family. A family who had one major thing in common with each other. Killing.
"Sir, I don't want to leave you. I want to stop the intruder at your side." Tears began to run down her face, sparkling as the fell of her cheeks.
The boss smiled. "This is my battle," he said, moving his hand to her face, wiping away the streaks left by the tears. "I want you and Silver safe."
"But."
The boss knew his strategy wasn't working. He had to appeal to the soldier in his young protégé. "These are my last orders to you, soldier!" He roared, standing in an authoritative stance.
It was at this moment, that the young and beautiful soldier known only as Crimson Blade, realised that she would never see her master again, beyond the next couple of moments. She wanted to say something to him, something that would have meaning, that they would both remember, as master and student. But she could only say two words:
"Yes sir!"
Saluting, she turned on her heel, and left the room, leaving the man she had come to know as a father, to die.
As she left the room, the automatic door slid back to its closed position, as her counter-part, Silver Wolverine, approached her. She was as cheery as ever.
"What's with your face?" she asked, smiling, "we're about to change the world forever, and you look like your dog just died! What's up?"
Crimson forced out a laugh. She couldn't let her best friend see her like this. She had to keep her morale up, for her and her compatriots. "I'm fine," she said, smiling, "its just this place, y'know, it gets to me."
"I know what you mean, darlin'," she replied, surveying her surroundings, "he could have picked a better place to start a revolution, but hey, beggars can't be choosers!"
Crimson felt some of her happiness returning. She was always amazed at Silver's ability to see the humour in any situation. Maybe that's why she admired her so much. In the end, she was glad that at least they would survive together.
"What are the orders?" asked Silver, obviously ready for battle.
Crimson could see the soldier awakened in her friends pale eyes. Gulping, she told her the orders. "We are to patrol the perimeter."
"Man, could he be more boring," said Silver. Crimson was surprised with her response. She was ready to stop her barging into the boss's room, kicking and screaming for new orders. But she was mistaken. Obviously her friend had tamed since there days at the FOXHOUND academy. She was now a soldier willing to accept her duty. To her, any work on this exercise was meaningful. They were going to change the world after all.
"Yeah," said Crimson, smiling, "lets get it over with."
"You're, of course, right," replied ever-cheerful Silver, already making her way towards the tunnel that led to the perimeter fence.
It was a fifteen-minute walk from their location to the tunnel on the bottom floor. Silver hated using lifts. She saw them as 'a sign of laziness' and much preferred a slow walk down to the lower reaches of the base. That way they could talk. They were war-buddies, Silver and Crimson. Back when they first joined up, they didn't know anybody, so they decided to work with each other, two strangers in an even stranger situation. They would sign up for the same missions. They were lovers in a way. But instead of kissing, they killed. A sordid relationship born from the suffering of others. In the field, all they had was each other, but that's exactly how they liked it.
They were walking through the tunnel, a stretch almost a mile long. It led to the outside of the perimeter fence. They were discussing guns.
"I would've much preferred a FA-MAS over these old AK's any day," explained Crimson, as they neared the end of the tunnel.
Silver laughed. "Always with the technology," she said, in a teasing tone, "I love these old-school guns. Reminds me of back home."
"That's what I mean."
Suddenly, shouting could be heard from the end of the tunnel nearest the base, followed by a volley of machine-gun fire. Silver looked into Crimson's eyes. Crimson shook her head. She knew they shouldn't. She knew what the master intended for the two of them. She couldn't allow his last wish for her to not be fulfilled. For the first time, she had to say no to her friend.
"They need our help, Crimson, you know that they are in trouble without us," shouted Silver angrily, shaking her gun all around.
"We have specific orders."
"Screw the orders!" cut in Silver, "the boss didn't anticipate this! We have to help!"
"I can't go against his orders," said a melancholic Crimson, looking at the ground, close to tears. Silver could not believe her ears. Her companion, her best friend, who had stood by her through the worst of times, was refusing to grant her wish. Looking into Silver's cold eyes once again, Crimson began to cry, the tears rolling of her face speedily. Silver, holding back her true emotion, grunted and turned her back on her friend for the first, and last, time.
"SILVER!!!" Crimson screamed as Silver dashed into the darkness towards her doom. Falling to her knees, Crimson wept heavily, her tears creating a small puddle on the floor. She knelt there for what seemed like an eternity. But then, from the light at the end of tunnel, a voice shouted. A voice she recognised. A friendly voice.
"Crimson!"
"Puma?" Hearing the voice of her other team-mate, she stood on her feet as quickly as she could muster. Dashing to the end of the tunnel, she was greeted by blinding sunlight, and KA-60 Kasatka helicopter. Puma was standing outside of the chopper, waiting for his friend. Crimson was shocked at the situation.
"What's going on?" she shouted over the loud rotating blades.
"I'm here to lift you out, orders from Big Boss himself," he shouted, signalling her to get into the copter.
At first, she hesitated, but was soon dashing into the helicopter as the tunnel behind her exploded, causing a deafening explosion.
"NOOOOO!!!!!"