As Snake stepped out of the elevator he noticed a small build that looked like it was supposed to house a heater or something similar to it. He sneaked over to it and crouched behind it. He looked around the corner and saw a man talking with 2 guards in front of a Hind D helicopter. Right then and there, his codec rang out in his ear.

"This is Snake. I'm just outside of the compound."

"Good. What do you see?" the Colonel replied.

"Well, in right in front of a heliport. There's a Hind D preparing to take off."

"What the hell…" the colonel replied.

"They must be crazy in trying to fly a Hind D in this kind of weather." a female voice spoke out in the background.

"Colonel…who's that?"

"Oh, Snake…I haven't introduced you two yet. This is Mei Ling. She's the one who made your soliton radar system. She's also the communications expert and information analyst." the colonel informed him.

"Wow…" Snake said.

"What?" Mei Ling replied.

"I never knew someone so cute could create something so sophisticated." Snake said.

"Ha Ha, you're making me blush. I'm being hit on by the legendary Solid Snake." Mei Ling said.

"So how's your radar working Snake?" Mei Ling asked.

Snake looked at the small radar in the corner of his right eye and then looked at the left corner of his left eye and spoke back.

"It's working fine." Snake replied.

"The bright white dot in the middle is you. The red dots are the enemy and the blue cone is their field of vision. But remember Snake, your radar won't work in areas with strong harmonic resonance." Mei Ling informed him.

"Snake…" the picture of Mei Ling switched over to the Colonel. "use your binoculars and try and find a small vent shaft. There are two, ones on the second story and the other is on the first story. Crawl through there and it should take you to the tank hanger."

"I see the one on the second floor but the one on the first floor isn't visible. The guards are carrying five five-sixers and pineapples." Snake replied. (five five-sixers mean the caliber size of the rifle which is the NATO 5.56 round. The guards are carrying FAMAS' and pineapple grenades.)

"Ok then, be careful and make your way to the vent and we'll call you when your inside the vent."

Snake's codec shut off with a beep and he stood back up. He took a look at his surroundings and in front of him was the heli-pad. There was something sitting in the corner of the heli-pad but there were search lights. Snake walked over to the steps and watched the search lights. At the right moment he dashed across and grabbed what was on the floor. It was his first set of gear…chaff grenades. He stood still for a second and dash across to his left. He then came a cross a room that looked totally empty. He took one step in… 'What the hell?! Surveillance camera?' Snake thought. He took a quick step back before he could be spotted. At the right moment he ran inside the room to see what was in store for him. To his surprise he got his hands on some more gear…stun grenades a.k.a. flash-bangs.

Pit Pat Pit Pat

To Snake's surprise a guard had walked buy and had not noticed him. When the guard walked by again, Snake snuck up behind him and put him in a choke hold. He then dragged him over to a truck and broken his neck with a quick snap. He loaded the guard's body onto the truck and searched around for anything important inside.

'Yes!!' Snake thought.

Snake had acquired his first weapon…a SOCOM.

'Now I feel better that I'm armed.' Snake thought

He quickly pulled out the clip inside his newly acquired pistol and counted the rounds…25 rounds. Someone must have used it and placed it there because it was short 3 rounds. 'Oh well…' Snake thought. He replaced the clip and holstered the weapon. He looked around and spotted the stairs to the upper floor. Right at the corner was another camera. He ran to the wall and pressed his back against it. Sidestepping carefully, he managed to slip by the camera unnoticed. He quickly ran up the steps and heard footsteps coming toward him. He quickly ran to the top and to his right to a small defilade in the wall. He pulled out the SOCOM and became dead silent. He watched his radar as the guard headed back on his patrol route.

'Damn it.' Snake thought. 'I don't have a silencer on this yet. I can't use this just yet…'

So Snake once again stealthily approached the guard and snapped his neck with a quick twist and proceeded in looking for the second floor vent shaft. He passed another defilade in the wall when his codec rang out again.

"Snake." it was the Colonel. "Right at the bottom of that defilade is the second floor vent shaft. Crawl through it, you should be able to fit in it."

"I see it…" Snake said and his codec shut off.

He began to crouch and started his long crawl through the vent shaft. The shaft was dark and warm. He crawled straight 30 feet and turned to his first right. He came upon a part of the shaft that had a decline in it. He proceeded forward and ran into some water in that section of the shaft.

'I wonder how long it is…' Snake thought while looking at the water in front of him. 'Well there only one way to find out…'

Snake proceeded forward and began crawling once again. He crawled 10 feet and he couldn't hold his breath much longer. His brain was screaming out for oxygen but he was still underwater. Finally he surfaced and began gasping for air. When suddenly his codec rang out again.

"Snake…this is McDonald Miller."

"Master!" Snake cried out. "How did you know I was in Alaska? What are you doing here in Alaska?"

"I've been here for a while now. Came before you did, I was just out of contact for a while. If you've got any questions about the surroundings or if you need any help with anything give me a call. My codec frequency is 141.80."

"Alright. I'll remember that." Snake replied and made a mental note of Master Miller's frequency.

"Well Snake, I know you can't see your away around in that vent shaft. Look in front of you. There should be some field mice."

Snake looked in front of him and to his surprise Master Miller was right. There were mice in front of him.

"Follow them, they always stay close to warmth and water. They should lead you to where the vent ends." Master Miller said.

"Ok. Got that. Anything else?" Snake asked.

"No there isn't. Hurry and find the DARPA chief. Did Campbell tell you where you can find him?"

"No…not yet." as soon as snake said that his codec switched over to the colonel.

"Snake…when you get out of the vent there should be a elevator on the first floor of the tank hanger. Take that to the 1st floor basement and I'll give you further instructions from there." the Colonel stated and his codec went off.

'Well…' Snake thought. 'I better hurry up and find the DARPA chief then. I just hope he's still alive…'